Name: Michael Wilson Occupation: Niall co-founder, CEO and product architect Twitter handle: @wilsonspeaking Hometown: Born in Texas. Raised in Kansas. Current neighborhood: Overland Park What I do: I am on a quest to build the next great luxury brand. Everything I do supports that purpose. What’s your addiction? Business What’s your game? Business. Yes, I love business that much. When…
No one goes to a Mission: Impossible movie for the dialogue, but 19 years into this unlikely series of Tom Cruise tentpoles, the fifth installment has at last yielded a line for the ages. Late in the movie, the spy chief played by portly vegan American treasure Alec Baldwin says of Tom Cruise’s deathless operative, “Hunt is the living manifestation…
The Tallest Man on Earth With his latest album, Dark Bird Is Home, Swedish singer-songwriter Kristian Matsson — who performs as the Tallest Man on Earth — expands his sound beyond the stark acoustic guitar that drove his previous three releases. The addition of clarinet, violin and additional vocals accentuates the difficult themes to which Matsson is so drawn —…
Some might argue that the vintage-pop outfit Victor & Penny doesn’t belong on a jazz-club stage. But since the additions last year of Rick Willoughby on bass and James Isaac on clarinet, there’s no doubt that they can confidently take on any stage — and should. Jeff Freling, the titular Victor, plays guitar, while Erin McGrane strums the ukulele as…
Dedric Moore started Kansas City’s Psych Fest small. In 2012, its first year, the event spread mostly local bands over two nights at the DIY arts space FOKL, then three nights at RecordBar. This year’s version has moved to the Riot Room — and expanded into a three-month series. Instead of a 72-hour overload of the finest psychedelic rock that…
Come with me, now or never, frontman Bryan Koehler beckons, his voice soft and glossy over a thumping bass line and jangling chords. Waste your mind with me as we all come together. These are the lyrics embedded in “Mind Speak,” the first track off the Rey-Tones’ debut EP, Hits. Other lyrics in the song suggest that Koehler is addressing…
When enjoying especially delicious ice cream, I tend to swear. I don’t mean a simple “damn, that’s good.” No, I’m talking about a string of happy obscenities audible from the other side of the café, spewed forth with zero regard for my fellow patrons. My first bite of Second Best Coffee’s affogato? Definitely a four-fucking-alarm foulmouth experience. Only after I…
Since she was first elected to the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Commissioners, in 2007, Ann Murguia has been dogged by the perception that she influences that government’s decisions in favor of the nonprofit she runs. For a time, the Argentine Neighborhood Development Association — a nonprofit development entity representing the south Wyandotte County neighborhood —…
Kansas City sees a beer festival almost every weekend nowadays, and Saturday, August 1, is no exception. But this one is different: The Pitch’s first City Market Beer Festival is free to get into, for one thing. What else is different? And how do you get your beer once you’re through the gate? Here are the answers to these and…
There’s a “temporarily closed” sign taped to the door at the trouble-plagued Sosa’s 39th Street Diner, at 3906 Waddell. Yes, the same Sosa’s Diner that took over the venerable Nichol’s Lunch location in January 2013 … and closed two years later … and reopened this past March. That’s when Anthony Sosa, with the blessing of leaseholder Laura Weiss, returned his…
Gov. Sam Brownback thinks of himself as a Ronald Reagan-style conservative. In most cases, Republican politicians relish the prospect of being put side-by-side with the popular late president. But a Brookings Institution tax expert writes this week that Brownback is following Reagan down an income-tax-cut path that never leads to promised economic benefits. “In the extreme versions that thrived through…
If only all franchise operations were as good as Bonchon Chicken. South Korea’s popular international restaurant chain (it operates in Singapore and Dubai, for example, as well as on both U.S. coasts) this month opened its first local outpost, in Lee’s Summit (at 1740 Northwest Chipman Road), and the food lives up to its reputation. And by food, I mean…
With The Pitch’s Margarita Wars fast approaching, it seemed appropriate to spend some time enjoying some of the margaritas from the participating bars — you know, really get to know the competition. Drunken Worm on 39th Street seemed like a fine starting point. The bar’s specialty cocktails list is essentially just a giant menu of margarita spin-offs. I chose the…
Ibis Bakery’s latest pizza night — this Wednesday, July 29 — will have just one variety available. But it sounds more than worth the drive to Lenexa (the bakery is located at 12817 West 87th Street Parkway) for a taste. Chris Matsch, who owns the business with his wife, Kate, says this time the pie features black plum tomatoes (“They’re dark…
Not to be confused with Planet Comicon, Kansas City Comic Con will be held at Bartle Hall next month, from Friday, August 7, through Sunday, August 9. There will be cosplay. There will be gaming. There will be vendors and artists peddling their wares. And there will be some celebrities. Like who? Well. *Pam Grier, star of Jackie Brown and…
Los Angeles rock band Lord Huron and Swedish singer-songwriter José González have teamed up for a slew of dates this fall. On Thursday, October 8, the pair stop at the Uptown. Both acts are touring in support of recent albums: In February, González released Vestiges & Claws; Lord Huron’s Strange Trails came out in April. Get your tickets here. Categories:…
%{}% Lawrence’s R Bar & Patio, at 610 Florida, on the west side of the college town, may be better known to longtime residents under its previous name: the Jet Lag Lounge. But for the last four years, it has been operating as the R Patio under owner James Shaffer. A month ago, Shaffer brought on a minority partner, Brian…
Meet your ultimate drinking buddy: Gabriella Petrick, Ph.D. Petrick, an associate professor at George Mason University and a visiting fellow at the Linda Hall Library, knows her booze. Specifically, she knows wine — the focus of her three-month fellowship. I’d like to know more about wine, so ahead of Petrick’s talk at Linda Hall on July 30, I’ve asked her…
Are you ready to get things done? Well you might be a ding-a-lee-doo if you are excited about the following news: Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy are touring together and coming to Kansas City. Are you excited to get that completed? Here are the details to help you finish that task! It’s the “We’ve Been Thinking” tour, and…
%{}% As incredible as it seems, the occasional person still wanders into the white, one-story building at 1900 Barker in Lawrence — now the site of the 1900 Bakery & Cafe — wanting to get some washing done. Bungalow Laundry occupied this location for decades, and the long-gone business’s sign still hangs on one side of the building. The new bakery’s…
%{}% Jonathan Pitcher has his fingers crossed, he says. He and his wife, Amy, want their candy retail shop, Bizz & Weezy Confections, at 1800 Baltimore to be open in time for the First Friday crowd in the Crossroads on August 7. “If everything goes according to plan, we’ll be open on that date,” he says. “Or maybe a day or…
