It Brings a City Together

This evening, a good portion of Pittsburgh sat down to watch their beloved Penguins hopefully finally put away the Philedelphia Flyers in their opening series of the playoffs.

Maybe halfway through the first period, we had a glimmer of what was coming. A blast of Twitters proclaimed that Comcast had a bit of a hiccup during the commercials.

Then it happened. Fresh into the second period. We went dark on my Dish Network based television. The Twitter verse exploded and I think I heard crying echoing through the hills of Beechview...

Even Bijou hangs her head in shame...

Was it Comcast? Was it FSN? Is this another dastardly NBC plan to piss off Pittsburgh?

Soon, Twitter had answers...

itsonlyjim Lightning strike hit FSN transmission site in Atlanta. Comcast CAN route VS feed on air but is apparently choosing not to.

Everyone responded, and retweeted to their unconnected friends. The screen was confirmed to still have the feed. So the expected downtown riot did not happen. Though I'd be interested in the stats on bar fights during the outage.

At least Mike Lange didn't fail us.

Nor did the internet.

I MAKE hockey happen on my TV...

Soon, there was another flurry of these "grey area" feeds of the Versus coverage of the game, which was not available to area subscribers thanks to blackout rules with FSN.

burghbaby @unclecrappy I've got a quote for you. "Twitter came through for me when FSN was busy sucking big hairy donkey balls."

FSN was called everyting from an embarrassment to the reason the Pens lost what should have been a shoe in series. (Lets be honest. It is almost karmic...) But they werent' the only ones to get caught up with the digital scuffle...

ChachiSays @comcastcares if you really cared reroute the effing game!

comcastcares @ChachiSays We are not permitted. We do not own the rights to the game. It would be a big legal issue

So props for that rep to stand up to a pissed off city when I hear they weren't even able to start to respond to the angry phone calls...

It's one of those events where you can see how this new medium comes through when our conventional means don't. Rather than sitting here, staring our our blank TVs, speculating what happened for maybe 20 minutes, information got around. Instead of calling one or two friends, of which I received from a coworker not in the loop, everyone passed along info, asked questions, and got answers. And in the end, all of the speculation was confirmed by FSN themselves as they apologized well into the third period.

WMS Episode 95 and Dreda Interview

Lunchbox and Sorg are back from a crazy weekend with fan of the show Mad Mike and IWC's double shot show and bring you...

Part 1 We go over all the action of IWC's A Call to Arms shows and Monday's star filled RAW 15th Anniversary show.

Part 2 We hit fan mail and start going a little mad. Then get into some WWE Trivia.

This is Episode 95 for Tuesday, December 4 2007. You can get the episode here on Talkshoe, subscribe, and as always, stay tuned to www.Wrestling Mayhem Show.com for the latest!


Also, scope out the latest WPAJ Interview with Pittsburgh local hip hop artist, Dreda.

What the CRAP is up?

Trying to keep things rolling on www.monkeyflingspoo.com. Want to have a related post at least once a week for the site. Here's the latest on CRAPPY things I'm working on...

Thought I'd drop a line to the Crappers out there and let you know what we're up to these days. We're basically slowly, but surely, working on a few projects here in the background as we have time this busy holiday season. This is an incomplete list, and we don't have any sort of time frame aside from "when it's done", but here's a wish list of projects in the works.

* CRAP TV Volume 2 has begun being compiled. It looks like it will encompass episodes 8 - 14 and as much extra stuff as we can pack on a DVD. Hell, we already have material to hold over until Volume 3!
* The RWF Sorgstock 2007 Anthology will commence production once the second CRAP TV DVD is done.
* Big Daddy Shit started work on a small solo venture, already laying down 5 tracks in the studio. Aiming to be a freebie on the site in the future.
* Our intended free, online album has hit a few snags, but we have at least 4 tracks in the can and may just release those in some form here on the website.
* A couple new "side projects" may be popping up in 2008 with CRAP and other artists. But that's on the hush hush.
* Big Daddy Shit's son, Little Brother Poo, is already starting to get some rhythm and may surpass his father in Crappiness.
* 8-bit AKA Chachi is now a Guitar Hero
* emcee lb is a proven pimp
* An official Street Team is in the works
* We're looking into options for planning shows in the coming months. We also expect to start Sorgstock planning in January.

So that's all for now from the world of CRAP! Stay tuned. I hope to keep updates rolling on here on a weekly basis.

It's PRIMANTI Brothers!

Ok, got to get a little something off my chest. 

They showed a small "cultural" spot on Sunday Night Football about Primanti's.  And proceeded to butcher the name (and pronounce he's never eat the damn sandwich).  But John Madden, he's had Primanti's.  And I bet he loved it.  I bet he opened his big mouth, took a bite into about half of the fries and cole slaw craziness, and, with mouth full, exclaimed "FOOTBALL!!!!!"  Then explained to the unfortunate patron beside him, the intricate details of the sandwich. 

But when he said "Primanti's" he friggin' pronounced it right! 

Steel City Livin'

So twice this week, I've witnessed big national night games by our own Pittsburgh Steelers. And while I didn't watch much of Monday's game but the big score a the end, I did see something even cooler. In both instances, I took a moment and stood on my back porch and could see those big Heinz Field lights shining in the sky over the hill.

I've always wanted to live in this town. I don't expect to spend the rest of my residency completely in town. I'm a country boy, and I'll have to return to it as best I can someday. But for now, I get to experience the big city life. And all the access it entails.

Growing up, if I wanted to come see a Pirates game, or a big music show, even a big time play, and it was a trip. An 80 mile venture to the bright lights from our little stomping grounds of Pittsburgh. And on some nights, as in the instance of one fateful Twiztid show, it became quite dangerous, thanks to the weather and iced roads leading to some near misses.

But now I'm in the city. If there's a show downtown or at Station Square, it's just a train ride away. No long trips just to get stuck in traffic and pay outrageous parking rates. Actually hav ing a good time without thinking about having the energy, and soberness, to make it home that night.

There are some great things going on with my life, and my aspiring careers, that could only be possible here. The shows, the friends, the access. All of that plays together.

I recall one time telling my grandparents, Moon Township residents, out by the airport, how great they have it. They would frequent the shows in the cultural district often. Much like I frequent venues liek Mr. Smalls, and formerly, Metropol for touring and local music to this day. I could see the light bulb go off, and the response, "I guess you're right". At least for the greater part of their life, they've lived here in town. At least for my mother and aunts and uncles' upbringing. And it was a bit of perspective. And a lot of the appeal to me coming down here was from my summer visits. Going to the Museum, Science Center, and Zoo in town. The occasional show at the Benedum (and that big ass chandelier, as I recall)

Back in the day, being awed by that drive through the Ft Pitt tunnel and being slammed with that skyline, and being overwhelmed and in awe of this place. Now I've been living here for about 5 years (damn) since my first apartment in the South Hills. Heading the the grocery store of the gas station often incurs meeting someone I know by chance, much like back home, just on a grander scale. I've had oppurtunities to meet and greet artists, bloggers, football players, and wrestlers.

Here's to another 5 years!

Artists Interviewing Artists

I got back on the wagon this week on one of my many, many ventures, the WPAJ Interview, when I had a chance to talk to J.East from right around here in Beaver County.

So why did I go into this extra podcasts on my plate? Of course it started when I was litterally handed an opportunity to interview some Suburban Noize artists (with no help from Doc, no prodding by me. Let's say it made me feel special) I really didn't think I was interviewer material, but what the hell. If it bombed, I didn't have to post it. After Potluck, Dogboy, and a couple Kottonmouth Kings, I was in the flow, on top of some interviews I've done in a group setting on the Mayhem Show with wrestlers. It sort of ended up weekly via the schedules. And it seemed like a good idea. Finding talent was going to be a problem. So why not tap the underground and local scenes? I've always had an interest in promoting the unsigned long before my own foray into getting on stage. It was the perfect setup. Bring the downloads in with the big names, and squeeze in as many of the smaller artists as I could to help give them a fan boost, get them in people's ears, on itunes, and who knows how many directories.

And I genuinely enjoy talking with others in similar, or more advanced stages, of this music biz. I do have a sort of stock questions for the smaller artists, geared at getting to know them for the audience, or even still for myself. But many of my questions are genuine, as I'm still learning myself (and recognize I have a long way to go). I've sat in and listened to a few interviews Doc's done, and being an artist and producer in his own right helps the interviews come off smoother it seems, and there's a connection there. I'm still trying to get my groove, of sorts, but it's coming.

So here I go, rebooting, of sorts, with hopefully a straight set of local artists. I'm still hearing the waves made by the DaButtonPusha interview a couple months back, and the Marz interview where he called Violent J a straight bitch. Who knows what is going to unfold over the next few months...