Idol Chatter

B-52s on Runway 2009

pinella — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:08:50 +0000

Ever wonder what the B-52s look like now?

Well, they performed on Saturday night at Stafford Lake in Novato at the 7th Annual Rock ‘n Blues By The Lake concert to benefit the Novato Public Schools.

If you enjoyed them back “then” I suppose you would enjoy them now. Like one guy in the crowd said, “Oh, I haven’t missed any of their Northern California performances ever.”

Oh, my … those fanatic fans. They can never get enough of that Love Shack…

Here they are on Saturday night:

Note to Blake Lewis: Get a better plan

pinella — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:47:16 +0000

: Blake Lewis Saturday (Sept. 26, 2009) in Novato

NOVATO – I clearly had no clue of what I was getting into by going to a Blake Lewis concert. Blake, you see, had been a runnerup on American Idol the season before I even knew AI existed. I am a late bloomer.

So, off I went to the 7th Annual Rock ‘n Blues By the Lake concert on Saturday. It’s a concert to benefit the Novato Public Schools and the cause was more than worthy.

Blake went on stage – yes, on shores of Lake Stafford – at about 5:15 p.m. and that was after his sound equipment was properly situated by, yes, Blake Lewis. Isn’t often you see one of the headliners at a concert come on-stage and help setup the speakers. But there he was. Kinda looked like me trying to attach the speakers in my living room.

That chore complete, he changed into a clean shirt and tie, maintained his white shades and in the 100-degree heat started his act. It lasted about 4 songs before the sound system went south and he had to improvise with some A) audience participation; and B) some scat, beatboxing with an old friend from Stanford who just happened to be around. Talented, yes; my style, no.

When Blake’s sound finally returned and he sang “How Many Words” and then “Rebel Without A Cause” (”It it kind of reggae-esque,” he explained) you could see huge glimpses of a talent there.

His second record (Heartbreak on Vinyl) comes out in two weeks and I intend to find it (that might be a chore) and listen to it (that shouldn’t be so bad). Blake appears to be a multi-talented performer but he needs to be pointed in a direction. At the moment he seems to be going five ways at once.

Being three years removed from AI that 15 minutes of fame has left the station. He’s on his own now and all I could do while watching him set up that speaker was to think of David Cook. Cook, an AI winner, is polished, has a sense of the industry he has to cultivate and he has a direction.

I honestly don’t think, in his own way, that Blake Lewis is any less talented than David Cook, it’s just that Lewis needs to let go of that rebel inside him, get with the right label, market himself better, use that God-given voice first and foremost and then gradually weave in those incredible beat-boxing/scat/ techno talents he has. It’ll be a shame if he winds up singing with a local rock band in Seattle and not becoming the talented artist he could be.

Here you can here and listen to him sing “How Many Words::

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbbzmx8CP1E

Blake Lewis sets up his equipment on Sept. 26, 2009 in Novato prior to his show

Blake Lewis toured … for awhile

pinella — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:05:19 +0000

Blake Lewis

The American Idol television adventure ended three years ago.

About four months after that, the AI Tour was complete.

What did Blake Lewis do then?

“We toured, all on the East Coast,” Lewis said, “but we cut it short to about three weeks.”

He went on to make a record and is working on a second one now. Then next month its off on another try at touring – October through December.

“We are working on tentative dates right now.” he said, “and again they are all on the East Coast. I don’t know why. Hey, I’m from the West Coast put us out here.”
For the moment, he’s been rehearsing for a local gig that will kinda kickstart that tour. He’ll be one of the headliners (B-52s are the main attraction) at the Rockin’ Blues By The Lake at Stafford Lake Park in Novato on Saturday.

For ticket info: http://www.rnblake.com/tickets.asp

Blake Lewis: Simon has no tact … neither do I

pinella — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:34:47 +0000

Blake Lewis

Blake Lewis will perform Saturday as one of the headliners (B-52s are the main attraction) at the Rockin’ Blues By The Lake at Stafford Lake Park in Novato.

On stage around 5ish.

Fourteen songs.

Over and out and back to Seattle where he has been rehearsing for this gig for the past couple of weeks.

No judges.

No plea to the audience for votes.

No drama-filled “next” show to see if he made the cut.

You, see, Lewis was the runnerup on American Idol Season No. 6.

So, what did he think of the judges during his time on the show?

Here’s his rundown:

Paula Abdul: “Paula was always good to me. After the show we went back and forth to each other’s birthdays. Sorry to see her leave the show but I think Ellen (DeGeneres, Abdul’s replacement this season) is great in everything she does and she’ll be great on the show.”

Randy Jackson: “Randy was working on his record while I was working on mine. I got to know him pretty well and I like him a lot.”

Simon Cowell: “Ah, Simon. He’s English and he doesn’t have any tact and neither do I. I’m part Welsh and I kinda grew up with the BBC so I understand a little bit of how the Brits think and their sense of humor.”

Next post: Lewis on performing for First Lady Michelle Obama

Unconventional Blake Lewis coming to Novato

pinella — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:32:00 +0000

Blake Lewis

It was 28 months ago today that Blake Lewis, now 28, stood on stage at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood and learned that he was … not the Season 6 American Idol.

Upset? Hardly.

Heart-broken? Not a chance.

Dismayed? You have to be kidding.

“I wasn’t trying to win,” Lewis said in a phone interview this morning from Seattle. “I was content with not winning. It’s just that spiritually I don’t believe in false idols.”

Prior to auditioning for AI in Seattle, Lewis termed the show “unappealing” and since his run on the show he has barely turned it on.

“Oh, maybe I watched some of the audition process only because a station here in Seattle wanted me to be an Idol judge,” Lewis said, “but other than that I haven’t watched it at all the past two seasons.
“I’m not a big advocate for television, although I must admit I am addicted to 30 Rock.”

So, the beatboxer, singer, songwriter, producer, lover of photography and a cappella aficionado found himself No. 2 to Jordin Sparks.

“I was happy for her and glad I didn’t win because then you have to embrace the entire American Idol concept,” he said.

Lewis had thought of putting together a documentary of the AI Tour but had to abandon the idea when he learned of all the constraints that had been put on him.

“I had taken hundreds of pictures I wasn’t supposed to take,” he said.

There is nothing much mainstream about Lewis and he’ll demonstrate that on Saturday when he performs as one of the headliners (B-52s are the main attraction) at the Rockin’ Blues By The Lake at Stafford Lake Park in Novato.

His music is … well, let him describe it.

“It’s almost like a one-man band show. A lot of it is done with computers. I’ve been doing it for 10 years. It’s really an amazing art-form and there is a delicate balance to it and singing.

“Actually I only did beatboxing maybe three times during the whole Idol show.”

————————–

Coming in future posts:

- Lewis on Simon Cowell and how they are kindred spirits…and his take on the rest of the AI judges…

- Lewis on performing for the First Lady, Michelle Obama…

- Lewis on touring…

DeGeneres to be 4th Idol judge

pinella — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:43:36 +0000

Latest AP bulletin:

- LOS ANGELES (AP) — A person close to “American Idol” says Ellen DeGeneres is joining the show as a judge, taking Paula Abdul’s place.

Abdul, who announced she was quitting the hit singing contest amid a contract dispute, had been replaced by a succession of guest judges as “American Idol” started next season’s auditions.

DeGeneres wasn’t among the visiting judges, but the person familiar with the decision to hire her said she turned out to be the choice for the producers and Fox.

The person, who lacked authority to announce the decision, spoke on condition of anonymity.

Cook Fillmore Foto Album

pinella — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:16:59 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO – Here’s a little foto gift for all you David Cook fans out there. More on the concert at The Fillmore later, but here are a few pics from the stellar Sept. 8, 2009 event … enjoy.

Hooked on Cook

pinella — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:10:25 +0000

David Cook at The Fillmore in San Francisco on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO – As I was headed from paying for my parking in the structure diagonally across from The Fillmore Tuesday night, I overheard one guy say to another: “I don’t think he was ready for The Fillmore.”

Well, maybe they went to different concert than I did.

Or maybe they weren’t referring to David Cook. Maybe it was a buddy of theirs.

But one thing is for certain David Cook was indeed ready for The Fillmore.

Fourteen songs, one encore, 75 minutes of pure rock n roll. He and his band were more than ready.

There were plenty of legendary echos in that place Tuesday night and he probably woke up more than a few of them.

Amidst the Cougars and the Kids there is a love affair for the guy. And, yes, even if you are a 62-year old male Boomer you can admit – unabashedly – that you like his music. You like the songs he writes. You like the ones he interprets. You like the band behind him. The drummer, the lead guitar player put on a show themselves.

Oh, he still didn’t introduce all of them and that is something he absolutely needs to work into his show. But that’s ticky-tack especially when you compare it to the way he sang “I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight.” Amazing.

It’s oh-so-easy to hear just about any artist on a record and realize how sanitized the recording is. I don’t know how many times they do it, or how many ways they splice it together, but it always comes out perfect. The real trick is to hear the artist do the same song in person. It’s always different, the spin is always unique and sometimes it really, really works.

So it was with Cook Tuesday night. He sang “Lie” and “I Did It For You” way, way better than the recordings.

He opened with “Mr. Sensitive” and “Heroes” and ended it with “Come Back To Me.”

“We had a couple of days off before the show,” he said, “and we got to experience the City and now to play in the historic Fillmore.”

I don’t quite know what the two guys in the garage were thinking as they left, but I have a feeling I know what the mom and her daughter who had driven over from Modesto and stood in line for eight hours to be in the front row were thinking.

Mr. Cook, I applaud you.

Cook ready to rock at The Fillmore

pinella — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 23:08:17 +0000

Word is that David Cook is enjoying the Bay Area and that he took in a Giants baseball game over the long Labor Day weekend at AT&T Park.

Why wouldn’t he enjoy it here? And tonight’s show at the historic Fillmore ought to make him even more enthusiastic about the place.

You just have to figure he’ll be pumped up to put on a great show.

We’ll see.

Check back on Wednesday for a review, pics and maybe even a comment or two from David himself.

Replacing Paula … the list grows

pinella — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:22:34 +0000

Just how big a shadow has Paula Abdul cast across the AI landscape?

Well, it’s taking a village to fill her judging spot on the panel. So far, here is the lineup who will be appearing in guest slots next to Simon, Randy and Kara during Season 9:

-Avril Lavigne
-Katy Perry
-Victoria Beckham
-Mary J. Blige
-Neil Patrick Harris
-Shania Twain
-Kristin Chenoweth
-Joe Jonas.

Will Paula be missed? At the end of the day, probably not all that much.

Different faces once in awhile will only give the viewer something else to critique.

If they would only toss in Regis Philbin, David Letterman and Sarah Palin … then we would really be in business.