Manhattan Digest

All you need to know about Manhattan culture and so much more...

the real world

Como Brothers Band New EP- Worth the listen!

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Credit to: Como Brothers Band
Credit to: Como Brothers Band

 

I have been able to interview some pretty big talent out here on Long Island, but the Como Brothers Band truly define what it means when persistence meets talent.  I talked to them back in November about a bevy of different topics such as them winning Ernie Ball’s Battle of the Bands for last summer’s Vans Warped Tour to them having one of their own songs be playing on the uber successful E! reality show “Keeping Up With The Kardashians”.  All of their music they have put out thus far has had great melody, amazing guitar playing and smooth vocals that really show their talent and skill.  Their persistence is the ability to get their name out on a more national level, and hopefully soon an international level.

Now they have something great for their fans to devour. The Como Brothers Band have released their new EP called “Still Waters”.  It is a 6 track album showcasing an even more mature sound from their last release.  All of them are standouts, but to me my favorite song is “Parachute” which sounds like a haunting version of an early Daughtry record.  It has a great beat and introduction that is more than worth the listen.  Another great track off of the EP is “Bad Karma”.  A great line off of it is “Leave her for me, so I won’t see her lying in her vanity”.  LOVE IT.  These guys really are a blend of a lot of what is current and popular right now in the pop-rock circuit yet they do it originally, something a lot of other artists don’t do.  This is definitely an album worth cruising down the road to with the top down now that summer is rapidly approaching.

Keeping on the reality circuit, on March 27th of this year their song “You Are My World” was featured on the MTV documentary series “The Real World- Portland”.  They have also unveiled their brand new website for everyone to check out.  On top of all of this, they will be doing a radio tour culminating with a huge performance at The Bitter End in Manhattan on May 31st.  For a great TV spot they will be on WTNH New Haven Channel 8 Style on May 23rd, so there are a ton of different venues to check them out! Check out the website to hear the new EP and everything else Como Brothers Band.

 

Pedro Zamora- Why his legacy remains important

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Credit to: Bunny's Victory
Credit to: Bunny’s Victory

Out of frustration that I was stuck home last night due to circumstances (babysitting my nephew.  Cute yes, on a Saturday night not so much), I was flipping through my channels when I saw that MTV was doing a Real World marathon of their three biggest seasons (New York Season 1, San Fransisco Season 3 and Las Vegas Season 12).  They hashtagged it with #retroMTV, and where as I don’t see Vegas being so retro the other two were and so much more.  Vegas was on last night, and it was a great reminder of how great the show used to be yet somehow I see Vegas as the one that made that show “jump the shark” because they spent every season afterwards sexualizing the program as opposed to making it about 7 strangers who were trying to co-exist in one place.  There is a difference there.

Today they are doing what is still considered by so many people as the best season of Real World- San Fransisco.  The third season of this iconic show portrayed two of its most polarizing characters in Pedro Zamora, and David “Puck” Rainey.  Two completely different men in so many ways yet made the show fascinating with their unique viewpoints and how they got to the life they had at that time in 1994.  Puck was considered to be the zany outcast of the group, getting arrested on his way to going to the house and doing a number of unpredictable acts such as putting his fingers in the peanut butter as one.  Something by that standards could be on Nick Junior today and no one would blink an eye, but twenty years ago this was considered ground breaking in a variety of ways.

Pedro Zamora on the other hand, couldn’t have been more of a stark opposite.

An avid educator on AIDS, he was shown throughout the show doing his lectures about his condition and how others can prevent it.  Him and Sean Sasser also made headlines as one of the first gay couples to be seen on a national spotlight and in such a frank and open manner.  They would up getting engaged and had a commitment ceremony in the loft that Zamora and his castmates were living in for the show.

Sadly, Zamora wound up passing away only a couple of months after filming ended on November 11th, 1994.  Since his passing, he was acknowledged for his tireless efforts as an AIDS crusader by former President Bill Clinton and had several organizations named in his honor as well.

So why does he remain relevant today? It’s simple.  To put it in terms only I can, Pedro stood up and spoke loud and clear about a disease that was killing millions when others cowarded and avoided the topic due to their own personal feelings about homosexuals and AIDS itself.  He knew the uphill battle that he had to face and took it head on and instead of retreating and living out the rest of his life in silence he broke the mold and spoke his piece in a time where this disease was a major death sentence and viewed as globally in a terrible manner.  He made people wake up and educate themselves, something that a lot of people are still having a hard time doing today.

Quite frankly, he should’ve been nominated and awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize that year.  He brought a nation together and gave them an understanding of what he was going through so that each person themselves could get a better judgement on what the disease was and that beyond the disease there is a human being attached to that person.  There is more to a person than HIV.  He is and forever will be in people’s minds seen as a hero and he is one of mine as well for so many different reasons.

 

Catfish the TV Show: Addictive for all the right reasons.

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Catfish
Credit to: www.mtv.com

 

I have to say in recent years MTV has sure put out some shows that I would rather run into a knife than watch, most recently Buckwild and the gem of all gems Teen Mom, which is making thousands of girls pregnant and money hungry as I type this post.  It didn’t seem too long ago when I was growing up that shows like Fanatic, Total Request Live and The Real World (when it was good and documentary-ish) were filling their airwaves of a once thriving network.  Lately though, that sparkle and luster is gone from a network that is completely devoted to programming (why on earth there is still a VMA every year beats me).

Yet, they seemed to have strike it gold with their new reality show “Catfish”, which premiered back in November.  The show centers around its star Nev Schulman, who made the movie of the same name two years ago.  It is based off of people you develop a relationship online, yet never meet in person, or Skype/Facetime either.  His whole purpose of the show was that “Catfish the movie was my story, Catfish the TV show is yours”.  Pretty simple, right? Sure.  Then, no matter what the topic is, shit always gets real and by the end the show has more twists and turns than a bad Lifetime movie (it’s your opinion if that is a good reference, but you get it).

Take the premiere episode.  Cute nursing student Sunny thought she had been talking to a model out in Los Angeles called Jamison for quite sometime.  Her younger sister actually talked to him first.  Yet during the whole eight months they talked, they never did it in front of a camera.  Finally, Nev to the rescue!  After doing some research (he does this in every episode, and it seems like anyone can, just pointing that out there) both Nev and Sunny travel to find that the person they were talking to isn’t a drop dead gorgeous model, but in fact a teenage girl named Chelsea.  Chelsea in return said she made the profile due to the incessant bullying she was dealing with on a daily basis, and wanted to create an alternate life in a way where she felt like she could be accepted.  All hell breaks loose but by the end there isn’t too much harm done and everyone goes their separate ways.

I’m sorry, I would be having serious issues if I was Sunny.  For so many different reasons.  I felt bad for her the whole time but at the same time you have to wake up and realize this person you think you are talking to isn’t real.  Why do I say this? Because just like every other gay man, woman, and even straight man to a certain degree, I have done online dating.  Whether it’s an app or a site, I have been there, and still do.  The thing for me is unless you are far away or there is a chance you are visiting the Tri-State area I don’t really have the need to talk to you beyond a certain point.  It’s not rude, it’s just honest.  If you are in Australia, and ask to see certain parts of me, what is the point? Can’t go through someone’s phone and grab it now right? Ugh, I digress.

I have been in Sunny’s situation where I have talked to guys from far away, and there have been several few exceptions of ones that really get my interest.  But, within two or three days of talking, we always Facetime or Skype.  That way, I know you are real and not cray cray.  Moral of the story to everyone reading this and watching the show is always make sure you know who you are talking to.  That way, you don’t end up sad and really embarassed in front of millions of people.  I think the show is fantastic though for several reasons.  It has done a couple of episodes focusing around the LGBT community, especially transgendered which of all those letters doesn’t really get the most attention.  It’s done in a non-judgemental way and people can see that when they watch the show, so kudos to Nev.

Bottom line, I am hooked.  Watch the show.  Debate it for yourself.

Have you ever been in a catfish situation? What do you think of the show? Sound off!