McRad
From Dan DeLuca's "In the Mix"
For those of you unfamiliar with the Philadelphia skatepunk-hardcore-ska-session musician scene, Chuck Treece is the only multi-instrumentalist around town who's plied his trade for the Bad Brains, Busta Rhymes and Billy Joel (he played bass on "River of Dreams"), not to mention such Philadelphia luminaries as the Goats, Stiffed, Nancy Falkow, G. Love, Jeffrey Gaines, and King Britt.
Though Treece is the kind of guy who's mostly known by those in the know, he steps into the spotlight every now and again. Back in the day, the former Black Lily house drummer fronted a rap-rock outfit called Black Beans, and in 1991 he released Dream'n, his sole solo album. These days . . . Treece is back out front with his original Philadelphia punk band, McRad.
There's a new McRad album coming out on Sept. 4 on Uprising Records. It's called F.D.R. after the skatepark in South Philly where the 43-year-old Treece, who was a sponsored professional skater from 1982 to 1990, still skates. And last Thursday, McRad headlined a show at the Khyber that was a benefit for the Paine's Park Project, the planned skate park to be built near the Art Museum along the banks of the Schuykill that's meant to make up for the city's egregious sin of banning skateboarding in Love Park.. . .
When McRad hit, the half-full house burst into action like Ping-Pong balls in a lottery machine.. . . The music was pulverizing enough in its physicality to warrant the hyperactivity.
Why the Blond Hair?
From "Mirror Image"
http://go.philly.com/mirrorimage
Philly-born and -bred rapper Eve appeared on Good Morning America last week. The 28-year-old sometime actress and sometime fashion designer performed her singles "Ringtone" and "Give It to You" from her new album, Here I Am.
Dressed in a sleek pair of black, wide-legged pants and a white shirt, Eve lived up to her fashion reputation. She looked great.. . . She was really classy. Except for . . .
Her 'do: Platinum blond hair in a Farrah Fawcett flip.
Ugh!
I know many of you are going to refer to me as a hater, so I'm bracing myself. But I love the natural beauty of all women and it just kills me that still so many black women opt to rock platinum-blond tresses. Those sisters born with blond hair, rock on! But those of us who dye our hair blond, what's the deal? I know it's a style choice, but it's one I never understood.
Somebody please explain.
- Elizabeth Wellington
Money for Ben?
From "ArtsWatch"
http://go.philly.com/artswatch
A refurbished underground museum at Franklin Court has made it onto a list of 201 National Park Service projects eligible for federal matching funds over the next 10 years, federal officials said last week.
The $18 million re-do of the bicentennial-era museum - beneath Robert Venturi's famous "ghost house" image of Ben Franklin's long-demolished residence - has already attracted a $6 million grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts. The 200-plus projects announced form the core of what officials call the "Centennial Challenge" - a push to match $1 billion in federal dollars with $1 billion in private money to spruce up the nation's parks by 2016, the 100th birthday of the park service.
If Congress approves the Bush Administration proposal, $100 million in federal money will be available for matching annually over the next decade.
Several Pennsylvania projects made it onto the list, including the Franklin museum renovation; design and construction of the Flight 93 National Memorial near Somerset, and the rehab of Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg National Military Park.
- Stephan Salisbury