Friday, July 25, 2008

NEW COHORTS

Additions to the Cohorts are:

~ After being in the Joplin media for more than two years, I have learned that everyone has a story about this guy, and everyone has a story about one of the guys behind Idiocracy Now!, namely John Hacker. About those stories you hear: They are all accurate, and hilarious. For those who don't know, the face on Hacker's blog belongs to MSSU faculty advisor T.R. Hanrahan (fan of AN Ohio State University), who slaughters, maims and rips Hacker new ones on his blog rather regularly, whenever T.R. feels like writing something. Hacker takes his role as whipping boy gracefully, so it's good to see some retribution. Get 'em, Hacker!

~ Photoshop Disasters has become a guilty pleasure. I found the link from the Grammarphile, chief typist of Red Pen, Inc. and official friend of the Mailbox, to whom I used to send all kinds of typos -- so much so that she thought southwest Missouri was the bad grammar capital of the world. (Sorry, G-phile, I's been lazy lately.) ANYWAY... the PsD site should be required viewing for any teenaged girl who believes that fashion magazines present an iota of reality.

~ Joplin Daily Photo (which has nothing to do with the defunct publication) provides a daily glimpse at our beloved JoMo. At least it does when it is regularly updated. But one of the team members behind it is Nate, official friend of the Mailbox. He recommended two of the outstanding teens serving on the Globe's Youth Editorial Board.

~ One of the things I miss about working in the Springfield Metro is the large amount of blogs kept by people in the media -- especially our TV personalities. Granted, because of Joplin's market size, Joplin is a great place to start a career in TV, which means there's a fair amount of movement. But there are plenty of TV reporters I've met who are smart, savvy and oughtta be writing on the Web. I'm lookin' at you, Iris Hermasillo and Gretchen Bolander. C'mon -- if Brad Douglas is brave enough to maintain this awesome Spider Man site, then you have no excuse.

~ While I'm thinking about local TV stations, props to KODE's Good Morning Four States, which has the cojones to publish its bloopers on its site. Funny stuff.

~ Down in Vibes, I'm adding Hydrovibe, a band that is growing on me quickly. The first I heard of them was some snarky newsroom comments about how the band with a song on the Saw 3 soundtrack was coming to Joplin. ("You mean THAT BAND? I listen to the Saw 3 soundtrack ALL THE TIME!" Those kinda snarky comments.) Because they were a rock band, I volunteered to interview them. And I'm glad I did. Here's the story from Friday's Globe.

Hydrovibe was already signed to a big label, but decided to do things their own way and go the indie route. But the indie scene is, for the most part, a mishmash of dissonant, scrambled, flighty artists who obviously are not destined for the big-time, yet the fans think that big-time equals selling out, so their bad music is placed on a pedestal. Not the case with Hydrovibe: I'm hooked on its five-song EP, "Killer Inside."

It's a band with solid bass and drums, intricate guitar work on top of solid power chords, surprising chord progressions and a surprisingly abrasive yet addictive lead voice. Heather St. Marie sounds like she could scream death metal for hours and not need lemon and horehound tea afterward. She reminds me of a female Lajon Witherspoon, lead singer of Sevendust. Note to Walls of Jericho: St. Marie shows how to sing rough and raw without resorting to Cookie-Monster vocals. ANYWAY... the lyrics she sings are relevant to guys and girls, unlike those other girl-fronted bands. All I'm sayin'. They are in Joplin on Monday, and I can't wait to see the show. Their CD should be out in September, and I can't wait to get it.

Their logo has a fleur de lis, as well. They had me there, truth be told.


Comments:
Thanks for the stellar review, Joe. We definitely had a great time in Joplin and are looking forward to our return!

xx Heather St. Marie
HYDROVIBE
 
Grrr. Git some followers.
 
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