Karine Hannah talks about her first album and benefit show

Karine Hannah is a Canadian born vocalist who got her start at the very early age of 14. Karine has performed all over the world and received an invitation from Celine Dion to perform at her wedding. Karine is currently in the studio working on her first full length release and MediaMikes.com had the chance to talk with her about the album as well as her upcoming benefit show in New York on November 26th.

Adam Lawton: What was it that initially interested you in singing and performing?
Karine Hannah: At a very young age I realized I could actually carry a tune. People used to encourage me and tell me that they liked what they heard. It was one of those things where you know you are meant to be doing something.

AL: Did you ever take any lessons?
KH: No lessons. At one point I had thought it would be good to go and get some vocal lessons as it seemed like that’s what a lot of people do. I tried with a couple of different instructors but they didn’t want to touch me. I had already found my own way of using my voice and they didn’t want to tamper with that. The times they did want to try things I kind of backed up because I didn’t want to change the way I was doing things. I think there is something about having more of a raw sound as it is more real.

AL: Can you tell us about being asked to sing at Celine Dion’s wedding?
KH: We are both from the same city. I was doing a local television show and she and her manager happened to be watching at the time I was on. She turned and told her manager that she wanted me to sing at her wedding. Her manager luckily knew my manager at the time as I was just starting out and very young and they contacted me. It was very surreal. When you are that young and put in to a situation like that you see things differently. I think if I had been older and more mature I would have seen things a different way. When you are a teenager you don’t know what to expect. I think I was just so enamored by it all that I though because I was doing this that I had made it. That wasn’t the case at all. It was a great experience and the most magical wedding I have ever seen in my life. It was unbelievable. At the end of the evening Celine sat down on the ballroom floor with me and we just talked about the whole evening. We complimented each other and sort of bonded during that time.

AL: Can you tell us about your upcoming album?

KH: I am very excited about this. I have waited a million years to finally get a record deal and have the opportunity to record. I think there is a reason for everything and why things happen the way they do. This album is probably going to be compiled of up tempo pop/dance tunes and big ballads. I have already recorded my second song and it’s fantastic. So far I feel like I have two hit singles. We just are slowing chipping away as this is going to be a long process. I don’t want to just record anything to fill an album. I want it to be spectacular.

AL: Can you tell us about your upcoming benefit show?

KH: That is something that I am so passionate about. This is a show that I have been doing off and on for the past few years. The concept is 70’s and 80’s only male sung radio songs. These are the guilty pleasures that people don’t like to admit they love but they are amazing melodies. I put my own spin the songs and bring them back to life. People can sit and show they appreciate these amazing songs. We pack 22 songs in to a 90 minute set. When I do these shows I like to link up with a cause and help raise funds for them. I have a son that is on the autistic spectrum who attends the Manhattan Children’s Center so the proceeds from this year’s show will be donated to them. The event is being held at Joe’s Pub in New York City on Monday, November 26th.

 

 

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Colin Wilson reflects on 25 years with the band “The Australian Pink Floyd Show”

Colin Wilson is the bassist for the cover band, “The Australian Pink Floyd Show”.  2012 marks the 25th anniversary with the band, who perform over 100 shows a year all over the world. The band has recently released their  Blu-ray/DVD of their current “Exposed in the Light” and are planning a big tour for  2013 called “Eclipsed By The Moon” to celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Dark Side of the Moon”.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Colin about 25 years with the band and the bands work of constantly trying to improve their skill in order to master the work of Pink Floyd.

Mike Gencarelli: This year marks 20 years with “The Australian Pink Floyd Show”; how do you feel the band has evolved in that time?
Colin Wilson: Wow, well it has evolved incredibly. We started off very small, literally getting together on weekends and trying to learn songs. We are just trying to learn how to do Pink Floyd well. We did some small shows around Australia, like pubs and clubs. As the years have gone on, we have constantly re-invested into it. Every time we could we would get two extra lights or a bigger projector screen, things like that. We just kept putting back into the band. Now, as you said 20+ years later, we tour worldwide and doing over 100 shows a year. It is a really big full-scale production and it is the same sort of production now that you would expect to see with a mainstream band.

MG: After all these years, do you still have to put work into mastering the songs?
CW: Some aspects of it come easier just because of how much we are doing it. We don’t have any real long periods off. The longest we have away is two months over Christmas and you don’t forget everything in those two months. As far as playing the music goes, it is definitely getting a bit easier since all the hard work is done. But we never sort of rest on that. We are always trying to fine-tune and improve ourselves. We still listen to the music today and hear little subtleties that we might have missed.

MG: How does it feel to be called “The Best Tribute Band in the World”?
CW: It is funny for us. We are one of the first tribute bands. When we started up in Australia, in the end of the 80’s and early 90’s there were a lot of tribute bands forming mainly because a lot of the mainstream bands weren’t making it out there to tour. So there was definitely a need for people to do this since the fans wanted to hear it and the real band weren’t coming out. So we were one of the first and then definitely one of the first to take it overseas from Australia. When we got to the UK in the early 90’s, there were maybe 2 or 3 other tribute bands around but not many. I would say within the first 2 or 3 years of us being in the UK, the whole scene suddenly blew up and there were tribute bands everywhere. I guess we have stood the test of time since most of those early bands are long-gone. I guess that is due to the fact that we keep trying to improve ourselves every year and why we’re referred to as the best one around. It is incredibly gratifying to us when we get reviews like that and hear things like that.

MG: What is your biggest challenging having to cover two very different styles of Roger Waters and Guy Pratt?
CW: Song by song is not very challenging. The biggest challenge really is doing a song by one of them and then the very next song doing the other. You have to treat each one in a song by song basis and getting into the feel and groove of that song in the blink of an eye between the songs. And because I have been doing it for so long it just sort of happens for me. Hopefully it is working and I am able to do that effectively.

MG: What do you do to keep it fresh when performing these songs live each tour?
CW: Well, there are 10 musicians in the band and every one of them are complete professionals and each one of them approaches this in that way. We also all get on great as well. We are like a team. If one person doesn’t do their job, it sort of lets us all down. In some ways, we try and impress each other every night. It is a challenge but we are the kind of people that like that challenge. We try to do it right every night and send the audience away with big smiles on their faces. That is the mindset that we have and how we keep it fresh. Most importantly, we still enjoy doing it after all these years.

MG: What songs really hits home with you when performing live?
CW: Me personally, I love the songs from the “Animals” album. That’s probably my favorite with “Dark Side of the Moon” in a close second. On “Animals”, the tracks are very deep with a lot of aspects that you have to remember. They are quite long songs with many different passages. You have to be completely absorbed to play them and do them justice. So I really enjoy those. Also it has to be any of the songs that get an amazing reaction from the audience. Like every night we play “Another Brick in the Wall”, we get this fantastic buzz because the audience gets on their feet with that song.

MG: Tell us about your encounters with the actual members of Pink Floyd?
CW: Going way back to 1994/1995, David Gilmour came to see us play and met with us after the show. We got to talk with him for a while and he was really into what we were doing. We had played some songs that he himself haven’t heard, let alone played, in a long time. He was really encouraging and positive about that. He has seen us a few times since then when we come along to London. We sort of got his unofficial endorsement. We played at his 50th birthday party in London, which was incredible. It was amazing for us as a band and gave us that extra bit of credibility that maybe we needed with some of the more skeptical Floyd fans. Also Nick Mason, in the recent years, has said a lot of nice things about us in the press. We have a nice unofficial connection with them. We know that they are sort of watching us through the one eye kind of aspect. It is a nice relationship. We are not out having BBQ’s each weekend but we do have a nice distant relationship with them.

MG: Tell us about the newly released Blu-ray/DVD, “Exposed in the Light”?
CW: This is something that when we started out we weren’t sure if people would be interested in recordings of us doing Floyd stuff. But evidentially they are. Fans were always telling us they want to take something home and watch it and share with friends that couldn’t make it to the shows. We did one last year that was a double DVD that was recorded in Hammersmith in London. The first disc was the show and the second was a documentary on the band, which was really great. This time we released a concert from this year’s tour “Exposed in the Light”. We actually filmed it all ourselves with HD cameras. What we did was set up the cameras in different positions every night, so we ended up with something like 20 different camera angles. Then that was all edited together to make what looks like a huge camera shoot. It has come out absolutely amazing. In between the songs, we have got some great behind-the-scenes footage. It is a nice little package and it has this really great HD quality concert footage with all the different angles. You get to see a lot of the show from various different positions. We are very excited about that.

MG: Tell what we can expect from the 2013 tour “Eclipsed By The Moon”?
CW: It is the 40th anniversary of “Dark Side of the Moon” in 2013, so it is very exciting. 10 years ago, we did the 30th anniversary which was incredibly successful. We are looking this time around to maybe do something different with it. We are not 100% certain just yet how we are going to approach it. Whether we do the whole thing in its entirety or if we mix it up a bit. We are also looking into different things to project on the screen during it and really make it and event. One thing that I can guarantee is that it will be a big celebration of “Dark Side of the Moon”. I think there are a lot of Pink Floyd fans out there that are really on the edge of their seat waiting for this tour. It starts February of next year in the UK. So it is going to be great.

 

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Brian Austin Green & Melora Hardin talk about new show TBS’ “Wedding Band”

Brian Austin Green and Melora Hardin are starring in TBS’ new comedy series “Wedding Band”, which debuts on Saturday, November 10 at 10:00 pm. “Brian plays Tommy, the life of the party and lead singer of the band who is also the star on the stage and the bedroom. Tommy’s a bad boy with a good heart. And Melora plays Roxie Rutherford who is the owner of Rutherford Events. She’s no- she’ll do nothing more for her clients, she’ll do anything from shipping sand in from Fiji for an island themed party. Roxy is the person behind the most important moments and the best nights in people’s lives.” Brian Austin Green is known best for his roles in “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”. Melora is known best for her role on NBC’s “The Office”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Brian and Melora about this new show and what we can expect.

Mike Gencarelli: Brian, your the lead singer for “Wedding Band”, were these all songs that you knew ahead of time or did you have to learn some of them?
Brian Austin Green: Whew. For the most part I knew the melodies. But most of the songs, I got to be honest, when I got the lyric sheets my first thoughts were, oh, those are the words, (that’s not what) we’ve been singing. When you have REM’s “End of the World as We Know It” and you go what is he talking about? I think the only thing anybody ever knew was “it’s the end of the world as we know it”…and the rest of the words were completely unknown. I’ve always had a bad habit of that, just in I’m a huge music lover. I grew up listening to it, but I’m one of those just because I play, I play piano and drums, I connect way more with melodies usually than the lyrics. So the lyrics are usually the last thing that I learn, whereas a lot of other people I know really sit and study the lyrics first and the melody is kind of the last thing. So, I knew pretty much none of them.

MG: Before I watched the pilot, I was kind of expecting the band to be funny in itself, like the performing, but I was actually impressed and thought you guys were really a solid band. Can you reflect on that important element of the show is that we’re not actually laughing at your guys’ talent because there is talent there?
BAG: Well, I think the answer lends itself to what we were just talking about. We can play comedy songs, which only kind of last for so long, or we can stick with the element of what the show is, which is that our job is to make this believable, our job is to make this band honestly the most kick-ass wedding band anybody has ever seen. I’m just saying that alone there’s comedy in that. They’re a stadium style wedding band. You never hear or see anything like that, let alone sit at a wedding, hear these amazing grand songs, and have pyrotechnics and confetti cannons going off. And throwing guitar picks out to the crowd.
Melora Hardin: Right, and they’ve got my character Rutherford breathing down their neck that it better be damn good. And they are. That’s why she takes them on in the first place. They care so much about the event in a whole other way than Roxie cares about the event, but I’m glad you recognize that because they are awesome. It’s not like we’re breaking into song, you know, like Glee does, like musical style. But it’s just using music in the storyline in a truthful, honest way. So yes, anyway.
BAG: And on top of that, too, Adam Schlesinger who does our music is so gifted at what he does.
MH: Amazing. And Steven Gold.
BAG: Yes, and Steven Gold. They have an amazing ability to take something like a KISS song at Oktoberfest, so you’re singing these party anthems but with a kick drum and a trombone and an accordion, but still doing it in a serious enough way as a musician that aside from laughing because we’re wearing lederhosen and you’re still thinking this song is awesome. I kind of want to hear this version again. It’s really fun. And that’s what music does. The music carries so much emotion to it. And when it’s done by people that really enjoy doing it, I think it comes across just in watching and listening to it. And that’s what we strive for.
BAG: It’s scary when you pick up a script and you see something worded that way. Roxie Rutherford in a jazz club singing Get Ur Freak On. And then all of a sudden you get the CD from Adam and Steve and you hear it. And it was really a nice experience to put in a CD for every episode and hear what they had been working on because it really kept the excitement going.
MH: You just wait, we got so many more coming.
BAG: Oh, I think we have 29 or 30 songs.

MG: What songs should we be looking out for the most this season?
MH: Well, Brian has a lot more to choose from, but I think I mentioned earlier, but I did a version of Get Ur Freak On, which I think they are going to release on iTunes, which is a pretty phenomenal arrangement and pretty spectacular because it’s a Missy Elliot song which they made into a jazz trio. So that was pretty spectacular. But the band has some pretty spectacular ones too.
BAG:  Yes, I honestly don’t want to give any away. I think one that’s really fun and it kind of comes up early on, so I don’t feel so bad, is we do a very sort of Indian version of Party Rock, which is just really amazing  There’s an entire dance number, like Bollywood kind of dance number that goes along with it and it’s pretty genius.

MG: Melora, your character is really tough but also have a fun side; what would you say for you was the most challenging part of preparing for her?
MH: Brian Austin Green [laughs]. No, you know what, she’s so much fun. I mean, she’s – I don’t know if I would say that there was like a challenging part of the character. It’s always exciting, I would put it that way, to try to, you know, to try to kind of get all the different colors running through a character like her because she’s multidimensional and there’s a lot to bite into there. And she’s similar to Jan in that respect in that she’s rich.

MG: There is a little bit of tension between you guys in the first episode and I’m wondering if you think there’s any chance of any romance between Tommy and Rutherford.
BAG:  I think there’s a chance of anything between Tommy and Rutherford.
MH:  I do too.
BAG:  I wouldn’t take anything off the plate. I think anything is possible.
MH: They could kill each other, they could fall in love with each other.
BAG:  They could. Yes.
MH: No, there’s a lot there for sure. It’s an interesting little dynamic.
BAG:  Yes. I think it’s one of the things that makes the relationship fun. It’s kind of like, the Moonlighting aspect of the show. It’s the thing I always loved about that show is you can sort of have that underlying sexual tension, but never even have to go there and it plays really well. And then if we finally do, then it’s explosive and it’s sexy and it’s daring and, you know, we win Oscars. I want to be the first…
MH: We win Oscars even though we’re on TV. We win Oscars. Thank you.
Brian Austin Green: No, I want to be the first television star to win an Oscar.
MH: That’s a first.
BAG: That’s my goal. I want it to be that good and sexy.
MH: Let’s go for it. I like it.

MG: Brian, you starred in hour-long dramas and 30-minute comedies and of course. Melora, you were on “The Office”, which is another 30-minute comedy. The Wedding Band is different. It’s an hour long comedy. How is that different from anything you both have done before?
MH: Well, I’ll start. I think Brian and I both have done sort of sitcom stuff. “The Office” isn’t filmed like a sitcom, but I’ve done that traditional sitcom way of making a comedy. That’s sort of like the crème de la crème is in terms of lifestyle for an actor because, you do all these rehearsal days and then you have one long day. When you’re making a drama, an hour-long drama, you have very long days and but you also have to be funny. So I think to me, what’s nice about the show, and one of the really, really wonderful elements in it being an hour, is that you get the comedy, but you also get that fabulous arc of the dramatic arc. You have time to get into the characters, you have time to get into the storyline, and it doesn’t just have to be (joke, hit, joke, hit, joke, hit, joke, hit). So I really like that a lot and I enjoyed it. But you do have that drama schedule of having to be there for very long days.
BAG: Yes, the thing though that I really enjoy about our show especially is that coming from dramas first. I did do a sitcom and it’s a lot of fun and I really enjoy comedy. I’ve always loved watching even growing up, was I love comedy that are real, their real dramatic, you know, honest moments in funny situations. I like seeing people struggle through situations that are just absurd and laughing at them. I feel like our show is written in a very serious way. We’re honest about the things that we do and our lives are just crazy enough that it’s entertaining and it’s funny. But it’s never setup, punch line, which is hard to do.
MH: Yes, and it’s a whole different style of comedy.
BAG: It’s a hard thing to do for an hour especially.
MH: Yes. Exactly. No, it’s all based on truth.
BAG: And you guys were the best at it on The Office. That was like the absolute bar of delivering.
MH: Well, it was unique in that it really was the first one to kind of come along that was really, since like Cheers, that was sort of like really based in reality and sort of that mockumentary style. That really worked well for me, too. Brian and I have had similar backgrounds in that we both really believe that great comedy, just as great drama, definitely comes from the truth of the moment and it’s always funny, truth is always funnier than fiction and trying to get to that truth is always going to make the best joke.

MG: Tell us about how to was working with your wife, Megan Fox, on this show? How did that come about?
BAG: Honestly, she kind of stepped in and saved us at the last minute. There were a couple other people that they were discussing bringing into the episode at first and schedule wise and timing wise it didn’t work out and I had already spoken to my wife about the episode and kind of what was going on and she graciously said that, you know, if nothing else worked out that she would step in and kind of rescue us and she did. I thought she was great. I thought she kicked ass.
MH: Yes, she totally kicked ass.

Kurt Sutter, Creator of FX series “Sons of Anarchy”, talks about Season 5

Kurt Sutter is the creator/writer and director of the hit FX series “Sons of Anarchy”. Now in its 5th season the series is showing no signs of slowing down. Media Mikes had the privilege to speak with Kurt recently about the death of main characters and what he looks for when casting roles on the show.

Adam Lawton: When a main character like Opie is killed or is going to be killed off the show does the actor or actress know ahead of time prior to getting the script?
Kurt Sutter: I like to let my actors know what’s going on. I don’t like to just hand them a script and let them read it for themselves. With Ryan Hurst who plays Opie we sat down and talked about how things were going to play out and how it all fit in to his characters story arc. Opie has been a character on the show since day 1 so I had to make sure everything leading up to and after his death was going to have the right flow. Though I wasn’t on set the day the scene was shot I know it was very emotional. Ryan had asked for everyone to be there so he could say good bye. This cast has a really solid bond with each other so this was the important for him to do that. When you see Opie looking at Jax through the window before he is killed he is in a sense saying goodbye to everyone.

AL: How did you go about choosing the Opie character as the one to die?
KS: From when we first see Opie in season one getting out of prison we notice his struggles to fit in. Not only is he trying to fit in with the club but he also is trying to do right by his family. After his wife is killed accidentally during a hit ordered by Clay is when you really start to see his decent. That arc was furthered by the death of Opie’s father Piney last season. Once Opie found out about all that went on and that Jax’s knew about it and didn’t tell him was when Opie was really tested. That family has endured so much that ultimately Opie chooses to stand up for the club and Jax by putting himself in the position to be the one to die per Pope’s request. Jax didn’t choose who was going to die and he probably never would. This was Opie’s way of doing right by everyone. Though that story arc comes to an end the lines between Jax and Pope are just beginning.

AL: Can you give us a little background on your use of brutality in this killing and a couple of others in the show?
KS: When I bring in an episode there are almost always some things that need to be cut out. The world we are showing is a brutal world where brutal things happen. In order for the stories to be told correctly a certain amount of those elements have to be present. The episode where Clay cuts a clowns scrotum off is a perfect example. During the shooting of that scene there was a shot that showed the scrotum lying on the floor as I felt it really sent a message. Did that make it in to the show? Obviously not, as it went too far. We had to cut that episode down to make the scene work while still including that brutal element. This was also the case with the killing of Opie. Sure I could have had Jax looking into the back of Opies caved in skull but I think that would have been too much and ultimately it was more dramatic the way you saw that scene. It’s funny because I actually have a sticker on my mirror now that says “You cannot show the clown scrotum”. (Laughs)

AL: The show has really great casting and each season it seems to get better and better. What do you look for when casting roles on the show?
KS: The first thing is I don’t want them to be dick! That really is the first piece of research I do. I like my set to stay a safe, creative and nurturing environment. I do my homework to ensure I’m not bringing a pre-Madonna into my world. Then it is really about the level of their work. This season with Jimmy Smits and Harold Perrineau they have a tremendous body of work that I am aware of. We try to make interesting casting choices. The obvious choice for the Damon Pope character would have been picking an actor that plays more hard or dangerous. We wanted to break that so we looked for a guy who could sort of compartmentalize that danger and hardness and tuck it into the pocket of his Prada suit. Harold was a wonderful choice for the role as he can go dark and scary but, for the most part there is something warm and almost vulnerable about him. These things make him a very interesting antagonist. As the season progresses you will start to see this weird mentorship type thing happen between Pope and Jax. When you think about it in terms of what Jax wants to do with the club Pope is the perfect guy for that. Pope is a guy who turned all of his dirty business in to very legitimate things. I couldn’t avoid that obvious circumstance. With Jimmy Smits I had the idea for his character but I didn’t know what world he was going to play in. I wanted him to be an outlaw but not another biker. I felt like we had the African-American dynamic with Pope and the Niner’s so I sort of wanted to stay away from that world. We landed in the Latino ethnicity on terms of there are a lot of Latino gangs in the Stockton area. That’s where the roots of that character began. With Jimmy it was one of those instances where I was able to start at the top and get the guy I wanted. This is not always the case. Not that you don’t ultimately end up on a great actor but I have had 2 or 3 circumstances in my career where I thought that this role needs to be this specific person and this was one of those times. The last time I think that happened in terms of guest stars was when Forrest Whitaker appeared on “The Shield”. I remember going in with the idea of getting him but knowing it probably would never happen. It was the same thing with Jimmy when I went to the network with it. We were able to sit down with Jimmy and get him excited about the role and wanting to come in and do it.

AL: You have stated that the season 7 will be the last season of the show. Is this still the case?
KS: I have said that quite a bit and talked in length on the subject. But as the show continues on with season after season budgets inevitably increase. After a certain amount of time there is just not enough left on the bone for the show to be economically viable. The people at FX have been very generous in allowing me to do what I do and I am sure that if I start to think that I can’t wrap up the story in 7 seasons they would probably allow me to make 7 or 8 more episodes to get it done. However looking at my giant story board I think I am going to be able to wrap things up in 7 seasons.

Win a Family Four-Pack of Tickets to the Orlando Home Show [ENDED]

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED AND WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED VIA EMAIL. PLEASE CHECK BACK EACH WEEK FOR NEW GIVEAWAYS!

Media Mikes is happy to bring you this great giveaway. We are giving away a family four-packs of tickets to the Orlando Home Show, October 5-7th. If you would like to win one of this great family prize and get a chance to see Mark Brunetz of Style Network’s “Clean House”, please leave us a comment below or send us an email and let us know your what your dream home would be?. This giveaway will be open until September 28th at Noon, Eastern Time and is only open to residents of the United States. Only one entry per person, per household; all other entries will be considered invalid. Once the giveaway ends, Media Mikes will randomly pick out winners and alert the winners via email.

Inspiration will start the minute guests step into the 2012 Orlando Home Show, the only place to find smart ideas and fresh advice for gardening, home improvement, decorating and more from hundreds of experts, all under one roof. Orlando’s original and largest consumer home show returns October 5-7 to Hall North B in the Orange County Convention Center’s North/South complex off Universal Boulevard, and features local, regional and national experts, instructional how-to seminars, contests, giveaways and much more. The home improvement extravaganza will spotlight Featured Products and Services and exhibitors who are participating in the fall show for the very first time.

Show hours are Friday and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m, and Sunday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Tickets are available at the door, and are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors (60+; this discount is ONLY valid at the door and no other discounts apply), $5 for students 13-18 (ID required, only valid at the door), and free for children 12 years and younger. Advance tickets can be purchased online for a $3 discount off full-price $10 admission at www.OrlandoHomeShow.com. Convenient on-site parking is available adjacent to the Orange County Convention Center off Universal Boulevard, and is $8 per car with valid Florida ID.

For more information, visit www.OrlandoHomeShow.com, or call 877-871-SHOW (7469). The Central Florida Home & Garden Show and its springtime sister show, the Central Florida Home & Garden Show (March 22-24, 2013) are both produced by Marketplace Events.

Orlando Home Show Returns October 5-7, 2012

Get organized with valuable tips from Mark Brunetz of Style Network’s Clean House

ORLANDO, Fla. (September 18, 2012) – Inspiration will start the minute guests step into the 2012 Orlando Home Show, the only place to find smart ideas and fresh advice for gardening, home improvement, decorating and more from hundreds of experts, all under one roof. Orlando’s original and largest consumer home show returns October 5-7 to Hall North B in the Orange County Convention Center’s North/South complex off Universal Boulevard, and features local, regional and national experts, instructional how-to seminars, contests, giveaways and much more. The home improvement extravaganza will spotlight Featured Products and Services and exhibitors who are participating in the fall show for the very first time.

Special features include appearances by Mark Brunetz of Style Network’s Clean House; a Design Showcase and free design consultations by AP Interiors; a tech gadget-filled Smart House constructed by Universal Contracting; and daily seminars by home improvement experts on the Fresh Ideas Home Stage.

According to Marketplace Events, the nation’s largest producer of home shows, including the Orlando Home Show,consumers continue to seek out home improvement projects to protect their investment as the economy slowly improves. “Hundreds of experts are standing by to help consumers, whether they have a specific project in mind or are seeking fresh ideas,” said Cristian Moore, Orlando show manager for Marketplace Events. “We offer a fun day out and there’s something for everyone at our show.”

Want to live clutter free in spectacularly designed, yet affordable rooms that convey your true sense of personal style?Mark Brunetz’s presentations on the Fresh Ideas Main Stage will empower guests to reclaim their living spaces. Tackling the emotional reasons why people unnecessarily hang on to possessions, Brunetz will offer valuable tips to help clear the clutter, get organized, and make way for a more efficient, nicer place in which to live during his presentations on Friday at 6:00 p.m., Saturday at 12 noon and 5:00 p.m., and Sunday at 3:00 p.m.

Creative juices will start flowing when guests stroll through the Designer Showcase, presented by Ana Palacios Interiors of Orlando. Fully decorated, accessorized and uniquely-themed living, dining, bedroom and office spaces – even a child’s bedroom – will showcase the very latest trends, styles and colors, from transitional to eclectic to contemporary. Colorful tangerine-colored walls, chrome pieces and holiday accents are among the hundreds of design elements that will be on display. Designers will be available throughout the weekend during show hours offering free consultations. Guests are encouraged to bring photos, floor plans, fabric swatches and paint samples for help solving their toughest home improvement challenges.

Consumers can also find answers to their DIY and home improvement, landscaping and home décor questions from more than 300 experts around the show floor and on the main stage throughout the weekend. Popular green thumb andOrlando Sentinel columnist Tom MacCubbin and nationally-syndicated home design columnist Marni Jameson are among the presenters (visit www.OrlandoHomeShow.com for a complete listing of presentation times).

From energy-saving devices to automation and security, guests can see the latest technology, products and gadgets available today in The Smart Home, constructed right on the show floor by Universal Contracting.

There’s no better place than at the Orlando Home Show to shop, compare and save on a wide variety of home improvement products and services in one location. Show producers have done all of the legwork to identify a variety ofFeatured Products and Services, from an aromatherapy system that uses air conditioning to distribute fragrances throughout the home, to easily-installed and interchangeable kitchen backsplashes, to versatile cookers that do it all: slow roasting, steaming, smoking and grilling. Guests can explore 300 exhibit booths, plus enter into contest and prize drawings.

Show hours are Friday and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m, and Sunday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.  Tickets are available at the door, and are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors (60+; this discount is ONLY valid at the door and no other discounts apply), $5 for students 13-18 (ID required, only valid at the door), and free for children 12 years and younger.  Advance tickets can be purchased online for a $3 discount off full-price $10 admission at www.OrlandoHomeShow.com.  Convenient on-site parking is available adjacent to the Orange County Convention Center off Universal Boulevard, and is $8 per car with valid Florida ID.

For more information, visit www.OrlandoHomeShow.com, or call 877-871-SHOW (7469).  The Central Florida Home & Garden Show  and its springtime sister show, the Central Florida Home & Garden Show (March 22-24, 2013) are both produced by Marketplace Events.

Get celebrity tips, home trends, exhibitor discounts, opportunities to win tickets and more by connecting with the show onFacebook and Twitter (@FloridaHomeShow).

About Marketplace Events:

Marketplace Events produces 31 consumer home shows in 20 markets across North America that collectively attract 14,000 exhibitors, 1 million attendees and another 1 million unique web visitors annually. For more information, visit www.marketplaceevents.com.

Seth Green & “Robot Chicken” Team Reveal New Show “Star Wars: Detours” with Trailer & Clips

Star Wars Detours™ is an animated comedy that explores what daily life is like in a galaxy far, far away. There are no Empires striking back or attacking clones here. Instead, Star Wars Detours focuses on the universe’s regular folks and their everyday problems… which, to be fair, do frequently involve famous bounty hunters, crazed Ewoks, and even a Dark Lord of the Sith.

Welcome to Star Wars: Detours: the other side of the stars, between the wars.

Star Wars Detours™ was revealed during Star Wars Celebration VI last month in Orlando, FL. The new animated series is from the team behind “Robot Chicken”. There is amazing line-up for voices on this show including Seth Green, Catherine Taber, Dee Bradley Baker, Joel McHale, Donald Faison, Breckin Meyer, Seth McFarlane, and Jennifer Hale. The show should be hitting Cartoon Network in 2013.

http://www.starwars.com/detours
http://www.facebook.com/starwarsdetours

Check out the trailer and various clips from this show:

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DVD Review “The Garfield Show: Holiday Extravaganza”

Series Creators: Philippe Vidal, Robert Rea & Steve Balissat
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Distributed by: Vivendi Entertainment
Release Date: September 4, 2012
Episodes: 6
Running Time: 75 minutes

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

When it comes to “The Garfield Show”, I have always been a fan. Of course it doesn’t compare to the classic Jim Davis cartoon but it is all we have right now. This release in particular is great since it focuses on my favorite time of the year, the Fall holidays. Well I guess I am not the only one since this release includes a hilarious collection Garfield’s favorite holidays, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas! If you are looking for a fun pack of episodes that will surely get you and your family in the holiday mood, look no further.

The episodes included are “The Haunted House”, “Which Witch”, “Turkey Trouble”, “Caroling Capers” and “Home For The Holidays Part 1 & 2″. Oh course I am partial to the Christmas episodes but all of them are very entertaining. There is also a bonus episode included called “Heir Apparent”. Each episode is about 10 minutes and in that time it delivers a good dose of our feline friend and his clueless mutt….oh and Odie also 😉 Vivendi Entertainment has been releasing a bunch of these collections for this show and let’s hope that they continue in the future.

DVD Review “The Heathcliff and Dingbat Show”

Starring: Mel Blanc, Frank Welker
Distributed by: Warner Archive
Rating: Not Rated
13 Episodes
Running Time: 312 minutes

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I grew up watching “Heathcliff”.  The first season of the show back in 1980 was called “Heathcliff and Dingbat”, which ran for 13 episodes.  It was really run revisiting the show, which is still sharp and funny.  Plus, who doesn’t love to listen to Mel Blanc, the man of 1,000 voices, do what he does best and given Heathcliff his trademark laugh.  Warner Archive is behind this great DVD release.  Once again they have delivered a great classic 80’s cartoon to DVD for the first time ever!  I hold this series very close since I grew up on it.  I am more excited to now be able to share my childhood series with my own daughter now.

For a show that is over 30 years old, it still looks sharp.  The colors aren’t as crisp as they could be sure this isn’t a HD Blu-ray release, so for what it is worth it looks great.  The show is presented in 4X3 full frame within its originial aspect ratio of 1.37:1.  The audio included on this release is an Dolby Mono track. After watching 13 episodes, I was craving for more.  I hope that Warner Archive is considering to release the following seasons of this show as well, like “Heathcliff and Marmaduke”.  This is a must for all fans of classic animation or Saturday morning cartoons.

Premise: The sassiest, frassiest, classiest cat, Heathcliff, jumps from the comic strip to the TV screen in the first of his animated adaptations and is joined by the silliest trio of monsters ever seen, the aptly named Dingbat and the Creeps. The feline half of the show is pure classic Heathcliff high jinks, with the highfalutin’ low-livin’ tomcat living the life while romancing Sonja, avoiding the dog-catcher and tormenting Spike. And as an added soupcon of catnip, Heathcliff is voiced by the legendary man of 1,000 voices, Mel Blanc! Meanwhile, a dog heads up the second half, but this is no common canine. Dingbat is a vampire dog, who with fellow Creeps the fat skeleton Sparerib and teamleader Nobody, a talking jack-o-lantern, makes up the strangest service biz ever seen, Odd Jobs, Inc. So grab a seat and get ready for the funniest antics this side of alleyway and graveyard in this complete 2-Disc, 13-Episode collection.

Owen Benjamin talks about new show on TBS “Sullivan & Son”

Owen Benjamin is currently co-starring in TBS’ comedy series “Sullivan & Son”.  He is co-starring along with Steve Byrne, Dan Lauria and Brian Doyle-Murray, just to name of few of this amazing cast.  Media Mikes got a chance to chat with Owen about this show and what we can expect from the first season.

Mike Gencarelli: How did you get involved with “Sullivan & Son”?
Owen Benjamin: I have been friends with Steve Byrne for awhile. We used to do shows together and make stupid internet videos. He and Vince Vaughn had been friends and Steve recommended me to tour with those guys. We did a national tour together on 2010 and we just all clicked. When they were putting the show together they wrote me in. I will be playing pretty much a version of myself and they knew they liked me and wanted to hang out with me.

MG: Did you take the role so you didn’t have to remember your characters name?

OB: Yeah we just kind of did that as a lot of comedians have done the same thing. It’s kind of weird. (Laughs)

MG: What has been a highlight for you from working on the show?
OB: Everyday doesn’t feel like work. We all got there early and went to the gym and had breakfast together. The writing staff, producers and studio are all so positive. They just want a good product. It’s really great working in an environment like that. As a comic I am a joke control freak so I thought it was going to be a little weird having someone else write for me. The writers did such a good job that I felt really relaxed and didn’t want to try and pitch any of my jokes. It was a huge weight off my shoulders which allowed me to just focus on my acting.

MG: Was Vince involved on set at all during the shows shooting?
OB: Yeah! He does this because he loves it. He just loves comedy. He got in to producing because his is doing it with his friends Peter Billingsly and Steve Byrnes. Vince gets to be a part of his friend’s careers. He would be on set pitching jokes and checking things out. It’s been an honor working with that dude.

MG: What can we expect from the first season?
OB: The thing that I really like about this show is I am a bar guy. I have been a bar guy all my life. I worked at one when I was growing up and I love drinking and partying. This show is a local bar. I think a lot of sitcoms will land flat because they are missing that authenticity of real life. As touring comics we have a really good sense of what is funny in America and not just in Silver Lake California. The characters can be over the top but there is a good base of love, family and respect that it allows the characters to do some pretty insane stuff.

Adam Busch talks about working on TBS’ hit show “Men at Work”

Adam Busch is currently co-star on TBS’ hit show “Men at Work”.  He co-stars along side Danny Masterson (“That ’70s Show”), James Lesure (“Las Vegas”) and Michael Cassidy (“The O.C.”).  “Men at Work” is one the best new shows on television right now and was already renewed for a second season next summer. Like myself Adam is also a Long Island, NY native who then moved to Orlando FL (also like myself) to pursue acting.  Media Mikes had a blast chatting with him about “Men at Work” and if you haven’t seen this show be sure to check it out on TBS.

Mike Gencarelli: What drew you to “Men at Work”?
Adam Busch: I have always wanted to do a sitcom. I started working for Nickelodeon on the show “The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo” and across the hall they were recording the sketch comedy “All That”. Our show was serious and we would hear this laughing and screaming next door whenever the stage door was opened. They were always having such fun and improving on the fly. I said myself that I wanted to do that.  Well, it took about 15 years later but I am finally making it happen. It was definitely as fun as I thought it would be.

MG: How do you prepare for the role of Neal?
AB: I like that it’s a place for Breckin (Meyer) and the writers to really explore relationship problems. You get heartache, you get serial monogamy and the pressure of a new dating system. Neal is the only chance to get the positives and negatives of being in a long-term relationships and the things that come up. I think it is a constant reminder to the other guys that things can be much better or much worse depending on the situation.

MG: The show is filmed in from of a live audience, does make it more difficult to shoot?
AB: That is the best part! If at all everything else is a challenge and that is where I feel the most comfortable and have the most fun. When you have been rehearsing a line all week long and right before you say it one of the writers or Breckin comes over and hand you a brand new fresh line that you haven’t had time to think about, you have no choice but just to commit to it. To hear the reactions from the crowd, that is so much fun. I love the studio audience. There is also a rhythm you can into like if the audience is laughing or Oooing and Ahhhing, you can tap into that and just go with it and make the audience happy.

MG: You find that their is a lot of room for improv?
AB: Well, yeah there is room for it and it certainly does happy sometimes. The really exciting thing is that it gives room for Breckin and the writers to come up with lines on the fly.

MG: Breckin Meyer seems like he is always there on set, huh?
AB: He is always there. Every day, after we rehearse with the director, we do a run through for him to hear it and see it. He is the one giving notes on our performance or walking around making sure everyone is cool or has questions before the shoot. It is a really lucky situation having a young actor as your boss. Also everything is ripped right from his life, so he has all the answers.

MG: The chemistry between you and the guys are great, you find it hard to stay serious while shooting?
AB: Yeah, I do…I do. But that is what is great about doing a show about four friends. Very often if I am laughing at something James (Lesure) is saying during the shooting, there it is right in the show. We are friends and he makes me laugh and that is it. I don’t have to remain serious. We enjoy the way we all interact. Our dynamic of us hanging out is actually a lot different than our dynamic on the show. In the show everyone makes fun of Neal but outside we all make fun of (Michael) Cassidy. He is so freaking pretty and you can’t resist [laughs].

MG: What has been your favorite episode so far this season?
AB: I don’t know if I have a favorite episode. But I certainly have a favorite scene, like when I smack Cassidy back into reality. That was really fun and it changed so much throughout the week. First it was him smacking me, then it was me smacking him and it ended with us both smacking each other. We decided we were just gonna do it, no blocking with camera to fake it. I said I gonna smack you and your gonna smack me and that’s it. I also loved meeting J.K. Simmons and working with him. It was really wonderful.

Kimberly Lacy talks about HGTV’s “Curb Appeal”

Kimberly Lacy is the project manager on HGTV’s “Curb Appeal” formally known as “Curb Appeal: The Block”.. She is also attending this year’s Central Florida Home & Garden Show May 25-27th, 2012. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Kimberly about working on the show and also about the upcoming event.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about your involvement with the “Central Florida Home & Garden Show”?
Kimberly Lacy: I’m coming to Central Florida Home and Garden Show as a presenter and Consumer. As a presenter I plan to inspire and motivate the “average” Do It Yourself’er with easy, budget conscious tips and ideas to get them well on their way to becoming the rock that needs to be turned over to one of the Jewel’s in their neighborhood.

MG: Tell us what you enjoy most about working on HGTV’s “Curb Appeal”?
The thing that I love the most about working on HGTV’s “Curb Appeal” is that it doesn’t seem like much of a job. Don’t get me wrong it is a job and it hard work but the instant gratification and appreciate from the Homeowner’s makes it all worth it. It get’s more rewarding everyday and every homeowner I meet. I can be myself and considering I was born to turn Frown’s upside Down, It’s my way of paying it forward and building community.

MG: Working as Project Manager on the show, what is your process when approaching a new job?
I approach a new job with an open mind and the “Can Do Attitude”, I don’t worry. All with knowing and keeping the budget for the project in mind. The budget can easily make or break the job. With that being said, when scouting neighborhoods for the perfect candidate to be a neighbor makeover, we only choose homes that we can give the homeowners and viewers a dramatic before and after with clean up, trimming and pruning, paint, and landscape and still staying within a $1,000 budget.

MG: Any fun stories from behind the scenes that did not make it to the show?
That’s funny! There are always so many fun stories from behind the scenes that don’t make the show. These stories include the crew that work with us behind the scenes. We were working in Oakland, it was a bright and sunny day and every one was in a good mood. We had empty Burlap sacks, which had pebbles in them, laying around and I (being the life of the party) had the bright idea to put on a potato sack race. We even had the human wheel barrel race going on. We created the lanes and finish lines for the races with bags of soil and mulch, pots and paint pails. It was a really good time and we filmed it on my flip cam.

MG: When can does the fourth season of “Curb Appeal” start and what can we expect?
The name of the show has changed from “Curb Appeal: The Block” to “Curb Appeal”. The shows time has also changed from 8:00pm to 5:30pm on Saturdays. So set your DVR’s, it may be hard for people to make it home at 5:30pm on Saturday. The show airs on March 31, 2012. The fifth season will roll in right after so no one will be without their favorite show, “Curb Appeal”. The fourth season is the last season we have Chip on the show and we are having a lot of fun, as per the usual and creating some spectacular makeovers. We are in the San Francisco Bay area, so there are several different types of architecture and John is able to create some serious never seen before designs.

Media Mikes joins The Hangover Morning Show

Jake “Dyno-Mite” Turner and Loaf have been bound by standard terrestrial radio for years. Now we have found a new home at The Grave Radio… and with that comes freedom the FCC would never allow!

The Hangover will help change the mornings on internet stations, we are ready to blow your mind and crush your funny bone. We team up with Cory “Doc” Amen and Breawna Nylen from Flaunt (As seen on TRU TV’s Full Throttle Saloon).  Breawna will be joining us when she isn’t cracking her whip across the country.

We will stumble out of the bed with interviews, weird and zany topics with a crude politeness. We want to give you that “WTF” moment you will be talking about all week. Plus we will have Nate Gonner from KKWK 100.1fm calling in to give you sports highlights, news and upcoming sports events.

The Hangover will be delivering the news from music, movies, and all the latest in the entertainment world. Tell your friends, that The Hangover is the internet radio show to be plugged into!

Click here to listen live to Media Mikes every Friday at 9:00am CST as we join the team for The Hangover Morning Show

DVD Review “The Dick Van Dyke Show: Carl Reiner’s Favorites”

Directors: Alan Rafkin, Jerry Paris, John Rich, Robert Butler, Sheldon Leonard
Starring: Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam, Carl Reiner
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Distributed by: Image Entertainment
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Running Time: 500 minutes

Our Score: 3 out of 5 stars

Who doesn’t love Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore.  They both have such natural comedy timing.  This volume of 20 episodes are personal favorites of series creator Carl Reiner.  This seems to be a tradition with Image Entertainment, who released “The Dick Van Dyke Show: 50th Anniversary Edition: Fan Favorites” last year.  Overall great travel back to a special time in our TV history. If you are a fan of the series, and who isn’t, pick this up, sit back and enjoy.  It is also a good start for new fans because what is a better way to watch the series than with the favorites from the creator himself.

Since Image did “Fan Favorites” last year and Carl Reiner’s picks this year, I am curious what will be next.  I just hope that they try a different box cover since they only changed the color from blue to red on these releases.  There are also no special features included like the last release. The episodes though are said to be in pristine quality and they definitely looks great.  For a show that aired over 50 years ago they look especially well.  If we are traveling back to 60’s comedies on TV though, I would most likely prefer 1962’s short-lived “I’m Dickens…He’s Fenster” with Marty Ingels and John Astin.

Episodes: Never Name a Duck, The Attempted Marriage, Hustling the Hustler, A Bird in the Head Hurts, Gesundheit, Darling, Will You Two Be My Wife?, Ray Murdock’s X-Ray, Don’t Trip Over That Mountain, The Sam Pomerantz Scandals, Divorce, Laura’s Little Lie, Very Old Shoes Very Old Rice, The Life and Love of Joe Coogan, The Plots Thicken, The Return of Edwin Carp, Pink Pills for Purple Patients, Baby Fat, No Rice at My Wedding, A Day in the Life of Alan Brady, Obnoxious Offensive Egomaniac Etc.

DVD Review “The Looney Tunes Show: Season One, Volume 3”

Developed by: Spike Brandt, Tony Cervone
Voices of: Jeff Bergman, Bob Bergen, Fred Armisen, Jennifer Esposito, Maurice LaMarche, June Foray, Roz Ryan, Kristen Wiig
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Distributed by: Warner Brothers
Episodes: 4
Release Date: March 13, 2012
Running Time: 89 minutes

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

“The Looney Tunes Show” continues to entertain with its first season. The characters Bugs, Daffy and their friends never seem sort on jokes and relatability. So far I have seen about half the season and it brings me back to the good ole days “Looney Tunes” days. As much as I enjoy the episodes, I do not enjoy these volume releases as much. Warner Brothers is only releasing four episodes at a time and with 13 episodes to go, we can expect an additional three volumes before we get to complete season one. Though this is a usual release strategy for kids shows, I just wish they would release the season in full. If you enjoy the show though, this is a must purchase.

This volume includes episodes 9-13 from the first season. “The Foghorn Leghorn Story” is a funny “Antiques Roadshow” send up featuring Bugs, Daffy, Foghorn and Yosemite, who all go at it. “Silent but Deadly” is a very funny spoof of kung-fu/superhero films, easily the best on this release. “Eligible Bachelors” features Bugs and Daffy on the auction table. Also included is a CGI Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner: “Winter Blunderland”. Bugs falls for Daffy “get rich quick” scheme in “Peel of Fortune;” There are two shorts in this episode: Merrie Melodies: “We Are in Love” with Bugs and Lola Bunny and also a CGI Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner: “Heavy Metal”. Daffy tries to date two ladies in one night in “Double Date.” Lastly it is followed by a Merrie Melodies short called: “Be Polite” by Mac and Tosh featuring Marvin the Martian and another CGI Wile E. Coyote and Road runner short: “Wile E. Sisyphus”.

The Looney Tunes Show: Season 1, Volume 3 is available on DVD 3/13 at  http://bit.ly/w4eV5m.
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Synopsis: A new half-hour animated comedy series starring Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. No longer confined to 7-minute shorts, Bugs and Daffy are out of the woods and living in the suburbs among such colorful neighbors as Yosemite Sam, Granny, Tweety and Sylvester. In addition to each episode’s main story, The Looney Tunes Show also features “cartoons within a cartoon.” The Tasmanian Devil, Speedy Gonzales, Marvin the Martian and other classic characters sing original songs in two-minute music videos called Merrie Melodies. The legendary Looney Tunes cartoons are getting a 21st century relaunch and a CGI overhaul for a new generation.

 

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