Posted on February 28, 2012
By Mike Ross
Comedy, Front Slider, Theatre, TV and Radio
Everyone’s a comedian – that’s one cliche come true in the age of the internet. What will NEVER become a famous saying, according to Canadian comic actor Kevin McDonald, is this: “Everyone’s a GOOD comedian.” But he’s here to help. The Kids in the Hall member perhaps best known as the “Slipped My Mind” Guy […]
Posted on February 27, 2012
By LH Thomson
Front Slider, TV and Radio
The Oscars make us wince, generally. Oh, there are those moments, like Octavia Spencer being genuinely overwhelmed, a character actress with a so-far background career, suddenly achieving the pinnacle of her craft and getting a standing ovation for giving a damn. Christopher Plummer finally getting the recognition he deserves at 82, and bringing best supporting […]
Posted on February 15, 2012
By Mike Ross
Culture, The Latest, TV and Radio
The Bounce 91.7 has scored a broadside hit on archrival Hot 107 in what has come to be known as the Great Edmonton Top 40 Radio Wars – they have stolen back program director Russell James. “I don’t think steal is the right word,” says Bounce operations manager Al Ford. “Hired is a better word.” […]
Posted on February 4, 2012
By Rob Drinkwater
Culture, Music, TV and Radio
Once upon a time, certain magazines were chock full of ads for very expensive stereo equipment. Since men were typically the buyers of such gear, they appeared in publications like Playboy, Popular Science, or National Lampoon. Sometimes the ads featured a celebrity. Others were like liquor ads, which also filled the pages of men’s mags, […]
Posted on January 29, 2012
By Mike Ross
Culture, Front Slider, TV and Radio
Lesley Primeau comes off like a hard-boiled, old-school journalist you don’t want to mess with if you know what’s good for you. She talks a tough game, takes a stand, doesn’t back down, champions the underdog, fights for justice, truth and the Canadian way. It’s a tough job in a cutthroat business where newsmen and […]
Posted on January 25, 2012
By Mike Ross
Culture, Front Slider, TV and Radio
The only mystery about the “Strange Sounds in the Sky” videos is which synthesizer was used to make the sounds – aside from how these videos managed to capture the fears and imaginations of people around the world. “It’s definitely a synth,” says producer and recording engineer Phil Anderson, owner of Edmonton’s Powersound Studios, after […]
Posted on January 11, 2012
By Mike Ross
Comedy, TV and Radio
The whole notion that “corporate comedy” is a brain drain that removes the best comic talent from the public eye recently surfaced with the curious case of Donovan Workun – a master comic improviser who’s so good at doing those high-paying corporate shows that he rarely performs in public as the Atomic Improv anymore. The […]
Posted on January 10, 2012
By Mike Ross
Front Slider, Music, TV and Radio
The Buggles were wrong. Video did not kill the radio star. The radio star is very much alive, thanks to, well, radio. Commercial FM radio remains the best way to spread new music to the masses. Believe it or not. Oh, sure, MTV (and MuchMusic) created quite a number of video stars back in the […]
Posted on December 15, 2011
By Mike Ross
Music, The Latest, TV and Radio
It’s not every day an American Idol winner turns up performing with a Singing Christmas Tree in Edmonton – but this is no ordinary Singing Christmas Tree. Nor is Ruben Studdard an ordinary American Idol winner. Here’s a funny twist: At the Jubilee Auditorium Friday through Sunday, this annual Christmas event (featuring a festively-garbed choir […]
Posted on December 12, 2011
By Mike Ross
Culture, Front Slider, TV and Radio
No one is safe from Yukon Jack’s Big Yap – not even Yukon Jack. The Bear radio personality dropped several bombshells during a recent interview: He wasn’t born in Canada, he’s not into hockey, he’s in favour of gay marriage, he’d rather listen to gangsta rap than rock ‘n’ roll and – perhaps most damning […]
Posted on November 21, 2011
By Staff
Music, The Latest, TV and Radio
It has been said that the only antidote to the concentrated sadness of Jann Arden’s music is the devastating wit she displays between songs – which is why at the end of her shows there isn’t a dry eye in the house in more ways than one. Singer, songwriter, author, TV star and raconteur, Arden […]
Posted on November 18, 2011
By Mike Ross
Comedy, Culture, Front Slider, TV and Radio
Awkward Travis has asked spelling questions to drunk people on Whyte Avenue, accosted Oilers fans to talk about Twilight and tried to get women to give him their bras at the mall. He got his nickname one day when he approached people sitting by themselves in a coffee shop and said, “Hey, you look lonely. […]
COMMENTARY: Oscars like cheese from a can
Posted on February 27, 2012 By LH Thomson Front Slider, TV and Radio
The Oscars make us wince, generally. Oh, there are those moments, like Octavia Spencer being genuinely overwhelmed, a character actress with a so-far background career, suddenly achieving the pinnacle of her craft and getting a standing ovation for giving a damn. Christopher Plummer finally getting the recognition he deserves at 82, and bringing best supporting […]