Pheaturing Linda Lambert From August 83

Hey there, welcome to the Peverett Phile, I am your host, Jason Peverett, star of the movie Gullible's Travels. This is the last entry of 2010, which is no surprise I am sure considering tomorrow is the last day of the year. How has your week been? Mine has been crazy. I am back at Epcot where I belong. For 20 plus years I worked at Epcot, then decided to go to the Magic Kingdom. Twenty plus days later, I am back at Epcot. Enough about me. I will save all that for next week's entry. Madame Tussauds’ wax museum in Washington, D.C. will open a new gallery next year featuring all 44 presidents. The Obama statue is very lifelike. In fact, Biden spent an hour telling it about his weekend. A new study found that there are only 786 mountain gorillas left in the world, and that number could go down even further after the premier of the new show, “Sarah Palin’s Congo.” Do you know how many packages were handled by the Post Office this year? This is scientifically accurate: Fifty-three gazillion. With that many packages, they’re bound to lose a couple hundred. Keep that in mind, my friends and family. It’s important to appreciate postal workers this time of year. That’s why I always greet them with a warm smile and an open robe. President Obama said he walks his dog Bo on the White House lawn, but sometimes he has to scoop up Bo’s poop. They probably should find someone else to do that. If there’s one thing Obama’s not good at, it’s cleaning up a mess that was left for him.
London’s Heathrow Airport was closed because of snow and ice. In fact, Heathrow canceled so many flights, it changed its name to “LaGuardia.” Levi Johnston reportedly has a new girlfriend in Alaska named Sunny Oglesby. Which raises an interesting question: Is there anyone in Alaska with a normal human name? Singapore has a new campaign to clean up 70 percent of its public toilets by the year 2013. Or in much grosser news, Singapore has admitted that 30 percent of its public toilets will not be cleaned for three years. So, in a few days it's gonna be 2011. It better be a good one because we're all gonna die in 2012 apparently. Anyway, did you see the new "Grand Theft Auto" game that is coming out some time in 2011?

I went out looking for a New Year's inspired inspirational poster and I think I found one.

And now for sad news...

Agathe Von Trapp
March 12, 1913 - December 28, 2010
Raindrops on tombstones and flowers on caskets, Sad sobbing mourners and corpses in baskets, Stuffed in a hole as a sad church bell rings, These are a few of our favorite things.
Teena Marie
March 5, 1956 - December 26, 2010
More peaceful than wild now.

With two movie reviews!

Backing up a bit for newcomers, in the original Tron Jeff Bridges was a software engineer/game designer who finds himself trapped inside "the grid" of a computer, his digitized self battling a tyrannical power structure bent on dominating all of life as we know it. Nearly 30 years later, that alterna-Bridges has "perfected" itself and trapped the flesh-and-bones Bridges back in The Grid. It's up to his long-abandoned adult son to right all wrongs and hurl all those glowy information disc thingies at the bad people so they shatter into tiny shards of glass-like code-crumbles and fall into the black oblivion. when you see it, look at all the money is on the screen. They took their 200 million bucks or however much this cost and they made a dark ride that's more thrilling and coldly beautiful to look at than anything else you've seen at the movies this year. Can't follow the plot because of all the made-up jargon? No worries, just think good people vs. bad people (you'll follow who that is unless you're asleep) and prepare to have your senses pounded by a wickedly loud, bass-heavy laser show. Best of all it's not cheeky; it doesn't wink at you. It takes itself as seriously as the original, as seriously as you want it to, giving new audiences a way in and old-school Tron-heads plenty of insider love. (For example, check out the bartender at the End of Line Club. You may recognize him). Anyway, about that jargon. They throw it at you and don't really explain it. If you're really attentive you'll figure it out. And even if you're following along you'll be smirking from time to time at the gobbledygook-ishness of it all, especially when Jeff Bridges gets all free-jazz with his philosophizing and optimistic futurism, talking about "isomorphic algorithms" for a better tomorrow. There's also Michael Sheen's weirdly fey Joel Grey-in-Cabaret-like character. He purses his lips a lot and there doesn't seem to be a reason why. But other than that stuff, it's all thumping sound and spectacle, a candy rave for your eyes. "Young" Jeff Bridges... it's an unsettling, freak-like motion capture performance. Is so disconcerting to look at that his non-humanity actually enhances his character's badness. They are this close to making digital people look real in movies, but still about a million years away in terms of how that image makes you feel about the "person" you're viewing. Creepy. Enjoy. From 1 to 10 it gets a 10 and yes, when it comes out I am buying it!

Yogi and Boo Boo live at Jellystone Park and steal picnic baskets. They invent elaborate contraptions, including flying machines, to steal those picnic baskets. The ranger doesn't like it when they steal picnic baskets. He gets mad when they steal picnic baskets. Then come evil corporate land developers who want to chop down all the trees. They don't care about picnic baskets. They care about money. Then along comes Anna Faris. She also doesn't care about picnic baskets, but she does care about the ranger and talking bears who wear neckties. ("Those are so rare," she says, in that Anna Faris way that makes you laugh.) Then they all band together to save Jellystone Park from the bad people. They do this via a picnic basket-based defense strategy and Boo Boo's bow-tie-surveillance-cam. Sorry if I just spoiled the plot for you. The internet has been really angry about this movie, almost since it was announced, but more so in recent months as trailers and weirdly clueless ad campaigns made it ripe for mockery and derision. But guess what? This movie isn't for you guys. It's for four-year-olds. And on that level it's perfectly, adequately mediocre. The jokes are about Yogi's butt being paddled by railway posts and about farting and about accidentally setting off fireworks in the pursuit of good bear times. And that's the kind of stuff that very little kids love. And the reason they love it is because they've never seen it in a movie before. And the reason they've never seen it in a movie before is because most of them have never seen a movie before. Adult chaperone who drew the short straw? You can settle in for an 82 minute nap. Sounds good, right? I liked it any time Anna Faris is on screen being goofy... and she's always goofy and thank goodness for that, the forgettable script turns on its lights for a second. And then there's the moment when Yogi and Boo Boo shake their CGI buttocks to Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back." I'm not making up that part. It happens. And while it may sound horrible, I somehow still laughed out loud. One major beef: It seems lazy that Yogi is rarely shown enjoying the spoils of his picnic basket-stealing victories. Does it take more effort to animate a bear eating a pie? I expected a long roll call of foods consumed. But mostly he just compulsively steals like a person with an anxiety disorder instead of indulging in the sensual delights of actual snacks. From 1 to 10, it gets a 6 so I will not be buying it. I don't think Logan would want it on DVD either.

Okay, now it is time for the announcement of the 13th book in the Peverett Phile Book Club.

The heroes, villains, and monsters portrayed in such popular science fiction TV series as "Heroes", "Lost", "Battlestar Galactica", "Caprica", "Doctor Who", and "Torchwood", as well as Joss Whedon's many series, illustrate a shift from traditional, clearly defined characterizations toward much murkier definitions. In these series, traditional heroes give way to "gray" heroes who must become more like the villains or monsters that they face if they are going to successfully save society. This book examines these somewhat ambiguous heroes and villains, focusing on these characters' different perspectives on morality and their roles within society. One appendix includes production details for each series, descriptions and summaries of pivotal episodes, and a list of selected texts for classroom use. Lynnette Porter will be a guest on the Phil sometime in January and her book is available right now on Amazon.com.


Okay, the last guest of the year is the lead singer for the Texas based band August 83 whose new album "Music For Bedrooms" is now available on iTunes. Please welcome to the Phile... Linda Lambert.

Me: Hello, Linda, welcome to the Phile. So, how are you?

Linda: Hi, Jason, thanks for the invterview. I'm doing great, feeling really happy and accomplished with our CD.

Me: Tish Meeks from 3 Kisses introduced me to you. How long have you know Tish? Have you guys ever did a gig together?

Linda: We've known Tish almost three years and we've played several shows together. We met through GoGirlsMusic and have played several showcases together. We have a blast. Tish is great and very inspirational.

Me: I purchased August 83's new album off from iTunes and like it, especially the cover of The Pretender's "Brass In Pocket". I always loved that song. What made you record that one cover?

Linda: We've been performing "Brass in Pocket" live for about 10 years and we've always recevied a great reception for the song. It was one of my favorites and it has a timeless quality. I think it translates well to today's pop music.

Me: Have you heard back from Chrissie Hynde about it? You need to send her a copy.

Linda: We haven't heard from Chrissie. Of course we obtained permission to record and distribute the song and wondered if should would like our take on it. She's an awesome musician and has had a great career. We'd love to send her a copy.

Me: August 83 started off as a cover band, right? When did you start to write your own music and songs?

Linda: Our cover band is called Spare Parts and we've been playing cover music for over 15 years. We got involved in a networking group for independent musicians called GoGirlsMusic.com in 2008 and quickly noticed we were one of the few members without original songs. We got busy and started writing, and found that the audience for our covers was equally receptive to the originals we were writing. That gave us the inspiration to complete the project and start playing showcases. We felt like we needed to use a diffferent name for our original music so August 83 was born.

Me: You covered some good musicians and bands. Elton John, Sheryl Crow, The Pretenders... but Toto? Whose choice was that?! Toto?! LOL. What about covering Foghat?

Linda: (Laughing) Don’t be hatin’ Toto. My husband Mike is a huge Steve Lukather/Toto fan, so his writing style is influenced by their music. BTW, he's also a huge Foghat fan. He plays in another cover band and they do a great cover of "I Just Wanna Make Love To You". "Fool for The City" or “Third Time Lucky” would be a great Foghat songs for us to cover. We should probably put them on our list of songs to learn.

Me: Let's talk about the band, Linda. Tell the Phile readers what the meaning of the band name is. I think it's cool how you guys came up with it. If my wife and I had a band and used the same date it'll be October 97.

Linda: August 83 is the month and year Mike and I were married. We wanted a name that would mean something to us and would be unique. Mike and I met in high school and fell in love in choir. August 83 was the beginning of our married journey in life together and music has been a big part of that journey. The guys in the band liked the name too.

Me: Apart from your husband, who else is in the band with you guys?

Linda: Marco Yepez plays bass for us and has been in the band for 11 years. Dale Bankston, drums and Dan Carpenter (Sax) have been with the band for 2.5 years and Jeff Ball, Keyboards joined the band in June. We have great musical chemistry and are all friends.

Me: Like I said, I purchased the album "Music From Bedroom" off from iTunes. What does the title of the album mean? And who did the album cover? I kinda like it. I was surprised you didn't put a picture of the band on the front cover, Linda.

Linda: We wrote, practiced and recorded our rough demo tracks in extra bedrooms so jokingly we started calling it that and it just stuck also alot happens in the bedroom in real life and our songs reflect life so it was fitting. The cover art work was painted by a good friend of ours, artist, musician and worship leader Kevin Gallemore. The cover painting looks out of a window to a mural on a wall outside, the inside sleeve shows the band standing in front of the mural so if you buy the physical CD, you'll get our picture.

Me: Linda, you took part in something called Houston Pride Idol. What was that and how well did you do? Are you an "American Idol" fan?

Linda: Houston Pride Idol is a singing competition sponsored by Pride Houston. Hundreds of people audition every year and I was selected as a top 10 finalist. It was alot of fun and a great experience even though I didn't win. I am a huge fan of "American Idol" and it was great to be a finalist and see what the judges had to say. "American idol" has an age limit so it was a fun way for me to live out my "American Idol" fantasy.

Me: And I like it you sing for the CyFair Christian Church. Have you done that for a while?

Linda: Mike and I joined CFCC in 2007 and it felt like home. We have a great music ministry and we became a part of the worship team in 2008. Dale and Jeff also play with the music ministry. Our song "Lovin' Things" was actually inspired by a sermon that taked about how life can become so materialistic and how we love things and use people when we should use things and love people. It really hit home and the song was born.

Me: Okay, what's next for the band? Any videos or new music you are working on? Are you planning on touring? If so, come to Florida.

Linda: Yes, we are working on new music and hopefully a video for "Lovin' Things" will be coming soon. Everyone has day jobs so if we tour, it would be weekend jaunts and if the opportunity presented itself, Florida would be awesome. We have a few new songs that are in various stages of completion, including one in a "Kashmir"-like vein - very Moroccan and ethereal. We want to get these tunes finished to debut at SXSW in mid-march 2011

Me: Linda, I wish you a lot of luck with everything. You are welcome back to the Phile when your next project comes out. Go ahead and mention your website, Linda. I have one last question... TOTO?!

Linda: How can you not like "Rosanna"? Thanks, Jason, it was an honor to be interviewed by you! Hopefully this will be the first of many more original projects. Our website is www.august83.com.

Well, that about does it for another entry and for another great year of the Phile. The Phile will be back next Thursday with a special Phith Anniversary Entry which will have a new look and and a brand new logo. There will be tons of guests as some of my favorite and your favorite past guests will get to ask me a question. I will also have a special Top ten List and a few other things. Thanks to Linda Lambert for a great interview this week, and to you, the phaithful reader. Like I said, the Phile will have a special entry next Thursday. Until then, have a safe new year's, spread the word, not the turd. Don't let alligators and snakes bite you. Bye, love you, bye. See you next year!