|
Oct 22
|
Blane Fonda – 10.03.11
Interviewed by: Jenny Tate (10/11/11)
The following is a mini interview of generic questions that we posed to all bands that wanted to answer:
Blane Fonda (Questions answered by Matthew Witt)
www.blanefonda.com
www.facebook.com/BlaneFondaMusic
www.twitter.com/BlaneFonda
1. How did you get your band name?
Blane Fonda is a pen name that our singer used back in his college years. He would post pics and comments about his old band under the name. The band never knew it was him, and they believed Blane Fonda was a super fan of the band.
2. How did this band get started?
Blane Fonda was formed from the instrumental members of The Sapiens and the singer from Technicolor Stallion. The Sapiens needed a new singer and they found Mark (singer) on Craigslist. From there Blane Fonda was born.
3. What bands are you influenced by?
Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Muse, ELO, The Killers, Tears for Fears, Flaming Lips, The Cure, The National, Chet Baker, this list can go on forever.
4. If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
The Rolling Stones back in the 70’s. The Stones are the definition of a rock band. Their music is timeless, and they are definitely known to party hard. It would be exciting to play in a era when music was raw and the corporate world wasn’t running the music industry.
5. Best food to eat on tour?
We are fortunate to have a food coach in the band (Dave the bassist). He prefers for us to split a chicken sandwich before a show with Miller High Life, and on the road we eat Sunflower seeds (ranch flavor) and drink Gatorade.
6. Why should people listen to your band?
We are a fun band with clever lyrics and catchy hooks. Our music is melodic and energetic. Your dads will love us and your 12-year-old niece will too!
8. If you won a Grammy, who would you thank?
Parents, Family, and Friends!
9. If you could change something about the music industry, what would it be?
I think the radio industry needs to change. Radio is monopolized by the corporate world. It seems that you have 5 stations playing the same 20 cookie cutter songs all day long. There is no variety anymore, and it’s almost impossible to hear something fresh. Internet radio has become popular because of its variety. It should be easier for bands to get their songs played on their local stations, which seems impossible today.
10. Memorable tour experience?
Playing at the ES Jungle in Indianapolis. Our second show at the venue, we had fans singing lyrics to all our songs. Stage diving and crowd surfing was happening all around us. It was a surreal moment – it felt like we were in a staged music video. The energy in the venue was explosive. It’s moments like this that makes being a musician worth all the hassle.
11. What does AP.net mean to you?
AP.net means a lot to bands like Blane Fonda who are DIY. You give us a opportunity to get our name and songs out to people who would have ever heard us. In today’s music scene, it’s hard to get credible acknowledgment if you don’t have professional representation. AP.net definitely helps out the DIY scene.
12. What is your favorite song to play?
“Cucccurucucu” by Franco Battiato. It’s an Italian pop song that we were asked to play for a fashion show. We don’t speak Italian so we don’t know what we’re saying, but it’s one catchy tune.
13. What is your vacation spot of choice?
Maui, Hawaii.
14. What music reminds you of your childhood?
Grunge music: Specifically Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” It was the anthem song during middle school – every garage band was covering it.
15. If you could have any super power, what would it be? Why?
To fly at super sonic speeds, so I never have to be stuck in traffic or buy a plane ticket.
16. Any pre-show superstitions or rituals?
Eat half of a chicken sandwich and pound a Miller High Life down. And if I have enough money, a shot of Jameson.
17. What is something that most fans don’t know about you?
I used to kill mosquitos for a summer job.
18. What is your assessment of the current state of radio? Do you think it’s a place where your band could flourish?
Radio is pretty stagnant right now. I do not listen to it much, because the same 20 tunes are played on it. The corporate world has monopolized the radio stations and force them to play the same cookie cutter songs. I do give props to 93.1 WXRT in Chicago for breaking the mold. They play a large variety of music that keeps me listening. If Blane Fonda could get their tunes on radio, we could definitely flourish from it. People still listen to radio, and if we could reach them through radio, it could only help us draw a larger fan base.
19. What do you like to do in your spare time?
In my spare time I fish for musky.
20. What kind of hidden talents do you have?
I can blow bubbles off my tongue.
|
Oct 22
|
Recycling is Fun…
Posted on October 12, 2011 by BagsRevolt
I had the immense pleasure to meet the founder of Recycling is Fun, Sara Fonda, who has been actively spreading this important message for thirty eight years now. I was obviously interested in visiting their shop, since I was warned it had more than 3000 samples of creative projects to get inspired with.
Recycling is Fun is a Non for Profit Organization which aims to promote crafts as a means of improving well-being. “ Craft relieves stress and boredom, bringing purpose to life, improving self esteem and creating a sense of fulfillment and achievement.”
They work with councils and community groups through out Victoria. One of their projects is the “Home-bound” ready made kits which include materials, patterns, projects and instructions for a wide variety of crafts, tailored to the abilities of the person. It gives the opportunity for a social worker, carer, relative or friend to bring dignity and meaning to people who are unable to or do not want to leave their homes.
Anyone interested is welcomed to make an appointment to their showroom at 66 Punt Rd, Windsor in Melbourne. There you can view hundreds of exciting, fun and enjoyable projects created from recycled household waste. The materials are beautifully organized by types, themes as well as levels of difficulty and are given at NO COST!
This visit has helped me broaden my view on the importance of Recycling. I had previously concentrated mainly on the environmental aspect of it and not so much on the social side of it. From an individual point of view, making something with your hands, expressing yourself in new ways, creatively, while recycling, gives enormous satisfaction. I have been experiencing this in my life for some time now. What is completely new to me is realizing that crafting is a powerful tool to connect with others as well as to make someone´s life a bit more happy!
I was lucky enough to experience this first hand at the workshop abandoned sock characters creation at the Eco Center. I went to help Chloe Farmer who was giving the workshop, and also to learn since I had never myself used socks to create characters. What a huge surprise I got when the participants arrived: 9 older men with disabilities. Most of them had never even sewn before, but the workshop was awesome! It felt great to help them out with simple things like treading their needles. The end products were all beautiful! The most rewarding part were the huge smile on their faces and the laughs we had together. Here is a picture of one of these little creatures created from a lost sock and other materials that Chloe got from Recycling is Fun for this workshop.
Recycling is fun for everyone, even men!
|
Oct 15
|
PCA’s ‘The Miracle Worker’ communicates Helen Keller’s amazing story
By Scott Orr, The Daily Courier – 10/11/2011
PRESCOTT – To see “The Miracle Worker” performed live at the Prescott Center for the Performing Arts is to simultaneously suspend disbelief and realize what an effort it is to stage this very physical play effectively.
And it is effective. For anyone who has never seen the film or the play, “The Miracle Worker” tells the true story of Helen Keller, a young deaf and blind girl, and her teacher, Annie Sullivan. The story is set in the period immediately following the Civil War, when such children were sometimes believed to be uncontrollable and placed in asylums.
Annie (Joanne Robertson, right) and Helen (Carly Fonda, left) have a breakthrough in communication with the help of a doll.
Helen, played by 10-year-old Carly Fonda, is indeed uncontrollable as the play opens. Fonda, acting in a role that has no dialogue, yet sees her on stage for nearly all of the show’s two hours, gives a nuanced performance. “I have learned that you can (convey) words through your facial expressions,” she said.
The role requires violent behavior: Helen slaps, kicks and bites people, throws silverware, breaks dishes, and wreaks all manner of other destruction whenever she fails to get her way. Annie (Joanne Robertson) gives as good as she gets, although Robertson said playing the part required a little extra help. “It’s very physical,” she said. “I’m wearing kneepads and I have bruises all over.”
Supporting actor Justus Burkitt as Helen’s half-brother, James, steals nearly every scene he’s in, cracking pointed jokes and delivering sarcastic comments to Annie and his father, Captain Keller (Kevin Nissen). He acts as the comic relief in an otherwise very intense show, but his appearances never seem forced or extraneous.
Helen (Carly Fonda) acts up at the breakfast table while Annie (Joanne Robertson) assesses the situation in the Prescott Center for the Arts' production of "The Miracle Worker." Callaghan Howard, Kevin Nissen, Karla Burkitt, Lois Fazio and Justus Burkitt co-star.
The show is directed by Catherine Miller Hahn; this is her 60th production. She said it was not easy to stage. “This one is very difficult. There’s lots of pieces to it, lots of scenes, lots of places,” she said. Because of the nature of the theatre (it is a converted church), plays like this one, with multiple sets, require some unusual techniques and staging. “In our theater, we don’t have flies (cables to a tall ceiling) to take things up or down, so you have to figure out a way to move and weave it all,” Hahn said.
The set design takes advantage of the open space above the stage, allowing the upstairs spare bedroom in which Annie writes her diary entries to literally be upstairs, above the rest of the house. As usual for this theater, there are unavoidable viewblocks presented by the structural pillars of the church which stand at the front of the stage. It is surprising how frequently these relatively small obstructions block parts of the action at times.
If you know the story or have seen the film, you know how it ends. This production also includes a touching “extra” after the end of the play itself.
|
Sep 17
|
Here are some photos of the family of James Robert Fonda (1816-1891), born in West Troy, Rensselaer Co., NY in 1816, who settled in Wyoming, Lee Co., IL prior to 1870. He was reportedly an orphan at 9 years old, although the burial record of father is in 1837, so he could have been adopted. He became a blacksmith and married Alzina Bacon of Fulton, Oswego Co., NY in December 1837. She died in 1852, leaving him with six children. He then married Jane E. Hendricks, the daughter of John Hendricks of Wayne Co., NY and had five more children. They moved to Wyoming, Illinois after the Civil War, with the four youngest children, founding a Methodist Episcopal Church in about 1870.
One son, Fitch Fenton Fonda (1840-1864), born in Fulton, Oswego Co., NY, served in the Civil War for the New York 59th Infantry (Private) in the Battles of Wilderness and Weldon Railroad. He was taken prisoner on June 22, 1864 and died of disease at Andersonville Confederate Prison on October 2, 1864. He is buried at the Andersonville National Cemetery.
Another son, Erwin Roselle Fonda (1844-1919), born in Fulton, Oswego Co., NY, also served in the Civil War for the New York 147th Infantry (Corporal) in the Battles of Wilderness, Chancellorsville and Hatcher’s Run. He caught Typhoid Fever and was slightly wounded as well. He was discharged, went home to Illinois, then returned to the war as a Secretary to a Quartermaster. Later he became an Engineer with the Union Pacific and was headquartered in Omaha, NE as of 1881.
A notable descendant of this family is Albert Neir Brown (1905-2011), great grandson of James Robert Fonda, born in North Platte, NE and raised in Council Bluffs, IA, where he excelled in sports and became involved in the ROTC. He married his high school sweetheart, Helen Johnson in 1925, attended Creighton University School of Dentistry, established a dental practice, started a family and became a licensed pilot. He had continued in the ROTC in college and afterwards in the reserves at the rank of First Lieutenant. He was called to active duty in October 1940 (Capt. in Dental Corps) and when war broke out he was stationed at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, which was attacked and overrun by the Japanese just hours after Pearl Harbor in December 1941. He was captured and survived the infamous Bataan Death March and over three years as a Japanese prisoner of war. Upon his release, he was treated for three years at Fitzsimons Hospital in Denver. He then moved to Hollywood, Calif. where his sister and brother-in-law were involved in show business. He worked in the real estate business, became an active member of the Hollywood YMCA and an avid handball player. In 1993 Albert moved to Pinckneyville, Ill. where he made his home with his daughter. He died in a nursing home in Nashville, Illinois, on August 14, 2011, at the age of 105. At the time of his death he was the oldest living survivor of the Bataan Death March. He was also listed as the oldest living WWII veteran. He had been awarded the Purple Heart, the Philippine Defense Ribbon with one star, the Presidential Unit Citation, the American Defense Ribbon with one star, the American Theater Ribbon, the Asiatic-Pacific Ribbon and the WWII Victory Medal. [link] [link] [link] [link]
|
Sep 11
|
Pop-up phenomenon: Here this week, gone the next
By Sarah Gish, The Kansas City Star – Mon, Aug. 22, 2011
(..)
Port Fonda — a cross between a food truck and a mobile restaurant — has since become one of the city’s hottest foodie destinations. On Friday and Saturday nights, Ryan parks it in a lot at 20th and Main streets and starts selling $3 tacos out the window. The chef also accepts reservations from customers who want to dine at the cozy table inside Port Fonda. A four-course meal for six people costs $250.
“We started joking when we opened, telling people this is the hardest table to get in Kansas City,” Ryan says. Now that might be true: Reservations are booked through September, and Ryan won’t even accept reservations for October until Sept. 1.
Port Fonda embodies planned spontaneity: It’s parked at the same location every Friday and Saturday, but because it’s a food truck, eating there feels spur-of-the-moment.
—————————————————–
Port Fonda Food Truck
Written By: Around the Block – June 05, 2011
Wow. What a treat. I stopped by the Port Fonda food truck last Saturday afternoon to sample chef/owner Patrick Ryan’s Mexican fare, cooked to order at the truck’s stove. I had been reading for months about Ryan’s project, a retrofitted airstream trailer. And this is not any old trailer. The interior is wrapped with gorgeous wood and has a chef’s table to match (more on that below.)
The truck is only open on weekend nights, with the exception of Saturday afternoons when you can usually find Port Fonda in the Rieger Hotel Exchange and Grill parking lot for about a 14 hour stretch. During the day the menu is limited to a few items, but when evening comes another handful of offerings take shape in the kitchen, ranging from tacos to tortas (Mexican sandwiches.) With our ever-increasing reliance on social media, the best way to discover where the truck will be parked and what will be on the menu is to follow Port Fonda on Facebook or Twitter.
I had the great fortune of going to Port Fonda on a day when they were serving chilaquiles– tortillas layered with a tomatillo/habanero sauce and chorizo verde, and topped with a fried egg. I’m a big fan of Frontera Grill in Chicago, and when I heard Ryan used to work there, I knew this was going to be good. Even with high expectations, it blew me away. I haven’t been this excited about a dish since I first had a pizza at Pizza Bella and dreamt about it that night.
Ryan nailed the salsa. It sang with the roasted flavor of the chiles and had a marvelous kick to it. The tortillas had been softened by the sauce but weren’t soggy, as tends to happen if the dish is allowed to cook too long. And the egg was perfectly cooked, its runny yolk melding with the other ingredients to complete the happiness in my mouth. The pozole was also authentically prepared. Red chile base, chunks of hominy, topped with radish and lime. A hearty and warm soup for a chilly, dreary day.
I wanted to try a taco and the only one they were serving that day had a tripe filling. For those unfamiliar with tripe, it’s part of a cow’s or pig’s stomach and is the main ingredient in a traditional Mexican soup called Menudo. Not a fan of Menudo, I was not overly enthused, but I ordered it anyway. It came in crisp strips and had I not been acutely aware of what I was eating, I may have mistaken it for meat. It was simply garnished, as are most street tacos, with pickled onions and just a touch of sauce. Not my favorite taco ever, but worth sampling.
Within the truck is a cozy table for 6, with a U-shaped banquette. The dining room (known as el comedor) is available by reservation only on weekend nights. Ryan is offering a 3 course meal centered around a pork shoulder and served with all the fixings to roll up in tortillas. I’m excited for that experience– based on my initial visit to Port Fonda, it should be a blast.
—————————————————-
Also see: Port Fonda, KC Magazine, Eldo Recommends, Yelp, Fonda History
More Updates: Patrick Ryan is ready to get rolling with Port Fonda in Westport (June 18, 2012)
Mexican restaurant Port Fonda now has a home in Westport (June 18, 2012)
Port Fonda Restaurant Set to Open Tuesday, June 26 (June 18, 2012)
