This Cruel World Tour Review
Marilyn Manson and The Pretty Reckless @ The Paramount -April 29th
By: Zak Winters
April 30th, I awake drenched in sweat from a Marilyn Manson concert from the night before. Bruised lip and a bro ken drum stick thrown from Manson still in my grip. the intensity from the crowd reveled any work out I’d ever given myself; hence the fall into bed sweaty and clothed after the show.
Was it a good show? This is the question at the heart of all concert reviews. Well, only a handful of concerts ever feel so much like a dream as you wake, that you must put on the band’s album to remind you it was real. A even better indicator is do you feel the need to play the band’s albums over and over again the next day? Check and Check.
Founders Room Tour at The Clutch Show
By: Zak Winters
I was treated to a show at the Paramount that featured Clutch and Hellyeah, bands that I must confess laid right outside my immediate knowledge. What I mean by this, I am sure many could relate by plugging in there own artist,… is that I was familiar with the name but the band’s songs and sound eluded me. The extent of my pre-show knowledge was that Clutch had a song appear on AMC’s ” Walking Dead” TV series.
However on this particular night I was accompanied by The Paramount’s press company owner Karin Caro. A tall blonde woman that’s friendly demeanor and a smile that she wore as naturally as the most of us wear pants, introduced me to one employee after another in a dizzying swirl of names. After we made it to the 2nd floor Karin introduced me to a hostess, dressed in a formal black outfit, named Lauren. Lauren after discovering I was at the show to write an article, offered to give us a tour behind the VIP red velvet rope and of coarse I accepted.
As we walked a long snaking hallway lit by light bulbed replicas of dimmed candles, that lead toward the backstage, Karin got very excited when we reached a half way point and Lauren pointed at a portion of the wall and said the “construction” is complete. ” You have got to see this” Karin added as Lauren pushed on the wall revealing what The Paramount has been touting as “The Founder’s Room” a members only section of the venue.
A VIP section that alters what VIP really can be. As the door opened It gave the feel of an old speakeasy with it’s secret bar, and on display were 1930’s area gangster accessories, several Thompson made Machine guns which echos The Paramount’s building history of starting in the 1920’s as Vaudeville. Shuffling off to the left we came upon our first room which Lauren informed us was called “The Teddy Roosevelt Room” and was furnished with a faux bear skin rug with head and face snarling at all who entered. Antlers hang on the wall next to a big, as in the way we think of gods as big, screen TV that crowned a beautiful fireplace that flickered with a comforting ambiance.
Lauren guided us to the next room which was dressed up like a prison with an electric chair; it was after pointing out the posters on the wall that our host told us this was the ” Shawshank Redemption Room”. The room was even adorned with a bucket of beer just like the part in the movie when Morgan Freedman and his convict characters are treated to beer in return for a favor to the correction officers.
Their were many more rooms, including a secret room behind a book case and a men’s room dressed up like the gun scene from “The Godfather” with a snub nosed pistol taped to the back of the toilet. Back in the main room there were pool tables, big screen TVs flashing everything from sports, news, and the event going on a few walls over. As we were leaving an antique piano with the capability of playing on its own caught my eye and for the 2nd time since we’d entered the room, I was asked if I’d like a drink from the bar by a young lady wearing a similar formal black attire like our tour guide Lauren. The Founders room not only hosts these many amenities but also gives members to this exclusive club the chance to rub elbows with the stars of their favorite bands and in some instances a chance to get private performances. Those who are interested in becoming a member can get more info should contact The Paramount via their website: www.theparamountny.com
George Clinton and the P-Funks to come to The Paramount
By: Zak Winters
George Clinton and The Parliament-Funkadelics, is unrealized to most, a 3 band collective that has it’s origins in 1950’s Doo Wop. However it wasn’t till the late 1970’s that George and The P-Funks became a juggernaut that would invent a mix of music that was bigger than the sum of its parts. Mixing elements of rock like Jimi Hendrix, Iggy & The Stooges and the weird humor of Frank Zappa, with the then new style called Funk; calling his concoction “Funkadelic”.
Funkadelic would go on to be a major influence on rock bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and while simultaneously becoming the most sampled band in Rap music with Lil Wayne being the most recent in a long list of Rap and R&B acts that even included Tupac Shakur. George Clinton and The Parliment-Funkadelic also hold the record for the largest number of members inducted into The Rock N Roll Hall of Fame when they 15 of them were voted in, an October 1997.
So now in his 70’s, George and the P-Funk All-stars continue to record and tour. “Uncle George” also maintains his own recording and production studio that while serving as a place to record their own music, it has also served as the recording site for The Red Hot Chili Pepper’s “Freaky Stylee” album with George acting as the executive producer. From this album the rock-funk sound was amplified and Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea were able to fulfill a life time dream of working with their Funky Idol, George Clinton.
The studio currently is in financial trouble; however George Clinton and The P-Funk All-stars have created a member campaign on their website, which offers different perks in exchange for donations. The perks range from rare autographed vinyls and CDs to personal performances with a setlist of your choice.
George and The P-Funks have also been in many movies appearing as party bands and making cameos in movies like PCU, House Party and Snoop Dog’s Blue Carpet Treatment. In 1999 George and his band opened up Woodstock ”99 celebrating both his own birthday and the 30year anniversary of the festival.
Now, after being hailed by Spin and Rolling Stone magazine in there top 100 bands of all time, you can catch what all the buzz is about when these legends roll into Huntington and Funk up The Paramount on May 5th and who knows who may pop in, as Clinton is known to surprise audiences with special guest.
