Category Archives: Hearne_Christopher
Hearne: Joe Miller Bids Adieu to Fleeing Pitch Ed C. J. Janovy
Former Pitch heavy hitter Joe Miller’s take on the mystery behind departure of the mag’s editor C.J. Janovy?
“My take? I think she did a a great job with the paper,” Miller says. “There’s been some great reporting under her leadership. And you know it can’t be an easy deal – I don’t think it would be easy under any circumstances to be an editor with that company because there’s a lot of pressure from the top down. And now that the emphasis is on shifting to the Web and 24/7 blogging and reporting, along with the down economy, the pressure would be huge.”
Janovy is fleeing the Pitch scene to become the director of communications for KU Med.
A job she was seemingly able to snag on the heels of a year’s worth of power schmoozing.
Let’s let her tell it: Continue reading
Hearne: Kendrick Blackwood Chronicles; Take Deux
About yesterday’s Kansas City Star story on KC mayoral aide Kendrick Blackwood…
$64 million question: is the relatively inexperienced Blackwood up to the task?
“Well, this is something I talked to (Star reporter Steve) Kraske about and he didn’t put any part of what I said in there,” says author / former mayoral aide Joe Miller. “It depends on how you define the task. If the task is to be the a chief of staff in what most people understand to be a functional mayor’s office in a city the size of Kansas City, the answer’s no. Neither one of us were. But if the task is to succeed in the mayor’s office as it is now under Funkhouser and Gloria, he’s perfect. Continue reading
Hearne: Great Margarita’s Tasteless Taco Ad Winner
When it comes to marraiges of exhibitionism and poor taste, it’s hard to top Margarita’s recent ad in the Pitch…
Crude, rude, (undoubtedly)written by a dude – the ad reduced the fine art of dining out to one of the lowest common denominators imaginable. For a mainstream restaurant in a mainstream print publication, no less.
Bad taste gone wild!
Let’s review…
“Margarita’s introduces The Ultimate Blueberry Margarita,” the ad begins, adding “It’s a panty dropper.”
Accompanied is an illustration of a woman peeling off her purple thong panties with the kicker…
“Taste Our Taco.” Continue reading
Hearne: Popeye on Life Support? Not Yet but Visit to Museum Worrisome
As superheroes go, Popeye falls into a somewhat problematic category…
His identity’s widely known – no Clark Kent action here. He doesn’t wear a costume per se (unless you count the sailor suit). And while like like other superheroes Popeye stems from a cartoon, he’s had a devil of a time matriculating into today’s adult movie mindset. For the most part Popeye remains but a kiddie icon and object of nostalgia among aging adults.
Which brings us my brief stop yesterday at the Popeye Museum in Chester, Illinois, hometown of creator Continue reading
Hearne on the Street: How Blonde it Wasn’t / Sedalia Crawfish Kill & Mosquito Teeth?
Checked out Ink’s lame party pics from one of the Blonde farewell bashes last week yet?
Raising the question, how hip were the postmortem parties for the recently shuttered Plaza nightclub?
Not very, says one Blonde regular who attended last weekend’s final farewell…
“It was uneventful, anticlimactic, sub par,” says the disappointed dude. “Although (DJ) Mike Scott was fantastic.”
Which brings us to Ink’s geek crowd shots Continue reading
Hearne/OTC: The Great Margarita’s Tasteless Taco Ad Contest
Ask and you shall receive…
In the interest of good taste in the marketing of Tacos & Blueberry Margaritas, KC Confidential announces a contest to offer up an alternative advertising approach to the Margarita’s chain of local Mexican food restaurants.
Understand that in no way is Margarita’s authorizing or sanctioning this contest.
That said, given the eatery’s raunchy run at pedaling its provisions in the Pitch, they could use a few public pointers.
So let’s review:
Margarita’s ran an ad recently in the Pitch’s Food section calling it’s Ultimate Blueberry Margarita “a panty dropper.”
Accompanied by an illustration of a girl pulling down her purple thong panties with the kicker, “Taste Our Taco.” Continue reading
Hearne: Sex & the City III – Is Holly Starr Pregnant?
So I’m minding my own biz, right?
Sitting outdoors at Brio on the Plaza, preparing to have dinner with my daughter Savannah. When up pops the devil – two actually. In the form of a pair of 20-something women who recognize my face but can’t put their finger on it.
Oh yeah, it’s me.
Any good scoops lately, they wonder. Continue reading
Hearne: Holy Toledo, Guido & 4 Sknns at Brooksider Tonight!
A moment of silence please for the basement blues bar and last call pickup place Blayney’s…
Some of the club’s most legendary musical moments went down courtesy of a wildly popular local band known as the 4 Sknns. Continue reading
Hearne: Slipknot Death Recalls Night Band Wreaked Havoc on Beaumont
The toxicology report is still pending on the death of Slipknot band member Paul Gray…
Although MTV UK is reporting Gray was discovered dead in a Des Moines hotel room Continue reading
Hearne: The Ultra Sad Rockhill Tennis Club Auction Post Mortem
Make no mistake, the joint was dripping with sadness…
Last week’s gloomy estate sale at the the historic Rockhill Tennis Club had a bit of something for everyone. From simple, small plain glass wine carafes to a $5,500 baby grand. From a tennins court bubble “with a chip” to pool loungers.
“Welcome to the Rockhill, we’re glad your here,” read a sign greeting potential buyers, well-wishers and rubber neckers to the pre-death estate sale. Continue reading
Hearne: Rockfest Muddy Park Controversy Overblown?
That definitely is a question in the mind of former parks commish Bob Lewellen...
“I don’t think there’s a concern at all among the Parks Department over allowing Rockfest to return,” Lewellen says.
With one major exception…
“I saw Aggie and she said, ‘Oh they belong at Sandstone,’ ” Lewllen says. “I think it would be a big mistake if we didn’t continue to work with Rockfest. This is a major event for Kansas City and the location of Penn Valley Park is perfect for this event.”
Another likely purveyor of the so-called controversy: Continue reading
Hearne: Murdered Man at Sunset Hill Mansion Thought to be Michael J. Tutera
Local TV cameras were trained Continue reading
Hearne on the Street: Margarita’s Pitch Ad Shocks, Disgusts
When it comes to good taste, The Pitch is a well-established local loss leader…
As evidenced by the recent ad it ran for the local Mexican food chain Margarita’s in the alternative newsweekly’s Continue reading
Hearne: End of an Era, 38 the Spot’s Holly Starr Marries!
Out with the Chiefs quarterbacks, country & western singing stars and studly Continue reading
Hearne: It’s Insane! Clown Posse Moves Again, Wrestling Returns to Memorial Hall!
So many Insane Clown Posse concert venues, so few actual shows…
As recently as Monday – two short days ago, to be exact – the Insane Clown Posse concert wilding was slated to go down at the Capital Federal Park at Sandstone. No mas. On Tuesday a press release was issued that the show would play the Beaumont Club in Westport. In all likelihood to accommodate a smaller than anticipated crowd.
“I’d be surprised if they played there,” former Beaumont Club main man Bill Nigro said yesterday upon being told of the switch. Continue reading
Starbeams: Eyeballing Vodka, Texting Ban Loophole & Simon’s Last Stand
Police are warning parents about a new drinking game called Continue reading
Hearne: Flashback to Jose Lima at Jardine’s
Missing in action in the Star’s reflections upon stricken former Royals player Jose Lima…
An anecdote that ran seven years ago in my column about the colorful 37 year-old baseball star’s flirtation then with the Cowtown’s much-ballyhooed jazz legacy.
Lima checked out unexpectedly Sunday after a massive heart attack.
Return with me now to late August of 2003 when Lima was rocking it with the Royals:
About Royals star Jose Lima’s recent singing “audition” at Plaza jazz joint Jardine’s …the item began.
“Lima was outstanding,’ ” says Jardine’s honcho Beena Brandsgard. “You would not believe this guy. He’s a showman. And he is hot right now. This town just loves him. Some of my staff were just like groupies.”
Just one problem. Continue reading
Hearne: Gone But Not Forgotten – Pitch Foodie Charles Ferruzza Returns
You got it, you lay it off, you still got it…
For most folks, Pitch restaurant critic Charles Ferruzza has been something of an institution at the local alternative paper. For upwards of a decade, Ferruzza – formerly with the Johnson County Sun – has been dishing up restaurant reviews and related stories about the Cowtown’s dining scene.
“There was never a week that I wasn’t writing,” Ferruzza says. “And I was glad to have (still) had the gig.”
But as insiders know, Ferruzza took a major financial hit and was laid off (along with Night Ranger columnist Jen Chen) by the struggling newsweekly 17 months ago.
However, because he continued to write weekly reviews and daily blog posts, most readers of the Pitch had no reason to suspect that he – like hundreds of local print media refugees – had fallen on hard times.
“I wasn’t getting interviews and I kept thinking, ‘What’s wrong?’ ” Ferruzza muses. “And I kept re-writing my resume. It was very disheartening. It’s like, you work all your life and then nobody wants you.” Continue reading
Hearne: Did Blonde Have More Fun? Last Call Saturday!
Most indubitability…
As Saturday’s final farewell to fallen Plaza nightclub Blonde approaches, one last question looms large.
How wild was it?
“You want me to say the wildest thing I ever saw at Blonde?” backpedals former Blonde PR point man Will Gregory. “On the record? Why don’t you just make that my quote?”
Done deal…
Now a few more specific words of wisdom from a more forthcoming – if still media shy – regular at Blonde: Continue reading
Hearne: Sticky Wicket Alert, Insane Clowns Bail on Sandstone for Beaumont
This just in…
Saturday’s Insane Clown Posse show at Sandstone has been last minute moved to the Beaumont Club. In all likelihood to reflect ticket sales. Should make for a cozy homecoming from the band’s 2001 sticky–thon at the Westport live music venue.
Longtime Beaumont honcho Bill Nigro recalls ICP last show like it was yesterday…
“They left a sticky mess that took months to clean up,” he reminisces.
Nigro’s take on the Clown Posse’s madness past, as it appeared in my column in the Star: Continue reading
