Pheaturing Terra Lightfoot From Dinner Belles

Hello, good evening, and welcome to a Thursday entry of the Phile. It's late today I know. I had to work this morning, so this is a late entry. But that's okay. There's gonna be an entry tomorrow as well and that's gonna be late in the afternoon as well.  So, did you vote on Tuesday? While the midterm elections might have seemed like a complete and utter disaster for Democrats, it may have been only a mostly complete and utter disaster for the party. A careful (and optimistic) analysis of Tuesday's data reveals that the GOP's crushing victory and Senate takeover somehow or other helps Hillary Clinton's presidential chances in 2016, according to a columnist from Yahoo! News. Meanwhile, Chris Christie... the head of the Republican Governors' Association and the least-silly person likely to enter the Republican primary saw his fortunes bolstered as well, as Republicans won a whole slew of new gubernatorial spots. The question of which candidate will oppose Clinton's re-election in 2020 remains an open question. Chris Christie says out loud what we're all thinking... just before we think of something much smarter to say.  The Marvel Studios wing of Disney... the greatest company to work for ever... is attempting to acquire a subpoena for Google in the hopes of learning the IP address of the person who uploaded the trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron to YouTube several days before it was supposed to premiere during "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. " Obviously, The X-Men's Charles Xavier could easily find the identity of the criminal with super psychic mutant skills, but his character is unfortunately under license to Sony Entertainment.  The deepest, darkest sexual fantasies of most people are really not all that deep or dark, according to a new study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. When researchers asked 1,516 people to reveal the contents of their erotic imaginations, the results turned out to be kind of a snoozefest, with the vast majority admitting to dreams of relatively boring junk like three-ways, oral sex and some light spanking. There were a few people who admitted to fantasizing about crazy stuff, like sex with animals, but that was less than 3 percent. What a disappointment. “It's all fun and games until nobody gets hurt”  said BDSM party buzzkill. Haha.  How much would you pay for a painting of a woman in an old timey dress holding a frilly umbrella? $10? $50? Well, somebody paid $65 million for this one called Le Printemps. It's not even new. It was painted way back in 1881 by some French dude named Édouard Manet. Talk about a ripoff. I have a picture of it here if you didn't see it.

Haha. My least favorite impressionists Édouard Manet, Rich Little and Imitation Crab. Hahaha. I'm cracking my ass up.  According to a groundbreaking new study from the journal Psychological Science, you should just shut up already about your dumb vacation that nobody wants to hear anything about. Researchers found that most people would rather talk about any mundane thing that at least concerned them to some small degree than your "amazing" and "transcendent" time spent on some goddamned "breathtaking" tropical beach somewhere. So just shut your face and be miserable with the rest of us. You know, another good name for Instagram could be Everyone's Always On Vacation Apparently?  So, did you guys hear this whole AC/DC story? What sucks is that "Murder for Hire" would be a fantastic name for an AC/DC album. But that's highly unlikely now that the band's longtime drummer Phil Rudd has been arrested in New Zealand for attempting to hire a hitman to murder two people. The identity of the two men Rudd wanted killed hasn't been released. He entered no plea to the charges before being released on bail, with the condition that he not have any contact with anyone involved in the plot, no doubt a relief to the guys he wanted murdered. Rudd played with AC/DC from 1975 to 1983 before being kicked out. He then rejoined the band in 1994, and was with them when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. If you're wondering how a member of one of the biggest-selling bands in music history could get involved with something like this, you should know he was also charged with possession of methamphetamine and weed. And considering he's a member of AC/DC, it's safe to assume that booze may have played a role. The drummer was noticeably absent from a recent AC/DC publicity photo, which fueled speculation that he'd been booted from the band. Combine losing one of the best gigs in rock with meth, and you could almost see how a guy might get murder on the brain. AC/DC released a statement on their website: "We've only become aware of Phil's arrest as the news was breaking. We have no further comment. Phil’s absence will not affect the release of our new album "Rock or Bust" and upcoming tour next year." That says a lot about the band's longevity. In a statement about their drummer being charged in a murder-for-hire plot, they still work in a plug for the new album and tour. Total pros.  So, I mentioned the midterm vote earlier. Some polling stations were handing out some pretty odd stickers, no the usual I Voted ones. Check it out...

Here's a question for you kids. Why do emergency rooms exist? Here's why...

Three words... What. The. Fuck.  I have to show you this, this made me laugh. Did you see the cover of the New York Post on Wednesday?

That's pretty fun no matter which side you're on.  So, do you kids watch "The Big Bang Theory"? So many people said I would like it but I don't know... then I saw this...

So, maybe I will watch it now.  Alright, so, you know I live here in Florida, right. Well, some crazy stories come out from here so that's why I started a little pheature called...

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is a beautiful beach town where the nation's drunken, property-destroying, entitled Spring Breakers are welcomed with open arms every year to puke all over the white sand beaches, and where 90 year old men who make it their mission to feed the homeless are removed by police, given citations (potentially costing $500 apiece) and possible jail time (90 days), and forcibly stopped from distributing food to the hungry. Twice in one week.  That's what happened to Arnold Abbot, a nonagenarian activist... and WWII vet, who has been feeding the homeless on the city's beaches for almost 25 years. He was arrested first on Monday alongside two church ministers, all part of a radical group Abbot founded called Love Thy Neighbor, which exists to feed the hungry. Apparently, an officer literally walked up and ordered him to "drop that plate." One of the pastors, Rev. Dwayne Black, explained Love Thy Neighbor's extreme agenda to the Broward Palm Beach New Times, "I don't think the city has a right to tell us we can't feed the homeless," said Rev. Black. "This is breaking my Christian vows." Someone control that mad dog!  This is separate from the arrest of eight members of a group called Food Not Bombs, who were sitting in a lobby hoping to meet with the executive director of Ft. Lauderdale's Downtown Development Authority about the ordinances. The director, Chris Wren, was not there at the time but claims members of the group threatened his assistant. Unsurprisingly, the members tell another story.  See, Fort Lauderdale has a problem... it's warm and sunny there. Many Floridians see this as a big issue, because Americans who have fallen on hard times often avoid freezing to death in the winter by heading south, completely disregarding the fact that Fort Lauderdale residents don't want to look at them.  Undeterred by the continued alive-ness of the homeless, Fort Lauderdale has tried many tactics, including seizing any private property that's been in public for more than 24 hours and issuing very harsh penalties for public urination. Many people argued that adding public restrooms would be a better solution, but they were met with the recommendation that homeless people walk to the hospital to relieve themselves. Just in case you forgot, we're talking about Florida.  There was still that pesky food issue, though, and since you can't actually outlaw feeding the homeless, Fort Lauderdale came up with the clever solution of making it illegal to share food with anyone unless you provide a hand-washing station, bathrooms, and of course, a permit.  Since church groups and nice people can't afford the extra expense of renting port-a-potties every weekend, paying for permits (if you get them), and taking time to fill out excessive paperwork, this only effectively outlaws feeding the hungry. Totally humane. Oh, and the food must be less than four hours old, so don't even think about making food the night before and putting it in Tupperware, you criminal scumbag. Also, everyone who volunteers has to be certified by the state and you have to dispose of water in a special vat... even if you're on the beach.  This is drawing comparisons to pre-1988 Miami, before the infamous Pottinger case ended an official policy of beating the homeless, taking their property, and burning it in front of them. We. Are. Talking. About. Florida. The only people in this story who probably aren't Floridians are the homeless, who wandered there when they remembered the heat but forgot about the crazy.  For the record, Fort Lauderdale started seizing homeless people's property on September 24th, the day that law went into effect... the food-sharing law went into effect on Halloween, because no one gives out food on that day). This has already resulted in a woman ending up in the hospital for three days after her breathing medicine was seized by police along with the rest of her belongings. Oh yeah, they also seized the recycling bags that homeless people collect. That's right, the one public service homeless people provide... collecting all our cans for a few measly cents... and they get penalized for that, too. Oh, I just want to give a shout-out to this photo and caption from the Broward Palm Beach New Times, which deserves its own special Pulitzer...

Yes, we are talking about Florida, but Fort Lauderdale is just one of many cities nationwide currently trying to find ways to technically outlaw homelessness and live out their dreams of becoming Eric Cartman and leading all the homeless away from their towns. Because Eric Cartman is who you want your town's morals to resemble.  This story does not get any better, and quotes like "Just because of media attention we don't stop enforcing the law. We enforce the laws here in Fort Lauderdale" from the eminently punchable-looking mayor, Jack Seiler, don't make it any easier. Nor does the fact that Abbot has been serving meals on the beach for over two decades, or the fact that the requirement that outdoor food sharing be more than 500 feet away from a residential building practically necessitates doing it on the beach, where there are obviously no bathrooms or hand-washing facilities. In conclusion, Fort Lauderdale is a very nice place to retire after you're done giving a flying fudgsicle about anyone else's life.

This might be a hard one, kids. By the way, in the last entry I posted this Mindphuck...

And I said that I didn't get it myself. Well, only a handful of you did figure it out. Appanrently squares A and B are the same color. Sure they are. That's the answer though. I will never post another Mindphuck like that again. It wasn't a Mindphuck, it was Mindrape. Okay, now to talk about something serious. Jeremy Dale Phile Alum and writer and artist on the acclaimed Action Lab series "Skyward" passed away this past Monday. Here is a picture of Jeremy...

He was only thirty-four years old. and apparently his passing was sudden and unexpected. A GoFundMe page has already been created... and generated more than $5,000 in a few hours, to help his family deal with expenses. If you want to help donate go to gofundme.com/jeremydale.

Another thing, Phootball Talk should be happening here but Jeff and Lori couldn't make it on the Phile this week. They should, hopefully, be back next Thursday.

Episode VII: The Force Awakens
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens is the upcoming seventh Star Wars movie we don't really know enough about to mock right now but rest assured we'll get there.

The 29th artist to be pheatured in the Phile's Art Gallery is Andry "Shango" Rajoelina and this is one of his pieces...

Andry will be a guest on the Phile in about a week.

Today's pheatured guest is a member of he band Dinner Belles whose new CD "The River and the Willow" which is available on iTunes. Please welcome to the Phile... Terra Lightfoot.

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

Terra: Great!

Me: Okay, I have to ask you about your sat name... Lightfoot. That's an Indian name, right? Are you part Indian?

Terra: Well, in Canada, being Indian means being from India. I think you might be asking about whether I'm Native or Aboriginal? I'm not.

Me: You're right. I'm an idiot. You guys are all from Canada, am I right? What part?

Terra: You're right! We're from Southern Ontario. It's very beautiful. We live near Toronto if that helps.

Me: I have interviewed so many artists from Canada over the years. So, Terra, do you know Adam Bentley from The Rest? I think everybody in Hamilton knows him. Haha.

Terra: Yes, we DO know Adam Bentley and we LOVE him. He's very quick on his feet on the basketball court as well.

Me: Did you know the other kids in Dinner Belles before hand?

Terra: I knew some of them beforehand. Mel and I shared a ride home from Montreal. Brad and I had played shows together. I can say we are all much better friends now, after being together for so long. 

Me: How did you kids all get together and form the band?

Terra: Our friend Dave Crosbie asked a bunch of his friends if they wanted to be in a band. Some got an invite to be in an Allman Brothers cover band (I was asked to play keyboards for that project). It ended up that we all enjoyed playing and singing old tunes so much that we started writing originals. Our first song was "Til the Dawn". We barely had it ready for our first show.

Me: You play guitar and banjo, am I right? How long have you been playing, Terra?

Terra: I've been playing since I was about ten or so. I wouldn't say I play banjo but I do when we play live for the shock value. Ha.

Me: Okay, so, who else is in the band? There's quite a few of you.

Terra: We've got Melanie Pothier on mandolin... a real menace with words... she and I co-wrote "Wandering Eye" together. Brad Germain is on lead vocals and electric guitar, he's a handsome vegan fellow who lives in his childhood home in east end Hamilton with his wife Jenni and two dogs. Brandon Bliss is a meandering banjo playing songsmith. He also plays organ in another band called Monster Truck. Gregory Brisco is our resident soloist and plays piano all over our area with all sorts of bands. A really great guy and he wrote "Back Home in the Valley"... the album's opener. Jonathan Cass is our drummer... he came from a punk background but still loves to play softer stuff with us. Scott Bell is the dad in the band. He and his wife Rebecca have two beautiful children who you may have seen in our videos or modelling our t-shirts.

Me: Who does the songwriting? Everyone.

Terra: We tried with this record to have different people write together. We all really love the process and working through songs together.

Me: I just listened to the new album "The River and the Willow" and really liked it. How did that song get to be the title track?

Terra: Brandon wrote the title track for the first record so it seemed like an obvious choice to use one of his new songs as the title track for this record.

Me: I am so stupid, but I thought the album was called "Southern Souls", but it isn't. What is Southern Souls? Am I the only jackass that was confused about this?

Terra: Unfortunately, you might be. But it's because you don't know about Southern Souls, and you should! It's a website run by our videographer friend Mitch Fillion. He's done work for La Blogotheque. Check him out... southernsouls.ca.

Me: I watched the video of the song and it looks like it was filmed on one take, am I right? 

Terra: Oh, yes!

Me: Your last release was "West Simcoe County", first of, is that a real place? I am guessing it is.

Terra: It's a real place. Brandon's family has land there.

Me: How would you describe this album to the new one?

Terra: "West Simcoe County" was made in the infancy of the band. We were just trying to see if we could get through the recording process. During that album, we hired Brisco to play the keys in the band and now he's a full time member. With our newest release, we were more intent on making a cohesive album, a nice holistic collection of songs.

Me: I read that people from down here in Florida all the way to Nova Scotia have covered your songs. What? Is this true? That must be very rewarding, Terra.

Terra: It's super rewarding! We have lovely fans and we are always pleasantly surprised to see people covering our tunes.

Me: Ever been to Florida before?

Terra: Yep, went to Disney World with my grandma. It was really, really cool. I was seven.

Me: Your music is very country sounding, but not traditional Nashville country. Who are the bands influences and who did you listen to growing up?

Terra: All of us listen to different things. Right now, as a band, I'd say we're into Allmans, Delaney and Bonnie, Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams Sr, George Jones, Elvis... Christ... the list goes on. I'm definitely not giving you a clear picture. Ha.

Me: The album was recorded in a barn though, right? And you all lived together?

Terra: We wish we lived together in that barn... but no... and the album was done in an old coach house in Preston, Ontario.

Me: You have released your one self-titled solo album a few years ago, Terra. Do you think you will doing another solo album?

Terra: Yep! I've got one in the works that should be hitting the shelves... or Internet? in February.

Me: I found this picture of you jumping into a lake I have to ask you about.

Me: What the hell? First that water looks cold, and deep. Do you jump into lakes often?

Terra: I LOVE lake jumping!

Me: You couldn't do that in Florida... too many gators. You don't have that problem in Canada though, do you?

Terra: No gators to speak of.

Me: Okay, so, what's next for Dinner Belles?

Terra: Writing more tunes for our third album!

Me: I didn't ask you where the name of the band comes from and what it means. So, where did it come from?

Terra: Not really sure. it just stuck.

Me: I looked up Dinner Belles on Facebook and a personal chef service came up from Texas. It was these women...

Me: Haha. They look so pretty. Ha. Do you kids have a Facebook page?

Terra: Yes, we do. But I'm technologically inept and so I can't link you to it.

Me: Terra, do you cook?

Terra: Haha. Yes! love to cook. Most of us in the band like to cook I think.

Me: Okay, so, on the Phile I ask random questions thanks to Tabletopics. Ready? Is it more difficult for you to speak kindly or honestly?

Terra: Honestly.

Me: That's good. Terra, thanks so much for being on the Phile. I hope it was fun and I hope you will come back again soon. I am glad I got to interview the most attractive member of Dinner Belles as well. ; ) Go ahead and mention your website.

Terra: Thanks! Twitter.com/DinnerBelles. 

Me: Thanks so much for being here again. Take care.

That about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to Terra Lightfoot. The Phile will be back tomorrow with singer Jonathan Sprout and Monday with Phile Alum Kyle Carey. Yes, there was some changes in the days. Next week we'll settle into a normal schedule. Until then spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye.

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

Pheaturing Phile Alum Anna Coogan

Hey there, good afternoon and welcome to the Phile, kids. It's Monday and November. Actually, apparently it is now Movember. So, remember, this Movember to briefly check for lumps during the many hours you spend scratching your balls. Yes, I said it.  Okay, so, many U.S. pastors are endorsing politicians from the pulpit in angry protest of a 60 year old law that allows them to save millions of dollars every year by not paying taxes, with the provision that they remain politically neutral. The church leaders are banking on the Internal Revenue Service choosing not to revoke their tax-exempt status, probably because that is almost certainly what's going to happen. Looks like Church and State have reconciled, and are now in a polyamorous relationship with Corporations.  Hey, want more Taylor Swift news? The song catalogue of pop superstar Taylor Swift... whose record-breaking new album "1989" was released last week is being pulled from Spotify due to the likelihood that the record company Big Machine can squeeze a few more dollars worth of sales from fans if they eliminate the music streaming service as an avenue of consumption. Now that Taylor Swift songs are no longer available on Spotify, where on earth can I hear them besides literally every radio station?  God, I wish I was in New York now. For the first time since the terrorists attacks of September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center is finally open for business. Today marked the first day that the 104-story One World Trade Center is in use by the many businesses it houses, meaning that New York City and America officially have their enormous phallic symbol back. One World Trade Center is 1,776 feet tall, which seems triumphant, until you realize the rest of the world sees that as 541.3 meters tall.  Devotees of the blockbuster literary erotica hit "Fifty Shades of Grey"... as well as fans of male frontal nudity the world over received some terrible news today. The star of the upcoming film adaptation revealed that his penis will sadly not be appearing onscreen. So, looks like you'll just have to go see Gone Girl again.  Comedian Chris Rock scandalized many viewers of "Saturday Night Live" this past weekend when he utilized humor while commenting on the 9/11 and Boston Marathon terrorist attacks during his opening monologue as guest host of the comedy show.
"SNL" should just have Zach Galifianakis do the same Chris Rock monologue next week and all the angry white people will call it “edgy." Haha.  Okay, I just mentioned Taylor Swift and that girl is all over the media. Well, like I said these last few weeks, Disney is cashing in and re-releasing all their classic animated movies replacing the princesses with Taylor. Check it out...

Okay, I wouldn't call Mulan a Disney classic at all.  Speaking of Disney... the greatest company to work for ever is really, really milking this whole Frozen thing. You can even buy the movie on VHS. Don't believe me?

Told you. Hah!  So, do you kids take selfies? Selfies are so popular they also appear in movies that shouldn't.

You know, everybody tells me I would like the show "The Big Bang Theory". I wasn't sure until I saw this...

Now I just might have to watch it. Haha. I'm so stupid. And now from the home office in Port Jefferson, New York, here is this week's...

Top Phive People Having A Worse Monday Than You
5. A guy who sent Ariana Grande a giant pumpkin for Halloween.
4. Fans of Taylor Swift, who just took all her music off Spotify.
3. A guy who dressed as a Fox News reporter for Halloween and got attacked by someone who hates Fox News.
2. The Dems, because polls suggest the GOP could take the Senate tomorrow. And the number one person having a worse Monday than you is...
1. Lena Dunham, who has been accused of sexually abusing her little sister.

Okay, this time my mind is fucked. A Phile reader sent this to me and I can't figure it out. If you can, please let me know. It's been bugging me for a bloody week. Oh, real quick before I continue, a Phile reader named Magdalia sent me a drawing of myself, and I thought it was so cool I have to share it.

Haha. I like it but I'm smiling in it and I have too much hair. Apart from that it's pretty good. I actually look like Beavis or Butt-Head here. I can never figure out which one is who. Shit, now I don't remember what I was gonna do next on the Phile. Oh, yeah, I remember...

Wayne Static
November 4, 1965 – November 1, 2014
Cue up the Steely Dan... no static at all.

Mid-term Election 
Mid-term election refers to the electoral charade that happens two years after the electoral charade of choosing a president.

The 29th artist to be pheatured in the Phile's Art Gallery is Andry "Shango" Rajoelina who is from France... but we won't hold that against him. Haha. Here's one of his pieces...

Apparently that's a "Breaking Bad" painting if you didn't know. I didn't... I thought it was Indiana Jones. Anyway, Andry will be a guest on the Phile in a few weeks.

Today's guest is a Phile Alum whose latest CD she did with musician JD Foster called "The Birth of the Stars" was just released on October 28th and can be purchased on iTunes or Amazon. Please welcome back to the Phile... Anna Coogan.

Me: Hello, Anna, welcome back to the Phile. How have you been?

Anna: Thanks for having me back... been good, thanks! I’ve enjoyed watching your local Wawa get built.

Me: Haha. Yeah, for those that don't know, on Facebook I have been taking pictures of the Wawa here in Clermont being built which took about a year. You know, last time you were on the Phile two years ago First Lady Michelle Obama was on the same entry. Were you surprised? You were in good company, right?

Anna: It seemed like an auspicious start...

Me: Anna, you're originally from Boston, am I right?

Anna: Yup, born in Boston and raised there until I was twelve.

Me: You live in New York now though. What part? Upstate I think, am I right?

Anna: I moved to Ithaca, New York about three years ago. I absolutely love it here.

Me: And you teach music there?

Anna: Yes... I teach voice, guitar, performance, and songwriting. But mostly I’m a vocal coach.

Me: How long have you been a teacher? Is it fun?

Anna: I’ve been teaching full time since we moved to Ithaca three years ago and I left my job as a biologist, although I taught occasionally before that. It’s a lot of fun and connects me to what I loved about music when I was a kid, before all of the business stuff creeped in and put a damper on it. I accidentally typed “dumper” which actually really sums up the business part.

Me: What ages do you teach?

Anna: All ages! I teach a lot of tween girls, and I teach at Cornell so I have college kids, and a few brave adults as well. I like ‘em all, but there’s something about the teenagers that really works with me... maybe because I’m still stuck being around fifteen years old (and deeply stubborn in way only a teenage can be) inside.

Me: Are your students aware of your wonderful music?

Anna: Some of them have listened to it and think it’s really cool, others don’t really care at all, and some, especially the ones who have seen me perform with Johnny Dowd, think it’s just weird. I kind of leave it up to them if they want to dig deeper and find out about their teacher. Unless there’s a big show coming up, in which case I try to rope their parents into showing up.

Me: I read some bios on you, and I didn't mention this last time you were here but a lot of times it says you are from Canada. Why is that, Anna?

Anna: Man, your guess is as good as mine. I’m so totally NOT from Canada. Although would love to get some of their funding for touring and recording!

Me: You're married, right? Is your husband from Canada?

Anna: Yes, I’m married. He’s from Alaska, though. Also, totally not Canada, although geographically maybe it should be.

Me: You do spend a lot of time in Europe touring. Do you like touring and playing Europe better than America?

Anna: Honestly, I like to tour where there are interested audiences, and where I can earn enough to afford to be on the road. I’d go pretty much anywhere in the world if those needs were met and and there was no civil strife. Europe is a great place for that... generally great and attentive audiences that still really care about what you do. I also speak a handful of European languages, and speaking foreign languages is my favorite thing to do, so that makes it really appealing. Also, I love food and coffee and walking in cities, and waffles. Love those Belgian waffles. But believe me, if touring more widely in the U.S. becomes a possibility, I am all over it.

Me: How do you find the audiences are different?

Anna: It’s a bit like Anna Karenina… good audiences are all the same... it’s the bad audiences that are bad in their own way! I feel like a good audience is a good audience... regardless of what language they speak or where you are. If they are into the music and the show, and are a rowdy enough to let you know (but not so rowdy that bottles are flying), and there’s that crazy energy passing between artist and audience- that’s a good show. The harder shows are where people really aren’t picking up where you are putting down and that’s where the cultural differences seem to come in. Often times in Europe, if someone didn’t like a show... they’ll come up to you and tell you. That takes some getting used to. Other times it can be hard to tell what people are feeling... if they love you, they’ll sit in silence and stare… and if they hate it, they’ll sit in silence and stare. The key is learning to perform the same regardless of audience reaction, which also takes some getting used to. 

Me: Let's talk about your latest album "The Birth of the Stars" which you were kind enough to send me a copy of. I love this album. With this album, you could be the star, Anna. How did that song get to be the album title?

Anna: Thanks!! I wrote that song with my drummer Willie B. I never intended for it to be the title track of the record, but I actually think it works well. When we toured the “pre-release” version of the record last winter (which was a quirk of timing, since the official release is later this year and into next year) we just called it “Anna Coogan and JD Foster.” I got pretty sick of explaining why the record had no title. So, when I went to print if officially, we named it... we had a couple of contenders, but that one won out. That’s probably my favorite song I’ve ever written.

Me: It's a duet album you did with JD Foster, who I have heard of... he played with Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakum and T Bone Burnett plus many more. Where did you first hear about JD, Anna?

Anna: I got hooked up with JD through a friend of mine whose son plays with Laura Cantrell. JD produced one of her records. JD and I did a record together (he produced 2009’s “The Nocturnal Among Us.”) We stayed friends over the years, and when I moved to N.Y. from Seattle we played a few shows together, most notably opening for Taj Mahal here in Ithaca. JD stayed for the weekend, and we ended up writing a bit. It seemed to come easy, so we got pretty motivated to write more. It was a long, dark, cold winter, and it was nice to break it up and plumb the depths a bit. He ended up coming to Ithaca several times over the next year for week long writing sessions.

Me: How did you and JD meet and decide to do an album together?

Anna: We came to a certain point with the writing... we had well over an albums worth of material  and it seemed like the logical next step. It always does, I guess. JD is a fantastic producer, and we had Willie on drums, and Ithaca has some beautiful studios. We went with the fantastic Electric Wilburland a few miles out of town, with Grammy winning engineer Will Russell at the helm so we were pretty much ready to go.

Me: Did you both do the songwriting?

Anna: Yes... this was the most collaborative effort I’ve ever done. JD came to Ithaca several times over the course of the year, I cancelled all my lessons for the week, and all we did was write. It was so fun and we came out with a ton of songs, only some of which appeared on the record. We’d also get a box of wine at the beginning of the week and work through it night by night, going late and starting early. And LOTS of coffee. JD can drink an incredible amount of caffeine.

Me: I want to show this picture of you two...

Me: What instruments does be play on the album? Quite a few, right?

Anna: JD plays a lot of instruments on this record. Studio time costs money... lots of money... so we laid the basic tracks in three days, and then took it home from there. He spent a lot of time in his living room laying down guitars, vocals, and most notably “weird sounds.” He’s super into sounds all while we were in Europe he was making iPhone recordings of church bells and street sounds. Pretty inspirational to see someone living music production like that.

Me: How long did the album take to record and was it fun working with him?

Anna: The album got done pretty fast, at least from my point of view. JD may have felt different! A few basic track days in the studio and then a month or two of JD mixing and adding things. I added a few instruments as well, but it’s mostly him. JD is one of my closest friends... we went through a lot of life changes together over the last few years... took a lot of hikes and spent a ridiculous amount of time driving around in a van... so yes, it was fun. Also intense, and sometimes a battle, on certain songs and certain nights. But mostly just fun.

Me: You started to play an electric guitar, not acoustic. What made you change, and what do you like better?

Anna: AAAAAA ELECTTRIC!!! The Strat has changed my life in so many ways. There is such a freedom in playing the electric guitar... the whole neck opened up to me. I’ve also been extremely lucky to have Johnny Dowd and Willie B in my life... both of who have large collections of pedals that they’ve been lending out to me, so I get to try all the fun sounds without spending my life savings on pedals. Which I’ll probably do eventually, since every pedal is the best pedal. I still do a fair amount of writing on the acoustic, but every time I pick one up my band mates give me a certain look and it’s back to the Strat.

Me: You mentioned Willie B. and I have to talk about him. He has played with Neko Case I think, who I am a big fan of. How did you meet him?

Anna: Willie lives down the street from me and when I first moved to town JD introduced us. We first saw him play with the Johnny Dowd band at a tiny venue in Ithaca, and my husband and I were blown away with all of them, especially Willie. I had been doing a lot of solo acoustic work at the time so it took a bit of time to convince him how much I needed drums and synthesizer.

Me: You and Willie have been doing a lot of shows together, but JD is not playing with you. Is he working on another project?

Anna: JD’s got tons of projects, so we work around his schedule. Willie and I live close enough that we can practice every week, so it makes it easy to play duo shows. Plus he’s got the unique ability to play bass pedals and drums AND synth at the same time, so it’s been fun working on that.

Me: With you and Willie as a duo, he's playing drums and you guitar... like the White Stripes or Flat Duo Jets. That's a great combo of instruments. Do you like playing with just you two?

Anna: I love playing in all combinations, (except solo, which frankly is just not as fun) but the duo is pretty cool... Willie plays bass pedals at the same time as drums, so it’s a pretty unique and full sound. We both love to play with JD as well. We did a trio tour of Europe last year and that was fantastically fun. I also toured for several years with Daniele Fiaschi, a Roman guitar player, which involved a lot of bickering in Italian and drinking a lot of coffee. It’s nice to have options.

Me: Wait... I know you know who the White Stripes are but do you know Flat Duo Jets? Dexter Romweber was once on the Phile years ago.

Anna: I’d better look at up! I’m so tragically unhip sometimes…

Me: So you played a show with JD, Anna.

Anna: Yes. I toured with JD for several weeks in Europe as a duo, and then Willie joined us as a trio. We’ve also played a few stateside shows together around the city and Ithaca. JD has a strict policy of never playing a song the same way, so you have to be on your toes, which is great fun, and has definitely improved my musicianship.

Me: I have to ask, who did the great artwork for the album?

Anna: Q Cassetti. She’s an Ithaca-area artist who most recently did the Valentines Day postage stamp for the USPS. Q kind of saved this project in a lot of ways. We had printed limited edition copies for our tour of Europe, and we had run out, and it was really hard to decide if we wanted to go ahead with printing more. My budget was more or less gone, and CD’s are so hard to sell… Q stepped in at the last moment and created AND donated this incredible art and gave me the strength I needed to finish the project and see it through to the end. I’ll never forget her kindness.

Me: That was nice of her. I should interview her on the Phile. Do you think you and JD will be doing another album together?

Anna: I hope so, but we haven’t written much this year, so it may be a while.

Me: If you can do a record with anybody else, who would it be?

Anna: Oh MAN that’s a hard question. I’ve always loved Tucker Martine’s records. And Daniel Lanois. And if Paul Simon ever wants to get into production...

Me: Okay, on the Phile I ask random questions thanks to Tabletopics. Here we go... Shit, this is a deep one... Is work valuable for its own sake? I have no idea what that bloody means.

Anna: Actually, that’s a pretty decent deep question for me. Most deep questions leave me deeply puzzled but this one I get. I am the daughter of a workaholic, from a workaholic New England family, and... well... I love to work, when it’s work I love. It’s also a decent question because my line of work often takes working a separate job to support. I teach, and run a B and B, among other side jobs, to pay off the never ending band costs, and yet music work is still the driving force of my life. I wake up every morning hungry to get to work... even when that’s booking or facing seemingly endless rejection each day... and I go to bed exhausted from it... and, when it’s not driving me crazy, it’s the best thing ever.

Me: Anna, thanks for coming back on the Phile, and thanks for the CD... do you think JD would like to e interviewed on the Phile?

Anna: If you can track him down!! I had to drive six hours to Long Island last weekend to see him. Luckily it was sunny so we went to the beach.

Me: Go ahead and mention your website and everything.

Anna: Website: annacoogan.com. And of course, the cursed Facebook “Pay for Posts” fanpage: (okay, I’m a bit bitter on the bait and switch, I worked for years to build up my Myspace page, but then all of sudden that wasn’t cool, and then it was Facebook, and what the hell is ‘ello?? I can never keep up:) facebook.com/pages/Anna-Coogan/19144449928 and the incomprehensible Twitter: twitter.com/annacoogan. Join me! It’ll be fun, I swear.

Me: Okay. Take care, continued success and come back again soon.

Anna: Thanks much... keep at the blog!!

That about does it for this entry of the Phile, kids. Thanks to Anna for a great interview. The Phile will be back on Thursday with Terra Lightfoot from the Canadian band Dinner Belles. And on Monday it's singer Jonathan Sprout. Don't forget to vote tomorrow for the slightly less awful and eventually completely ineffective candidate. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye.

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

Pheaturing Al Abbazia

Hello, welcome to Peverett Phile Sunday Morning. Ha. So, did you turn your clocks back one hour? The time change gives me an extra hour to be miserable today. I'm just kidding... or am I?  Okay, let's talk about how the world's wealthiest are devouring all the money. The 85 wealthiest people in the world make approximately $500K per minute and $668 million dollars a day, according to a new report from Oxfam International. It also shows that there are now twice as many billionaires in the world as there were before the global economic crisis began in 2009. So, the bad news is that the global pool of money is being sucked upward. The good news is that there are way more rich people to toss us coins while we grovel in the street. You know, I'd rather be poor in the 21st century than rich 200 years ago. Even if I'm a loser at least I have an iPhone. Take that, Medici family.  Extraterrestrials have visited Earth, according to the death bed confession of a man who claimed to be an Lockheed Martin engineer. The 78 year old alleged aerospace engineer who said he had "top secret clearance" explained in a recently released video that the alien beings are "approximately four and a half to five feet tall" with "three back bones" and the ability to communicate telepathically. Sounds plausible aside from the height thing. Call me a skeptic, but I just don't buy an alien standing more than three-feet tall.  Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams are one step closer to losing the legal battle over their 2013 hit song "Blurred Lines," after a federal judge denied their motion that the court find that the song did not borrow heavily from the 1977 Marvin Gaye classic "Got to Give It Up." We can probably assume their case started falling apart shortly after the judge got around to listening to the two songs. Twenty bucks says Robin Thicke has asked his reps to put him in touch with the girl from the catcalling video.  This is something I learned from my sister... Starbucks announced that it will soon begin delivering its coffee-based beverages to customers' homes, because opening locations inside every house in America was apparently unfeasible.  Like love and money, it appears that trolling is now a language spoken around the world. Even in North Korea. Notice anything peculiar about this publicity photo of Kim Jong-un explaining crude crib technology to North Korea's top military leaders?

Yes, besides the dear leader's new look, featuring longer hair, parted in the middle like all the cool people in the mid-1970s. Look a little closer...

It's not that he's smoking a cigarette above a child's bed that is most likely as flammable as a pile of dried leaves. It's what's behind him, humping doggy style in the corner. I hope whoever the brave soul was who pulled off this beautiful prank is safely out of the country by the time Jong-un hears about the Internet and learns how to Google himself. In a place where you can be sentenced to hard labor for poetry, I'd hate to think what the punishment would be for embarrassing the country's most powerful maniac. Crazy, right?  So, the Phile has a new sponsor.

I have no bloody idea what that is... or does.  It's Sunday, and if you want something to read today where here is a suggestion.

That's how I learnt to be so awesome. Haha. Yeah, right. Is that John Tesh on the cover?  So, do you kids like Taylor Swift? Disney does, as they are re-releasing all their classic animated movies with Taylor replacing the princesses. Here's the latest one...

That is a little bit scary.  Okay, it's Sunday and I am sure you are going to church instead of reading this blog. There's so many cool churches out there that are different, so I thought I would show one to you today. This futuristic protestant church is located in Tokyo and it was first unveiled by the design firm of Ciel Rouge Creation in 2005.

The ceiling is specially made to reverberate natural sound for 2 seconds to provide a unique listening experience for worshipers and tourists.  As you know, I live in Florida and some of the craziest stories come out of Florida and nowhere else. So, that's why I have a pheature devoted exclusively to that. So, once again, here is...

When Micah Dailey left his house in Cape Coral, Florida on Tuesday, he probably did not plan on going to jail. You have to think that if he thought there was even a chance that he'd be arrested and charged with possession of no more than 20 grams of marijuana, he would've changed his shirt before heading out.

Because, when you wind up posing for a mugshot wearing a Monopoly t-shirt that says, "Go directly to jail," you're not only going to hear about it from every cop in the precinct that night ("Hey, he just landed on Perp-walk!"), you can count on becoming a first-ballot Mugshot Hall of Famer. So, congrats, Micah! Your picture now belongs to the ages, among greats such as The Eye Shadow Thief, Meta Mugshot Guy, and, perhaps the greatest of all time, Crystal Metheney. Take a bow!

I bet you don't get this one, kids. If you spot the Mindphuck let me know. Alright, so, a regular friend of the Phile, Laird Jim, gets introduced here as a singer, patriot and renaissance man. I get emails asking me about the singing part, and if he has any stories about his singing career. So, kids, here is Laird with a story about just that. He's a singer, patriot and renaissance man. You know what time it is.

Good morning, humans. Happy Sunday, phuckerz. Some days are always good for gazing out the window and letting your mind drift. About an hour ago, while doing just that... I drifted to Sunday nights at The Rock n Roll Cafe in Greenwich Village... early '90s. Steel Breeze-Unplugged (a 3 piece acoustic act I sang with) played there every Sunday night for years. One night, this very uppity woman in a pricey dress came in thinking she was too cool for the room. She kept parading around like Paris Hilton. Back and forth in front of the band and stage lights. Gliding long regally as if saying... "Look at ME... I'm FABulous!" She went into the ladies room for a bit and when she walked out and past the band, she had a lonnnnnng trail of toilet paper stuck to her heel and the back of her dress tucked into her panty hose. I looked and grinned along with everybody else who were EYES WIDE and waiting to hear my comments on the mike. I calmly and firmly said, "Don't any of you DARE ruin this for me!" The crowd complied for the next five minutes while the band played Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl." I could barely contain my laughter enough to sing as she continued to parade back and forth with toilet paper in tow and her dress visibly tucked in the aforementioned panty hose. NOBODY told her. That right there, my twisted little meatpuppets... is what you call... Knowing Your Crowd! The song ended and I said into the mike, "I'm sorry... I have to do this." I then walked over to her and said, "Look down at your shoe then look at the back of your dress in the mirror over there." I calmly walked back to the mike and said, "Okay lady... whatta YOU wanna hear?" as she shrieks and screams, "You all SUCK!" The crowd erupted with laughter and the band high fived with the waitresses. She ran out and we went back to drinking like vikings and taking requests from the crowd. I miss those days...

Alright, today's pheatufed guest is the 28th artist to be pheatured in the Phile's Art Gallery and has his own company called Martini Avenue. Pleasse welcome to the Phile... Al Abbazia.

Me: Hi, Al, welcome to the Phile. How are you?

Al: I’m doing great, thanks.

Me: So, I take it you're an Indiana Jones fan, am I right?

Al: Absolutely. I even own a jacket...  haha.

Me: I can see that. What's your favorite Indiana Jones movie, Al?

Al: It has to be Raiders of the Lost Ark. As much as I love Last Crusade, my favorite will always be Raiders. It was the first and the best.

Me: My favorite is Temple of Doom. Okay, I have to tell you I first saw your art at the Tampa Bay Comic Con last August. I almost purchased the Retro Batman TV series poster you were selling, but there was only one left, and I wanted the smaller one. I have to show a picture of it here.

Me: Your work is not really posters though, as they are metal. So, what would you call them?

Al: Well, most of my prints are done on pearl metallic paper. So they are not “metal” but a very high quality paper that will last forever. It gives the prints a beautiful shine. I’ll always have metallic prints available at conventions, but I am also starting a high quality matte line that will be less expensive for my customers.

Me: Al, where are you from, sir?

Al: I hail from Brooklyn, New York but have been calling Orlando home for the last twenty years or so. But, I still consider myself a New Yorker.

Me: Do you do a lot of conventions?

Al: Yes. I try to do about eight to ten convention every year. This year I did more out of state conventions like Dragon Con in Atlanta.

Me: Your artwork is fantastic, and features a lot of different elements such as photography and beautiful women. Let's talk about the women first... where do you meet these women, Al?

Al: Damn, it sounds like I date them too... haha. I’m on various social media websites, some that cater to photographers and models. And speaking of which, I’d like to mention the models who I have collaborated with a lot over the years. Their talent and creativity are a gift to me. Off the top of my head: Angie, Shannon, Ashley, Daisy, Michelle, Dana, Erica, Bobi Jo, Scarlette, Samantha, Cherry, Kristine, Christy, Mersina, Callie, Jenna, Cherry, Peyton, Jessica, Freya, Carrie, Ria, Stefanie, Rosalind, Tammy, Stephy, Cami, Lyn, Rachel, Shiree, Erin, Stephanie, Anastasia, Jaylynn, Lexi and anyone else who I left off! And I have worked with some wonderful make up artists and stylists over the years as well.

Me: Are they cosplayers?

Al: I see some of them dressing up at conventions and love when they stop by my table for a chat.

Me: I love the pin-up style, it's very retro and modern. How long have you been doing this style of work, and how did you come up with the idea?

Al: I love everything retro and vintage. I majored in history in college. I think I was born in the wrong decade.

Me: Anyway, do you have a favorite old school pin-up?

Al: Anything by the master, Gil Elvgren.

Me: Like most artists who do everything by themselves, you have the models and other people involved, which is cool. Once the photo is taken you do a lot of extra work on the computer, right?

Al: Oh yes. A lot of photoshop with techniques I developed over the years. Sometimes I also draw elements and scan them into the computer before finishing up digitally.

Me: What tools do you use, Al?

Al: Photoshop, ink and pencil, Copic Sketch Markers, oil paint.

Me: I have to ask about the company name... Martini Avenue. That's retro sounding as well, how did you come up with the name?

Al: I started doing the “girl on the martini glass” shots so I wanted martini in the name. To me, a martini symbolizes class and sexiness. I toyed with a few names like Martiniland (which was used), Martini World and Captain Martini... haha. I could imagine myself walking around in a Captain’s hat and sunglasses, holding a martini.

Me: So, do you ever take the models to conventions with you?

Al: I never take them but I do see them there. My number one assistant is my daughter Emily who comes with me to most conventions. She is such a big help and I love spending time with her so it’s a win-win.

Me: Let's talk about some of your art, starting with the Twistory series. That looks like a fun series, and original. Did you make all the background's for the pictures?

Al: Yes I did. I used a combination of photography, textures, patterns and effects. I also drew in some items.

Me: I love the Heroes & Villains series as I am a comic book fan. I'm guessing you are as well. Do you read Marvel or DC?

Al: I like both but more of a DC comics fan.

Me: This Rocketeer one is fantastic.

Me: I know someone who would want that one. Where did you find somebody that has a full Rocketeer suit?

Al: I went to a pin-up shoot with a number of models and makeup artists. A cosplayer named Thomas Galvin had a full Rocketeer costume and specifically wanted me to shoot him and a model named Haley. The shoot was at a bed and breakfast. I went upstairs and went out on the balcony, shooting down on them. Since I didn’t have my professional lights with me, I had to do a lot of drawing and graphic painting during post-work. It turned out to be one of my favorite shots.

Me: The Carnivale Di Avventura series is very unique. Is that Italian by the way?

Al: Yes. Being Italian, I wanted to give it some Italian flair. The Carnival of Adventure.

Me: Did you create your own costumes and come up with your own ideas for them?

Al: In almost every shot, I created the outfits or worked off of what the model brought to me. Pepper Mint, Mary Mint and Rick gave me the most to work with by having some great wardrobe choices. I ended up making changes to them... and I’m glad they were okay with that!. I did a lot of research on turn of the 20th century wardrobe and did my best with them. I did not even have a model for a few of the characters like the Joker and Flash.

Me: Okay, I'm a big Star Wars fan, and I love artists that do Star Wars theme stuff. Your Star Wars Serial post is really good. Check it out, kids...

Me: You should talk to Disney about selling that piece in the parks. I take it you're a big Star Wars fan, am I right?

Al: I am going to submit my work to Lucasfilm and see what they say. Fingers crossed. A lot of my Star Wars work lately has had no models in them. Just some takes on retro styled posters that could exist in the Star Wars Universe.

Me: So, out of everything you have done, what is your favorite piece?

Al: Hmmm. Tough question. I plead the fifth.

Me: Al, who is your favorite artist?

Al: I have a long list of them. Comic book artists like George Perez (who I have had the good fortune of befriending), John Romita Sr, and Neal Adams. Star Wars legend Ralph McQuarrie. Master impressionist Monet. Gil Elvgren. Steve Thomas. Jerry Vanderstelt. I better stop. I could keep going and going.

Me: I have to ask you about the piece of the naked girl in the tub. Brilliant! I have to ask, was she really naked?

Al: Haha. I have two tub girls, Michelle and Samantha. I must say they both had bottoms on. Both very beautiful and professional models.

Me: So, can anybody contact you and you'll take their photo?

Al: Yes, I am always ready to book a session... for money... haha.

Me: Do you do commissions?

Al: Once in awhile I do when I have time. Sometimes a photoshopped piece, other times a sketch.

Me: I like to ask artists I interview here on the Phile what they think of the Phile's logo. I know it's not really your style. If you were gonna make a logo for the Phile, what would it look like?

Al: Something that looks like it escaped from the 1950s! It came from Abbazia! Sounds like a B movie!

Me: Okay, so, here on the Phile I ask random questions thanks to Tabletopics. Here we go... If you could have any view from your back porch what would it be?

Al: Something peaceful and relaxing. Green grass, some water, a lot of trees. Oh, and my dog Kallie running around.

Me: Thanks so much for being on the Phile, Al. Go ahead and mention your sites and come back anytime. All the best. 

Al: Martiniavenue.com. Thank you for having me.

Well, that does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to Laird Jim and Al Abbazia. I definitely am gonna have him back on the Phile again. Okay, the Phile's schedule is gonna be a little confusing so you might wanna take notes. The Phile will be back tomorrow with Phile Alum Anna Coogan. Then again on Thursday with Terra Lightfoot from the Canadian band Dinner Belles. I'll be down south with my sister and her family on Sunday so they'll be no entry that day, but on Monday it's singer Jonathan Spout. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye.

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