Lowdown: TPOH records new songs, plans tour
The Pursuit Of Happiness, whose 20-year-old power-pop anthem "I'm An Adult Now" is still as funny and cool and relevant as it ever was, has reassembled to record two new songs for a hits package and will back it up with a tour.
The Toronto-based band cut a new song, the single "Hey Mary Anne," and a cover of Prince's classic "When Doves Cry." Both will appear on "When We Ruled -- The Best Of The Pursuit Of Happiness," due Nov. 22 on EMI Music Canada.
"I had a meeting with all the people there (EMI) and they haven't heard the new tracks yet, but they're excited about the prospect of working it," says manager Jake Gold of Toronto's The Management Trust. "We actually have a tentative date scheduled for the single, which is going to be delivered to radio the week of Oct. 10, and they're going to ask for adds on Oct. 17. There's not going to be a new video."
Led by singer, songwriter and guitarist Moe Berg, TPOH went through various line-up changes over the years, but everyone who was in place when the band went on "an extended hiatus" in the late '90s signed on -- Dave Gilby (drums), Kris Abbott (backing vocals, guitars), Brad Barker (bass, backing vocals) and Renee Suchy (backing vocals).
"I knew everybody would be into a best of, and then in terms of getting into the studio and recording and possibly playing some shows, that was a conversation I had to have," says Berg, who played a series of reunion gigs with TPOH in 2002.
Berg has been busy with all kinds of endeavors since TPOH's final studio album, 1996 "The Wonderful World Of... " He released a solo album, "Summer's Over" in 1997, a book of short stories titled "The Green Room" in 2000, and produced other artists, most recently Toronto rock band Robin Black, and Baltimore's Andy Bopp of Myracle Brah and Lovenut. He is working on a novel and is slated to work with Toronto band Tacoma Redd at the end of the month and finish up Bopp's tracks in November.
With so much on the go, earlier this year Berg asked Gold if he would manage him. They had known each other for about two decades, but recently socialized more because their wives are good friends. "I've always been friends with Jake, but we just became better friends," says Berg. "I think it was a logical extension of that, and I've always had a ton of respect for Jake, ever since I first met him however millions of years ago. I've always thought he was one of the best managers in Canada.
"Basically, I've been wandering around without an advocate for a really long time and I think that's a lot of the reason why things haven't happened that probably would have happened," Berg explains. "I just needed someone to present opportunities and work out the deals for me."
Case in point, during the initial what-can-I-do-for-you pow-wow, Berg mentioned that Razor & Tie had released "Sex & Food -- The Best Of The Pursuit Of Happiness" in the U.S. The 18-song retrospective, an initiative through Capitol special projects, had never been released in Canada.
"I said, 'Maybe we should see if anyone wants to put one out here. Would you do some new tunes?' and he said, 'yeah,'" Gold recounts.
"So then I started talking to some different labels and then realizing that EMI owned most of masters because they had bought Chrysalis, and the band was originally signed to Chrysalis, I ended up talking to (EMI Music Canada president) Deane Cameron and Deane put Warren Stewart, who is one of the marketing guys over there, on it. Warren said, 'Yeah, we want to do this,' so we ended up negotiating a new deal for them with the two new songs."
EMI didn't own all the TPOH catalogue. Only 1988's "Love Junk" and 1990's "One-Sided Story" were on Chrysalis. There were some indie recordings Berg owned (originally distributed by WEA Canada), plus 1993's "The Downward Road" (Mercury), 1995's Where's The Bone? (Iron Music Group) and the aforementioned The Wonderful World Of... (Iron Music Group). "We went around through the track listing and we licensed those other tracks," says Gold.
Over the summer, pre Katrina, Berg had gone on a road trip to the Gulf Coast with his expectant wife and when he returned wrote five new songs about, what else, being on the road. "Hey Mary Anne" is one of them. He decided to cut that song with the newly-reformed TPOH, along with Prince's "When Dove's Cry, " a song the band often played live.
Producing the two songs himself, Berg, Gilby, Abbott, Barker and Suchy recorded most of the tracks at Chemical Sound and did some stuff at Orange. "I was very impressed with how everyone played and how seriously everybody took it," says Berg. "Everyone behaved the way they behaved when we used to make records back in the day."
The ultimate question is, did it go so well that there's a chance of a brand new studio album from TPOH?
"For us, we let the circumstances dictate what will happen with us," says Berg. "We're more inclined to let whatever demand there is for something manifest itself before we push our own agenda on the world. We didn't come up with the idea of recording new songs. It was (Jake) who suggested it and we went along with it, so I guess it would depend on what kind of influence we got from outside whether we would actually go and do more songs or not."
The track listing for "When We Ruled -- The Best Of The Pursuit Of Happiness" does differ from "Sex & Food -- The Best Of The Pursuit Of Happiness" in more ways than just the addition of the two new recordings.
"I think this one has a few more songs, but this one is a little bit more heavily weighted on material that is already available, whereas the Razor & Tie record has a fair amount of unreleased material on it," says Berg. "The similarities are there were two tracks ("Let My People Go" and "Take You With Me") that we recorded for the 'Love Junk' record that didn't make it on, and both of those are on both records.
"It also features both versions of 'I'm An Adult Now,' both the indie version and the rerecorded version (produced by Todd Rundgren), whereas the other one didn't. The other one had a lot of live tracks and other stuff. This is a really good record to have if you were a Pursuit Of Happiness fan, but didn't buy all the records. It has all the pertinent stuff on it."
Ralph James of Toronto's The Agency Group is presently putting together a tour so TPOH can support the album.
"After I talked to EMI, I talked to Ralph and then asked Moe to talk to the other band members," says Gold. "The idea was if they're going to get together to record these songs, they might as well go do some shows, so we're planning a national tour for December, and will hit most of the major cities. All of that is in the planning stages."
The whole band is up for it, says Berg, but is not willing to slum it, as they might have back in the day.
"If there's a real demand for it, then theoretically we'll be able to travel in a certain degree of comfort," says Berg. "We're not going to rent a jet or anything like that, but it will be somewhere between renting a jet and all piling into a van with our gear and a crew guy and sleeping in the McDonald's parking lot (laughs). Ralph is technically still our agent. As far as I know, the initial inquiries have already been made, so the idea of a Pursuit Of Happiness tour is floating around amongst club owners."
Below, Toronto's Jeff Rogers, TPOH's original manager, and now good friends with Gold and Berg, reminisces about how he first came to work with the band:
"I met Moe around 1985/86. I found out about TPOH two ways. One, I saw the original 'I'm an Adult Now' video on Much. I flipped out and dreamed that it would be so cool to manage them. It seemed impossible to me that they did not already have a manager.
"A few weeks later as they were becoming the Arcade Fire of 1985/6, my close friend Joni Daniels begged me to meet her friends in a band. She said they were great and if I managed them they could really do something. I was working as rock consultant on a movie called 'Hearts of Fire,' starring Bob Dylan and I didn't want to blow it, but, because I loved Joni so much I said I would meet them. She told me the were called "The Pursuit of Happiness" and I think I started to cry.
"I later went with Joni and Erica Ehm to see them at Larry's Hideaway. I loved them like I had never loved any band before. Because of the movie, I couldn't commit immediately and a few weeks went by. They started getting more and more play and eventually achieved something no one else had ever achieved - they became the number one most requested band on both Q107 and CFNY.
"Much continued to support and now Bruce Allen and Val Azzoli were calling to manage them. I kept meeting with them and convinced them to let me help them until they decided what to do. "With the help of John Derringer I got them a gig up at Tony's West near York. John came out and introduced the band for me. I also got them five times the pay they were getting at Lee's Palace the next week. When they played Lee's, Moe made the cover of NOW. I thought I was sunk. Every manager with any juice in Canada was at the show. I couldn't even talk to the band. I waited until everyone left and approached them.
"It took a few weeks and with nothing really under my belt except for some industry people liking me and enthusiasm they signed with me. We worked independently for a while and got friends at WEA Canada to help with a release. Mike McCarty had signed on as publisher. When WEA wanted to continue, the deal wasn't what I thought it should be. At that time, a video in Canada was 100 percent recoupable, but in the U.S. it was 50 percent recoupable. I stood my ground and we did not get the deal.
"McCarty supported us and we eventually found our champion in Kate Hyman at Chrysalis records. She helped us land Todd Rundgren that led to all the great stuff we did together. It was the time of my life. "The other day I went with Meghan to meet our mid-wife. Moe walked in with Laura and we found out they were due two weeks before us. I am sure Moe would agree that our past was amazing but I look forward to sharing new adventure with him and his family starting sometime in November."
Smith Reportedly Quits 'Fletch' Film
Cult movie maker Kevin Smith has reportedly quit the planned film "Fletch Won" after spending years fighting for pal Jason Lee to play the reporter created in the 1980s by Chevy Chase.
The Clerks director's decision to walk away from his labor of love comes after a spat with producer David List, according to film gossip website MovieHole.net.
List tells the site, "Kevin Smith is no longer affiliated with the Fletch film as writer or director. His type of comedy just isn't Fletch. The movie is going to be made, and, if all goes as planned, should be in production in early 2006."
List insists Smith's departure was amicable.
Garden State star Zach Braff has long been a favorite of producers to play the lead character in the long-awaited follow up to 1989 movie Fletch Lives.
Meanwhile, List claims funnyman Chase is being targeted for a cameo appearance in the new Fletch film. The producer adds, "I think it would be great. I think everyone will welcome his being a part of it."
Goldberg Tips DeGeneres As Next Oscars Host
The Color Purple star Whoopi Goldberg has ruled out the possibility of ever hosting the Academy Awards again - and she's recommending Ellen DeGeneres for the job.
Goldberg has had enough after hosting the prestigious ceremony four times, and she believes that fellow comedienne DeGeneres - who recently hosted the Emmy Awards - would be the perfect choice for the job.
She says, "I think actually there's another young lady who would like to do it and so I've got my fingers crossed for her. I think it's Ellen. I think she would be good."
Comedian Chris Rock hosted this year's awards show.
Who Needs Theaters, Anyway?
The major movie studios are stepping up their production of movies intended to go directly to the home video market, Home Media Retailing reported Monday.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment president Craig Kornblau told the publication, "We have a $24 billion business that consumers absolutely love ... and yet there is very little content made only for this business."
Many of the new features being produced for DVD release are being described as "franchises" -- essentially sequels to successful films. Last week, Universal launched "Universal DVD Originals" with Carlito's Way: Rise to Power, a sequel to 1993's Carlito's Way. On Dec. 27, the studio will release the DVD sequel American Pie: Band Camp, starring Eugene Levy.
Sony plans to release Single White Female 2: The Psycho on Oct. 25 and 8MM2 on Nov. 22. New Line is planning sequels to 1994's 8 Seconds and last year's The Butterfly Effect.
And Paramount Home Entertainment President Meagan Burrows told the publication that the studio is "in the process of developing a new [DVD] comedy label."
Conan to Turn Entire Show Over to U2
NEW YORK - In his 12 years in charge of booking musical guests on Conan O'Brien's "Late Night," Jim Pitt always listed U2 and Johnny Cash as the dream artists he'd tried but never succeeded in getting.
He lost his chance with the late Cash, but the U2 dream is coming true Thursday in a major way.
O'Brien will turn over his entire show to the band, which is in New York for seven sold-out engagements at Madison Square Garden.
"We were able to offer them something to feel enough like an event for them to do the show," Pitt said. "It's basically `Late Night with Conan O'Brien,' the U2 edition."
The NBC show has never before devoted itself entirely to a musical guest, although it gave major time a few years back to a holiday appearance by bandleader Max Weinberg's other employer, Bruce Springsteen.
O'Brien's a big U2 fan, and made a personal connection by talking at length with Bono during breaks in rehearsals for the band's "Saturday Night Live" appearance last season, Pitt said.
It may be a nervous time for Bono, who is nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in trying to ease Third World poverty. People who watch the Nobel closely list the lead singer as one of the favorites. The winner is expected to be named Friday.
The band is expected to perform three songs and be interviewed by O'Brien.
Pitt is not pushing for any material in particular.
"When U2 decides they want to come on the show for an hour, you don't get too picky about what they play," he said.
Last year's prime-time hits dominate new TV season
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two weeks into the new U.S. TV season, the biggest hits in prime time are the same shows that topped the Nielsen ratings last year, led by "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost."
Several new shows had promising starts during the past two weeks, including NBC's quirky comedy "My Name is Earl," UPN's Chris Rock-inspired sitcom "Everybody Hates Chris" and a pair of ABC entries -- alien thriller "Invasion" and White House drama "Commander-in-Chief."
But none has exhibited the huge breakout potential of ABC's two surprise sensations from last season, the wry suburban soap opera "Desperate Housewives" and castaway mystery "Lost."
As CBS Chairman Leslie Moonves put it in the New York Times this week in assessing the latest crop of fall offerings, "There are no home runs this season."
The premiere weeks are important to the networks as they try to promote new shows that will attract advertising dollars in the weeks and months to come.
Veteran CBS crime drama "CSI" ranked as the single most watched show on network television for the second straight week of the new season (ending October 2), averaging nearly 28 million viewers, Nielsen Media Research reported on Tuesday.
"Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" followed with 27 million and 23 million viewers, respectively, while also finishing the week as the top two shows among viewers aged 18 to 49, the benchmark group most networks use to gauge prime-time success. "CSI" was No. 3 in the adult 18-to-49 audience.
ABC's highly promoted new political drama "Commander In Chief," starring Oscar winner Geena Davis as America's first female president, launched to solid numbers last Tuesday becoming the night's most watched show and No. 9 for the week.
But Davis was clobbered in the key 18-to-49 race by her "Stuart Little" co-star Hugh Laurie in head-to-head competition against his Fox medical drama "House," another returning show that gained in the Nielsen rankings week to week.
One lackluster launch for ABC was Thursday's debut of its new crime chiller "Night Stalker," which landed at No. 64 in the total audience in tough competition against "CSI."
Meanwhile, last week's three biggest new series -- "Invasion," "My Name is Earl" and the latest CBS detective show "Criminal Minds" -- all lost ground in their second airings.
Still, NBC executives had enough faith in "Earl," which led its time slot in 18-49 ratings, to announce on Tuesday that it would air nine additional episodes of the comedy, giving it a full 22-episode order for the season.
One of the biggest surprises of the new season has been the misfire of NBC's hugely anticipated spinoff of "The Apprentice" starring lifestyle guru and ex-convict Martha Stewart. After its anemic debut, "Apprentice: Martha Stewart" faded further in its second week and has been shifted to a later Wednesday time slot directly opposite "Lost."
The fourth edition of the original "Apprentice," starring real estate mogul Donald Trump, gained a bit of steam this past week but remains well off its mark from last season's average.
Other NBC disappointments include the new Pentagon-based homeland security saga "E-Ring," starring Dennis Hopper, and the fertility clinic drama "Inconceivable," which sank to Nos. 55 and 85, respectively, in total viewers. They fell even lower in the adults 18-49 audience that NBC long dominated. NBC yanked "Inconceivable" from its Friday schedule for at least a week.
CBS, a unit of Viacom Inc. VIAb.N, finished the week again as the most watched network overall and as No. 2 in young adults. ABC, owned by the Walt Disney Co., was first in the 18-49 ratings and No. 2 in total viewers. NBC, part of General Electric Co., was No. 3 by both measures, followed by News Corp Ltd.-owned Fox.
'LOST' MYSTERY
Fans of the hit drama "Lost" are buzzing about the sharp, new change in direction that the series took last week with the appearance of a mysterious logo.
The logo — an octagon with the word "Dharma" in the center — appeared first on a wall inside the mysterious hatch finally breached by the series' stars.
It was glimpsed again later in the episode on the uniform worn by Desmond, who lives in the hatch and — weirdest of all — imbedded onto the tail of a monstrous shark, something sharp-eyed fans discovered only by freeze-framing through replays.
Does the logo represent a corporation, a government organization, a cult?
The logo was never explained on the show and, as usual, ABC refuses to talk about the clue that has been red meat for the show's somewhat obsessive fans for nearly a week.
The appearance of the logo promises to alter dramatically the story that began last year with the marooned survivors of a plane crash trying to survive on a deserted island.
Suddenly, the show is suggesting the survivors are not as alone or cut off from the outside world as viewers were originally led to believe.
In fact, in just two episodes this year, the series writers have begun to indicate that the island is as full of life as a mid-sized town — a surreal mid-sized town, to be sure — and that the crash-survivors are caught up in some larger mystery or conspiracy.
It is the kind of twist that keeps fans buzzing and coming back for more.
Much of the online chatter and blogger specualtion has centered on how the logo seems to be derived from the symbol for the popular Chinese philosphy of feng shui — a set of rules that govern life, spatial arrangement and orientation in relation to patterns of the flow of energy.
"I think the best thing about 'Lost' is that it inspires so much discussion," wrote one fan, Star1, on Tvsquad.com. "I've never seen people scrutinize single [screen shots] from a TV show before. Hats off to that."
"Two Ronnies," "Porridge" star Ronnie Barker dies
LONDON (Reuters) - British comedian Ronnie Barker, the big half of the famous duo The Two Ronnies and the indomitable Fletch in prison sitcom Porridge, has died aged 76.
A spokeswoman for The British Broadcasting Corporation said on Tuesday that the portly, bespectacled star died peacefully on Monday in the presence of his wife. He had been suffering heart trouble.
Tributes poured in for one of Britain's best-loved comics.
"If anybody could have been called a comic genius it was Ronnie," broadcaster Nicholas Parsons told the BBC. "Ronnie Barker was a true icon of situation comedy and character comedy and there was nobody to my mind to touch him."
Michael Hurll, a producer on the Two Ronnies, said Barker's partnership with the diminutive Ronnie Corbett ranked alongside that of Morecambe and Wise in importance.
"I don't think we will see their like again," he said. "Ronnie Barker meant to comedy in this country laughs, big laughs and laughs that you will always remember."
Ronald William George Barker was born in Bedford in 1929. At one stage he considered becoming a bank manager, the kind of middle class, respectable profession he would later parody mercilessly in his sketches.
But he chose the theater instead, appearing in plays and on the radio before breaking into television.
"IT'S GOODNIGHT FROM HIM"
In 1971, he teamed up with Corbett for the first Two Ronnies series, a show based on deft wordplay and comic timing that attracted up to 17 million viewers at its peak.
It ended with a gag that has become a national institution.
In a spoof of a news broadcast, Corbett would bid the audience "goodnight from me," to which Barker, who towered above him, would add "and it's goodnight from him."
Broadcasters sifted through his gags to find Barker's most memorable lines.
Among the contenders was the joke: "The toilets at a local police station have been stolen. Police say they have nothing to go on."
Barker received an OBE, awarded by the state for distinguished work, and won many accolades including most recently a special tribute from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2004.
He once said in an interview: "I would like to be remembered as one of the funniest men that people have seen on television. 'He made us laugh, he did make us laugh, God bless him'."
Despite his success in Porridge and Open All Hours, in which he played the stuttering, lascivious shopkeeper Arkwright, Barker was never comfortable in the limelight and spent his retirement since 1988 running an antique shop in rural England.
"He was very shy, a man uneasy with the fame that came with the job," said chat show host Michael Parkinson.
Barker was survived by his wife, Joy Tubb, a daughter and two sons.