For Those About to Rock

The Broken Jump Update

Yes, it is official … The Talented Talent Brothers return to the NYC stage as part of the Midtown International Theatre Festival on July 15-Aug 5. Tickets go on sale very, very soon! Keep checking Baby Hippopotamus Online for dates, info on the show and how to get your tickets.

Had a meeting with JB the other day to get the ball rolling on everything. Gotta get auditions scheduled for a few parts and get this puppy into rehearsal. I imagine that it's gonna be a busy summer for the big, bad Daddy Hippopotamus ... what with The Broken Jump finally taking off, making some real strides as a stand-up (you can check out a couple of pics at my MySpace site) and promoting other events. Ah well ... I can always sleep in the fall.

The ride is about to begin again.

ZZ Top and Heart

So I’m surfin’ the ‘Net the other day and find out that a couple of my favorite bands are being honored at the VH1 Rock Honors this year – ZZ Top and Heart. Last year two of my other favorites were also honored, Queen and Kiss. Be sure to check it out May 24th.

Now being a card-carrying Texan, y’know I gotta love ZZ Top. In fact, one of my favorite concert experiences was catching the bearded ones at the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum way back during the Eliminator tour. That was the concert where I saw the biggest doobie ever rolled in the history of man.

If I had to admit to having a celebrity crush, it would be on Ann and Nancy Wilson. I had always been a Heart fan, but fell in love with the ladies during the Heart / Bad Animals era. All those videos were so great … “These Dreams,” “What About Love,” “Nothin’ At All,” “Alone” … all satin, lace and hairspray. Sexy! Sure, in retrospect you can see how they tried to hide Ann’s weight and made Nancy the sex-pot … but, hell, I was a teenager. All I knew was that they were remarkably talented and if I got a glimpse of Nancy’s cleavage here and there, all the better.

And speaking of Kiss …

I grew up with Kiss. If you read this blog, you know I still love ‘em. If you check me out on MySpace, you’ll see that Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons’ Family Jewels and Peter Criss are all on my friends list. I love the music, I love the energy. “Shout It Out Loud” is playing in my house this very moment. They are the greatest show in rock-n-roll!

As a kid, Peter was my favorite. Part of that was because he was a cat, part of that was because he played the drums. When he left the band, I was one of the few to buy his first solo album, Out of Control. Man does it sound dated now, but I wore that vinyl out back in the day.

In the ‘90’s he released an album, Criss Cat #1, with his new band. It’s one of my favorite CDs to this day. And now there’s word that he’s actually going to release a new album within months … here’s the official press release:

Rock Legend PETER CRISS To Release New Solo CD "One For All" Worldwide July 24 On Silvercat Records Via Sony/Red Distribution From: Silvercat Records

PETER CRISS, founding member and drummer of iconic rock group KISS, will release his new solo CD entitled ONE FOR ALL July 24 on Silvercat Records, distributed by Sony/Red. The CD will be distributed day-and-date to fans across the globe.

An autobiographical collection of songs that Criss produced and recorded over the course of two years, ONE FOR ALL also includes several cover tunes that reflect his outlook on life at this point in his long-standing career.

The lead vocalist and co-writer of what to this day remains KISS’ biggest Billboard hit, Beth, which also went on to win a People’s Choice Award, Criss goes back to his songwriting roots with this new CD. Says Criss: "The most important thing is that my fans and other people will get a whole new outlook on me with this CD. I’m reinventing myself at my own pace, and for me, it’s now, more than ever, about being true."

ONE FOR ALL is the first fully self-produced CD that Criss has recorded -- in addition to arranging and writing the lyrics and melodies for most of the material on the CD.

Joined by longtime friends and acclaimed musicians – Grammy award-winning bandleader Paul Shaffer and bassist Will Lee, as well as guitarist Mike McLaughlin -- ONE FOR ALL is a variously styled project, profoundly rich in ballads that touches on all aspects of Criss’ life, and draws on his love of rock and R&B. The title track, recorded with the Church of Transfiguration Boys Choir, was written in the wake of 9/11 and sets the tone for the CD. Other songs include: Doesn’t Get Better Than This, Last Night, Faces in the Crowd, Heart Behind the Hands, Send in The Clowns, and even a tribute song to his longtime bandmate and friend ACE FREHLEY titled Space Ace.

Finally ... some random update-y stuff:

These are just short factoids to answer a few of the questions you might have ...

1) No, I have not received any legal notice from the attention grabbing, threatening email writing folks yet. I kinda hope I do ... but only when I'm feeling petty.

2) Yes, I am still hitting the gym, but not as often as I would like to. And I'm a little upset at myself over that. I'll have to step it back up to keep the energy level I'm gonna need this summer.

3) I'm not blowing smoke up your ass when I say that I honestly have learned more about performing by working as a stand-up than I have over the last ten years of doing plays.

4) I thought the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie rocked! "Your money is now our money and we will spend it on drugs!"