Johnny DiLoretto Answers Your Questions About the Downtown Drive In June 13th @ North Market

Johnny DiLoretto is the director of communications for the Gateway Film Center, the Midwest's premiere independent movie house. He will be checking in from time to time over the upcoming months to keep us informed about all the kick-ass events they have scheduled that are sure to keep your summertime blues at bay.

Q: Wait, wait, what's this? You guys are having a Drive-In movie series at the North Market? Like park outside and watch in your car and everything? When does it start? What do I need to know?

A: You got it, Colin! This is total badassery at work. We kicked this program off back at the beginning of May with Toy Story. Next up is Ghostbusters on Friday the 13th. It's great -- you park in the North Market parking lot, we put up a 40-foot inflatable movie screen, and you listen to the movie through your FM radio. We're bringing this tradition downtown so you don't have to drive out to some shady-ass boondock and risk having some heroin addict climb through your hatchback and stab you in the neck with his cooking spoon.

Q: This is so cool. Where did the idea come from? Is there anything else like it in America?

A: I came up with it. (No matter what Rick Harrison Wolfe, North Market exec director, and Gateway FIlm Center president, Chris Hamel have to say about it...) And, to answer the other question - there is only one other downtown drive-in in the United States and I probably had the idea for that one too.

Q: Harold Ramis recently passed away. In addition to his role in Ghostbusters, what would you recommend is worth revisiting from his impressive body of work as both a writer/actor/director?

A: In addition to co-starring with Bill Murray in Ghostbusters and Stripes, Ramis directed Caddyshack and the first National Lampoon's Vacation movie, so obviously those are classics. He also did the movie, Multiplicity, which has a fun performance by Michael Keaton as a guy who clones himself, so he can get more shit done. 

Q: Did you ever sneak a bunch of people into a Drive-In movie growing up and if so, how many?

A: No, I was too riddled with Catholic guilt to sneak people in. I have two distinct drive-in memories though. One, is when I was really young, my uncle brought me to the drive-in and let me go buy popcorn by myself. I got lost on my way back to the car and when I finally thought I'd found the car, I saw a dude's horrifying, pale white ass pumping away at someone under him. It was the wrong car and scarred me for life. To this day, I shudder at seeing a dude's pale white ass. The second experience came later when I was 12 or so. I went to the drive-in with my friend and his super hot mom, and all I could think about was how I could lose my friend and make out with his mom. I forget the movie, but not the mom.

UPDATE: You can actually now order your tickets / parking space in advance for Friday's show here: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/downtown-drive-in-ghostbusters-presented-by-gateway-film-center-and-north-market-tickets-11868851053

 

 

 

 

"Pulp Fiction" @ the Gateway Sunday June 8th. Johnny DiLoretto Explains Why this Movie Still Matters.

Johnny DiLoretto is the director of operations for the Gateway Film Center, the Midwest's premier Independent movie house. He will be checking in from time to time over the upcoming months to keep us informed about all the kick ass events they have scheduled sure to keep your summertime blues at bay.

Q: Sunday June 8th Cinema Classics presents the 20th Anniversary Screening of "Pulp Fiction" at the Gateway Film Center. Wow, that was a quick twenty years. Why is this movie still important and worth seeing on the big screen?

A: Of course you gotta see this movie on the big screen! You have to see it in its element to be reminded of exactly how revolutionary and influential it was. It changed the way movies were made and had a direct impact on everything that came after it. For better or for worse. Mostly for worse, because people lifted Tarantino's techniques and bit off his writing style without the cinematic chops to make that stuff sing. You should see it to be reminded of how great it is. 

Q: For us movie dumb asses, what makes director Quentin Tarantino special?

A: He's a savant. He has devoured, passionately devoured, all of cinema -- the classics, the crap, all of it. And he pukes it back out, in some instinctive way, so that you can see all of this amazing stuff happening in his movies -- he's referencing film history as he's blazing new narrative ground. He's conducting a score of tension and comedy and violence all the while spinning these exhilarating, musical exchanges of dialogue. He is - without fucking question - one of the true geniuses of modern American cinema. 

Q What other Q Tarantino's films do you consider essential viewing for the casual movie fan? 

A. You can't go wrong with any full-length movie he's directed. All of it. Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vols. 1 and 2, Inglorious Basterds, Django Unchained. Of the stuff he's only written, you have to see True Romance, which features a mind blowing cameo by Gary Oldman as a psychotic, dreadlocked, pimp; and features one of the all-time great scenes between Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper. 

Q: What are the details for the movie again and when can I hear Cinema Classics?

A: You can see the movie at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 8. It's $7.50 for just the film; or you can get eat brunch and see the movie for $15. We do a great brunch in The Torpedo Room. 

Learn more about Johnny DiLoretto and other Pencilstorm contributors by clicking here.

Erica Blinn & the Handsome Machine by Ricki C.

Erica Blinn & the Handsome Machine will be headlining the Main Stage at the Columbus Arts Festival at 9 pm this Saturday night, June 7th, 2014, on the Downtown Riverfront.

 

First off, full disclosure: I have – on a very few occasions – worked as a roadie for Erica Blinn & the Handsome Machine, but I don’t want this piece taken as any kind of paid advertisement or boosterism.  I have no financial interest in the band, I get paid a few bucks to wrangle guitars & merch once in awhile, but that’s not enough to convince me to conceive the rave you’re gonna view here.

I have only ever worked for bands I’ve loved – Willie Phoenix, Hamell On Trial, Watershed, The League Bowlers, Colin Gawel & the Lonely Bones, The Whiles – because if you don’t love a band enough to watch them a hundred different nights in a hundred different dives, why bother?   

I'd watch a hundred nights of this band.  I’d watch Erica and the guys a hundred shows in a hundred nights:  I’d watch Erica belt out her incredibly well-written tunes like the bastard girl-child of Rod Stewart & Chrissie Hynde;  I’d watch her peel out her rhythm parts from a low-slung Fender Tele like a Harley winding out on a Midwest dirt-track;  I’d watch her wail harmonica solos like she was born on the South Side of Chicago rather than the West Side of Columbus;  I’d watch PJ Schreiner bash out drum-pounding fever/beats behind her while simultaneously pitching in note-perfect harmonies along with bass player Mark Nye;  I’d watch guitarist Greg Wise melting faces in the front row with incendiary riffs straight outta the Keith Richards/Fred “Sonic” Smith school of lead guitar, yet ultimately fresh, new, up-to-date and ROCKIN’.  (I’ve only seen relatively new second lead guitarist Will Newsome twice, and he’s SOLID, my rock & roll brothers & sisters, but you’re gonna have to wait until next time for superlatives on him from me.  I never rush my proselytizing.)

I first met Erica while I was working at Ace In The Hole Music when she was still a teenager.  Her father Jerry – a key player in 1970’s Columbus rockers Black Leather Touch – shopped at the store and once when he brought Erica in with him I mentioned to Jerry that I had reviewed Black Leather Touch in Focus, a local rock magazine of the time.  Erica got really hyped in that way only young teenagers can and said earnestly, “You don’t still have those articles by any chance, do you?  I try to collect everything I can find about my dad’s band.”  “You’re in luck, little lady,” I replied, “I am one of those egotistical motherfuckers who keeps EVERYTHING they’ve ever written.”  I xeroxed the articles and brought them to the store for her the next Saturday.  It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.       

Erica started performing at 14 years old and I watched her growing up in public over the next few years, throughout her scuffling days, playing with different bands in shifting line-ups, the songs always getting a little better, the stagecraft a little sharper with each incarnation.  And then in 2010 there were the exponential leaps forward: hooking up with Colin Gawel of Watershed for co-songwriting sessions; catching the ear of producer Mike Landolt of Curry House Records; and forging a relationship with the rock & roll pride of Raleigh, North Carolina – Terry Anderson & the Olympic Ass-Kickin’ Team – for live dates and recording.  The end result of those collaborations was Erica’s 2011 self-titled extended-play CD, six tracks of pure prime rockin’ perfection, led by “Choices” and Anderson’s classic “Weather Or Not.” 

And then came the formation of The Handsome Machine: with longtime partner PJ Schreiner anchoring the drum-throne, bassist & harmony vocalist Mark Nye came on board first, followed by genius buzzsaw lead guitarist Greg Wise.  The band – along with guest musicians Devon Allman, Aaron Lee Tasjan & Angela Perley, among others – recorded Erica’s new 12-track debut album “Lovers In The Dust” and hit the road to play any & every bar, dive & honky-tonk that would have them, all the while honing the blistering rock attack they lay claim to today.  Second lead guitarist Will Newsome was added to the band after the album was completed to fill in some of the approximately one thousand guitar tracks that producer Landolt layered into the album, laid down by guitarists as disparate as Andy Harrison, Dave Bartholomew, Wise and Allman.

Maybe more than merely the band, though, it’s the Erica Blinn-penned SONGS the Handsome Machine are gonna throw at you that are going to have you standing staring mesmerized at the stage.  “Whiskey Kisses” and “Sexy Mess” are going to ROCK you, “Let’s Give Love” and “Let Me Be Yours” are going to ROLL you, and if “One Of These Days” doesn’t break your heart on this upcoming  warm spring Saturday night I’m inclined to proffer the opinion that you don’t have a functioning cardiac unit.  And if the two minutes & twenty-seconds of “Home” isn’t the greatest individual rock song you’ve heard in the past five years, I’ll take back every word I've written in this blog.

I’d watch a hundred nights of this band.

I’m only asking you to watch one.  

 


Wal's Hiatus From Pencilstorm

I stopped by the coffee shop the other day and Colin asked me, "Why haven't you written anything for Pencilstorm lately?  Dude, Steve Perry sang on stage again. You gotta be dying to chime in about that."

Well, Colin's right.  There are a lot of things I want to write about these days: "Potential Journey Reunion" (bad idea), "Nigerian Kidnappings" (We can spend $500 mil looking for a Malaysian plane that fell in the ocean but we can spend any money to find 240 black girls?), "My Band Broke Up After 25 years" (got divorced to 3 guys in the process), and then there's the "My Favorite Albums" that has brewing in my mind (gonna annoy a bunch of people with that one).

But those blogs will probably never see the light of day because I'm on break from Pencilstorm right now. In fact, I shouldn't be even spending time on this blog.

See when I'm not writing for Pencilstorm, I'm working on my other passion: novel writing. I have a book already published and am currently finishing book two. And if you've ever recorded an album, rebuilt your bathroom, or even put together a model car, you know that the last mile is the most difficult.

So I'm taking May and June off to focus on getting my second book done. Let me put this in perspective - the typical Pencilstorm blog is 500 words (1500 if you're Ricki C). My novel is 80,000 words - that's a lot to manage. Right now I'm in the final editing stage (think of it like the final mix of your album). I'm also finishing the ever important book cover.  Imagine how difficult that is - just like designing your album cover, it's got to be right on. People do judge a book by it's cover.

So for now, I have to keep my musings to myself and finish this book.  In the meantime, check out my first book, Assignment 1989. It's a science fiction thriller.  Kind of like Tom Clancy meets Michael Crichton. I promise you there are no hairband references in it. Oh, wait a minute it takes place in 1989, yes there is a few mentions of Bon Jovi. But just a few.

Wal Ozello is the author of Assignment 1989: The Time Travel Wars . He's a resident of Upper Arlington, Ohio and a frequent customer at Colin's Coffee.

Learn more about Wal Ozello and other Pencilstorm contributors by clicking here

Colin Gawel and The Lonely Bones / The Randys Live @ Grandview Digfest Sat June 14th.

Colin Gawel and The Lonely Bones will be returning to the Grandview Digfest on Saturday June 14th. The event is sponsored by the Grandview Chamber of Commerce and will be held at the Grandview Yards. There are 23 different beers being served, including Bones bassist Dan Cochran's Four String Brew. The Bones will be hitting the stage at 6:00 for an hour-long set followed by one of our all-time favorite bands, The Randys. And admission is.......FREE! If you miss this, you are truly a jack-ass. See you June 14th at Digfest.

 

Click here for more details about the event.

Live from the CD102.5 Big Room, Colin Gawel with "Sad Drive" on April 10, 2010.

Official music video for Colin Gawel's "Superior". The single was released on the EP-CD "Superior" by Mike Landolt's Curry House Records label. More at www.colingawel.com. Video produced by Palestra Creative (www.palestracreative.com).

Ricki C.'s Rock & Roll Videos You Oughta See, part the third: The Neighborhoods / "Real Stories"

(Ricki C.'s Rock & Roll Videos You Oughta See will be a continuing feature in pencilstorm, at least until Ricki gets bored or the readership finds a way to make him stop.  Videos will be mainly little-seen or off-the-beaten-rock-&-roll-path.  

They're not exactly my answer/reply to Wal Ozello's Top Ten Rock Vocalists, but they all ARE rock & roll songs.  None of them are show tunes.    

Ricki will provide an intro to the videos of not-more-than-500 words, because we all know it’s impossible for Ricki to try to tell a simple story without going off into 10 different tangents and then forgetting altogether what he’s talking about.)

 

"Hey," you might be saying to yourself right now, "isn't the lead singer in today's video the guy I saw playing lead guitar last summer in the reconstituted Replacements?"  Yes, astute pencilstorm readers, today's video features David Minehan of Boston's late-70's to early 90's favorite sons - The Neighborhoods - appearing at The Channel Club in their rockin' heyday of 1982.  It's eminently possible I was in the audience at the show presented here.

From 1980 to 1984 I was working at Ross Laboratories, making a shitload of money, was newly divorced and occasionally flew to Boston on weekends just to see rock & roll bands.  (This was made possible by the existence of People's Express Airlines, a bargain-basement airline that was EXACTLY like a Greyhound Bus that flew. The round-trip fare to Boston ON THE WEEKEND was $76.  Admittedly it wasn’t exactly luxury travel, People's Express didn't even have chairs in their boarding area, you just had to sit on the floor or lean against the wall.  Even Greyhound has chairs in their terminals, though you might not necessarily want to actually SIT on them.  One Friday night, and I swear to God I am not joking or making this up, a gentleman of middle-eastern persuasion tried to bring a live chicken on the plane.  After much animated discussion - not very much of which was conducted in English - he was dissuaded.  He left the waiting area, went out to the parking garage for about two minutes, returned sans chicken and boarded the flight.  I have no idea what happened to that animal that evening and I don’t want to know.)

The Neighborhoods soldier on to this day in 2014, playing occasional shows around the Northeast, and remain a fearsome live unit.  In that circumstance, they share more than a little with their Columbus rock & roll brethren Watershed - a trio of rockers pounding out great rock & roll tunes to the faithful and winning new converts in their second century of playing the rock & roll.  

Reasons They Never Made It In America - I fully admit, here I'm mystified, I thought The Neighborhoods had it all.  They were just Kiss enough, but not TOO Kiss.  They played great, they looked great, Minehan wrote TREMENDOUS pop-punk songs and possessed every single rock-star trait except fame.  And, given that they were contemporaries of REM and The Replacements in the early 80's, I can't even say they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.  I'm frankly baffled how they weren't huge.  Were The Neighborhoods one of the five best live bands I ever saw?  Yes, they were, and I've seen a fuckload of bands in my 61 years on the planet.  

Optional Extra-Credit Additional Viewing - Enter "The Neighborhoods" plus "Arrogance" plus "1979" and "The Neighborhoods" plus "Cultured Pearls" plus "2008" on YouTube for a thirty-year span of quality rock & roll.