So, this is my final blog for WBEZ.org.
The Hood Internet shows off new direction
Jun. 26, 2012STV SLV, one half of the DJ/production duo The Hood Internet, stoped by The Interview Show to talk the group's history, his teenage dancing days and how he and partner ABX are moving beyond the mash-ups they're known for.
With a Hood Internet album of original music featuring collaborations from many of their favorite artists coming this fall, STV SLV also showed off the duo's new direction with a live performance featuring Chicago rapper Psalm One.
Tony Fitzpatrick: An artist who can do it all
Jun. 21, 2012Tony Fitzpatrick can do it all: visual art, etchings, collages, album covers for Steve Earle and The Neville Brothers. He’s been in major motion pictures and acted in theaters here in Chicago. He’s a prose writer and a poet. He designs tattoos. If he weren't such an awesome guy, you'd resent the hell out of him.
I loved talking to him a few weeks ago about his career, his relationship with Studs Terkel and Nickel History: The Nation of Heat, the third part of his autobiographical American trilogy coming to the Steppenwolf Garage on July 19.
Opposites detract: Romney-style
Jun. 20, 2012
“Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has said he will do ‘the opposite’ of Barack Obama when it comes to Israel.” — The Guardian, June 17
Below, Mitt Romney elaborates on what he meant:
That’s right, my fellow-but-poorer Americans, the very opposite of what Barack Obama has done!
When the president says he supports Israel, I will say, well . . . I will also say I support Israel but in a way that is somehow the opposite.
When the president says it’s unacceptable for Iran to get nuclear weapons, I will again say the same thing but in a wholly opposite manner. “Iran in weapons nuclear against am I,” for example.
Here in the U.S., Barack Obama does little to support the Israeli people. Yet when he actually goes to Israel, he cowers and lets them dictate everything he does, including reading words from right to left.
That is not the way we in America read, and when I’m in Israel, I will always read left to right!
Indeed, I will not bend to the will of any foreign countries the way Barack Obama does.
We’ve seen the president bow before foreign leaders. Literally bow!
Chefs as rock stars? Look no farther than Graham Elliot
Jun. 14, 2012Some people say chefs are the new rock stars. I don't know what that makes rock stars now, but as far as chefs go, it makes sense.
"Celebrity" chefs can be charismatic, ornery, loud, funny, a little bit nuts and. . . talented at multiple things: cooking, of course, but also self-promotion, business savvy and showmanship.
And when it comes to that suite of talents, Graham Elliot fits the bill. The Chicago-based chef behind Grahamwich and his self-named upscale restaurant has a brand-new space, G.E.B., in the West Loop. Here he talks Grahamwich, food at Lollapalooza and more.
PART ONE
PART TWO
From peddler to fruit tycoon: Cohen tells the story of America's banana king
Jun. 12, 2012Here's what I'm sure about: You've never thought about reading a book about the banana business and/or Sam Zemurray, the guy perhaps most responsible building it.
Here's what I'm also sure about: You absolutely should read The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King, by Rich Cohen.
It's the story of a Russian immigrant who started as a lowly fruit peddler and became one of this country's biggest businessmen — one you feel like celebrating one moment and condemning the next. It's also the story of the United States as it rose to dominance in the 20th century. And Cohen is a writer whose passion for his subject bleeds through on every page.
Here Rich Cohen talks about the book — under The Interview Show's new lighting and camera set-up! (Big, big thanks to Ben Chandler and Kevin Viol and for Adam Peindl for helping out with the cameras.)
Synth band Nova Social will take you to The Delano
Jun. 6, 2012I'll probably get in trouble for calling New York City's Nova Social a synth band. But I was never that good at describing music.
What I can say is that the band, fronted by David Nagler, takes me back to the 1980s (without wallowing in nostalgia) and the songs hypnotize me. Check out the performance below from last month's Interview Show in Brooklyn.
And if you live in NYC or know someone there, the band plays Joe's Pub on Wednesday, June 20, at 7:30 p.m.
Sex advice columnists Em & Lo talk about. . . things we can't mention in this headline
May. 31, 2012Em & Lo have made careers out of talking sanely and humorously about sex and love. They are, as they describe themselves on their site, "opinionated but not (too) judgmental, philosophically complex yet down-to-earth, sexy but never sleazy, progressive and ethical."
The duo appeared on The Interview Show earlier this month and helped me feel better about my own sexual hang-ups.
Our interview is below. May be NSFW:
The Interview Show is back at The Hideout Friday June 1 at 6:30 p.m. with author Rich Cohen, artist Tony Fitzpatrick, chef Michael Kornick and more.