Tag: Neverwonder

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Fringe Shows Hollywood Fringe Festival Reviews See it or Skip it

HFF19 preview day 3 (part 1) – see it or skip it

Had a fantastic Saturday full of fringing, music and  new fringeships.  Headed in early to get good parking at The Broadwater, and easily found parking all day at both The Lounge and Studio/Stage.  Early morning breakfast at Starbucks produced a pair of new fringeships and tickets to a couple more shows.  We’re now up to 70 shows on our schedule.  Approximately 27 of them are for our Larry Cornwall Award for Musical Excellence and the rest are just because.  Also got an amazing email from Michael Shaw Fisher stating they wanted to judge my solo show for their “O” Face Award.  That made my day.  I saw a total of six shows on Saturday, topped off by a Neverwonder concert at Molly Malone’s.  Let’s get going on the first three shows.

TITLE OF SHOW:  The Bully Problem

VENUE:  The Broadwater (Main Stage)

REVIEW:  Our first musical of HFF19 was a dream come true.  Michael Gordon Shapiro (with the help of ASCAP and Broadway’s Stephen Schwartz) has created a masterpiece of energetic singing and dancing and a timely story about overcoming obstacles and becoming who you were meant to be.  The show was produced by New Musicals, Inc. and is ready for Broadway now.  Time stood still as the entire sold-out audience was totally mesmerized by the amazing talent on stage, especially the work of James Everts as the protagonist Kevin Djykstra,  Jordan Mitchell-Love as the robot Oscar,  Josh Hillinger as the chief bully Gordo and Allie Costa as the effervescent Margaret.  The show was skillfully directed and produced by Joanna Syiek with superb musical direction from Jennifer Lin.  Hallie Mayer, Melvin Villajin Biteng, Tianna Cohen, Clint Blakeley, Jayna Sweet, Frankie Zabilka, Andrew Landecker, Socks Whitmore, Case Hunter, Malissa Marlow and Adam Foster Ballard turned in masterful supporting performances, especially Whitmore’s portrayal of bully intern and future nerd Charley.  This one is definitely one of the best musicals we have ever seen at Fringe.

RECOMMENDATION:  Don’t miss this show.  Remaining performances are June 14 at 8 p.m., June 22 at 5 p.m., June 27 at 6:30 p.m. and June 29 at 6:30 p.m.  Tickets are available on their Fringe project page.

TITLE OF SHOW:  Batter Up!  My Brain on Baseball

VENUE:  Studio/Stage

REVIEW:  Brett Moore is a Fringe rookie performer, just like me, although he is affiliated with Theatre Unleashed and has spent his share of time in the shadows.  Thanks to the amazing direction of his director Gregory Crafts and his stage manager and wife, Erin Moore, he brought this magical show to live and delivered a killer performance.  I’m a huge baseball fan anyway, so regardless I would have seen this show.  But the funny part is that it’s enjoyable whether or not you like baseball.  Think of it like the close-up magic you see by the wandering magicians at the Magic Castle.  This one is interactive and will have you cheering along, and there are prizes.  This is definitely one of the most interesting shows we have ever seen at Fringe.

RECOMMENDATION:  Don’t miss this show.  Remaining performances are June 14 at 7 p.m., June 21 at 7 p.m., June 22 at 3 p.m. and June 29 at 6:30 p.m.  Tickets are available on their Fringe project page.

TITLE OF SHOW:  The Journey of the Little Prince

VENUE:  Studio/Stage

REVIEW:  Irina Kampa is quite simply a force of nature.  If you attended any of the pre-Fringe Office Hours functions, you could not fail to notice her.  She brings that same energy to this production, wonderfully written by Victor Sotomayor, which reminds us that every adult was once a child, but only a few remember.  The Prince’s journey is a meta-physical voyage of self-discovery.  Patricia Mizen and Transe Carder provide excellent support to Kampa during her travels.   The most unique feature was the interesting lighting design, which kept most of the stage and cast in the shadows.  This allowed the words to have a more powerful impact, making them truly stand-out so the message could be delivered loud and clear.

RECOMMENDATION:  This one is definitely worth your time.  Remaining performances are June 15 at 10 p.m., June 22 at 11:30 a.m., June 25 at 9 p.m. and June 29 at 11:30 a.m.  Tickets are available on their Fringe project page.

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Artists Worth Checking Out Get it or Forget it Reviews Women in Entertainment

Get it or forget it – NEVERWONDER, Jacki Stone, Social Room, Brent Butler, Guilande

Where were you when the world stopped turning?  Those words were written by Alan Jackson as he tried to wrap his head around the events of 9-11.  On the 17th anniversary of that fateful day, please stop and take a moment to reflect on how this country came together in the aftermath, and how we can get back together again.  Regardless of your politics, let’s find a way, before it’s too late.

For our first Get it or Forget it of the week, we have some new artists to check out, as well as one of the best alt-rock bands from Los Angeles with their long-awaited new EP.  Let’s get going.

Artist Name:  NEVERWONDER

Album Name:  NEVERWONDER

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Rock/Pop/Funk

Track Listing:  1.  Give it All; 2.  Moving On

Publicist:  Doug Deutsch Publicity Services

Review:  We have known brothers Andres and Vincent Ramos since before they left Exploiting Eve and founded NEVERWONDER.  The band has been through a lot of changes looking for that special something, which they seem to have found with their new additions of Jay Wise on guitar and classically trained Swiss vocalist Fabienne Grisel on lead vocals.  Grisel reminds us of another powerful female vocalist, VK Lynne of The Spider Accomplice, and we expect that she will lead NEVERWONDER to the promised land with her amazing vocal abilities, and the incredibly relatable lyrics and stunning musical track.  Both tracks are about love, and what we all must decide about it – to “Give it All” or be “Moving On.”  This EP shows us just a taste of what’s to come from this new version of NEVERWONDER, and we can’t wait to see what’s next.

Recommendation:  NEVERWONDER never fails to deliver, and the new EP is no exception.  Definitely jump on this bandwagon and Get it today!

Artist Name:  Jacki Stone

Album Name:  Like Hell It’s Yours

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  California Country

Track Listing:  1.  Crazy Man; 2.  On a Real Lonely Night; 3.  Like Hell It’s Yours; 4.  Wishful Drinking; 5.  Victims of Comfort; 6.  Country as Fuck; 7.  California is Country, Too; 8.  This Side of Blue; 9.  Slow Down Easy; 10.  Red Light Fever; 11.  I Never saw it Coming; 12.  I’m Here (Cause I’m not all There)

Publicist:  Effectively Immediately PR

Review:  Jacki Stone is proof that you don’t have to be from the South to play traditional country music.  Unfortunately, she has retained the California tendency to pepper her lyrics with explicit language.  Thank goodness the music makes it all worthwhile, including some driving southern rock and great horns on the title track, and a folksy, bluegrass sound on “Wishful Drinking.”    Our favorite tracks were “On a Real Lonely Night,” “Wishful Drinking,” “California is Country, Too,” “Slow Down Easy,” and “I Never saw it Coming.”

Recommendation:  This one is for all the “country” folk thriving on the west coast.  Enjoy this version of California country – it will fill the hole in your musical library.

Artist Name:  Social Room

Album Name:  Brightstar

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Indie Rock

Track Listing:  1.  Brightstar; 2.  Let’s Talk; 3.  Kiss Me; 4.  When Will I Dream; 5.  Not Asking for the World

Publicist:  Send to Media

Review:  Social Room is a UK-based indie rock band with a strong new wave/britpop feel that delivers on so many levels, vocally, lyrically and musically.  They could easily take on the American radio scene and do well, especially in the college community.  They have a decidely Top 40 vibe, and we bet they would be amazing in concert as well.  We love all five of these tracks, and can’t wait to see what comes next.

Recommendation:  These guys are definitely worth taking a chance.  Get their EP soon.

Artist Name:  Brent Butler

Album Name:  L I L A C

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Hip-hop/Rap

Track Listing:  1.  Ready or Not; 2.  Baby, We Were Born to Riot!; 3.  Vybrent (ft Crimdella); 4.  Selective Memory; 5.  Watching me Closely; 6.  In the Desert (ft Lauren Renahan); 7.  Never Give Up (ft Sonia Rose); 8.  IDNY (ft Deascent)

Publicist:  Effectively Immediately PR

Review:  Like Eminem, Brent Butler makes his hip-hop in such a way that it has serious cross-over appeal to the pop scene.  His beats are sick, and despite the occasional explicit language, the lyrics are worth listening to.  The first track describes his music perfectly, because “Ready or Not,” Butler is coming to a radio dial near you.  We can see his music having a tremendous appeal to the college scene.

Recommendation:  While we are not the biggest fans of hip-hop, we would definitely add this one to our library, and recommend you do the same.

Artist Name:  Guilande

Album Name:  Live

Label:  AWAL

Genre:  Classic Rock

Track Listing:  1.  Looser; 2.  No More; 3.  Mighty Eagle; 4.  Gate of Hell; 5.  Run, Run, Run . . .; 6.  Love (Nature’s Way); 7.  Too Late; 8.  Freed Myself Today; 9.  Queen of Spades

Publicist:  ABIK Radio Promotions

Review:  Guilande is named after lead singer Orlanda Guilande with a classic rock vibe that brings back great memories of 70’s rock and roll.  This live album captures their amazing sound and energy and makes the listener want to get out and see their perform in concert.  There is not a weak song in this collection, and we could easily listen to them over and over again.  We love the sound of Guilande’s voice and the musical chemistry with her band is perfect, resulting in songs that reasonate with the listener, especially if they are a fan of bands like Lynnyrd Skynnrd, Jefferson Airplane, Credence Clearwater Revival and the like.

Recommendation:  Definitely Get this one!  It belongs on repeat.