Layout 1 (Page A8)

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
People magazine
‘Star’ to perform
tonight in C.B.
8A Thursday, July 24, 2008
The Daily Nonpareil
KIM BOUSQUET
Author talks to Nonpareil before her visit Friday
Staff Writer
[email protected].
(712) 325-5736
KIM BOUSQUET
Staff Writer
[email protected]
(712) 325-5736
Men have approached Jackie Collins listing
their trysts and telling her they’d make great
characters for a book. She tells them she
prefers to use her imagination. The late director Louis Malle didn’t call her a “raunchy
moralist” for no reason.
Collins knows where
prime material for her
scandalous novels can be
found.
“I know all the make
up artists … they tell me
everything,” said Collins.
Living in Hollywood
means she’s never at a
lost for stories or outraCollins
geous characters. She
knows all the big players, the girls that run
around, movie producers and more. But it’s
those working closest to the tabloid fodder
that can get her the real scoop.
On the sixth week of a nonstop book
launching tour, Collins spoke on the phone
about her fans, her Web site and where she
gets her celebrity gossip. Collins will be in
Council Bluffs Friday meeting fans and signing copies of her new book, “Married Lovers.”
She’ll be at Harrah’s Council Bluffs Casino &
Hotel convention center at 5 p.m.
Jacqueline Jill “Jackie” Collins was born
Oct. 4, 1937, in London to a British-born novelist and former actress. She is the younger
sister of actress Joan Collins. Jackie has sold
more than 400 million copies of her books, and
with some 26 New York Times bestsellers to
her credit, Jackie is one of the world’s top-selling novelists.
Jackie interacts with fans regularly, online
and in person. Her Web site, jackiecollins.com,
not only includes a section titled “Questions
for Jackie,” it also has a blog she keeps while
on this tour, and a section updated monthly
about “Jackie’s Favorites” (in June, she posted
she loved the movie “Sex in the City” and
Madonna’s “Hard Candy” CD).
If they’re lucky enough to have the book
tour come near them, they get to talk to her in
person. Besides suggesting the British author
write about their intriguing personal lives,
fans usually ask her whether people ever
come up to her and accuse her of writing about
their lives?
They do. And Jackie usually assures them
the character is not based on them. Of course,
online, she admits to writing about real people
in disguise. She is known for giving her readers an unrivaled insider’s knowledge of Hollywood and the glamorous lives and loves of the
rich, famous and infamous. When her book,
“The Stud,” was published, Jackie said “every
guy in Hollywood said it was him.”
On the road for six weeks at a near constant pace, Jackie said she’s enjoyed the
chance to interact with all of her fans. Her
fans are as varied as her books’ characters –
teens, mothers, men, grandmothers. She said
she has a large gay following and a large black
following.
HER NEWEST
If you haven’t heard of
Jeremy McComb, just wait. The
country singer was named on
Country Weekly’s “Who’s Hot
’08” list and in People Magazine’s country special edition,
he was named one of the “Nine
New Stars Worth Listening To.”
McComb will perform July
24 at the Whiskey Roadhouse
inside Horseshoe Casino. The
free show is part of KAT 103
Kickin’ Country Music Series.
In a recent telephone interview, the young singer said
being named on those lists was
a surprise.
“When People talks about
you at all, it’s pretty amazing,”
said McComb. But, he takes the
flattery in stride, keeping a
level head about the exposure.
McComb calls Nashville
home now, after being raised in
the northwest on legendary
songwriters/performers like
Kris Kristofferson, Jim Croce
and The Marshall Tucker band,
whose founder Paul T. Riddle
produced McComb’s debut
record, “My Side of Town.”
‘They’re so genuine, you
can’t help but relate,” said
McComb. That relatability is
what he strives for in his performance – relating a song and
story to the audience.
Nashville is a beacon for
country music songwriters, but
McComb landed there through
an unusual route – with the
help of a comedian.
In his early 20s, McComb
had already played with
regional touring acts; his day
job, however, was as a music
director and afternoon DJ at a
radio station in Spokane, Wash.
His job at the station led to his
lucky encounter with Larry the
BOOK
“Married Lovers”
Synopsis:
Cameron
Paradise, a stunningly
beautiful 24-yearold
personal
trainer, flees her
abusive boyfriend
in Australia and
ends
up
in
L.A. Paradise soon
gets a job at a private fitness club
where
she
encounters
the
city’s most important players. She has plans to open
her own studio, and while every man she meets
comes on to her, she is focused on working hard and
saving money to achieve her goal. Until she meets
Ryan Lambert, that is. An extremely successful independent movie producer, he’s married to overly privileged Mandy Lambert, the daughter of Hamilton J.
Heckerling, a Hollywood power-player son-of-a-bitch
mogul. Ryan has never cheated on his demanding Hollywood Princess wife, but when he meets Cameron, all
bets are off.
IN THE WORKS
“Poor Little Bitch Girl”
Synopsis: Three strong, sexy, powerful friends who
lost touch are reunited.
“Goddess of Vengeance”
Synopsis: The next installment of the Lucky Santangelo series.
Meeting so many people on the road, she
said she’s come to realize how nice people are,
in spite of all the bad news and violence that
make the evening news day in and day out.
“Generally, people are so nice. Wonderful,”
said Jackie. “It was a real revelation driving
across the south.”
One particular tour stop left an impression
on the author. The fans there were no different
from her typical fans: Dressed nicely, happy to
meet her and happy to have her latest book in
their hands. It was a big event, said Jackie.
However, being residents in New Orleans,
these fans spoke to Jackie about losing everything in Hurricane Katrina.
“They were great people,” said Jackie. “It
makes you realize how difficult (recovering
from Hurricane Katrina) was.”
Her fans all read for their own reasons, said
Jackie.
“Some read because they think my books
are sexy,” said Jackie. “Some read them
because they think they’re incredibly funny,
intentionally.”
Her fans also read because they can identify with her characters, said Jackie, which
run the gamut of all sizes, shapes, ages, sexual
orientations and races. One of her most well
known characters is Lucky Santangelo, featured in six books. Jackie said a new one is in
the works, titled “Goddess of Vengeance.” Also
in the works, the three Lucky novels that
haven’t been adapted to the screen will be
adapted hopefully in a year, she said.
Lucky Santangelo is a character Jackie
could see living the life of for a day; she’s a
woman Jackie described as a James Bond for
women.
“She says what nobody dares and does
what nobody dares,” said Jackie.
Of course, that’s also the case for Jackie,
who said she has no problem telling people
what’s on her mind.
“I don’t hide behind my characters.”
Ann and Nancy Wilson,
with an excellent accompanying band, took the stage next,
playing great Heart hits like
“Magic Man,” “Alone” and
“Crazy on You.” Ann’s voice is
still stellar and hasn’t diminished a bit. Nancy sounds
good, too, singing “These
Dreams” sweetly. Heart
played two encore songs to
deafening applause from
fans, including a slow Led
Zeppelin cover of “Going to
California.”
Journey was the big draw
for people seeking to relive
the ’70s and ’80s musically, or
the curious seeking to see if
the new singer, Arnel Pineda,
really could sing on par with
the great Steve Perry. Pineda
was, indeed, a great and
energetic singer. During most
songs, he had an uncanny
Perry-esque sound, such as in
“Open Arms,” but occasionally diction got in the way.
Neil Schon was as
impressive as ever on the
guitar. Drummer Deen Castronovo was also amazing to
watch, as was
keyboardist/guitarist
Jonathan Cain and bassist
Ross Valory. Most of these
men have been with the band
for ages, or since the beginning as is the case with
Schon. Perhaps Journey doesn’t need the voice of Perry if
it keeps these guys on board.
The band played quite a
bit of newer stuff that was
Staff photo/Josh White
Arnel Pineda, lead singer of
Journey, sings during Tuesday’s concert at the MidAmerica Center. See more
Journey photos online at
www.nonpareilonline.com.
received unequally from fans,
with more than a few people
Cable Guy.
The two hit it off, started
hanging out and eventually sat
down and wrote some goofy
parody songs together. In 2004,
Larry offered McComb the
chance to be his tour manager.
McComb was just 23 years old.
Not only did McComb gain a
best friend out of the deal, he
also got the opportunity to
write songs for Larry’s movies,
including “Blue Collar Comedy
Tour” and “Larry the Cable
Guy: Health Inspector,” which
includes his hit song “This
Town Needs a Bar.”
The friendship with Larry
also taught McComb what it
takes to make it in the entertainment business.
“Just the way he treats his
fans,” said McComb, was
enough to show him the virtue
of accessibility. To McComb,
Larry is every bit the kind,
down-to-earth guy he presents
himself to be.
He said he was excited to
return to the Whiskey Roadhouse.
The July 24 show starts at 7
p.m. McComb will perform at 9.
Willie Nelson’s mellow
show a real crowd pleaser
Trio of great bands rock Mid-America Center Tuesday
The mega concert at the
Mid-America Center Tuesday
gave thousands of fans an
excuse to sing loudly and
without abandon. Journey,
with
great
openers
Cheap
Trick
and
Heart,
rocked
the
arena
playing
the
classics
and ballads
everyone craved to hear live.
Whether you were a Journey
fan needing to belt out
“Faithfully,” a Cheap Trick
follower wanting to sing
along to “The Flame” or a
Heart lover who needs to
sing and sway to “These
Dreams,” there was something there for you.
Cheap Trick was an energetic opener, playing with
gusto as the crowd trickled in
(traffic was the worst I’d ever
seen). Rick Nielsen, donning
a baseball cap, threw bucketloads of guitar picks, it
seemed, to further rile up the
crowd. While the guys have
definitely aged, they sounded
great playing fan favorites
“Surrender” and “Dream
Police.”
Submitted photo
Country singer Jeremy
McComb
will
perform
tonight at 9 at the Whiskey
Roadhouse inside Horseshoe Casino. An opening
band starts at 7 p.m.
taking their seats for some
songs, particularly during
songs off of the new album
“Revelation,” “After All These
Years” and “Change for the
Better.” It wasn’t until about
the sixth song, “Separate
Ways (Worlds Apart),” that
things started to heat up.
Clearly, fans came to hear
the classics, and eventually,
they got what they came for.
Hearing live versions of
“Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Wheel
in the Sky” and “Open Arms”
made the wait worth it.
About four hours into the
rock show, fans were finally
satisfied. Pineda could hold
his own on stage singing classics with these music legends
(most of the time), and Journey proved it could still bring
down the house. By the
encore, especially while
“Faithfully” was played, faithful fans couldn’t ask for much
more.
There are few musicians in
this world that can present
such a mellow show and yet
keep the audience thirsty for
more after two hours. Willie
Nelson relaxed the crowd at
the Stir Concert Cove at Harrah’s Council Bluffs Casino &
Hotel Wednesday for a good
dozen tunes, letting people
sway to
songs
like
“Still Is
Still
Movin’
To Me”
and
“Beer
For My
Horses.”
Then,
the subdued
singer
picked it
up a notch to play out the rest
of the two-hour show with a
mix of upbeat goodies like
“Bloody Mary Morning” and
slower tunes like “Blue Eyes
Crying in the Rain,” “Mamas
Don’t Let Your Babies Grow
Up To Be Cowboys,” “Always
On My Mind” and “Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground.”
It’d been a long time since
Nelson had last played in
Council Bluffs (2003). The last
two scheduled shows were canceled, with the latest one in
June being rescheduled to
Wednesday. He made up for
lost time, playing more than 30
songs to a very relaxed and
For Guaranteed
Grub Control
NOW ON STAGE: ONE OF THE BEST MUSICALS EVER!
B&D Productions
In Cooperation With
presents
Hello, Dolly!
July 18-August 3, 2008
Friday & Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
CHANTICLEER COMMUNITY THEATER
830 Franklin Ave. • Council Bluffs • Reservations 712-322-9126
Arts & Entertainment Editor Kim Bousquet
can be reached at (712) 325-5736 or by email at [email protected].
Now is the time!
Arts & Entertainment Editor Kim Bousquet
can be reached at (712) 325-5736 or by email at [email protected].
IBSEN COSTUME GALLERY
content audience. His unhurried, instantly recognizable
voice invited listeners to sit
back, sip a beer and enjoy the
night’s show.
His sister, Bobbie, played
alongside him, getting a few
solo opportunities on the piano.
His back-up band was low-key
but talented, and included a
great harmonica player.
The night included classics,
protest songs, gospel songs and
stories of rowdy exploits, as
well as some covers, including
Hank William’s “On The
Bayou” and the Fred
Foster/Kris Kristofferson great
“Me and Bobby McGee.” The
crowd was also treated to a few
of Nelson’s trademark red bandanas – including one smart
lady who traded a beer for one.
Nelson broke the streak of
shorter-than-expected shows at
Stir, without even needing an
opener to stretch out the night
of music. At 75, the country
singer still plays and entertains with the best of them.
Voted #1 Lawn Service
We Spray
Weeds!
Serving Southwest Iowa Since 1970
TRUY
K
S
TURF, Ltd.
322-0102 • Free Estimates