X-Con World and Weekly Surge

I regret that I wasn't able to attend either day of X-Con World 2008 because of Sick Stooges gigs on the same days, but I certainly hope all went well for organizers and attendees.

The corresponding Weekly Surge piece was a bit daunting to produce at first because of the wealth of information provided to me, and the fact that I have been out of the comic scene (because I stupidly sold off my considerable collection in 1990 for financial reasons) made it hard to get a grip on what has been going on lately.

I need to thank organizers Robin Roberts (Palmetto Group), Steven Haines (Corsair Comics) and Chad Hudson (Apocalypse Comics) for participating and giving me a good deal to work with. Also I could not have completed this without some much needed perspective from friends Dave Slusher (that Eisner stuff was priceless) and Andre Pope (Nye's Pharmacy needed to stay in the piece).

Thanks Matt "Six" Bahr for participating in this issue's Working 4 A Living profile. That was fun.

And every time I am called on for a cover story, it is the guidance of Kent Kimes that never fails to steer me in the right direction.

Jeez - this sounds like I'm accepting a statue or something. (All of this is old news now.)

Anyhow - the whole process was fun and I'd like to find out how the inaugural X-Con World went.

Sick Stooges Press Onward

As a second season winds down for Sick Stooges, it's heartening to know that we have expanded our fan base, played in new and different locations and for various events along the Grand Strand, and will continue to work throughout what's known as the off-season here.

Looking back at the Season, we have been fortunate, but in retrospect, we should be seriously thinking about a booking agent, or simply push harder to gain access into places like The Boathouse, which always seems to have a thriving concert series during the summer.

But in addition to various bars like Pat & Mikes Irish Pub, Wild Wing Cafe, Nesbitt's Jackass Saloon and Still Smokin' in Surfside, we have played Celebrity Square at Broadway at the Beach thanks to Craig Smith at Celebrations Nightlife, opened for Zoso at House of Blues - and although things weren't at all what we expected or wanted, the Carolina Entertainment Complex in Marion.


So is it easy selling the idea of juggernaut six-piece band to local clubs at a price we can all live with? Sometimes, but you get what you pay for.

We had a blast all summer, and look forward to new gigs and new faces in the immediate future.

PRODUCT DELIVERED

After speaking with many players in the local radio market and one national expert - and then applying the seat of my pants to the chair, another cover story was delivered to Weekly Surge,
this one an attempt to sort out the changing radio landscape here - i.e. format changes, dial position moves and an impending frequency swap. We also gave a position-by-position rundown of what's on the dial in the Myrtle Beach market and looked at a new streaming multi-channel undertaking called radio.sc, which recently launched here.

I want to shout out to Scott Mann at WAVE 104.1 who was instrumental in helping me to understand the beehive of activity that is local radio and for taking the time to show me around.

Thanks also to Barry Brown and Mark McKinney at NextMedia, Ron Roberts at Mix 97.7, Matt Sedota of WEZV and Sean Ross of Edison Media Research for helping me to tie the whole thing together like the Dude's rug in "The Big Lebowski."

Kent Kimes is making me a better writer every time I work with him, and that is very much appreciated.

Click here to view the piece. I've got to remember to change the link next week when it goes into the archives.

Getting the hang of this blogging thing. Am I using too many hyper links?

Sick Stooges and Bike Week

This is the time we've been looking forward to. Roll 'em in and Sick Stooges will be there to rock you. Looking forward to three back-to-back shows this weekend: Still Smokin' in Surfside Beach, Celebrity Square at Broadway at the Beach - and House of Blues, opening for ZOSO.

Most Myrtle Beach bands strike while the iron's hot - and Bike Week (Cruisin' the Coast) is the time to get seen. I feel proud to be a part of this outfit, and more later about how we got together, etc.

Here's a shot of our kickass trailer.