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Musicians share Hollywood Bowl recollections as the famous venue turns 100

July 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

One hundred years ago today — July 11, 1922 — the Hollywood Bowl officially opened.

The Los Angeles amphitheater has gone on to become one of the world’s most iconic venues. It’s hosted countless concerts and many famous live albums have been recorded there, including notable ones from The Beatles and The Doors.

ABC Audio chatted with a few well-known artists about their own experiences performing at the historic venue.

Steve Miller, who has played the Hollywood Bowl multiple times, says, “[I]t feels iconic when you get there and you look out…It kind of feels like the ’40s or the ’20s in California…It has a real traditional feel to it, so it’s special for that reason.”

Country-rock pioneer Richie Furay recalls that his old band Buffalo Springfield played a particularly exciting show there early in the group’s career, opening for The Rolling Stones in 1966.

“I mean, we didn’t even have a record contract. That’s how new it was for us,” Furay remembers. “I think we were playing maybe at [the famous LA-area club] the Whisky a Go Go, and…that’s all we were doing…And here, all of a sudden, man, the management got us on that show. So…it was pretty cool.”

Furay adds that performing at the Hollywood Bowl was “like going onto the Grand Ole Opry stage or [playing] Carnegie Hall…It was a ‘wow’ experience.”

Jim Messina, meanwhile, will be teaming up with his old musical partner Kenny Loggins for two reunion shows at the Hollywood Bowl this Friday and Saturday. The concerts will mark the duo’s first performances at the venue in 50 years.

“It’s a wonderful venue to play at,” says Messina. “And it’s in our alma mater, being up in Hollywood, where we both started out our careers.”

As Better Call Saul returns, Kim Wexler’s fate remains a mystery: “There’s just not a lot of happy endings going on here”

July 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The back half of the final season of Better Call Saul premieres Monday night on AMC. There has been a lot of speculation about the ultimate fate of Kim Wexler, wife of Jimmy McGill aka Saul Goodman. Because Better Call Saul is a prequel to Breaking Bad, and Kim doesn’t appear in that show at all, many fans assume she’ll be killed. But Rhea [Ray] Seehorn, who plays Kim, says there are other fates for her character that are just as tragic.

“It’s fun being the one that people don’t know where she ends up,” Seehorn tells ABC Audio. “But about halfway through the series, I started to think, ‘Wow, if she is so far down a hole from where we saw her in the beginning that she actually is OK with what Jimmy is doing in Breaking Bad and is fine with it, that’s its own tragedy.'”

Seehorn — who knows how the show ends but isn’t saying — teases other possible “tragedies” that could befall Kim: She could leave Jimmy, or throw him to the wolves to save herself. But either way, she hints, “There’s just not a lot of happy endings going on here!”

Meanwhile, Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk has received four Emmy nods for his role as Jimmy/Saul, but Seehorn has yet to receive a nod. Emmy nominations are announced Tuesday, so how does Seehorn like her chances?

“It’s pretty great to be in that conversation,” she tells ABC Audio. “There’s a lot of brilliant performances out there. I’m thankful that people talk about me in the same group as some of the amazing women that are performing out there in a variety of roles. And I’m … very flattered.”

But, she notes, “It’s a hard thing to to tell yourself, ‘Oh, and now you should wish that it happens!’ Because it might not!”

Gavin DeGraw hits the road next month with all new Face The River tour

July 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Gavin DeGraw is giving fans not one but two different tours this summer. Right after wrapping his Full Circle tour, he’s heading back out on the road next month to start his all-new Face The River tour.

The Grammy nominee unveiled his new trek on Monday, which kicks off on August 20 in Clearwater, Florida. This tour will focus on cities in the Midwest and East Coast, including Annapolis, Maryland and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The “Chariot” singer also teased a special “homecoming” show for his pit stop in Bethel, New York — which is a stone’s throw away from his childhood home. The 11-date tour wraps September 13 in Madison, Wisconsin.

“It feels so good any time I hit the road, but adding music from this album to the show makes this run particularly special,” Gavin said in a statement. “To watch fans connect so strongly to this material, which is so personal to me, makes performing these songs one of the greatest joys of my life.”

Just like his sold-out Full Circle tour, this all-new trek will support Gavin’s recently released ultra-personal Face The River album.

“This album is dedicated to my parents,” Gavin said prior to the record’s release. “They were my heroes. It was their love story, their sacrifices, and their guidance that shaped this music.”

Tickets to this new trek go on sale this Friday, July 15 at 10 a.m. local time on Gavin’s official website.

Here’s why Jimmie Allen spells his name with an “I-E” instead of a “Y”

July 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Ever wonder why Jimmie Allen spells his name with an “I-E” instead of ending it with the more conventional “Y”? Well, like a lot of things the singer does, it’s an homage to his family.

The singer actually used to be known as “Jimmy”; He told Today’s Country Radio With Kelleigh Bannen on Apple Music that when he goes home to Delaware, that’s how people spell his name. “I go hang out with people that know me as Jimmy with a ‘Y’,” he said, talking about what life is like back home.

But he decided to switch up the spelling in order to pay tribute to his late grandmother Bettie Snead. “I switched it to an ‘I-E’ from my grandma, because she spelled ‘Bettie’ ‘B-E-T-T-I-E,’” Jimmie explained.

Of course, that’s not the only homage Jimmie has made to his grandma. His Bettie James album was named after her and his late father, James “Big Jim” Allen. The singer also titled his newest record Tulip Drive after the street where his grandma lived when he was growing up.

Dangerous heat hits US with temperatures forecast to reach 115 degrees

July 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Dangerous heat is enveloping a large swath of the U.S., with temperatures forecast to climb above 100 degrees Monday from California to Arizona to Texas to Missouri.

Temperatures on Monday could reach a scorching 111 degrees in Redding, California; 114 in Palm Springs; 112 in Las Vegas; and 115 in Phoenix.

East of the Rockies, the humidity combined with the heat will make it feel oppressive. The heat index — what temperature it feels like with humidity — is forecast to skyrocket to 111 degrees in Austin, Texas; 109 in Houston; 105 in Dallas; 104 in St. Louis and 99 in Memphis, Tennessee.

College Station, Texas, reached a record high temperature of 111 degrees this weekend. At Camp Mabry, a military base in the Austin area, the temperature reached a July record high of 110.

More record highs are possible Monday in Texas, Northern California and Oregon.

Some of this heat will stretch into the mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a forecast of 92 degrees in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia and 91 degrees in New York. With humidity, it will feel like the upper 90s in some areas.

Click here for tips to stay safe in the heat.

Gabby Windey, Rachel Recchia dish on historic ‘Bachelorette’ season, friendship

July 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia, the first Bachelorettes to co-star in a full season, meet their 32 potential suitors on the season 19 premiere, debuting Monday night on ABC.

The ladies established a tight bond on Clayton Echard‘s The Bachelor season, which ended with their shocking double elimination. They told Good Morning America that their bond will be on full display throughout their Bachelorette experience.

“We do have the same journey but, in a way, our own, and people get to see two different love stories and our friendship along the way,” Recchia said.

Windey added that, while they didn’t really have a game plan for the season going into it, they had “lots of open communication” because they didn’t want to jeopardize their friendship.

“We were really lucky, because when Bachelorettes before have gone through this, it can be very isolating and you do really just have to rely on yourself,” she said.

In addition to each other, the Bachelorettes also had host Jesse Palmer — who first met them as he hosted Echard’s Bachelor season — to lean on.

“He knew our ins and outs and what we had been through, so he knew our personalities, he knew who we are as women, and was able to support us accordingly,” Windey said.

But Palmer wasn’t only a source of comfort throughout their season. “I think we gave Jesse a little bit of trouble,” Recchia joked. “He’s never had Bachelorettes before — let alone two of us.”

Both ladies said going through this unique adventure together was a chance for their own individual growth.

“Just having Rachel by my side,” Windey added, “I got to learn so much from her and grow as a person.”

The Bachelorette season 19 premieres tonight at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Nicki Minaj addresses pregnancy rumors

July 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Nicki Minaj is addressing the rumors that she’s got a another bun in the oven.

Over the weekend, the rapper, 39, hopped on Instagram Live to answer the question fans are dying to know: Is she pregnant?

“Am I pregnant?” Nicki asked, before widening her eyes and conspicuously looking around.

“I did mean to tweet this: I’m not fat y’all I’m pregnant,” she said with a laugh. “Yeah, I meant to tell y’all I forgot. Yeah, guys I’m pregnant.”

While it seemed the “Anaconda” rapper confirmed a pregnancy, she quickly took it back.

“Oh, wait did I say it wrong?” she began. “I’m sorry I think I said it wrong. I meant to say I’m not pregnant, I’m fat.”

Nicki currently shares a one-year-old son with her husband, Kenneth Petty.

Oprah Winfrey shares tribute to late father, Vernon Winfrey

July 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Oprah Winfrey is paying tribute to her late father, Vernon Winfrey.

Taking to Instagram on Saturday, Oprah shared a short video of her father, who died Friday of cancer. He was 88.

“Vernon Winfrey 1933-2022,” she wrote. “Less than a week ago we honored my father in his own backyard. My friend and gospel singer Wintley Phipps saluted him with song. He FELT the love and reveled in it until he could no longer speak.”

“Yesterday with family surrounding his bedside, I had the sacred honor of witnessing the man responsible for my life, take his last breath. We could feel Peace enter the room at his passing,” Oprah continued, “That Peace still abides. All is well. Thank you for your prayers and good thoughts.”

Vernon was a former councilman and operated a barbershop in Nashville for over 50 years prior to his death.

Trump never invoked executive privilege over Bannon’s Jan. 6 testimony, his attorney tells investigators

July 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department revealed in an early Monday morning court filing that federal investigators interviewed former President Donald Trump’s attorney Justin Clark two weeks ago in connection with former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s criminal contempt case.

Prosecutors say that Clark confirmed in the interview that at no point did Trump ever invoke executive privilege over Bannon’s testimony — and directly contradicted other claims made by Bannon’s defense team in their case.

Bannon was charged last year with two counts of criminal contempt of Congress after defying a Jan. 6 subpoena, though he argued Trump’s privilege claim protected him. He pleaded not guilty and is set to go to trial next week.

Prosecutors say in Monday’s filing that they believe Bannon’s recent efforts in conjunction with Trump to offer to finally testify before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack are no more than an effort to try to make Bannon more of a sympathetic figure to the jury he’s set to face next week.

“All of the above-described circumstances suggest the Defendant’s sudden wish to testify is not a genuine effort to meet his obligations but a last-ditch attempt to avoid accountability,” prosecutors say.

“The Defendant’s timing suggests that the only thing that has really changed since he refused to comply with the subpoena in October 2021 is that he is finally about to face the consequences of his decision to default,” prosecutors said in the filing.

Regarding Bannon, the filing also said Clark told investigators that he “never asked or was asked to attend the Defendant’s deposition before the Select Committee; that the Defendant’s attorney misrepresented to the Committee what the former President’s counsel had told the Defendant’s attorney; and that the former President’s counsel made clear to the Defendant’s attorney that the letter provided no basis for total noncompliance.”

Neither representatives for Bannon or the Jan. 6 committee immediately responded to ABC News’ request for comment.

Bannon remained an outside adviser to Trump after helping to lead Trump’s first presidential campaign and serving a short stint in the White House. He was at a meeting at the Willard Hotel where lawmakers were encouraged to challenge the 2020 presidential election results in the lead-up to Jan. 6, the House Jan. 6 committee claimed in a 2021 letter to Bannon that accompanied his subpoena.

On his final night in office, Trump pardoned Bannon, who had been indicted on charges tied to an alleged conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering related to a crowdfunding effort to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Prosecutors had accused Bannon of defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors to the “We Build the Wall” fundraising campaign by falsely claiming that he and other organizers would not take a cut of any donated funds. Prosecutors alleged that organizers of the group, including Bannon, syphoned off at least $1 million for their own personal expenses.

Two of Bannon’s co-defendants in the case, Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato, who did not receive pardons from Trump, pleaded guilty. The trial for a third co-defendant, Timothy Shea, ended in a mistrial after the jury could not reach a verdict.

Billy Joel plays Detroit — with Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott as surprise guest

July 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Billy Joel pulled into Detroit’s Comerica Park on Saturday, with a little help from surprise guest Joe Elliott.

The Detroit Free Press reports the Piano Man was an hour into his show when the Def Leppard lead singer — in town for his band’s own Comerica Park show on Sunday — took the stage for a rendition of his band’s 1988 smash “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” backed by Joel’s eight-piece band.

It marked an encore performance for the two, who played the song together during Billy’s appearance at Boston’s Fenway Park back in 2018.

Besides his vast collection of hits, 73-year-old Billy’s Motor City stop — his first since 2014 — featured several Motown covers, including Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” and Martha & the Vandellas‘ “Dancing in the Streets,” the latter of which Billy slipped into his own 1993 hit, “River of Dreams.”

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