Legs McNeil returns with I Slept with Joey Ramone! (2010 Audio Interview)

By Bob Andelman

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Order 'I Slept with Joey Ramone: A Punk Rock Family Memoir' by clicking the book cover above!

Joey Ramone wasn’t really Joey Ramone. Most people know that the “Ramones” name was for the stage, although few sought out and became their stage persona more completely than the former Jeffry Hyman, a spindly, troubled boy from Queens.

If you’re a Ramones fan—or just fascinated with stories of familial disfunction—you’re going to find the new book, I Slept With Joey Ramone: A Family Memoir, an irresistible attraction.

LEGS McNEIL AUDIO EXCERPT: "All along, Mickey was writing songs with Joey and never credited. Years and years of frustration came to light when Bud Light used 'Blitzkrieg Bop' in a commercial. I don't think he wanted a lot of money; he wanted recognition. He was there in the studio (when the song was originally recorded), harmonizing with Joey because their voices were almost identical. It was kinda like The Beach Boys, with Carl and Brian Wilson harmonizing with each other."

MM-LegsMcNeil010510.mp3 Listen on Posterous

You can LISTEN to this interview with LEGS McNEIL, co-author of I SLEPT WITH JOEY RAMONE, by clicking the audio player above!

Order 'Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk' by clicking the book cover above!

The story was written by Joey’s younger brother, Mitchell Hyman, a.k.a. Mickey Leigh, with help from Legs McNeil, a long-time friend of both brothers and the author of the classic music history, Please Kill Me: The Uncensored History of Punk.

Legs, today making his second appearance on Mr. Media, got to know Joey and Mickey in the late ‘70s when he and John Holmstrom co-founded the legendary Punk magazine. I got to know Legs through his later contributions to Spin magazine. His writing always comes with a twist; he’s never dull.

Legs McNeil Facebook • MySpace • PunkMagazine.com

Bob Andelman is the author or co-author of 12 books, including Mind Over Business with Ken Baum, The Consulate with Thomas R. Stutler, The Profiler with Pat Brown, Built From Scratch with the founders of The Home Depot, The Profit Zone with Adrian Slywotzky, Mean Business with Albert J. Dunlap, and Will Eisner: A Spirited Life. Click here to see Bob Andelman's Amazon Central author page. He is a member in good standing of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (member page).

 

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Lullwater rocks Athens, Mr. Media and this post! (Live performance)

Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of local rock heroes who may want to quit the business after hearing Lullwater take center stage… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida!

 

Lullwater is here to rock America! (Interview, performance) from Bob Andelman on Vimeo.

 

Order the the new Lullwater CD, 'Silhouette'!

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

When the first notes from Lullwater’s new CD, Silhouette, begins to play, you’ll know—without question—that these boys have their hearts firmly planted in Dixie.

It’s not strictly Southern fried rock, but there are unmistakable bits of Lynyrd Skynyrd tucked away in “Worse By Better.” I hear the Georgia Satellites in places, too. Maybe a BoDeans twang in the guitar structure. And even a little R.E.M., in terms of the catchier tunes – not surprising since they’re both born of Athens, Georgia.

MM-Lullwater083111.mp3 Listen on Posterous

You can LISTEN to this interview with the Athens band LULLWATER by clicking the audio player above!

This is one of those rock bands that, the moment you hear them, you’re hooked. They rock hard, but in that melodic, rhythmic way that eventually makes for gold records—or whatever passes for gold records in the age of digital music .

I think you’ll hear that for yourself shortly, as the band – John Strickland, Roy Beatty and Nick Thomas (Brett Strickland couldn’t make it today) – will be playing live shortly, right here on Mr. Media.

Lullwater is currently on the road, having just finished live dates in Indianapolis, Chicago, Nashville and Atlanta. Check your local listings for dates in your town; they’re coming soon to New York, Brookfield, CT, Greenville, NC, back home to Athens, GA, and so on.

Right now, get to know Lullwater live and in person.

Lullwater Website • MySpace • Facebook • Twitter •  ReverbNation • Order the new Lullwater CD Silhouette

JOHN STRICKLAND audio excerpt: "When we were on the road, we got to know each other and we all had the same goals in mind." 

Bob Andelman is the author or co-author of 12 books, including Mind Over Business with Ken Baum, The Consulate with Thomas R. Stutler, The Profiler with Pat Brown, Built From Scratch with the founders of The Home Depot, The Profit Zone with Adrian Slywotzky, Mean Business with Albert J. Dunlap, and Will Eisner: A Spirited Life. Click here to see Bob Andelman's Amazon Central author page. He is a member in good standing of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (member page).

 

 

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Live Music Performances on Mr. Media®

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

• HoneyHoney (Live performance, Little Toy Gun • Video)

• Adam Falcon (Live Performances, The Waves • Video)

• 28 North (live performance, Napa Valley • Video)

• Emii (Live performance, Mr. Romeo • Video)

• J.D. Malone and the Experts (J.D. Malone and Tom Hampton live performance • Video)

• Josh Flagg (live performance, Devastate Me • Video)

• Johnny G. Lyon (live performance, audio)

• Lullwater (live performance • Video)

 

Bob Andelman is the author or co-author of 12 books, including Mind Over Business with Ken Baum, The Consulate with Thomas R. Stutler, The Profiler with Pat Brown, Built From Scratch with the founders of The Home Depot, The Profit Zone with Adrian Slywotzky, Mean Business with Albert J. Dunlap, and Will Eisner: A Spirited Life. Click here to see Bob Andelman's Amazon Central author page. He is a member in good standing of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (member page).

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Editorial cartoonist Clay Bennett shares his views freely! (2008 Audio Interview))

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

Of the nine books I’ve written, it just occurred to me that the first and last have Pulitzer Prize connections—not for my work, unfortunately, but still…

The last was Will Eisner: A Spirited Life, a biography of the American master artist and writer, which featured an introduction by Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Michael Chabon.

And my first book, Stadium For Rent, features dozens of editorial cartoons drawn by future Pulitzer Prize winning artist Clay Bennett.

Back then, Bennett was poking fun at local issues and political figures for the St. Petersburg Times. I’ve always regarded his style as sneaky—the clean lines and bold images let him club you over the head with his message while you’re still chuckling.

CLAY BENNETT audio excerpt: "The virtue most of my editorial cartoons have is that they are exactly six inches wide by four inches deep. They'll fit the hole perfectly... They will fit the space." 

MM-ClayBennett091608.mp3 Listen on Posterous

You can LISTEN to this interview with Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist CLAY BENNETT of the CHATTANOGA TIMES FREE PRESS, by clicking the audio player above!

Bennett left the Times for the Christian Science Monitor, where he ultimately won his Pulitzer. Today, he’s with the Chattanooga Times Free Press, of all places, and we’ll certainly talk about that, I’m sure.

Clay Bennett Website • Facebook • Bio • Times Free Press Cartoons • GoComics Cartoons •

Bob Andelman is the author or co-author of 12 books, including Mind Over Business with Ken Baum, The Consulate with Thomas R. Stutler, The Profiler with Pat Brown, Built From Scratch with the founders of The Home Depot, The Profit Zone with Adrian Slywotzky, Mean Business with Albert J. Dunlap, and Will Eisner: A Spirited Life. Click here to see Bob Andelman's Amazon Central author page. He is a member in good standing of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (member page).

 

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The Big Bang Theory hits 100; listen to co-creator Bill Prady's 2008 interview with Mr. Media!

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

Order 'The Big Bang Theory: The Complete First Season' by clicking the DVD above!

[amazon_link id="B000W91RUG" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ][/amazon_link]Bill Prady is having a pretty good year, writer’s strike and all, thanks to the success of “The Big Bang Theory,” the hit CBS sitcom he co-created with Chuck Lorre.

If you haven’t seen “The Big Bang Theory,” it stars Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons as a couple of supernerds named Leonard and Sheldon – an in-joke for those of us who remember a sitcom master of old, the late Sheldon Leonard. Leonard produced everything from “Make Room for Daddy” with Danny Thomas to “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “The Andy Griffith Show. He was also a director, a writer, and a frequent guest star.

BILL PRADY audio excerpt: "One of the great things about the Big Bang Theory characters is that they are accepting of each other's idiosyncracies." 

MM-BillPrady040908.mp3 Listen on Posterous

You can LISTEN to this interview with BILL PRADY, co-creator of CBS's THE BIG BANG THEORY, by clicking the audio player above!

Sheldon and Leonard, the lead characters in “The Big Bang Theory” have absolutely nothing in common with their namesake except that he’d probably be proud of the tribute because they are smartly drawn, literate, and, most importantly, damn funny.

This isn't Prady's first rodeo; you've also seen his work on "Gilmore Girls," "Star Trek Voyager," "Dharma & Greg," "Two and a Half Men," "The Cosby Show," and "Dream On."

Bill Prady Twitter • Official Big Bang website on CBS •  Order The Big Bang Theory Season One on DVD

Bob Andelman is the author or co-author of 12 books, including Mind Over Business with Ken Baum, The Consulate with Thomas R. Stutler, The Profiler with Pat Brown, Built From Scratch with the founders of The Home Depot, The Profit Zone with Adrian Slywotzky, Mean Business with Albert J. Dunlap, and Will Eisner: A Spirited Life. Click here to see Bob Andelman's Amazon Central author page. He is a member in good standing of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (member page).

 

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Actor Russell Hornsby takes aim on NBC show Grimm! (Audio Interview)

Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of evil characters from non-Grimm, fractured fairy tales who check the trades daily for guest starring roles on the NBC drama – I’m looking at you, Boris & Natasha… in the NEW new media capitol of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida!

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

Russell Hornsby as Hank Griffin, David Giuntoli as Nick Burkhardt (Photo by Scott Green/NBC)

How crazy is the NBC drama “Grimm,” which is loosely adapted from the classic fairytales?

So many ancient beasts, crazies and creepies running around, viewers need a scorecard to keep track!

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]You can LISTEN to this interview with actor RUSSELL HORNSBY, star of NBC's GRIMM, by clicking the audio player above!

RUSSELL HORNSBY audio excerpt: "The creativity in the names - a lot of consonants, you know what I mean? And they're all original names from the mind of (show co-creator) Jim Kouf who, I think, sneezes and comes up with them." 

As Portland homicide detective Hank Griffin, Russell Hornsby is one of the good guys. He and his partner, Detective Nick Burkhardt, are doing their level best to keep peace in Oregon between humanity and its roster of mythological, sometimes pathological creatures.

The fact that Burkhardt himself is desceded from a long line of criminal profilers is a plus for them.

As for Hornsby, you might recognize him as a cop from “Lincoln Heights” or his season on HBO’s “In Treatment.” He also starred opposite Denzel Washington and Viola Davis in “Fences.”

Russell Hornsby as Hank Griffin (Photo by Scott Green/NBC)

If you hesitated to try this show out because you thought it would never last, think again: “Grimm” is performing well in the ratings in its 9 p.m. Friday timeslot and was recently picked up for a full season.

Russell Hornsby Website

Bob Andelman is the author or co-author of 12 books, including Mind Over Business with Ken Baum, The Consulate with Thomas R. Stutler, The Profiler with Pat Brown, Built From Scratch with the founders of The Home Depot, The Profit Zone with Adrian Slywotzky, Mean Business with Albert J. Dunlap, and Will Eisner: A Spirited Life. Click here to see Bob Andelman's Amazon Central author page. He is a member in good standing of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (member page).

 

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As Chuck winds down, actor Scott Krinsky gets to stretch! (Audio Interview)

Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of carbon monoxide-fueled psychopaths who probably won’t go on living after the last new episode of “Chuck” airs… in the NEW new media capitol of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida!

By Bob Andelman

Mr. Media® Radio Network • Email • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • YouTube • Free Mr. Media Android App • Stitcher

"Chuck vs. Tom Sawyer" Episode 205 -- Pictured: (l-r) Zachary Levi as Chuck, Scott Krinsky as Jeff (NBC Photo: Adam Taylor)

If you don’t think most TV shows are very good at character development and growth these days, I’d encourage you to take a look at NBC’s “Chuck” as it winds down its five year run with two final episodes, tonight, Friday, January 13 at 8 p.m. and next week, January 20.

For a show that has lived under threat of cancellation almost from day one, “Chuck” has nonetheless evolved its overall storyline and the lives of each of its players. Chuck Bartowski, for example, is no longer an accidental spy with a supercomputer in his brain; he’s the real thing, doing the job without high tech enhancements.

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]

You can LISTEN to this interview with actor SCOTT KRINSKY, co-star of NBC's CHUCK, by clicking the audio player above!

Order 'Chuck: The Complete First and Second Seasons' by clicking the images above!

[amazon_link id="B002WNUVIE" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ][/amazon_link]And what about second banana Jeff Barnes? After years of being drug-addled, sex-crazed and just plain creepy, we learned that his best friend Lester Patel made him this way by pumping carbon monoxide fumes into his van! Turns out Jeff is a somewhat regular guy – with pretty good powers of deduction.

Last week, after five years, he put together a series of clues and deduced that there was a spy ring operating beneath the Buy More. Imagine that!

My suspicion is that restoring Jeff to normality was the show’s producers handing actor Scott Krinsky a parting gift. They had to know it might tough for him landing future roles with such a convincing portrayal of a loser and, I believe, gave his character back some semblence of normalcy to let future casting directors see Krinsky in a more employable light.

But rather than guess, I’ll ask him.

Scott Krinsky as Jeff Barnes on NBC's "Chuck" (NBC Photo: Mitchell Haaseth)

(By the way, this is Scott’s second appearance on Mr. Media. He was last here promoting his appearance as guest host at the Acme Comedy Theater.)

Scott Krinsky Website • MySpace • Twitter • Facebook • Order 'Chuck' Seasons 1 and 2 on DVD

SCOTT KRINSKY audio excerpt: "It was nice to, after all these years of playing Jeff one way, it was nice to see him have a little growth and maturity. He was at the Buy More for 20 years! It was nice to see he had some potential to turn his life around." 

More Mr. Media Interviews with the Cast of Chuck:

• Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah)

• Josh Gomez (Morgan, 2008 •  2010)

• Ryan McPartlin (Captain Awesome)

• Vik Sahay (Lester, 2009 • 2010)

• Scott Krinsky (Jeff)

• Ken Davitian (Sarah's Uncle Bernie)

• Noureen DeWulf (Lizzie, in Chuck vs. the Marlin • Video)

Bob Andelman is the author or co-author of 12 books, including Mind Over Business with Ken Baum, The Consulate with Thomas R. Stutler, The Profiler with Pat Brown, Built From Scratch with the founders of The Home Depot, The Profit Zone with Adrian Slywotzky, Mean Business with Albert J. Dunlap, and Will Eisner: A Spirited Life. Click here to see Bob Andelman's Amazon Central author page. He is a member in good standing of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (member page).

 

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