How the hell did Jason Sudeikis get Olivia Munn to go out with him, let alone sleep and become engaged? Holy crap. Somethings never cease to amaze me. It's like Paulina Porizkova and Ric Ocasek, Christina Hendricks and Geoffrey Arend, Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley, Jason Peverett and Jennifer Peverett... crazy. Hey, hello, and welcome to the Phile, kids. How are you? It's Sunday, and this is my last entry before I go back to work on Tuesday. I have been off since October 18th, thanks to my accident in South Carolina. I am surprised Disney World is still functioning without me. The White House announced that the theme for President Obama’s inauguration will be “Faith in America’s Future.” Which is proof that no one in the White House has ever seen "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.” The idea is to get our minds off of America's present. President Obama’s team is promising special perks for donors who give at least a million dollars to the inauguration. Which is cool, but you know what else can get you a lot of perks? Keeping that million dollars. Do you know who was invited to the inauguration? Me. Yep, but I said if I could only sit next to Stephanie Cutter. And when I mean sit next to Stephanie Cutter, I mean in the hotel room, watching the inauguration on TV. Then we can lay in bed and read comic books together. I'm so lame. Anyway, the president hosted a screening of NBC’s White House comedy, “1600 Penn,” which centers on a goofy guy who keeps embarrassing the White House. Or as Joe Biden put it, “Why’s everyone looking at me?” I didn't mention this yesterday as I forgot, the Oscar nominations were announced. Lincoln leads the list with 12 nominations. This is a first... not the most nominations, but the first time Hollywood has ever voted for a Republican president. That is amazing. Lincoln also received a nomination for best hat. Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of Vengeance got zip. Nothing. It is an outrage! Nicolas Cage played a motorcycle-riding skeleton on fire. Let's see Daniel Day-Lewis do that. John Williams was nominated for his Lincoln score. It's his 48th nomination. I wonder if John Williams even pretends to care at this point. Congratulations Denzel Washington. He got nominated for best actor for Flight. It’s about a pilot who's an alcoholic. Or as we call that now... a documentary. The Chilean movie No received a nomination for best foreign language film. The producers are working on the sequel called Maybe. As I did mention yesterday, the makers of the Monopoly game announced they are going to replace one of the famous board game's tokens. If they want to modernize Monopoly they should just throw the banker into prison and put Lindsay Lohan on the “Get Out of Jail” free card. That’s how you modernize the game. Baseball's Hall of Fame had its selections for players who are voted in. This year, nobody gets in. Lots of players were eligible, but nobody got in. However, Pete Rose is already taking bets for next year. President Obama recently came under fire over the lack of diversity in his cabinet. Then Obama said, "You guys know I'll be there, too, right?" Prostitutes in Brazil have started learning English so they can communicate with out-of-town clients during the World Cup. They are learning key phrases like, "You are very handsome" and "Nice to meet you, Mr. Sheen." So, Logan wants a video game called "Call of Duty", but Jen won't let him get it as it's rated M. I went to the store to check it out, and saw there's a new version of the game.
I told Jen it can't be that bad, they blacked out the rest of the f word. He's still not getting it. So, we're gonna have a garage sale in a few weeks, and we were going through Logan's old children's books, and there was a few odd ones that I don't understand how and why he got them. Check this one out.
Why would anybody get a boy a book about a little girl and a kitten? So, who has seen the new movie Zero Dark Thirty? It's about the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Anyway, the movie studio released an inspirational movie to tie into it.
Today is the 20th Annual Walt Disney World Marathon. Might as well give the medal to the Kenyan now. Anyway, if you run the Family 5K, the half marathon and the full marathon it's called The Dopey. I'm not lying. Dopey? I thinking it should be called The Fucking Stupid. My idea of a Disney marathon is getting to work on time. If you would like to see what a Disney marathon looks like, check this out.
I have to mention this, I am running a campaign here to interview Kelly Clarkson for the Phile. Here is the campaign poster...
Copy it and put it on your Facebook, Twitter and spread the word. #helpgetkellyclarksononthephile. We will do it! And now for another...
Do you see it? Alright, so, last year I had a Mayan named Marvin on the Phile who gave us a bunch of Mayan advice. It was great, kinda useless, but great. Well, I thought who can I get to give us advice this year? And then it hit me... Morgan Freeman. Well, I couldn't get Morgan Freeman, so I thought I'll settle for the next best thing. So, please welcome back to the Phile...
Me: This is so dumb. Hello, Mr. Phreeman, welcome back to the Phile. So, you have some advice for us?
Morgan: Yes, my friend, I will ask one thing of you. Help get my message of guidance to the masses.
Me: Sure. What's the message?
Morgan: You don't always get what you wish for, you get what you work for.
Me: Okay, anything else?
Morgan: If you accept the expectations of others, especially the negative ones, then you will never change the outcome.
Me: Okay, that's too deep for me, sir. Anything else you have to say before you have to go?
Morgan: Yes. I could say that I raped your girlfriend and killed your mom. But with my voice you would be calm.
Me: Mr. Phreeman, that's sick.
Morgan: Now I am going off to finish filming Chain Reaction and grab a case of PBR, head to the local putt-putt and take turns prank calling Weisz. Good-bye.
Me: Um... good-bye. Morgan Phreeman, everybody.
Okay, so here on the Phile we have The Peverett Phile Rock and Roll Hall Of Phame, that puts Jann Wenner's Hall of Fame to shame. So far in the Hall of Phame we have Savoy Brown, The J. Geils Band, Status Quo, Sparks, Mick Ronson, ELO, and Rockpile. Today we are going to induct another band, with the help of unHOF. So, please welcome back to the Phile raconteur, entreprenour, Jah Paul Jo in a past life and co-owner of Berdan Records... Joseph J. Ramsey.
Today's Induction: Dr. Feelgood
In 1976, I was part of a touring band that went to Yugoslavia. I was 19 years old and had never even been in an airplane before. I was a bright, fluorescent green. There, I met a group of people that took me to their town's "disco," which was their name for their local rock club. To call it exotically weird would be an understatement. Everyone was very nice but they seemed oddly anachronistic to me; in ways, provincially old fashioned and in others... futuristic (hey... they had all the latest fashions direct from Italy that started to become popular in the USA six months later!). Something that was old fashioned (then!) that I really liked was... they danced. They danced to everything... didn't matter what kind of music. The DJ put on the new Dr. Feelgood album called "Malpractice" and they went nuts... they REALLY danced. It was fun. I had never heard of the group before and I LOVED the album. Old bluesy rock'n'roll with an attitude (that attitude would later flourish into punk... but we didn't know that yet). Whenever I hear that album, which I think is their best, I am instantly transported back to that sweaty club, having a wonderful time. Dr. Feelgood was a throwback... an anachronism themselves. They played old-style blues and rock'n'roll with a new style and attitude. They played their own stuff and they played a few classics. Singer and harmonica player, Lee Brilleaux was fantastic and his guitar foil, Wilko Johnson was... well, pretty unbelievable. Playing old stuff... authentically... yet with a completely unique style. How do you do that? I don't know... you'll have to ask Wilko Johnson. The band was rounded out by the brilliant rhythm section of John B. Sparks on bass and "The Big Figure", on drums. There is a new documentary film by Julian Temple called Oil City Confidential that has a lot to do with the rise in popularity of Dr. Feelgood and Pub Rock in general. Here's a blurb used to describe the Feelgood clips: "...There is plenty of live footage of the Feelgoods in all their visceral, wild-eyed, dirty-suited, smash and grab glory, Brilleaux glaring, growling, pumping his fist and often doing the odd press-up on stage, Wilko hurtling by as if on wheels, eyes bulging, mock-gunning down the audience with his guitar. The pair are complemented, never upstaged (that would be impossible) by John 'Big Figure' Martin, looking like a meaner, madder Jake Blues and John 'Sparko' Sparkes, scooting relentlessly back and forth like a sleazy-looking chess piece in a "bastard suit" (his description)." I saw Dave Edmunds and Co. and Dr. Feelgood as the bridge between blues and hard rock and the punk that was to come. I chose Edmunds first because he had success in both worlds. Dr. Feelgood, really, had success in neither. They truly had their own thing... which may make them even more interesting.
Good job as always, Joseph.
The 22nd book to be pheatured in the Phile is...
Phile Alum and author Lynnette will be on the Phile a week from today.
Today's pheatured guest is making her third appearance on the Phile. She has a brand new album out called "One Voice" that's available on iTunes and will be appearing next at Midtown Scholar Bookstore in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Feb. 1st. Please welcome to the Phile once again, the beautiful and talented... Tiffany Thompson.
Me: Tiffany, welcome back to the Phile. How are you?
Tiffany: I’m doing great! December was crazy with shows, band practices, online promo and holiday events, but I am hitting a more sustainable stride now.
Me: Your original interview, I have to stay, still has more views than any other interview. What do you say about that?
Tiffany: I guess my music is just that good. ;-)
Me: You live in the DC area, am I right?
Tiffany: Yes, I live about 10 miles south of the city in Alexandria, VA. But, I spend a lot of time in the District cause that is where my regular gigs, friends and church are.
Me: Last time you were here you talked about going to England. How was that trip, Tiffany?
Tiffany: I loved my Europe trip. I actually started in Budapest, Hungary then went to Prague to Berlin and then finally to England. It was an amazing time of sharing my music in a variety of countries and context.
Me: Did you play over there or just visit?
Tiffany: I played a variety of shows in churches and cafes as well as on the street corner. I think I took over about 300 CD's to give away and came back with 0. I actually made a little movie about the trip. If you want to see it, just go here: youtube.com/watch?v=7C1U9UB-Gcg&feature=share&list=PL57504F0C75E4AF61.
Me: Have you made it back down to Florida yet? You haven't played down here, right?
Tiffany: I still have not made it down there! Maybe we could book a house show or a good opening slot at a club down there. If I can cover my travel expenses, I’ll willing to go most anywhere to share my music. So Florida is only a flight away!
Me: Since you were here last you had a few releases out, which I downloaded from iTunes. Let's talk about the "Unplugged" album. How did you choose which songs to do, Tiff?
Tiffany: First off... thanks for downloading them on iTunes. Every sale really does make a difference. “Unplugged” actually started out as just a demo session in Nashville to capture acoustic versions of my new songs. We recorded about 25 songs in 2 days, and I intended just to have them for personal reference. But over the summer, I played out a lot at Farmers Markets and songwriters rounds, and people consistently commented that they wish I had a recording of the songs that sounded like the live version-stripped down and just vocal and guitar. That fan feedback and my desire to share new music with listeners led to the release of “Unplugged.”
Me: Were those songs done live in the studio in one take?
Tiffany: I like to call them “almost live.” Due to the newness of the songs, I had to punch in on a few guitar parts and sometimes fix a melody here and there. Plus, we added some additional guitar later to spice it up a bit and then a few harmonies at the very end. But it’s “almost live.”
Me: You play both piano and guitar, right? What do you prefer? And what do you like better to play?
Tiffany: I think I’m more comfortable performing on guitar, but I enjoy writing on piano more.
Me: Do you remember what the first song you ever learnt to play was?
Tiffany: That’s a tough question, but I think it was “You Were Meant for Me” by Jewel.
Me: I'm going off track, Tiffany. Let's talk about the new album "One Voice". How did you choose that song to be the album title?
Tiffany: I had actually titled the record “Take It And Run” in summer 2012; even had cover art for it posted on my website. But I postponed the release of the record from June to December and during that time “One Voice” became a fan favorite at shows. So I decided to make that the title track, which I am really glad about. I love the new cover art and the simplicity of "One Voice" as a title.
Me: Did you do all the songwriting on the album, Tiff?
Tiffany: Six of the 7 songs on the album are co-writes with the producers. And the last song was a solo write by me. So this record is definitely a step forward in collaboration.
Me: My favorite song on the album is the opening track "Take It and Run". I like more of the upbeat songs. But I have to ask, take what and run?
Tiffany: Great question! The lyrics for the chorus are “Take all that you’ve been given and run.” So “it” are your gifts, strengths and abilities; your passions and interests.
Me: There's a track called on the album "Real Joy", is that about Joy Ike? LOL. Have you heard any of her new music?
Tiffany: Haha! I love Joy Ike. Maybe I should write a remix specifically about her?
Me: She should have a song on her new album "Real Tiffany". Anyway, when her new CD comes out she's gonna be back on the Phile. If I was gonna ask her one question, what should I ask her?
Tiffany: When was the first time she took her shoes off at a show?
Me: Okay, I will definitely ask her that. Back to the new album, I posted a real brief review on iTunes for you. It's the least I could do. I mentioned the "One Voice" album cover on it. Oh... my... God. What a beautiful shot, Tiff. Who took it? They did a great job.
Tiffany: Stephen Elliot, owner of Mud Productions, took it! He is an amazing photographer, and his wife, Lacey, is a make-up artist that did my makeup for the shoot. You can check out the rest of his stuff at: mudproductions.com.
Me: Tiff, I'm asking random questions for my guests this year, so here is yours. What do you think is an ideal age?
Tiffany: Haha! An age you are living fully.
Me: Fair answer. Tiffany, thanks so much fore being back on the Phile. I wish you continued success and please come back soon when the next CD comes out. As long as I do this little blog, I will always have you on the Phile. By the way, how is your blog?
Tiffany: My blog is doing great!
Me: Tell the readers where it's at.
Tiffany: It’s tiffanythompsonmusic.com/blog.
Me: Go ahead and mention all your websites, Tiffany.
Tiffany: You can find everything you need at tiffanythompsonmusic.com and facebook.com/tiffanytmusic. @Tiffanytmusic.
Me: Thanks, Tiffany. Take care.
That about does it. Thanks to my guests Joseph J. Ramsey and of course Tiffany Thompson. The Phile will be back next Sunday with my friend Daniel Dennis from the podcast A Mediocre Time With Tom & Dan and on Monday author and Phile Alum Lynnette Porter. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye. Strawberry Blondes Forever!
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