Hello, and welcome to the Phile for a Friday. I don't think I posted on a Friday in a long time. How are you? Well, as you know the government is shut down. People are saying now that before the government shutdown congressmen went out and got drunk... celebrating that they had shut down the government. This is the kind of thing that could damage their 10 percent approval rating. A CNN poll showed that the Congress approval rating is done to 10 percent. That still doesn't seem low enough. Do one out of 10 people really approve of the job Congress is doing? And who are these people? I want to work for them. When you sign up for Obamacare you choose between the bronze program, the silver program, the gold program, and the platinum program. If you sign up for the platinum, you actually get to drive the ambulance. All non-essential employees were sent home... including President Obama's economic team. You can see the effects of the shutdown all over town. President Obama is now down to just one teleprompter. A Ku Klux Klan rally scheduled for this weekend at the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania was canceled after park officials rescinded all permits for special events due to the government shutdown, which is now looking like it could last several weeks. It is truly an ill wind that blows blows away nobody's stupid racist hooded mask. The Manhattan offices of David Petraeus were evacuated after a secretary opened a package addressed to the general and discovered what appeared to be a live grenade inside. Neither she nor the New York City Police, who led the evacuation, had well-developed-enough senses of humors to realize that it wasn't actually a real weapon designed to blow people's faces off, but a prank one sent as a hilarious joke by one of Petraeus' comedic genius friends. Researchers at the universities of Pennsylvania and Cambridge... after carefully analyzing words posted to Facebook by men and women, discovered that we're all really just a bunch of gross sexist cliches. While words like "fuck," "fucking," "league" and "Xbox" dominated men's posts, more feminine words like "shopping," "boyfriend," and "mommy" topped the list for women. It's enough to make you want to smash your fucking Xbox. With the government shutdown the New York Daily News had the best front page. This is real and I have to share it with you.
It's gonna be a different kinda movie I think. So, did any of you see the ad for Foster Farms? I think it's risky, but I like it.
Oh, boy. Moving on... Let's see who went on the infinite vacation.
Tom Clancy
April 12, 1947 - Oct 1, 2013
Clear and presently dead
Before I started having a bunch of cool Democratic politicians on the Phile, and some hot ones as well like Stephanie Cutter, I used to have Reince Priebus here, and then all of a sudden he stopped coming on the Phile. Anyway, he has did something recently which I thought was kinda cool, and someone wanted to come on the Phile and give his view and tell us what Reince has done. So, please welcome to the Phile for the first time... Mo Elleithee, Communications Director for the Democratic National Committee.
Me: Hey there, Mo, welcome to the Phile. So, what did Reince Priebus do?
Mo: Hey, Jason. The chairman of the Republican National Committee offered to use the RNC's money to pay to re-open the National World War II Memorial for the next 30 days.
Me: Does that mean they plan on keeping the rest of the government shut down for the next month?
Mo: I don't know, but I guess that's not a surprise since they cheered the shutdown in the first place.
Me: So, what do you think of the RNC wanting to keep the Memorial open?
Mo: As a solution to this crisis, the RNC's stunt was meaningless.
Me: Meaningless? Explain, Mo. It's better than nothing.
Mo: It would do nothing for the kids who right now can't participate in Head Start, or the cancer patients awaiting clinical trials at the National Institutes of Health, or the 800,000 public employees who want to get back to work.
Me: So, do you think there's a solution to get the government back to the way it should be?
Mo: Fortunately, there is a solution that could get the government back up and running tonight...
Me: And for a lot longer than 30 days I take it. Haha. So, does this solution have enough support?
Mo: We know it has enough support to get through Congress and land on the President's desk. All it takes is a decision from Speaker Cruz Boehner to send a clean budget resolution to the floor.
Me: Okay, so, no matter what I think or anyone else think's of Reince, what do you think of him? Do you think he'll do anything?
Mo: I know Chairman Priebus is a well-connected guy, so I think he probably has the Speaker's number somewhere. The entire country would be a lot better off if he'd spend his time working to re-open the government instead of holding press conferences from the National Mall.
Me: I'd love to get Reince back on the Phile and tell him and the rest of his fellow Republicans to re-open the federal government today. Imagine? Mo, I know you're busy, thanks so much for being on the Phile.
Mo: Thanks, Jason.
The 36th artist to be pheatured in the Phile's Art Gallery is Rebekie Bennington, and this is one of her pieces...
Rebekie will be a guest on the Phile on Sunday.
Okay, today's pheatured guest is a singer whose latest EP "Places (Re-release)" is available on iTunes. Please welcome to the Phile... Vanessa Rose.
Me: Hello, Vanessa, welcome to the Phile. How are you?
Vanessa: Thank you! It's a rainy weekend but I've been feeling better than ever.
Me: Okay, Vanessa, you a brunette now, right? I saw some pictures of you with really big blonde hair. I have to show this picture...
Jason: You look like you stepped out of the 60s. Is that your big influence?
Vanessa: I'm actually a red head now! I think I like being blonde best. I'm a natural blonde; not bleached blonde though... I have to treat it in order for it to look bright and white. Being a brunette is too boring for me. Currently I can't go back to the bleached blonde for a project I'm working on. So red will have to do for now! Yes, I enjoy 60s pop & rock music very much. 50s pop and rockabilly, too.
Me: I am a huge fan of Duffy, and think you are as good as her. What do you think of her music?
Vanessa: Thank you. She has a cool voice; not a huge fan of the music. I liked her song "Mercy", though. Being a woman being played with just as a side thing can really mess you up.
Me: You have the perfect singer-songwriter name, Vanessa. Is Rose your middle name you go by or really your last name?
Vanessa: Thanks! It's not my birthed last name, but my birthed middle name which I go by.
Me: I love your version of "Sharp Woman Blues" you have up on YouTube. Is that a sneak preview of a new album you are working on?
Vanessa: Thank you; I guess you could say it's a "sneak preview" of another huge project I'm working on. It's... very extensive and a longer term goal that doesn't have all of my focus right now. But yes, there will be a new album and that song will most likely be on it. The new album is a shorter term goal than the extensive project. They won't come out simultaneously, but songs from the album will surely be used for the bigger project.
Me: Have you heard Lucinda Williams' version of "Sharp Blues Woman"?
Vanessa: I am not sure what you mean! My demo version is an original. I looked up Williams' work and couldn't fine anything. I'd love to know what you're referring to though!
Me: Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. I'll get back to you. Did you grow up listening to the blues?
Vanessa: I did in my household, as my dad was really, really into the blues. Actually, I didn't really get into blues until about 2 years ago. But when I did, it was a rather intoxicating experience!! It really stuck a chord with me and brought out a part of me I didn't know I had. However, that's not to say it's a good thing. Most blues, including "Sharp Woman", I feel bring out a lower, though emotional, aspect of us. Aside from "Sharp Woman", the rest of the songs on the album won't have the typical "blue" feeling. The lyrics are going to be more about hope, change, and self-realization, but still sung in that style; and that's where I want to make my mark in music, as most blues songs are, indeed, blue.
Me: Who did you grow up listening to?
Vanessa: I grew up listening to 50s pop, big band, and jazz. Also 60s pop and rock. I heard 90s radio tunes in the car a lot, too. But at home my family played Doris Day, Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante, and quite a bit of Patsy Cline, which is kinda bluesy. My parents also liked the Beatles, Turtles, and Herman's Hermits. In my early teens I listened to Dido and a lot of rap and hip hop. Late teens I listened to a bunch of melodic punk rock bands.
Me: Did you know from an early age you wanted to be a recording artist and performer?
Vanessa: I started learning to play the piano when I learned to walk, so I've always been musical. I knew in my early teens that I wanted to write and sing my own songs. My sister, myself, and a friend of ours started a pop group when I was 12. We wrote our own lyrics to the programmed songs on a keyboard we had, haha. We even talked about how our album cover should be. Nothing really ever happened with that of course; but yeah, the idea of doing this whole thing has been there for a while.
Me: What does your family think of your music?
Vanessa: They think it's cool, I guess. My gramma really likes "Sharp Woman". It's the first time she's ever said she likes anything of mine, haha. The rest of my family likes this new bluesy direction I'm going much better than the "Places" EP and the work I did in "One Star Story".
Me: Vanessa, I downloaded "The Places" EP from iTunes which came out a few years ago. You then released it again with a different cover. Now you're working on new music...
Vanessa: Oh yeah, definitely. I'm over everything on that EP, except perhaps the song "Places". Everything from here on out will feel more alive.
Me: Vanessa, where are you from?
Vanessa: Born in Massachusetts, raised in Maine, and spent 5 years in Missouri.
Me: Do you still live there in Missouri or did you move to Nashville or something?
Vanessa: Been back in Maine for a little break from everything, but moving to California next month.
Me: When you are not playing live or writing music, what do you do for fun?
Vanessa: I love to write essays. Most of the time they start with a concept that falls into my head, so I write it down. Then from there it's just a stream of thoughts that just keep coming faster than I can type. I used to write it all with pen and paper but the information was coming faster than I could write, so I took up typing them. The secret is to by-pass your mind and let information fall in from above. I also love to find old clothes at thrift stores and then alter them. If they are my style, I get them no matter why size they are, and then sew them to fit me. Then I'll add buttons or some other detail. I don't like wearing the same thing as anyone on the planet, so this is a sure way to not to that! Sometimes I'll find a blazer that I don't like at all but it has cool buttons, so I'll buy it for the buttons and put them on another blazer. Being creative with clothing is so much fun!
Me: Vanessa, thanks so much for being on the Phile. I can't wait for more music to come out from you. Why don't you go ahead and plug your websites and anything?
Vanessa: Thank you! This was fun. I can't wait to put new music out, and at this point I'm just not sure when I'll be able to do it. Probably not till later this year or early next. Sites... well, all my sites right now are just social networking sites; Myspace, Facebook, Twitter. Myspace.com/vanessarosemusic, facebook.com/vanessaroseee, twitter.com/vanessarosee. My official website is under construction as we speak, but if readers see this later on, the address is meetvanessarose.com.
Me: Vanessa, thanks again, and you are welcomed to come back any time, okay? \
Vanessa: Thank you; sounds great!
I just noticed there's a parrot on her shoulder on the EP cover. I wonder if she knows it's there. Haha. Anyway, that about does it for this entry. Thanks to Mo Elleithee and of course Vanessa Rose. The Phile will be back tomorrow with Christopher Noyes from Solia Tera. Then on Sunday it's artist Rebekie Bennington and Monday Phile Alum and one of my favorite singer's ever... Charlotte Sometimes. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye. Strawberry Blondes Forever! Okay, and I went into our pantry and this is what I found...
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