Pheaturing April Kae

Hey there, kids, welcome to another entry of the Phile. I have a lot to get to today. Let's get to it.  White House officials insist that President Obama knew nothing about the IRS scandal until we all heard about it in the news. They said because there was an investigation under way, it would have been inappropriate to tell him. And besides, he was too busy not knowing anything about Benghazi. Everything's going bad for President Obama with Benghazi and other controversies. But Obama's trying to turn things around. He's sending in SEAL Team 6 to bring back Justin Bieber's monkey. And if SEAL Team 6 doesn't work, he's sending in Dennis Rodman.  A new study estimates that Colorado residents will legally smoke more than 2 million ounces of marijuana next year. That's like a reggae festival and Willie Nelson's birthday combined. If you didn't know, in November, Colorado passed an amendment that legalized the recreational use of marijuana. It's resulted in a surge of "pot tourism." People come for the weekend to smoke pot and the next thing they know, it's 30 years later they're still there working in a carbon-neutral coffee shop.  Vice President Joe Biden met with two undocumented immigrants to promote the new immigration bill. When they learned they had to sit down with Biden, they went ahead and deported themselves.  Target is now selling a line of affordable wedding dresses. They say it's perfect for any woman who’s always dreamed of wearing a dress from the same place she buys chips and soap.  New York City is getting a new professional soccer team that will be partially owned by the Yankees. You can tell it's owned by the Yankees because A-Rod won't be playing for that team either. When I think of soccer, I think of this...

I have to show you this, I don't like soda, but I think I'll get one now.

 
You pervs thought I was gonna show you a soda ad with a hot chick, didn't you? Well, here you go!

I was at the store yesterday and something caught my eye.

 
Are you feeling it now, Mr. Krabbs?  I have to show this... yesterday I had Michael Banks on the Phile and I mentioned he should draw a picture of me. Well, he did, so I have to share it.

Thanks, Michael. Now I want to give him another plug... go to sugarfueled.com.  Alright, I mentioned this a few weeks ago and wanted to mention it yesterday but I forgot. Myself and a lot of other "Doctor Who" fans wanted Bad Wolf Day to be on June 3rd this year. Today is June 3rd! Here's what I'm asking, write Bad Wolf on slips of paper, sidewalks, and anywhere in public and scatter them around. Then take a picture and tag to #badwolfday2013 or #badwolfdaypeverettphile. Let's try and get this global. We can do it. Okay, and now for this week's...

Top Phive Groups Of People Who Want To See After Earth
5. People who've been in a coma since 1999 and still think Will Smith and M. Night Shyamalan are capable of making decent movies.
4. People anxious to see Jaden Smith's last movie before he goes off the rails as a doomed child star.
3. People hoping against hope for an awesome DJ Jazzy Jeff cameo.
2. Filmgoers who still haven't figured out that the surprise "twist" of every Shyamalan movie is that it's terrible.
And the number one group of people who want to see After Earth are...
1. Nepotism aficionados.

Nepotism Aficionado is the name of my new band. LOL. Anyway, if you spot the mindphuck email me at thepeverettphile@gmail.com.

Magic! As performed on screen by actors who are not magicians! Assisted by multiple do-overs, consultants, special effects and no live audience! How impressive? Not at all! Do you care? No, you do not! Let's go!  Now that that's out of the way, there's one more bit of business to deal with: it's not about magic. It's a movie with magic tricks that serve as a complicating factor in a series of heists pulled off by magicians who are in the service of an anonymous entity pulling the strings, a secrets-and-riddles plot that's impossible to write about in any real detail without giving away the game. The bare bones, though, are that magicians... well, two magicians (Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher... God, she's so hot), one mentalist pickpocket (Woody Harrelson) and James Franco's brother Dave, a guy whose main talents here are picking locks, fighting and vanishing into thin air, are robbing banks and Robin Hooding it back to their audiences. An FBI guy (Mark Ruffalo) and a French INTERPOL agent (Melanie Laurent) are hot on their trail. Meanwhile, Morgan Freeman is hovering in the wings wearing a jaunty fedora, smooth-talking all over the place and... who knows what else.  When you walk into a Las Vegas magic show you expect a liberal helping of cheese with the illusion and you more than get it. That's why it'll come as no surprise that these aggressively showy characters can't turn off the huckster-based performative aspects of their personalities even when threatened with the prospect of prison. Each cog in the heist machine is possessed of a flamboyant ego and little else, which makes caring for them as disposable as being overly concerned with the functionality of the plot. There are moments when it feels as though the filmmakers are patting themselves on the back for constructing a snap-tight puzzle box, but as it barrels along, growing larger and more preposterous, you realize that it's a big goof, meant to fake you out as much as some of the people on screen are suffering the same fate. That's when you just let it roll over you on its own "sure, whatever" empty entertainment terms. There is zero possibility of anyone ever actually accomplishing the robbery-magic presented on screen unless that person was, in fact, Harry Potter, so it's best not to get too torqued up about it.  In the end, I guess my biggest complaint is that there's not a single written line of dialogue as outlandishly silly as the film itself, nothing along the lines of, "NO, IT IS I WHO IS ILLUSIONING YOU!" But I suppose that would be too harsh a pop of the film's twisty animal-shape balloon, the one that wants to be taken at least somewhat seriously. But I still wish someone had said it. From 1 to 10, it gets a 7.

The 26th book to be pheatured in the Peverett Phile Book Club is...

The author and artist who are Phile Alumni, Ben Filipiak and Rob Rhine will be a guest on the Phile in a few weeks.

Today's pheatured guest is an upcoming pop singer from Los Angeles whose two singles "Runnin’ (Let Me Go Away)" and "The Writings on the Wall" are now available on iTunes. Please welcome to the Phile, the very beautiful April Kae.

 
Me: Hello, April, welcome to the Phile. How are you?

April: I'm doing well, thank you so much for having me!

Me: I love your name, it's is easy to remember and is a great 'stage' name. It was like you were meant to be a singer. Have you always wanted to perform?

April: Thank you! I have been singing ever since I could talk, but I didn't develop a love of performing until I was in junior high. It was then that I became involved in choir and school plays, and I discovered how much I really loved to perform as well as sing.

Me: I have to talk about this, you auditioned for "American Idol", right? I have a picture of you from your audition.

Me: Did you get a lot of TV exposure?

April: Yes, I was on "American Idol" Season 10 and I made it to Hollywood week. I was only on TV about three times, but it was a really fun experience!

Me: That was for season 10, and we're now just had season 12. I love that show, but I have a short term memory. Was that Simon's last season?

April: Simon's last season was Season 9. So the season I was on was the first season with the new judges, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler.

Me: Oh, yeah. Duh. How was the experience, April? How far did you get to in Hollywood week?

April: I had a lot of fun on the show, and I learned a lot about how reality TV works. It was difficult at times, and there were a lot of late night and early morning shoots, but overall it was a great experience. I made it to Hollywood week, but got sent home after the first round of Hollywood week auditions.

Me: Would you ever try out again or another talent show like "The Voice" or "X-Factor"?

April: Absolutely. It is such a great opportunity.

Me: How long have you been singing? Did you start off in musicals in school?

April: I have been singing my whole life. My love affair with music started at a very young age, when I listened to my dad's old soul and my cousins' hip hop and R&B records. In junior high and high school I became involved in choir and musicals, and that is where I found my love for performing.

Me: What musicals did you do?

April: I was in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", "Aida", and I did a lot of musical reviews.

Me: I imagine you were pretty popular in school, with your good looks and your talent. What were you like in high school?

April: Actually I was about the farthest thing from popular in high school! I hung out mostly with the artsy and theatre kids. I always liked to dress up in crazy outfits, like 80s sweaters and sunglasses with no lenses. I guess the main reason I wasn't popular was not because I didn't make any friends, but because I was just always so busy working on my music to really have much of a social life.

Me: Do you do a lot of songwriting?

April: Yes, I love to write. I'm looking forward to releasing some of my original material in the near future!

Me: You went to the Musicians Institute, right? Is that in California?

April: Yes, it is actually right on Hollywood Boulevard, across from the Kodak Theatre. It was really fun to be able to live and go to school in that environment.

Me: A lot of guests I had on the Phile went to Berklee in Boston. Did you think of going there?

April: I considered it but Berklee, at least historically, has had more of an emphasis on jazz and classical music, and The Musicians Institute provides a strictly contemporary music education. I also wanted to stay in Southern California because that's where my family is.

Me: What did you study at M.I., April?

April: I studied vocal performance.

Me: You're from Southern California, but what part?

April: I'm from San Diego.

Me: Alright, let's talk about your music. You currently have two releases out, two singles... "The Writings On the Wall" and "Runnin' (Let Me Go Way)". Are they both break-up songs?

April: Yes, they are both break up songs! Which is so funny because I have actually been pretty lucky in love and haven't had too many bad break-ups.

Me: If they are both break-up songs, how are they different?

April: "The Writings on the Wall" gives a sassy; fun takes on moving on after a break-up. And "Runnin' (Let Me Go Away)" talks about the strength it takes to leave a bad relationship.

Me: Did you write both of them, April?

April: No, I was actually very lucky to be able to collaborate with some amazing songwriters on my first two projects. "The Writings on the Wall" was written by Scott Kreitzer and John Pahmer, and "Runnin'" was written by Izumi Takagi and Meghan Buckley.

Me: I like those songs, and can imagine them both being played on the Top 40 radio stations. Your influences I am guessing are Britney, Demi, Kelly... am I right?

April: While I love and respect all those artists, my influences actually lie with the soul and R&B divas. I love Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and Aretha Franklin. I am looking forward to letting my R&B roots show in my new material.

Me: I could picture you singing country as well, but is pop your first love?

April: I really like country! I grew up with horses and around ranches so I definitely heard a lot of country growing up. But my first loves are pop and R&B.

Me: The video for "The Writings On the Wall" looks like it was fun to film. Did you spend a lot of time in Vegas filming it?

April: I had a blast filming the video for "Writings"! We spent the weekend in Vegas getting all of those shots and actually filmed the beach and club scenes in San Diego.

Me: You look comfortable in front of the camera. You have to be in your business, am I right?

April: Yes, definitely. I really enjoy performing and acting. I'm hoping to get into movies and television someday.

Me: So, with the two songs out, are you gonna be releasing an album?

April: I don't have any set plans for an album yet, but I am writing a lot of new material so I am hoping to put out an album in the near future.

Me: April, on the Phile I am asking random questions thanks to a box of cards called Tabletopics. Are you ready? This is a boring one, but here goes... what are the largest obstacles preventing you from realizing your dreams? What is your dreams anyway?

April: Well, of course my biggest dream/goal right now is to make my living selling and performing my music, and to eventually have the platform to share my music with the world. But I also want to someday open my own animal rescue. I would say my biggest obstacle is myself. Sometimes I do not know where to begin with a project, so then I never do. The most important thing I have learned through trying to break into the music business is to just start somewhere. If you take the wrong path, you learn a lesson and move on in a different direction.

Me: April, thanks so much for being on the Phile, I hope it was fun, and I hope you can come back on soon. Go ahead and mention your website.

April: Thank you, this was great! You can find my music on iTunes and all major music stores. Check out my Facebook page at facebook.com/aprilkaemusic, my Youtube at youtube.com/aprilkae, my website at aprilkae.com, and follow me on twitter @april_kae.

Me: Thanks again, and don't give up your dream, April.

April: Thank you!! :)

Me: Download her two singles from iTunes now, kids.

Man, she's gorgeous, isn't she? Alright, that about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to April for a great interview. The Phile will be back on Saturday with Phile Alum Tish Meeks from 3 Kisses. And then on Monday with singer songwriter Amber Edgar. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye. Strawberry Blondes Forever!