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Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Bikers needed for movie being filmed in Alaska

Fairhope, Alaska, USA (January 29, 2020) WHR — Reports are coming in about a potential upcoming movie that could be filmed on the Eastern Shore.

So far the City of Fairhope has not approved the production, which is proposed to be filmed in downtown Fairhope. However, city officials are expected to approve the production at their next scheduled city council meeting.


A city official updated news 5 earlier this week to say producers are working with city leaders to minimize the impact the movie shoot might have on local businesses.

They are learning that extras are needed for the movie, more specifically bikers and were told the bikers would receive $125/day if they bring their motorcycle to the shoot.

To apply you’ll need to submit the following information to mapextras@gmail.com.

Close up snapshot, full length snapshot, name, height, clothing size, cell number and city of residence.

News 5’s Blake Brown is gathering more information and details on the movie. He’ll have an update later today.

SOURCE: WKRG

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Aerosmith drummer booted from performing

Los Angeles, California, USA (January 22, 2020) WHR — A Massachusetts judge has denied founding Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer a chance to perform with the Rock Hall of Fame band at two Grammy-related events this weekend.

Because he was injured, Kramer was forced to recently “audition” for his own job of 50 years, and he apparently failed. So, Aerosmith plans to use a temporary replacement.


Superior Court Mark Gildea denied Kramer’s request to order the band to let him participate in Friday’s MusiCares benefit honoring Aerosmith and on Sunday’s Grammy Awards when the band is expected to perform its 1986 hit “Walk This Way” with Run D.M.C.

Kramer issued a statement late Wednesday:

“Although I’m extremely disappointed by the Judge’s ruling today, I respect it. I knew filing a lawsuit was a bit of an uphill battle considering that the corporate documents don’t reference any process for a band member returning from an injury or illness. However, the band waited until Jan. 15 to tell me that they weren’t letting me play at the awards ceremonies this week. I can hold my head high knowing that I did the right thing.

“The truth speaks for itself. Ever since I injured my foot last August and went through many hours of physical therapy to heal, not once did the band in its entirety offer to rehearse with me. That is a fact. I was also sent the full rehearsal schedule on Jan. 18 and flew to LA the next day to rehearse and have many texts and emails stating the band can’t wait for my return…. When I showed up to rehearse, I was greeted by two security guards who prohibited me from entering.”

When Kramer injured his shoulder last year, his drum tech filled in for a few gigs during Aerosmith’s residency in Las Vegas in April. Kramer did, however, perform in July at the Twin Cities Summer Jam in Shakopee.

Joey Kramer's  kick ass drum solo & Aerosmith performing "Rag Doll" at the famous Hollywood Bowl on August 6, 2012.

On Tuesday, the other four members of Aerosmith – Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton and Brad Whitford – issued a statement, that said, in part:

"Joey Kramer is our brother; his well-being is of paramount importance to us. However, he has not been emotionally and physically able to perform with the band, by his own admission, for the last 6 months. We have missed him and have encouraged him to rejoin us to play many times but apparently he has not felt ready to do so…. We are bonded together by much more than our time on stage."

Friday, January 17, 2020

Chris Darrow of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Dead

Badlands of Indiana, USA (January 17, 2020) WHR — Chris Darrow, a country-rock pioneer who made his mark over the '60s and '70s, most notably as a member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, has died at the age of 75. No cause of death has been released yet.


Darrow was born in South Dakota in 1944, but grew up in the Southern California suburb of Claremont, where he first honed an interest in folk and bluegrass music. He formed the Dry City Scat Band in 1964 while pursuing college and graduate school, and during this time became acquainted with Chris Hillman of classic rock legends the Byrds, who had a profound influence on his transition from bluegrass to rock music.


Darrow went on to form the genre-bending rock band Kaleidoscope, recording several albums before his joining influential country-rockers the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1967. He worked with the band on two albums, and also appeared in the Clint Eastwood musical, Paint Your Wagon.

In1969, he formed the Corvettes, which became the touring band for Linda Ronstadt, who herself was quickly exploding as an influential artist in the country-rock scene.

Darrow also had a prolific solo career, releasing a total of 10 records between 1972 and 2006. He worked with such notable artists as Leonard Cohen and James Taylor, and mentored younger singer-songwriter and fellow Southern Californian Ben Harper.


Information on Darrow's passing and survivors is limited.

SOURCE: Taste of Country

Friday, January 10, 2020

Rush drummer Neil Peart dies at 67

Santa Monica, California, USA (January 10, 2019) WHR — Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist for groundbreaking Canadian prog-rock band Rush, died Tuesday at age 67, according to a statement issued by a family spokesperson.

The statement said Peart died in Santa Monica, Calif., from brain cancer, “from which he suffered” for three and a half years. Born in Hamilton, Peart joined Rush in 1974, after the band’s first album, replacing original drummer John Rutsey.


Over a career that spanned four decades, Rush enjoyed considerable success in both the U.S. and Canada. Several of their albums — “2112,’’ “Moving Pictures,’’ “All the World’s a Stage’’ and “Exit ... Stage Left’’ — have sold more than one million copies each in the U.S. alone.

Peart was known for his proficiency at playing an almost impossibly elaborate drum kit, which in addition to the traditional kick, snare, and tom drums could at any given time also include bells, chimes, symbols, gongs and electronic elements.


“Neil Peart was, in fact, one of the greatest drummers the universe has ever seen. He ranks up there with all the best,” said Alan Cross, a broadcaster and music historian. “We have lost one of the most important musicians this country has ever produced.”

Cross said Peart used his diverse collection of percussion instruments in innovative ways that went far beyond merely keeping the beat.

There could be a “very melodic sense of what he was doing, every bit as much as a guitar player,” Cross said. “Nobody sounded like him.”

Knowing that a local band could make it big on the world stage was a major source of inspiration for musicians in the city, said Dave Bidini, a member of the Toronto band the Rheostatics, who grew up listening to Rush in the 1980s.


Bidini, who wrote the 2016 documentary about Rush called “Time Stands Still,” said a turning point for the band came in 1976, when they played Massey Hall for three straight nights.

“That was a big deal in Toronto musical culture, having a band from Toronto achieve that measure of success. There weren’t a lot really before them,” Bidini said.

Rush’s career was particularly impressive, he said, because it was proof bands could achieve commercial success while pursuing their own musical vision. The band’s songs were idiosyncratic, often containing key changes and running far longer than typical pop tunes made for the radio.

“I don’t know if it was fearlessness or stubbornness or whatever, but they were really good at being themselves,” Bidini said.

Although a member of one of the most famous bands Canada ever produced, Peart famously eschewed the spotlight. He was reluctant to indulge in the typical trappings of rock stardom and often avoided meet-and-greets with fans and interviews with the media.

“Even as a kid, I never wanted to be famous; I wanted to be good,” he told the Star in 2015, a few months before Rush embarked on its 40th-anniversary tour, which would be the band’s last.


An avid motorcyclist, while on the road with Rush, Peart would ride to shows on his motorcycle rather than travel with the rest of the band and its entourage.

His travels fuelled one of his passions outside of music — writing. He wrote seven non-fiction books and co-authored a science-fiction novelization of Rush’s 2012 album “Clockwork Angels.”

In his 2002 book “Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road,” Peart recounted the motorcycle trip he took across North America to cope with the grief of losing both his daughter and wife in the span of 10 months.