After Party

Column

2008-07-16T11:21:00.000-07:00

Editor’s note: These events took place Monday, June 16. Times are approximate. Adam swears he doesn’t do this stuff just for column fodder.

3:37 p.m.
I’m smack in the middle of Kentucky Lake near the dam treading water with no life jacket and grasping a paddle.
A green kayak, the one I was recently paddling around, floats away rapidly because I pushed it that way. An alarm sounds at the dam, one I’ve heard signals everybody that water is being let from the lake.
Panic sets in. I think, “This could be bad.”

Five hours earlier ...

10:37 a.m.
Depressed I have not visited the lake once in 2008, I harden my resolve.
“I’m going to kayak on the lake today,” I tell the girlfriend.
“Really? Since when do you kayak?” she asks.
“Well, I did once in college. Besides it’ll be good exercise,” I reply, being sure to plug the benefits.
“Just don’t go by yourself or do something stupid,” she says. “And take your cell phone. I know how you are and what you are capable of.”
“Come on, it’s kayaking on a lake. What could happen?” I ask.

2:49 p.m.
Alone, I drive to the drystack office of Green Turtle Bay Resort & Marina. A signature, a $7 fee and I’m awkwardly sidestepping/falling into a single-person kayak in no time.
Leaving my cell phone behind I’m ready for nature.
“You don’t have to wear this life jacket, just keep it in there,” a summer worker says. “Keep (the kayak) out as long as you want, too, I don’t care.”
Sweet. A workout and no farmer’s tan.
3:33 p.m.
My goal to paddle across the entire lake looks unattainable. Despite hugging the artificial line created by the buoys that mark where people shouldn’t get any closer to the dam, the lake’s expanse is too great.
Not wanting to wear myself completely out, I rest the paddle across my lap and glide with the water’s current for a spell.
One boat is in sight, barely, and I relax totally.
My fatigue and the tall hot sun scorching my pastiness prompts a dumb idea.
I decide to take a dip.
I leave the kayak, life jacket and all, for the cool, dark water.
Paddle in hand, the water feels nice, fish smell notwithstanding.
Swimming back to the kayak, I realize three things:
n It’s easy to tread with paddle in hand.
n It’s not hard to climb back into a kayak while submerged with hands free.
n It’s down right impossible to climb back in with a paddle in hand.
It was like trying to tackle a shark.
My kayak with raised ends probably looked like an alligator executing the death roll on some guy.
Water splashed. I cussed.
Again it was the paddle encumbering my leverage.
I finally make it back into the kayak, but the paddle wrestles loose and floats gently away.
I substitute my hands for paddles and quickly realize it’s futile.
So I react by semi-squatting in the kayak and diving in after the paddle.
In doing so I rocket launch the kayak, my life jacket and my total preserver of life in the opposite direction.
When I reach the paddle I turn to find the kayak practically running away.
Then a siren sounds loudly.

3:38 p.m.
Olympic swimmers would be jealous of my performance.
With heart in throat, I swim for my life. I consider yelling at boaters as a back up plan but none are around.
The kayak was like those pieces of meat dangled by a motorized mechanism luring canines to finish a dog race.
I don’t know if water is moving behind me through the dam, but I don’t want to find out either.
After what feels like forever I make it to the vessel, swimming all the way in a funny, one-handed dog paddle leg kick I can’t repeat again.
More crocodile wrestling, splashing and cursing leads me back in the kayak with paddle in reach, finally.
My heart pounds like a drum in my entire upper body.

4:54 p.m.
Driving back home I wonder how much of all this I want to tell anybody.
Especially...
Incoming cell phone call; caller ID: Girlfriend.
“Hey, just finished work,” she says.
“How did kayaking go?” she asks.
“Well, I have a story for you,” I reply.

Column

2008-07-03T08:46:00.000-07:00

Preface: Fireworks and strip clubs kind of go together don't they?

I imagine the creator of fireworks to be a mad scientist wearing a red, white and blue top hat.
As he seals up his concoction of gun powder and fuse, he laughs maniacally.
“What idiot will dare test the limits of my explosive invention?” he asks.
Well, many idiots over many years.
I later learned the true firework inventor was Chinese, but let’s stick to my Uncle Sam meets Young Frankenstein character for now.
Because the point is that once you give the general public access to gun powder, a fuse and open flame, opportunities abound for embarrassing, dangerous moments.
For guys, it’s like you are not a man until you’ve shot a bottle rocket from your butt or fired a Roman candle at your best friend.
I wasn’t above this inflammable rite of passage and had the burnt car interior and memories of a strip club to prove it.

It was all filmmaker Michael Moore’s fault really.
His movie “Fahrenheit 9/11” opened June 25, 2004, while I was on summer break from college in Boone, N.C.
My small, conservative college town didn’t show the movie so three friends and I needed to travel to nearby Johnson City, Tenn.
We all packed into my tiny Honda Civic with two things in mind: 1 — the movie, 2 — fireworks.
Three — strip club, if you count a friend’s suggestion. We’ll get to that later.
North Carolina is like Kentucky with restrictive laws against certain fireworks.
And like in Kentucky, each summer a yearly migration moves to the state line for the “good stuff.” Just past the border we stopped at a fireworks shop longer than a football field and racked up.
With explosives in tow, we felt free to watch our movie.
Afterward, as we debated the movie’s political and social significance my best friend had an epiphany.
“We have to go to the strip club here.”
It should be known that everyone but our friend knew we couldn’t get in the club, affectionately named “The Mouse’s Ear.” (No idea why)
None of us were old enough to get into the 21 and up place. I was 19 and looking 16.
After some wavering, though, we were all too chicken to back down and appeased my friend.
The road to our palace of socially-acceptable sexism was a dark, lonely and completely bare strip of asphalt off of the interstate. No one traveled this road for any other reason than to visit the windowless attraction.
We didn’t get in.
The tight-shirted bouncer was gracious but made it clear we needed to get away.
As I drove down the lonely road back, a friend decided to light a single M-80 firecracker and throw it out the window.
A few laughs around, and I figured it was done.
Then another M-80 lets loose followed by another. Cheers and yells demand even bigger displays. Before I know it a Chinese New Year celebration breaks out in my car.
An empty water bottle served as a launch pad for bottle rockets flying straight out of my passenger window, singeing the felt on my roof.
Flashing lights and loud whistles filled my car as we cheered each blast.
Then I saw some different flashing lights.
A cruiser pulled us over just before the interstate.
And it held two officers convinced they just hit the DUI and drug possession mother lode.
Who knew cops would stake out the service road to a gentlemen’s club late at night?
We all sat on the curb held under the business end of a bright flashlight.
They searched my car like a CSI crime scene. As one practically climbed into my trunk searching away, the other literally sniffed my back seat searching for any trace of anything.
My mind raced trying to imagine the tickets I could get.
While “driving with an open container of ‘Big Bertha Rockets’” made me laugh, I did have scholarships at stake.
Looking disappointed with their sober detainees without possession of any intoxicating substances, the officers questioned us.
Officer: “Ya’ll weren’t going to the Mouse’s Ear were you?”
Us: “What’s that? Mouzzazier? Never heard of it, is that French?”
Officer: “Why in the world would you do this?”
Us: “Well it’s kind of dark. More street lights out here could help. We were thinking of safety, sir.”
The cops graciously let us go with a warning but did hold onto our explosives.
I was embarrassed and questioned my age, but remained thankful it wasn’t worse.
On the ride back I couldn’t help but wonder one thing: whether those cops didn’t take those fireworks home and shoot them at each other.

Bubble Q results

2008-06-27T22:35:00.000-07:00

So the camera didn't make it with me to the second round of Bubble Q tonight.

But, I can report that fundraiser brought in $11,000 in auction money alone for Paducah Main Street. One of their main men, David Boggs, was beside himself with tears of joy.

Also, someone paid $4,200 for a party for 25 at the ice skating rink yet to be built in downtown Paducah...impressive.

Pre-party at Bubble Q

2008-06-27T16:46:00.000-07:00

The newly-renovated Arcade property at 5th Street and Broadway is alive and well again for Bubble Q which just started.

I went down and took photos of the building at the Paducah Main Street-hosted party and I'm heading back to mingle and get photos of the party.

Building Shots

And Laura Duff, caterer extraordinaire of A Pampered Palate provides the good eats for the night.

Homeless kittens

2008-06-26T09:26:00.000-07:00

It's an hour before you're set to leave work for the day. As you finish a story your editor sends you to a local park to take any pictures you can of people setting up anything for next week's county fair.

There are no people around when you get there. So what do you do?

Take tons of pictures of refugee cats of course.

While waiting for a carny to show up and put some kind of ride together last week for a Paducah Sun photo, I noticed this family of skinny, raggamuffin cats taking residence in a horse stable.

The overgrown rats were kind of adorable so I took some photos. I also knew about 80 percent of the Sun staff (mostly the females) would drool all over the pictures.

Funny thing though. The cat lovers at the Sun got really mad at me over the pics. Apparently I was supposed to round up the runts and take them home to care for them for the next 15 years.

Their anger might have had somthing to do with the introduction to my e-mail I sent to them with all the cat photos as attachments: "abandoned kittens with no shelter, no guaranteed food source and a fair coming in in a few days to invade their 'home.' ENJOY"

But really, cats are so weird they probably prefer to live under a carnival ride than be around humans.

One front page copy editor, code named Bortney Krand, made her husband call animal control and take care of everything.

So all turned out well. And I didn't have to take home a bunch of flea-riddled weirdos.

Column

2008-06-24T13:38:00.000-07:00

Ever wondered how Paducah, Ky., appears to people surfing YouTube?
Me, too.
So I searched and the glorious video-sharing Web site broadcasting television telecasts, home videos and cell phone vids from our river town to the world didn’t disappoint.

Aliens!
NewsChannel 6’s used to have a camera atop C.C. Cohen Restaurant & Bar in downtown. The SkyTracker. It provided shots of downtown while meteorologist reported the weather.
One night a prankster floated three mysterious lights in front of it while the hapless weather man suggested the government should investigate.
They didn’t learn their lesson.
There’s a second video where a rubber chicken pops on screen and the meteorologist asks “Is that a chicken?”
Alien video views: 3,909
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBSYbpIKS-0

Chicken video views: 1,592
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKzTDcw-rG0&feature=related

Fight!
Mixed martial arts found its way to Paducah and then to YouTube.
John Rawls hits the cage in this home video where he scores in an impressive submission win after being on his back.
The disturbing quality: the toddler bouncing on a man’s knee seen in the first minute of the video. Starting 'em young.
Views: 880
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKDi-DqtACk

The Roloffs
The Roloff family from TLC’s reality series “Little People, Big World” came to town last year. Many documented their appearance and speaking engagements like Molly and her family.
Views: 5,585
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBm9tBvrM5A

Nose piercing
Here we have a young blonde girl sit through a five-minute nose piercing in what looks like an underground holding cell.
It’s really cool when they leave the needle in her nose for like three minutes.
Views: 662
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u_yp1m-Yhk

Disc golf
The Paducah Ice Bowl is down to three teams, enduring the grueling damp and cold weather temperatures to fling a disc off in the distance.
More amazing than 75 people watching this is that someone taped the players on all 18 holes of the disc course.
Hole 10 views: 75
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cIyDMBu3zk

William Sledd
You can’t mention YouTube and Paducah and leave out Mr. Sledd. His videos out of his parent’s home giving out fashion advice gained him quasi-celebrity status and a pilot for a show on Bravo.
Whether it’s telling guys to carry hammers in their man bags or avoiding baggy jeans, Sledd is spreading the word to millions, literally.
Denim edition views: 3,379,996
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVESRceJL5k

Goin' to Nashville

2008-06-24T10:40:00.000-07:00

With a new Current coming out tomorrow I thought I'd hit some highlights and random notes.

Sometimes people ask me why I do certain stories, where some ideas come from and specific questions about people I interview.

Not to give too much away, but...

Making it in Music City. Joe Walker, a Paducah-born blues guitarist and vocalist, landed what could be a break out opportunity at BB King's in Nashville. Being a totally independent artist and getting a big show doesn't just happen. Walker has worked for 5 years down there and hopefully the story reflects what he's gone through. I was also surprised how much Walker talked about the soul and jazz followings in Nashville compared to the usual country feel.

For music I got to talk to Channing & Quinn, a duo from Nashville, who got their start in Boone, NC, where I went to college at Appalachian State. Musically they are quirky and interesting but it was even more fun talking about Boone's local coffee shops, music and the best division two football team on the planet. But for real these are more independent artists out of Music City that are working hard to make things happen.

Finally, a retraction...or slight change of perspective. I wrote a column about Paducah's presence on YouTube and how it might seem to outsiders. I take a stab at disc golfers in the area and while it is amazing anyone would watch a YouTube video of such a spectacle, I have to retract a little sarcasm.

Saturday I did a story for the regular Paducah Sun about a disc golf event and I'm getting hooked. The diehards sold the sport hard, and it seemed like a good way to be outside and hurl a Frisbee at a metal basket. I wrote my column in the days before so my stance might be altered a little now.

Hope you enjoy the Current and as always, I welcome feedback/suggestions/obvious mistakes pointed out when I make them.

My PostSecret

2008-06-11T14:15:00.000-07:00

"I put photos like these on my work computer's desktop to help when I'm stressed."

...because monkey humor gets 'em every time.

For the 411 on PostSecret visit http://postsecret.blogspot.com/.

Remember the PostSecret art gallery hits Paducah's Yeiser Art Center Saturday, July 25.

Billy Ray

2008-06-10T09:27:00.000-07:00

With every article I write there are a handful of stories, good quotes and other caveats left out that aren't essential to the article or can't make the newspaper size limit.

Here's one I wanted to share from the article "Singer attempts stardom" that ran Monday, June 9.

Paducah native Scarlett Mitchell was into her third call back for auditions for NBC's "Nashville Star."

Billy Ray Cyrus hosts the show and was hanging out with the final 50 auditioners before they played in front of the producers.

Mitchell struck up a conversation with Cyrus and when he learned she was originally from Paducah, Cyrus got all excited and chatted Mitchell up for a while.

Mitchell said Cyrus recalled one of his earliest shows at the Executive Inn and how much he enjoyed the town.

With Cyrus being from Flatwoods, Ky., the two talked about enjoying and missing their home states. Mitchell said his friendliness and advice to just be herself really helped her out a lot.

His Karma is Huge

2008-06-04T12:40:00.001-07:00

I had to open my big mouth a few hours too soon.

I rated my mailbox with a respectable 3.5 manila envelopes a few hours ago.

Now it's at 4.5 out of 5.

The reason: a six-inch tall plastic statue of Mike Myers as the Love Guru from his upcoming movie. It answers romantic questions like an eight ball with comments like "Go Deeper" and "Have a Me Moment."

I'm not sure how this movie will do but I'm appreciating the promotional gifts all the same.

While we're talking about "The Love Guru," a Paducah musician is featured on the film's soundtrack.

Josh Coffey, mandolinist/violinist/vocalist, for Bawn in the Mash, Paducah's fusion string band, plays fiddle on the song "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" which plays during a a bar fight scene (according to www.bawninthemash.com).

Good party topic.

Plot Secrets

2008-06-04T12:01:00.000-07:00

On the off chance that there is a "My Boys" TV show fan out there reading this...

I got the first two episodes of the new season in the mail today. The first doesn't air until June 12 and anyone in the know already knows PJ took a trip to Rome with a boy during the off-season. The boy's identity is revealed in the first new episode.

That's right. I already know who it is and I am contractually obligated not to reveal the character before June 12's airing. Sorry.

Yet again a perk of being an Entertainment Writer.

On the off chance that there are people reading this unaware of "My Boys" check it out on TBS. It follows PJ, a female sports journalist in Chicago, and her army of friends, all of whom are male with one exception.

Mailbox Roundup

2008-06-04T08:24:00.000-07:00

Once again the never-ending whirl of promotional DVDs, CDs and books has stuffed my mailbox and made it feel like Christmas in June for me.

My gifts are so frequent and greatly appreciated that I'm going to start rating them each week. Each Wednesday my mailbox will get 1-5 manila envelopes with 5 being the most bountiful manila envelope imaginable.

This week: 3.5 manila envelopes

I could have gone higher but it would be a faux pas to do so on the first week.

This is primarily because of National Geographic. Nat Geo sent me "Green Guide: The Complete Reference for Consuming Wisely," a 447-page glossy paperback with tips on making eco-friendly choices from pet care to travel planning. With pages of quick facts and fancy photos I'll have an awesome coffee table book even if I continue neglecting to recycle cans of PBR.

There's also a rough cut of the A&E channel's "Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal, Episode 1." Kids in scary movies freak me out anyway...this should be good.

Last but not least there's Red State Update's "How Freedom Sounds" CD. A duo out of Murfreesboro, Tenn. Jackie Broyles and Dunlap add music to their blue-collar, satirical brand of political humor just in time for elections. The boys gained national attention for their YouTube videos and hilarious candid interviews on CNN, sometimes with political candidate vying for power. And like their tongue-in-cheek press jacket says: "The fact that two rednecks from Murfreesboro, Tenn. could achieve such status on their own; or that they have embraced technology enough to figure out what the Internet is!"

Ballin'

2008-06-03T14:12:00.000-07:00

Sports is entertainment...so it falls under my broad umbrella as Entertainment Writer.

Good.

Now I can write about Drain-o, a undermanned but feisty intramural league basketball team tucked away in Paducah, Ky.

That's right, I'm a guard on a local team in a "for fun" league with a collection of guys nice enough to tolerate my woeful free throw shooting.

I say we are undermanned because we lost one big man to relocation (in residence, not a knee or other body part), another to a freak accident while attempting to dunk (I've never had that happen, the dunk part) and a shooter to lasik eye surgery.

But the team itself isn't what I want to focus on. We're not a bunch of stiffs but honestly, if any of us could play even semi-professionally I think we'd be doing that right now.

But just one week after our last game I do want to focus on an important life lesson I've learned courtesy of my intramural experience.

I now know the exact moment at which I would question what direction my life is taking, that is, the exact moment I need a "take a look in the mirror" time-out with myself.

And that would be about the time I curse at, threaten the life and sexuality of, or chest bump a volunteering referee over his/her performance.

In a month or two I've seen every one of the above example toward a volunteer over missed calls, bad calls, good calls and everything in between.

The incidents usually come as a team is feeling a loss sink in, or a particular play wounded a "player's" pride. And, somewhat surprisingly, the frequency and ferocity of the outlashes increase with age.

Guys with young children in the stands had more embarrassing moments than the younguns...go figure.

As a disclaimer: I let a few choice words fly. But I usually directed them at the ozone layer rather than at another person. Also, I recognize what so many of my vertical-challenged colleagues did in that the volunteer refs aren't exactly up to an NBA standard.

Sure. They missed calls. Just like I missed free throws, jump shots, passes and the occasional lay up.

It would have done a lot of "players" some good if they'd remember their own playing isn't exactly up to NBA standards, either.

I guess when I play like Kobe I'll expect to have an NBA ref (then I can walk and get a foul call on every drive!).

And a few of my fellow ballers would do well to remember that in the heat of a game. Because somewhere between a guy's saliva flying at a striped shirt and another saying "Just wait until I get my knee brace off" we all need to remember our place in the basketball world.

Go team Drain-o!

Viva la Vida

2008-05-27T08:25:00.000-07:00

So this isn't my usual style but after downloading Coldplay's new song "Viva la Vida" I haven't stopped playing it. It's either the violins or the rising chorus that gets me going.

Also...I've read and heard that Coldplay is desperately trying to become Radiohead, in style and in offering a free mp3 or two. I side with a recent post I read: Who doesn't want to be Radiohead? Hardcore fans would die for those guys and they don't even have to set a price for their records in order to make millions.

But Coldplay is doing it well and word in Rolling Stone is they about killed each other in the studio to get this new album perfect.

And your trivia question of the day: Any idea who's painting is featured on the album cover? Go on, Google it, you know you want to.

Poo Poo Paducah

2008-05-13T14:32:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgCdAPkSSnA

You should never poo poo Paducah, but now there's proof Benny Goodman said so.

Talk of this video has been all over the radio and blogs today. I found the link and it's great stuff. Who would have known?

Iron Man

2008-05-06T19:25:00.000-07:00

At least once a week I'm reminded of how cool my job is.

As the entertainment writer, I get all kinds of promotional stuff in the mail for movies, books and anything else people produce.

I've gotten whips (Indiana Jones movies), honey (Bee Movie) and a sex book written by a sexologist.

Every week is like Christmas.

Now, I might have a particularly lucrative promotional gift.

As you might know, Iron Man is the No. 1 movie in American right now by a long shot. (This weekend it brought in over $6.9 million with second place going to Made of Honor at $868,397)

Weeks before the movie hit I received an Iron Man figurine about a foot tall with three plastic projectiles that can shoot out of his hand.

So far he has sat on my desk and served as comic relief when I'm tired or busy. You can't help but chill a little after hitting his chest and hearing "I am Iron Man ... repulsor blast!"

After seeing the movie last night, and realizing how great it really is, I realized my desk ornament could become a windfall.

There is definitely going to be sequels to the original and as the movie's reputation grows so should the asking price for its main character's figurine in pristine condition, still in the package.

Aside from baseball cards ,I've never collected anything. So this concept feels a little new to me. But if I hold onto it and don't wear out his little plastic circular computer heart, this could be a real collector's item some day.

I'll let you know about the next cool mailbox item when it comes around.

'Til Death Do You Part

2008-05-06T19:15:00.000-07:00

There are people who admit liking PBR and there are guys who love it.

Bill Bramanti in South Chicago Heights, Ill. loves it.

He is such a Pabst Blue Ribbon fan that he custom ordered a coffin designed to look like a can of the stuff.

Bramanti, 67, isn't sick or anything, technically, he just wants to have his coffin on standby.

He's actually using it at parties as a cooler and showing it off to the Associated Press where this story broke. The Paducah Sun featured it in Monday's paper on 11A but I just had to point it out here again.

I'm not sure if this is entertainment news or just entertaining news but I tip my hat to this guy with my creepiness detector beeping a little.

And, yes, Bramanti has already laid in it to make sure his 5-feet-9 inches and 280 pounds fits. Apparently it's a perfect fit.

I'm back

2008-04-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

So a week-long trip to France and a parade of 35,000 senior citizens at the quilt show brought my blog posts to a screeching halt.
The trip was amazing, life changing and exhausting. There’s a six-hour time difference between Paducah and Paris, and Delta executives are on my hit list after changing my arrival time back home from 9 a.m. to midnight Monday (with 12 hours spent in various airports).
The jet lag fit in nicely with the old ladies at the quilt show, though. It was like we operated at the same speed. And actually they were all very nice and surprisingly full of spunk over quilts. But telling their stories all week kept me busy.
I write all of this to let you know my life is slowing moving back to normal and the blog posts will be coming back.

Real quick though, some parting shots on my vacation just for remembrance sake.

- The French drink coffee from bowls for breakfast. They like to dip virtually everything for breakfast into coffee, including the amazing pain du chocolat (croissant with baked-in chocolate). So the bowl, though awkward, is necessary. I had practice here from the American tradition of drinking leftover milk from the cereal bowl.

- Graffiti is everywhere. Nice parts of town, run-down sections, historic districts with buildings older than the combined ages of all quilt show participants - everywhere. A local or two said in rough English that they are artistic expression. I can buy that but the fact that they’re French made this idea snooty.

- The French have a sense of history I had never been around before. Their antique shops sold stuff from the 15th century. The buildings were beautiful and ancient. They’ve crowded onto the same land for so long that everywhere has a story and a character to it. I guess it’s really difficult to be a French history student at a university in France.

- Europeans don’t do lines. They don’t wait their turn, they don’t respect personal space and they create some incredibly smelly lines. Waiting in line for anything means you’ll get passed, have something or someone uncomfortably touching your butt and your nostrils will be clear.

- Imitating priceless and the most culturally significant pieces of art is so much fun. Statues and paintings weren’t safe from my talent.

- French people are generally nice. Or at least no more rude than in major American cities.

- The Euro sucks. One Euro was worth $1.72 during my vacation.

- If you get to go to France, travel outside of Paris as much as possible. I was lucky enough to see Monaco, Marseilles and Aix-en-Provence, all in southern France. Monaco was my favorite by far.

- Finally, if you get to travel anywhere abroad do so with family, a great friend or significant other if possible. The loner deal would be cool, but sharing everything new with someone you care about amplifies the experience.

Old Crow Medicine Show

2008-04-02T15:04:00.001-07:00

So this is darn near the best song I've heard in a while. Agree? I'll buy anybody a ... beverage that can name the cameo near the video's start...and maybe another beverage to anyone who knows who wrote the chorus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2vJUadjdmo

Erykah Badu

2008-04-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

Every once a while when a new CD drops I'm reminded of an artist whom I've forgotten about.

That happened last week with Erykah Badu. I posted a blog about it on the old blog but I wanted to repost it here to show Badu some love.

Fro Man:

Miss Badu, your birthday and new album release dropped this week so I congratulate you.

I also want to extend my formal offer to be your “fro-watcher guy” in your crew.

Your impressive fake fro came up in a conversation with Crystal Shackelford, ruler of all things Web at The Paducah Sun.

Cshack, who is a HUGE fan, alerted me that the gargantuan fro you sometimes sport a) isn’t real, which I often wondered about b) is probably made of human hair, which is impressive and c) might get stuff stuck in it.

You’ve always sported your own style that I think is 70s pagan punk and I’ve respected you for it.

But as with every fly persona, it doesn’t just happen. I know it takes work.

Like with the fro. I know that massive clod of hair garners the care and attention of a full-time crew member.

Transporting it from city to city, concert venue to hotel, etc. Combing it out to look like a hurricane cloud before you take the stage. Safeguarding it from open flame, flying debris like pieces of paper, birds and small children hiding from their parents.

I bet that thing needs special clearance at airports and the worker searching bags likes an explanation or two.

I could even fashion a “hair bag” that designates the vessel specifically for transporting and safeguarding the fro. Just an idea but that’s what I bring to the table.

So if you or any of your current crew catch wind of my offer, let me know what you think. In the meantime I’ll be listening to your new CD “New Amerykah” with Cshack

frequencyag

2008-04-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

Brey McCoy called me today to let me know about a free show this weekend.

frequencyag will play from 7-10 p.m. at Etcetera Coffeehouse at 320 N 6th St. this Saturday.

Paducah music fans might recognize McCoy from playing at the Renaissance Restaurant with funk jazz group Arcadia Gatsby and as percussionist with string band Bawn in the Mash.

frequencyag is McCoy's psychedelic electronic jazz project that incorporates everything from video game music to the jazz of Medeski Martin & Wood. Check him out at myspace.com/frequencyag.

McCoy has a knack for cooking up flashy, memorable shows so check him out.

Also, FYI: my deadline for Current where I list music shows and other entertainment events is the preceding Thursday before each edition that comes out on Wednesday. So occasionally I don't hear of something before deadline.

I would love to hear of events no matter when they're happening so don't be afraid to hit me up.