All Photos By Gail (Thanks to Dave Manilow for The Tip on How to Get This Great Shot!)
Memorial Day Monday was not the hoped-for sunny day here in NYC, and the grey sky with threat of rain lent itself to indoor activities like Museum visits! Thus, I was inspired to head out to the Museum of Modern Art, followed by a short walk downtown to Rockefeller Center to see the new summer public artwork. This year’s monumental work is the first site-specific outdoor public sculpture ever to be commissioned for the United States from German artist Anselm Kiefer (b. 1945). Entitled Uraeus, the work consists of a gigantic open book with eagle’s wings spanning 30 feet, both made of lead, on top of a 20-foot-tall lead-clad stainless steel column. Continue reading Anselm Kiefer’s Uraeus Sculpture at Rockefeller Center→
This week’s Video Clip tells the story of a Spaceman on a lonely mission, courtesy of the song “Wings” by Milwaukee-based folk band Field Report. I have been watching a lot of Space Adventure movies lately, such as Last Days on Mars and Europa Report — although this animated video tale has more of a Silent Running or Moon feel to it — and I love the way the sparse tune really drives the narrative of the video and keeps you engaged in the story.
“Wings” can be found on Field Report’s sophomore album, Marigolden, which was released November of 2014 on Partisan Records. Enjoy!
Hey what’s up. I want to talk to you about my new sneakers. Not too long ago, I was given a couple of pairs of Shwings ‘shoe wings’ accessories to write about for The Gig. And then, even more recently, my friend Heather gave me a new pair of Hot Pink Converse sneakers. So, that was pretty good timing, because it meant I could put the Shwings on the Sneakers and make with the blogging. Win Win!
These are the sneakers that Heather gave me. How rad are they? Heather is the best. Not only do they look great but they fit perfectly and feel like little clouds on my feet.
This is my right foot in the Pink Converse Sneaker with the black studded Shwing laced onto the shoe. Don’t I look like I could take off and fly around the room? Sure I do.
These Shwings make my new shoes look completely fucking insane. I love them.
But you know what they say: Shwings. Makes old shoes new. Makes new shoes fly.
I believe this statement to be true.
In the two years since its inception, the Shwings brand has expanded to worldwide distribution and has grown from just twelve wings to over 150 styles in an array of fun shapes and colors. Shwings accessories can now be found in a variety of retailers, from luxury boutiques and concept stores to your local toy shop or convenience store. Shwings has gained worldwide popularity as a fun, affordable brand for people of all ages. You can also shop online for Shwings at This Link! Shwings bring smiles to people’s faces and fill them with a warm fuzzy feeling — life is FUN.
On this day, September 27th in 1979, Scottish guitarist Jimmy McCulloch (sometimes spelled McCullough) died from a heroin overdose in his flat in Maida Vale, London. He was 26 years old.
McCulloch, perhaps best known as the lead guitarist for Paul McCartney’s Wings (1974 to 1977) had also been a member of Stone The Crows and Thunderclap Newman. When “Something in the Air” by Thunderclap Newman went to No.1 in 1969, it made McCulloch the youngest guitarist to ever play on a UK No.1 single, as he was was just sixteen years old at the time.
In a tragic case of artistic irony, the Wings‘ hit, “Medicine Jar,” sung by Jimmy, was the first song recorded by the group to feature another band member on all lead vocals. “Medicine Jar” is an anti-drug song with music written by McCulloch. Colin Allen, who was a drummer in the band Stone The Crows (with McCulloch), wrote the lyrics. RIP.
If there was ever a pop star born with a more sizeable share of outrageous talent than most mere mortals, it is Paul McCartney. Not only is he among the most celebrated and successful song writers in the world, an innovative bass player who also plays the drums, piano and guitar equally well, a charismatic public figure and one of the best looking men on the planet (seriously, in his 20s and 30s, especially, McCartney could hold a close up for days) but he was a member of The fucking Beatles – the greatest band ever in the Universe of All Time. And the craziest thing about Paul McCartney’s many-decades long career is that he has made everything he does look easy. That, my friend, is the mark of a truly gifted and legendary artist.
Paul McCartney still tours, and if he happens to be playing in your city and you have $500 burning a hole in your pocket, you can buy a ticket to go see him. If that price seems a little out of your range, you might consider buying a ticket to see ROCKSHOW, a 1980 concert film by McCartney and his then-band Wings, which is coming to theaters Worldwide on May 15th, and here in the States starting May 16th. That would be a lot cheaper and you’ll probably get better seats! Filmed during the North American leg of the band’s 1976 Wings Over The World Tour, the two-hour plus length film features 30 songs from four concerts of the tour: New York, May 25 (four songs); Seattle, June 10 (five songs); Los Angeles, June 22 (15 songs); and Los Angeles, June 23 (six songs). This tour also spawned the triple live album, Wings Over America.
Although I am as crazy for the music of The Beatles today as I was at age five, when I first discovered the soundtrack of the film HELP! thanks to my older sister, Wings was never a band that yanked my chain all that much. I was probably listening to Alice Cooper and a lot of German Prog Rock at that time, so, I was surprised at the intense waves of deep nostalgia that washed over me as I sat rapt for two hours watching ROCKSHOW on my iMac so I could write this review. Little did I know then that, nearly forty years onward, Wings’ songs would sound like the Classical music of its time! The set list for ROCKSHOW is comprised of tracks from the albums Red Rose Speedway, Band on the Run, Venus and Mars and Wings at the Speed of Sound and some of McCartney’s early solo work, while being favorably augmented by many Beatles’ classics. What a great concert experience this film serves up!
Paul McCartney & Wings included McCartney’s wife and muse, keyboardist Linda McCartney (RIP), drummer Joe English, guitarists Denny Laine and Jimmy McCulloch (RIP) plus a four piece horn section. Demonstrating that wings was as egalitarian a band as any fronted by a former Beatle, Paul frequently hands over lead vocal duties to Laine and McCulloch, beginning early in the set with “Spirits of Ancient Egypt” and “Medicine Jar,” respectively. Laine also reprises his lead vocal performance of The Moody Blues’ early #1 hit, “Go Now” and shows himself to be a remarkably charismatic front man on the urgent and compelling “Time To Hide.” Although the cameras can tend to linger on McCartney’s ridiculously handsome visage for endless minutes at a time (not complaining), everyone in the group is represented, reinforcing the fact that Wings was a true “band of brothers,” so to speak and not just a group of hired musicians supporting McCartney as a solo act.
