Podcasts about uptown theater

Send us a textThere's something profoundly meaningful about sharing a transcendent concert experience with the people you love most. In this deeply personal episode, I take you inside the magical My Morning Jacket show at Kansas City's Uptown Theater where I celebrated turning 40 by bringing my wife and daughter to experience the band for their first time (my 20th).From our prime spot on the rail where Jim James made a special connection with my daughter, to the spellbinding performance that stretched 33 minutes past curfew, the show exemplified everything that makes live music a transformative force. Grace Cummings delivered a mesmerizing opening set before joining the band for an unforgettable collaboration, while the Kansas City crowd demonstrated why this city remains an underrated music hotspot.The heart of this episode features my conversation with the brilliant Courtney Schoeberlein, the artist behind the stunning concert poster that captured my daughter's imagination. Courtney shares her remarkable journey from bartending to becoming a full-time artist, the thrill of working with her dream band, and the fascinating philosophy behind concert poster art. Her perspective on how posters serve as vessels for both the creator's and the audience's memories reveals why these artifacts matter so much to the music community.As I reflect on four decades of life and hundreds of concerts, I explore the profound question of why we chase these live music moments. It's not just about hearing songs performed—it's about creating touchstone memories that connect us to specific times, people, and feelings. These shared experiences become part of who we are, stories we can tell long after the music fades.Whether you're a dedicated concertgoer or simply curious about the power of live music, this episode celebrates how these fleeting moments can become the anchors that give our lives meaning and connection. What moments are you chasing?www.TheTouringFanLive.commedia@TheTouringFanLive.Comwww.facebook.com/TheTouringFanLiveInstagram-@TheTouringFanLiveCopyright The Touring Fan Live 2026

We like to think of Daryl Hall as a kindred spirit, his home-recorded Live At Daryl's House series with its magnificent roster of guests now racking up 90 episodes. He's about to tour in May and talks to us here from his house in the Bahamas – straw hat, roosters crowing! – looking back at the first gigs he ever saw and played and other delights such as …  … travelling with his mother's Broadway dance band when he was three. … seeing the Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Patti LaBelle and the Bluetones in the Uptown Theater, Philadelphia, in the early ‘60s. … Three Men In A Boat: a barge trip through London with Dave Stewart and Bob Dylan. … “My teenage rule: I will only wear dark green or black and needlepoint shoes. I had balls in those days!” … why Hall & Oates is “in the past” - “He initiated the split and neither of us want to resolve it”. … songs he always plays - Sara Smile, I Can't Go for That (No Can Do) – and why you'll never hear She's Gone again. … making his first records on a four-track in Virtue Studios, Philadelphia, and recording with MFSB. “I still like to keep it lean and mean.” … playing session piano with the Delfonics and making a single with Chubby Checker. … his first cheque for songwriting - $15. … “I brought rock and roll to my High School!” … the success of Live At Daryl's House and the episodes with Todd Rundgren, Smokey Robinson and Glenn Tilbrook.   … his sideline in restoring 18th Century houses. Live From Daryl's House here: https://livefromdarylshouse.com/ Daryl Hall tour dates and tickets here: https://hallandoates.com/tour/ Buy/stream the ‘D' album here: https://ingrv.es/DarylHallDFind out more about how to help us to keep the conversation going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We like to think of Daryl Hall as a kindred spirit, his home-recorded Live At Daryl's House series with its magnificent roster of guests now racking up 90 episodes. He's about to tour in May and talks to us here from his house in the Bahamas – straw hat, roosters crowing! – looking back at the first gigs he ever saw and played and other delights such as …  … travelling with his mother's Broadway dance band when he was three. … seeing the Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Patti LaBelle and the Bluetones in the Uptown Theater, Philadelphia, in the early ‘60s. … Three Men In A Boat: a barge trip through London with Dave Stewart and Bob Dylan. … “My teenage rule: I will only wear dark green or black and needlepoint shoes. I had balls in those days!” … why Hall & Oates is “in the past” - “He initiated the split and neither of us want to resolve it”. … songs he always plays - Sara Smile, I Can't Go for That (No Can Do) – and why you'll never hear She's Gone again. … making his first records on a four-track in Virtue Studios, Philadelphia, and recording with MFSB. “I still like to keep it lean and mean.” … playing session piano with the Delfonics and making a single with Chubby Checker. … his first cheque for songwriting - $15. … “I brought rock and roll to my High School!” … the success of Live At Daryl's House and the episodes with Todd Rundgren, Smokey Robinson and Glenn Tilbrook.   … his sideline in restoring 18th Century houses. Live From Daryl's House here: https://livefromdarylshouse.com/ Daryl Hall tour dates and tickets here: https://hallandoates.com/tour/ Buy/stream the ‘D' album here: https://ingrv.es/DarylHallDFind out more about how to help us to keep the conversation going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

He is a friend of mine! This week, our hosts FiG and Knob are joined by Mike from Guess the Year! It's November 16th, 1978 and the Grateful Dead are playing at the Uptown Theater in Chicago, IL. Discussions abound about MusicCares, the one song theory, and our evolving relationship with Grateful Dead music. Check out Guess the Year : https://guesstheyear.net/ And come see his show at The Bitter End on 2/16 : https://donyc.com/events/2025/2/16/guess-the-year-tickets New Minglewood Blues Dire Wolf Me & My Uncle > Big River They Love Each Other Looks Like Rain Brown Eyed Women Beat It On Down The Line Stagger Lee Dancin' In The Streets > Deal Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain Samson & Delilah He's Gone > Drums > Black Peter > Truckin' U.S. Blues

During this episode of ROCKnVINO, hosts Coco and Michelle talk about the just announced lineup for Bottlerock Napa Valley, May 23rd through May 25th, 2025. Headliners include Green Day, Justin Timberlake, and Noah Kahan. Green Day is a beloved pop-punk band who formed in the Bay Area before reaching global success with their 1994 album, Dookie. There are many Sonoma County punks who remember seeing Green Day perform high energy shows at The Phoenix in Petaluma. Justin Timberlake needs no introduction - and both Coco and Michelle will be losing it when he takes the stage at BottleRock! A multi-hyphenate artist, with success as a singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actor, Justin Timberlake can do it all and brings mega star power to Napa. Noah Kahan is a singer songwriter from Vermont, who writes songs about mental health, including his breakout hit “Hurt Somebody." And don't miss the La Onda Festival, happening the weekend after Bottlerock - a great excuse to stay the whole week and do some fun wine tasting in Napa and Sonoma Counties! Coco shares some insider tips about the JaM Pad, where you can watch acoustic sets on a second stage at Bottlerock, plus the skinny on aftershows at places like the Uptown Theater and JaM Cellars Balloom. Michelle attended BottleRock for the first time last year and has some tips for making the most of the event without becoming overwhelmed. Three-day tickets for Bottlerock Napa Valley go onsale Tuesday, January 14th at 10am online at bottlerocknapavalley.com ROCKnVINO is sponsored by American AgCredit.  

We've been fans of Blackberry Smoke from the get-go...and when co-founder and drummer Brit Turner passed away earlier this year, it hit us all hard. But tomorrow night, the band rolls into KC for their rescheduled sold out show, BBS fans will gather at the Uptown Theater for a magical night. We caught up with frontman Charlie Starr this morning to see what's good.

Today's Song of the Day is “Are You Looking Up” from Mk.gee's album Two Star & the Dream Police, out now.Mk. gee will be performing at Uptown Theater on Saturday, October 5.

Garbage baseball, live from the Uptown Theater in Minneapolis with trombonist Chris Bailey.

Comedian/Actor nick Swardson is one of our favorite weirdos...and after he made headlines not long ago after a edible-fueled on stage performance ended with him being led offstage, we knew that Nick was...well...still Nick!And we talked to him this morning about that, his upcoming show at the Uptown Theater and more!!!

After the loss of Blackberry Smoke founding member and drummer Brit Turner, the band knew that they had to carry on to keep Brit's legacy alive..and after having to postpone a run of shows in the wake of Brit's passing, the band just announced the rescheduled KC show...Oct 10th at The Uptown Theater...and the band will pay tribute to their brother with a show in Atlanta on Aug 23rd.  

Originally aired on April 16, 2024: Jason Bonham talks about his upcoming concert at Uptown Theater next week! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our old friend, comedian Brad Williams has long been one of the funniest stand ups we know...but things are set to jump to the next level for Brad as he's making the move from clubs to big theaters with his upcoming tour that rolls into the Uptown Theater on June 22nd!!ANNNND...he's also going to be in the new Spinal Tap movie!!!He gave us a call this morning to tell us all about that and more!!

Glaser, a Missouri native, started performing sets at a Kansas City comedy club while an undergraduate at the University of Kansas. Today, she's one of the country's most successful comics, and she's back in town this Saturday, Jan. 27 at the Uptown Theater for "The Good Girl Tour."

We'll kick things off with music from Quixotic, who is currently back in production every Friday and Saturday with their performance of Whiskey Dynamite - a Nonsensical Western Fantasy at The Grand Theater at Crown Center. Then we'll dive into a stack of recent and new releases from KC bands and musicians.We'll hear from these acts with upcoming gigs:• Siilk at Westport Bowery (the venue at Westport Flea Market) on JAN 26• Keelon Vann at Chartreuse Saloon at 1625 Oak Street on JAN 27• Chris Hudson & the Cruelest Months playing with Gullywasher at recordBar on JAN 31• Waxahatchee at Uptown Theater on April 18We'll also hear new music from NIkka, The State of Everything, lizardgal, June Henry, The Ryan Express, City Hall, and Not Made By Hands with the great Billy Brimblecom Jr. on drums.

During this episode of ROCKnVINO, hosts Coco and Michelle talk about the just announced lineup for Bottlerock Napa Valley, May 24th through May 26th, 2024. Headliners include Pearl Jam, Ed Sheeran, Stevie Nicks, and Maná. Pearl Jam is working on a follow up album to 2020's Gigaton, and this is their only U.S. date so far. Ed Sheeran has been selling out massive shows in 2023, and this is also his only U.S. concert date so far. Steve Nicks had been scheduled to perform at Bottlerock in 2021, but Covid-19 had other plans and now the two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is finally headed to the stage in Napa. And Mexican rock bank Maná will also be headlining the La Onda Festival, happening the weekend after Bottlerock - a great excuse to stay the whole week and do some fun wine tasting in Napa and Sonoma Counties! Coco shares some insider tips about the JaM Pad, where you can watch acoustic sets on a second stage at Bottlerock, plus the skinny on aftershows at places like the Uptown Theater and JaM Cellars Balloom. Three-day tickets for Bottlerock Napa Valley go on sale Tuesday, January 9th at 10am online at bottlerocknapavalley.com ROCKnVINO is sponsored by American AgCredit.

Today's Song of the Day is “Winter Depression” by Ondara. Ondara will be performing at Uptown Theater on Friday, December 8, for night two of The Current's Winter Warmup, with Cat Clyde.

Today's Song of the Day is “Everywhere I Go” from Cat Clyde's album Down Rounder, out now.Cat Clyde will be performing at Uptown Theater on Friday, December 8 for The Current's Winter Warmup: Night Two, with Ondara.

Today on Funky Pearls Radio, we're diving into the captivating journey of Dexter Wansel , a multi-talented keyboardist, arranger, producer, and recording artist whose influence is deeply woven into the fabric of Philadelphia International Records.  Born Dexter Gilman Wansel on August 22, 1950, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Dexter's musical odyssey began in the bustling corridors of the Uptown Theater in Philadelphia. As a 12-year-old gofer, he rubbed shoulders with legends like Stevie Wonder and Patti Labelle, sparking his passion for music. Dexter's life took a dramatic turn when he served in the Vietnam War, a harrowing experience that left a profound impact on him.  Despite this, Dexter returned with a renewed vigor for music, channeling his experiences into his art. In 1975, Dexter's path crossed with Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, the masterminds behind Philadelphia International Records. As a member of Yellow Sunshine, alongside guitarist Roland Chambers, Dexter's talent shone brightly, leading to session work with The Ebony's and eventually becoming a part of the staff creative collective at Philadelphia International Records.  Dexter's genius blossomed at PIR, where he arranged, played keyboards, and wrote songs for acts like The O'Jays, Teddy Pendergrass, and The Intruders. His work with Patti Labelle, especially the song 'Shoot Him on Sight', showcased his ability to craft songs across genres.  Dexter Wansel's compositions are a testament to his versatility and profound musicality. He wrote for Jean Carn, Shirley Jones, The Jacksons, The Stylistics, and many more, crafting songs that are revered in R and B history.  His work with artists like Amy Keys, The O'Jays, Miles Jaye, and Marilyn Scott further diversified his portfolio. In addition to his prolific work as a songwriter and arranger, Dexter released several influential solo albums, including 'Life on Mars' (1976), 'Voyager' (1978), and 'Time Is Slipping Away' (1979). These albums, featuring tracks like 'The Sweetest Pain' and 'Solutions', are celebrated for their innovative fusion of R and B with space-age and funk elements. Dexter Wansel's contributions extend beyond the United States. He worked with U.K. soul artists like Junior and Loose Ends, further establishing his international appeal.  His later albums, such as 'Captured' (1986) and 'Universe' (1991), continued to showcase his evolution as an artist, exploring new sounds and themes. In 2021, Dexter released 'The Story Of The Flight Crew To Mars', demonstrating his enduring creativity and relevance in the modern music scene.  Throughout his career, Dexter Wansel has remained a beacon of innovation and artistry in R and B music. As we celebrate Dexter Wansel's legacy on Funky Pearls Radio, we're reminded of the power of music to transcend boundaries and time.  From the hallowed halls of the Uptown Theater to the forefront of Philadelphia International Records, Dexter Wansel's journey is a testament to the enduring spirit of R and B music. His contributions have left an indelible mark, inspiring generations of musicians and music lovers alike.Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Few comedians are better at taking an honest look at who we are are human beings, than Tom Papa. Through his books and comedy special...he, maybe more than any comedian, is able to tap into a real side of ALL of us, as fucked up and hilarious as it all may be!And on Friday 11/17, Tom returns to KC for one show at the Uptown Theater!  

It's all about new music as we start off with a few spooky, haunting songs and see where things go from there!Hear music from these acts with upcoming gigs:• Kemet Coleman - with The Phantastics at Apocalypse Meow 16 at recordBar on NOV 4 and at The NKC FALL FEST on NOV 11• Julia Othmer at The Ship on NOV 16• Emmaline Twist at miniBar on NOV 6• Danielle Nicole at The Uptown Theater on NOV 24• RxGhost at Replay Lounge on NOV 24• The Supermassive Black Holes at Lucia on NOV 10 and at miniBar on NOV 30• Jessica Paige at The Bottleneck on NOV 24 and at Nighthawk on DEC 22• The Roseline at The Bottleneck on FEB 2Also hear new songs from IVORY BLUE, Nikka, Haven Adara, and Cheery.

It may going to be cold this Sunday night in KC, but it's gonna be HOT inside the Uptown Theater as our old friend Wheeler Walker Jr rolls into town!Lock up yer ladies, guys...Ol' Wheeler is back!!!

Stokley is an internationally acclaimed R&B star, both as a solo act and with his 20+ year career with Mint Condition. Hailing from the Twin Cities, Stokley can keep a low profile in town and he doesn't perform in town too often. But when he does. . .it's an EVENT. This Saturday Stokley is playing at the Uptown Theater alongside Jordan Johnston, Bakarii and LA Buckner and Big Homie. This week Stokley, Bakarii and LA Buckner stopped by the studio to talk about the big show and more.

Stokley is an internationally acclaimed R&B star, both as a solo act and with his 20+ year career with Mint Condition. Hailing from the Twin Cities, Stokley can keep a low profile in town and he doesn't perform in town too often. But when he does. . .it's an EVENT. This Saturday Stokley is playing at the Uptown Theater alongside Jordan Johnston, Bakarii and LA Buckner and Big Homie. This week Stokley, Bakarii and LA Buckner stopped by the studio to talk about the big show and more.

In a year when every bit of news is just a pile of hot steaming shit...We couldn't think of anything to turn it all around than announcing that the long standing tradition that is the Jackyl Family Reunion is BACK, baby!! Saturday Dec 16th, Jesse and the boys, the holiday tradition are rolling back into KC to finish their year out with one big blowout at the Uptown Theater!!We talked to Jesse James Dupree all about it this morning!!

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Dom welcomes legendary sportswriter Ray Didinger back onto the Dom Giordano Program on the eve of Eagles training camp to preview the upcoming season. First, Ray tells us what he's been up to, telling that his great compilation of the stories he's written throughout his career, One Last Read, has now been released in paperback. With the release, Ray tells Dom, he and longtime WIP co-host Glen Macnow will be doing a talk about the book at the Uptown Theater on August 8th, ahead of a return of Tommy and Me to the theater in September. Then, Dom and Ray delve into the upcoming Eagles season, telling of difference between training camps in 2024 vs. training camps of the past. Also, Ray tells a bit about his time covering professional wrestling, with Dan highlighting the role the sportswriter had in legitimizing the athletic display as a real sport. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)

Full Hour | In today's second hour, Dom leads off by telling of multiple stories out of Hollywood. First, Dom tells about the huge success of Barbie and an effort by CNN and other liberals to use the success as proof against the ‘go woke, go broke' ideology. This leads Dan and Dom to offer further evidence that if you ‘go woke, you'll go broke,' with Dan telling of some controversy centered around a newly announced live-action adaptation of Snow White. Then, Dom welcomes legendary sportswriter Ray Didinger back onto the Dom Giordano Program on the eve of Eagles training camp to preview the upcoming season. First, Ray tells us what he's been up to, telling that his great compilation of the stories he's written throughout his career, One Last Read, has now been released in paperback. With the release, Ray tells Dom, he and longtime WIP co-host Glen Macnow will be doing a talk about the book at the Uptown Theater on August 8th, ahead of a return of Tommy and Me to the theater in September. Then, Dom and Ray delve into the upcoming Eagles season, telling of difference between training camps in 2024 vs. training camps of the past. Also, Ray tells a bit about his time covering professional wrestling, with Dan highlighting the role the sportswriter had in legitimizing the athletic display as a real sport. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

The Uptown Theater grand opening is this weekend after its renovation into a music venue. Mike Finkelstein from the team behind the project tells us about the venue and more.

On this episode of Banking on KC, Jeff Fortier and Larry Sells of the Uptown, join host Kelly Scanlon to discuss the history and ongoing efforts to sustain the theater well into the future. Tune in to discover:  Some of the big-name stars of the 1930s to the present who have graced the Uptown stage.  Why Kansas City became a movie screening mecca in the 1940s.  How Sells obtained ownership of the Uptown and restored its vibrancy—and its place in Kansas City history.  Fortier's plans to foster the Uptown as a premier entertainment and event venue. Country Club Bank – Member FDIC 

History of National Poetry Writing Month National Poetry Writing Month (also known as NaPoWriMo) is a creative writing project held annually in April in which participants attempt to write a poem each day for one month. NaPoWriMo coincides with National Poetry Month in the United States of America and Canada. This website is owned and operated by Maureen Thorson, a poet living in Washington, DC. Inspired by NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month), she started writing a poem a day for the month of April back in 2003, posting the poems on her blog. When other people started writing poems for April and posting them on their own blogs, Maureen linked to them. After a few years, so many people were doing NaPoWriMo that Maureen decided to launch an independent website for the project. My History with National Poetry Writing Month I started writing poetry in 1988 after I had been exposed to T.S. Elliot in my honors English class in high school. In 1992 I started reading my poetry publicly at Espresso Europia Coffee Shop in Abilene Tx while I was in the United States Air Force. While living in Rockford Illinois I published my first book of poetry Throwing Yourself at the Ground and Missing in 2007 followed by Postcards From Someone You Don't Know in 2008 Wisdom From the Sack in 2010 and Shaving Crop Circles In My Chest Hair in 2017. You can get copies of all of these books in my merch section. In 2020 I started publishing my podcast version of the challenge and those can be viewed here for 2020 and here for 2021. What I am doing differently for Poetry Month For 2023 I am not going to be just writing poems in April, I will be writing poems all year round. Also, since I will be writing all year round, I am using a different source for my prompts. There is a blog called Think Written and you can find it here. I will also be performing these works at Katora Coffee House here in Fredericksburg Virginia on their Friday Night Snaps Open Mic Poetry reading. Some of the podcast episodes you will hear will be a live recording of me reading the poem to a live audience, other times I will be reading it in the comfort of my home studio. I do plan on posting my work to the NaPoWriMo site and interacting with the poets there and see if they want to read their work on this podcast. Todays Poetry Prompt Signs of the Times: How has a place you are familiar with changed over the past 10 years?  Pacifying Uptown  14 April 2023  I lived in this neighborhood for a year or so  Top floor, facing south, seeing Wrigley Field from a distance  Two blocks from the Green Mill  And the Red Line El  Someone in the neighborhood had rescue greyhounds  They would walk them around  Stop for coffee and water at the local Starbucks  The one that had a drive by when I was with my girl at the time  A great Mexican restaurant that was open late  Due to all the bars in the area  Grabbing my first real horchata   And just steps from Montrose Beach  But I moved away  To be with my wife  To start a new life  But I can't let go of the place  So I signed up for the Uptown Facebook group  And I get notifications daily  The Uptown Theater that had been closed for decades  Being revamped and reopened  Meaning that the bookstore next door  Had to clean up its act or move out  That bookstore stank of cigarettes and cat piss   Is no longer there  Not able to get enough Chantix to quit their habit  Not able to keep up with the bigger bookstores   That closed down before I left  I miss this place  Even though I wasn't there that long  Moving through the crowds  And having my doc just a few blocks away  Having my dentist who played the rat Packs greatest hits  And picked up conversations started months in-between visits  I didn't have to drive anywhere  Even to get groceries  Jewel, pronounced with an S at the end  Again, was mere steps away  But now they have changed the feeling  They have changed the stores  The rents have gone through the roof  Now there is no one there I know  The shops don't have the same feel  Even the thugs that did the drive by have moved away to the burbs  I'd never move my family back there  It would be cost prohibitive  It would be safer than when I lived there  But it isn't the same space  It isn't as special as it used to be  Its tame and expensive  And the reason why I lived there   Was not for safety, was not for being tame  I wanted to have excitement  I wanted to have stories to tell  I wanted different things than I do now  Sign Up for the Create Art Podcast Newsletter Or Subscribe Here Reaching Out To The Podcast To reach out to me, email timothy@createartpodcast.com I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and let's start that conversation. Email: timothy@createartpodcast.com YouTube Channel: Create Art Podcast YT Channel IG: @createartpodcast Twitter: @createartpod Special Message If you have found value in this podcast please feel free to share it with a friend as that is the best way to find new podcasts. I want this to be a 5-star podcast in your eyes so let me know what you would like to see. Speaking about sharing with a friend, check out my other podcast Find A Podcast About where I help you outsmart the algorithm and find your next binge-worthy podcast. You can find that podcast at findapodcastabout.xyz.

Star Wars Celebration news, The Marvels trailer and we're discussing all of that and more with Cerece Rennie Murphy!! Tonight we have Award Winning Author, founder and owner of Virtuous Con, Cerece Rennie Murphy!! We're talking about the realm of sci-fi/fantasy, the Star Wars Celebration news and so much more!! 4/11/23 8:30 pm est as we talk with author @cerecermurphy as well as owner and founder of Virtuous Con!National bestselling and award-winning author Cerece Rennie Murphy fell in love with science fiction at the age of seven, watching “Empire Strikes Back” at the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C., with her sister and mom. It's a love affair that has grown ever since. Since debuting her first novel, Order of the Seers (Book 1) in 2011, Ms. Murphy has published ten speculative fiction novels, short stories, and children's books, including her latest release Between Two Seas. In addition, Ms. Murphy is also the founder of Virtuous Con, an online sci-fi and comic culture convention that celebrates the excellence of BIPOC creators in speculative fiction. Ms. Murphy lives and writes in her hometown of Washington, DC with her family. To learn more about the author and her upcoming projects, please visit her website at www.cerecerenniemurphy.com. #blerdseyeview #blerdandpowerful #morethanapodcast #blerdlife #entertainmentnews #comicbooks #blackgirlskillingit #scifi #scififantasy #blackscifi #starwars #fyp

In the third hour of the show we start things off with Boxing Hall of Famer Christy Martin who will be in town this Saturday night at The Uptown Theater for an event in collaboration with her foundation Christy's Champs and KC Golden Gloves that will help support Hope House KC.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on the blog, a podcast interview with Noah Diamond and Jim Cunningham, talking about the pleasures and perils of playing Groucho Marx.LINKSA Free Film Book for You: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cq23xyyt12Another Free Film Book: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/x3jn3emga6Fast, Cheap Film Website: https://www.fastcheapfilm.com/Noah Diamond website: https://www.noahdiamond.com/“Gimme a Thrill: The Story Of "I'll Say She Is," The Lost Marx Brothers Musical” -- https://tinyurl.com/28ftau5eEli Marks Website: https://www.elimarksmysteries.com/Albert's Bridge Books Website: https://www.albertsbridgebooks.com/YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/BehindthePageTheEliMarksPodcast***Noah Diamond Transcript JOHNLet's go back to the beginning. We'll start with Noah and then go to Jim. What's your earliest memory of Groucho Marx or the Marx Brothers? NOAHWell, for me, it started in a kind of roundabout way, when I was a very little kid. Before I could even read, I was really interested in books. And I had my collection of Dr. Seuss, and all the books that would be read to me. But what I really liked to do was go downstairs where my parents had, in the living room, bookshelves lining the walls. And their books were really interesting to me. I just knew there were secrets there, you know? They had like big art books and books of poetry and maybe my first experiences with words were looking at the spines of the books in the living room. And one of the books they happen to have was then fairly recent book, Joe Adamson's Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Sometimes Zeppo, which is, I think most Marx Brothers fans would say it's the best loved book about them, certainly and I think the best written. That book came out in 1973. So, it's 50 years old this year and for some reason, as a tiny kid, that was a book that I took off the shelf. It was interesting that it had silver lettering on the spine and little icons, a harp, and what I would come later to recognize as a Chico hat. “Oh, look, this is interesting.” And I started looking through it, and I saw all these pictures. And the photographs of the Marx Brothers were just something to grapple with and it seemed a little familiar to me. My world was the Muppets and Dr. Seuss and Maurice Sendak. The Marx Brothers appeared in these photographs, like there was some continuity there and I also found them a little scary. Groucho in particular, that's quite a face for a child to reckon with. So, that was a book that I looked at a lot when I was just little more than a baby. I wouldn't really see the Marx Brothers in their movies until I was 12. Partly that's because, I'm just old enough to have had a childhood where it wasn't so easy to find old movies. And I sort of had to wait for home video to come along. And when it first came along, it's not like all 13 Marx brothers' movies were at the local Blockbuster.It was that that journey, that constant searching for things that characterized life in the analog world. So, it was very gradual in between those two times.Rather than blow your whole episode on this answer: in between the very little boy looking at pictures in Joe Adamson's book, and the 12-year-old finally, like seeing Duck Soup, and a Night at the Opera on video, there were many years where the Marx Brothers always seemed to be right around the corner. I would encounter them in Mad Magazine, or adults I knew might refer to them. And I sort of came to understand that the nose and moustache and glasses had something to do with Groucho. I was aware of them as a kind of vapor increasingly during those, I guess, nine or ten years between discovering the book and seeing the films. JOHNJim, how about you? Where did you first encounter them? JIM I was an enormous and still am a Laurel and Hardy fan. There was a local television show here in the Twin Cities where I live on Sunday mornings, hosted by a former television child's television host named John Gallos who played Clancy the Cop. And so I came to the Marx Brothers, kind of grudgingly because I was such an enormous and still am Laurel and Hardy fan, that I poo pooed the Marx Brothers for many, many years. I started watching Laurel and Hardy as a little kid. I mean, 7, 8, 9 years old. Every Sunday morning, I would rush home from church and plop down in front of the TV to watch Laurel and Hardy. They were sort of my comedic touchstones, if you will. And then the Marx Brothers were kind of off to the side for me. And I went to the Uptown Theater, John, here in the Minneapolis area … JOHN You crossed the river from St. Paul and came to Minneapolis, you must have really been interested. JIMOh, I only go across the river for work. This was a point where I was not working yet. And I saw a Night at the Opera and you know, was convulsed and then devoured everything I could get my hands on after that. The Marx Brothers were eye opening for me, just in terms of oh my gosh, this whole thing is so different. I was reading in your book that Frank Ferrante said “I was raised by Catholic nuns and I wanted to sort of do to the Catholic nuns would Groucho would do to Margaret Dumont.” And I was like, well, that's exactly right. Because I too was raised by Catholic nuns, and that sort of energy was really attractive to me as a sophomore in high school. And so I fell in love with them. And then, you know, anything I could get my hands on, I watched and read and loved them to this day. I still love Laurel and Hardy quite a bit too. JOHNOkay. Noah, this is just my own experience and I'm wondering if you guys have had the same thing: that entering the world of the Marx Brothers was actually a gateway to a whole bunch of other interesting stuff. I mean, you get into the Algonquin table, you get Benchley, and Perlman and into other plays of Kaufman. And you know, you're reading Moss Hart, and all sudden you look at the New Yorker, because, you know, he was there. I mean, did you find that it sort of was a spider web? NOAH No doubt about it. Yeah, that's very true. It's learning about them biographically and the times they lived in, the circles they traveled in; and partly it's in order to understand the references in their films. That's one of the great things about sophisticated verbal comedy: it's an education, and particularly if you're a kid. So, yes, through comedy and show business in general and the Marx Brothers in particular, I learned, I hesitate to say this, but probably just about everything else I know from following tributaries from the Marx Brothers. JOHNDo you remember the first time you performed as Groucho? NOAHThe first time I played Groucho in front of an audience was in a talent show, a school talent show in, I think seventh grade. I performed with my brother and sister as Harpo and Chico. They're both a little younger than me and by the time we became the Marx Brothers, they were so accustomed to involuntary service in my stock company. They were veterans by that time, they had done living room productions of Fiddler on the Roof where they had to play everyone but Tevya. And we did the contract routine from A Night at the Opera, with a little bit of Harpo stuff thrown in. JOHNOkay. Fantastic. Jim, how about you: first time as Groucho in front of an audience? JIM The first time in front of an audience as Groucho was really the first time I played Groucho. Just as I have a deep and abiding love and respect for the art of magic (and want to see it, want to read about it), I don't want to perform it. Because it is a thing in to its unto itself and if you do it poorly, it's horrible. So, I love to see it. I just don't love to perform it. And I felt the same way about Groucho. So, I went kind of kicking and screaming, to a staged reading of The Coconuts that Illusion Theater did. We really just carried our scripts because there was just a couple three rehearsals, but we read the whole thing and sang some of the stuff that was in it. And then that morphed from there into an actual production of The Coconuts and we did it both at the illusion theater in Minneapolis, and then it moved to the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. When the Marx Brothers performed there, I think it was called The World theatre. So, I love that kind of thing. I love standing where Wyatt Earp stood or standing where William Shakespeare stood. And so, to be doing a play that Groucho did on a stage that Groucho did it. I should have gotten out of the business right then. I should have said it, I've done it. What's left? JOHNExcellent stories. Noah, have you ever done The Coconuts or Animal Crackers? NOAHI haven't done The Coconuts. I would love to. Animal Crackers … One of the subsequent childhood Groucho appearances was when I was 14 years old. I had a relationship with this community theater. At this point, I was living in South Florida. I spent the first part of my life in Connecticut, and then lived in South Florida when I was a teenager and New York since I grew up. And this was in the Florida years. There was a local theater in a town called Coral Springs, it's not there anymore, but it was called Opus Playhouse. And it was a great place that helped me a lot and gave me a chance to put on shows and learn how to do things. And I just wanted to do Animal Crackers. So, I did a bootleg production completely unauthorized. I didn't even have the script. I just wrote the movie down line by line to have a script of Animal Crackers. And so I've sort of done it. But you know, I really shouldn't put that on my resume as I was 14 and... JIMIt counts for me. Anybody who's willing, as a 14-year-old, to go line by line through a movie and write it down, you did the show in my book. NOAH That just shows the desperate measures we had to take in those days. There was no internet. Little kids writing down movies, you know? JIM Exactly. JOHNIt's charming. It's absolutely charming. So, what is it Noah that draws you to play Groucho? What is it about that guy? NOAH Yeah, what is it? I know, it's funny. ‘What is it about Groucho' is a question we can grapple with forever, even aside from the question of why try to be him? I think one thing that definitely true is that as soon as I saw the Marx Brothers and heard his voice and watched him moving around and interacting, the urge to be him, or at least to behave like him, was immediate. I mean, it was right there. Now, I was already a kid who was a little ham and a performer and would be inclined to find my role in anything, anyway. But nothing, no character other than myself, ever grabbed me the way Groucho did or ever has, really. And I think part of it is what you mentioned, Jim, that Frank Ferrante has said, part of it is the instinct to rebel against authority. And that's unquestionably part of the Marx Brothers act, and a big part of the Marx Brothers appeal I think to kids. But I think it's a little more like watching a great violin player and deciding you want to play the violin. It just seemed to me that, as far as embodying a character and getting laughs and singing songs, nobody ever did it like him. Nobody ever seemed to be speaking directly to my sense of humor and my sensibility. I just wanted to talk in that voice. I wanted to play that instrument. JOHNJIM, what about you? JIM Nothing. Really, truthfully, I did not want to do it. I still don't want to do it. But I would do it again tomorrow, if somebody asked.I think trying to find your way to entertain an audience through somebody else is tricky for me. I'm better at playing me than I am at playing anybody else. And so the desire to play Groucho, I have sort of put it inside me, and I have an eye on it all the time. I use Groucho's sensibility without the grease paint, and I'd like to believe that I do. I'm certainly not in Groucho's league. Laurence Olivier said it: steal from everybody, and no one will know. And so I have, but the desire to put on the grease paint and wear the frock coat is akin to me saying, I want to do a magic show. I just I love to go to a magic show. I love to watch a Marx Brothers movie. But I'm really kicking and screaming to play him again, because the mantle is so huge and heavy and I don't think that I'm particularly serviceable as GrouchoIt wasn't until we were halfway through the run of The Coconuts when a light bulb went off in the dressing room, while I was putting on the makeup: there's a difference between being faithful to the script of The Coconuts and what we learned, and being faithful to the Marx Brothers sensibilities, if that makes sense. There's the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law.About halfway through that run, I started doing things that I felt were more attune to the spirit of the Marx Brothers, then the letter of the script. So, I was calling other actors onto the stage. I was going out into the audience, I took a guy out and put him in a cab one night. That sort of anarchy that people talk about when you read about the Marx Brothers in their heyday, about Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin in their heyday: I don't know what's going to happen and I want to be there because of that.And for all I know, it was the exact same show night after night after night, and they just gave the impression that it was crazy. But that idea for me still percolates. This the idea of, am I creating a museum piece or am I trying to, in some way, channel that anarchy for an audience? The other show that I do that has some relevance here is we do a production of It's a Wonderful Life, at Christmas time, as a live radio play. And that too: what am I doing? Are we trying to capture the movie or are we creating something different? So, finding that sort of craziness is what I was most intrigued by and still am. NOAH There's not a lot of roles like that. If you're playing one of the Marx Brothers in Coconuts or Animal Crackers, or I'll Say She Is, it's not the same as playing Groucho Marx in a biographical piece about his life. Nor is it like playing Sherlock Holmes, a very familiar character, where there is room to make it your own. I suppose people have done that with Groucho, too. But generally, if you're in a production of one of the Marx Brothers shows, the assignment is to try to make the audience feel like, if they squint, maybe they're watching the Marx Brothers. JOHN Noah, when you tackled the formidable and important task of recreating, resurrecting, bringing back to life, I'll Say She Is, were you having that same sort of thing Jim was talking about? Balancing the reality of what may have happened against you don't really know for sure and the spirit of it? How did you approach it? But first, why did you pick that show? And then how did you bring it back to life? JIMCan I back up? Because the three of us at this table are enormous Marx Brothers fans. So, if you say I'll Say She Is, we have a frame of reference. But people listening to this may go, ‘what the hell is I'll Say She Is?' So, can you start with that? Can you start with what is I'll Say She Is and how did you come to it, because I think for the layman who's not a huge Marx Brothers fan, they don't even know what we're talking about. NOAH Yes, absolutely. In a nutshell, the Marx Brothers, although primarily remembered for their movies, were already halfway through their career by the time they ever made a film. Most of their lives were spent on stage. They had a long period in vaudeville, and then in the 20s, they became Broadway stars. And that was really the beginning of the Marx Brothers as phenomenon we would recognize. They did three Broadway musicals. The first was I'll Say She Is, a thinly plotted revue, and the second was The Coconuts, and the third was Animal Crackers. By the time they were making talkies, they had these two very prestigious vehicles, Coconuts, and Animal Crackers, written by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Riskin, with scores by accomplished composers, Irving Berlin and Kalmer and Ruby. And there was no question but that those would be the first two films.And as a result, I'll Say She Is just kind of faded into history. It was the show they'd never made it into a movie and no script survived or at least no complete, intact script survived. So, if you were a kid like all the Marx maniacs out there, reading every book you can get your hands on and learning everything you could about the Marx Brothers, I'll Say She Is just had a sort of intrigue about it. What was that show? Everyone knew from those books that the highlight of the show was the Napoleon scene in which Groucho played Napoleon and the other brothers played the various consorts of Josephine, who are always materializing every time he turns his back. And that scene was touted as like, that's really the arrival of the Marx Brothers. That was the essence of them, before they ever met George S. Kaufman. It's just such a tantalizing thing if you love them.I think—because I love the theater and I love musical theater—a lot of my other interests are also right in the bullseye of I'll Say She Is: Broadway, New York City history. I'm a big fan of the culture of the Jazz Age in the 1920s. And this was just so appealing to me. So, every time a new book about the Marx Brothers would fall into my hands, the first thing I would do is look up I'll Say She Is in the index and read all the associated stuff first. I just had a little obsession about it. In The Marx Brothers Scrapbook, which is a book I'm sure familiar to both of you and many of the fans, that book reprints the entire opening night program from I'll Say She Is on Broadway. When I was 12 years old, I took that book to the library and photocopied it, and cut out the pages, and made myself a little program so that I could pretend that I had seen I'll Say She Is. Fast forward many years, and I'm an adult doing theater in New York. My wife and collaborator, Amanda Sisk and I were doing political satires, writing these musicals that would be ripped from the headlines. And we did that for a long time before realizing that the time it takes to develop a musical is too long for topical material, so we could never really perfect our work. And we decided to stop doing those shows, which were a bit of a dead end for us creatively. And I found myself after many years of doing one thing trying to figure out, well, what's my thing going to be now?And I think it was probably inevitable that I would just sort of go home to the Marx Brothers. ‘Well, let's do a Marx Brothers show. I haven't done that in a while, you know?' I don't know, it seems a little bit silly to call something so unlikely, inevitable, but I just think I was hurtling toward it from the day I picked up Adamson's book when I was three or four years old. JIM It had to have been both a joyful and frustrating experiences as you tried to recreate something that doesn't exist. The Napoleon sketch: we did a version of that Napoleon sketch. The only line I can remember from that Napoleon sketch was, “I'll be in Paris tomorrow, don't wash.” That's the only line I can remember from the entire show. I think of that. Was it super fun or was it super frustrating? Or was there a combo? What was that like? NOAHIt was fun. I mean, writing is always a combination of both of those things. Stephen Sondheim once called it agonizing fun. That's kind of what almost any writing process is. This one, I wouldn't have taken on the idea of doing I'll Say She Is if enough of it didn't survive and how much of it seemed to have survived. Before my research, I think what I was really thinking is that I would maybe try to write a book about I'll Say She Is, and maybe figure out some way to do the Napoleon scene on stage. But realizing that it could be a show again, that happened kind of slowly as material started to accumulate. Yes, the Napoleon scene has survived and that's been known for a long time. Also, the first scene of I'll Say She Is is one that's familiar to Marx Brothers fans, because it was an old vaudeville piece that they filmed in 1931. The theatrical agency scene. [Audio from the Clip] NOAH So, those are two big pieces of material were a given. And then as for the rest of it, I became aware, by relying on the work of other researchers, that there was a type script I'll Say She Is at the Library of Congress. Also, another slightly different one at the American Musical Theatre Institute run by Miles Kruger. And I was able to get my hands on the type script. Now it is on one hand, it's the script of I'll Say She Is. That isn't quite that what it is, though. It's a 30-page document that they went into rehearsal with. And, you know, going into rehearsal with the Marx Brothers, it's an outline with dialogue. It's what we would now refer to as a treatment. and there is some dialogue in it, some of which is recognizable from later Marx Brothers projects. Some of it is very sketchy. Of course, almost everything Harpo does is merely indicated: stage directions like, Harpo business, or sometimes, business with hat. But this provided something like 20% of the dialogue and the continuity for I'll Say She Is. There were no lyrics in it, but it did specify where the songs would fall. So, my first attempt to write a script for this was a combination of material from that type script and things learned from the playbill, from reading every account of I'll Say She Is I could find in books and interviews. And then I started to search old newspaper archives, which was just getting easier to do at this time. I was embarking on this sort of major I'll Say She Is research period around 2010 and it was just starting to be possible to read decades worth of old newspapers on the internet. It's gotten much easier since then. So, by reading every review I could find FROM every city I'll Say She Is had played in 1923, and 1924, and 1925, I started to realize there's material here. There's reviews that quote dialogue or describe scenes that aren't in the type script and that I didn't know about before and maybe nobody did (unless they've read this copy of the New York Clipper from 1924). And some of the songs from the original I'll Say She Is were published in 1924 and it was fairly easy to get my hands on those. But that represented only about half the score, maybe a third of the score. A number of the original songs remain missing. And of those, I did manage to find a couple. And to fill in the gaps, I found other songs written by the same people. Will Johnstone was the lyricist (Marx Brothers fans will know him as a screenwriter on some of their later films) and his brother Tom Johnstone wrote the music. Well, the Johnstones also wrote six or seven other Broadway shows during the same period. So, I was able to find some of those songs and interpolate them and do a sort of general polish on the lyrics on the surviving lyrics.When I was bringing in other songs, sometimes I would write the lyrics. I know there was a song here, and I know what it was about. So, I'll write a lyric about that and whenever I had to do that kind of thing, where I would invent something to fill a gap, I would always try to do it very conscientiously, by relying on what I knew about the Marx Brothers act up to 1924. And also by immersing myself in Will Johnstone's writing. He's an interesting, very unsung artist too; he was a very prolific newspaper writer and cartoonist and did a little bit of everything. So, by reading everything I could get my hands on by Johnstone, it made it a little easier to write what he would have written for them. JOHNThat's just fascinating. JIM It really is. The whole thing to me is it's so titillating and so exciting that even though I say I never really want to do Groucho ever again, if you said, I'm gonna send you a copy of I'll Say She Is, I produced that. I'd be in that. I put that up right now. NOAHIt could happen, Jim. I think what you said earlier, Jim, about playing Groucho, you feel like there's this mantle of greatness that is, is impossible to live up to. I feel that way too. It is impossible. I mean, playing Groucho on stage, you're kind of making a deal with the audience, like, ‘Hey, we both know, I'm not him. I'm not. Nobody will ever be that good at doing that. But if you'll meet me in the middle, I think I can fool you for a minute.' It becomes a sense of responsibility. And it's the same thing with reviving, I'll Say She Is. If we're gonna put that title on a marquee, and charge people money to see it, boy, this better be the very best we can do. JOHNSo, once you started reconstructing I'll Say She Is, were you always planning on putting it on its feet? NOAH Well, probably, the answer is definitely yes. I think the question is, would I have admitted it to myself early on? I do remember nibbling around the edges of it for a while before looking at squarely in the face and saying, ‘We have to do this.' We have to do this on stage for that very reason: because it is so daunting. It's daunting to produce a big musical, even without all the baggage and the history and responsibility of the Marx Brothers and I'll Say She Is. JIM I looked at the pictures of your production and was flabbergasted at the cast and how big the cast is, and the costumes for the cast. It was like, this is a big deal. NOAH One thing that was very lucky—because of the nature of the project, and because it's so interesting and historical—it attracted a lot of really talented people, all of whom worked for much less than they deserved. We have done it twice at this point: the Fringe Festival production in 2014 was the first, full staging and the book Give Me a Thrill is current through that production. Then in 2016, we did an Off-Broadway production, which was larger and fuller and ran longer and was even more fully realized. There will be a new edition of a book covering that production. But even that is now some years ago.There is in the future, I think for an even bigger, even more 1924-faithful I'll Say She Is. And I also think there may be a lightweight version of I'll Say She Is. I think we may experiment with that, saying, ‘Oh, okay, it's a 1920s revue. It has a line of chorus girls. It's spectacular. But what if we did to it what Marx Brothers fans often want to do to the film's and just boiled it down to just the Marx Brothers gold and do an I'll Say She Is Redux?' There two licensable versions of Animal Crackers. There's a small cast multiple role kind of version, and then there's the big full musical. JOHNIt's like the Teeny Sweeney. The idea of you offering and creating a version that would be a little easier for most theaters to do. I think is really a smart idea. JIMKnowing the Marx Brothers, and knowing Coconuts and Animal Crackers, because of course, they're enshrined in celluloid and we can look at them whenever we want. There's a story to both of those things, loose as it may be. I wouldn't say either The Coconuts or Animal Crackers were a revue. Is the same true of I'll Say She Is? Is it a revue where we're just going from sketch to sketch to sketch or song to song to sketch, and they're not connected by a through line the way Coconuts or Animal Crackers are? NOAHIt's an interesting question and the answer is kind of both. One thing that has happened is I think the word revue is now understood more narrowly than it was in the Marx Brothers day. When we use the word revue now, we generally mean exactly what you're describing: a variety kind of evening, with a series of unrelated sketches or songs. But the truth is in the 1920s, particularly, revues tended to have either thin plots or themes that tied them together. And that's exactly what distinguished a Broadway review or what would have been called rather snootily, a legitimate revue. That's what distinguishes it from vaudeville, which really was one act after another and what the third on the bill does on stage has nothing to do with the content of what was second on the bill. A lot of these Broadway revues, including the Ziegfeld Follies, they would be built on themes or plots. An example would be As Thousands Cheer, Irving Berlin's famous revue. It doesn't have a plot that runs all the way through it, but each piece is based on a news story of the day. It's not just a collection of songs. In the case of I'll Say She Is, it was a thinly plotted revue. And the thin plot is: a bored heiress is looking for thrills. That's the plot. It makes Animal Crackers look very sophisticated. It begins with a breaking news that a society woman craves excitement, she has promised her hand, her heart, and her fortune to whoever can give her the biggest thrill. Very saucy stuff. So, each scene or musical number in the show is vaguely an attempt to give her a thrill. It's kind of like a clothesline. You can hang anything on it. So, the Napoleon's sketch—in the context that was provided for it in 1924—is a fantasy sequence where the ingenue fantasizes that she's in the court of Napoleon. That's the attempt of the hypnotist to give her a thrill. In order to make the show a little more compact and a little more accessible, in my adaptation I did nudge it a little closer to being a book show. I did I strengthen the plot a little bit. I just added some reinforcements, some undergirding to the plot. And some things in the show that weren't connected to the plot, but could have been, I made some little connections there. And also, some of the sequencing was a little perverse in terms of how the evening built. So I thought, with the help of many people who worked on the show with me, but I'll mention Travest-D and Amanda Sisk, who had a lot to do with the development of the script, we figured out that the Napoleon scene really should go at the end of Act One. And the courtroom scene should go at the end of Act Two. And other little concessions like that to make a contemporary audience feel some sense of satisfaction. JOHNYou both do such a nice job of Groucho—even though one of you has to be dragged into it kicking and screaming. What is, from your experience, what is the hardest part of being Groucho on stage? NOAH Well, for me, the most challenging part is the physical performance. That's the part I work on the most. When I see video of myself as Groucho, that's the part—if I notice things to improve on next time—they're usually physical things. I think that may have something to do with my particular skill set. I'm very comfortable vocally. I like my vocal version of Groucho and it sounds the way he sounds to me. I generally feel confident with that, although off nights do happen. But physically, being him physically, partly because he was so verbally overwhelming, we often overlook what an interesting and unusual and brilliant physical performer, Groucho Marx was. I can't think of anyone who moved the way he moved. Both his physical body was unusual, his shape, and the way he—especially in the early films—he like has no gravity. He's sort of weightless.There is a tendency to make him too manic and to try to match his impact by being loud and fast and very abrupt in your movements. Or overly precise. He wasn't that precise, actually. He was pretty sloppy in the way he moved. But there was a grace in all that sloppiness…The difficulty of putting it into words—that you're experiencing with me right now—is part of where the challenge is. There are times when I feel good about the physical performance, and I nail something, a move of his that I've been working on. But I think that's the part that's the most challenging. JOHNOkay, Jim, how about you? What did you find most challenging? JIM You know, what I found most challenging is dealing with the mantle of Groucho. Not just the audience's expectations of what that means, but more problematic, my own belief system, about what I'm capable of, and how far short of what the man was and did on stage my version of him is.So for me, I always had to really kind of get myself ramped up in order to believe that, okay, I'm going to go on, I'm going to do this. And it was a constant battle for me every night before I would go on. Am I capable of this? Is there anything about this that's even moderately entertaining for an audience? And I just couldn't get by that and I still can't, you know, I still can't get that out of my head. Now, I separate that for a second and set it aside with It's a Wonderful Life. I'm very happy with what I've achieved in It's a Wonderful Life. Very happy with, what I've done, me personally, and the show in general. But my performances, I'm very happy and satisfied with them and I'd love to do them and can't wait till December comes around so I can do it again. But the Marx Brothers thing is that there's a fear factor, I guess that I'm going to let him down in some way and I can't help but let him down. There's a certain love and respect I have for him, in the same way that I have love and respect for magic, that I just don't want to be a bad Elvis impersonator. You know what I mean? That's what I don't want to do. There's a big difference between Elvis and the best Elvis impersonator and you can have joy in both. But, you know, Groucho is so far—and nothing against Elvis, please. If you're listening to this podcast, and you think I'm about to diss Elvis, you're right. But I don't mean it that way. There's a vast difference between what Groucho was on screen and what Elvis was on screen. Elvis could sing. Groucho could do anything. And that's the difference, and I can't do anything. I can barely sing. I'm lucky enough to have done it and I'm happy to have done it and when people talk to me about it. ‘Oh, I saw you was Groucho. You were excellent.' And I want to say, ‘Apparently, you don't know the Marx brothers. I wasn't.' NOAH That's a very Groucho response, that hey, you are great in that show, and you have no taste, you know? JIM That's exactly right. JOHNWell, I could do this all night, but we're not going to do that. I want to just wrap up with a couple Speed Round questions, kind of general Marx Brothers questions. Noah, do you have a favorite of the movies? NOAH Animal Crackers, because I think it's the closest we can get to seeing them as a stage act at the peak of their powers. JOHNOkay, do you have a favorite scene? NOAHYes, I feel guilty because my favorite Marx Brothers scene only has one Marx Brothers in it and I I love Harpo and Chico and I even love Zeppo. I have to say that, but my favorite scene is the strange interlude scene in Animal Crackers. [Audio from the Clip] JOHNTo have been there live, to watch him do that, to see him step forward. I would rank that very high for my favorite scene. Jim, do you have a favorite movie and a favorite scene? JIMYeah, I think so. Largely because it was my first experience of the Marx Brothers, nothing for me compares to a Night at the Opera. If I am clicking around and Night at the Opera is on, we stopped clicking and that's what it is. And anybody who is in the house, my wife or the kids, I'm sorry, but you'll either have to find another TV or go out to play, because this is what we're going to be watching for a while And you know the line of Groucho's, what happened? [Audio from the Clip: “Oh, we had an argument, and he pulled a knife on me so I shot him.”]. JIM That right there. When I heard that the first time, I was afraid I'd have to leave the theater. I started laughing so hard, and I couldn't come back from it. It just kept coming to me. I kept thinking of that well past it and was giggling about it and so that whole ‘belly up, put your foot up here.' That whole thing to me is as good as it gets. JOHNOne other little alley, I want to go down. There's another great book and Noah, if I get the title wrong, please correct me. Is it Four of the Three Musketeers? NOAH Yes. JOHNWhich tracks in exhausting detail, every stage appearance of their stage career. As you look through it—we're all getting older, all three guys—you begin to realize the weird gap or you think something was a long time ago and it turns out it wasn't. I was born in 1958 and realized just recently that Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was made a mere 10 years before I was born. The Marx Brothers on stage in the 20s, or late teens and 20s, they're traveling everywhere in the country. They came to Minneapolis a lot. They went to Duluth a lot. And, you know, a mere 40 years before I was born, I could have gone and seen them. So, my question to you guys is: you have a chance to see the Marx Brothers live on stage in that era. What is your pick? What do you go see? You have a time machine. You can go you can go see one thing or two. I'll give you two, because I have two. NOAHWell, I'm glad. I'm glad you're given me two, because the obvious answer is I'll Say She Is and.... JIM That would be my answer too. JOHN Bring your iPhone and hit record. Yeah. NOAH Yeah, right, bootleg it. Nobody knows what an iPhone is anyway. Exactly. JIM And then you just go right back to what you did as a 14-year-old line by line. JOHNOkay. So, your second choice after the obvious, I'll Say She Is? NOAH I guess it would be to see some of the even earlier stuff, satisfying the urge to see them at their best on Broadway. You know, there's a lot of curiosity about the act up really up to 1920. In 1920 or 21, there's a big change. That's when Groucho painted the moustache on and drops the German or sometimes Yiddish accent he had been using before. Harpo and Chico evolved more subtly, but in a sense, they were all playing somewhat different characters in the early vaudeville tabs. So I guess I would want to see Home Again, which was their vaudeville tabloid, that carried them through the World War One years and beyond. JOHNJim? JIMAnything vaudeville. The school sketches that they did. I'd see anything. It wouldn't matter to me. If I could get back there, I'd go every day. John, you and I were talking about Robin Williams and being the greatest improviser of all time, and the quote that you said was, somebody had said, “see the eight o'clock show, then see the 10 o'clock show, and we'll talk.” And to me, that's interesting. I would kill to, you know, follow them on the road, like Bruce Springsteen, and just see how much of it really is the same. In the same way that I'm tickled, when somebody says to me, ‘How much of that did you just make up on the spot?' None of it. Essentially, none of it did I make up on the spot. I'd like to see how much of what they did day to day was exactly the same and how much of it was, ‘today, I'm going to do this for no reason at all' and I'd like to see how much of that is different. JOHNYou know, my two choices kind of fall within that. One is the day that Chico's daughter didn't go to the show, and she came home, and Chico thought she'd gone to it and he said, ‘What did you think?' And she said, ‘What do you mean?' And he said, ‘Harpo and I switched roles.' And I know it's weird: if you had like one chance to go see the Marx Brothers, you're gonna go see them do the role they're supposed to do. But it's just fascinating when you think about it. The other one is when Groucho was sick and Zeppo stepped in and if I'm quoting Susan Marx's book correctly, the reaction was so strong towards what Zeppo did that Groucho got healthy really fast and came back. But Zeppo was really, really good. We do have the agent sketch, so you get a sense of what they were like on stage. You do get that. But the idea of seeing, I can easily see Zeppo doing Groucho. But Chico doing Harpo and vice versa? I realize that if I have a time machine, I should go back and do something more helpful for the world. But at that same time, I want to stop by and see that one show where they switched. JIM That you'll do that on your lunch break. While you're stopping World War Two, on the way home, swing by and see that show. You've earned it. NOAH That's a good answer. JOHNYeah. Noah, thank you so much for chatting with us. JIM Just a delight. Thank you so much. I had a great time talking to you. NOAHIt's been a pleasure, fellas. Thank you for having me on.

PLEASE NOTE if you automatically downloaded this episode this morning you may have a corrupted file  please redownload from this link! Thank you!   This week we conclude our visit to the Uptown Theater with the second set from the band's performance on  January 31, 1978.  This set starts with a fine Scarlet>Fire with a wonderful transition with Donna hitting this just right. The Samson is raging, then the band goes into a delicious Terrapin Station, into a sweet Playing with Phil really adding some nice bottom. A short Drums and Space leads into an intense 'Black Peter', much longer than the earlier versions, then 'Truckin' leads into a set closing, and quite enjoyable 'Good Lovin'.    No encore. Grateful Dead Uptown Theatre Chicago, IL 1/31/1978 - Tuesday Two     Scarlet Begonias [11:57] > Fire On The Mountain [9:16] Samson And Delilah [8:15] Terrapin Station [10:11] > Playing In The Band [9:#04] > Drums [1:26#] > Space [7:42] > Black Peter [12:54] > Truckin' [8:53] > Good Lovin' [5:53]  You can listen to this week's Deadpod here:  http://traffic.libsyn.com/deadshow/deadpod012723.mp3 Thank you all for your kindness. 

 I'm going to do something I don't normally do this week - play the show immediately following last week's show.. and there's plenty of good reasons to do so. This show - 1/31/78 from the Uptown Theater in Chicago is very very good.  The opening 'Mississippi Half-Step' gives us a taste of what is to come - check out Garcia's licks here, then we get a smoking hot 'Passenger' with outstanding contributions by Phil and Jerry and fine vocals from Donna Jean. 'Tennessee Jed' follows and again, the contributions by the ensemble make for a most enjoyable listen, in particular the great jam before the coda. A lyrical 'El Paso' follow with Bob here in excellent vocal form. The 'Candyman' that follows is patched from an audience source, but Jerry still sounds soulful. Following 'Minglewood' and a nice 'They Love Each Other' is a simmering 'Let It Grow' to close the set.. Grateful Dead Uptown Theatre Chicago, IL 1/31/1978 - Tuesday One     Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo [10:10] Passenger [5:15] Tennessee Jed [8:51] El Paso [4:12] Candyman [6:50] New Minglewood Blues [5:05] They Love Each Other [6:54] Let It Grow [11:58]  You can listen to this week's Deadpod here:  http://traffic.libsyn.com/deadshow/deadpod012023.mp3 Be kind my friends  :) 

More Excellence! Today we're revisiting Marc Holladay. Marc is an American 2018 Spiral Award-winning Actor, Model, Dancer, Director and Executive Producer. Marc portrayed the Legendary Peppi Jones in Carla Robinson's hit musical, The Uptown, a story about the legendary Uptown Theater. Hear how Macr got started in acting and how he came to learn 5he business and teach it to others

This week we feature the second set from the band's performance at the Uptown Theater in Chicago Il. on January 30, 1978.  I'm quite impressed with this set. It starts off with a fine 'Bertha' which goes into an excellent 'Good Lovin', followed by 'Ship of Fools'. What follows however is over an hour of non-stop Dead magic.  'Estimated'>'Eyes' where Jerry has some interstellar noodling going into a sweet 'Stella Blue' . Then a rare triple-dose of Jerry as the band goes into a rare, late set 'Franklin's Tower' This combination of Stella>Franklins is a first and never repeated. A rockin' 'Around and Around' closes the set but they return for a signature 'Johnny B Goode' encore.    Grateful Dead Uptown Theatre Chicago, IL 1/30/1978 - Monday      Two      Bertha [6:33] > Good Lovin' [5:23] Ship Of Fools [7:34] Estimated Prophet [12:47] > Eyes Of The World [11:56] > Space [6:30] > Stella Blue [9:38] > Franklin's Tower [14:01] > Around And Around [8:08] Encore      Johnny B. Goode [3:57]   You can listen to this week's Deadpod here:  http://traffic.libsyn.com/deadshow/deadpod011323.mp3  I hope this finds you safe and well.... thank you as always for your kind support of the Deadpod. 

As we head into the New Year, here's a January show, a rarity for the band, from the intimate Uptown Theater in Chicago on January 30th, 1978. While this first set doesn't have the jamming that you'll hear in set 2, it is tight and Jerry's voice is much better than it was earlier in the month. There is some funny back and forth between songs, and the Lazy Lightning is greatly improved by Phil's contributions.   Grateful Dead Uptown Theatre Chicago, IL 1/30/1978 - Monday      One    The Promised Land [4:15]   Dire Wolf [3:30]   Mexicali Blues [3:32] > Big River [5:45]   Brown Eyed Women [5:28]   Looks Like Rain [8:04]   Peggy-O [7:01]   It's All Over Now [7:53]   Deal [5:37]   Lazy Lightnin' [3:22] > Supplication [5:32]  You can listen to this week's Deadpod here:   http://traffic.libsyn.com/deadshow/deadpod010623.mp3 Hope you are all well and that you're New Year has started strong! thanks so much for your kind support.     

Jason Zongrone saw the Uptown Theater in Utica was coming back and decided to give improv a try. A few months later, he started doing stand-up. Now he's a member of the Bus Stop Robot improv troupe and does stand-up all over New York and making a name for himself in the comedy scene. He's going to do everything it takes to be the next Joey Gladstone. Jason's taking part in the Uptown Tonight's A Very Merry Uptown Family Christmas Holiday Special Broadcast Experience Live! on Friday, Dec. 23.  Follow Jason Zongrone: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yungjase/Twitter: https://twitter.com/YungJase Uptown Tonight's A Very Merry Uptown Family Christmas Holiday Special Broadcast Experience Live!: https://www.facebook.com/events/553378876262139/Support the show

On today's episode, I'm extremely excited to be speaking with Mr. Billy Brimblecom Jr. Billy is an incredible drummer that has played in some amazing bands in the Kansas City Music scene. He has played for Stick, The Creature Comforts, Blackpool Lights, Summer Breeze, and many more. He also played for Los Angeles band The Start. This guy is a legend! Billy has been the Executive Director of the non-profit organization Steps of Faith Foundation since 2013. STEPS OF FAITH PROVIDES LIMBS TO AMPUTEES WHO CAN'T OTHERWISE AFFORD THEM. THEY HELP PEOPLE GET PROSTHETIC LIMBS. We talk all about the organization, as well as the yearly fundraiser they throw in Kansas City. It is hosted by Mr. Ted Lasso himself Jason Sudeikis. We talk about a whole bunch of cool stuff in this episode. I had always heard that Billy has a heart of gold, and I can confirm. He's a very easy-to-talk-to, down to earth guy and I want to thank him for the time. The website for Steps of Faith is www.stepsfaithfoundation.org. Thundergong is this upcoming Saturday at the Uptown Theater in Kansas City Missouri. A little birdy told me there's still a few tickets left. So, without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Mr. Billy Brimblecom.

If you're a fan of Philadelphia soul, you've enjoyed the work of Dexter Wansel. He wrote for and produced such Philadelphia International artists as Lou Rawls, Billy Paul, Patti LaBelle, Teddy Pendergrass and the Jacksons, and he conducted and played with MFSB, whose “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” was the “Soul Train” theme but wasn't called that for a reason he explains. As a kid working at Philadelphia's Uptown Theater, Wansel assisted Stevie Wonder, James Brown and other acts. Later he got studio gigs as an early adopter of synthesizers, and his debut album, the much-sampled Life on Mars, showcases his jazz-funk chops and a lifelong passion for space. His stories and memories are a blast.

We first met guitarist Aidan Fisher when he was 10 years old, when he got on stage with Steel Panther at the Uptown Theater, blowing the crowd away with his rendition of Eddie Van Halen's "Eruption" solo...then we had him back to play the National Anthem in 2018...and since then he's played at NFL, NBA, MLB and NCAA games, at Monster Jam and a ton more! But then recently we found out that he had worked as the guitar playing double for the character Eddie Munson in the season 4 finale of the HUGE Netflix series, Stranger Things!! So we gave him a call to see what's next for him!!

In a world filled with pretty boy bro-country artists, there is one man who stands above the fray. One man whose sole purpose is to feel up Nashville and wipe his d*** on it's curtains, leaving a stain on Music City that will never wash out!! That man is Wheeler Walker Jr. And he's coming to KC to play the Uptown Theater this Friday night!!!

In a world filled with pretty boy bro-country artists, there is one man who stands above the fray. One man whose sole purpose is to feel up Nashville and wipe his d*** on it's curtains, leaving a stain on Music City that will never wash out!! That man is Wheeler Walker Jr. And he's coming to KC to play the Uptown Theater this Friday night!!! ALSO…. After 18 seasons, Capt. Sig Hansen has become the elder statesman of the long-running Discovery reality series, “Deadliest Catch”…and with Alaska shutting down crab fishing season…he did what needed to be done…relocating to Norway to make his living fishing for Red King Crab in the shadow of Russian waters. And with season 18 going strong, we talked to Sig this morning to find out what the future holds!!

Anyone who listens to the Morning Show knows that we are fans of Wheeler Walker Jr...as he is the rash on Nashville's ass, draggin' his dirty balls across Music City's chin!! And now that his new album "Sex, Drugs & Country Music" is out, he's ruffling feathers and raisin' hell...rolling into The Uptown Theater on June 3rd!! PLUS... ATTENTION PEOPLE WHO LOVE DR.PIMPLE POPPER!! What if I were to tell you there was a show like that...but instead of pimples...it's people stank ass feet? WELL, FRIEND...The TLC show "My Feet Are Killing Me" is just what you're looking for...and we talked to one of it's stars, Dr. Brad Schaeffer this morning to find out why in the exact f**k people like this stuff!!  

If you had told us years ago that Jackass star Steve O would live to see his 30s, we likely would not have believed you…let alone him making it to his 40s….and now he's here at 47, healthy, happy and determined. And with “Jackass Forever” still kicking ass in the theaters, he's been taking his “Bucket List” show on the road, rolling into the Uptown Theater tonight!! And he promises it will be a show that will leave you speechless!!! Apart from all of that…it's amazing to talk to him and realize that he is in the best place he's ever been, and will be for a long time!

It's been really cool to watch our friend/home town boy Baron “Happy” Corbin's rise thru the ranks of the WWE to become one of the greatest bad guys in the business! He is truly the man everyone loves to hate in the WWE…and has become one of the standout stars of Friday Night Smackdown!! And, he's looking toward one of the biggest matches of his career against Drew McIntyre at Wrestlemania 38 next month!! But apart from all of that, every time we talk to him, he's still just the same metalhead from Lenexa KS he's always been, and we love that. PLUS… With movies like “Some Kind of Wonderful”, “Howard the Duck” and “Back To The Future”, it's safe to say that our decades long crush on Lea Thompson continues unabated. We love her, dude. And we always love having her on the show. So, now that she's directed two episodes of the hit Paramount series, “Star Trek:Picard”, it was a perfect excuse to get her on the phone and profess our love. And profess we did!!! ALSO… If you had told us years ago that Jackass star Steve O would live to see his 30s, we likely would not have believed you…let alone him making it to his 40s….and now he's here at 47, healthy, happy and determined. And with “Jackass Forever” still kicking ass in the theaters, he's been taking his “Bucket List” show on the road, rolling into the Uptown Theater tonight!! And he promises it will be a show that will leave you speechless!!! Apart from all of that…it's amazing to talk to him and realize that he is in the best place he's ever been, and will be for a long time!

Let's face it…The reason we here on the station do what we do is because of Rock & Roll…it's the reason you stay up too late at night….it's the reason you hate your job…it's the reason to drink, f*ck and fight…and when we find a new band that flips that switch, we wanna turn EVERYONE we know on to them!! Case in point, LA's Dirty Honey! Anyone who has seen them live onstage will attest to the fact that these guys are the real fuckin' deal!! The played to a packed house at the Uptown Theater last night, and lucky for us, they decided to stop by this morning and hang out all morning!! And when you hear them play acoustic in-studio…you'll see what we mean…they are the REAL.FUCKING.DEAL.

Taylor Tomlinson has appeared on Conan, the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Last Comic Standing, and so much more. Her hilarious special, Quarter-Life Crisis is available on Netflix. Today Taylor calls Jen from her hotel room in Cleveland, Ohio to chat about traveling, not being a birthday person, starting comedy at a young age, and the American Girl doll body books. Taylor Tomlinson is bringing her Deal With It Tour to the Uptown Theater for two shows on Saturday December 11th! For tickets and event info click on the link below: www.ticketmaster.com/event/06005AC2E1F74F19 For more information on Taylor Tomlinson, her tour schedule, links to her social media, and more visit ttomcomedy.com