June 10, 2014 · 1:46 pm

Back Alley Draft House

Nestled behind NYPD Pizza on Central Ave in the basement is Back Alley Draft House. You may have heard the name last year when the rains came and flooded the downtown area. There was a picture of the Draft House going around on Facebook with water rushing through the bar. If you missed out on hearing about it then, now is the time to try it.

They are well stock with microbrews from around the country on tap and you can have hot food served up from NYPD Pizza, they share a kitchen. We walked in early on a Saturday evening. The place only had a handful of patrons but the sun was still up. Taking a seat at the bar we were greeted by Kendra the friendly bartender who helped us choose the beer best suited to each of our taste. The Stone Stout is a great choice if like me you love the darker beers. Kendra told us about the place and that there would be an open MIC comedy night there on Mon about 6:30. We took our time drinking our beers. If you have ever had a strong stout you know you only get one and you should enjoy it.

We returned on Mon to check out the open MIC night. Good comedians mostly local one from Detroit. Good laughs, nothing clean or family oriented about the evening. During the day the Back Alley Draft House is a family friendly environment with good food and a big screen TV. Check out The Back Alley Draft House regularly for their cheerful bartenders and rotating selection of microbrews on tap.

Check out more at  New Mexico Entertainment

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June 8, 2014 · 8:28 pm

UNM’s Writer’s Conference

Despite protest in downtown and Nob Hill, and a helicopter falling on UNMH causing the shut down the entire campus Saturday morning, the 2014 UNM Writer’s conference kicked off right on time. Due to power issues the conference, that was scheduled to be at the sub on campus, was moved to the continuing education buildings. The conference open with Anne Hillerman, daughter of Tony Hillerman, as the keynote speaker. She spoke fondly of her father and his passion for writing and of her own. She shared some of her strategies for writing and share excerpts from her new book Spider Woman’s Daughter.

A panel discussion followed with agents and editors from New York answer crowd questions about the business of writing and publishing. Information flew from start to finish about how to write. Jason’s Deli followed the panel discussion with a catered lunch. The dining hall was lively with chatting and people browsing the shopping, book so f course on writing books.

After lunch the classes began. The set up allowed you to choose from three option for the first hour-long workshop and then two choices for the second and third hours of the workshop. It was also time for the editors and the agents to field pitches from the participant. There is nothing as nerve-racking as trying to sell a total stranger on your idea in 10 minutes. It went surprisingly well without anyone passing out or hyperventilating.

The annual event is something that anyone interested in possibly publishing a piece of writing should attend the knowledge to be gained in the first half of the day alone is mind blowing. The classes are icing on the cake of how to start your new career.

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June 5, 2014 · 12:43 pm

J. August Richards

As a young child growing up in Bladensburg MD, all J. August Richards ever wanted to be was an actor. Even then, the only thing better then being an actor to the little boy was to be a superhero. Well, today he has accomplished both of those goals. Playing Deathlok on Marvel® Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has given Richards the chance to play a superhero, and a super-villain and a dad, in the first season of the show alone. We can only image what will happen in the upcoming second season.

At the ripe old age of two, Richards’ parents would put him up on stage everywhere they went to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The applauses and recognition certainly fed into his drive to be an actor. Richards went from the Pledge of Allegiance, to a preforming arts high school, where he honed his talents and applied to only one university. The University of Southern California accepted him to their acting program, offering him scholarships and grants to help him get through school.

His mother, hoping her son would pick a more practical course of study, encourage Richards to go into law. While at University Richards took a Law 101 course, his teacher would spend much of class going back and forth debating with Richards. This prompted his teacher make Richards an offer of going into law when he gave up on acting. Richards never took him up directly on the offer, but went on to play more then one role as an attorney. It probably wasn’t want his mother or teacher had in mind, but even they can’t argue with success.

Angel, one of the roles where his character, Gunn, played an attorney for evil, Richards speaks fondly of the role. “Angel was a challenge, forcing the characters to change almost daily, in turn forcing the actors to grow and stretch with them.” Joss Whedon, the creator of Angel, was a huge influence in Richards’ career. He speaks fondly of the days working with Whedon on Angel and now again working with him on S.H.I.E.L.D. “It’s great to meet my fans and have the parents remember me as Gunn, while the kids know me as Deathlok.” Angel may have ended over ten years ago, but the show is still alive and well in syndication,
creating new fans everyday.

Richards loves any role that challenges his ability to act. “I did a musical one time where I had to learn to tap dance in the six weeks of rehearsal and I did.” He has physical confidence in his body and believes if someone else does it, he can do it. He tries to do as many of his own stunts as he can. “I do them, because I enjoy it,” says Richards.

When ask if he had any hidden talents, Richards says he considers himself to be a good dancer and musician. He has written and recorded songs that he has released on YouTube. He actually posted one of them, so he probably can’t consider his musical side a hidden talent anymore.

Being part of Marvel has been a real-life experience. “I got the part in a matter of two days. The minute I heard Joss was doing Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., I knew I wanted to be a part of it.” Deathlok is a character he has always loved. He is very different from Richards, but there is a deep connection there. “Working with Joss is just beyond a dream.” Deathlok takes two hours a day to get into costume and a half hour to get out.

Richards will be in town for the Albuquerque Comic Expo. “I love Albuquerque, I would love to retire there,” says Richards. He fell in love with New Mexico when he was in college about fifteen years ago. They toured many high schools, doing a musical about chemistry. He rapped about the scientific theory, but claims not to remember a single word about it.

Richards would like to leave a legacy behind that he was a great friend, a good relative, and the person that makes peoples day a little brighter.

When Richards decided to be an actor at such a young age, neither he, nor his parents, knew what to expect from this endeavor. Iconic roles in shows such as Angel and Marvel® Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., to guest star roles in a number of exciting shows, to rocking out on YouTube, Richards’ career has been full and ever-changing. He has no current plans for what comes next, but a quick look at his track record, it’s sure to be another great role his fans can sink their teeth into.

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June 3, 2014 · 7:27 pm

Poor Peoples Flowers Irene Blea

bleacover (2)By Winter Flack

Irene Blea, New Mexico native who earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Colorado Boulder, has released her second novel in the Suzanna series set in 1920’s New Mexico, “Poor Peoples’ Flowers”. The novel picks up with Suzanna, now an adult, husband returning after a two year absent. Suzanna runs away from her life and leaves her children behind in hope of finding a better life. Violence and loneliness permeates life for women in Northern New Mexico, with few options and even fewer ways to escape. The church was the only place to turn for help in those days, for anyone.

The language is authentic and beautifully crafted to fit the times. The description breathes life into the New Mexican countryside. The characters are richly emotional with diverse issues of their own. A Humanities scholar, Blea takes an in-depth look at what drives to make the sometimes-horrible decisions they have to make, and the guilt that comes with life choices. This novel is more then just a look into the past, it’s a message of why society needs the changes that were brought and we need to fight to keep improving the conditions people live in.

An emotionally raw look at abuse that until so recently was considered normal this profound novel will make you re-evaluate your life and that of those around you.

Read more at New Mexico Entertainment Magazine

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April 16, 2014 · 11:37 am

Nightlife in Santa Fe

Pulling into Santa Fe around 8, food was calling our name. First stop Second Street Brewery on 2nd street, in its original location. They had a live band playing in the middle of the floor; an Irish couple on the night in question. The wait was short and made short by the large selection of in-house brews. After a good beer, and some great music, we moved on with our evening.

The Matador is a well-known little gem just off Santa Fe’s famous plaza. A basement dive bar with blaring punk rock, and an eclectic crowd, it’s a perfect place to begin or end your night. In this case we did both. Don’t be fooled by the poster on the wall and ratty bar stools. The Matador can hold its own with any bar in town. Open for seven years, you can enjoy the old movies on the TV or get a seat in the other room around the stripper pole – the choice is yours.

Just down the street from The Matador is The Den. DJ Luna was spinning some serious EDM (electronic dance music). A complete 180 from Matador’s dive bar personality, The Den has high-end furnishings with fireplaces burning. The light show is hypnotic and has well-dressed bartenders serve up of drinks.

The best part about Santa Fe – it’s all right there, so you don’t have to choose. You can cover just about every kind of music you want within a single block next to the plaza.

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April 3, 2014 · 11:27 pm

Christian Kane

So what do a little grey horse, a lawyer for demons, and a criminal turned good have in common? The one and only, actor-singer-songwriter, Christian Kane. We had a chance to catch up with one of our favorite bad boys turned good at the premier of 50 to 1. The story of the amazing crooked footed New Mexico horse that won the Kentucky Derby in 2009. The movie chronicles how the New Mexican cowboys made a long shot dream come true. Christian portrays Mark Allen, one of the owner/trainers of the horse, and was here in Albuquerque for the premier.

Christian first appeared on the Hollywood scene in a show called Fame L.A., which was based off the popular 80’s TV show, Fame. The show was short-lived, but that didn’t stop Christian from charging forward. He had left the University of Oklahoma, with only 15 credit hours to go, in order to pursue his dream in acting. By his own admission, he spent more time studying booze and women then art history while he was there. “School was a character study for me.” Kane says with a smile.

He landed a few small roles in movies before he getting one of the key roles for his career, and one that he will always be remembered for. Lindsey McDonald, attorney extraordinaire for Wolfram and Hart, the largest demonic attorneys office in L.A. and around the world in Joss Whedon’s Angel. Kane thinks Lindsey was such a fan favorite because he was a bad guy with a conscious. Throughout the show, the human lawyer to the demons struggled with his role, sometimes trying to kill the vampire with a soul and sometimes helping him. “Do you know how fun it is to go to work everyday and try to kill your best friend.” Kane says with a laugh, speaking of David Boreanaz, who played Angel. Kane found himself in another defining role a short time later with Leverage. Playing Eliot Spencer, the muscle of the team on the show. Kane gets to demonstrate not only amazing hand-to-hand combat skills in this role, but also a softer, deeper side to his character. He jokes and said he modeled Eliot after B.A. Baracus from The A-Team. “Everyone on set would be like, ‘Oh, you’re doing Clint Eastwood?’ and I would explain, “No, I’m doing B.A. Baracus. They’re all as old as me, so they knew who he was.” Kane jokes.

Thanks to that little known show, Fame L.A., Kane got a taste for singing. In his hometown, there were a lot of talented musician and singer, like Garth Brooks, and Kane never thought his talent measured up. After singing on TV, he found a passion for singing he couldn’t deny. “We use to play the Viper Room (in L.A.) for women and whiskey,” Kane says fondly. His passion for music made it hard for him to turn it into a business, like acting, but he has been successful at it nonetheless. There was a point where the Rock ’n Roll lifestyle got a little out of hand for him and his band mates, but they have pulled it back together and balanced it out. Kane is proud to be a singer/songwriter and says if you give him a title to one of his songs, he’ll give you a story behind it. All the songs he writes are from the heart and the few he doesn’t deeply resonate with him. He loves both his career choices and has no plans to sacrifice one for the other anytime soon.

Kane shared that it was great to be back in New Mexico. Ten years ago, Kane and Skeet Ulrich shot a little movie in Santa Fe called Into The West with Steven Spielberg. They became fast friends on the set and have talked off and on over the years but this would be the first time they had seen each other since Santa Fe. “It was another relationship that I wouldn’t have to work hard on for this movie.” Kane’s character and Ulrich’s characters are best friends in 50 to 1. This movie was great to shoot and required very little acting from Kane. When he arrived in New Mexico he sat down with Mark Allen himself. Having read the script, Kane wanted to hear the story straight from the horse’s mouth, and he got it. “We [Mark Allen] opened a bottle of Patron, and about ten minutes in, I realized I didn’t have to act. I can show up and be myself. We don’t fall far from the same tree, me and him.”

With a grin, Kane says he never talks about pending projects that are coming down the pipeline. “If I told ya, I’d have to kill ya,” Kane says jokingly. “I don’t talk about or get excited about projects until we roll film, it’s just the way it is, but I do have something coming.” Kane did talk about a project he just wrapped called Allstars with Fred Willard and shared how he ruined every take laughing at the ad lib Willard would provide. “He is the King of making things up,” says Kane. “His delivery is so good, I’m laughing the whole time.”

When asked what legacy he wanted to leave behind, Kane shared three things he felt were worthy of being carved into a tombstone.
Number one: Early in his career he was taught how to be a cowboy by Tom Selleck [in Crossfire Trail].
Number two: He got to play Robert Duval [in Secondhand Lions].
Number three: He got to work with Calvin Borel on a horse [in 50 and 1].
“We are in the business of immortality,” says Kane. “So when I go, I’ll be around.”

With his acting legacy already firmly in place, and country albums in circulation, we can only wonder what Christian Kane will do next. The one thing can all rest assured in, he will look good while doing it.

New Mexico Entertainment Magazine

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March 29, 2014 · 12:02 am

Critique Groups

So I decided to take the next step in being a better writer. Well, ok, not exactly. My husband has been writing a screenplay since before we met, a short. I started dragging him with me to my writer’s group and introduced him to some other screenplay writers. He decided to join their critique group. You are probably wondering why this should make any difference to my writing, but I’m getting to that.
He is being critique tonight so I’m tagging along. I’ve have never been to a critique group before. I rely mostly on my friends who read the genre that I write in. You may think I’m being a wuss but when pushed my friends can be just has biting and critical as anybody else. Sometimes more so, or that might just be my take on it.
First thing I can tell you about critique groups is that they look a lot like any meeting where people are going to talk about their addiction. There is plenty of caffeine and sugar available everywhere you turn. You can tell who is on the chopping block for the evening because of the pale deer in headlights look on their faces.
At the sound of the bell everyone gathers around the table. Critics are given 2-5 minutes, timed, to state what they like and what they didn’t like. They make it around the circle quickly with no response from the person whose screenplay it is. After everyone states what he or she have to say there is a 10 minutes discussion period before they move on to the next victim.
I have to say it wasn’t has painful as I was expecting. There were a lot of great ideas kicked around the table. It’s truly amazing to see a group of people sharing the knowledge of something they love. A critique group has it’s upsides by my little group of friends might kill me if I didn’t let them read it first.

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March 21, 2014 · 9:12 pm

Meet the people behind the scenes, Janine

At a Flying Star in downtown Albuquerque, I grab a latte and wait to talk to one of the city’s newest arrivals. It seems a fitting venue to talk with her about being a makeup artist to the stars. Outside these four walls, the streets are lined with movie trailers that are closing up shop for the day. On the second level there are actors running lines for the “next greatest thing” shooting here in town. Luckily the downstairs is sparsely filled for 3 in the afternoon, so talking will be easy.

Janine is from Long Island, a cosmetologist in the Big Apple. Some of you, like myself, might wonder what a girl like her is doing in a town like this. The short answer is Fate.

About a year ago, while managing a cosmetic counter by day and doing makeup for photo shoots and movies by night, Janine decided she needed a change. Born and raised a New Yorker, she hesitated to leave the city and her grandparents behind. While assessing her life to make a change, she experienced the tragic loss of her grandfather. She temporarily put her search for meaning on hold when she received another shock at his funeral. Her grandmother was moving to New Mexico to live with family members. To her surprise, she felt free to leave Long Island. In a moment of liberation, she asked her family how far Albuquerque was from Austin, Texas – a place she had been considering for a while.

She made a phone call to a longtime friend who lived in Austin to find out more about what it was like. This was her chance to start her life fresh and spend more time working on her dream, not just her survival.  He mentioned she should really consider New Mexico.  With the tax breaks and successful shows filming in the area, it might be just what she was looking for. That was the motivation she needed.  She headed out to visit her family in Rio Rancho and investigate the neighborhood. Shortly after her return home, she packed up and relocated out west.

She can’t stop smiling when she talks about her good fortune and the wonderful people she has met since moving here. “The community here is so open and friendly. Everyone is so supportive,” she raves.

When asked about what she likes best about her job, she bubbles over about the creative freedom her job allows. She is an artist to the core with a love for all mediums, but her first love will always be using the face as a canvas, especially when she gets to create fictitious symptoms and a fictional disease. She worked on a film where she was able to decide what the effects of a deadly nanovirus would look like on its victims. Among other gruesome symptoms, the infected character sweated blood.

On another occasion she worked with contestants in a costume contest sponsored by a tequila company. She convinced her lovely lady to have her makeup done like Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, who was there. Her contestant won hands down.

Thanks to her day spent working on that contest, she was asked to help Snider and his family shoot an Indie film with third graders as the stars. “It was amazing to work with him (Dee) and his family.  They are creative geniuses. If there was anyone I would drop everything for and fly back to New York to help, it would be the Snider family”.

When asked how little Hollywood in New Mexico compares to the Big Apple she says there is no comparison. Albuquerque has given her the sense of peace in her heart she has been looking for. Since arriving in town, she has been doing makeup for everything from photo shoots to movies to donating her spare time to help worthy causes (low budget indie projects). She will forever be grateful to the friend who told her Albuquerque is the place to be. She misses New York from time to time, especially her friends and family, but she is making new memory here in her new home.

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March 18, 2014 · 5:46 pm

George R R Martin

By Winter Flack & Teresa Ewers

Many have witnessed the thrill of the HBO series Game of Thrones. But there are those who have been fans for years because of the writer, the 5’6″ bearded legend we know as Martin – George R.R. Martin. Going as far back as 1971, George has been writing science fiction for the mass. He began with publishing more then fifty short stories by 1977. His first novel was published in 1977, hitting a total of four by the early eighties. The fourth novel called The Armageddon Rag was a contemporary novel set in the 1980’s. It got great reviews, but it was a commercial disaster. With a black mark on his record, he couldn’t find a publisher who would touch him.

“Luckily for me when that door was closing, another door was opening in Hollywood,” shared Martin.

The book that almost ended his career was optioned for a film adaptation. Although the movie was never made, it introduced George to movie making. CBS at the time was looking to bring back The Twilight Zone. The shows producer turned to science fiction writers to create scripts for the shows, even writers with no screenwriting experience. Martin did a script for the show, followed by another, and then, before he knew it, he was on staff out in Los Angeles. He never left Santa Fe, needing a calm place to call home. Working in Los Angeles was an amazing time and he worked with some marvelous people, but he wanted to come back and live in New Mexico.

After his time in Hollywood, he decided it was time to put his own shows in development. It was a time of learning in his life. In Hollywood, you can pour a year of your life into developing characters and a story, and, through no fault of your own, they will kill your show idea. Martin decided, at that point, he needed an audience that he could entertain. He wanted to create things that people could enjoy, no matter what four guys in suits had to say. With this in mind, he went back to his first love – writing. He put his effort into writing Ice and Fire, which became Game of Thrones, currently playing on HBO. After five years of trying to write something that would turn into a TV show, his most long and complicated work becomes a hit. Martin loves the way the show has turned out, being that the books are his babies. Each one is about 1500 words. These take him years to write, so he found a great team – David Benioff and D.B. Wiess – to handle the majority of the show’s writing. They write about seven, out of the ten, episodes a season. He does write one script a season for the show. He wishes they could run for twelve episodes so that they could get more of the books into the show itself.

Martin continues to be an acclaimed writer and is now a theater owner. George R.R. Martin re-opened the Jean Cocteau Theater in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2013. The theater had originally opened in the 1970’s and George had watched many movies there in his time. Citing his main reasons – one of them being they had the best popcorn in all of Santa Fe – the darkened theater sitting empty made him sad. After months of wondering why someone wasn’t reopening the theater, he realized he should be the one to take on the challenge. Now, they show movies, music, and magicians in the theater. If your lucky, you can catch the showings of Game of Thrones. “A little piece of Santa Fe history and the Santa Fe community bought back to life,” says Martin, who is involved in picking out what comes through the theater, but most of the decision runs through Jon who manages the theater. Jon has ties with the film community in Santa Fe and sets up great finds for everyone, of every taste, to come and enjoy at the theater. “I occasionally chime in from the owner’s box and say I want to see Red Planet.” jokes Martin. “We opened with my favorite science fiction movie and we had Robbie the Robot here.” In case there are a few of you out there who aren’t into theater, they also have book signing and author events from time to time at the theater. There is no excuse if you live in Santa Fe to miss out on this little theater.

When Martin has some down time, he spends it with his wife, Parris, who both offer support to The Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary in New Mexico. He also does a lot of reading these days and science fiction & fantasy has been his go-to for literature. It started at a very young age with comic books and has just continued to grow. Nickel paperbacks to full novels, he has never been able to kick his habit. He likes to throw in a good mystery, or historical fiction, every once in a while.

When asked what he would like his legacy to be, he turned to one of his most inspired writers, J. R. R. Tolkien. “I think every writers dreams that his books will last. That’s what I hope of.” says Martin. “I was very flattered a number of years ago when People magazine called me the “American Tolkien” because I’m a huge fan. I read him in high school. He was the man who redefined modern fantasy. Just being mentioned in the same reference as him is a great compliment. And if my books are read 100 years after I wrote them and I can become a candidate of fantasy like Tolkien’s books have, that would be enough legacy for me.” He has a goal for the theater as well. “I hope that the Jean Cocteau here will last. I hope the revived Cocteau last another 22 years where people can watch movies, listen to music and eat our popcorn, which is still the best popcorn in New Mexico, with real butter!”

George R.R. Martin is a multi-talented individual who puts his heart and soul into everything he does, hoping to entertain people along the way. Make sure you check out the Jean Cocteau Theater in Santa Fe and enjoy the hit series Game of Thrones on the big screen or pick up the book. Either way, you will step into a world beyond your wildest imagination.

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March 13, 2014 · 3:24 pm

Dum Dum Girls

The melodic beats of “Boys and Girls Club” off the album Too True by the Dum Dum Girls will transport you back to the 90s. A time when girl power was everything and black eyeliner was a must, Sub Pop recorders deliver this band to us. Many of you who are familiar with classic acts, like Nirvana, know that this label only chooses the grungiest, most melon collie bands to dispense to the masses, and the Dum Dum Girls deliver beautifully. The haunting vocals of singer/ song writer Dee Dee Penny (aka Kristin Welchez), induce a trance like state some where between euphoria and wondering where it all went wrong.

The new album Too True follows the bands Only in Dreams LP from 2011 and the End of Daze EP in 2012. The End of Daze EP received best in music from Pitchfork, and the single “Lord Knows” received best new track the same year from Pitchfork. Pitchfork host two major music festivals a year one in Chicago Il and the other in Paris France. They also have topped the list with their singles on CMJ.com. For those in the know, CMJ connects music fans with new music and offers digital discovery services. The band’s original heartache and lo-fi style has given way to a stronger more polished vibe in the new album. If you have been looking for a new band that doesn’t sound like everyone else out there on the pop music station, I suggest you strap on your doc martens and play the record loud. If your neighbors aren’t banging, then you not doing it right.

With sold out shows across the nation, Dum Dum Girls are attacking quite a following. They will be playing locally here at Sister on March 10th. Luckily for us in the Land of Enchantment there are still tickets available. Visit http://holdmyticket.com/event/153125 to buy your tickets for the show.
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