Not to Drop Names, But …

Name-dropping in conversation is annoying. Name-dropping in song is, well, that can be pretty annoying too. We’re looking at you, “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” We’ll light the fire if someone will tie this song to a stake. (We won’t even look at Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger.” Die in a ditch, “Moves Like Jagger”!)... Continue Reading →

The Way She Is

A struggling actor auditioned for a part as a singer. The director didn’t choose her but did advise her to add “singer” to her resume, a tip that proved prescient. Within a couple of years, the actor was a celebrated vocalist, headlining the ritziest nightclubs around, drawing ecstatic reviews and, whaddaya know, starring on Broadway.... Continue Reading →

Backstreet’s Back? They Never Went Away

The Backstreet Boys at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards. (Photo by Glenn Francis/Pacific Pro Digital Photography) Fun fact: The average age of the Backstreet Boys is 47. For four of the five group members, it’s been 30 years-plus since they were legally boys. The baby of the group, Nick Carter, is 43 and passed into... Continue Reading →

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Year-Round

A performance at our Arts Legacy Remix: Hispanic Heritage Celebration in 2022. The impact and influence of Hispanic culture in Tampa is undeniable. Actually, make that Hispanic cultures, since the term Hispanic covers a lot of acreage, physically and socially. The description is applied to people from Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and... Continue Reading →

EWF Brings Joy to ‘September’

Do you remember the 21st night of September? I don’t. I’ve racked my brain trying to remember something significant about 9/21 and I got nothing. The question is the opening lyric of Earth, Wind & Fire’s 1978 hit “September.” According to Allee Willis, who co-wrote the song with Maurice White and Al McKay, EWF’s founder/leader... Continue Reading →

In-Choir-ing Minds Want to Know

A sensation on London’s West End, The Choir of Man begins an extended stay here at The Straz on Tuesday, Oct. 3. For those who haven’t Googled it yet, The Choir of Man is a theatrical stage presentation that’s structured a bit differently than most theatrical stage presentations. It’s a play – there are characters... Continue Reading →

Celebrating Sisterhood

Due perhaps to the carpet-bombing publicity campaign mounted for the Barbie movie, you may not have noticed that Sunday, Aug. 6, is National Sisters Day. It’s unlikely seeing the movie would jar your memory either, as Barbie’s sisters are barely mentioned. Skipper, you’ll learn, broke through to the real world and it was “chaos.” She... Continue Reading →

Staff Keeps Patel Students Coming and Going Safely

“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” Snow and gloom shouldn’t be issues but rain and heat? Hoo boy. Pictured: a typical summer day in the great state of Florida. The Patel Conservatory staff members (“these couriers”) responsible for couriering summer... Continue Reading →

Trainer Makes Stars of Rescue Dogs

Bill Berloni estimates he has trained and shined a spotlight on nearly 400 dogs over the last 45 years. Your purebreds and your designer breeds are all well and good, but if you want the job done right – and if that job is acting – get yourself a mutt. That’s the advice of Bill... Continue Reading →

You Oughta Know …

JAGGED LITTLE PILL is about a lot more than one woman’s anger. Alanis Morrissette was not rock’s first angry woman. We know, get the smelling salts. Leslie Gore wasn’t having it on “You Don’t Own Me," all the way back in 1963. That same year, Betty Everett told the jerk “You’re No Good,” an emotion... Continue Reading →

Temptations Still Proud After 60 Years

For its first decade or so of existence, Detroit-based record company Motown was the American Dream in excelsis. Founder Berry Gordy nurtured his small, local business into a worldwide success. Gordy was smart, resourceful and hard-working. Most importantly, he knew white kids could dig R&B just as much as the black kids. The label’s slogan,... Continue Reading →

I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar

Celebrate International Women’s History Month with Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman,” a No. 1 hit and a fitting soundtrack for 1972, a year highlighted by milestones for the women’s movement When ‘70s hit-maker Helen Reddy passed in 2020, most obituaries reported that three of her many hits reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.... Continue Reading →

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