Arkansas Times

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Thursday, December 20, 2007 - 14:54:51

More Matt Besser



Because of limited space, we had to cut a big chunk of the interview I did with Little Rock native Matt Besser, who's a hugely funny actor and comedian. Here's the whole thing in all its original ramble.

“Walk Hard” is a parody of the big, overblown musician biopics—“Ray,” “Walk the Line,” “Great Balls of Fire.” A lot of John C. Reilly's Dewey Cox character, at least from the previews, seems to be based on Johnny Cash. You play Dave, the guitarist in the band. Did you draw from any real-life musician as inspiration for your character?


I actually wouldn’t say John C. Reilly is just Johnny Cash. I don’t think Johnny Cash was as big of an egomaniac a-hole as this guy. I think he drew a lot from Elvis. They really tried to take something from a lot of folks.
The band in particular, when we started out, [producer] Judd [Apatow] and [director] Jake [Kasdan] had us read “Elvis and Memphis Mafia.” It’s really good. It’s told from the perspective of his gang that hung out with him all the time. It’s really detailed.

Did you actually play guitar and sing in the role?

I did. You won’t hear me. I am actually playing the chords. If you had my version, it wouldn’t sound so great. We did have a tutor come in and teach us how play instruments.

Continue Reading »

Tuesday, December 18, 2007 - 10:40:16

ABNS: Eighteen Men, Wide Open

The most incisive commentary on the Heisman out there.  Surely renders my column superflous.

Monday, December 17, 2007 - 14:08:05

Stages

Local musicians: The Riverfest 2008 Entertainment committee is now accepting submissions for next year's festival. The deadline to be considered is Jan. 31, 2008. Musicians interested in participating need to include a photo, bio and CD or tape to Riverfest, Inc., 500 President Clinton Ave., Suite 217, LR, AR 72201.

ALSO: This year, Riverfest is introducing a special Arkansas Music Tent, where local acts and maybe a few national acts with local ties will play. Whereas in years past the biggest local acts would get stuck in marginal time-slots on main stages early in the day, the Arkansas Tent will host bands from 5 p.m. until late night. I'm on the planning committee for the tent, and I'd love to get suggestions in the comments for bands you'd like to see.

AND OF COURSE: The Jan. 10 deadline for entry into the annual Arkansas Times MUSICIANS SHOWCASE is fast approaching. All genres are welcome. The only real  stipulation is that you have at least four songs of original material.  Sixteen finalists will be chosen to compete in semi-final rounds, which will run from consecutive Thursday nights, from Jan. 31- Feb. 21. The four weekly winners will square off at Revolution for the finals on Friday, March 7. The winner gets a big prize pack, including a performance slot at Riverfest.

New this year: Bands can save the dollar and a half on postage by filling out an online form and uploading mp3s to our site. Go here; should be self-explanatory.

Email me at lindsey@arktimes.com with questions.

Friday, December 14, 2007 - 11:37:29

Friday To-Do: 'Shotgun Stories' extravaganza



IMPORTANT NOTE: Only 40-50 tickets remain for tonight's premiere. Those tickets are now exclusively available at Market Street Cinema for pre-sale.

‘SHOTGUN STORIES'
7 p.m., Market Street Cinema. $10-$20.

So surely we've ground this into your head enough. Tonight ,we're hosting the premiere of Jeff Nichols' debut feature film "Shotgun Stories." It's gotten mad love all across the globe from festivals and critics and now Little Rock, Nichols' hometown, gets to check it out.

Read our cover story on Jeff and the film here.

Listen to Jacob Lemaster's coverage on KUAR here.

Tickets for the film alone are $10; tickets for the film and the after party (see below) are $20. You also might be able to squeeze into just the after party for $10 if the stars align.

‘SHOTGUN STORIES' AFTER PARTY
10 p.m., Sticky Fingerz. $15-$20.

Cinephiles, kids from around the way, proud parents and your friends from the Arkansas Times will all mingle and get down at Sticky Fingerz for the after party of the premiere of “Shotgun Stories” (7 p.m., Market Street). The film's director, Jeff Nichols, will be in the house for you to backslap, as will his brother, Lucero lead singer Ben Nichols. Hugely popular in these parts (the band sold more than 600 tickets at the Village last year) and increasingly so nationally, Lucero has made its bones on literate songwriting about, as the band says, “life, love and drinking while on the road.” Ben Nichols, who provided the ambient, alt-country-tinged score to “Shotgun Stories,” will help celebrate the film with a solo show — just his guttural voice, a guitar and songs Lucero fans know by heart. This might be one of Smoke Up Johnny's last shows. The local barroom rockers just released their debut album and have a huge local following, but once “Shotgun Stories” gets out there a little more, SUJ lead singer Alan “Disaster” Wilkins, who very nearly steals the movie as a meth dealer named Shampoo Douglas, is surely bound for bright lights and big cities. In the meantime, expect pure, deeply infectious rock 'n' roll from his band in the headlining spot. A combo ticket to the premiere and after party is $20. The movie alone is $10; after party alone is $15.

Friday To-Do: Zodiac Sagittarius



ZODIAC SAGITTARIUS
8 p.m., Revolution. $10 adv./$13 d.o.s.

Keoki Franconi is a man of many (mostly self-dubbed) nicknames. “The Bad Boy of Techno.” “The It Boy.” “The Pied Piper.” “The Mixmaster.” “The God of Techno.” But it's Superstar DJ Keoki, a name Franconi gave himself before he even had DJ experience, that's stuck. As a member of the Club Kids, the outlandishly costumed New York-based partygoers and throwers, Keoki came to fame as a frequent DJ for the crew. He also dated, on and off, Michael Alig, the head of the Club Kids, who's now in jail for murder. The film “Party Monster” captured the whole sordid story, with Macaulay Culkin starring as Alig and Wilmer Valderrama as Keoki. Still riding the “Party Monster” wave, Keoki comes to Revolution for Zodiac Sagittarius, the club's monthly DJ showcase. Trance vet Vicious Vic co-headlines with locals Platinumb vs. Kinkade, the Tony Danzas and Die Theory.



PAT GREEN
8 p.m., the Village. $23 adv/$26 d.o.s.

Texan Pat Green spent the late '90s touring relentlessly and self-releasing albums, building up a strong regional fan base and selling more than 200,000 albums without major-label support. With a sound somewhere in between that of home-state heroes like Robert Earl Keen and Jerry Jeff Walker and the arena pop of bands like Hootie and the Blowfish, Green became a juggernaut in the college scene. When he signed to Universal in 2001, he appeared to be on the road to superstardom. Four albums and six years later, he's still dancing between regional and national success, but in these parts, he's unquestionably a big deal. KSSN brings him to the Village to headline its annual Christmas concert. Local singer/songwriter and piano player Susan Erwin opens with Conway's Cyprus Creek, who walk the line between Southern rock and down-home country. As lead singer B.J. Moody sings in “Southern Nights,” they're “getting crunk — country-style.”

Friday To-Do: Second Friday Art Night

SECOND FRIDAY ART NIGHT
5 p.m., downtown. Free.

See art; give food. That's the theme for this Friday's 2nd Friday Art Night event at downtown galleries, to be held 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Collection boxes for canned food will be placed at each of the venues for donations to the Arkansas Foodbank Network, which distributes to relief agencies across the state.

The evening's lineup: River Market ArtSpace, 301 President Clinton Ave., will open “Baubles, Bangles, and Beads,” a holiday jewelry show and sale of work by Kathleen Bearden, Jeff and Judy Goodwin, Nancy Brillos Henderson and Burke Johnston on Friday. Hearne Fine Art, 500 Clinton Ave., will present “2007 in Retrospection,” featuring ceramic work by Chukes; mixed media sculpture by Kevin Cole; mixed media on paper and canvas by Rex Delony, Mr. Imagination, W. Earl Robinson and Artis Lane; silverpoint by Marjorie Williams-Smith; etchings, oils and watercolors by Dean Mitchell, and acrylics by Sylvester McKissack and Dianne Smith. Artists showing in the Delta Exhibition will be on hand at the Arts Center, where the Museum Shop and Best Impressions Restaurant will be also open. At the Cox Creative Gallery, 120 Commerce St., the 3rd annual Holiday Market continues with work by more than 30 artists in its second and third floor galleries. The Historic Arkansas Museum at Second and Cumberland will host its “Third Ever Nog-Off” competition of historic recipes and a reception for the exhibit “Dominique Simmons and Sammy Peters: Geography Lessons.” Ten Thousand Villages at 305 President Clinton Ave. will also be open.

Showcase

Friday To-Do: 'FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO'

Anticipating: 'Pineapple Express'

Friday To-Do: Dash Rip Rock

Dude

Friday To-Do: White Party

Thursday To-Do: Benjamin Del Shreve

A Boy Named Sooie: Another One Bites the Dust

RIP Pimp C

Tuesday To-Do: Electric Six

Tuesday To-Do: J. Roddy Walston and the Biz

Get into the spirit

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