Above check out an interview with Miley Cyrus that was posted on MileyWorld.com. Miley talks about how “gossip sites are high school times 1000,” and how she stays out of the Hollywood drama, including Twitter. (source)

Q102’s music-meets-fashion contest for local bands called Project Indie is now in its final round, with five bands winning the chance to have official band T-shirts designed and produced by five artists selected by Indie Boutique (320 E. Walnut St., 417-865-5400) and reproduced for sale by the band and in the store. The T-shirt design-off, as it were, takes place this Friday (October 2) at Indie starting at 5 p.m. The store’s customers will vote for the winner among the five, and the prize is the headlining slot at an upcoming Q102 Homegrown show. It could be any one of these five:

The Beautifully Broken

The Dark Alleys

Formant

The Highest Priest

We Are Like the Spider

If you’re just in it to buy some local-band threads, you’re in luck; all five groups will have their designed shirts available for sale at Indie, no matter who the winner is. That said, good luck to all five finalists and here’s to seeing some impressive finished products.

***UPDATE*** Here is some added info, courtesy of Lucia of We Are Like the Spider:

“* Voting is open ANYTIME from October 3rd – October 31st @ INDIE. Next time you are downtown swing by INDIE to vote.

“* During Artwalk the designers will actually be creating the design for the t-shirts. Voting then begins the following day.”

This weekend has been all about radio.. I reckon if I went back in time to meet the 16 year old me (shudder) I’d be doing the same as I was this weekend (unsure if that’s a good thing or not).

I spent yesterday in the company of some Twitter and new friends at a Radio Workshop run by Brian McColl of BMacMedia.com I really enjoyed the day, it was informative, easy to understand and was great basically to get my head back in radio space.

Brian pointed out some of the things we take for granted on radio, along with cliches to avoid and other tips.

His special guest speaker was Debbie Allen, who now works on Dublin’s Q102. I found Debbie quite inspirational and listening to her gave me a right kick to get out there and do something.

So I did.

Today I did my first live radio show in about 13 years when I co-presented 11-2 on Hot Country (104.2 / 88.1) with the Legend that is Simon Young.

I was a little on the apprehensive side, not knowing what to expect but it all went swimmingly. We got some real texts from listeners and some great feedback off air from some industry pros. I was gobsmacked as I spoke to Ian Dempsey from Today FM as I waited to do a link

I always liked American Country, even though I haven’t consciously listened to any lately, I was surprised that I knew most of the songs on our playlist for today's show. When I think about it, the first thing I ever did was make the tea on Eddie Caffrey's Green Scene on LMFM. Another coincidence, LMFM was broadcasting 20 years this week.. time flies.

I've figured out now that I as probably too shy to pursue my radio dream when I was so young. But, I have to say the words of encouragement I've received today from not only family but my new Hot Country Friends and listeners mean this time I'm going to grab every chance with both hands.

The show worked well, myself and Simon clicked, especially when we met for the first time the other night. I'm looking forward to the next 13 weekends on Hot Country 881 and 1042.

Lastly, Jim and Joe, I said it earlier but thank you so much for this chance! Appreciate it – pity the minidisc only recorded 4 minutes..

…nessy out!

Q102 and Indie are combining music and fashion to bring you Project Indie. 5 local designers will be picked to design t shirts for 5 selected bands. Its a win for designers, cuz they’ll get their stuff all over town and sold at Indie. Its a win for bands cuz their name will be all over shirts all over town PLUS they’ll get to play a Homegrown show. BOTH DESIGNERS AND BANDS must enter their stuff…details…
From Indie’s MySpace blog:

I’m so excited to kick off Project INDIE 2009!!!!!  This year is going to be even more exciting than last year!!!  We have teamed up with Q102.1 to combine our 2 VERY favorite things!  LOCAL MUSIC and LOCAL DESIGNERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!  As you all SHOULD know – Shadow hosts the Homegrown Show every Tuesday night at 9:45pm on Q102.1.  Tune in every week to hear the best of Springfield’s local music scene!  Plus, you can check out the talent live at the Homegrown Concerts held at different locations each month!

So, basically there are two parts to the competition this year.

First – the designer competition – the winner will design a line of anything they want, sell it at INDIE, and WE PAY for it!!!

Anyone can enter the competition by emailing pictures of ANY TYPE of original artwork to INDIE!!  (indiellc@aol.com)  You should include a detailed description of the type of products you would want to make to sell at INDIE if you are the winner!  Then, we will select 5 finalists to compete in a T-shirt challenge that will be held in the store during the October Art Walk.  (So you HAVE to be available on October 2nd beginning at 5:00pm).  The challenge this year will kick ass!!!!!  We will be pairing up each designer with a local musician or band and they will create a t-shirt to promote the band!  The original design will be turning into a graphic design that can be printed on lots of tshirts and sold at INDIE!  So, even if you don’t win your shirt will be all over Springfield!!!!  The five t-shirts will be voted on by our customers and the winner will be announced on our 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY at the beginning of November!

Second – the musician/band competition – the winner will get to headline a Q102.1 Homegrown Concert!!!!!!

Shadow at Q102.1 will be handling the music side of our competition since she is the expert!!!!  Local musicians and bands should email their MP3s to shadow@q1021.fm to enter the competition.  Shadow will select 5 musicians/bands to participate in our t-shirt challenge.  The 5 finalists will give our designers direction and inspiration for a t-shirt design that best represents their music!  Then, the t-shirts will be sold at INDIE so everyone in Springfield will see them all over town!!!!!  Then, the winning musician/band will play at a Q102.1 Homegrown Concert!

So – tell all your friends – SUBMIT NOW!    Send us photos of your crayola drawings, graffiti tags, clothing samples, WHATEVER you want!!!!!!!!!!!!! OR send Shadow your music!!!!!!!!!!!

DEADLINE IS 9/19/09!!!!!!!

As soon as we have more details, we’ll let you know. In the meantime, if you’re a designer or in a band and want to participate…get your stuff in by 9/19/09!

Showgoers at last night’s Primer 55/Offset/Extreme Hate Frequency/Fiera show were in for an interesting surprise when Q102 DJ E-Man took the mic to bring Primer 55 onstage. Two bits of news, in fact. First, “The Evolution,” E-Man’s weekly overnight all-metal show on Sunday nights, is dead. Instead, E-Man proclaimed from the stage, he will begin hosting a local-music show on Friday nights in the near future, likely starting at 10 p.m. Knowing E-Man’s affinity for metal music, it’s likely local metal bands will be the most immediate benefactors, but it remains to be seen. In the meantime, we can all bask in the boon of attention local radio is giving music in the city, with “Rock Talk” Sunday nights on Z 106.7, “The Blues Show” with Dr. Bob on US97 Sunday mornings and Q’s weekly spotlight show, “15 Minutes of Fame.” Ahhh… feel the local-airwaves goodness.

Members of Cincy Tastecasting Team

Being a member on the Cincy Tastecasting Team has a lot of perks including the most important of tasting delicious food from our very own city.  This past week the team gathered at Sawyer Point to try out a lunch meal from World Food Bar.  World Food Bar is a new creation by a Cincinnati native, chef Joshua Campbell, located in the historic Findlay Market.  The atmosphere of trying this new eclectic food on the picnic benches of Sawyer Point was just cool.   The Q102 Bud Party crew was setting up for the Wednesday night Party in the Park and the forecast was a bit cloudy and the temperature was low – absolutely perfect weather for a tasting!

Each member was given a menu and the choice to pick from the “Boxed Lunch” section which can be viewed here. 

For $9.50 you were to select 1 choice from either the sandwiches, satays or take out salads.  1 choice from sides/deli salads.  1 choice from desserts.  Plus all boxed lunches came with either a bottled water, thai tea or soda.  I must also mention that there is free delivery in the city of Cincinnati – you will want to call Chef Joshua at World Food Bar for the details 513-342-1968.

My lunch

My Lunch - Read below for all the YUMMY details!

I chose the sandwich over the satay and salad – my sandwich was the slow roasted lamb on toasted flat bread with fresh tomato, arugula, and lemon cucumber yogurt sauce sandwich.  The lemon in the yogurt sauce was extremley noticeable making this a light and fresh choice that would be tasty for any summer day. 

My side was the hummus – I have to admit this was the most excellent choice because the portion World Food Bar gives you for a boxed lunch was HUGE!  Check out the picture above, honestly you are given a grocery store sized container.  I was able to use the extra pita bread given to me to dip in the hummus and I actually put a little on my lamb sandwich too.  I still can’t believe the portion of the hummus, this has honestly been a side dish that keeps giving this week for all my snack craves.

I chose the Ancho Chili Chocolate Brownies – The dessert choices were pretty tough to choose from but out of all my choices this was my absolute best of the day!  The brownies were so chewy and chocolatey and had the best “finger-licking” icing.  I actually shared my brownie with Krista Neher for a few reasons; 1. I’m just that nice 2. The portion was ginormous and was easily shared (for those of you who know me I don’t normally like to share) 3. I wanted someone else to experience the delicousness that I was experiencing 4. And maybe I also wanted someone else to take the brownie away from me so I wouldn’t eat the whole thing…..how many Weight Watcher points do you think that was?

Last choice was the drink – I was intrigued by the Thai Tea and decided to give that a whirl.  Honestly, I thought it had a unique taste and I can’t quite put my finger on the actual flavor.  Just having a taste at Essencha in Oakley I’m more in-tune with my “tea” side but this was a flavor unlike any other. 

All in all I’d say that the World Food Bar is an experience that you just have to try out for the sake of doing something different.  I come from a family that is into fries and burgers and most of the local restaurants in the upper suburbs of Cincinnati so my taste buds do a little wiggle when I try something out of the box, and this was certainly out of the box.  Next time you are in Findlay Market I would suggest you pop in to say “Hi” to Chef Joshua and try out his new creations or you can check them out online http://www.worldfoodbar.com/

*Note – The TasteCasting Team Members are not professional food critics. TasteCasting combines socially networked people and the social media platforms and applications they use to help establishments build awareness, announce grand openings, introduce new menu items, distribute special offers and encourage people to visit the establishment.

Tonight many music-scene veterans will converge on Nathan P. Murphy’s for a show to support one of their own. James Davis, son of MK Ultra gutarist Kevin Flannery, died recently, and tonight The Murph Dome puts on a monster concert in his honor with Plasticity Switch, Pillbox, About Time, Allie Catz, Ilijah and Tokyo Sauna. It’s a big night for the acts involved–hell, Allie Catz reunited just for this show–and, hopefully, a moment of solace for the grief-stricken parents. All proceeds go toward the James Davis Foundation, so come out in droves and enjoy a good show to help out a family wanting to give its son the sendoff he deserves.

Elsewhere around town you’ll find the following:

* Black Box Revue with special guest Franki Chan at The Outland. BBR is keeping the summer hot with a string of guest performers for its weekly Friday-night gigs, and they kick it off with one of the hottest DJs in the L.A. underground scene. Not to be missed.

* For the Fallen Dreams, Abacabb, Stray From the Path, Screwtape Letters and A Sleepless Legacy at The Outland Ballroom. Vance Productions brings out some of hardcore’s heavy hitters, both touring and local. It should be fun to see what they can do in the larger room; many of their previous shows have filled The Blue Room at Billiards of Springfield. Elbow(-throwing) room, anyone?

* Q102 Homegrown at The High Life Live Martini Lounge with BringYourGreenHat, Shadows Move and Tuck & Abney. Three very popular artists with three very different styles of playing. We’re praying for collabos.

* Cindy Woolf, Chris Darby, Bottlefish and Charliehorse at Lindberg’s. We’ve listed these in reverse order of performance, and for this reason: Woolf has booked a special super-early show to kick things off. Be there at 7 p.m. to be sure and catch her set. 

* Trash Angels at Dennis’ Place

* The Shotgun Brothers at Patton Alley Pub

* Kevin Friday, aka Kevin Binder, at The Tipsy Turtle Pub. Back-to-back Fridays for Mr. Friday at the solo-artist-friendly pub. We continue to hear talk of a solo record on the way. One day… one day…

Justin Bieber

El joven artista Justin Bieber, con tan solo 15 años de edad, originario de Canada, ya saco su nuevo sencillo “One Time”. Veanlo aqui y tambien estan sus letras y unos videos de “Behind the Scenes” y entrevistas.

Y siganlo en:

Twitter
Facebook
Myspace
imeem
iLike
Youtube

Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye.
Me, plus you. Im’a tell you one time
Me, plus you. Im’a tell you one time
Me, plus you. Im’a tell you one time, one time, one time.
When I met you girl my heart went knock, knock
Now them butterflies in my stomach wont stop stop
and even thought it’s a struggle love is all we got
so we gonna keep keep climbin till the mountain top
your world is my world And my fight is your fight
my breath is your breath And your heart (and now I’ve got my)

[Chorus]
One love, My one heart, My one life for sure
Let me tell you one time (girl I love, girl I love you)
Im’a tell you one time (girl I love, girl I love you)
and I’ll be your one guy You’ll be my number one girl
Always making time for you
Im’a tell you one time (girl I love, girl I love you)
Im’a tell you one time (girl I love, girl I love you)

You look so deep, You no that it humbles me
You by my side and troubles them dont trouble me
Many have called but the chosen is you
Whatevery you want shawty I’ll give it to you
your world is my world And my fight is your fight
my breath is your breath, And your heart (and now I’ve got my)

[Chorus]
One love, My one heart, My one life for sure
Let me tell you one time (girl I love, girl I love you)
Im’a tell you one time (girl I love, girl I love you)
and Im’a your one, guy
You’ll be my number 1 girl always makin time for you
Im’a tell you one time (girl I love, girl I love you)
Im’a tell you one time (girl I love, girl I love you)

Shawty right there
Shes got everything I need and Im’a tell her one time
Give you everything you need, down to my last dime
She makes me happy, I know where I’ll be
Right by your side cause she is the one

[Chorus]
And girl you’re My one love
My one heart my one life for sure
Let me tell you one time (girl I love, girl I love you)
Im’a tell you one time (girl I love, girl I love you)
and I’ll be your one, guy
You’ll be my number 1 girl always makin’ time for you
Im’a tell you one time (one time)
Im’a tell you one time (one time)

Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye.
Me, plus you. Im’a tell you one time
Me, plus you. Im’a tell you one time
Me, plus you. Im’a tell you one time, one time, one time.

“I never told a soul just how I’ve been feeling about you
But they said it really loud
They said it on the air
On the radio whoa oh oh
On the radio whoa oh oh
On the radio whoa oh oh
On the radio whoa oh oh now, now”- Donna Summer, On The Radio

I should probably be blogging about my recent breakup with Shelley, but I’ve talked it out to so many people that it doesn’t really feel neccesary at this point. Cliffnote edition is that she lied, I called her out, we’re over. I’ve seen people I love get lied to over and over, and as much as it hurt to end it and see her in pain, I don’t regret it at all. Lying is my dealbreaker.

So, now that we’ve sorta covered that, let’s get to what I really want to talk about. The radio. First I should say that I’m so sick of “my music” lately. None of my favorites are doing it for me at the moment, and I find myself skipping twenty or thirty times on Itunes before I find something I feel like listening to. This is especially a problem in my non-Ipod-friendly Dodge Neon, in which I must listen to a mix CD of a maximum of 20 songs. So, needless to say, the dissatisfaction with music definitely is evident in my driving. I have three or four mix CDs in the car now, and I’m skipping through each one. There’s a few songs I like on each- nothing like harmonizing to I’m On Fire on rainy Monday morning- but for the most part I’m frustrated.

So, I gave myself a challenge on Monday. No CDs. I got my car manual out, figured out how to preset stations on my system, and did. I have four settings, so I had to choose wisely. Vineland is a convenient location, as I can pick up Philly stations and South Jersey stations. So on my settings I have: Q102 (billboard hits and such), Wired 96.5 (rap/hip-hop station), SoJo 104.9 (80s, 90s, and today), and B 101 (today’s soft rock). I wasn’t sure what I was getting into, but I was ready.

See, I openly love pop music. I’ve never ever played the pretentious I’m-too-good-for-that card just because I listen to singer-songwriters. I mean, just look at my itunes. I have 27 Jonatha Brooke Songs, and 27 Lil Wayne songs. I have more Britney Spears than I do Aimee Mann. Joni Mitchell right next to Kelly Clarkson next to Lily Allen next to Norah Jones. The entire No Doubt catalog; the entire Nickel Creek catalog. Most Played Songs, you ask? Top three- “Moon Song” by Patty Griffin, “99 Problems/Pull My Hair Out” by Jay-Z and Samantha Ronson, and “Faster” by Third Eye Blind. There’s no type of music I really can’t find something in. I even respect the screamo genre, no matter how much I don’t understand it.

Also it must be said that, although I don’t listen to the radio hardly ever, I do have a good amount of knowledge about what’s playing. I know my Lady Gaga, I know my Black Eyed Peas, and I know my Katy Perry. But I decided to go into this experiment blind, with no reservations and no judgements, and just listen. Just listen- when have I ever just listened?!

Okay, so first observation is this: “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas is forever playing. At one point yesterday while listening to Q102, I decided to switch over to another station after hearing the ever-familiar “gotta get that/gotta get that”. I hit another station, only to pick up at the bridge where Fergie breaks it down. I’ve heard it, not even exaggerating here, close to twenty times this week. It’s the number one most played on Q102, Wired 96.5, AND SoJo. And I’ll be honest- I love it. Fucking good song! Here are some sample lyrics, in case you’re living in the Arctic Circle-

I like that boom boom pow
Them chicken jackin’ my style
They try copy my swagger
I’m on that next shit now
I’m so 3008
You so 2000 and late

So, lyrically not really incredible, obv. But, the beat is sick. And the whole Fergie breakdown when she yells “put your hands in the air/for will.i.am”- gah, love it.

I also can’t get away from Lady Gaga which is so not a problem at this point. I love her. Don’t care what that says about me or my taste, but I think she’s the new Madonna. Call me a blasphemer, and what the fuck do I know, but I stand by it. Even if you can’t stand her, everyone can agree she’s producing hits. “Just Dance” then “Poker Face”- now we’ve got “LoveGame” and “Paparazzi”. I remember hearing “Just Dance” last year and I was like- party jam forever. And really, wasn’t expecting much more. One party jam per artist is plenty acceptable. And then “Poker Face” came out and I realized that she’s fucking talented. As I’ve stated, “Poker Face” is my anthem. I think it’s a perfect, awesome, wonderful, fun song that I never get sick of. I’ve heard it plenty this week, and am still equally excited at the first few bars. Here’s a lyrical sampling-

I wanna roll with him, a hard pair we will be
A little gambling is fun when you’re with me (I love it)
Russian Roulette is not the same without a gun
And baby when it’s love if it’s not rough it isn’t fun

I especially love those last two lines. I mean, I wish I wrote that. Rare to hear lyrics that well-formed on the radio. I was taken aback. I also loved the song more when I saw an interview with Lady where she explained that it was a metaphor for her vagina, especially the “bluffin with my muffin” line.

Obviously, it’s my pussy’s poker face! I took that line from another song I wrote but never released, called “Blueberry Kisses.” It was about a girl singing to her boyfriend about how she wants him to go down on her, and I used the lyric. [Gaga sings] “Blueberry kisses, the muffin man misses them kisses.

And then there’s the contagious “LoveGame” that I’ve also experienced the two-stations-at-once situation with. Love the verse though-

I wanna kiss you
But if I do then I might miss you, BABE
It’s complicated and stupid
Got my ass squeezed by sexy cupid
Guess he wants to play, wants to play
A LoveGame, a LoveGame

I’m sorry, but how can you not love her?!

What else have I been hearing? Hmmm. Well, Kelly Clarkson- both “My Life Would Suck Without You” and “I Do Not Hook Up”. Both are great musically, and not terrible lyrically either. They’re fun summer songs. Good for KC. Although, when she says “I know that I’ve got issues/but you’re pretty messed up too” I really wish she’d just substitute “fucked” for “messed” because invariably that’s what I end up singing. I digress.

“You Found Me” from The Fray is definitely overplayed, but I still think it’s a gorgeous song. I love that guy’s voice. I’m seeing them with Maria next week, excited to see what their live show is like.

Big fan of Pink’s “Sober” and “Please Don’t Leave Me”. I’ve always loved her because I think she just kicks so much ass. And vocally, sylistically, and lyrically she is heads above most of the stuff she’s competing against for radioplay. I really wish she’d tour, because I bet her live show is sick too.

“If You Seek Amy” is still a fantastic pop song, but I’ve only heard it once or twice this week. I guess that means it’s on its way out? But, no fear, “Radar” is being ushered in as the next Britney hit. And how can you not love a song with lyrics like this-

A man with a Midas touch,
Intoxicate me, I’m a lush,
Stop! You’re makin’ me blush,
People are lookin’ at us.

Very similar to Emily Dickinson, no?

I’m sorta sick of Katy Perry, and didn’t like “Waking Up In Vegas” or “Thinking Of You” at all. Still love “Hot and Cold” and “I Kissed A Girl”. Wondering what she’ll do with her next CD, because I feel like she got really lucky with IKAG getting so popular. Same thing with Jordin Sparks. Loved “Tattoo” and “No Air”, but can’t stand “Battlefield” for the life of me. Amy already remarked on the Pat Benatar issue, but it still holds true. Love feels like a battlefield because Pat Benatar said so. Duh.

Jeremih’s “Birthday Sex” is on it’s way to being my ringtone. I have no idea what he’s saying for the majority of the song, and I doubt we’ll ever hear from Jeremih again, but these lyrics below are some of my favorites of the summer.

Girl, you know I-I-I, girl, you know I-I-I
Don’t need candles and cake
Just need your body to make
Birthday sex, birthday sex

What else? Kanye West. I think he’s a dick, but “Love Lockdown” and “Heartless” are both favorites of mine. Especially love The Fray’s cover of “Heartless”. Kanye’s prodigy Estelle and her hit “American Boy” are day-old-news, but I’ve still managed to hear the song three or four times this week. I dig it. Good voice. (Speaking of Kanye, love love love Jamie Foxx’s “Blame It on the Alcohol”, and enjoyed the hell out of it for the minute and a half the DJ got away with it at prom.)

I love me some Taylor Swift, if not solely for the fact that you KNOW she fucked around on a JoBro. And she’s totally flipping him off all over her new record, and I’m listening to country just for that reason. “Love Story” isn’t actually my favorite of hers- “Picture To Burn” in case you were wondering- but still a good listen. I like that she writes her own songs too. I feel like that’s an exception to the rule anymore, so good for her.

Male bands are pretty much not my thing, but I do like 3OH!3’s “Don’t Trust Me” despite their stupid name. Lyrics, for your enjoyment:

tongues, always pressed to your cheeks.
while my tongue is on the inside of some other girl’s teeth.
tell your boyfriend, if he says he’s got beef,
that I’m a vegetarian, and I ain’t fucking scared of him.

Also good is “Gives You Hell” from the all-male All American Rejects. Probably one of the better breakup songs that I’ve heard as of late. Just a huge eff you, and dear me do I love an eff you song.

If you find a man
That’s worth a damn
And treats you well
Then he’s a fool
You’re just as well
Hope it gives you hell

Eff you, indeed.

Kings of Leon somehow has TWO songs on the radio, and good for them. But I don’t think they fit in for this blog post, because I just don’t group them with any of these artists. For me, they are real musicians. Both “Sex on Fire” and “Use Somebody” are awesome songs, but just not in the way that some of these ones are. If that makes sense.

So while I love most of these songs, there are ones I can’t stand. Songs I can’t stand for the life of me include but are not limited to:  ”Halo” by Beyonce, “Right Round” by Flo Rida/Keesha, “Kiss Me Thrue The Phone” from Soula Boy, “Knock You Down” from Keri Hilson, and “If Today Was Your Last Day” by Nickelback.

Actually, any song from Nickelback. It was Nickelbackaphobia that nearly stopped me from dabbling in this experiment. Gratefully I only heard that POS song once. And once, as always, was plenty.

(This was a ridic amount of fun.)

Okay, so the song that I’m referring to in my blog title really isn’t the correct spelling of “Jesy” and let’s face it, the song isn’t referring to a woman either.  But anyone who really knows me knows that when the Grammy Award-winning song “Jessie’s Girl” comes on I absolutely go nuts.  Sure, I love the way Rick Springfield belts out the tunes on Miss Pink (my iPod) but nothing beats a summer evening with The Rusty Griswolds and their rendition of the popular 80’s song. 

The Rusty Griswolds are a staple 80’s cover band in the ‘Nati that I like to see any chance I get.  They are entertaining, full of energy, nerdy but yet so cool and they love their Cincinnati fans.  For me this will be a “RustyG” couple of weeks starting with being named, “Super Fan” on my TV debut with the loveable Cooking With Caitlin trio.  Cooking with Caitlin kicked off the summer Fountain Square lunch entertainment with their weekly live cooking show and special guests The Rusty Griswolds of course.  I was able to talk to the guys and told them all about my Rusty Girl t-shirt and how everytime they sing, “Jessie’s Girl” my friends and I dance super crazy. 

Tonight The Rusty G’s will be playing at the All Saints Festival in Montgomery, OH (yay!) and this Wednesday they will be at the Q102/Bud Select Party at Sawyer Point in Cincinnati.  Anytime you check out the band, look for me in my hot pink Rusty Girl t-shirt or buzz me on my blog and I’ll certainly meet you up there for at least one song….hmmm….wonder which one that will be?

This week has already been absolutely absurd. We’ve already had SOJA and Girl Talk in Springfield, and now the weekend arrives with more concerts than one person can possibly take in. Your local clubs, concert promoters, radio stations and onstage talents are out to blow your mind these next two days, and they’re bringing the big, mean warheads to do it. The only thing missing is Slim Pickens riding them on the way down. It’s a preponderance of shows so enormous our own Scott P. has coined the phrase “South By Southwest Missouri” in its honor. Call it SXSWMO for short. Your latest installment of shows awaits you after the break.

* C-Street Jam finally returns! It’s been two years since the last Commercial-Street music festival took place, but it’s back in full force this weekend. SIX stages of music tomorrow, with a kickoff show tonight, and you can get the rundown of who is where for both by clicking here.

* Q102 Homegrown with Glass Bottom Boat Ride, Hope in the Unseen and Afraid Of Monsters at The Outland Ballroom. GBBR is filming a DVD of tonight’s concert, so if you come to tonight’s show you’ll be a part of one local band’s own Live at Budokan.

* Black Box Revue with Woodhands at The Outland. If you haven’t heard them before, this Canadian group lays a killer groove. If you’re not attending shows by Black Box’s touring artists on faith alone yet, this show could put you over the top.

* Los Bastardos reunites for one night only at The High Life Live Martini Lounge. The well-known Primus tribute band relives the magic with bassist Brian Adams in town from Colorado for the weekend. Who better to open the show than Knife*Death?

* Whoreberry Cobbler and AcuMen at The Tipsy Turtle Pub. These two acts were regular collaborators a few years ago; tonight marks their first show together in two years.

* The Spacetones playing not once but twice tonight, at Plaster Student Union at 10 p.m. (FREE show!), and at The Underground under The Magic Bean Coffeehouse at 11:15 p.m. Dead Day with The Spacetones promises to be one hectic night. Watch for a hip-hop-meets-electro set at the end of the Underground show to close out the night.

* Greene Coast at Nathan P. Murphy’s, with special guest Dan Weinhaus. The former frontman of This Rocket House is back in Springfield tonight and bringing a little something extra to an already fabulously talented group. We caught this combination Don’t miss.

* Frog Eye Jug Band at Patton Alley Pub

* Pat Pending at Archie’s Lounge

It’s been a busy week at Swop-o-nomics. When we weren’t fending off paparazzi I was getting weird looks for walking down busy streets with me in my brand new (well, circa 1970) rubber gas mask.

So as you might expect, we’re really pushing to get the word out about the site, the more members and visitors, the better it gets. We got a little bit of much welcomed media attention this week. Gerry and ermm… “Geoff” appeared in last weeks Southside People, a few days later we got some wider attention with an appearance in the Evening Herald, they took our photo’s too but evidently we weren’t good looking enough to make the website! I was lucky enough to get my mug in the paper though, placed right next to the unfortunate story “Teenage girl finds burglar in bedroom”, no doubt he was going to leave something in exchange for whatever he took…

This morning Gerry gave an interview to Beat fm 102-103 and I will be having a chat with Q102’s Scott William today (Wednesday 29th April) at 18.45 and 4FM’s Michael Comyn on the Sunday Breakfast show. Tune in!

And we’re being blogged and tweeted all over the place so thanks Derry and keep up the good work guys, we need your help!

As for my little project of bartering my way from a money clip and to something great, well I already have something great… but I want greater! I managed to meet up with Dani in her college to make the first trade of the money clip (with dollars included!) for her Zackynthos mug. What a mug it was, the Greek tea tasted so sweet and Greek. (Greek Tea – its like Irish coffee but tea instead of coffee and Greek Ouzo instead of whiskey.)(ok, I invented it.)(it wasn’t good.)

After getting the mug i received a post from greenersean saying that he had a gas-mask to swap for the mug, a real life Soviet Cold-War gas mask! Now I could’t pass up an opportunity like that! I hopped into my car, mug in hand, and drove to the address greenersean gave me. After brief pleasantries (turns out Sean is Greek, it all makes perfect sense now!) he presented the mask, obviously I couldn’t resist trying it on. Sean was even kind enough to offer me a cup of tea (in some sort of ‘normal’ mug) but I was glad to see how happy his new mug made him, obviously terribly home-sick, bless.

So that’s the latest update, remember to tune into Q102, 4Fm… Keep on blogging and spreading the word about Swop-o-nomics and if you want to get your hands on my new gas-mask, make me an offer!

Last night, after some post-work pints with the intelligentia, I turned away from the dead loves that were born for me and flagged a taxi on Georges Street. Which, thankfully, these days isn’t too difficult on the monster’s back.

The driver looked like one of the Guildford Four or the Birmingham 6. Not sure which. But anyway, surprise surfuckingprise Q102 was the swinish radio station of choice. Steaming dunghills.

The first song I heard was some woe bejaysus-awful Mike & the Mechanics number. A song of cowards’ brood.

But then they played a song from my youth, my formative days. From when my stumble had the poise and stride of Apollo. It was a song I once thought was against the grain, counter culture almost. Obviously not any more.

And a little piece of me died right there and then in that taxi. Lost the long hours of pleasure. Thanks to Q102.

You flung a ditch on my vision of beauty, love and truth. The laugh from my love you thieved. And I paid €15 for the privelige.

But hey you followed it up with some Laura Izibor.

We’re not sure how or why, but Q102’s Homegrown shows have a way of sneaking up on us. Has it really been a month since Superstring Theory, Assembly Line Gods and Knife*Death at The High Life Live Martini Lounge? It certainly has, and the next installment is upon us. This time, Q’s feeling a little bit country: The Chance Ray Band and Brian Lumley & Red Dirt Underground descend upon Lindberg’s this Friday (April 17) to give local country and roots rock a little extra push into the public consciousness. It doesn’t need a big push, given the proliferation of Red Dirt shows at the Ballroom and Remmingtons Downtown, to say nothing of emerging local roots acts such as The Cropdusters, Bottlefish and The Bootheel. It just needs the attention of local radio, and Friday it’s getting it. The show costs $5 and should start around 10 p.m.

Q102 is on a roll. The last Homegrown concert with Levee, Berlin Drop and Bender drew a raucous crowd to Nathan P. Murphy’s to rock out like it was 1976. To keep the momentum going, the station is taking its monthly rock show in another direction: free-range prog rock. Let’s get experimental, shall we? Super String Theory headlines this month’s edition of Homegrown, along with metal up-and-comers Assembly Line Gods and the barely controlled madness known as Knife*Death. They’ll all pile into the Outland Ballroom High Life Live Martini Lounge Saturday night (March 28) under the sweet lighting and audio system. Trip-the-light fantastic? Quite possibly.

Q102’s Homegrown concert series is finally resurrected, and it’s wasting no time in bringing a show that will knock you back a few decades. Retro-rock powerhouse Levee, back from the dead itself, will headline only the second show of its comeback Saturday, February 28 at Nathan P. Murphy’s. Accompanying them are Bender, one of the scene’s most talented and broad-ranging cover bands that is–get this–also working on originals now; Berlin Drop, a group that tips its hat to the bluesy psychadelic rock of the early ’70s; and Armada. Q102 will be on-hand the night of the show with live remotes and to introduce a true old-school balls-out rawk show at one of the city’s historic clubs. Tickets are $8 ($10 for minors) and the show will begin at 8 p.m. When you wake up Sunday morning, it will be 2009 again. Promise. But we can’t guarantee you won’t have a hangover from the ride.

Former CBS3 reporter Angela Russell got a new gig in Seattle not long after being dumped in Philly.

For good or for bad, some of our favorite on-air personalities will land on his or her respective feet after all.

VINCE DeMENTRI

The ousted NBC10 anchor, who allegedly fought and may have had an affair with co-anchor Lori Delgado, is heading back to his earlier days. WPRI in Providence, R.I., is accepting DeMentri back after he left the station for bigger and better things in the early 1990s. The Temple alum settled with NBC out of court for an undisclosed amount.

Of course, it’s a huge downgrade for DeMentri, going from the No. 4 market to No. 43. But perhaps he should be thankful for having a job in the first place.

BOOKER

Alycia Lane can rest easy. Her radio boyfriend, Chris Booker, who was fired from Q102 last year, has returned back to his alma mater, K-Rock 9.23 F, in New York City. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Booker never gave up his NYC apartment, which happens to be right across the street from K-Rock.

Booker was unexpectedly fired in May despite a popular radio show. His girl, Alycia, is from Long Island and began her television career there. Perhaps there will be an opening there sometime soon, so she, too, can get back to her roots.

ANGELA RUSSELL

My favorite, and perhaps the most deserved, soft landing goes to CBS3 alum Angela Russell. She, also, was unexpectedly axed earlier this month after KYW decided not to renew her contract. However, another station across the country noticed Russell’s talent. Instead of her 4 p.m. anchor job in Philly, she’s heading west to Seattle where she’ll be the lead anchor for KIRO, the CBS station there, at 5, 6 and 11 p.m.

Russell has always been one of my favorite anchors/reporters in the Philadelphia market, and perhaps one of the least controversial, so I’m very happy to see her with such a great opportunity. Gives me reason to move to No. 13 Seattle, despite the rain.

Broadcast journalism lives on.

Ashley Tisdale sat down with Z100 radio personality JJ to discuss her music-including her single from the 2007 Holiday Season, Last Christmas, and her new house that her dad is building from scratch! It’s a good interview so that’s available for viewing above. Also, Ashley will be hosting yet another Jingle Ball, this time it will be TONIGHT with Q102 in New Jersey. Keeping Busy!

Alright, the end of the semester has finally come, which means final projects as well.  It took me a little while to think of a topic, but I’ve decided to compare different types of lifestyles of the Rowan University student body.  Although I am not a member of a fraternity, I interviewed members of the Phi Sigma Sigma Sorority and the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity.  I also talked to many Rowan students who are not in fraternities or sororites, and I will also be using personal insight to explain what it’s like to be like the majority of the student body, and how the lifestyle at Rowan differs from those in fraternities and sororities. 

First, we’ll start with the Phi Sigma Sigma (Phi Sig for short) sorority.  This is a sorority of about 30 active “members”.  They have a sorority house, which is located on 127 State street.  This is a very good location for a sorority house, if you are 21 years of age, because it is literally directly across the street from The Landmark, which is the main restaurant/bar that Rowan students go to on the weekends.  Unfortunately for the sorority, they had their charter taken away last school year, meaning that they are no longer a nationally recognized chapter of their sorority.  However, until their charter was taken away from them, they did a ton of fundraising/community service events including bake sales, suicide prevention walks, candy gram sales, and worked at the annual Q102 Jingle Ball, where all of their earnings were donated to the National Kidney Foundation.  Also, before they lost their charter, they took place in many events as well, such as various homecoming events, Greek Week, weekly meetings, holiday parties, date parties, and a ton of fundraisers.  Although their charter was taken away from them, though, the sisters still all hang out and take part in many of these activities, even though they are not a nationally recognized chapter.  Regardless of the circumstances, they still all make a huge effort to still remain active as a sorority, and also all consider eachother to be their sisters.

Next, we’ll move onto the Delta Kappa Epsilon (Deek for short) fraternity.  Their fraternity house is located on 68 North Main Street, but it is currently being renovated.  They take part in certain community service events that they feel are for good causes (but are definately not saying that the other community service events aren’t).  Recently, they took place in Glassboro Day, and a Gloucester County walk for autism.  For fundraisers, they actually work for a fellow alumni (who also owns the fraternity house), who owns a company known as Cheertech, which runs cheerleading competitions.  The frat brothers work the competitions and run security.  Though they have not been hosting too many parties this semester, due to the fact that their house is being renovated, the brothers still all make an effort to hang out with eachother more than any of their other friends around campus.  Everyone in the frat absolutely loves it, as well.

Alright, now to the regular life around campus, not being in a fraternity or sorority.  The only main difference between not being in a sorority or a fraternity and living regularly at Rowan is that there are not nearly as many fundraisers.  Although there are many different fundraisers that students to put together, and many that students attend, it still does not compare to the effort and dedication that sororities and fraternities take part in.  Also, most of the students around campus who are not in sororities and fraternities have a smaller group of close friends, ranging from about 5-15 really close friends around campus.  However, in sororities and fraternities, they generally have more to about 25-35 really close friends.  All in all, I was surprised to find that Greek life around Rowan really isn’t that much different than normal life.  I hope that this helps to give people who are debating joining a fraternity or sorority a little bit more insight about the differences between Greek life, and normal life around Rowan’s campus.

Here is a map that I made showing where the fraternity and sorority houses are that I interviewed. Also, it shows you the Campus Crossings/Beau Apartments area where the majority of the non-Greek students live off campus.
View Larger Map

Welcome back to the way we were. Q102.1’s lauded Homegrown concert series brought legions of music fans to the station’s well-promoted-yet-oh-so-cheap shows, paying little more than a dollar to see the live-music party of the week. It all comes rushing back to life November 21 December 6 at the High Life and the Outland.

Hold the phone, DeRosh. What’s with the line-through-the-text thing? Didn’t you give the full lineup before?

Sure did. Get the full breakdown after the clickthrough.

The lineup for the first Homegrown show on December 6 isn’t announced yet; our previous listing was given to us in error. The bands are playing the venues, but in different events. The Sociables will play the first show of the High Life’s new live-music era November 21, followed by a concert of McGill and the Dirty Blondes on November 22. The Homegrown revival show is currently in the works as a combination of shows at the Outland complex, using the High Life, Outland and possibly the Outland Ballroom to host the event.

The December 6 show is significant for several reasons. First, obviously, is the aforementioned return of Q102’s concert series, heavily promoted in-house and putting the spotlight on worthy local acts. It’s been a long time coming at Q; the station recently began its “15 Minutes of Fame” local-music block during Shadow’s nighttime program, and the concert series is another step through the local-music door.

The other important event here is the transformation of the High Life Martini Lounge, a move we can’t overstate the significance of. Ladies and gentlemen, Scotty Dickinson is back in the live music business. Those among us who have been going to shows for many years will remember Dickinson from his involvement at the Juke Joint and at the Regency Showcase before that. Both were, in their time, among the premier places to catch a show in the city, but when the Juke Joint was sold and remade into the Rockwell, Dickinson took on managing the High Life and kept a lower profile. It took a few years, but he finally got restless and is diving back into putting on shows in his club. This is a boon to ALL genres in the local scene; Dickinson may be a rock guy at heart, but he knows good music of all kinds when he hears it, and he likely won’t hesitate to welcome any act of quality. Welcome back, Scotty. Live music missed you.

We’re throwin’ a party and everyone’s invited! 45 bands at 9 venues…only $10!

Q102’s radio spot for YOUR FourFourFest!

Again, we apologize for being a little slow with news posts lately. As many of you know, we’ve been working our tails off to bring the first ever FourFourFest to Springfield. FourFourFest is a local music festival with as many bands as we could pack into nine venues all on one night. The festival also is the kickoff of sorts to the return of the Q102 “Homegrown” local music concert series where once a month, they will feature a local show for super cheap and promote the daylights out of it.

Yes, there are A LOT of bands playing this thing. It’s going to be insanely crazy awesome! So go ahead hop around and visit a venue you haven’t been to in a while or at all…see a band or group you’ve heard from so and so is great but you’ve never actually checked out. Get out, experience and enjoy! Bring some friends cuz this is going to be one hell of a night.

Saturday, November 15
45 Bands
9 Venues
$10 Wristbands (access to all 9 venues)
Single entry available for $1 per band cover ($5 at most locations)

Get these banners at our Myspace.

There will be full schedules posted at each venue as well as handbills so  you know when and where all your favorite local bands are playing. Here’s the full schedule as of right now. Hopefully nothing else changes. If it does, we’ll let you know.

SCHEDULE:

Outland Ballroom
As Of Now           12:30 – 1:15 (backline cabs – as far back as possible)
All Kills Aside      11:30 – 12:15 (backline cabs in front of As of Now)
Burnt Echoes                     10:45 – 11:15
Extreme Hate Frequency    9:45 – 10:15
Fade 2 Fall                         9:00 – 9:30

Tipsy Turtle Pub

UPSTAIRS:
The Seed                  11:00 – whenever
Mike Reid & Erik McGreevy   9 – 10:30

DOWNSTAIRS:
Angry Panda                      11:00 – whenever
Chris Aytes                        9 – 10:30

Outland

The Verbs    12:00 – 12:45 (backline cabs – as far back as possible)
Ilijah                                                   10:45 – 11:30
The Short Histories of Powerful Nations     9:45 – 10:15
The Tall Dark and Handsomes                  9:00 – 9:30

High Life (*UPDATED)
SincerelyYours        12:00 – 12:45
Spacetones            11:00 – 11:30
AcuMen                 10:30 – 10:45
Dre                        10:00 – 10:15
J.L.                         9:30 – 9:45
Y-Esha                   9:00 – 9:15
(LemonDrop Records will be spinning all night between sets)

Nathan P. Murphy’s (All Ages)

Holstein                     12:30 – 1:15 (backline cabs – as far back as possible)
Nigel & the Ghost       11:30 – 12:15 (backline cabs in front of Holstein)
Let It Rain                   10:30 – 11:00
Honest Heathen          9:45 – 10:15
The Final Piece            9:00 – 9:30

Lindberg’s
S-Foil             12:15 – 1:00 (backline cabs – as far back as possible)
The Reacharounds    11:15 – 12:00 (backline cabs in front of S-Foil)
The Results   10:30 – 11:00
The Spites             9:45 – 10:15

Ground Xero
The Filthy Thirds     12:30 – 1:15 (backline cabs – as far back as possible)
Rot Gut Glory 11:30 – 12:15 (backline cabs in front of Filthy Thirds)
Knife*Death                 10:45 – 11:15
Whoreberry Cobbler        9:45 – 10:15
We Are Like the Spider    9:00 – 9:30

Patton Alley Pub
The Shotgun Brothers  12:30 – 1:15  (backline cabs – as far back as possible)
Eddie Gumucio                 11:30 – 12:15
Greene Coast                   10:45 – 11:15
Cooter Brown                   9:00 – 9:30

Ebbets Field (UPDATED)
UPSTAIRS
Jeremy Larson                11:30 – whenever
Lyal Strickland                 10:30 – 11:15
Brian Fitzgerald               9:45 – 10:15
The North Decade           9:00 – 9:30

DOWNSTAIRS
Brannon Powers              11:30 – whenever
The Lowdown Fancy         10:00 – 11:00

Thanks to Q102 and Coors for all of their help with the event.
Schedule is subject to change.

(Also, thank you to 106.7 for all of their support with Rock Talk and to US97/Nathan P. Murphy’s for additional radio spots!)