First and foremost...MUSIC!!! Also Travel, Movies, Sports, Video & Photography, the Internet, Food & Drink, Trivia & Games
Music
First off, I'd like to proudly state that I am both a Bruce Tramp (Springsteen's been my favorite muscian; since '78) and a Parrothead (of the "BIG" clan). I love all things Motown, Stax & Rounder...and support the artists of the Lost Highway, Yep Rock and Bloodshot labels. I dig the early rock and doo wop of the 50's, have fond memories of most all classic rock, pop, and soul from the 60's and 70's; and am a big fan of 80's giants U2 and R.E.M. Since then, and with the decline of the music that is popular with the masses, I have "gone underground", so to speak; spending my energies on those lesser-known musicians that struggle daily to ply their craft. Continuing on, Freddie Mercury and Stevie Ray Vaughn were the most gifted frontman and guitar player, respectively, that I ever saw perform live; and I strongly believe that The Who, in their prime, were THE greatest rock band of all time. I also believe that Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Springsteen, Kevn Kinney, Todd Snider, Scott Miller, Conor Oberst, and Jackie Greene are the most gifted songwriters of their respective generations; and that Pat Boone should have been publicly flogged for ever singing Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti". Finally, I faithfully follow my brother's advice and only play Tom Waits records AFTER midnight; and, to this day, the most beautiful sound I've ever heard was Karen Carpenter's voice singing over the AM radio of my school bus when I was thirteen years old. ALL THAT SAID .....my favorite musicians CURRENTLY working today include Blue Rodeo, Marah, Will Hoge, Will Kimbrough, Tommy Womack, Todd Snider, Scott Miller, Jackie Greene, Franky Perez, Sam Roberts, Jason Ringenberg/Jason & the Scorchers, Ian Moore, Tift Merritt, Ryan Adams, Wilco, Jesse Malin, Martin Sexton, Grayson Capps, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Brandi Carlile, Deadstring Brothers, Gary Louris, Tom Wilson, Blackie & the Rodeo Kings, Ryan Bingham, Mike Plume, Shawn Byrne, Dan Cohen, Mike Farris, Felice Brothers, Jason & the Scorchers, Dead Rock West, Back Porch Mary, The Soundtrack of our Lives, Michael McDermott, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Rodney Crowell, Trish Murphy, Kevn Kinney/drivin' 'n' cryin', Old 97's, Steve Forbert, Paul Westerberg, John Eddie, Social Distortion, Soul Asylum (yes, they're still around!), Cowboy Mouth, Hothouse Flowers, Tom Petty, John Mellencamp, Bonnie Raitt, John Prine, Lyle Lovett, Joe Ely, John Hiatt, Reckless Kelly, Hayes Carll, Adrienne Young, David Baerwald, Beth Wood, Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise, Alejandro Escovedo, Keb Mo, Rob Thoroworth, Sloan, Cowboy Junkies, The Sadies, The White Stripes, Matthew Ryan, and Steve Poltz. And, those musicians whose last names are only needed to evoke a smile: Dylan, Clapton, McCartney & Young.
Movies
Because I love movies almost as much as I do music (scary, eh?), I will do something different other than listing a bunch of my favorites (there's simply too many). Instead, I will list currently working directors and actors of whom I enjoy their whole catalog. (Directors) CAMERON CROWE, Spielberg, Scorcese, Robert Zemeckis, Ron Howard, David Mamet, Rob Reiner, Christopher Guess, Kevin Smith, Michael Mann, Clint Eastwood, Ethan & Joel Cohen, Bobby & Peter Farrelly, Chris Nolan, Lasse Hallstrom, Wes Anderson, and P.T. Anderson. Special recognition for PETER JACKSON, for pulling off the greatest film experience of all...THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. (Actors) TOM HANKS, JULIETTE BINOCHE, John Cusack, Steve Buscemi, Russell Crowe, John Goodman, Jeff Bridges, Morgan Freeman, Steve Martin, Johnny Depp, Naomi Watts, Gael Garcia Bernal, Benicio Del Toro, Paul Giamatti, Don Cheadle, Viggo Mortensen, Vince Vaughn, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Willima H. Macy, Ed Harris, Matt Dillon, Jody Foster, Michael Keaton, John Malkovich, Liam Neeson, Alec Baldwin, John C. Reilly, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Jeremy Piven, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Craig David, Rebecca Pigeon and, of course, all those legendary actors whose last names are only needed to evoke a smile: Nicholson, DeNiro, Pacino, Hoffman, Newman, Hopkins, Caine, Duvall.
Television
SNL (LONG time fan), The Daily Show (Jon Stewart for President!) and pretty much all of Comedy Central (except that inexpliably-popular South Park), My Name Is Earl, The Office, ESPN (especially The Sports Reporters), The Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, the Discovery and History Channels, Food Network and VH1 Classic.
Books
It should be no surprise that I enjoy all the good music mags around. I have subscriptions to Backstreets, No Depression, Rolling Stone (for the serious articles), and Harp. HOWEVER...I have been on a SERIOUS kick in the past couple years; to seek the truth about what's happening in this country; in particular our involvement in the Middle East. For awhile, I was on a kick with reading David Ray Griffin's books: "The New Pearl Harbor", "The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions", and "Christian Faith and the Truth behind 9/11" (only read these if you have an open mind and want to look at the facts). And, there's SO many fascinating books out there with information that Major Media doesn't cover in depth (if at all). "House of Bush, House of Saud"...about the thirty-year history between the two most powerful families in the world...is one you won't be able to put down. Another is "Intelligence Matters", by Congressman Bob Graham; "The End of America", by Naomi Wolf (dyk that the ten basic principles of establishing & maintaining a totalitarian state are in place in this country?); "The Shadows of Power" (find out who's REALLY in power in this country/world); and "Anatomy of Deceipt" (the truth about the Valerie Plame outing). Two truly masterful investigative works on the quagmire that our country is in in Iraq were done by Christian Miller, in his book "Blood Money", and "Fiasco: The American Military Adventure In Iraq", by Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas E. Ricks. Another favorite of mine is Richard A. Clarke's "Against All Enemies"...a book that every American should read. That goes for Victor Gold's "Invasion of the Party Snatchers"; as well. Perhaps the best written book I've read during this reading-run I've been on is "The One Percent Doctrine"; by Ron Susskind. I also read his first book, "The Price of Loyalty". Another book that is an excellent read is Christopher Hitchens' "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything". Then, I got both laughs and knowledge from "The Brotherhood of the Disappearing Pants"; and with Al Franken's "Lies: and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them"; and "The Truth; with Jokes". EXCELLENT INFO IN THERE! Others include Bob Woodward's third book on Bush 43..."State of Denial"; "State Of War", by James Risen; and "America At The Crossroads", by Francis Fukuyama (both excellent!). I also read the short humor book by Calvin Trillin, "A Heckuva Job". VERY funny! Finally, I also recently read "Tuesdays with Morrie"; by Mitch Albom; a WONDERFUL book about the really important issues: Life, Death, & Love.
Heroes
Anyone who, through their career choice, helps or aids others who are less fortunate due to disease, poverty or natural disaster; or who live their lives daily with consideration towards others. Mean people really DO "suck".
Jacksonville High School
Jacksonville,Alabama
Graduated: 1976
Student status: Alumni
Degree: High School Diploma
Clubs: FBLA, Math and Science clubs, Basketball team.
Hello, my name is Steve Hassenplug, and I live in the Birmingham, AL, southern suburb of Pelham. My MySpace name is a combination of my two nicknames: Sparky, and Birmingham Steve. I am a music junkie; and am at my happiest when I am sharing music with my friends: discussing our favorites, absorbing information and history, meeting new people through current friends, and most of all, of course, GOING TO CONCERTS! Whether it has been being with my brother on the front row of a sold-out (66,000 people!) Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band concert at the old Mile High Stadium in Denver...on the Boss's 36th birthday, no less; or listening to Will Kimbrough and Tommy Womack at a cozy house concert, I am...like many of you...hooked for life. And, in wanting to give something back to those musicians who have and continue to give me so much enjoyment with their craft, I started this site to promote and support them in my own way. So, if you feel like I do (pardon the Frampton reference), please add me as a friend, and check my site each day to see which artist I am featuring on "Sparky's Song of the Day". Also, feel free to look through my friends list; there are plenty of interesting musicians and bands (and people :-)) worthy of checking out. Finally, feel free to sign up to receive notice of my new blog postings. I will be using them, and the bulletin space area, to announce & review concert tours and new album releases, and offer the occasional rant & rave regarding current pop culture and its relationship to music. Actually, I have no idea what the last part of that last sentence means...but, it sure does sound good.
:-)
Who I'd like to meet:
First and foremost, TINA FEY. Smart, funny, and beautiful. Other famous people who I have great admiration for include KEITH OLBERMANN and JON STEWART!!, CAMERON CROWE, Bob Costas, Bruce Springsteen, Bono, Tom Petty, BB King, The Funk Brothers, Tom Hanks, Juliette Binoche and John Cusack (my favorite actors), Lance Armstrong, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Roger Staubach and Johnny Bench (my favorite sports stars). Regarding my favorite musicians/bands, I've been very fortunate to meet most of them; and befriend several.
My Comment Box
Leave me a comment: Rather than using "Add Comment" link on the bottom, just use the form below to send me a comment!
I hope that your discerning tastes might also encompass my music.
And if there is anyone on your friends list that you think might like my music would you please be so kind as to pass on the word by sharing the player below (which incidentally contains over 20 songs).
We are proud to announce that after MUCH hard work and effort, The Sheriffs of Nottingham will be releasing our debut CD, "Hard Places: The EP" on Saturday, November 14th.
Track Listing: 1. Running Man 2. Easy 3. Hard Places 4. The Road 5. He Said/She Said 6. Same Old Song 7. Nineteen Eighty-Four
We are extremely proud of this CD and cannot wait for you to hear what we've been working on for so long! We will be releasing the CD early online, so visit back often for more details. For now, you can listen to two full tracks (Running Man and Nineteen Eighty-Four) on our MySpace.
We thank you for your patience and support and we hope to see you at a live concert soon,
Folk-Blues singer-songwriter/published author David Olney BROADCASTING LIVE on USTREAM Today Sept., 8th! David explores history of humor, interview a Mime, and shares trademark song. 7:00pm Eastern (6:00pm Central) .
Join us and throw David your curveball question...LIVE on the 'net!!! C'mon ask David anything via Live Chat or Twitter!
Thanks for posting Will Kimbrough's show from the Duck - it sounded as good as I remembered the morning after!
Followed your suggestion and checked out Jackie Greene's music... simply awsome!
Hope to be at the Duck this Friday to catch Packway Handle and then definitely at 40-watt the next night to catch them sharing the stage with Corduroy Road.
Ordered my ticket to Bristol's Rhythm and Roots Reunion festival this September and look to attend the Blackpot this October with the Red Stick Ramblers.
thanks for the constructive criticism, its nice to hear some opinions. The "synthesizer" you're speaking of is just some effects we used in the recording process(compression, eq, slight auto tune etc)
I have to work on Wed., but I hope to make it out to next week's show. Thanks for telling me about GPN..she is phenomenal! I dig her voice, and I have enjoyed checking out your youtube channel. I have listened to some of Will's stuff and can't wait for the new stuff.
Thanks for the friendship.. Hope you enjoy the music and message behind it. My mission in life is to fight Human Trafficking. understanding the individual pain of others is sometimes to painful for an other individual to touch and that is frightening ...what i mean is that someone whose life is not traumatized and brutalized as a regular sequence of every day events unconsciously seeks the camouflage and shelter of apathy and banality from the reality of such devastating anguish and terror ...but the spirit of young people who are used as sex slaves in the systematized global industry of human trafficking is now reaching out to the human fellowship in hope and desperation and through technology ...it is scary when humanity turns a blind eye to this horror ...its like ignoring genocide whilst it is happening ...what i am asking is that if you hear the cry of these young people who are existing in an environment of torture and brutality each and every day that you then please do not turn away from them ...please reach deeply into your heart and soul and please in 2009 join a movement or become a part of an event that challenges modern slavery in the 21st century ...
XO
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