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Edgar Winter releases new track from upcoming Johnny Winter tribute album featuring Joe Bonamassa

February 18, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Edgar Winter has released a second advance single from his upcoming album project, Brother Johnny: An All-Star Tribute to Johnny Winter: a rendition of his late older sibling’s 1968 song “Mean Town Blues.”

Edgar’s version of the driving blues-rock gem, which is available to stream now, also features acclaimed contemporary blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa, drummer Gregg Bissonette of Ringo Starr‘s All Starr Band, and longtime John Mayer bassist Sean Hurley.

“Johnny’s most highly respected authenticity was as a blues man, particularly his style of slide guitar, and if there’s one song that best epitomizes and brings all those elements together to represent the many aspects of who Johnny was in the early days, it is ‘Mean Town Blues,'” Edgar writes in the liner notes for Brother Johnny. “Every time I hear it I think, ‘Now that’s Real Johnny Winter.’ It just captures the essence of everything he was.”

As previously reported, Brother Johnny, which Edgar organized as a tribute to his brother, blues-rock guitar great Johnny Winter, will be released on April 15. The album features contributions from an impressive list of guest musicians, including Starr, Joe Walsh, ZZ Top‘s Billy Gibbons, Michael McDonald and John McFee of The Doobie Brothers, ex-Allman Brothers Band members Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, Foo Fighters‘ Taylor Hawkins, Toto‘s Steve Lukather, and many others.

The 17-track collection, which was curated by Edgar and producer Ross Hogarth, was put together to present Johnny’s artistic evolution. In addition to featuring various covers and renditions of songs by Johnny, it also includes two new originals by Edgar.

The album’s lead single, which was released in January, is a cover of the Chuck Berry classic “Johnny B.Goode” that features Edgar and Walsh sharing lead vocals.

Johnny Winter died in 2014 at age 70.

‘I don’t believe it’s a bluff,’ Defense Secretary Austin says of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine

February 18, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — “This is not a bluff,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Friday about the potential for a Russian invasion of Ukraine in an exclusive interview with ABC “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz.

“He has a number of options available to him and he could attack in short order,” Austin told Raddatz in an interview conducted in Powidz, Poland, where Austin had come to visit American and Polish troops.

Raddatz’s full interview with Austin airs Sunday on a special edition of “This Week” from Lviv, Ukraine.

“This is not a bluff?” Raddatz asked Austin about the potential for a Russian invasion.

“I don’t believe it’s a bluff,” Austin replied.

“I think it’s … I think he’s assembled the right kind — the kinds of things that you would need to conduct a successful invasion,” he added.

Tensions over the potential for a Russian invasion in Ukraine have increased as American officials have repeatedly said that a Russian invasion could occur “any day.”

Russia’s defense ministry claimed this week that it had begun withdrawing tank units and other forces from the area at the conclusion of exercises that had been cited as the reason for the massive troop buildup around Ukraine.

But U.S. officials have rejected those claims, saying instead that Russia has continued to flow more troops into the border area while it was claiming a troop withdrawal was taking place.

“He’s got things like medical tents and nurses — you … would never have seen that if you were going to be withdrawing your troops?” Raddatz asked Austin.

“Exactly. If they were redeploying to garrison, we wouldn’t be seeing the kinds of things in terms of, not only combat power, but also logistical support, medical support, combat aviation that we’ve seen in the region,” Austin responded.

On Friday, the American representative to the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe reported to that organization that the U.S. assesses that Russia has “probably” amassed between a force numbering between 169,000 and 190,000 near Ukraine’s borders, a total that includes Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.

The number of Russian separatists forces has not previously been included in estimates of Russian troop levels provided by American officials.

Lil Kim is Rihanna’s latest Savage x Fenty ambassador

February 18, 2022 by WDNY Radio

After precious endorsements with Versace, Marc Jacobs and other top designers, Lil Kim is the latest ambassador for Rihanna‘s Savage x Fenty lingerie brand. Queen Bee lit up the Internet this week wearing a Savage x Fenty pink fishnet one-piece outfit.

Rihanna is a longtime admirer of the legendary rapper. In 2017, RiRi praised Kim as a major fashion influence during an interview with Vogue Paris.

“Powerful, creative, without any taboos, Lil’ Kim has pushed the limits like no other black artist. Her world is colorful, fun, pop, rich, and coded. She has fun. I am happy to see a phenomenon like [her] in my life,” Rihanna told the magazine.

Last month, Kim joined Ja Rule, Mase and Jadakiss as the featured performers for DJ Cassidy‘s first live “Pass the Mic” event, which closed out the 2022 Pegasus World Cup horse race in Miami.

Check out The Scorpions’ new rocking, reggae-flavored love song, “Shining of Your Soul”

February 18, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The Scorpions have released another advance track from their their forthcoming studio album, Rock Believer, which is due out next Friday, February 25.

The new tune, titled “Shining of Your Soul,” is available via digital formats now, and is one of the few love songs on Rock Believer. Scorpions frontman Klaus Meine, who wrote the lyrics for the track, says it’s about the intensely passionate attraction that one person can sometimes feel for another.

Meine notes that “Shining of Your Soul” is about that emotion you may experience “[w]hen someone enters the room and you sense an aura that makes everything else fade into the background. When the atmosphere changes inexplicably, and one is enveloped in a warm glow. The shining of a soul.”

Musically, the song features verses that offer up a taste of reggae, while the choruses burst forth with the German rockers’ trademark melodic metal sound.

“Shining of Your Soul” is the fourth advance track from Rock Believer that the Scorpions have released, following “Peace Maker,” the album’s title track and “Seventh Sun.”

You can pre-order Rock Believer now.

As previously reported, The Scorpions will kick off their 2022 tour in support of the Rock Believer album with a nine-date Las Vegas residency at the Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood, running from March 26 to April 16. Visit The-Scorpions.com for more info.

Want to turn your story into a movie? ’Marry Me’ creator Bobby Crosby has this advice

February 18, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Marry Me webcomic creator Bobby Crosby achieved something few have accomplished — he turned his original story into a blockbuster starring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson. Speaking to ABC Audio, Crosby offered advice to his fellow creatives who also dream of turning their work into a movie.

“My main advice is to be original. It’s all about the concept,” he stressed, “The cheat code is an original concept. If you have something that, when people hear it, they laugh or they’re intrigued, you [want them to go] ‘Wow… I want to read that.'”

Crosby also dismisses the principal of “write what you know,” saying, “That’s not writing. That’s transcribing your life. Write an autobiography if you want to write what you know, otherwise make something up. Be a writer… Write whatever you want all day long and have fun with it.”

The best way to create a movie-worthy story, says Crosby, is to “take a lot more time on that concept and make sure it’s very intriguing.” The creative confesses, “I don’t really want to write something until I have the idea.”

Crosby adds his journey in turning his story into a movie is on the unconventional side because he didn’t pitch it to production companies — they “came to me.” In that case when the studios aren’t making the first move, Crosby advises, “Get an agent. He also stressed the importance of making one’s work as visible as possible to grab attention and encouraged, “Put it out there.”

For Crosby, he increased his comic’s visibility by hiring Malaysian artist Remy “Eisu” Mohktar to illustrate it. Crosby chose Mohkhtar because his style complimented Marry Me‘s vibe. “It’s clean and solid and fun,” said Crosby, adding he knew it would also “make the readers smile.”

Marry Me is in theaters now.

Tyler Perry explains the return of Madea; Ava DuVernay joins the Spotify boycott; and more

February 18, 2022 by WDNY Radio

After announcing in 2019 that he was retiring Madea, Tyler Perry is back with A Madea Homecoming, debuting February 25 on Netflix.

Perry says the pandemic and racial tension from the Black Lives Matter movement inspired him to bring the hilarious character out of retirement.

“Everything we have been through during the last few years I thought, you know, ‘I just really want to laugh. What do I have that can make people laugh?’ And it is totally Madea,” the actor/producer/director/writer told Entertainment Tonight. The film adaptation of Perry’s stage production Madea’s Farewell Play follows Madea planning a celebratory dinner for her great-grandson’s graduation, but family secrets threaten to ruin the event.

In other news, Ava DuVernay is joining the Spotify boycott. Following India.Arie, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and other recording artists who pulled their music from the streaming platform, the Emmy-winning director will no longer produce podcasts for the company, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Last year, DuVernay signed a multiyear contract to produce scripted and unscripted podcasts with Gimlet, the studio owned by Spotify. The boycott is in response to Spotify podcaster Joe Rogan being accused of using racist language, and spreading false information about COVID-19.

Finally, The Hollywood Reporter also announced that Amazon Studios has renewed the series Harlem, starring Megan Good, for a second season. Pharrell Williams joined the cast members on Instagram to celebrate the news.

“When I walked into a bar in Harlem and overheard folks excitedly discussing the show, I knew we had a hit,” said creator and executive producer Tracy Oliver. “Harlem has resonated with so many people, and I’m beyond grateful to Amazon for giving it a second season. Most of all, I’m excited to reunite with the beautiful cast.

Scott Eastwood confirms “volatile” ‘Fury’ fight with co-star Shia LaBeouf

February 18, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NOTE LANGUAGE) Actor Scott Eastwood confirms that a fight he had with Shia LaBeouf during the filming of their 2014 movie Fury got so bad that Brad Pitt had to physically break it up.

Eastwood, the Suicide Squad star son of Clint, tells Insider, “[Shia] got mad at me, and it turned into a volatile moment that Brad Pitt ultimately got in the middle of.”

At issue was Eastwood’s spitting tobacco inside the World War II tank that was their very cramped primary shooting location in the period film.

LaBeouf’s on-set hijinks were already well documented — like forgoing showers because their characters couldn’t shower, having one of his teeth pulled because dentistry would be scarce on the battlefield, and actually cutting his own face to simulate war wounds.

Eastwood confirmed his part in the spit-induced scrap.

“This is make-believe, it’s fun, and at times it’s serious, and you’re doing emotional work, and you give people space to do that in, but everything has to have its parameters,” he noted.

For his part, Pitt told GQ back in 2014 that there were fights on set “every day.”

And for the record, Pitt was no fan of Eastwood’s spitting either, even if it was in the script.

“I’m starting to get hot, because this [tank] is our home, he’s disrespecting our home, you know?” Pitt explained. “So I said, in the scene with the cameras rolling, ‘You’re going to clean that s*** up.'”

Eastwood told Insider that regardless of an actor’s “process,” it “should never hinder how people are treated on set.”

He added, “It should always enhance the production, not…put people in a situation where it’s a s****y work environment, or you’re rude or people have to be in an uncomfortable situation.”

Hello, bad buy? Paul McCartney sells NYC penthouse for $7 million less than he bought it for in 2015

February 18, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Hello, bad buy? Paul McCartney sells NYC penthouse for million less than he bought it for in 2015

Paul McCartney just announced a 2022 U.S. tour today, which should help him offset the big loss he recently took on the sale of a New York City penthouse he owned with his wife, Nancy Shevell.

The Wall Street Journal reports the the former Beatles star and his spouse sold their luxury apartment on Fifth Avenue overlooking the Big Apple’s Central Park for $8.5 million, which is $7 million less than they purchased the residence for in 2015.

According to the newspaper, the duplex apartment initially was listed at $12 million in June of 2021, then was reduced to $10.5 million in September.

McCartney and his wife bought the apartment, located at at 1045 Fifth Ave., for $15.5 million, which is about 40% less than they sold it for.

As reported by the Street Easy real-estate website in 2015, the co-op residence boasts wraparound balconies, a living room, library, master bedroom, and master sitting room that all face Central Park above the Jacqueline Onassis Reservoir, plus a formal dining room and “a double height gallery.” The duplex also boasts floor-to-ceiling windows that are 40 feet high.

The New York Post reports that the building was built in 1967 by late developer Manny Duell, who created the duplex for his wife. She lived there until her death in 2014.

McCartney’s upcoming trek, dubbed the Got Back Tour, is scheduled to run from an April 28 concert in Spokane, Washington, through a June 16 show in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Kevin Hart introduces real-life Olympic Jamaican Bobsled Team to ‘Cool Runnings’ star Leon Robinson

February 18, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Kevin Hart teamed up with Olympic Jamaican bobsled team as part of his Winter Olympics Tailgate Party, chatting with the team via remote from Beijing.

Shanwayne Stephens, a groundbreaker as the team’s female driver, joined Hart along with her teammates Rolando Reid, Ashley Watson and Matthew Wekpe for the remote segment.

It’s Jamaica’s first Olympic bow in 20 years — so who better to join Kevin and the team than Leon Robinson, the actor who helped tell the Cinderella story of the 1998 Jamaican Olympic Bobsled team in the 1993 movie Cool Runnings?

The team shared with Kevin that, like their predecessors — and their movie counterparts — tropical Jamaica proves challenging to train for a winter sport. So without sleds to train on, they push cars.

Hart surprised the team with Leon’s appearance. For his part, he said, “We’re so proud of you! It’s not just Jamaica who loves you, everybody loves you!”

The actor was so inspired, he joked, that he tore off his stylish trench coat to reveal an official Jamaican bobsled uniform.

“One love!” Hart and his fellow actor told the team.

National Archives confirms some documents retrieved from Mar-a-Lago were classified

February 18, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The National Archives and Record Administration (NARA) confirmed on Friday that some of the Trump White House documents recently recovered from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort were marked classified, and that the agency had referred the matter to the Justice Department.

In a letter sent Friday to Rep. Carolyn Maloney, chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, National Archives officials said that among the 15 boxes of records retrieved last month from former President Donald Trump’s Florida resort were “items marked as classified national security information within the boxes.”

As a result, the National Archives staff “has been in communication with the Department of Justice,” David Ferriero, the national archivist, wrote in the letter.

Among those items that were not preserved, NARA said, were records related to social media accounts.

“NARA has identified certain social media records that were not captured and preserved by the Trump Administration,” Ferriero wrote.

Trump White House staff also “conducted official business using non-official electronic messaging accounts that were not copied or forwarded into their official electronic messaging accounts,” according to the letter.

The National Archives said that they it has already “obtained or is in the process of obtaining some of those records.”

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