The band will begin their efforts by donating to mental health organizations. 1€ of every tour ticket and 3€ for every turquoise vinyl sold via their band shop, as well as collecting donations at live shows and with more contributions planned for the near future.
You can find more information on the organizations here:
“The Friday Edition” by Betta Ferrendelli is set in Denver, Colorado. Although, the book opens with a young district attorney falling to her death, don’t let it dissuade you from visiting Denver in the future.
Samantha Church is a reporter for a local newspaper. She is the sister of Robin, the district attorney who died in the first chapter. Both sisters had issues with alcoholism. Robin had been sober up until the day of her death.
Samantha hasn’t admitted to herself that she has a problem with alcohol. She has already lost custody of her daughter and fired from a decent job at a different newspaper. You could say that things are not going well for her in any way.
Sam has a feeling that Robin did not commit suicide. The police are ready to close the investigation because they believe that she jumped off her balcony on purpose. Sam wants to follow her instincts and find out whatever she can about Robin’s last few months at work.
After some digging in Robin’s files, she gets in touch with a police officer, Rey, who had been helping Robin on a drug ring investigation. Sam and Rey are positive that Robin found out something that was going to upset the wrong people.
Sam tries to sober up in order to do some investigative reporting. Unfortunately, alcoholism doesn’t care about deadlines. She messes up quite a bit but manages to redeem herself. Sam is the underdog but I kept hoping that she would overcome her challenges.
If you are interested in reporters, cops and mysteries, then you will probably enjoy “The Friday Edition.”
If you are easily triggered by bad cops, then you should hold off reading it for a bit longer.
Vanilla Sugar is here to slay all day. She is originally from Houston but currently residing in Los Angeles. Stay tuned to find out what Vanilla Sugar has on her mind.
I just released my first album, “She.” I have been touring since Jan 3, and look forward to touring more of the world this year.
Where was your first concert as a fan? As a performer?
My first concert as a fan was the All That Music and More Festival in Houston, Tx in the late 90’s. It was a lot of fun! My first concert as a performer was at my 8th grade talent show.
Do you think that there’s an alternate reality? If so, what is the alternate you doing?
I do believe in alternate realities. I think one of the alternate versions of me is a lawyer.
New Year’s Resolutions. Yay or Nay?
I don’t believe in New Years resolutions. I feel like you can’t set a date on bettering yourself. It takes time and is different for everyone.
What have been the best musical holiday moments in your life?
I used to play French Horn in school. I really enjoyed all of our Christmas concerts. The music is fun to play.
Favorite holiday song?
My favorite holiday song is “Carol of the Bells”.
Least favorite holiday song?
My least favorite holiday song is “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”
What do you want people to know about your music?
It’s a mix of Electronic, Pop, Metal..it’s so different and weird; I love it!
Twenty-four-year-old Sue Ann Miller was a secretary at Ohio Dominican College. On the evening of March 22, 1976, her neighbor found Miller fully clothed in the bathtub of her home. Miller’s husband has called the neighbor because he was concerned that Miller was not answering the phone.
The coroner had a difficult time determining the cause of death. Although she was wearing a scarf, it was not used to strangle her. Miller also did not drown in the bathtub. The official cause of her death was eventually ruled asphyxiation. Miller may have been smothered with a pillow before being placed in the bathtub.
The police also had a difficult time figuring out who could have had a motive? Was it a robber? There wasn’t anything of value stolen. Miller may have surprised the robber and they left without actually stealing anything. It is doubtful. A thief would not have left without taking something.
The police wanted her husband, Paul David Miller, to take a lie detector test but he refused. It’s not clear whether he ever took the lie detector test. When Sue Ann Miller was found, her husband was working on a faulty alarm at 140 East Town Street.
If Mr. Miller did commit the crime, what was his motive? Did he plan the murder and the cover up of the crime? Is he a genius and figured out how to be in a building with a faulty alarm in time to provide an alibi? If you go with this theory, did he call the neighbor to check on his wife to throw people off of his trail?
This is the route from where Paul Miller was to where their home was. Possible but is it likely? It sounds more like a movie script. However, we’ve all watched enough Dateline to know people can be motivated to cover their tracks in order to stay out of jail.
Honestly, I think the police just ran out of leads. They did not have enough evidence to convict Mr. Miller or anyone else.
This case happened in 1976 – before a lot of technology was available. They had fingerprints but not much else that they could test. I wonder if they’ve done anything with the fingerprints or other evidence lately.
Can witches ever really have true friends? In The Furies by Katie Lowe, Violet learns about betrayal and witchcraft more than she learns about any other school subject.
The setting is Elm Hollow Academy, an all-girls boarding school, near a small town. It’s a boarding school but it doesn’t seem like the students live there. In the beginning, a student has been posed on the swings after her death. The narrator doesn’t tell the reader who the student is until the end.
Violet has lost her father and sister. Her mother is alive but stuck in a cycle of depression. Violet can get away with almost anything because her mother isn’t paying attention. She had been homeschooled for the last year. Violet took on the responsibility of her own education so she decided to attend Elm Hollow Academy.
There has been a student, Emily, that disappeared before Violet arrived on campus. Apparently, Emily and Violet resembled each other. Violet also became friends with Emily’s friends – Robin, Alex and Grace. The art teacher, Annabel, invited Violet to participate in a secret group that learned about the local women accused of witchcraft and Furies, goddesses of vengeance.
Violet and her group of friends go through all of the growing pains of friendship. Can they trust each other with their personal secrets? Are they more like enemies than friends? Maybe frenemies.
If you like “The Craft” or “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” then there is a good chance that you will enjoy “The Furies.”
Witch hunters and Nancy from “The Craft” will probably not be a fan of this book.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own. Obviously.
If you a fan of heavy metal and are in search of a new band, then I suggest Second Wind. Dane Pope and Brad Johnson of Chicago are ready to bring melodic hardcore metal to living rooms around the world.
Check out the following interview to learn more about Second Wind.
Dane: Recording our first EP is definitely up there. It has been a labor of love and we are so excited to show the world.
Brad: Getting our band off the ground! Second Wind has been brewing in the background since March 2018, so it’s been a long wait to get our first tunes out there. So far the reception has been positive, and we are so grateful for that.
What are you looking forward to in 2020?
Dane: Releasing the EP for sure. Getting our momentum up and building an amazing fan base! (Which has already begun)
Brad: The release of our debut EP. At five songs total, we are simply pumped to get anything out there. At the same time, a lot of personal energy and focus has been put into these songs, and we’ll be excited to begin playing shows as soon as possible.
Where was your first concert as a fan? As a performer?
Dane: First concert ever was Lincoln Park, P.O.D., and Hoobastank at the Allstate Arena when I was like 11. It was amazing. As a performer it was with my first serious band Imminent Downfall at a bar in Addison, IL at like 16 years old.
Brad: Amazing question! As a fan, my first concert ever I think was As I Lay Dying at Taste of Chaos. I saw a few other bands but they were the main act I was interested in. As a performer, my first show was with my old high school band in a tiny coffeeshop in Aurora, IL. How far things have come since then!
Do you think that there’s an alternate reality? If so, what is the alternate you doing?
Dane: If there is one the alternate me is probably doing something more sensible than following dreams but what’s the fun in that?
Brad: Personally I don’t think so. Without getting too much into detail, I think there are already enough crazy things happening on this planet alone that I can hardly imagine it happening elsewhere. I think there’s definitely truth to be uncovered here on this Earth, but I don’t think it extends beyond our terrestrial microcosm. So my one life here is the only one I’m living. 🙂
New Year’s Resolutions. Yay or Nay?
Dane: Not really. Been keeping my goals on a steady timeline the last couple years and not focusing on a big once a year resolution. I personally like to hit a bunch of smaller goals throughout the year.
Brad: I used to be super into them! Along the way, especially as I got older, I realized you don’t need to wait ‘til the new year drops to start setting and achieving goals. So I’m more of a year-round resolutions kind of guy.
What have been the best musical holiday moments in your life?
Dane: When August Burns Red put their holiday songs on a full album is a great one.
Brad: Hmm, interesting question. My wife just discovered Manowar has a Silent Night cover that is sick, so that has been great jamming to!
Favorite holiday song?
Dane: Flurries by August Burns Red. It very much captures the holidays for me without being a traditional song that I’ve heard a million times, a million different ways.
Brad: Ahh, that’s so hard to pick. August Burns Red’s Christmas album, Sleddin’ Hill, is phenomenal. They capture any song so well!
Least favorite holiday song?
Dane: All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey. I feel like every year it gets played more and more and it’s a bit much for me.
Brad: “Last Christmas” by Wham! would be my least favorite. It’s a decent song in its own right I guess, but I’ve heard it God knows how many times. It gets so annoying haha.
What do you want people to know about your music?
Dane: That we are about connection. Hard hitting music that makes you feel. Feel you’re not alone, feel you can take on the world.
Brad: We love making passionate, melodic, heavy music that will get people psyched for life and eager to hear more. Every day is a gift, and we hope fans of our music resonate with these ideas.
Alice Boman of Sweden released her debut album, Dream On, a few days ago. So take whatever money you have left in your post-holiday budget and support Boman in some way – buy her album, go see her live, snag the merch.
Boman’s music on the album feels ethereal and hushed – like Boman is sharing secrets with someone she trusts. It’s quiet yet powerful.
“I took instruments and recording equipment to a house in the countryside of Sweden for a few weeks to get away from everything,” Boman says. “To just focus on writing and playing. No distractions. Sometimes you need that distance to get into a flow.”
It’s a bit of electronic pop combined with folk. My favorite songs on the album are “Don’t Forget about Me” and “Wish We Had More Time.”
Boman doesn’t remind me of any musical artist in particular. I read that she wrote the music while listening to Portishead. If you have heard Portishead, you’ll hear their influence on this album.
I would like to listen to this album at a beach house that not in a tourist area. Maybe Maine . . .
Jerkwater by Jamie Zerndt is set in Mercer, Wisconsin. It’s typical small jerkwater town, except for the rotests for Native American fishing rights. There isn’t a specific date but in 1983 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Native Americans could spearfish in lakes they had previously relinquished. So if I had to guess I would say that the book takes place in the mid-80s.
No one really wants to admit that they are racist. However, are the fishermen who are protesting against the Native American fishing rights really and truly concerned about whether a spear is used or not?
The story is told from the point of view of three characters – Shawna, Kay and Douglas. Shawna is a Native American with a disdain for white people, especially the man who killed her mother and his best friend. She is also neighbors with Kay and Doug. Kay is Doug’s mother and also a possible alcoholic widow in the early stages of dementia.
They are all trying to find their way in the world. Shawna wants to kill a man. She stalks him for awhile. Will she deal with her issues before she winds up in jail?
Douglas has taken over his dad’s mechanic shop but it’s not his career of choice. Will he follow his true passion or stay in the shop?
There are some funny parts in the book. Kay can be amusing even though parts of her behavior are related to the dementia. We all know and love someone like Kay – brutally honest and probably had a drink with breakfast.
Most people will enjoy this book. If the reader is against Native American fishing rights – then they are too petty for this book.
