Kathleen Madigan, Cory Wells
June 4, 2015
Audio of interviews are posted below (except on Internet Explorer)
Comedian Kathleen Madigan, and Cory Wells, founding member of Three Dog Night, guest on Las Vegas Backstage Talk radio show with Comedian Michele LaFong.
Over Madigan’s 25 year career she has performed on nearly every standup television show ever made. Leno, Letterman, Conan, Ferguson and so on. She’s had 2 HBO specials, 3 Comedy Central specials, 3 CMT Salute to the Troops specials with Ron White and her last hour-long special, Gone Madigan, is currently in rotation on Showtime and CMT. She’s released 4 CDs and 2 DVDs and filmed a new one hour special this past spring to air in the fall as a Netflix Original.
She’s won the American Comedy Award for “Best Female Comedian” and the Phyllis Diller award for “Best Female Comedian.” Although she’s turned down many writing jobs because she enjoys performing more, she has written and produced for Lewis Black’s “Root of all Evil” on Comedy Central and for Gary Shandling’s Emmy monologues. She’s done two USO tours to Iraq and Afganistan with pals Lewis Black, Robin Williams, John Bowman and musicals acts Kid Rock, The Zac Brown Band, Kix Brooks and Kellie Pickler. “There’s no better show on earth than a show for the troops. Trust me, no crowd is as happy to see a show as 1000 soldiers in Kabul. I do USO shows at home here in the US too but the further people are away, the more they appreciate it. I don’t think they get paid enough for a hard job so I like to do something for free when I can.”
Kathleen is appearing at The Mirage June 12
For more information go to www.KathleenMadigan.com.
Three Dog Night-Original Founding Member-Cory Wells
Cory Wells, (far right) founder of Three Dog Night guests on LV Backstage Talk radio show with Comedian Michele LaFong. LVBST radio show is the only show that really “Gets Personal with the Stars.”
With hits like Mama Told Me (Not To Come), Joy to The World, Black And White, Shambala, Easy To Be Hard, An Old Fashioned Love Song, The Show Must Go On, One, Never Been To Spain, Liar, Eli’s Coming, The Family Of Man, Out In The Country, Try A Little Tenderness, are just a few reasons why this band has stood the test of time, and attracting new fans, recording new music, but still playing the hits.
Catch Three Dog Night at The Cannery on June 27
TweetChuck Negron, Desi Arnaz Jr.-LVBST w-Comedian Michele LaFong
Jan. 30, 2014- 6-7pm PST 1230am KLAV in Las Vegas & The Web
Audio of interviews posted below (Scroll down)
Legendary Vocalist Chuck Negron, formerly of Three Dog Night, and Desi Arnaz Jr. guests on Las Vegas Backstage Talk with Comedian Michele LaFong.
Among Three Dog Night’s biggest hit songs featuring Negron’s soulful, four-octave range and unique vocal styling: “Joy To The World,” “Easy To Be Hard,” “Old-Fashioned Love Song” and “Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog,” which appeared on the multi-Grammy nominated and 1971 Record Of The Year “Joy To The World.”
“Am I Still In Your Heart” was Negron’s first solo release in 1995, followed by a Christmas release of “Joy To The World” in 1996. Negron spent two years writing his book “Three Dog Nightmare” and recorded the accompanying soundtrack CD “The Long Road Back.” His fourth solo effort “Chuck Negron – Live In Concert” recorded at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas was released in 2001 and the original song “Took Me Under” was nominated in 2002 for a PRISM Award for Best Song. In 2005, Negron released “The Chuck Negron Story: Biography of an Entertainer,” which won several awards including the 2006 PRISM “Video to Production” Award.
Suncoast Showroom, February 8 and 9 at 7:30pm
Desi Arnaz Jr.
In a rare interview, Desi Arnaz Jr. speaks of his life and promotes the upcoming “Dam Short Film Festival,” on Feb. 12-16 at the Historic Boulder Theatre, which he owns has since 1986, and helps direct non-profit Boulder City Ballet Company (BCBC) with his wife, Amy Arnaz. For more info: www.damshortfilm.org
Boulder Theatre was built in 1932 during the construction of Hoover Dam and operated as a movie theatre until it could no longer compete with the new, modern movie theaters in Las Vegas. When it closed, Desi purchased the theatre and converted it into a live theatre where BCBC performs and where Desi has produced many shows including: “Ricci, Desi & Billy” (a new version of Dino, Desi & Billy), “An Evening with Linda Purl”, Torme’ Sings Torme’, “The Legacy of Laughter”, “An Evening with Lucille Ball” (starring Suzanne LaRusch as Lucille Ball), Michael Johnson, “A Tribute to Dean Martin” (by Ricci Martin), “Dam Short Film Festival”, “Chautauqua”, “The Nutcracker”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “Swan Lake”, annual children’s dance recitals from Dance Etc. and many more shows. Haley Arnaz is his wife’s child from her first marriage and Desi adopted her when they married in 1987. Desi also has an older daughter, Julia, who lives on the east coast. Recently, Desi has performed “Babalu” (a show dedicated to the music of his father) with his sister Lucie Arnaz in NYC, Miami and in Washington D.C. at the Library of Congress. Most recently, Desi & Lucie appeared at the Paley Center in Beverly Hills, discussing the music of I Love Lucy (1951) and performed two of their father’s songs – “Old Straw Hat” & “Cuban Pete” – with the accompaniment of Ron Abel on the piano.
For more info: www.bouldertheatre.com, www.Desiarnezjr.com
TweetGaming Today/Gary Puckett by Michele LaFong
May 30, 2013 6pm-7pm PST 1230AM in LV & Web
Gary Puckett and The Union Gap at South Point Showroom May 31-June 2 at 7:30pm
I interviewed Gary Puckett was on my radio show. He was plugging his dates at The South Point Showroom May 31-June 2.
“After this engagement at The South Point, I’m going on tour doing fifty-two shows, from June 8-Sept.1 all over the US.
We did it last year. “Back in day…we didn’t spend a lot of time working in Las Vegas, but I remember working The International Hotel which became The Hilton, and now it’s the Las Vegas Hotel…and I remember working with Elvis there. He was in the “big room,” which sat two to three thousand people, and I was in their smaller theatre. I remember working at the same time, and we alternated shows with Ike and Tina Turner, and Redd Foxx, who of course was Las Vegas’ bluest Comedian.
We are traveling a lot, especially this summer. Last year, we were on a tour called “Happy Together.” It included The Buckinghams, The Grassroots, Myself, Mickey Dolenz, and The Turtles. It was a very, popular show, it was their third year in a row, and they decided to do it again this year, so they asked me to come back…so it will be me, and The Turtles, along with Gary Lewis and The Playboys, Mark Lindsey from Paul Revere and The Raiders, and Chuck Negron, from Three Dog Night. It’s two and a half hours or more of solid hit recordings. We use one band to back everybody up, the show is very well rehearsed and played, it just moves along, and lots of fun to do. So we’ll do fifty-two shows this year, from June 8- Sept. 1, all over the US.
We get along great. I know all those guys…we’ve traveled and worked together before, I had worked with The Grassroots for years and years, and certainly, I’ve worked with Mark, and Howard from The Turtles for many years, and I had worked with The Monkees on occasion, in fact in 1986, I was chosen to be on The Monkees 20 Year Reunion Tour, which included all of The Monkees except for Mike Nesmith, and he came out on a few of the dates that we did, like The Greek Theatre, and I think The Las Vegas Hilton.
I’ve always been a fan of The Monkees’ music. I just love their recordings.
“I was on The Ed Sullivan Show three times.” When I asked if he remembered who he was on the show with, the only act that came to his instant memory was Topo Gigio! “My Guest appearances on Hollywood Squares were more recent…within the last fifteen years. I was on with Whoopi Goldberg, and others…and that was a lot of fun to do.” Gary was answering my questions in very nice, but generic way. I had to remind him that he was being interviewed on Las Vegas “Backstage Talk,” therefore we expect the real “behind the scenes” goings-on… for example: Did Hollywood Squares prep the celebrities? Were the celebs given the questions ahead of time? You know…that sort of thing!” Puckett finally “sang like a bird!” “Well…you get the questions, and they give you some suggestions… but they want you to make up your own answers.” Did they tell you guys what to say? “ the show prepped us some. There was a little coaching, but not a lot. They just didn’t want any of us to be dumb-founded on any of the questions.”
“You mean you weren’t wearing little head-sets in your ears, whispering the answer to you?” “Haha… No, it wasn’t the $64,000 Question, nothing like that!”
Playing The Catskills was a big part of our early days. The Concord Hotel was where we rehearsed The Monkee Tour in 1986. One thing I really remember that sticks out from working those hotels especially the very first time, the audience didn’t applaud with their hands, they used their knockers. They were like little wooden lolly-pops that they would bang on the tables…it was a riot…
Because this is the show where we get “Personal with the Stars,” I have to ask… You sound way normal now, but was there a time in your life when you were wild and “running amuck?” “Haha…you’re asking me if I ever was a drug addict I think…and the answer is no… I did my share of partying, but I never did the hard drugs…I admit to smoking some local weed…
Gary Puckett admits to having his fair share of issues regarding creative control in his career.
Jerry Fuller was our Producer, and I called him “The Iron Fisted,” my way or the highway, producer. I respect him all these years later certainly because he brought us a lot of success, but he and I had differences about what we would record, especially at some point after the initial successes of “Woman Woman,” “Young Girl,” “Lady Will Power,” and “Over You.” One song that had really become an issue between us was “Don’t Give into Him,” and strangely enough…that song has become one of my favorites over the years because it’s got some kind of odd, chord changes in it, and I just think it’s a cool song. The issue is that we disagreed…and when we disagreed, the balance of power was always in his corner because he was given control by the record company. I was always trying to get control and I couldn’t!
“In retrospect, I wish I had been a little easier to work with because I know had I not pushed for that so hard, I would have done better…in the long run…However, getting to where I have gotten in my life, and having a wonderful family, and a beautiful place to live in the Florida area, and having all the fans that I have out there…the old shoulda, woulda, coulda…goes by the wayside, and I know that there’s some good stuff left in me, and we’re talking about doing some recording projects and things that will become my “later in life” accomplishments…I’m speaking to someone right now about doing some recording that I really think would be a lot of fun, and “I’ve really taken the time to become a better and better guitar player and to have more knowledge of it, so I hope to do that with songs that are not necessarily written by me, but songs that might even be classics, going back to my parents era…and it even sounds a little redundant, because so many artist have done it…but I’ve found some great songs that they haven’t done.
Will also be featured in Michele LaFong’s Syndicated “Las Vegas Backstage Talk “Column in Casino Player Magazine.
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