Saturday, June 6, 2015

Pheaturing Jean Paul Makhlouf From Cash Cash


Good evening and welcome to the Phile for a Saturday. As Graham Parker once said... Saturday night is dead. What a great song. Anyway, how are you? Okay, let's see what is happening.  Sepp Blatter has announced that he is resigning as President of FIFA after 17 years on the job. It is assumed that this comes in response to a mounting investigation from the FBI for possible incidents of corruption, though it's always possible that the 79 year old man simply wants to spend more time collecting bribes from his family.  Mike Huckabee is coming under fire from the media this week for a joke he  made about transgender people back in February. "I wish that someone told me that when I was in high school that I could have felt like a woman when it came time to take showers in PE," Huckabee told an audience at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. "I'm pretty sure that I would have found my feminine side and said, 'Coach, I think I'd rather shower with the girls today.'" You see that? Thoughtless, creepy and intolerant all in one comment. That's how you win a GOP primary. Mike Huckabee sure is doing a great job courting molester-defending, transphobic, straight-up creepy voters.  Enormous fire-breathing reptile Godzilla has been made an honorary citizen of Japan, thanks to his years of tireless work trampling the buildings of Tokyo. “Godzilla is a character that is the pride of Japan,” Mayor Kenichi Yoshizumi of the Shinjuku ward of Tokyo explained. To put it into terms that Americans can understand, he's sort of like Bill O'Reilly: a destructive, dinosaur-like created that we kind of like for some reason.  Matthew Apperson, the man who is on trial for shooting George Zimmerman in the face... will use Florida's Stand Your Ground defense. This is the legal tactic that Zimmerman himself made famous when he stood trial for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in 2012. Though, it should be noted that Zimmerman was not wearing a hoodie when the incident occurred, so that might be a factor. Disney studios has announced that it is adapting the iconic "Night on Bald Mountain" animated sequence from 1940s Fantasia into a full-length live action movie. Here's hoping they get Patrick Stewart to play the mountain.  Okay, so, sometimes I sit around and wonder what I can do to make my blog more popular... to get more readers. I get lots of advice from you out there and one of the things I get told that the blog lacks is animal photos. For some reason, people love pictures of animals. One of my favorite animals is the giraffe... so maybe if I put up a pic of a giraffe word will get out. So, here we go.


Haha. Man, that was a big build up for that photo.  A lot of magazines have pictures of celebrities without their make up so I thought it'll be fun of the Phile did the same thing. Check it out...


So, I have ti show you this poster. This is very real... but I don't know what they were going for.


Yup. That's almost a Mindphuck, right?  You know, working at Disney I meet a lot of different people... and I sometimes wonder if aliens exist. Then I saw this...


Yep. They exist alright.  Alright, I have to tell this story... There's nothing wrong with buying an accurate Star Wars Stormtrooper costume and wearing it around town. You might get some stares, but that's probably what you want. There is something wrong with wearing it and loitering in front of an elementary school. That's liable to get you arrested. That's what happened to this unlucky member of the Imperial Army.


He appeared in front of Brickett Elementary School in Lynn, Massachusetts on Wednesday just moments before class was meant to let out. Parents there to pick up their children were shocked and afraid. They didn't know what he was going to do... he was holding a blaster, and they didn't want anyone to wind up like Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. The principal noticed him and delayed dismissal until police showed up. Officers immediately arrested him and removed his mask, identifying him as a local man, 40 year old George Cross. Luckily, it turned out his laser gun was fake (because laser guns aren't real) and he claims his intentions were totally benign. He bristled at questions from 7 News reporters after his arraignment: "Like I'm some kind of weirdo? I bought a costume, I was walking through the neighborhood showing friends, and then all that." By "all that," he meant his charges of disturbing a school and loitering within 1,000 feet of a school. Those charges aren't even that bad considering his behavior. His story of "showing friends" is pretty sketchy. Are his friends 7? They would be the most impressed by the costume. If they're not, then why was he meeting them in front of an elementary school right when it was letting out? I don't think he was going to do anything bad... I think he wanted to get a reaction out of a bunch of kids. He just didn't count on the reaction of all the adults. But what do you expect? He's a Stormtrooper... they're famously weak-minded. Hey, George, this isn't the hobby you're looking for.  Okay, so, there's a thousand different blogs out there. Not all have over 800 entries, or all pheature clever pics and cool interviews... but they are all unique in their own way. Once in awhile I like to pheature different blogs and put them in the...


Today's award goes to... thehappilyeverafterproject.com. Check it out...


Go look at the blog, but finish this one first. When you go read it let them know the Phile sent you. And now for...


Top Phive People Who Wants To See Entourage
5. People who didn't think eight seasons of aimless model-humping were nearly enough.
4. Adrian Grenier's fan, who got tired of waiting for him to be in something else.
3. People who couldn't get into Mad Max, but still wanted to see a movie about a nightmarish world devoid of hope and compassion.
2. Lovers of slow-motion shots of douchebags walking away from private jets.
And the number one person who wants to see Entourage...
1. Matt Dillon, whose mom forces him to see everything his rat-faced little brother is in.



This one is a stretch. Good luck, kids. If you spot the Mindphuck let me know. Okay, before we continue I have to mention something personal. An old friend and fellow Disney Cast Member named Gordon Bolle... Grampa Gordon to his friends passed away last night. He was always telling a joke... and was a bog fan of this stupid little blog. Grampa Gordon, you will be missed.


It's 7:59pm, 82°F and Kelly Clarkson covers Rihanna's "Bitch Better Have My Money," reminds me she's a boss. Disclaimer: "Bitch Better Have My Money" is a killer track, Rihanna sings it like the perfect badass she is, and it was basically meant for her. However, Kelly Clarkson might have the most incredible set of pipes of our generation, and she can destroy pretty much any song in her path. This cover proves that Kelly Clarkson may indeed be the one person on this planet that I would pay to hear sing the phone book. Do phone books still exist? Do phones still exist? Anyway, Clarkson's version of the song can't even be compared to the original because it's an entirely new piece of musical artistry, and we should be just be thankful every time she graces us with the sound of her voice. Enjoy. youtube.com/watchlist=PL1CA6335E0D3699B6&v=K5K66qKJLo8#t=18.


The 37th book to be pheatured in the Phile's Book Club is...


Author and Phile Alum Patricia Cox will be a guest on the Phile next Friday.


Today's guest is a member of the dance trio Cash Cash whose new single "Untouchable" is available on iTunes now. Please welcome to the Phile... Jean Paul Makhlouf.


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

Jean Paul: We're good! we just released our new single "Untouchable" which is available on iTunes.

Me: Where are you guys from? New York, right?

Jean Paul: We're all from a small town called Roseland in New Jersey.

Me: Oh. You all seem so long, so I cannot imagine you've been in a band for long, am I right?

Jean Paul: We've been Cash Cash since 2008 and playing in other bands together since elementary school.

Me: Tell the readers who is in the band.

Jean Paul: I'm Jean Paul. I sing and write the songs with my brother Alex who plays keyboards. Sam plays guitar and Anthony plays the drums.

Me: I have to ask you about the band name, who came up with it? Why Cash Cash and not just Cash?

Jean Paul: We came up with the song first. As the consequence we had the song "Cash Cash" written. After we got signed we found out we had to change the name because the rapper Consequence owned the name and legally we had to change it. It was also around a time where a lot of people we're also trying to screw us over from agents to labels and out of frustration trying to come up with a new name I yelled, "Everyone's after all our damn cash and we don't even have any yet, we should just name the band Cash Cash." We all laughed and the name stuck!

Me: I was hoping you said you guys were big Johnny Cash fans. What music do you kids listen to? 

Jean Paul: Johnny Cash is definitely the man! We're big fans of Jimmy Eat World, Goo Goo Dolls, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, Daft Punk, Justice, Katy Perry, Dave Matthews Band, and so many other bands and different types of music.

Me: Yeah, I saw a picture of you guys and Katy Perry. I have to show it here...



Me: Let's talk about your music. You have a new single called "Untouchable" which we mentioned. I know that's not your first release... what was your last album called?

Jean Paul: "Love Or Lust."

Me: Did you guys all write the songs?

Jean Paul: We write all our own music. We did co-wrote a few of the songs together with some friends and it was a really fun experience!

Me: You guys are signed to a U.S. label and a Japanese label. Are you guys big in Japan? Have you been over there to play yet?

Jean Paul: We just signed with Twilight Records in Japan and we're really excited to get over there this summer. We've always wanted to tour Japan and have been waiting a long time for it to happen! 

Me: You guys played the Warped Tour a few years ago, and recently did a free show in Times Square. Do you guys like doing big outdoor shows, or would you rather play inside at a club?

Jean Paul: Warped Tour was an amazing experience that I will remember for the rest of my life! So many awesome memories were made. We all grew up going to Warped Tour seeing our favorite bands and playing it was just a priceless feeling. We love playing small shows too because they are very intimate with the crowd and you can really feed of their energy. It's all about keeping a good balance between the two.

Me: What's been your favorite gig you have done so far?

Jean Paul: I don't know if I can narrow it down to a single show... but Bamboozle '09 was definitely one of the biggest we've ever played as well as Kiss FM Seattle's Jingle Bell Bash.

Me: Some of you guys are featured in the video game "Sonic Colors," is that right? How did that happen? Are you characters in the game?

Jean Paul: Me, Alex, and Sam worked on the theme song as well as the closing song for "Sonic Colors." I sang over the theme song and Alex did talk box on the closing song. It was really awesome because we all grew up playing Sonic games as children. It was such a privilege to work on it. We are currently working on another Sonic game but can't give any information on it at this time!

Me: I listened to your single "Red Cup (I Fly Solo)" and have to ask you, what does that mean? Is that kid lingo for something? I am old, guys, explain it to me.

Jean Paul: Haha... it's a play on words between being solo and red solo cups. Sometimes we write stupid songs like that one that are just about partying and having fun. Let's just say it's not one of those songs that's gonna change the world... and we're cool with that.

Me: You recorded that with Lacey Schwimmer from "Dancing With the Stars" and someone named Spose. How did you get Lacey involved? She's a dancer, right? Did you know her before the song was recorded?

Jean Paul: We met Lacey out in L.A. when we recorded our first full length CD in the summer of '08. We stayed in touch and it was awesome to finally work on something with her! Spose was on Universal Republic Records with us and we met him at Bamboozle Chicago.

Me: Fantastic. Jean Paul, thanks so much for being on the Phile, you guys are gonna be big. When you are, I hope you will still come back onto the Phile. Go ahead and plug your website if you want. 

Jean Paul: Thanks so much for having us! We really appreciate the support! You can find us at: facebook.com/cashcashband, twitter.com/cashcashband, and cashcashmusic.com.




There you go, that about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to Jean Paul Makhlouf for the interview. It wasn't the most exciting one I have to admit... I blame myself. Haha. The Phile will be back on Wednesday with musician David Dover. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye. Rest in peace, Gordon.





























Not if it pleases me. No, you can't stop me, not if it pleases me. - Graham Parker

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