Archives: April 2009
Video: Cutting Class in the Name of Metal
Just before the first drops of a heavy rainstorm began falling on midtown Kansas City, I accosted a few young metalheads outside the Uptown Theater for an impromptu interview. Brothers Matt (20), Dustin (18) and Joe Sherman (15) and their friend Vince Cash (18) left their home of Lebanon, Missouri, at 4 a.m. to get to the Uptown by 8…
Reporter’s Notebook: If you want meat without the drugs, you’ll have to pay for it
In the course of reporting this week’s feature on meat-promoter and regulation-hater Charlie Arnot, I heard a lot of arguments for and against the use of antibiotics to raise piglets to fat www.askthemeatman.com sows, ready to be eaten. But even critics of the Pew Commission tended to agree with their findings, and the best argument against regulating the drug usage…
Hot 103 Big Summer Jam 2 Lineup Announced
The lineup for this year’s KPRS 103.3 Summer Jam 2 has just been announced. Soulja Boy (a.k.a. Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em) Tech N9ne Rick Ross Plies Hurricane Chris Young LA Murs and… Block Life A couple of these cats have new albums out. Beefing with 50 Cent has paid off for Rick Ross, who just landed his third consecutive number-one…
Charging for bread and butter
A while back, I was at a swanky jazz club when I was charged for rocks in my Scotch on the rocks. This led to a post in which I ranted about the practice, which led to a lively discussion in the comments section about charging more for drinks on the rocks. Unfortunately, none of us reached a conclusion. Some…
Nomathmatics touch up “Touch Me” for the Beautiful Bodies
Beautiful Bodies posted a remix of “Touch Me” on MySpace. The “Nomathmatics Inappropriate Mix” stretches the three-minute title track from the Bodies album to five and a half minutes full of digitized vocals, extra breakdowns and Alicia Solombrino’s screeches. Cue it up at your next gathering to incite a sweaty dance party. Categories: Music Tags: alicia solombrino, Beautiful Bodies, Nomathmatics
Midwest Music Foundation launches Stay Tuned concert series.
The Midwest Music Foundation, a newly formed group dedicated to boosting homegrown music and helping musicians in need, is kicking off its Stay Tuned concert series next Friday, May 8, at Davey’s Uptown Ramblers Club. Readers who have been following our coverage of Abigail Henderson and her Apocalypse Meow cause will already be familiar with MMF. As I reported in…
Orbitz: the king of duds
As a fat kid growing up in the Midwest, few things held as much appeal as the introduction of a new soft drink. I can’t remember the name of the girl I took to prom, but I can still name the restaurant where I first tasted Surge (Sophie’s Bakery, off Metcalf; it’s now a Buffalo Wild Wings) and I can…
KC’s dropout rate: First, the good news
Last June, the Kansas City, Missouri, School District had to report a dismal 42 percent dropout rate to Missouri’s Department of Education. This year, District officials plan to report a dropout rate of 10 to 12 percent — a huge improvement for the 2008-2009 school year. That’s the good news. The bad news is, these numbers might not have anything…
Wilco (The Album) to beget “Wilco, the Song”
Silly Wilco. Silly, silly Wilco. Rolling Stone recently reported that the Chicago band’s seventh studio album will be titled Wilco (The Album) and that it will contain a fan-appreciation-themed song called “Wilco, the Song.” RS’s Rock and Roll Daily caught up with drummer Glenn Kotche for the following update: There’s a little something for everyone on the group’s new disc,…
Mo. state Rep. will compare whatever he pleases to slavery … like children’s health care
Don’t expect a real apology from Rep. Rob Schaaf for comparing slavery to paying for children’s health care. See, it’s your fault for not understanding the kind of slavery he was talking about. Schaaf wasn’t talking about the enslavement of African-Americans. He was talking about “economic slavery”: “When government forces a person to work and pay the fruit of their…
KCTV-5 wraps up investigation of pervy nurse
Our favorite Jedi (and KCTV-5 investigative reporter), Ash-har Quraishi, wrapped up his investigation of super perv William S. Price and North Kansas City Hospital last night (watch the report). Yesterday’s spoiler didn’t stop us from tuning in. The report was even sicker than we’d imagined. Let’s see: Price worked for seven — seven! — years as an ER nurse at…
Recession Relief: The Kentucky Derby at Sullivan’s Steakhouse
I wouldn’t use the word “thrifty” to describe either the Kentucky Derby or Sullivan’s Steakhouse, but that’s the case this Saturday from 3 to 6 p.m. when the Leawood restaurant holds its derby party. Yesterday, Fat City speculated that $5 is the sweet-spot for restaurants of all grades, and here’s more proof: Five bucks is what Sullivan’s is charging for…
Tasting wine the Riedel way
I stopped by the American Restaurant last night to hear George Riedel talk about his famous glassware. Don’t worry — I’m not going bourgeois on you. But I was interested to see if Riedel glass really does make a difference with wine. The conclusion: yes, but at a price. My price was having to listen to the Austrian Riedel dress…
NPR maps out the United States’ vein-y power grid
The U.S. electric grid is a hard thing to wrap your mind around but so much easier with NPR’s vein-y looking maps. The map below shows existing and proposed (the orange ones) transmission lines keeping the PlayStation 3 kicking.Another map breaks down the sources of electricity in each state. And guess what? Coal is king in Kansas and Missouri, generating…
Elders have CD, upcoming benefit shows
Guess I’m a bit late to the hoolie. The Elders have a new CD out. It’s called Gael Day, their fifth. Looks like it came out a few weeks ago and is not believed to be carrying the swine flu. The venerable Irish-Americana rock band will be playing a couple of benefits gigs coming up in Overland Park. Saturday, May…
Charlie Arnot and big agriculture featured in this week’s The Pitch
Make sure to pick up a copy of The Pitch this week for the feature story on meat consultant Charlie Arnot. In Peter Rugg’s article, Arnot comes off as a Karl Rove for carnivores for his work in, among other places, Arizona: Paul Shapiro, senior director of the Humane Society of the United States, says Arnot was hired as a…
On East Side, even Mickey D’s proves elusive
In 2007, Richard Bassett obtained a loan to build a McDonald’s-gas-station combination at the corner of 55th and Prospect. Two years later, the project remains incomplete. The unfinished development stands out. It’s visible from Bruce R. Watkins Drive. And, for a time at least, it was an active construction site in a part of town commercial developers tend to avoid….
Chief Corwin: No layoffs but KCPD will lose officers on the streets
%{}% The Kansas City Police Department won’t be laying off officers — or grounding the helicopter — but the department will be losing officers on the street, Police Chief Jim Corwin wrote on his blog after the budget was approved yesterday. The cuts attempt to make up for a $15 million shortfall. The KCPD will lose officers to retirement in…
Breakfast Buffet: Wednesday, 4/29
%{}% Here are some ads created in the ’70s warning you to get your swine flu shot. Even if you are “too fast for swine flu” or “the fittest 50 year-old there is.” For me, a thunderstorm is the opposite; a time to open windows and listen to nature do its work. But this writer’s problem is that rain keeps…
Daily Briefs: Longer and less frequent than the name implies
%{}% The news anchors have all been talking in very scary voices lately. They all sound like Jigsaw, and you’re handcuffed to a sink in a grimy concrete bathroom and if you want to survive, you’re going to have to do something horrible, like naked-hug Larry King or some damn thing. As an antidote to the swine flu scare, all…
Kansas City Star Sunday circulation numbers drop
The latest bad news at The Kansas City Star: Sunday circulation is down 3.57 percent to 333,006. Not great news after revenues plummeted 25 percent in the first quarter for the Star’s parent company, McClatchy, and with a rumored fifth round of layoffs possibly coming this summer. Hat tip to McClatchy Watch. Categories: News Tags: circulation numbers, Kansas City Star,…
Tonight: the Cherry Tree Parade at Record Bar (MP3 enhanced)
Young Kansas City bucks the Cherry Tree Parade are quickly getting a rep as the new local band to see. As our own Buckle Bunny reported last week, the group uses a combination of electronics and live instruments to make indie pop that tends to get folks moving and shaking live. Grab an MP3 of the lilting, melodic, banjo-infused and…
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