King Contrary Man
With his sharp cheekbones, bellowing voice, and confident swagger, Cult frontman Ian Astbury was — and still is — a rock and roll sex symbol. He has never refrained from writing about sex, either. Yet somehow he’s offended by a flesh-flaunting cover of Maxim magazine, the likes of which contribute to the “sexual chaos” of…
Shortstop’s Chops
If Omar Vizquel didn’t practice his barehanded fielding, he’d be sucking on broken fingers while opponents circle the bases. He knows it takes time and effort to perfect any skill. So it’s no wonder that the Indians’ surehanded shortstop gets a little apprehensive when talk turns to this year’s Tribe Jam, slated for July 7…
Just Good Buds
Bim Thomas’s apartment is a mess. The floor’s littered with stacks of vinyl he hasn’t sorted and rock posters he hasn’t hung. He moved in only a couple of weeks ago, after moving out of his girlfriend’s house, and he’s yet to hook up a phone. (“Yeah, man, I’ll probably get one,” he says. “But…
Love for Sail
Tall ship skipper Lesley McLean’s passion for sailing was kindled at an early age. Now she’s fostering that love in a new generation. “Sailing a tall ship is not something that everyone gets to do,” says McLean, a 25-year-old in her first year at the helm of the brigantine Playfair. “To get to go back…
Paul Simon
Since Paul Simon has already toured with Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and Joni Mitchell, it’s only natural for him to hook up with Brian Wilson, the brilliant beached boy who visited the Cleveland area on his first solo tour a mere year ago. This won’t be a co-headlining date, perhaps because the paradigmatically insecure Wilson…
Kicked Butt
Kiss of the Dragon — the latest vehicle for martial arts star Jet Li, a Mainland talent who became a superstar in Hong Kong and has since succumbed to the blandishments of Hollywood — has a little of the best (and a lot of the worst) of Hong Kong films, and a lot of the…
Basic Programming: A Schematic Music Showcase
When the Winter Music Conference, an annual electronic shindig, took place in Miami a few months ago, Phoenecia (Joshua Kay and Romulo Del Castilla) and Otto Von Schirach performed twice. Once at WMC and once at Infiltrate 3.0, an anti-WMC conference hosted by the guerrilla electronic collective Beta Bodega Coalition. In the world of showcasing…
In and Out
There’s plenty of French star power in The Closet (Le Placard), a comedy written and directed by prolific director Francis Veber. The movie stars Daniel Auteuil, Gérard Depardieu, and Thierry Lhermitte, which in U.S. terms is roughly equivalent to a movie featuring Robin Williams, Nick Nolte, and Tom Hanks, directed by . . . well,…
Lightning Bolt
Like a lot of noise/art rock groups, Lightning Bolt began as an art-school project. Unlike a lot of those bands, Lightning Bolt has managed to last past graduation. Formed six years ago in Providence, Rhode Island, the band began as a trio that included drummer Brian Chippendale, bassist Brian Gibson, and singer Hisham Bharoocha. When…
French Roast
Three years ago, Miramax’s Shakespeare in Love confounded conventional expectations by becoming a big hit, despite being that toughest of all sells, a costume film set 400 years ago. Now Miramax is back with a similar entry: Vatel, a costume drama set roughly 330 years ago. Miramax isn’t the only connection: The brilliant British playwright…
D12
The six members of Detroit-based D12 (it’s short for Dirty Dozen; the discrepancy between the actual number of rappers in the group and its double-sized moniker has something to do with the fact that each person’s alias is also counted) made a pact years ago that, if any of them ever made it big, he…
The Long Goodbye
Where’s your daddy?” Bonnie Maibach asks. “Right there,” Lindsey says, pointing at the man in the rocker. “Where’s your mommy?” Bonnie asks. “Right here,” Lindsey says, tugging on Bonnie’s arm. Even by the precious standard of three-year-olds, Lindsey Maibach is irresistible. She wears a peach-colored shirt, a denim dress hemmed with flowers, and two clips…
Blink-182
Sometimes it seems like the three guys in Blink-182 spend more time coming up with their album titles than they do with the actual contents of the albums. To date, they’ve released Enema of the State, The Enema Strikes Back, and now the new Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (they also once released an…
Coach God
At games’ end, the Cleveland Rockers don’t collect at half-court to bow in prayer. If they did, team chaplain Alice Simpson says she’d join them — despite orders from management: “I was told, ‘Alice, you will never go down and do that.'” Apparently, the Rockers’ front office mistrusts such a public display of reverence, as…
Ass Ponys
Years ago, singer-songwriter Freedy Johnston said that he thought Chuck Cleaver was one of the best songwriters in America, adding that he had almost dismissed Ass Ponys because of their stupid name. “It’s like they’re daring me to hate them,” Johnston said at the time. Other than the record label that issues the music, very…
Citizen Phillips
Attorney Gerald Phillips is arguing in front of the Ohio Supreme Court in a rumpled navy suit and shoes that look suspiciously like Doc Martens. He is representing a citizens’ group in its battle with Parma Hospital, playing the puckish David in a chamber of Goliaths. The hospital must release its records to the group…
Tricky
As it turns out, Tricky’s been making records even he hates — contract-killers, he might call them, if not audience-killers in the process. (Everything since 1995’s Maxinquaye has been one “fuck off” record after another, as in: “Fuck off, I’m not giving people what they want,” he explains in his new Disney-financed bio.) But now…
Worried Squirrels
The revolution begins with sparkle glue and Magic Markers. “We’re making puppets for next week’s protest,” says David Badagnani excitedly. He’s fashioning a giant bulldozer out of cardboard and yellow paint. The bulldozer represents Progress. “We’ll be going around, threatening people with it on the march,” he says. “I’ll be walking inside it, pretending to…
Sparechange 00
In the world of punk rock, it’s often better to scream than sing. At least that’s the approach that singer Ryan Watts takes on “Fifty Thousand Moments,” the latest release by Sparechange 00, the Canton band he fronts. Watts strains his vocal cords as he flushes out his anxieties and fears to whoever is willing…
Blame it on the Masons
The Masons have long been a secretive, ominous group. They’re derived from the same forces of darkness that brought you the New World Order, the Zionist Conspiracy, the Trilateral Commission, and other noted enemies of hearth and home. Now this nefarious enclave has embedded itself in the Cleveland Police Department’s Fourth District. Officer Charles Muhammad…
Totally Bizarro
Originally, this was to be a story about how Stan Lee, the industry icon who ran Marvel Comics for decades and co-created Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, wound up remaking archrival DC Comics’ most venerable heroes in his own image. The 12-part miniseries, Just Imagine Stan Lee Creating, was set to debut July 5 with…
Hippocratic Oafs
Hypocrites is more like it: That spinning sound you hear isn’t your Maytag. It is Hippocrates whirling in his grave as a result of Jacqueline Marino’s article “Abortion 101” [May 31]. At issue, among others, is the photo of the six pro-choice medical students standing next to the statue of Hippocrates on the campus of…
The Legend Lives On
When Heck’s Café opened in Ohio City in the early 1970s, its innovative menu of gourmet burgers and its youthful, casual attitude signaled the start of a modest culinary revolution among incipient foodies grown increasingly disdainful of their parents’ stodgy eateries. Founder John Saile’s little burger empire, in fact, at one time stretched from Rocky…
Really Big Balls
Large purple balls (of pearl tapioca, for goodness’ sake) are the key ingredient in trendy “bubble tea” drinks popping up in cafés all over the country. The cold, refreshing Taiwanese creation of strong tea, flavoring powder, sugar, milk or juice, and chewy balls of tapioca is a must-have for hipsters from Hong Kong to London,…
No Killing Kenny
At a recent Albuquerque concert, country singer Tim McGraw sported his signature snug jeans and form-fitting shirt. Opener Kenny Chesney strutted his stuff in a body-hugging polo shirt tucked seamlessly into tight gray jeans. Both wore black cowboy hats. Thousands of women — and more than a few men — responded by leaping to their…
