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Published 4/13/2005
In a bed, under a Union Jack coverlet, Sights drummer Mike Trombley, keyboardist Bobby Emmett and singer-guitarist Eddie Baranek are writhing nearly naked between the sheets.
Theyre in the small, Keith Moon-themed bedroom of Siren singer Muffy Krohas Indian Village home, and the Metro Times photo shoot finally begins because the band has its lube on beer, Cabernet and Irish whiskey course through their young veins.
The irony of Moon isnt lost on the trio. For them, the Union Jack image is a gag on and a bit of a nod to the Who, circa Happy Jack.
The homes decor is an explosion of color; a solicitous valentine to Marc Bolan-era glam, 60s mod and futuristic 70s kitsch, such that at any moment you could picture a fuzzy-slipper-and-bikini-clad Raquel Welch (circa Bedazzled) step from a closet, arms akimbo, tits heaving. This backdrop, particularly the Moon tribute room, befits the Sights well allegorically; heres a band that creates a confection of psychedelia, pop, blue-eyed soul and Merseybeat-spiked blues a winning salvo of hooks, color and heart that they can call all their own.
Their new Jim Diamond-produced, self-titled record sees its American release this week on well-funded major-indie Scratchie/New Line. Its the Sights third full-length and their best yet and their pivotal loss-of-innocence record. Their own Help, if you will, only without so many Lennon regrets. The band is incontestably Detroits finest rock n roll band at the moment.
Suddenly the ruddy-cheeked singer leaps off the bed onto the floor and back again, and hits repeat, like some manic windup doll. (On one hurdle he rates himself: That was a C-minus Iggy! I hate Iggy.) He screeches and shouts, gyrates and occasionally grabs a layabout acoustic guitar with which he becomes a human jukebox, challenging anyone to stump him on a Flying Burrito Brothers tune, or the Clone Defects or even the Gories.
No, no, cmon, name any Beatles tune, he shouts, and hell play it, which he does, but just the first 30 seconds before slyly shifting keys into a Stones or Band ditty. His voice, as lit as he is, hovers in a winning tenor that in others has been known to summon sexual tension in little girls; melancholic and distorted, its almost like Lennons. Emmett drops photo duty and chimes in on a perfect harmony, only to stop midway through to ask rhetorically, Why cant that happen live?
Baranek sets the guitar on the floor, takes a flyer back onto the single-sized bed and mimes Metallica: And now I lay me down over Trombleys big cock. Trombley screams: Focus, fo-cuuuus!
Then Trombley disappears. In minutes he returns to bed flush-faced in a fluffy crimson halter-top thingy, looking very Dolls-esque Valley of the Dolls or the New York Dolls, take your pick. Emmett steps on glass from a shattered bottle that tumbled from the nightstand. Baranek licks Trombleys face. Theres farting noises. The goofs go on for a few hours.
Its becoming apparent that the photographer might not get a usable shot of the trio. The usually dignified 27-year-old Trombley rolls his eyes, a frustration he masks with laughs. Theyre so early 20s, he cracks, shaking his head. And Im so mid-to-late 20s.
Minutes later, the singer is seated in front of a dressing table mirror in Krohas elaborate shoe and make-up room, and with the graceless poise of ex-strippers in cosmetology school, Trombley and Emmett carefully apply makeup to his face. As his features are colorized with light cherry blush and reflective lip gloss, Baranek quickly takes on an androgynous mien which he of course plays up and the homoerotic references take flight. When the singer suddenly becomes self-conscious, which he often does when hes the center of attention, he up and leaves the room. The juxtaposition of this scene is telling. Heres a trio that can outmuscle anyone live, a band that understands why the Who were so much more rock n roll in attitude than, say, Mötley Crüe; they have the gutsy larger-than-life persona, but its balanced with humor, balanced with acumen.
Back in the Moon room, Baranek relates a yarn involving record mogul Rick Rubin, the star-making producer and founder of Def Jam records (he gave rise to the Beastie Boys, Run DMC, Public Enemy, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and single-handedly resurrected Johnny Cashs career). In 2003, the hirsute Rubin flew the Sights out to showcase at West Hollywoods notorious Troubadour club. Rubin was actively pursuing the band, often sending his minion out to spend time with them.
Baranek fashions a bedsheet turban on his head, crosses his arms over his shirtless, hairless chest, smirks and does a droll impersonation of Rubin with keen observational insight. Chin up and with a stone-faced expression, he slowly and gracefully moves his small frame sideways across the Moon room floor.
Rick Rubin floated in on his hair and beard like Samson, he says of the execs Troubadour entrance. Then he drops his voice to mock the producers careful, self-important timbre, and says, My naaame iiiiis Rick Ruuubin. And Im [here Baranek launches into a note-perfect, a cappella chorus of the traditional Angels We Have Heard on High] Glooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-reee-a.
I dont trust myself with anyone, Baranek continues, now seated on the bed. If they told me I was sweet I wouldnt have believed them. He explains how Rubin wanted to meet with him privately. And then he tried to separate us and I thought that was low. I met up that night with Tony from the Muggs, my old friend, instead. Id rather hang out with him.
The Sights informed Rubin, the story goes, that we dont do showcases. We dont care about you or your label.
Its band or nothing, Baranek adds, emphatically.
Its that fuck-you attitude thats kept the band anchored in town probably longer than they shouldve been, and might keep them from ever hanging a gold or platinum album on their walls.
As, band fan James Iha the ex-Smashing Pumpkins/Perfect Circle guitarist and co-head of the Sights U.S. label, Scratchie says, I thought, Theyve got to be signed, when I saw them open for the Datsuns. I didnt think wed get them.
The heart of the Sights is its main songwriter, Baranek. To understand him is to see him unleash. Once hes oiled, when the tender moments fall away, hes as he is on stage, the exhibitionist child, powered by the promise of transformation, milking the spirit of Steve Marriott, Faces Rod and young Keith Richards not with calculated cops, but by an earnest love and deference to the music. Hes a musical mythologist who absorbed his lessons well.
And Baranek is a superstar, not in the fame, fortune and model-boffing sense, but in a self-effacing charismatic sense; his charm is from subtle and intangible things that inevitably draw others to him. And theres such satyr-like joy in his antics and in his beam that its hard not to just go along with him, even if hes bitching a blue streak about the current state of rock n roll, or pulling an absurd prank that Keith Moon didnt already do 40 years ago. His energy is strong right now, as is the bands their career timing couldnt be better and it fuels Baraneks knee-jerk cynicism toward the music biz (he chants derisively throughout the photo shoot: Were trying to move units, its all about selling rec-cords), his hometown musical elders (Coz Canler: straight from L.A. in his sweet L.A. vest), and his own insecurities about his songwriting, physical appearance and musical knowledge.
Baranek, who lives at home with his parents and has a steady girlfriend, has worked hard, suffered even, for the music, and after three albums (including 1999s Are You Green?; 2002s Got What We Want) hes seen a slew of key band members either quit or get fired (original bassist Mark Leahey, drummer Dave Shettler, drummer Eugene Strobe, keyboardist Nate Cavalieri, bassist Matt Hatch and others), losses that wouldve killed other bands. Trombley was actually the first Sights drummer for seven months in 1998; he rejoined a year ago. The 22-year-old Emmett came aboard in summer 2003.
If Baranek never scales rock star heights its because hes too smart, too unwilling to kiss record-biz ass, and he wont sell out. He can spot an agenda-advancing huckster a mile off. Hes been known to lampoon label execs in their presence and not return their calls. His response to courting Capitol records was, simply, Nah.
We didnt really want to be on a major label because we see what happens to the bands, he says.
As banal as it sounds, it could be make-or-break time for the Sights. Theyve done their leg work; extended American and European tours and festival shows, played a New Musical Express (Got What We Want made NMEs Top 50 of 2002 list) awards show, and received critical accolades, particularly overseas. Their hard-won touring rep lands them to-kill-for opening slots on tours (they just returned from a three-week, nearly sold-out stint with the Kills, and in days they head out on a run with the Donnas).
And New Line Records, a part of Time-Warner Company, is hoping the Sights do for them what Creed did for Wind-Up records; they want to break the band. The label needs a breakout band to be a force.
The Sights are pop-star ready, sure loud, sincere, alluring with smooth skin, good hair, high cheekbones and swimmers builds, in suit jackets and floppy fringe. But livelihood in rock n roll hinges on whether or not the kids get it.
The Sights whole scene could be lazily interpreted as Kings of Leon booze, chick and yayo cliché if not for the hyper-intelligence of the band members themselves; their stop-at-nothing spectacular, sometimes tumbledown, live shows; and their seemingly well-mothered sensitivity toward women. Baranek and Emmett often dedicate songs to their mothers at local shows; on the road theyre committed to their significant others.
Before the four-hour photo session ends, the 5-foot-6-inch Baranek half-glibly sums up his life as a rock n roll front man thus far: All I have is my girlfriend getting mad at me and no money.
Theyre the words of a slightly conflicted young man.
The next day the Sights arrive on the set of their video shoot a good 45 minutes late. In the Crystal Ballroom, inside the Masonic Temple, theyre shooting a clip for the Sights first single, Circus, a three-minute, we-deserve-the-airwaves belter that subtly skewers rock n rolls overrated Bright Young Things, and Baraneks loathing with bands that tour, get home and write their next record about being on tour.
Baranek had made a night of it after the previous afternoons photo shoot. He got on stage with All Night Push to sing a rousing rendition of Suzy Q, then headed across town and jumped on stage with his pals, the Hard Lessons. Hes suffering a hangover and sports a marble-sized knob on his head born of an unfortunate run-in with a pole. He hasnt slept much and his eyes are bleary.
The 20-odd-person film crew, headed by director-producer Anthony Garth whos shot videos for the White Stripes, the Detroit Cobras and others mills about. The crews stylist goes on a hunt for Visine to pacify the crimson in Baraneks eyes. There are a few curious onlookers and Emmetts girlfriend, Jaclyn, stands close by. The ballrooms ornate, Italian Renaissance motif, its antique chandeliers, arched ceilings and wood floors enhance the bands decadent and messy elegance well.
Garth wrote the clips treatment; he and Baranek go back a few years and the singer lets Garth just do what he does. Garth says the video is gonna be Kubrick-esque, a performance video with bicycles, stills and subtle effects. He also gave the Sights a friendly fee, saying the labels getting an $80,000 video for $8,000.
The guitar-and-Hammond driven Circus booms through PA speakers, and the band, framed by the Super 35mm lens, simulates a live show, the members quickly settling into their roles. Guitar-wielding Baranek, kohl-eyed, with tousled, high-forehead Jesus hair, hits the on switch and flies into his shuffle-kick-strut and swift up-and-back guitar half-cock, with not a trace of a hangover. He works the camera with an intuition thats part burlesque; half self-send-up, half self-belief.
On massive twin Hammond B3 organs, Emmetts black neck-length Hugo-ad-ready coif swishes forward and back; on accents, his arms swing in giant half windmills, a move he describes as Emmett out-Emersoning Emerson.
Seated at his low-center-of-gravity drum kit, Trombley is an aesthetically correct portrait, straight-backed with a short blond shag and smartly trimmed facial hair, wearing jeans, a black V-neck sweater over a button-collar shirt. He pounds along with Ringo grace.
During a break, Baranek talks of how much he adores his girlfriend, Sarah Bissa, and how their relationship has been up-and-down for years, adding that she keeps him grounded. We started going out when we graduated high school in June 99. Shit, I broke the band up once cause I was obsessed with her. Weve been on and off. Been on for about the last three years, though, pretty solid.
When she graduates from Wayne State in late April, Ill be in Tucson gigging that night, Baranek adds. Great boyfriend.
That segues into grievances about band business, as the Sights are manager-free at the moment, which means Baranek is saddled with such tasks as organizing the bands merch, overseeing the upcoming American and Euro tours, the overseas record releases and staying on top of the labels to see if theyre communicating with each other. He says hes stopped writing songs because of it. His fear is that in three months therell be a foot-long line of Sights CDs in every used record bin in the country.
Welcome to rock n roll. But Baranek points out that hes not bitching, that hes really grateful. But the workload wears on him; its his license, he says, to let loose on the town, on stage or on tour. Then he adds, as if to punctuate the sentiment, Were ready, man. Weve got gear. Ive got enough fucking amps for the party.
When Baranek talks, its more a rattling of images and ideas, neatly packaged with vitriol and comedy. But his every word carries weight, irony or no. He knows this. He rarely finishes a thought before hes ripping into another. When he senses that you might be losing interest, hell kill the sentence, usually with a glib whatever. Its the same when he talks about the bands new label.
Its look out for yourselves. At the same time, New Line is our family. We never sat down long enough with anybody to look at offers. [Scratchie] is the only one we cared to really continue talking to.
James Ihas one-of-the-boys unfussy energy is what excited Baranek about Scratchie. Iha was a big fan, big supporter, Baranek says. Hes the guy that phoned us, in spring 2003. Were on a six-week tour with the Datsuns. Iha comes out to a show and likes what he sees. Im selling the merch. He meets me at our merch table. Hes like, Wow, I really like your band. Comes the next night and buys the shirt, all the albums, buys us shots and drinks all night. Hes like, Hey, man, you know, I got this label. We were like, Yeah, we played with one of your bands, the Blank Theory. They were terrible.
So about eight months later we actually called him. We were like, Hey, man, you still want to do this deal? And theyre like, Fuck yeah. Are you kidding?
Iha says he loves the Sights and their inherent attitude, their willingness to work for a career. We were looking for good bands and singers that are real. The Sights have all that, he says. Theyre a solid rock band with a built-in fan base. We just want to get the record out there.
Did he impart wisdom or any mentoring to the young Baranek?
I dont think he needs any mentoring; they need the record to be successful. The only mentoring I did was I gave him a Top 10 list of questions to ask asshole managers. That, and I sent him a fuzz pedal.
Simon Keeler heads Sweet Nothing, a good-sized U.K. indie thats home to the Sights in Europe. He fell in love with the band and released Got What We Want as well as the new one.
In 2001, the White Stripes thing happened in the U.K., and it really made people actually get back into real music, not formulaic crap over here, Keeler says. We were already distributing the likes of the Dirtbombs, Mick Collins, various other projects. And I think that Jim Diamond actually played me some Sights stuff. Eddie will hate this, but it reminded me of the first Nuggets box set, and it was different to the blues-driven garage howl that people were falling over.
Got What We Want, according to Keeler, sold about 4,500 copies in Europe, 70-75 percent of those sales in the U.K.
And The Sights, which came out there in February, has moved about 2,000 copies so far. Thats without a tour, video or major features in the press, Keeler says. And now the mainland Euro press is lapping them up, which will prove better for sales potential in the long run; 2005-2006 is going to be a busy and fruitful time for Edward and Co.
Back on the set, Garth invites Baranek to take his pick between a girls or a boys bike. Ohh, the girls bike, Baranek says. It has a basket? Oh, perfect. Flowers in the basket? Fuck, yeah.
A crewmember with a clipboard gives the bicycle a once-over and says, Are we sure about the flowers?
Fuck, yeah, Baranek says, cutting him off.
The stylist inserts a white flower into the singers ear, and applies a quick pat of powder to his face.
Garth asks Baranek when was the last time he rode a bike. Steering shakily, Baranek lifts one hand off the handlebars, makes a quotation mark with two fingers, and says, Not since the big accident. The Dylan motorcycle crash. He never misses a beat; much of his existence revolves around embracing and mocking everything about rock n roll.
Trombley and Emmett man their instruments, the song cues and the film rolls. Baranek wheels the vintage girls bike in cockeyed figure-eights, flowers in hair and basket, resembling Katharine Ross in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and mouthing Circus lyrics with just a hint of embarrassed flush washing over his face.
In a moment, the planets gravitational spin pulls the front man and bike down to the wood floor. I started out Keith Moon but ended up Brian Jones in the swimming pool, he says, in an I-did-that-on-purpose kind of way, pulling himself up.
Later, New Line insisted Garth delete the bicycle scene. It was a little too cocky for them, he says.
Mike Trombley was born on Detroits East Side, is the son of a firefighter, and actually attended a fire academy, which he quit after 12 weeks. He began playing in bands at 18, including the Detroit shoe-gaze outfit Glider with Dean Fertitia, Dominic Romano and Kevin Peyok of the Waxwings which lasted four years. He first joined the Sights in 1998, lasted seven months, was kicked out and moved to California.
He quit his band in L.A. and returned to Detroit last April to join the Sights. Yeah, I moved back here for the band, Trombley says. And its almost depressing when youre not working and youre playing music and you have, like, a month off or three weeks off. I know why Detroit is such a hard-drinking city. I think I was always a moderate drinker, but coming back to Detroit and being in this hard-drinking band Ive definitely slowed my role, because I cant keep up with those guys.
Bobby Emmett grew up in Trenton and Allen Park, then moved to Rochester in high school. His parents wanted the family to get a chance at a better education, but that didnt really work out, he says. Emmetts parents, who just separated and are living in Alabama, are, Emmett says, not well physically. Its a sensitive subject he doesnt want to talk about. But they support [the Sights], and were close.
Emmett is so gentle and soft-spoken that its disarming, and his frightening good looks make him the obvious band pinup. Hes been described as a prodigy by anyone who knows him. He moved out at 18 and worked odd jobs, turning his back on full music scholarships. He came up playing jazz saxophone and classical piano, studied with jazz maestro Harold McKinney and others, but just kinda burnt out on it. I really started digging the organ and rock when I was 19 or 20. I had a full scholarship to Wayne State and some money to go to Berklee in Boston and other places. I went to Wayne State for two weeks and dropped out. Everyone was mad; theyre like, We gave you the money to do that. But I didnt want to do it.
He had a small demo studio where he recorded his own stuff and other artists for cash. Ive recorded a lot of really shitty hip hop. People who wanted beats. Theyd come and pay you 80 bucks a day and theyd get wasted and smoke pot the whole time. But it was such easy work because it was so stupid.
In 2002, Emmett ran into then-Sights drummer Dave Shettler at Boss Guitars in Ann Arbor. I played on some piano that I wanted to buy, and Dave was like, Dude, you have to play on the album. He went down to Jim Diamonds studio for the Got What We Want sessions and played on Everyones A Poet and added a bizarre piano solo to Itd Be Nice (To Have You Around).
Six months later, Baranek drunkenly approached him at a club with a proposal to join the band.
He came up to me and said, Half my band quit, can you do left-hand bass and organ? And I was like, Yep. And he said, Get your passport, were going to Europe. So I quit my job at the grocery store and went to Europe. It was great; it was my first time ever on tour and my first time ever on the road. It was so much fun. There were some really big shows, like one outside Rome; it was people as far as you could see. We played the Redding and Leeds festivals in England, which are huge.
Emmetts other big show prior to the Sights? He played the Montreux Detroit Jazz Festival at Hart Plaza in 1999, after acing an amateur, live-playoff sax contest. There were a lot of people, a lot of old people, some young, he says. I won a lousy Pepsi leather jacket.
When the Sights began playing out six years ago, they were the 9 oclock heroes, attitudinal teens on the outside of a festering garage scene, willing to play on any bill. They were often dismissed as mod-loving, gullible punks, hence their first album title, Are You Green?, which puns Hendrixs Are You Experienced?
In 98, 99 we were like 17, 18 years old, playing the Magic Stick, opening up for all these bands thatd pay us like $38, Baranek says.
Dirtbombs drummer and Cass Records owner Ben Blackwell has been pals with Baranek since their mid-teens, and has just released a vinyl-only version of The Sights featuring different songs. He remembers seeing them in 1998 at the Wired Frog, an all-age coffeehouse in Roseville. They played Trash by the New York Dolls, and nobody knew who that band was, Blackwell says. Eddie introduced the song, saying, This is a song by the New York Dolls, not that any of you would know who they are. It goes out to all you people from Roseville. Its called, Trash. Even then thats just so Eddie, with that underhanded jive, but not really being a blatant prick. Its that sly humor that hits you when you walk away. You go, Wait a minute, what did he just say?
But early on we probably didnt get a lot of respect from all the old Uncle Rocks, Baranek says. And, yeah, we had stickers on our guitars and, yeah, we got some shit in Detroit for it. That did hurt early on. All these people were 17 once too.
The only real hard knocks Baranek has seen in his 24 years (his birthday just passed) have been band-created. He still lives unapologetically with his parents in the home he grew up in. Dad owns a landscaping business (for which Baranek works on occasion) and Mom is an ex-teacher. He has two older sisters Kim, who now lives in Oakland, California, took Baranek to his earliest rock shows; and Becky, whos married, drove Baranek to school listening to New Order, Depeche Mode, Erasure, Yaz and the Psychedelic Furs. Baranek says it was his sisters who sent him down the correct musical path. He picked up Kims acoustic guitar at 14 and began playing.
The Baranek home, in St. Clair Shores, is suburban pretty, unpretentious, bright and homey. Its obvious that Baranek is still close with his parents. That he lives at home sparks certain defensiveness: I dont want Joe Blow in the scene who lives in Woodbridge with his great wooden floors and with his girlfriend to call me out and be like, Youre not rock n roll. Tough crap, man. My family likes me. I like my family.
Mom looks at her son with nary a raised brow; shes fine with rock n roll under the roof. Shed often make dinner for the band, and sometimes sends care packages on the road with them.
Earlier in the day, she asked her son why he hadnt shoveled the snow on the sidewalk. Now shes in the kitchen asking if hes hungry.
Would she rather her son were in college? No, she says, not at all. This is great, he gets to see the world. She produces a picture of her son in the first grade with the bowl cut, and says, He was an excellent student, top of his class, deans list at Wayne State. He had private education since the age of 3.
Baranek bailed on college (he majored in American Studies) to do the Sights. Im gonna ride [the Sights] and then Ill get my life together, Baranek says. Ill give it three years. Realistically, one album or two more albums. Then Ill go back to school. In three years, I would move out either way.
His pink-walled, upstairs bedroom is a spectacular mess, that of a man with a teens visual flair and super-fans appetite for music. Historic rock n roll and soul artifacts, hundreds of singles, albums and tapes; signed Creation and Zombies singles. A collection of Raymond Carver stories sits on the floor atop a stack of English magazines, Mojo and NME.
Here he rattles off his list of life-changing records: the first Nazz record (Todd Rundgren, a 19-year-old recording, writing and producing), Stevie Wonders Talking Book, The Bands Music from Big Pink, the self-titled Small Faces, the Jams Setting Sun and Sound Affects (two that define his summer between eighth and ninth grade), Zombies Odyssey and Oracle, Nina Simones Pastel Blues, Traffics Mr. Fantasy, Neil Youngs Everybody Knows This is Nowhere. He talks about Memphis blues and Edwin Starr and Solomon Burke. He likes Tina Tuner for the screeching and digs Ike for his non-cheesy way of playing clean blues.
He developed a love affair with Detroit bands in high school, and went to see such bands as the Rocket 455 and Clone Defects as a junior. Hes very aware of his musical antecedents he can school anybody about any of them and where he stands in the rock n roll hierarchy. In this he knows hes small, but you hear pieces of all those records in all the Sights songs.
His ability to play lead and rhythm guitar and sing and perform is alone a skill that transcends his youth. Its born of his love of Townshend and filtered through Wilko Johnson in the 70s and stolen by Paul Weller.
His guitar inspirations, he says, arise from Jack White (Seeing the White Stripes two feet in front of me at the Gold Dollar and Jack playing lead and rhythm), the Hentchmens Tim Purrier; Craig Fox and Brian Olive of the Greenhornes; and Rocket 455/Shanks guitarist Jeff Meier. His says his favorite is Greg Cartwright. I first saw him play live in 1999 at the Magic Stick with the Compulsive Gamblers. His live intensity fucked my mind; so raw, so real, and not a punk rock guy. He had balls, and he could kill you.
If Are You Green? was a teen-fueled, lo-fi love letter to 60s pop, early Pink Floyd and punk rock, and Got What We Want was a logical extension defined by heavy record discovery the Band, Zombies, etc. then the newest, The Sights, is all their own.
Eddie says he made a conscious decision early to not get musically cornered. We stepped out of this little power-pop box we had built for ourselves. We said, Lets just fucking blow this shit out of the water and fucking be a real band. I said, When were looking for covers, guys, lets not look at 30 Days in the Hole. Lets dig a little deeper so we look like real legit blues. So lets go black so we can look like were real 313.
On The Sights, songs quickly turn corners, probably out of Baraneks fear of getting locked into tired, tried-and-true chord progressions. But his reach never exceeds his grasp, and those arrangements and chord changes weve all heard a million times before are lifted out of wax museum-nostalgia and given a proper oomph, spin and luster.
Baranek undermines the melodies and structures of his heroes from the inside out; this is what separates him as a songwriter from nearly every other band mining similar territory those retrofitted emotional neuters and Anglo-hype prototypes hogging newsstand space with perfected preens, from Jet to the Killers.
The songs also mirror his high intelligence and short attention span well. The clever, if not disjointed, twists are surprising and memorable the harmonic wrenches are what keep Baraneks pop and swagger from careening into the overcrowded rock n roll dumpster. You hear pieces of his record collection, but those instances are the songs gateway, not their thrust, nor their definition.
It sometimes takes a personal investment from a fan of rock n roll to get into the Sights music; the band simply ignores the confines of the mainstream. Baranek gets bored with anything thats either easy or facile. And part of his brilliance is that he manages to surround himself with like-minded, young and equally talented musicians.
But thats not to say there arent loads of scrappily blasting, sing-song should-be hits mingling with baroque hum-a-longs.
Theres Dr. John boogie-woogie piano and Kinks-like phrasing on Backseat, a biting turn with an appropriately syrupy chorus that contradicts the lyrical tirade aimed at a Detroit rock scene caricature: You were one of the people, enjoying the dream/that you read about in a magazine.
Baraneks Catholic guilt comes to haunt him in Scratch My Name in Sin. Just Got Robbed, sits on a simple lick, a Motown beat, and is bookended by B3 stomps, which lift into an instantly shout-along refrain. That was me singing a Johnny Hentch [John Szymanski from the Hentchmen] melody line. And I did a hillbilly hiccup in there to give a dynamic. To show people that Im not fucking 70s rock, he says. Im a pirate.
Emmetts Babys Knocking Me Down and Suited Fine see his sugar-sweet, George Harrison-reminiscent lead vocal swing into ballad-land. I wrote Babys Knocking Me Down the day before we went into the studio, Emmett says. I had just broken up with a girl.
As a lyricist, Baraneks writing from experiences, from did-him-wrong, or he-did-wrong characters in his past, and from simple observations. Hes the first to admit that his lyrics dont necessarily stand on their own. But in context, theyre simple, honest truths sprinkled with sparkly couplets, such as, She wears her arrogance, like it was a brand new dress/But nobody wears it like that anymore.
Baranek can capture sorrow, and does on Waiting on a Friend, a country-like roll whose title is lifted from the Stones. Its an ode to his old Sights running bud, Mark Leahey. That was about losing my friend, Mark; my best friend, my songwriting partner, my blood, my ally, my only brother I ever had, Baranek says.
Leahey started the pre-Sights band the Same with Baranek when they were sophomores at De La Salle High School in Warren. His melodic McCartney-style bass playing and enthusiasm for rock n roll (and music in general) history paralleled Baraneks.
Tracing the Sights relatively short history is a confusing task because so many have passed through the ranks. In short, the Same became the Sights when Mike Trombley joined.
Local impresario Aaron Warshaw had a label called Spectator and gave the Sights money to do a full-length in 1999, which resulted in Are You Green? The record was done with Jim Diamond at Ghetto Recorders in fits and starts with two different drummers, Gene Strobel and Dave Knapp. Spectator went belly-up and L.A. indie Fall of Rome re-released the record in 2000.
And Baranek says hes eternally grateful for Warshaw. If he didnt give that $1,900 to do Are you Green?, I would not have what I have now. From there I got on Fall of Rome records. From Fall of Rome I got Dave Kaplan as a booking agent. From there I got a real lawyer. And I did these all on my own. I got them there because [Warshaw] got my first album out. And he never asked for anything back. I gotta be more thankful to these guys because they gave me that initial run.
In fall 2001, drummer Dave Shettler joined the band. As a gifted drummer, a multi-instrumentalist, and a skilled writer, arranger and singer, his importance to the groups sound can hardly be undervalued.
At first, me and Mark were the musical brothers, Baranek says. We were the two. You can only have so many. When Dave came, it became Dave and I. Now its Bobby and I.
The band began doing out-of-state shows, recorded Got What We Want, their last for Fall of Rome, and soon added a fourth member, keyboardist Nate Cavalieri. This crew toured North America.
Cavalieri was drawn to Baranek as a front man: He generates the feeling that he doesnt give a shit, that you are witnessing something that will never happen again, and there is something really special about that whether its some howling, transcendent thing, or whether its a disaster. What hes able to do from the stage is a kind of fuck-you to all these bogus trends, and a middle finger to everything that any self-respecting person hates about music.
When you would watch Jason Von Bondie play, and hes so well-groomed and fake-macho and full of shit, and then when you watch Eddie, its the opposite. You get the feeling that hes an underdog or something.
Then Leahey spun out of control on heroin, crack and booze. After a couple of rehab stints, he was fired, rehired and when things got really ugly, the union was over. Baranek kicked his bud out of the band.
Eddie and I were always together, we hung out every day and went through the same shit together, Leahey says. I was 20 then, and I had a pretty serious problem with drugs and alcohol. I was really out of control and it affected my relationships with the rest of the band. Our then-drummer Dave Shettler and I pretty much hated each other. Eddie wanted me to just get control of myself and start being myself again, but I couldnt and he knew that he couldnt keep turning his back on my problem. So he told me I had to leave. I was pretty upset at the time, but it really was the best thing for me.
Cavalieri remembers Leahey getting the boot: Mark was a fuck-up who did too many drugs and couldnt keep his head out of his ass, and when the band was trying to do something, he was a liability.
Leahey has since cleaned up. He joined the Army, went to Iraq and now is stationed in Germany with a wife and son. Baranek and Leahey are friends again.
Leaheys replacement was bassist Matt Hatch. The band headlined a U.K. tour in early 2003 to support Got What We Want, followed by a long U.S. tour. In May, Cavalieri and Hatch bailed, both saying they couldnt tolerate Shettler.
The band limped along on another short tour that year with Saturday Looks Good To Mes Fred Thomas filling in on bass. Soon Emmett arrived.
Then a year ago, as the band was putting finishing touches on The Sights, Shettler up and walked out of Jim Diamonds studio, and the band.
He told me he quit over the E-flat 7 chord also known as the C minor, Baranek says. He was fighting for some minor chord. He left and he took the sandwich that Id made for myself. Prick. I really wanted that ham sandwich. And he walked home, ate the sandwich, and called me at the studio and goes, Yeah, Im done. And I just go, OK. He wanted me to be in shock and I wasnt; I really didnt care. But of course I cared. I had a band, Id just signed a deal. Im right in the middle of recording whats supposed to be the most important thing in my life. And the whole world has crashed. My musical brother and ally. And again, What the fuck do I do now?
Shettler says there were musical spats in the studio. He adds that he didnt really feel like getting pushed around by a big record company. And getting played by WRIF between Jet and Mötley Crüe was definitely not one of my immediate goals.
Me and Bobby, we were shitting our pants, Baranek says. So we got Billy Hafer [Human Eye, Paybacks] in the band, but I wanted Trombley.
Trombley flew in, and passed the audition.
He didnt think he was good enough; hes always insecure, more than me, Baranek says. But he gave up his life to be in my band.
Trombley moved back to Michigan from his L.A. home, basically to live on peanuts, for the gig. Both he and Emmett survive on band money.
On stage at the Flamingo Cantina in Austin, Texas, at this years South By Southwest festival, the Sights are alive. And Baranek, whos unshaven in a red shirt and soiled jeans, looks the part of a grizzled soldier heading off to war. His voice is shot, he can barely hit the higher notes, and it gives the impression of Joe Cocker, popping forehead veins and all. Hes been hitting the bottle hard the last few nights, and this is their fourth show in as many days. But who can tell? The hundred or so crowded to the front, whose heads are nodding, whose fists are raised, who sing along as if in on some private knowledge that the Sights wont be their pet band for long, are in the moment.
The band runs the hits, their cover of Rev. Thomas Dorseys Im Going to Live the Life I Sing About in My Song, Just Got Robbed, Circus and Frozen Nose. Emmetts hulking, 425-pound, wooden-cased Hammond organ actually bounces, rocked to-and-fro by its owner.
When Emmett first became a Sight, all he could do was stand still and watch his hands. That couldve been a lifetime ago. And when his keyboard bench takes flight from the three-foot-high stage nearly taking out the shins of James Iha, whos near the stage it just makes sense.
Trombley, too, grooves less than Dave Shettler did, but he gives the songs a heavier, chest-thumping wallop.
Baranek snaps a guitar string and catches it between his teeth, spins with one foot off the ground, still chording, and turns, spits the string out and nails the vocal on cue. By the final song a cacophonous translation of their Ray Charles live-staple, Sticks and Stones hes on his back on the floor, twisting with guitar tones ringing, feeding back. As the final chord crashes, he leaps to standing, his arms outspread in the stale bar air.
The bands youthful insecurities collide with new confidence in this mess of melody, harmony and bashing chords. Its all orchestrated with musical intuitiveness, which makes the band so great live; each knows instinctively where the other will go. They could play the same set every night, and each show would be completely different.
After the set, the band is sweat-wet and amped with stage energy. A pair of fresh-faced girls in hip-huggers, one with Meg White hair, approaches the singer, looking for him to autograph a Sights single they just purchased. What do I say on these things? Baranek asks timidly, then he scribbles something indecipherable, hands the single back and thanks the girls.
The Sights are not yet clouded by road-damage and dashed expectations; maybe they never will be. So far their expectations fall in line with Whatever happens, happens.
Suddenly the Austin sky darkens. Rain comes down in heavy sheets. And the bands equipment is out on the clubs partially covered back patio. Of course its raining.
Soon, James Iha and New Lines head of marketing Garrett Te Slaa are helping the band and merch man Dave Lawson take the gear down a wet sidewalk to the alley and into the bands van in the pouring ran. A rock star label owner and a record company man moving the bands gear. Has anybody ever seen that?
Baranek surveys the action, lifts his shoulders, extends his arms outward, and tilts his head to the side. Then he drops them down with a shrug. Theres a big fat grin on his rained-out face.
The Sights record release show is Thursday, April 14, at the Magic Stick (4120 Woodward, Detroit; 313-833-9700) with the Muggs and the Boomerangs.
Brian Smith is music editor of Metro Times. Send comments to firstname.lastname@example.com.


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During its regular meeting Tuesday, the Muskogee Public Works and Finance Committees:
• Recognized Muskogee Parks and Recreation Department for awards received from the Oklahoma Recreation and Parks Society.
• Approved an ordinance and conducted public hearing on a request to rezone property located at 841 N. Main St. from mobile home site district to open air highway commercial district and revise the official zoning map to reflect the change.
• Tabled public hearing on request to rezone 12.79 acres from single-family residential to multi-family residential district until 9 a.m. Dec. 3.
• Approved an agreement with the Rural Water District No. 1 for the sale of treated water.
• Approved ODEQ Permit No. WL000051120883 for the construction of 2,092 linear feet of 8-inch PVC and 85 linear feet of 6-inch PVC water line and appurtenances to serve the future developments within the boundaries of Muskogee Rural Water District No. 5.
• Approved ODEQ Permit No. SL000051120825 for the construction of 220 linear feet of 8-inch DIP sanitary sewer line and appurtenances to serve the Kum and Go Store No. 987.
• Approved modifying the Muskogee Code of Ordinances to reflect the speed limit change on North York Street from 45 mph to 35 mph beginning at Shawnee Bypass and extending north 0.22 miles, and approved purchasing LED pedestrian signs to be installed by Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
• Rejected all bids submitted for Greenhill Cemetery Improvement Phase II Project and directed staff to work with architect to redesign the project for rebidding.
• Amended an ordinance governing council participation guidelines and rules of decorum, which expands public participation opportunities at city meetings.
• Approved claims for all city departments Nov. 5-16.
• Approved a bid in the amount of $26,987 from Danny Beck Chevrolet offering to sell a three-quarter ton truck for emergency management.
• Struck considering the lowest and best bid from Clean Uniform for furnishing rental and laundry of uniforms for city employees from the agenda.
• Approved the final plans for Ruby Park Improvements Phase III as prepared for by Alaback Design Associates and authorized the solicitation of bids.

subset: commoncrawl


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By Tim Graham
As we have written in The Buffalo News and on the Press Coverage blog all week, the Buffalo Bills have a delicate decision to make regarding the NFL's new television blackout system.
To quickly recap: The old policy was that a 100 percent sellout of non-premium seats was needed 72 hours before kickoff for a game to be televised locally. The NFL has lowered the minimum to 85 percent of non-premium tickets sold. Hooray for the fans, right? Well, clubs must opt into the new system, and if they do, then they must pay into a league-wide revenue pool. As Buffalo News writer Gene Warner reported this "likely would cost [the Bills] several hundred thousand dollars per season."
So you can see the Bills' quandary.
Let's find out what Press Coverage readers think the Bills should do -- and what they would be willing to do. These are not scientific polls, but then again this never claimed to be a scientific blog.


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The intention of the Proceeds Of Crime Act 2002 ( POCA ) is to deprive convicted criminals of any financial benefit they have accrued through their crimes. This powerful legislation also allows us to successfully remove negative role models from society, keeping Hertfordshire a safe place to live, work and visit.
Hertfordshire constabulary are one of three Forces who now use Ebay auctions to realize the best value of goods seized from criminals who have had confiscation orders made against them following conviction for criminal matters.
These goods to the best of our knowledge are genuine and not stolen.
Funds raised will either go back to the victims of crime as compensation or are distributed between the Home office the Prosecuting Force, the Court Service and the Crown Prosecution Service. Hertfordshire constabularies proportion is invested in local policing initiatives.
In order to keep costs to a minimum we have engaged volunteers to do the majority of the Ebay administration work.
In 2012/13 the Hertfordshire Constabulary Economic Crime unit secured in excess of 160 orders, instigated the collection of £600k for the victims of crime and a further 1.5 million from confiscation cases.
The forfeitures were as a result of investigations into fraud, theft, burglary, robbery, money laundering, brothel management and drug dealing.
We continue to maximise every opportunity to use the Proceeds of Crime Act to remove negative role models from the communities we live in. Your assistance is important in continuing this process.
All descriptions of sale items are as accurate as available information allows and all items offered for sale are done so in compliance with the 'Sale of Goods Act 1979'.
It is Hertfordshire Constabularies policy to 'Auction only ' in order to show that the fairest opportunity to obtain best value has been sought.
In the future we may also use this site to sell redundant technical equipment belonging to the Constabulary, the funds from which will be re-invested in the fight against crime. Such items will clearly described.


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Vita Liberata pHenomenal Long Lasting Tan Mousse
- 2 reviews See the Breakdown
- Product Info | Add Your Review
Vita Liberata pHenomenal Long Lasting Tan Mousse Reviews
Color is okay, but does not deliverI love self tanners and regularly splurge on new products. I was so excited to try this one, but it is not worth the splurge. The process the instructions suggest you follow are inconvenient at best. I followed them perfectly for three days. My tan lasted about 1 day. The first time I showered using body wash, it was gone and it didn't fade evenly whatsoever. Very disappointing product. — 9 months, 3 weeks agojocasey | 22 reviews
This review is: Helpful | Not helpful | Inappropriate | 4 of 4 people said helpful
Way Too Expensive and Doesn't LastI've been trying to find a new self tanner since Bobbi Brown discontinued their "Dark" self tanning gel and this one is definitely not it! I used the "medium" shade and just didn't get very much color. And it certainly didn't last 2-3 weeks like the packaging claimed. In fact, it didn't last for more than 4-5 days once it processed. Overall I was very disappointed with this self tanner especially when it costs over $50 a bottle! — 11 months agoAshleyHarper1 | 4 reviews
This review is: Helpful | Not helpful | Inappropriate | 22 of 22 people said helpful
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My Reasons for Reporting This


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Boy Scout™ "Think Outside—No Box Required" Performance T-shirt
Starting at:
$16.99Cuz every Scout knows that all it takes is getting outdoors and inspiration and clear thinking just naturally follow! Learn More
Boy Scout™ Adult Performance T-Shirt
Originally Starting at:
$19.99Starting at:
$16.99Made in the USA of USA fabric, this high-performance sport style is also armed with full-power protection and comfort features: • Moisture-wicking technology for fast drying time • Antimicrobial properties to fight odor-causing bacteria Short-sleeve, crewneck T-shirt features center-front screen-print with Boy Scout™ Universal Emblem. Soft, 100% recycled polyester Alpha Wick fabric. Royal Blue. Learn More
Boy Scout™ Geometric Fleur-de-lis Performance T-shirt
Starting at:
$16.99A zoom-in graphic goes to the heart of the BSA symbol on the front chest of this short-sleeve tee. Made of soft 100% polyester microfiber, this long-lasting tee is made for comfort in action, featuring.
- Built-in antimicrobial technology to fight odor-causing bacteria
- Wicking and moisture management for quick dry
BSA® "High Peaks Adventure" Men's Long-Sleeve Performance T-shirt
Originally Starting at:
$21.99Starting at:
$16.99Celebrating Scouting's aim-high attitude! Front sublimation-print graphics feature hikers enjoying a mountaintop sunset. Includes "Boy Scouts of America" lettering with Universal Emblem. Learn More


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There have been some changes to the Kenai Peninsula moose hunting regulations this year, Board of Game Chair Ted Spraker outlined…
Spraker: "What the board finally decided was, this next fall the season will allow, this is all of units 7 and 15 so our whole area, the seasons are the same except that we added spike. So you can only take a spike bull, or a bull with 50-inch antlers or greater, or four or more brow tines on at least one side."
And there have been a large number of sub-legal moose takes this year. Jeff Selinger, Wildlife Biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game…
Selinger: "So far, things seems to be going quite well. The one thing that we do encourage people to do is make sure you really look your moose over. If you don't count four brow tines, if it's a bigger moose, make sure that it's got a 50 inch spread, because earlier in the season we had quite a few animals that were taken, several animals that were taken, that were not 50 inch spread and didn't have the four brow tines, and the individuals actually thought they had a 50 inch spread."
Selinger asked hunters to be especially careful, since the fines for sub-legal takes can run into the thousands.
** Comments on this story do not represent the thoughts and / or opinions of KSRM Radio Group, Staff, Management or Sponsors. **
I can appreciate your rules & regulations, however I believe there should be some variation to these rules presently in place. Consideration should be given to residents living in Alaska, those who must hunt for food for their family & especially low income folks. Some variation of a fraction of an inch less is more humane than taking the animal out of the home and inflicting a heavy penalty, ie, loss of their weapon, and a heavy fine. COME ON PEOPLE! Show some consideration. If the violater is from another State, lower the boom on them, not Alaskans.


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Tune in to the official Dungeons & Dragons Twitch TV channel this Saturday, December 7 (10 AM – 6 PM) for a live D&D game—a follow-up to this year's 25-hour Extra Life charity event.
Together with more than 500 donors, the D&D team raised over $21,000 for Children's Miracle Network hospitals through the Extra Life event. Thousands of children are treated each year in CMN hospitals, regardless of their families' abilities to pay. These kids face much scarier threats than dragons and beholders.
During the livestream, a rotating group of participants played through three adventures featured as part of the Sundering-themed Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle (which is available on dndclassics.com starting today). This Saturday, a selection of the group's top fundraisers will be participating in the final part of the four-adventure campaign. Please join us and donate to help the kids.
Thank you!
Greg Bilsland (the Dungeon Master)
is a producer for Dungeons & Dragons by day and a graduate student by night. He runs two semi-monthly D&D games set in the Dragonlance setting, contents of which can be followed on Twitter. He's pretty sure this 25-hours of DMing is the most awesome or most stupid thing he's ever done.
Chris Dupuis
is a designer whose credits include Heroscape, Risk Legacy, & multiple D&D/Kaijudo products for Wizards. Follow him on Twitter
Erin M. Evans
is the author of The God Catcher, Brimstone Angels, and Brimstone Angels: Lesser Evils, and the highly anticipated third book in the Sundering series, The Adversary. She lives in Seattle with her husband and son. Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and at slushlush.com.
Joe Louie
is a lifelong gamer, and spends his days fighting for the users. He's enjoyed a life of serendipity through the love and support of friends and family. He's also on Twitter.
Mike Selinker
is the president of Lone Shark Games. He was a creative director on D&D 3rd Edition, and designed and/or developed Axis & Allies Revised, Risk Godstorm, and Betrayal at House on the Hill, among many other games. He's also on Twitter.
Rodney Thompson
is the co-designer of the Lords of Waterdeep board game, and designer for D&D Next. Originally from Chattanooga, TN, Rodney has been designing games since 2001. He can be found on Twitter.


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Con Edison is again distributing dry ice in Westchester County today.
Two locations are now stocked:
IBM Complex/Town Park at Business Park Dr. parking lot. (Set GPS for 200 Business Park Dr.) in Armonk
Yonkers Raceway - 810 Yonkers Ave.
There will be Con Edison personnel at the Yonkers location to answer Con Edison customers' questions.
Dry ice will be handed out until supplies are diminished.


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After his first international competition at the 2007 Parapan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he won four medals, Alex Dionne looked ahead to the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China. Hoping to come away with a medal, Dionne narrowly missed his place on the podium, finishing fourth in the men's 400m freestyle S7.
Dionne also will swim in the 2011 Parapan American Games
Dionne lives in Wisconsin with his parents, Tom and Karen, and his older sister, Megan.
Major Achievements:


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Madison County —
James Woodrow Cotton, 99, of Hagan Mill Road, husband of the late Lucille Victoria Zdrojewski Cotton, passed away Friday, February 28, 2014.
Funeral services will be conducted 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 5, 2014, at the First Christian Church of Richmond. Burial will immediately follow at the Richmond Cemetery.
Visitation will be from noon until time of service Wednesday at the church.
Oldham, Roberts & Powell Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Condolences may be expressed at www.orpfh.com.
James Woodrow Cotton, 99
Madison County —
James Woodrow Cotton, 99, of Hagan Mill Road, husband of the late Lucille Victoria Zdrojewski Cotton, passed away Friday, February 28, 2014.
- Obituaries
Barbara Sue Daugherty, 71
Barbara Sue Daugherty, 71, passed away Sunday, July 27, 2014, at the Hospice Compassionate Care Center in Richmond.
Patricia Ann Hill Embry, 66
Patricia Ann Hill Embry, age 66, of Jacksonville, Florida, passed away Thursday, July 24, 2014, at her home.
Larry Don Moberly, 70
Larry Don Moberly, 70, of Richmond, Kentucky, husband of Debby Moberly, passed away Sunday, July 13, 2014, at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.
Mrs. Juanita Bernice Estes, 83
Mrs. Juanita Bernice Estes, 83, of Poosey Ridge, widow of Garnett "Frog" Estes, passed away Friday, July 25, 2014.
Tom H. Rogers, 84
Tom H. Rogers, age 84, of Jones Road in Berea, passed away Friday July 25, 2014, at The Terrace Nursing Home.
Barbara Jayne Green Powell, 52
Barbara Jayne Green Powell, 52, of Richmond, passed away, Friday, July 25, 2014, at the UK Medical Center in Lexington.
William "Billy" Francis Isaacs, 65
William "Billy" Francis Isaacs, 65, passed away Monday, July 21, 2014, at the Compassionate Care Center.
William 'Billy' F. Isaacs, 65
William "Billy" F. Isaacs, 65, passed away Monday, July 21, 2014.
Services will be conducted 2 p.m. Monday, July 28, at Combs, Parsons & Collins Funeral Home with visitation from 11 a.m.
Rufus Walker West, 91
Rufus Walker West, 91, of Richmond, died Thursday, July 24, 2014.
Visitation will be at from 5 to 8 p.m., Sunday, July 27, at Oldham, Roberts & Powell Funeral Home.
Leona W. 'Granny' Brandenburg, 90
Leona W. "Granny" Brandenburg, 90, passed away Wednesday morning, July 23, 2014, at the Compassionate Care Center.
- More Obituaries Headlines
- Barbara Sue Daugherty, 71


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I read Jeff Simon's Gusto Blog post about Dave Brubeck and that was how I found out Brubeck had died. I feel bad.
We are lucky to have gotten to know Brubeck a little here in Buffalo. Besides playing with our great local saxophonist Bobby Militello, Brubeck was friends with Father Jack Ledwon over at St. Joseph University Church. Brubeck was in town once to perform a Mass he had written. I remember that because I was sick and could not go. My mother went, and my brother George. They both loved it. Except George said it was kind of weird when you went to Communion, because Brubeck was up there looking at you closely.
Brubeck told me once when I interviewed him not to say he was a Catholic convert, to say that he "became Catholic." And this is funny, ever since then, I use that rule for everyone. I do not say "converted to Catholicism," I say "became Catholic."
When I interviewed Brubeck I remember Jeff helped me get ready by telling me that story he told on his Gusto blog post, about how Brubeck broke down on the Ken Burns jazz series.
Brubeck was such a genuine man, wonderful music and wonderful beliefs. He led a long and full life, but it is hard to let go, you know? Above is a link to my favorite Brubeck song.
If I can choose just one.
-- Mary Kunz Goldman


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Fan Fare
Entertainment behind the scenes
Hef the feminist
(writing and reporting by Cameron French)
Hugh Hefner — media mogul, millionaire lades man, porn baron, feminist icon. …
Umm, feminist icon?
That last description doesn't exactly jump to mind when discussing the founder of Playboy magazine and its numerous adult-oriented offshoots in publishing and on television. Yet, a new documentary screening here at the Toronto International Film Festival, "Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist & Rebel" shines a different light on Hef's past — his work in the feminist and civil rights movements — and considers the notion that his Playboy empire has been a vehicle for female empowerment.
It might be easy to snicker at that premise, but the crowd at the film's premiere gave Hef, who arrived with three blondes whose combined age doesn't match his own, two standing ovations after the screening.
In fact, the only booing or catcalls came when one audience member asked Hef a particularly badly-worded question, wondering who would carry on Hefner's work now that he is in the "very final chapter" of his life.


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Don Serapio's Mexican Restaurant
1637 E. Highway 66
El Reno, OK, 73036
262-7741 |
The deluxe version of Serapio's nachos involves a meeting of beans, beef or chicken, and a blend of American and Monterey Jack cheeses, guacamole and sour cream. The nachos are served with a small lettuce salad. Stick around for the sopapillas with peaches fried in butter and brandy, sprinkled with cinnamon, and served with a scoop of ice cream.
Restaurant Info


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Visit www.cwaprintshops.com
Does your company sell a
Business to Union product?
Click here to add your company >>
After a long hard winter across the country, it is time to get out and enjoy the outdoors. Whether it's a trip to the beach, working in your yard, playing your favorite sport or enjoying a relaxing evening on the back porch look for these union-made products and support good jobs.
Download a high resolution pdf of our current Do buy list below.
Check out our Living Union Smart Phone app for Android OS.


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By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Tech stocks closed with broad gains Wednesday, led by advances from Salesforce.com Inc. and Groupon Inc. on what was a somewhat active market session ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
Salesforce /quotes/zigman/338061/delayed/quotes/nls/crm CRM -1.42% shares rose almost 9% to $158.78, a day after the cloud-based software firm reported a third-quarter loss of $220 million, or $1.55 a share, on $788.4 million in revenue. Excluding one-time items, Salesforce said it would have earned 33 cents a share.
Investors cool on Foursquare
Foursquare is having troubles convincing investors that its valuation shouldn't shrink, a sign of a cooling toward social-media startups in the wake of Facebook's messy IPO.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast Salesforce to earn 32 cents a share on sales of $776.6 million. Subscription sales, a key measure of the company's business, rose 35% from a year ago to $741 million.
Groupon /quotes/zigman/7212269/delayed/quotes/nls/grpn GRPN -0.15% also put in a strong performance, rising more than 15% to $3.88. Earlier this week, hedge fund Tiger Global disclosed it had acquired a 9.9% stake in Groupon. The daily-deal company's shares have risen 30% this week.
Among other tech stocks Amazon.com Inc. /quotes/zigman/63011/delayed/quotes/nls/amzn AMZN -1.89% shares rose almost 2% to $238.03, as the online megaretailer geared up for the Black Friday shopping rush the day after Thanksgiving. Read Rex on Techs on Amazon: Subscribe and save, but spend
Hewlett-Packard Co. /quotes/zigman/229301/delayed/quotes/nls/hpq HPQ -1.18% rose 2% to $11.94 a share a day after the company said it would take an almost $9 billion charge due to accounting irregularities related to its 2011 acquisition of Autonomy Corp. Read how H-P says it was duped in the Autonomy deal.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani on Wednesday cut his rating on H-P's stock to sector perform, or neutral, from outperform.
Facebook Inc. /quotes/zigman/9962609/delayed/quotes/nls/fb FB -0.40% rose more than 5% to $24.32, and Apple Inc. /quotes/zigman/68270/delayed/quotes/nls/aapl AAPL +0.55% , Microsoft Corp. /quotes/zigman/20493/delayed/quotes/nls/msft MSFT -0.70% and International Business Machines Corp. /quotes/zigman/230066/delayed/quotes/nls/ibm IBM -1.31% also advanced.
The Nasdaq Composite Index /quotes/zigman/12633936/realtime COMP -0.39% rose ended the day up by almost 10 points at 2,926, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index /quotes/zigman/1468249/delayed SOX +0.37% and the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index /quotes/zigman/6015481/realtime MSH -0.17% also closed with gains.


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Naruto Shippuden episodes are released weekly unless the animators are on break, or there's any problem postponing new releases. In this thread, the schedule of each month will be posted. With each post, the date of release and episode title will be included. When the episode is released, the post will be edited with a short summary, which will be useful for persons who have not watched the episode as yet.
Banner art by themnax


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At the collegiate level of baseball, one of the staples of the sport is the three-game series. The visiting team comes in on Thursday night or Friday morning with games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. At the Major League level, it stretches to another game in most cases and one rolls right into the other.
Starting this week, local high school baseball teams will get a taste of that tight scheduling and the importance of having strong depth in your pitching rotation.
And we'll also get a first impression as to whether or not it's a good idea.
Region 7-4A teams have set up their sub-region schedules to play each opponent three consecutive times through the course of a week.
On Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 5:30 p.m., Dalton and Southeast Whitfield begin each's Sub-region 7B-4A schedules with three games against one another. Thursday's game will be at Southeast while the other two will be played at Dalton. Northwest Whitfield will do the same against Ridgeland — same days and times — with the first and last at home in Tunnel Hill but Thursday's contest on the road.
Each team plays 15 sub-region games — five opponents, three times each. The positives of this system is it allows teams to plan more than one game ahead for the same opponent. People get comfortable with one another, and if a team loses the first one, then it can pick itself up knowing it'll have a quick turnaround before it can win the next two and take the series.
The negative? Well, for the same reasons it allows people to get comfortable with their opponents, it also could become a bit mundane watching the same teams play consecutively.
But this is the system — an interesting one, too — and starting this week, we'll see how well coaches and players like it.
Here is a look at what else is going on this week in the local sports scene.
• Christian Heritage, Dalton and Northwest will play the second (and final) round of the North Georgia Invitational golf tournament Tuesday at The Farm in Rocky Face.
The Bruins enter in fourth out of the nine teams, while the Cats are fifth and Lions ninth. They are chasing Peachtree Ridge, Roswell and Harrison — Class 6A powerhouses which always seem to be competing for state titles.
On Saturday, those three teams plus Coahulla Creek will be at the Warrior Invitational, taking place at the Mossy Creek Golf Club in Cleveland, Tenn. The Dalton, North Murray and Northwest girls teams will be at the Lady Cat Invitational, which will be held at the Dalton Golf and Country Club.
• On Friday, two local soccer teams we haven't seen play this year will meet up. Northwest will travel to Southeast for a Sub-region 7B-4A showdown with the girls starting at 5 p.m. and boys at 7 p.m. Dalton has beaten both teams one time this season — the Cats win against the Bruins was not a sub-region game — and whoever wins this one will get an edge in the sub-region standings and better seeding for the upcoming Region 7-4A tournament.
• Additionally on Friday, North Murray's and Southeast's track teams will be at the Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe Invitational.
On Tuesday, the Mountaineers plus Murray County will be at Coahulla Creek for a meet, while Dalton and Southeast will be at Northwest. On Saturday, the Bruins, Cats and Mountaineers will be at the Mohawk Warrior Invitational.
Devin Golden is a sports writer for The Daily Citizen. Have something you think should be in What's Going On? Contact him at email@example.com.


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Come on lets stop the games and find some solutions
By Dan OBrien / January 24, 2013 / 29 Palms, News / 2 Comments
At the 29 Palms City Council Special Meeting January 14, 2013, the City Council voted to wait for more information before making a decision regarding the 29 Palms Fire Department. While it was apparent that the City Manager had a strange compulsion to beat the heck out of both the Water District and the Fire […]Read More →
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- hard tangled grammarSculpture by Stephen WilliamsJuly 11– July 27, 2014Opening Reception: Friday, July 11, 7 - 10 pmWe are proud to present the first New York solo exhibition of work by Wayfarers alum, Stephen Williams.Williams is exhibiting a selection of mixed-media sculpture that have the presence ofartifacts - if artifacts were made in the present as way to establish a living relationship with the past. These are carefully and often impractically crafted works, fabricated from some combination of cardboard, joint compound, epoxy resin, wood, Bondo, plaster and plastic. The pieces function representationally, employing recognizable forms such as bird decoys, flowers, and fruit to loosely reference traditional craft or to allude to cultural heritage. The work remains removed from the substance of those references and allusions, though, allowing the pieces to resonate in the moment with their own quieting power, rather then project a historical echo.The artist describes this body of work as a "melting pot of disjointed, disharmonious tunes" sharing "a need to exist."Stephen Williams was born in Virginia and attended Virginia Commonwealth University for Sculpture and Photography. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn.
- Wayfarers is a Brooklyn-based studio program that offers qualifying members private studios, access to a woodshop and a solo-show (or the option to curate a show) in the on-site gallery.
There is room for 10-20 members at Wayfarers, and the goal is to keep membership as cheap as possible so we can hand pick really good people making really good work. We're hoping to develop a small community of makers who will champion each other and kick each others' asses.
- Wayfarers presents 10-12 exhibits a year. They are a combination of curated projects, solo shows by former artists in residence and group shows. All exhibits are free and open to the public 1 pm - 5 pm on Sundays, by appointment or by chance.
- In addition to shows, Wayfarers also hosts regular critiques, drawing parties, group shows, live music, experimental performances, puppetry projects, readings, video screenings, skillshares and other inventive events.


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July 30, 1993 -- The Buffalo Sabres shuffled their administrative deck on this day.
Gerry Meehan, the team's general manager, was moved up to Executive Vice-President of Sports Operations. John Mucker, the head coach, added most of the general manager's duties in the switch.
It's the first time the Sabres had named a general manager without firing the former occupant of the position.
"We've worked well together, and I expect we'll continue to work well together," Muckler said at a news conference. "I don't think you can be coach and GM under the traditional format, but under the format we designed and intend to operate under, I don't see any problems with it."
Meehan was said to have hopes of becoming the team's president at some point, but that didn't happen. He left the Sabres in 1995. Muckler stepped down as coach in the summer of 1995, and stayed as general manager for two more years.
--- Budd Bailey


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The companion to Dodger Insider, the Dodgers' official team blog.
A maturing Yasiel Puig will embrace - not surrender - his youth.
The 2014 Dodgers Yearbook commemorates legendary broadcaster Vin Scully's 65th year in the Dodger broadcast booth with an unprecedented 21-page section - entirely in Scully's words - discussing his life and career at length. The yearbook also features as a monthly review of the Dodgers' 2013 season and much more. Available in PRINT ONLY.
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i Play Origins Lavender Organic Short Sleeve Bodysuit (Small 3-6 Months)
i Play Origins Organic Short Sleeve Bodysuits have a lap shoulder design. i Play Origins Organic Short Sleeve Bodysuits are made of an organic cotton knit with embroidery around the neck line, sleeves, and leg openings. i Play Origins Organic Short Sleeve Bodysuits have a convenient snap closure bottom making it easy to put these adorbale bodysuits on fussy, fidgety babies! i Play Origins Organic Short Sleeve Bodysuits are machine washable. i Play Origins Organic Short Sleeve Bodysuits are available in 3 different sizes (Newborn 0-3 Months, Small 3-6 Months, Medium 6-12 Months) and come in the following colors: Bamboo, Gray, Rose, Cornflower Blue, Lavender, and Sage.
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Fishkind Commentary: Sequestration Will Impact Central Florida
February 19, 2013 | WMFE - The deadline is looming for Congress to come to an agreement on federal spending. If they don't, the so-called "Sequester" will go into effect next week, on March 1st. The proposed federal spending cuts could have dramatic affects in central Florida.


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NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, July 1. COACH MIKE BOTTOM, Head Coach of Men's NCAA Division I Champion MICHIGAN, will be one of two co-presenters (along with his assistant RICK BISHOP) at the ASCA World Clinic on Sept. 4, when he will spend 8 hours presenting the ASCA LEVEL 2 STROKE SCHOOL.
Courtesy of: Peter H. Bick
Courtesy of: Peter H. Bick
The Stroke School focuses on presenting the correct construction of swimming strokes and is the 2nd required course in the ASCA Certification program. Coach Bottom is world renowned as one of the most innovative and creative of coaches, and has presented at ASCA on several other occasions, including a fascinating presentation on "Three-Style Freestyle". This course is appropriate for both elite and age group coaches, as Mike will focus on the strokes of world-class athletes today and Rick Bishop will focus on developmental progressions for age group athletes in stroke building.
COACH BOB BOWMAN, coach of the living legend that is Michael Phelps, will do two presentations, the First focusing on "Vital Information for ALL Swimming Coaches" and a second talk focusing on training topics. Coach Bowman, Head Coach of North Baltimore Aquatic Club, is one of the most sought after speakers in all of sport. We're thrilled to have him with us.
REGISTRATION for the World Clinic is available on-line at www.swimmingcoach.org and coaches can secure discount prices through the end of July by registering on line.
Questions? Contact ASCA at 1-800-356-2722.
The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at firstname.lastname@example.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.


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Jubilant July Hauls
It's July!!! Time to start a new thread for all the amazing July hauls from you guys! Please post all your hauls, big or small, beauty or non-beauty...can't wait to see them all!! To start us off - here is a tiny sample haul from Dr. Hauschka
Deals too good to pass Up!
I have been getting a lot of great emails. Hopefully, some of these deals can come in handy for the rest of you. Have you seen any awesome ones you want to share? Now, is a great time to haul.
Aug 3rd, Rouge Event Wishlist!
With the Rouge Event just around the corner, and money to be spent, heres my list! My current (it could grow) wishlist : With so many holding off on purchasing, and the 4x point reward, I'd love to see what people have their eye on or what they plan on hauling at the event! So....Whats on your list?!
Ipsy August 2014
The first Sneak Peek has been released! I think this is a great start!
Subscription box photo sharing
I've been on the Ipsy waiting list, but still look at the thread. I thought we could have a shared thread from all the subscription boxes (including non-beauty ones likes underpants and lifestyle such as Wantable and POPSugar). That way we can live vicariously through each others goodies! (I know there are unboxing videos on YouTube, but I do not have the patience to sit through a five minute video about someone apologizing for the state of their hair. And I know there are blogs where I can see photos, but everyone usually gets different items in their boxes)
Glamglow Power Mud & Chanel at Costco!
Just a quick FYI to anyone with a Costco membership; the store near me (Fremont CA to be exact) has Glam Glow Power Mud for around $36. This is the newer mud-oil hybrid deep cleansing treatment. Also, to, and more exciting to me, this Costco also has Chanel nail polish! The price on the nail polish was $20 or so IIRC? Shades included Jade Rose (pale peachy pink), a red and a warm grey (sorry, don't recall the name) and Vertigo, a shimmery dark taupe brown. Vertigo came home with me. Whoohoo for Costco! I had no idea they carried prestige brands, it was my first trip there ever.
If you had $1000...
If you had $1000 to spend on beauty products, what would you buy?! I would get Tom Ford eye shadow palette in Orchid Haze Tom Ford brushes Hakuhodo brushes more NARS Sheer Glow Marc Jacobs Mousse foundation (i really want to try it) Bobbi Brown BBU palette Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette
July Haul
I stopped in to Sephora today , I usually only get there 1 time per month since I don't have one that close to me. I got a lot more than what I came in for lol but I had a great visits & can't wait to try my new items! If anyone has tried any of these products i would love to hear your thoughts on them. July Haul : Agave Smoothing Trip Set Hourglass Illusion Tinted Moisturizer in Shell Hourglass Ambiant Lighting Palette Fresh Black Tea Age Delay Instant Infusion Fresh Lotus Eye Gel Samples; GlamGlow bright mud eye treatment Hourglass Ambient Luminator Blush in Flush Fresh Sugar Face Polish Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh
Ipsy July 2014
I received the first sneak peek for Ipsy in my inbox this morning and figured I should share and get the July discussion going Sneak Peek #1 Everyone will be receiving 1 of these 2 items from bareMinerals Sneak Peek #2 Everyone will be receiving 1 of these 2 items Sneak Peek #3 Everyone will be receiving 2 of these items Sneak Peek #4 Everyone will be receiving 1 of these items
Joyful June Hauls!
Hey BTers! I decided to start at new haul thread for the month June. I love seeing everyone's hauls.Share what goodies you got this month. (beauty and non-beauty) Remember guys a haul is a haul big or small.
Most of these are samples or minis I bought in kits. Quite a few are just full sized items I bought in advance, so I have backups when I run out. People have asked me about the stash that made my husband ask me to stop buying things I have backups of. These pictures do not include anything in my current stash, which has a ton of unused makeup from lippies to nail polish and more, especially eye shadows. I do need to go through my perfume samples a little better, because I have a lot of duplicates I need to move over to the backup section to make more room in my train cases. Many of these items are duplicates, but I am going to hold onto my HG duplicates from here on out. One lovely lady just got a bottle of Genefique, which I know she will love, but she will be the last. That will have me repurchasing less often. Any item I have a duplicate of that I have not tried, I may be willing to part with. To the other lovely lady I just traded with, I really wanted to send you the It's a 10, but I must try it when I am done with my current brand. Hopefully, you score it another way. Makeup Body Cleansers Face Creams, Eye Creams and Serums Hair styling products (the Sauve ones came from a VoxBox, but I will not put them up for trade as I think my husband may have used each once before returning to the box). Big Items (I am not using antibacterial soap on my body, so no need to fret. I do use it on my hands in the shower). Miscellaneous Items Shampoos and Conditioners Face Cleansers and makeup removers Sunscreens/tanners Nail Products Facial wipes (currently working on the Ole Henriksen from Ipsy, so it is in the active stash for those curious). Cotton Unused Stuff hiding Deodorant/ kids stuff (I do use their stuff sometimes). Body Moisturizers Hand Moisturizers Stuff put aside for trades 1 Stuff put aside for trades 2 Stuff put aside for trades 3 Foils (so excited I am down to only one bin. I've been using them and giving them away).
Help me spend my money!
I got a promo where I get a $25 GC at Neiman Marcus if I spend $50. So many choices! My first thought was a Tom Ford lippie but they are only $49 lol What would you get? Or suggest to me?
My June Haul & Becoming VIB Rouge :)
This is my June haul. I had a small online order & I got to visit Sephora after a drs appointment which is when I got VIB Rouge status it was the best shopping trip to Sephora yet! Online order consisted of : Fresh Soy Cleanser Too Faced in sweetheart perfect flush blush in candy glow In store purchase: LP Perfect Hair Day Shampoo LP Perfect Hair Day Conditioner LP Perfect Hair Day 5 in 1 styling treatment Samples-MUFE HD Powder, Tarte blush, Elizabeth & James Nirvana white , MUFE Aqua matic LP No Frizz Shampoo LP No Frizz Conditioner LP straight spray LP flex spray LP satin hair serum LP No Frizz nourishing styling cream Prada Candy Rollerball Laura Mercier concealer in 0.5 Urban Decay eyeshadow in SWF BUXOM HAUTE PINK VIB Rouge gift 2 perfume samples Shiseido serum Marc Jacobs Daisy Tucca Margaux
i bought the Buxom full on lip polish and it is wonderful! it has my name. the color Jane is so awesome. its like a berry color. my friend and i went and got ourselves lipglosses that matched our name. went up 21 points! yessssssss....
Ipsy June 2014
I love the sneak peeks, so I wanted to start the new thread for this month. Even though I love trying new things I otherwise would never buy, I like having an idea of what is coming. Looks like the bag does have the lei/flower theme in support of the luau. Spoile r 1 (Lips) NYX Butter Lip Gloss *No other items are in the picture, so it looks like everyone will be receiving one. Spoiler 2 (Eyeliner) Jesse's Girl Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner NickaK Shimmer Eyeliner (both in the middle are this brand) Ofra Cosmetics Eyeliner *It looks like everyone will receive one of these three options. Spoiler 3 (Face) OleHenriksen The Clean Truth Cleansing Cloths Be a Bombshell Lash Out Mascara Laneige Complexion Correction BB Cushion ClariSEA Sea Salt Solutions Face Rapid Detox Charcoal Exfoliant MDSolarSciences Mineral Tinted Cream SPF30 Ofra Cosmetics Universal Brow Pencil Skinn Olive & Enzyme Rich Cleanser and Resurfacing Mask Essence of Beauty Wind Kissed Fine Fragrance Body Mist DERMADoctor DD Cream Realtree Perfume *It looks like everyone will get two of these ten samples. Spoiler 4 (Hair) Dove Pure Care Dry Oil Marc Anthony Dream Waves Beach Spray Carol's Daughter Sacred Tiare Anti Breakage and Anti frizz Styling Cream *It looks like everyone will get one of these three options. Spoiler 5 (the bag)
E.L.F. free shipping today!
Hi everyone! I just put in an order to E.L.F. because they have an amazing deal today- FREE SHIPPING! Any time I see those words together, I do a happy dance and place an order, pronto. ;D So, to get free shipping, just spend $13 or more, and use the code HAPPYFRIDAY13. Enjoy!
Ever buy something you forgot you already had?
Thesupergirl's post about UD's Electric made me want it because of the lovely teal color, Fringe. Then I realized I already have a very similar shade in a LE Benefit palette that I never use (I think I'm the only one that bought The Rich is Back because it was in their sale section for months). I also bought two Bumble & Bumble Dryspun hairsprays in one week! Totally didn't know I had already ordered it because I was happy hulking out over their holiday GWPs.
Marvelous May Hauls! "I came, I saw, I hauled."
Hello, beautiful BTers! Thought I would keep up with the haul threads tradition and start one for May! I love seeing everyone's hauls -- small and large, beauty and non-beauty -- so do share what you've added to your collection this month!
Clarisonic Replacement Brush Heads on Groupon
2-pack replacement heads for $25.00! They have the acne, deep pore, and sensitive heads and you'll get free shipping for spending over $19.99. Sounds like a good buy!
Um, so I might have needed a lot of retail therapy the last few months. Now I am home and was greeted with this when I arrived. It took four days just to unbox.
Shoppers Drug Mart Beauty Gala
So today was the Shoppers Drug Mart Beauty Gala and I had a blast! You had to book your make over (if you wanted one) ahead of time and buy one of the $10 tickets, $5 of which gets taken off your purchase at the end of your time there. I spent just over $100, and got a ton of freebies. My makeover was done by a Stila makeup artist and she did a fantastic natural look. (I have the product sheets if anyone wants to do a similar look) What I bought: Guerlain Meteorites in Medium ($65 plus tax); all Guerlain purchases came with a GWP, which is on the stuff on the top. (Close up on the Meteorites) I also bought the Stila highlighter duo. All Stila purchases also came with a GWP, a lovely lipstick in the shade "isla". Freebies!! There were also coffee and pastries available, which was pretty awesome. It was also a 20x the points event if you spent more than $75 on cosmetics...which I did. Did anyone else go the SDM Beauty Gala? - Sam
Nordstrom Haul
I know some people wanted to see some of what I bought so I'm just posting some pics now. This is the Burberry palette in Dark Spice This is the cute case it comes in This is the Nars Matte Multiple in Siam This is the Nars Larger than Life Gloss in Como This is the Burberry Soft Satin Lip Cover in Prune This is Nars Lipstick in Morocco This is Burberry Lip Velvet in Hawthorne Berry This is MAC Heroine And this is Nars Single Eyeshadow in Fez. Some of these look lighter in the pictures... I have no idea why my camera won't take true to life colors but that's life, LOL! I have my Nars foundation and another Burberry lippie coming tomorrow. I can't wait!
Awesome April Hauls! Show me show me show me. =)
I'm trying SO hard not to break my wallet so I'll live vivaciously through y'all's hauls until end of the month. If you are an April baby, don't forget to take advantage of the numerous b-day offerings everywhere(sometimes it take a few days after signing up to get the offer): http://community.sephora.com/t5/Beauty-Insider/Bir thday-Gifts-and-Promos-from-Cosmetic-Companies/m-p ... And of course, before you place an order, don't forget to check the current perks and promo threads that will rob you of all your points and will power: http://community.sephora.com/t5/VIB/Active-Promo-C odes-8-The-quot-I-hope-I-don-t-get-into-trouble/td ... http://community.sephora.com/t5/VIB/Active-List-of -100-Point-Perks/td-p/869671 http://community.sephora.com/t5/VIB/Active-List-of -250-500-and-Male-Point-Perks/td-p/869679 And ebates or whatever rebate website you are using. So what did you get this month?
Total Haul - Everything I Currently Have :)
I was thinking about the number of highlighters I have and then I wondered 'what's my total haul over time?' So I added everything up... 5 Foundations 15 Blushes 2 Concealers 3 Bronzers 9 Highlighters 2 Finishing powders 195 Eye shadows (15 singles, 113 in palettes, 57 in customizable palettes, and 10 pencil shadows) 60 eyeliners (51 liners, 3 double ended liners, 2 liquid and one rim liner) 2 Brow gels This is all active makeup - not stuff I've set aside for maybe trades, and does not include any backups. I forgot to count my lip stuff, I will have to do that later! What do you have?
Who doesn't like deluxe samples???
I was told by a little Nordstrom's birdy that starting on Monday, Nordy's will be going live with their Deluxe Sample beauty GWP bag. She said that it has 20 deluxe samples in it and it is limited time only. I may be mad at them, but who can resist 20 deluxe samples???
Had to share a great customer service story...
Today I got a surprize present via UPS. I had ordered Jimmy Choo's Flash with my Nordstrom's notes and Nordy's accidentally sent it to the wrong address. They were able to reroute the perfume but not the samples since they were sent separately and can't be shipped to another location other than the original shipping address. Today I got a package full of deluxe samples and the nicest note from the customer service rep that helped me telling me to enjoy the samples and hopefully I'll find something new that I love (she remembered that I told her that I went crazy on some items that I got as samples in the Norstroms GWP bag). I get good customer service when I call Sephora's Rouge line customer service (not so much in store) but that was above and beyond what I expected. I don't get me wrong, I love Sephora and have been a long time customer but I hope that a story like this will help them step things up when it comes to Rouge status.
HSN free shipping + 15% off beauty today!
HSN has free shipping on beauty today (4/24), for their "Spring Beauty Event." In addition, you can get 15% off with code is APRILBEAUTY15 , and can only be used once per account (expires 4/30). I purchased the Korres Glazed & Glossed Lip Butter Glaze 4-piece Collection , as a backup for the set I got from Sephora in January. I really love these, so while I'm sad Sephora doesn't carry them anymore, I am really excited to get a great deal from HSN.
April Showers...Crazy Haul
April Trouble errr I mean Haul: - Ghd eclipse - Fresh Ancienne set: ancienne cream, ancienne eye creme, and elixir ancien - Fresh Ancienne Ultimate Honey Mask - Elizabeth and James Nirvana in black and in white and the rollerball for each (for my bag) - Guerlain Meteorites - Guerlain brush (nordstrom bc sephora was sold out) - Guerlain terracotta bronzer - Guerlain terracotta brush (again nordstrom for same reason) - Dolce and Gabbana blush in rosebud (which is amazing, highly recommend) - Marc Jacobs the finish line perfection powder - Marc Jacobs the face 2 brush - Urban Decay Naked Palettes 1, 2, & 3 - Urban Decay Electric Palette - Urban Decay Smoked Palette - Make Up For Ever HD Complexion Starter Kit - Make Up For Ever HD Concealer - Fresh Black Tea Instant Perfecting Mask - Fresh Black Tea Age Delay Cream - Fresh Black Tea Instant Infusion Toner - Fresh Seaberry Moisturizing Oil - Fresh Peony Night Treatment Mask - Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Lip Treatment - Fresh Sugar Lip Polish - Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve face cream - Fresh sugar roll on deodorant - Fresh Rose Mask - Fresh Brown Sugar Polish - Fresh Soy Face Cleanser - Dior Creme Abricot for nails - Dior Airflash Spray Foundation - Buxom Lip Gloss in White Russian - Buxom Nude and Brights Gloss set - Urban Decay 24/7 eye pencils in Perversion, vice, and asphyxia - Urban Decay Lipstick in Native - Urban Decay Lip Gloss in Walk Of Shame - Dior Maximizer Mascara Primer - Sephora Full Action Mascara in Purple - Benefit They're Real Mascara - Josie Maran Light Argan Oil - Soap and Glory The Righteous Butter Lotion - Soap and Glory Pink Perfume - Soap and Glory Hand Food - Soap and Glory Heel Genius - Dior Addict Lip Glow - Tarte LipSurgence in Energy and Lucky - Tarte Glamazon in Foxy - Too Faced Lip Creme in Marshmallow Bunny and Razzle Dazzle Rose - Tarte sculptor in Park Ave Princess - Tarte Brush for the sculptor - Make Up For Ever 108 Straight Brush - Sephora pro Blush Brush # 54 - Anastasia Beauty Express Kit - Anastasia Brow Wiz Pencil - Anastasia Brow Fix - Sephora must have smudge brush # 70 - Tweezerman scissor set - Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Powder - Sephora Face Brush Set and the Sephora Eye Brush Set - Beauty Blender double set with cleaner (online only) - Dry bar dry shampoo for brunettes - Dry bar money maker hair spray - Benefit mini set: porefessional, that gal, girl meets pearl - benefit porefessional full size - Yu Be Cream and Lip set - Sephora MakeUp brush shampoo - Clinique oil for lids, lashes, and lips - Sephora Makeup Remover Wipes ... And I am waiting for the 24th for 3x points on perfume for Flowerbomb, D&G Desire and Light blue, and MJ Daisy.... i also may purchase some things before the month ends from origin, buxom, and the clarisonic luxe set... Hi, My name is Jessica, and I am a Sephora Addict. xx
Space.NK $20 off $75
They carry the Hourglass blushes (backordered, but most of them are OOS on Sephora right now)... need I say more? The code is DISCOVER20, and it's valid until next Tuesday, April 22. I picked up a 4-pack of Clarisonic brush heads (I'm stocked up for the next 2.5 years now ), the Hourglass blush in Radient Magenta (thanks to everyone who helped me decide ), and the Hourglass Illume Creme-to-Powder Bronzer Duo in Bronze Light. I split the items up into two orders and got a $40 discount! These are the Sephora product pages for the items I picked up: https://www.sephora.com/cleansing-brush-head-value -pack-P377534?skuId=1494368 https://www.sephora.com/ambient-lighting-blush-P38 4963?skuId=1581339 http://www.sephora.com/illume-creme-to-powder-bron zer-duo-P210576?skuId=1074459 I should be on a no-buy, but I felt this deal was too good to pass up! Happy shopping, everyone!
20% off Tarte and 22% off Josie Maran!
These are some great deals! Just in case anyone's interested
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