Scene and Heard

            America’s favorite baker Buddy Valastro will appear at The Louisville Palace, Saturday, November 5th at 7:30pm. Tickets go on-sale Friday, June 10^th at noon at ticketmaster.com, 1.800.745.3000, or at the Palace Box Office. Tickets are $25.75, $35.75, & $45.75 plus applicable service charges. A limited number of VIP tickets are available for $75 which includes a post-show meet and greet, limited edition tour mug, a souvenir tour lanyard and backstage pass, along with a 15% discount voucher for carlosbakery.com.

In this live interactive event, the baker and star of TLC’s “Cake Boss” will share the stories behind his hit TV series and his colorful Italian family, answer audience questions, and give a live demonstration of the techniques that have made him one of the most successful and renowned cake artists in the nation. Buddy will even invite audience members to join the fun on stage. The whole family is invited for a night of “bakin’ with the boss” one will not soon forget.

One of the centerpiece shows of the TLC network, a fifth season of “Cake Boss” debuts May 30th on TLC. Viewers continue to celebrate the mouthwatering desserts and not-to-be-missed Valastro family moments occurring in bustling Hoboken, NJ, home of Carlo’s Bakery, celebrating its 101st anniversary this summer. In the fall of 2010, Buddy launched a spin-off show on TLC called “Next Great Baker” which was followed by “The Kitchen Boss” in January 2011.

November 1^st will bring the release of Buddy’s second book with Free Press (Simon & Schuster) , “Baking with the Cake Boss: 100 of Buddy’s Best Recipes and Decorating Secrets.” In the book, Buddy shares everything a home cook needs to know about baking as he takes readers through the same progressive training he had in his apprenticeship at Carlo’s Bakery.

SEAN PENN AND CAST MEMBERS OF “FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH”  TO BE INDUCTED INTO GUY MOVIE HALL OF FAME

Additional Attendees And Presenters Include Justin Timberlake, Scarlett Johansson,

Minka Kelly, Jason Statham, Eva Mendes, “The Fighter’s” Dicky Eklund

And Micky Ward, Among Others

Fifth Annual Event Premieres Friday, June 10 At 9 PM ET/PT

NEW YORK, June 3, 2011 – Spike TV has announced that it will present two of its most celebrated honors to entertainment giants Keith Richards and Sean Penn during the 2011 “Guys Choice” event.  Rock God Keith Richards will be awarded with the shows’ Brass Balls honor for his contributions to the music industry, while Penn will reunite with cast members of “Fast Times At Ridgemont High” as the iconic coming-of-age comedy is inducted into the Guy Movie Hall of Fame.  Both honors will be presented by Academy Award winning actor Robert De Niro.  Taping Saturday, June 4th at the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, CA, the fifth annual event premieres Friday, June 10 at 9:00 PM ET/PT.

Beijing: While the seven members who comprise Hanggai currently call this Chinese capital their homebase, the highly textured and abundantly fluent repertoire of this combo is richly steeped in their Mongolian roots. For this group, there lies a real artistic calling to preserve the music of their Mongolian culture and background, The music making, for Hanggai, is thus more than just playing. It’s a mission.

In a recent interview with NPR, Hanggai’s vocalist and principle songwriter, Ilchi stated that, “Most of our people have moved away from the old way of life…After moving to the cities, many of us have gradually been subjected to a very strong cultural invasion by an oppressive culture. So this traditional music has completely lost its space.”

But while Hanggai is palpably transporting, thus felt upon first listen, it is ironically not without its western inspiration. Ilchi, who was incidentally the frontman of a punk rock band called T9, also cites influences that stretch from the traditional grassland folk of their homeland to the likes of Rage Against The Machine, Radiohead and even Neil Diamond.

When listening to the band’s last offering, Introducing Hangaii and their current masterwork, He Who Travels Far, to be released on 4Q Records this summer, the listener can’t help but hear it all. At the center of this unique music are its folk roots, perfectly executed traditional throat singing, and all, but there are sophisticated splashes of everything from ska to prog rock to bluegrass to punk, effortless modulation from western to eastern musical scales, in most cases, within a single song, making Hanggai a Mongolian group from China, who really belong to the whole wide world.

In a very special series of events, Hanggai are set to play a handful of stateside shows this June, including a June 11th set at the Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, TN, along with confirmed dates in NYC and Chicago’s Millennium Park (see details below).

JUNE 9: CHICAGO – MILLENIUM PARK
JUNE 10 – MADISON, WI – BARRYMORE THEATRE
JUNE 11:  BONNAROO FESTIVAL
JUNE 12: NEW YORK CITY: DROM