Hometown: Ventura, California Current neighborhood: Volker What I do (in 140 characters): I represent folks who are convicted of crimes they say they did not commit and prove their innocence. I tell the untold stories. What’s your addiction? Barbells and young-adult fiction. Also, Twitter. What’s your game? Roller derby. It’s a true sport. Offense and defense played at the same…
Brothers Mike and Joe Pearce of the Squeal Like a Pig BBQ team were sworn to secrecy by the producers of Destination America’s BBQ Pitmasters. The brothers have known for weeks that they won the show’s regional competition, but confidentiality agreements kept them silent until the program was broadcast April 26. (The Pearces move on to the semifinal round in late May…
The idea of Jim Jarmusch making a vampire movie seems like cause for alarm. He is one of the few American directors so independent that he owns most of his own films – not the kind of guy given to jumping onto the Twilight bandwagon. But Jarmusch isn’t really interested in vampires. Oh, he goes through the motions: To the…
Slayer Slayer is bringing a raging storm of blood and doom to the Uptown Theater Tuesday night. Consider this your PSA: Avoid that section of Broadway if your ears are sensitive and you can’t stomach speed rhythms and doomsday lyrics. For those with stronger constitutions, this weeknight show is particularly worthy. Gary Holt, guitarist for opening act Exodus and onetime…
With a gentle sultriness and long, powerful notes, singer Molly Hammer commands the stage and quiets a noisy room. You might not expect someone who started in musical theater by playing Patsy Cline to find her way to jazz, but when Hammer starts to sing, under her signature shock of vibrant red hair, she owns jazz standards and the music…
Nicole Springer is on edge. During an afternoon meeting at Westside Local to discuss the Clementines’ upcoming EP, Someday/Over, Springer gingerly asks me if it’s too early for hard alcohol. I assure her that she is in safe and similar company. She orders a “much needed” vodka and Diet Coke. She admits that she’s not comfortable being interviewed and laughs…
Since the release of its lauded 2009 debut album, Diverse has become one of Kansas City’s big-deal jazz ensembles. It could hardly have failed to be. Trumpeter Hermon Mehari, drummer Ryan Lee and bassist Ben Leifer are industrious, skilled musicians, all of whom frequently work with other local jazz groups. In the years since Diverse formed, the trio has toured…
Russell Bucklew bleeds from his eyes. Blood seeps without warning from his ears, nose and mouth as well. Bucklew suffers from cavernous hemangioma — meaning clusters of blood vessels in his head are weak and prone to rupturing. The Potosi Correctional Center isn’t the best place for someone with Bucklew’s condition. Cold days in his cell aggravate the disease, which…
The two-month old Saki restaurant in the Northland does for Asian cuisine what Costco does for retail: It offers an extensive inventory at modest prices. No free samples, though. The restaurant’s full name is Saki Asian Sushi Hibachi, a mouthful as unwieldy as the melting-pot menu. No one is going to call the place the definitive venue for the cuisines…
Boulevard is in the midst of a busy week of releases. In addition to Saison-Brett hitting store shelves today, Boulevard’s latest Tasting Room beers are now in stores in a special sampler 12-pack. The latest test beers to graduate from Boulevard’s tasting room to bottles are ESB (Extra Special Bitter) and Ginger-Lemon Radler. Three bottles of each come in the sampler pack,…
Chef Joe Shirley isn’t ready for his real restaurant yet – he and his wife, Carolina, want to wait until their only child, a sixth-grader, goes to high school – but his nine-month-old pop-up dining concept, Uberdine (which The Pitch named “Best Restaurant Experiment” in last year’s Best of Kansas City issue), is giving the young chef the opportunity to keep his day job…
The Johns Hopkins Clinic for Public Health & Policy has a timely report out this week saying that states that still execute prisoners with lethal injections are experimenting with drugs outside federal regulations. The report comes a week after the Oklahoma transformed a convicted murderer in Clayton Lockett into an international martyr against the death penalty on April 29. It…
Attention, protesters, advertisers and pizza-delivery drivers: As of Wednesday, May 7, The Pitch headquarters is 1627 Main. After about a decade and a half on the southeast corner of 17th Street and Main, we’re moving next door, to the Mainmark Building, and up a few floors. So if you want to bring us a housewarming gift or deliver us a…
There has become a growing trend in the music scene in America which has spawned the rise of massive, multi-day festivals all across the country. Each year some of the biggest festivals in the world take place in America like Bonnaroo, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Lollapalooza and Ultra Music Festiva. One that may not be as big or…
At the start of the season many experts picked the Minnesota Twins to be one of the worst teams in the league coming into the 2014 season dead last in team ERA of 5.26, actually better than 2012 when it was all the way up to an ERA of 5.40. Due to this the Twins made the conscience decision to…
Single game tickets for the 2014 Kansas City Chiefs season went on sale to the public this morning. After an 11-5 record last season, expectations are once again high for the upcoming season. On the secondary market, Chiefs tickets have an average price of $268. Kansas City was 5-3 at home last season and will look to better that record…
Keith English, the only Missouri Democrat who voted to enact the tax cut. He was able to fend it off in the 2013 session, but today Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon lost a big battle with Republicans in the Legislature set on overriding his veto of SB 509. The bill, which cuts taxes by $620 million and makes the state the…
The inaugural Westport Roots Fest, centered around the Westport Saloon and taking place on Saturday, May 24, is approaching fast. To prepare for the pending roots romp presented by the good folks at Little Class Records, The Pitch will be highlighting a “song of the day” from one of the featured artists in the weeks leading up to fest. The Calamity Cubes are a Wichita…
We are just a little over a month away from the 2014 FIFA World Cup taking place in host country Brazil. There’s a few friendlies remaining for each team, but other than that, the managers are finalizing their rosters and deciding who will be their starters. It’s also coming down to the wire for individuals interested in attending the World…
Boulevard has shaken up this year’s Smokestack release schedule. We’ll have to wait for Love Child No. 4. But there’s ample reward for that patience: the award-winning Saison-Brett. Last week, we picked up our complimentary 750 ml bottle of the farmhouse ale, a Beligan-style saison dry-hopped with Amarillo hops and bottle-conditioned with a variety of yeasts (notably a wild strain…
On Friday, Pitchfork published a lengthy and surprising statement from Kliph Scurlock, the drummer for the Flaming Lips since 2002 and a Lawrence native, regarding his dismissal from the band in March. In the statement, Scurlock accuses Lips’ frontman Wayne Coyne of verbal abuse and threatening behavior. Scurlock alleges that when Christina Fallin, the daughter of Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin and a friend…
The inaugural Westport Roots Fest, centered around the Westport Saloon and taking place on Saturday, May 24, is a scarce three weeks away. Put on by the good folks at Little Class Records, the mission statement for the festival goes like this: “To unite performers and spectators in America’s heartland and showcase Americana, bluegrass, roots and folk talent through music, arts and entertainment.” To prepare…
