Simon Barrett

Our weekly look at news and current affairs. There is lots to talk about this week. However I want to start the program with a subject that is not in the headlines although it certainly should be, education. Why are all of the 2016 hopefuls avoiding this subject? The answerin my mind is that it isn't sexy. Religion, Immigration, Abortion, Voting regulations, etc are sexy, education is not! Why not? is the question I ask myself.

Lots to talk about this week.

Is it time for the patriot act to die? The bulk collection of meta data does not seem to have produced any results. When it was enacted weeks after 9/11 the government could have mandated anything, and the American public would have agreed. Mandatory eating of Brussel sprouts, but times have changed.Is it time for the patriot act to die?

Hard to believe that the first GOP presedential debate is less than two months away. FOX is limiting it to the top 10 contenders based on some polls. Needless to say the other 8 or so hopefuls are miffed. So it is likely that we are facing 8 weeks of idiocy while they battle for a top ten spot. I find it humorous that anyone would want to be on FOX, but oh well.

The Prog community is buzzing with excitement about the new release by progressive rock ensemble Exovex featuring members of Porcupine Tree, NIN, Devo, Sting & Steely Dan!  Radio Silence is the project's debut album and features Josh Freese (NIN, A Perfect Circle, Devo) and Keith Carlock (Sting, John Meyer, Steely Dan) on drums. The album also showcases two members of Porcupine Tree, Gavin Harrison on drums and Richard Barbieri on keyboards and synthesizers. All songs on the album were written, performed and produced by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Dale Simmons.

Our weekly look at News and Politics. I am no longer surprised at how often the two subjects become meshed. The Amtrak crash certainly brought this to the forefront. I rather liked John Boehners comment about Amtrak has bags on money but prefers to sudsidize food service rather than improve safety systems. I'll bet he would not be saying that had he been a passenger.

Jeb bush and Iraq. Exactly how many positions can he have on the subject?

ISIS takes Ramadi. Is it time to do something about the Caliphate? but who? There seem to be few countries in the region that want to take the lead. And there is little interest in entering into the battle from the west.

We are the presenting organization for DO40 CARES; A Song and Dance Concert — Come Back Once More So I Can Say Goodbye; a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the NYC Anti-Violence Project, set for Monday, June 8, 2015, 8pm.  We are presenting this in association with Labyrinth Dance Theater, Sasha Spielvogel, Artistic Director.  It’s the first time we have presented a concert as an entire conceptual pieced based on serious historical times in NYC.

I will be sitting down with Sasha Spielvogel, Artistic Director and John Sefakis to talk about the prokec

MatthewK’s self-titled 12 song debut album captures his world-class global pop appeal and will be released physically and digitally on May 5th, 2015, and was recorded and mixed internationally in the USA, UK, and Australia. The album, a mix of Pop and Rock and even an International flavor, was recorded and produced by James M. DiLella at Rough and Tumble Studios and will be released on the Rough and Tumble Entertainment Label in Philadelphia, PA.

I will be sitting down with MatthewK to talk about his new CD and find out more about him.

The prolific Athens, Georgia based songwriter, Ken Will Morton, will release his 7th full-length release All’s Fair In Love & War on Rara Avis Records on June 5, 2015.

 

All’s Fair In Love & War is the follow up to his highly acclaimed 2012 release, Slow Burn. The new recording compiles 19 new songs (plus a hidden track) written in the wake of the dissolution of a long term relationship and with Morton finding himself living alone in a mobile home. Soon after, he’d written more than enough material for a double album (hence, initial title was A Double From A Single Wide). Morton converted his home to facilitate writing and recording music at anytime day or night, with wires and cables, guitars, amps and lyric sheets everywhere. Determined to hold on to the essence of this new work, and with the help and encouragement of engineer J.P Pruett, the entire album was made in the comfort of his home. Morton played all instruments.

I will be sittind down with Ken to discuss his new CD and indeed his career

Our weekly look at News, Current events and BS.

Sun Soul Orchestra is an inspired project that features a rotating collection of artists performing original music and covers arranged by Stevo Théard and Ginger Murphy. Their debut album, What Matters Most has been a labor of love over the past 5 years and finally releases worldwide, physically and digitally on April 28th, 2015. On the surface it would seem that Los Angeles, California based Stevo and Ginger could not come from more disparate planets in the musical universe. Ginger came up in the highly structured, extremely regimented world of classical music training, while Stevo got most of his training on the job – at first playing nightclubs and gigging locally, then graduating into the world of international touring and recording.

There are three types of science fiction, there is the pixie and goblin type (fantasy), there is soft Sci-Fi, John Wyndham springs to mind, the science is there, but plays second fiddle to the to the human story. The third type is hard Sci-Fi. The story uses science in a more proactive role. The Starchild Compact most certainly belongs in this third category.

I will be sitting down with Robert G. Williscroft to discuss this book