Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast July 31, 2018

Kanna Asakura vs RENA and new fight announcements.

Ayaka Hamasaki vs Mina Kurobe added to Sept. 30 RIZIN show

Ayaka Hamasaki, Mina Kurobe

In the wake of Sunday's main event, RIZIN announced that Ayaka Hamazaki vs Mina Kurobe has been added to RIZIN 13 Sept. 30 at Saitama Super Arena. The winner will likely face Kanna Asakura on New Year's Eve. Though RIZIN will try to sell this as a competitive match, I don't expect that. The bottom line is Ayaka is an elite fighter and Mina isn't. Mina is 41 years old and she trains at Master Japan. She is the current DEEP JEWELS Atomweight Champion. The problem is the talent level at DEEP JEWELS is so low, I would describe Mina as the best of the worst. Her TKO loss to Ham Seo Hee in Korea is probably a better gauge of her talent. She doesn't measure up to Ayaka. Ayaka is 37 years old. She has been a champ on DEEP JEWELS and Invicta. Of course she was trained by the legend Megumi Fujii. Recently Ayaka has concentrated on training RENA. But she recently returned in RIZIN and won over Alyssa Garcia. I don't see her having any problems with Mina. And I see her giving Kanna a lot of trouble too. Ayaka vs Kanna is the fight I want to see.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Paramore

Artist:Paramore
Song:Misery Business
Album:Riot!





Paramore was very successful ten years ago mostly as an album and touring band. Misery Business was their biggest hit single and it was top thirty. They are still around but not as successful. Lead singer Hayley Williams was 13 years old when she moved from her hometown Meridian, MS to Nashville and that's where she met guitarist Josh Farro and his drummer brother Zac Farro. Josh was 15 and Zac was 12. Jeremy Davis played bass and he thought they were too young and it would never work. Hayley and Josh started writing songs. Her management got her a solo record deal at Atlantic. Hayley convinced Atlantic to sign the band and Atlantic assigned Paramore to their specialty label Fueled By Ramen. Paramore's debut album All We Know Is Falling was released July 2005. None of the singles charted but the album was certified Gold. For the 2007 album Riot!, David Bendeth was brought in to produce. The single Misery Business reached #26 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified 2XPlatinum. It's their biggest seller to date. The CD is out of print but it's available as a digital download. I'm surprised Rhino hasn't released a Greatest Hits CD. There were two reasons for Paramore's success. There were other similar successful bands. But the big thing was Hayley's charisma and sex appeal. This was when Britney Spears was popular and some were looking for an anti-Britney. Hayley Williams fit that description. The success continued with the 2009 album Brand New Eyes. But then the Farros accused Hayley of allowing Atlantic to sell Paramore as the Hayley Williams solo act. They left but Hayley continued Paramore with Davis and guitarist Taylor York. For the 2013 album Paramore, they used a session drummer. The album did OK but Davis wanted a bigger slice of the financial pie than he got as a hired musician. He left and sued and it was settled out of court. Zac Farro returned for the 2017 album After Laughter. It looks like Paramore is finishing up a world tour. They just aren't as popular as they were ten years ago. Here's the video for Misery Business by Paramore.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Kanna Asakura vs RENA

Here's the match video of Kanna Asakura vs RENA from yesterday's RIZIN show at the Saitama Super Arena. Of course this is a rematch from last year's tournament final when Kanna put RENA to sleep. We didn't get a finish in this match but Kanna won easily. Her big edge is her ground game and her quickness. RENA is mainly a striker but she's inadequate on the ground. Because of Kanna's quickness, I don't know if improved takedown defense would help RENA. Kanna executed takedowns at will and RENA couldn't do anything about it. I scored it 30-27 for Kanna and so did the judges. It looks like RIZIN is going to do Ayaka Hanasaki vs DEEP JEWELS Atomweight Champion Mina Kurobe and the winner fights Kanna. I see Ayaka winning and she would be a very tough opponent for Kanna. As for RENA, retirement wouldn't surprise me. She wants to take a break. She says she wants to be a normal person for a while. I don't think she likes MMA very much. And Shoot Boxing isn't a mainstream product even in Japan. Because of her sex appeal, she has mainstream potential in Japan as a personality on TV or movies. She could be a star but not as an MMA fighter. Maybe she'll retire and move back home to Osaka. We'll see. Kanna gave a great performance so be sure to check out the video.

Rena Kubota X Kanna Asakura - RIZIN 11 from John Zevita on Vimeo.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Outfield

Artist:The Outfield
Song:Your Love
Album:Best Of The Outfield: Big Innings





Here's a song I'm sure you remember hearing. But I bet you don't remember who recorded it. It turned out to be the only top ten hit for the British band The Outfield. The band was lead singer and bassist Tony Lewis, guitarist, keyboardist and songwriter John Spinks and drummer Alan Jackman. They had a band in the late 70s called Sirius B. It was a power pop band and with the surging popularity of punk rock, they decided they weren't getting anywhere and the group disbanded. With New Wave emerging a few years later, the three decided to get back together as The Baseball Boys. The name came from the gang The Baseball Furies in the 1979 film The Warriors. Spinks said the name was a gag but record companies liked it as "American sounding". Their manager, an American living in England, changed it to The Outfield. He thought The Baseball Boys was too corny. Spinks was a soccer fan. He didn't know what an outfield was until he toured the US. Ironically, the name may have hurt them in England as most of their chart success was in the US. The Outfield signed with Columbia and their 1985 debut album Play Deep was produced by Columbia house producer William Wittman. Your Love reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Lewis sounds a lot like Sting so fans may have thought Your Love was a new single by The Police. The second single All The Love In The World reached #19. The album was certified 3XPlatinum. The 1987 album Bangin' didn't do as well. it was certified Gold and Since You've Been Gone reached #31 on the Billboard Hot 100. For the 1989 album Voices of Babylon, there were management changes at Columbia and new A&R head David Kahne produced the album. The title track reached #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 but the album didn't sell. Jackman left and The Outfield moved to MCA. They recorded two albums there. This budget comp covers the Columbia albums. The Outfield returned to England and continued to play gigs and record occasionally until Spinks died in 2014. Tony Lewis released his solo debut CD last month. Here's the video for Your Love by The Outfield.

Ketlen Vieira vs Tonya Evinger added to Sept. 20 UFC show

The UFC has announced a bunch of fights for UFC Fight Night 137 Sept. 22 at Ginasio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil. There will be two women's fights on the show. The first is at Bantamweight. Ketlen Vieira will face Tonya Evinger. Ketlen is 26 years old from Manuas, Brazil. She trains at Nova Uniao in Manuas. Her record is 10-0 and 4-0 in the UFC. I think what got her noticed was when she beat Sara McMann with a triangle choke and then followed that with a split decision win over Cat Zingano. Of course Tonya is a veteran fighter. She is 37 years old originally from St. Louis but she now lives in Houston. Her record is 19-7-1NC. Of course she's a former Invicta champ. She made her UFC debut as a Welterweight sacrifice to Cris Cyborg. She was supposed to fight earlier this year but pulled out due to a knee injury. This fight should tell us if Ketlen is for real. If she can beat Tonya, we have to put her in the title picture. The second fight is at Strawweight. Livia Renata Souza will face Alex Chambers. Livia is 27 years old from Sao Paulo. Her record is 11-1. She's a former Invicta Strawweight Champion. Livia was supposed to make her UFC debut earlier this year and she pulled out because of a broken hand. Now she gets to fight in her home town. I don't see her having much trouble with Alex. Alex is 39 years old from Sydney, Australia but she now trains at American Top Team in Florida. She was too old when she was in TUF 20. Her record is 5-4 and 1-3 in the UFC. And in her one win she was losing to Kailin Curran when she pulled out a third round armbar. Then she suffered a knee injury losing to Paige VanZant in 2015. She returned last year and lost to Nadia Kassem. Both of them looked awful. This could be her last shot in the UFC. I don't see this ending well for Alex.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast July 29, 2018

Review of UFC on FOX 30 and RIZIN 11

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Nina Ansaroff vs Randa Markos

Here's the match video of Nina Ansaroff vs Randa Markos from last night's UFC show in Calgary. This fight was at Strawweight. This was another awful fight. I don't expect much from Nina who is a mediocre kickboxer at best. Randa is an elite wrestler who if she goes to her strength, she should beat Nina easily. Randa did that in round one and though she didn't do much on the ground, she did enough to win the round. In round two, Nina used leg kicks to nullify Randa's offense. Randa looked lost. So Nina won round two and three and she got the win. It doesn't make me think Nina can beat anyone good. It does make me think that Randa needs to get her head right or she may be another candidate for Palookaville. She has the physical tools but she lacks consistency. And she admitted last night she lacks a winning mentality. Not good. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Katlyn Chookagian vs Alexis Davis

Here's the match video of Katlyn Chookagian vs Alexis Davis from last night's UFC show in Calgary. This fight was at Flyweight. This was about as awful as I expected. Katlyn likes to use this keep away strategy that can win fights but is very boring. I guess what I was hoping was that Alexis would foil that strategy but one of her bad habits is she tries to adapt to her opponent's style. As a result, Alexis didn't try for takedowns as she should have. The fight was close. They split the first two rounds. So I thought maybe Alexis would be more aggressive in round three. She lost the fight because she didn't do enough. And that's tough to do against someone who does as little as Katlyn. She's not trying to be aggressive. She's backing up trying to nullify her opponent's offense. If successful as she was here, she lands just enough to win the fight. That's the definition of a points fighter. I scored the fight 29-28 for Katlyn and the judges gave her a unanimous decision. It doesn't make me think she can beat anyone good. Her strategy is effective to a point. But it will catch up to her. I guess what we really saw was the decline of Alexis Davis. Palookaville is calling. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs Tecia Torres

Here's the match video of Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs Tecia Torres from last night's UFC show in Calgary. Both fighters were on two fight losing streaks thinking a win could get either into the title picture. I thought Joanna would win because I didn't think Tecia's usual fighting style of darting in and out would work against Joanna. Tecia obviously thought that too because she tried something different but it didn't work either. Tecia decided to run Joanna into the fence and control her with the clinch. But she didn't do anything with it. Cage control is the same as takedowns. It means nothing if the fighter doesn't follow it up with effective offense. And Joanna was much more effective in the clinch. She was also more effective at a distance especially using push kicks. This fight showed how limited Tecia is. She's been overrated for a long time. So I scored the fight 30-27 for Joanna and so did the judges. I would have like to seen Joanna finish but after winning the first two rounds, she didn't need it. I don't expect Joanna to get a title shot. There are other fighters in the road like Tatiana Suarez and Jessica Andrade. And next week another potential contender Polyana Viana will be on UFC 227. We'll see what the UFC wants to do with Joanna. As for Tecia, she was really exposed in this fight as lacking. I'm not sure she has the ability to reinvent herself. Welcome to Palookaville, Tecia Torres. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Joan Sebastian

Artist:Joan Sebastian
Song:Eso Y Mas
Album:Por Siempre Joan Sebastian El Poeta Del Pueblo




Singer songwriter Joan Sebastian was a legend in Mexico. His music is a mix of pop and traditional Mexican music. His first name is pronounced "xo-an'. His success was in Latin America and in the US. He was born Jose Manuel Figueroa Figueroa Apr. 8, 1951 in Juliantla, Guerrero, Mexico. As a teen, he lived in a monastery. He considered becoming a priest and planned to enter a seminary. But he changed his mind and got into music instead. He worked in an office during the day. He finally got a record deal with Musart Records in 1977. He was on that label for many years. He took the name Joan Sebastian because he lived in San Sebastian at the time. Like I said, he was very popular in Mexico for over thirty years. Eso Y Mas is from his 2006 CD Mas Alla Del Sol. Sebastian won a Grammy and Latin Grammy for Best Banda Album. He won a total of ten Grammy awards. Sebastian also starred in the 1996 Televisa telenovela Tu y Yo. Concord now owns Musart and they released the budget CD/DVD in 2016 to promote the series Por Siempre Joan Sebastian. It's a good intro to Sebastian's music. I think the video I am posting is on the DVD. Joan Sebastian was diagnosed with bone cancer in 1999. He continued to perform and record while undergoing treatment. The cancer went into remission a couple of times. But it returned in 2014 and Sebastian died on July 13, 2015 at age 64. As I said, Univision produced the 2016 series Por Siempre Joan Sebastian with a couple of Sebastian's sons playing him at different stages of his life. There were 18 episodes. Here's Joan Sebastian performing Eso Y Mas.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast July 28, 2018

UFC on FOX 30 and RIZIN 11 preview.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Mindbenders

Artist:The Mindbenders
Song:A Groovy Kind Of Love
Album:The Very Best of Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders




Most music fans should be familiar with the 1965 chart topper The Game Of Love by Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders. They scored a second hit after Fontana left to go solo. They were then called The Mindbenders. Wayne Fontana founded The Mindbenders in 1963 with Bob Lang, Ric Rothwell and Eric Stewart. Graham Foote joined soon after. They went on tour after The Game Of Love topped the charts. Fontana left during the tour to go solo. He recorded a couple of albums but did not score any hits. Fontana faded into obscurity and he still tours the oldies circuit in England. Meanwhile, Stewart took over as lead singer of The Mindbenders. As a trio, The Mindbenders recorded the 1966 album The Mindbenders. When A Groovy Kind Of Love reached #2 on the British singles chart, Fontana Records released the album in the US as A Groovy Kind Of Love. The single reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by veteran songwriters Toni Wine and Carole Bayer when both were teens. Toni says they wrote it in 20 minutes. She says Carole came up with the "Groovy kinda" hook and it wrote itself. It was not a hit when Diane & Annita recorded it in 1965. Screen Gems Music London manager Jack McGraw pitched the song to Stewart and the rest is history. That was the final big hit for The Mindbenders. They recorded two albums as a trio. Stewart used this to develop his songwriting skills. Just before The Mindbenders split up in 1968, Lang was replaced by Graham Gouldman. Stewart and Gouldman would go on to form 10cc with Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. You can get all of The Mindbenders hit with and without Wayne Fontana on this budget comp. Here's The Mindbenders performing Groovy Kind Of Love 1966.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Benton Falls

Artist:Benton Falls
Song:All These Things
Album:Fighting Starlight





Fans of the Emo style of pop music might want to check out the short lived band Benton Falls. Unfortunately they only recorded two albums. Benton Falls were from Santa Rosa, CA led by lead singer Michael Richardson along with Ryan "Gerb" Gerber on guitar, Vance Gore on bass and Eli Deering on drums. One band they are frequently compared to is Sunny Day Real Estate. They signed with Deep Elm Records which seems to specialize in this kind of music. Fighting Starlight was their 2001 debut album. Gerb left after that album and Benton Falls released a second CD Guilt Beats Hate in 2003. And then the band ended. From what I could tell, music was never a full time thing for Benton Falls. It looks like Gore and Deering returned to day jobs. It's possible that the grind of the music business wasn't to their liking. Richardson went on to be a member of The New Trust and he has done backup vocals on some projects. But as I said, Benton Falls is worth checking for fans of Emo music. Here's a video for All These Things by Benton Falls.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Todd Dulaney

Artist:Todd Dulaney
Song:Your Great Name
Album:Your Great Name





With his new CD Your Great Name, Todd Dulaney now has two chart topping gospel albums. He started out as a baseball player. He was born Dec. 20, 1983 in Maywood, IL near Chicago. He was a second baseman at Wabash Valley College when he was drafted by the New York Mets in the 32nd round in 2002. He played a couple of years in the Mets minor league system. He quit in 2005 to get into gospel music. He toured as a backup singer with Smokie Norful followed by stints with Fred Hammond, Donnie McClurkin and Michelle Williams. Dulaney released two albums on his own label. For the 2016 album A Worshipper's Heart, Dulaney signed with EOne. That album topped the gospel charts and so has his latest album Your Great Name. Dulaney got a big boost when his song Anthem was a big hit for the Australian Praise & Worship (P&W) group Planetshakers. P&W is a significant Christian music market that can generate a lot of sales for gospel music if those followers get interested in an artist. So I think it's fair to say that Todd Dulaney is a gospel artist on the rise. Here's the video for Your Great Name by Todd Dulaney.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast July 25, 2018

Asuka vs Billie Kay and a podcast exclusive look at WWE Revolution

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Asuka vs Billie Kay

Here's the match video of Asuka vs Billie Kay from last night's episode of Smackdown. On Monday, the WWE announced that they will hold an all woman PPV Revolution on Oct. 28. They patted themselves on the back for giving women more TV time. Then there were three women's matches on RAW with a total elapsed time of three minutes. Then last night this match was less than two minutes. They probably don't even know what they did. Stay tuned as I will go into detail about what I expect at Revolution on today's podcast. I don't mind that The Iiconics are Mean Girls style heels though that has been done many times. But Billie and Peyton are actually very good veteran wrestlers. And they worked with Asuka when she came to Shimmer in 2011. So I don't like their ring skills being dumbed down to ineptitude. This match is under two minutes. There isn't much to it. Billie stupidly slaps Asuka we all know what happens next. Three kicks to the head and it's over. I guess they will do the same thing with Peyton next week. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-New Order

Artist:New Order
Song:Blue Monday
Album:International





New Order was formed after Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis committed suicide in 1980. They had success in their native England and on the dance charts. Blue Monday was their breakthrough hit in 1983. So I think it's fair to say that New Order were pioneers of Electronic Dance Music (EDC). After Curtis died, the other members of Joy Division decided to continue as New Order. After rehearsals, it was decided that guitarist Bernard Sumner would be the new lead singer. Other members were Peter Hook on bass and Stephen Morris on drums. Morris' girlfriend Gillian Gilbert was added on keyboards. New Order's debut album Movement was released in 1981. The music was unfavorably compared to Joy Division. New Order went to New York and returned to London with a heavy dance music influence. This was apparent on the 1983 album Power, Corruption & Lies. At first, Blue Monday was released only as a single in England. It wasn't on the British release of Power, Corruption & Lies. Supposedly New Order preferred releasing singles. Of course that's not how the music business works. Blue Monday was on the US release of Power, Corruption & Lies released by Qwest/Warner Bros. Despite the confusion, Blue Monday reached #9 on the British Singles chart and it was a worldwide dance hit. Supposedly Blue Monday is the best selling 12" single in history. I think it was a bigger hit than the chart placement. And there is no question it was a big influence on EDC. New Order continued to have success mostly in England on on the dance charts with singles like The Perfect Kiss, True Faith and Blue Monday 1988. You can get everything on this CD/DVD available at a budget price. In 1990, New Order scored their only British #1 hit World In Motion. It was the official song of England's World Cup soccer team. Then they ran into problems when their long time label Factory Records went bankrupt. New Order split up in 1993. They reformed in 1998 and released the album Get Ready in 2001. They split up again in 2005 and reformed in 2011. Peter Hook left and sued for royalties. It was settled out of court. Their latest album Music Complete was released in 2015. New Order is currently on a US tour. Here's the video for Blue Monday by New Order.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Itzhak Perlman and John Williams

Artist:Itzhak Perlman and John Williams
Song:Theme From Schindler's List
Album:Cinema Serenade





Of course Itzhak Perlman is a famed classical violinist. But like many classical musicians, he has recorded all kinds of music. Among his best known recordings was the score for the 1993 film Schindler's List composed by John Williams. Perlman was born Aug. 31, 1945 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Perlman contracted polio at age four and he has used leg braces and a scooter all his life. He learned to play violin as a child and had his first recital at age ten. His family moved to the US and Perlman studied at Juilliard. He made his first TV appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1958. Perlman would go on to become one of the most famous classical musicians in the world. He has recorded many albums. I guess most folks assume that classical musicians only record classical music. But Perlman has recorded jazz with Oscar Peterson and Klezmer music. But his most famous collaboration was recording the score for the 1993 film Schindler's List with John Williams. As you'll see on the video, Perlman was impressed with the authenticity of Williams' score. Needless to say, it won an Oscar. Believe it or not, the Schindler's List soundtrack is out of print. Fortunately in 1997, Perlman and Williams recorded an album of movie themes including Schindler's List. It's available as a budget CD. It did so well they recorded a second CD in 1999. Of course Perlman is still around. A new documentary has just been released. And he still records regularly. Here's Itzhak Perlman and John Williams performing the Theme From Schindler's List 1993.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Woods

Artist:Woods
Song:Cali In A Cup
Album:Bend Beyond





Fans of California style folk rock may want to check out the indie band Woods. I would describe their music as folk rock with psychedelic overtones. They didn't start out as a band. And they aren't from California. Jeremy Earl of Meneguar started Woods as a home recording project. He's from Brooklyn, NY. In 2005, he released a Woods cassette that got enough buzz that Earl started releasing CDs on his Woodsist label. With the 2008 album Woods Family Creeps, he started turning Woods into a band starting with fellow Meneguar member Jarvis Taveniere. Woods was exposed to a much wider audience when the music website Pitchfork named their 2009 album Songs of Shame as Best New Music. Now it's a full five piece band still led by Earl and Taveniere. Cali In A Cup is from the 2012 CD Bend Beyond. It's heavily influenced by 60s folk rock and psychedelia. Woods' latest CD Love Is Love was released last year. They are currently on a Japanese tour. When Earl started Woods, I doubt he expected it to leave his bedroom. And now it's a full time band touring internationally. That's the music business for you. Here's the video for Cali In A Cup by Woods.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast July 22, 2018

Invicta FC 30 review

Inept judges ruin Invicta FC 30 main event

There are two big problems with Invicta continuing to run shows in Kansas City to save money. One is that Kansas City is a terrible MMA city. There were plenty of fans at last night's show disguised as empty seats. And the Missouri officials are inept. If it's not one of the refs screwing up, the judges always seem to come up with the wrong decision in close fights. And last night's main event wasn't even that close. So instead of celebrating Jinh Yu Frey's Invicta Atomweight Championship win, we're talking about how the judges got it wrong. I thought Minna Grusander won the fight 49-46 and plenty of others including the broadcasters did too. I thought Minna was more aggressive and controlled the action. Jinh stayed too far away most of the time. It was not a great fight but I've seen worse including one on this show. But the one thing we want and won't get is an explanation from the Missouri commission. There needs to be accountability for controversial decisions. And maybe athletic commissions need to start firing inept judges. They aren't above the law though they think they are. It's a state agency, not a private club. Fans want and deserve answers for ineptitude. And I'm talking about real answers, not the kind of lame excuses we get from Nevada each time Adelaide Byrd screws up. Let's go on to the other fights. As expected, Felicia Spencer won over Helena Kolesnyk with a second round rear naked choke. Afterwards, Felicia called out Megan Anderson who lives in Kansas City. Paging Sean Shelby! And I don't want to see Helena again. She's awful. In a Strawweight bout, Heather Jo Clark beat Kinberly Novaes by unanimous decision. This was the worst fight on the show. They were both bad. They said on the broadcast that Heather considered retirement after her UFC release. Instead she wants to keep subjecting us to poor fights. And Kinberly was worse. In a Flyweight bout, Brogan Walker-Sanchez beat Miranda Maverick by unanimous decision. Brogan lost round one but she came back and Miranda faded. In a Bantamweight bout, Stephanie Geltmacher beat Kerri Kenneson by first round TKO. In an Atomweight bout, Alesha Zappitella won by unanimous decision over late replacement Jillian DeCoursey. In an Atomweight bout, Alyse Anderson put Stephanie Alba to sleep with a second round triangle choke. And in a Flyweight bout, Erin Blanchfield got off to a slow start but won over Brittney Cloudy by unanimous decision. The next Invicta show will be Sept. 1.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Rembrandts

Artist:The Rembrandts
Song:I'll Be There For You
Album:Greatest Hits





Though it wasn't their biggest chart hit, I'll Be There For You is the most memorable song by The Rembrandts because it was the theme for the hit sitcom Friends. The Rembrandts were successful before that. They were from Los Angeles. Danny Wilde was lead singer of The Quick who released an album on Mercury in 1976. Then he formed Great Buildings with Phil Solem and they released an album on Columbia in 1981. After they split up, Wilde recorded three solo albums for Geffen. Then Wilde and Solem formed The Rembrandts and signed with Atco. In the studio, it was just the two of them. They hired musicians for touring. Their 1990 debut album the Rembrandts spawned the single Just The Way It Is, Baby which reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. There were no hit singles from the 1992 album Untitled so it didn't do as well. The Rembrandts were moved to East West for the 1995 album L.P. While they were recording the album, they were contacted by Kevin Bright who was a big fan. Bright, David Crane and Marta Kauffman were developing the sitcom Friends and they needed an opening theme. The three had previously produced the HBO sitcom Dream On. The result was I'll Be There For You which was very Beatles influenced. The song was less than a minute long and it was not supposed to be released. But DJs looped the song and turned it into a full length song. The Rembrandts were forced to record a full length version. It was tacked on to L.P. and of course the Friends soundtrack was a big success. That is available on CD but so there is also a Rembrandts comp. Take your pick. I'll Be There For You was never released as a single so it didn't chart. It should have been a number one hit. The Rembrandts split up and Solem moved back to Minnesota. Wilde released a solo album in 1998. The Rembrandts reunited for a 2001 album and they have reunited occasionally since then. They announced on their website in 2016 that they are working on a new album. Here's the video for I'll Be There For You by the Rembrandts.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-T.I.

Artist:T.I. f/Rihanna
Song:Live Your Life
Album:Paper Trail





Clifford "T.I." Harris Jr. probably had a longer run than most rappers despite spending significant time in jail. He scored two number one hits. The 2008 single Live Your Life was the bigger hit because Rihanna was on it. Harris is probably more active today as an actor. He was born Sept. 25, 1980 in Atlanta. He was raised by his grandparents. Harris began rapping at age eight. His childhood nickname was Tip and he became T.I. so he wouldn't get confused with Q-Tip. Harris sold mixtapes out of his car with rapper Sean "Big Kuntry King" Merrett and they were discovered by Kawan "KP" Prather and signed to Arista Records. Prather had worked with other Atlanta rappers. Harris released his debut CD I'm Serious in 2001. Arista dropped him when the album didn't sell. Harris started his own label Grand Hustle with Atlantic distribution. His subsequent albums did very well and Bring 'Em Out and What You Know were top ten hits. But the 2008 album Paper Trail was his most successful. Harris was a drug dealer as a teen. But then he was arrested in 2007 on a weapons charge. So he was under house arrest while recording Paper Trail. Whatever You Like was his first number one single. This was followed by Live Your Life. Harris wrote the song with Makeba Riddick and Dan Balan with Rihanna in mind. Fortunately, she agreed to do it and her participation was probably the main reason the song was a number one hit. Paper Trail was certified 2XPlatinum and it is Harris' most successful album to date. He hasn't been as successful since then. Two stretches in prison will do that. Harris still records. He has a new album The Dime Trap coming soon. And he has been acting since starring in the 2006 film ATL. He currently appears in the new film Ant-Man and the Wasp. I guess his best known production was the 2009 MTV reality show T.I.'s Road To Redemption. His most successful film to date was the 2010 film Takers. So like many rappers, films may be a bigger part of Harris' future than rap. Here's the video for Live Your Life by T.I. featuring Rihanna.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast July 20, 2018

Invicta FC 30 preview

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Brandy

Artist:Brandy f/Monica
Song:The Boy Is Mine
Album:Never Say Never





The Boy Is Mine topped the charts in 1998. Brandy Norwood and Monica Brown were successful individually. But this duet was the bigger than any of either's solo singles. Brandy was also a successful actress especially on the sitcom Moesha. She was born Feb. 11, 1979 the daughter of gospel singer Willie Norwood. Her brother is singer/actor Ray J. The family moved to Los Angeles in 1983. Brandy signed with Atlantic Records at age 14. She also appeared in the ABC sitcom Thea. It only lasted one season. But it led to the UPN sitcom Moesha which ran from 1996-2001. So she's trying to balance that with recording her 1994 album Brandy. That album was produced by 21 year old Keith Crouch and the R&B group Somethin' For The People who were unknown at the time. Crouch is the nephew of legendary gospel artist Andrae Crouch. I Wanna Be Down and Baby were both top ten hits. The album was certified 4XPlatinum. The single Sittin' Up In My Room from the 1996 film Waiting To Exhale reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. And Brandy starred in the 1997 TV production of the musical Cinderella with her idol Whitney Houston. She was hot at the time. She needed to record new music but she had what she called "sophomore album jitters". She kept delaying going to the recording studio. And then she didn't like the songs that were given to her. Atlantic hired David Foster as a consultant and he hired Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins. Jerkins had worked with Mary J. Blige among others. But he hadn't had a big hit yet as a producer. It was a big risk but Jerkins clicked with Brandy and the 1998 album Never Say Never was a huge success. Brandy came up with The Boy Is Mine while watching The Jerry Springer Show. They were inspired by The Girl Is Mine by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney to turn the song into a duet. Brandy didn't know Monica but Arista owner Clive Davis agreed to loan her out. Apparently the two didn't get along in the studio. So Jerkins brought in TLC producer Dallas Austin to referee. He got a full production credit so he was a big factor in the song's success. And The Boy Is Mine topped the charts. Never Say Never was certified 5XPlatinum. The Boy Is Mine appeared on Brandy's album Never Say Never and Monica's album The Boy Is Mine. It does not appear on Monica's comp CD and Atlantic's Brandy comp is too expensive. Never Say Never is available as a budget CD. Brandy's single Have You Ever also topped the charts. Her music hasn't been as successful since then. After two more albums, Brandy left Atlantic in 2004. She has recorded for Epic and RCA. She is still acting and Brandy will be a regular on the Fox show Star in the upcoming season. She has also done a lot of reality TV. I doubt she can revive her music career to where it was in 1998. Here's the video for The Boy Is Mine by Brandy featuring Monica.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast July 19, 2018

Maycee Barber, Kairi Sane and UFC 228 title match announced.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Kairi Sane vs Nikki Cross vs Candice LeRae

Here's the match video of Kairi Sane vs Nikki Cross vs Candice LeRae from this week's episode of NXT. This was announced last week as a four way with Bianca Belair but she was on her honeymoon with her new husband Montez Ford of Street Profits. The winner of this match gets a shot at Shayna Baszler's NXT Women's Championship at NXT Takeover Brooklyn. Shayna is on commentary. I'm not a big fan of three way matches as they can lack flow and be very clunky. And we have three babyfaces in this match. But this match is well laid out and well executed. Candice isn't as good as Kairi or Nikki but all three have unique personalities and they give strong performances. One of the three wrestlers has to disappear near the start of the match so the other two can build some flow. So Nikki runs Kairi into the post and Nikki and Candice have their own match within a match. When Kairi returns, she blends into the match perfectly. Of course it goes to the floor. Nikki drops Candice on the ramp and Kairi delivers her flying forearm from the top rope. They also do a Tower Of Doom spot. Nikki's insanity leads to the end of the match. She delivers her spinning neckbreaker to Candice from the ring apron to the floor. Then she goes back in the ring and hits three belly to back suplexes on Kairi. She is about to finish Kairi with the spinning neckbreaker when she loses concentration and places Kairi on the top rope to deliver it there. Candice intervenes and after a couple of pin attempts, Kairi hits her Insane Elbow on both of them seemingly out of nowhere for the win. The camera work was perfect because it made us forget that Kairi was sitting on the top turnbuckle. So not only did the wrestlers execute well, so did the TV crew. So now Kairi gets a title shot. I expect her to win because Shayna and Nikki should be headed to the main roster soon. For one thing, there is new blood like Io Shirai and others coming in. They gotta make room for them. Anyway, this is a really good match. Check it out and enjoy it.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Loretta Ables Sayre

Artist:Loretta Ables Sayre
Song:Bali Ha'i
Album:South Pacific: The New Broadway Cast Recording




Loretta Ables Sayre emerged from obscurity to get a Tony nomination for her performance as Bloody Mary in the 2008 Broadway revival of South Pacific. And as has been the fate of most actresses who have played Bloody Mary, she returned to obscurity afterwards. She was born Apr. 1, 1958 in Stockton, CA. After her parents divorced, she moved with her mother and her new husband to Hawaii. He was stationed there in the US Navy. Inspired by her mom's Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughan recordings, Loretta decided to become a singer. After graduating high school, she started working the Honolulu hotel circuit and eventually became a regular singing pop and jazz standards in hotels in Honolulu and Wakiki. She did that for twenty years. When the 2008 Broadway revival of South Pacific was being cast, the producers couldn't seem to find a Bloody Mary in New York. They held auditions in Hawaii and Loretta was cast. Other stars included Paulo Szot, Kelli O'Hara and Matthew Morrison. The show did very well and Loretta was nominated for a Tony. Since then Loretta returned to Hawaii and has appeared in TV shows that film there like Hawaii Five O. And of course she has returned to singing the hotel circuit. I don't think we'll see her on Broadway again. She obviously prefers living in Hawaii. Here's Loretta Ables Sayre performing Bali Ha'i on the 2008 Tony Awards Preview show.

Three big women's matches added to Sept. 8 UFC show

Today the UFC finally announced some matches for UFC 228 Sept. 8 at American Airlines Arena in Dallas. The biggest of the three women's matches will have Nicco Montano defending her UFC Flyweight Championship against Valentina Shevchenko. I have known about this one for a while but the UFC finally announced the UFC 228 location recently. Nicco is 29 years old. She trains at Fit NHB in Arizona owned by UFC fighter Tim Means. Her record is 4-2. She won the title on the TUF 26 Finale. She has had issues with her foot but she decided not to have surgery. Of course we all know Valentina. She is a veteran kickboxer who was a Bantamweight contender. But Flyweight is her natural weight. I expect Valentina will be favored to win. But I think Nicco has been underestimated mainly because not that much is known about her. She certainly wasn't the favorite to win the title in the first place. So I think this fight may be closer than expected. This is the co-main event. There is no main event yet. Also on the main card is Jessica Andrade vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz possibly for a Strawweight title shot. Both fighters are on two fight winning streaks. I think Jessica is a stronger and more aggressive fighter. She's always moving forward. And I don't think Karolina's points fighting style matches up well with her. And on the prelims, Carla Esparza will face Tatiana Suarez. Carla is a former champ who is probably on the way down. After losing her last fight to Claudia Gadelha, Carla claimed that Claudia cheated and was greased up. In other words, she's an idiot. Is she going to claim the same thing when Tatiana kicks her ass. Tatiana won TUF 23. Her record is 6-0. She had knee surgery but she seems to have bounced back and she killed Alexa Grasso in her last fight. With a win, Tatiana is heading towards a Strawweight title shot.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Maycee Barber vs Jamie Colleen

Here's the match video of Maycee Barber vs Jamie Colleen from last night's Dana White Tuesday Night Contender Series (DWTNCS). The fighters on this show are not only fighting but competing with each other for UFC contracts. Normally quick finishes get the contracts. Maycee is 20 years old from Fort Collins, CO. She is 4-0 with three finishes. Jamie is 32 years old from Philadelphia. She has a 4-1 record. She won her fight on last year's DWTNCS but she didn't get the contract. She says she suffered a knee injury during that fight which is why she is getting a second chance. Like a lot of the fights on this year's DWTNCS, this seems to be a deliberate mismatch designed to showcase Maycee. And though she doesn't get that quick finish, Maycee is impressive considering Jamie didn't seem to want to fight her. Jamie tries for a keep away strategy that is supposed to frustrate Maycee. But Maycee shows a lot of poise and maturity for a kid. In round one, she scores a lot in the clinch. Between rounds, Jamie's corner tells her she needs to get a lot closer to get anywhere. But it's clear that Maycee is much quicker than Jamie. In round two, Maycee scores with a variety of kicks with a late takedown followed by some elbows. In round three, Maycee gets the takedown a lot sooner and the fight is stopped after an elbow breaks Jamie's nose. And Maycee got that UFC contract. she looked very good and we'll see how she looks down the road. Watch the fight and I think you will be impressed with Maycee Barber. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Taana Gardner

Artist:Taana Gardner
Song:Heartbeat
Album:Dance For Life




Taana Gardner scored a couple of dance hits from 1979-81. Heartbeat was a top ten R&B hit in 1981 and it's one of those songs that is frequently sampled by hip hop guys. It was released by the popular dance music label West End Records. Taana was born Sept. 3, 1960 in Newark, NJ. She was taught to sing by her opera singer grandmother. As a teen, she got into the New York theater scene. She wrote a couple of plays that were performed. She got involved with West End Records by accident. Producer Kenton Nix was recording Work That Body. But the singer who was supposed to record the vocal got sick. So he needed a singer. Nix's brother worked for Taana's father. He invited her to the studio. She was spotted by members of Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band. They were working on a side project Aural Exciters and they needed a singer. Taana was lead vocal on the 1979 Aural Exciters single Spooks In Space. It did well enough to get Taana a longer look at West End. She recorded a few more songs with Nix. Heartbeat was the biggest hit. It reached #10 on the R&B Singles chart. Heartbeat has been frequently sampled by hip hop guys, most notably on the 1995 #1 hit Here Comes The Hotstepper by Ini Kamoze. It has been sampled a lot. You can get Heartbeat on this various artists budget comp. Taana could have been a big star. But she didn't want that. She does make occasional guest vocal appearances. But mostly she raised her family and was happy to be a backup singer in the studio. Kenton Nix went on to produce Gwen MacRae's 80s Atlantic recordings. Heartbeat is sampled so much he makes a good living from royalty cheques. Here's a video for Heartbeat by Taana Gardner.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Beastie Boys

Artist:Beastie Boys
Song:(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)
Album:Solid Gold Hits




(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party) was the only top ten pop hit for the Beastie Boys in 1987. They had a pretty good run as album artists. I guess the controversy at the time is they were white boys from the suburbs. The other thing is they started as a punk group and seemingly switched to rap for commercial reasons. In 1981 they were called The Young Aborigines. Michael "Mike D" Diamond was the lead singer. John Berry was the guitarist and he brought with him bassist Adam "MCA" Yauch. Kate Schellenbach was the drummer. The Young Aborigines released a couple of singles. Berry left and was replaced by Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz. He is the son of playwright Israel Horovitz. That's when they switched to hip hop and changed their name to Beastie Boys. Schellenbach left and would go on to be drummer for Luscious Jackson. The group is getting a local rep in New York for performing and having the audience film the performances. They were still a punk band at this stage. But after Shellenbach left in 1984, they went completely hip hop complete with nicknames. They signed with fledgling label Def Jam owned by Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons. The Beastie Boys went on tour. A song was on the Krush Groove soundtrack. Licensed To Ill was released in 1986. Fight For Your Right reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the first rap album to top the Billboard Hot 200 and it was the biggest selling rap album of the 80s. Beastie Boys left Def Jam for Capitol and started their own label Grand Royal. The album Paul's Boutique was released in 1989. Though it was considered to be a better album, it didn't do nearly as well as Licensed To Ill which turned out to be their most successful album. This budget comp is a good intro to their music. Beastie Boys continued to release albums until a 2000 tour was cancelled when Diamond was seriously injured in a bicycle accident. They returned in 2004 and continued until Yauch died of cancer on May 4, 2012 at age 47. Diamond and Horovitz said they would not record as Beastie Boys out of respect for Yauch. They still dabble in music but they aren't very active. They were certainly a big deal in 1986. Here's the video for (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party) by Beastie Boys.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast July 16, 2018

Carmella vs Asuka from Extreme Rules.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Carmella vs Asuka

Here's the match video of Carmella vs Asuka from last night's WWE Extreme Rules. This has James Ellsworth suspended above the ring in a shark cage. This is more of an angle than a match with enough logic holes that a truck could drive through them. Logic hole number one is the cage is too low. Logic hole number two is obviously Ellsworth needed to be searched. Never let it be said that Vince McMahon has ever let logic get in the way of an angle to amuse himself. And he thinks Ellsworth is funny. No one else does but he makes the decision. So the match starts and Ellsworth hands Carmella a chain which she drops and the ref gets rid of it. Then he hands her the hair spray and Carmella can't do that properly. Now Asuka is beating Carmella up. She gets her in the Asuka Lock but Carmella gets to the ropes and slides outside the ring. While Asuka beats Carmella on the floor, Ellsworth picks the lock (!) and opens the door. Of course he's so inept that his foot gets caught in the cage. He's hanging upside down. Asuka sees this and comes back into the ring to pound on him. Corey Graves said he resembled a heavy bag. And he's about as useful. They lowered the cage so she could do this. While she's doing this, I'm yelling at her "Oh Asuka! Don't forget about Carmella." This is Vince McMahon making a babyface look stupid for his own amusement. Carmella sneaks up on Asuka and pushes her face first into the cage and keeps the title. Afterwards, Asuka destroys Ellsworth and based on the fan reaction, that's what they wanted to see. That got the biggest crowd reaction. Carmella winning just makes them shake their heads. She's held the title since April and fans are already tired of her. They aren't booing her. They are yelling "You can't wrestle." She knows that. Is that the reaction Vince wants? Is Carmella supposed to be the epitome of the Women's Revolution? The booking of both women's divisions has been so bad lately, it makes me think that it's time for HHH to intervene like he did for 205 Live. I don't know how this angle continues. It should have ended already. But remember Charlotte is returning for SummerSlam. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-DJ Vadim

Artist:DJ Vadim f/Kathrin deBoer
Song:Black Is The Night
Album:The Soundcatcher




Vadim Beare was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia but he grew up in England and now he is now known as DJ Vadim. He had success in the 90s and then disappeared and reemerged with the 2007 album The Soundcatcher and the popular single Black Is The Night. In the mid-90s Beare released music on his own label. Then he released a series of U.S.S.R. albums on Ninja Tune. He released five albums from 1998-2002. These albums were very popular on the British electronica scene. But I guess Beare's deal with Ninja Tune ran dry. And he produced a couple of CDs for the hip hop group One Self. Beare returned in 2007 with the album The Soundcatcher on the label BBE, which is owned by a couple of DJs. Beare is not a musician. The main musician on the Soundcatcher is veteran session keyboard player John Ellis. He has been around since the 80s working with Peter Gabriel among others. He has worked with Beare since 2002. Beare uses several guest vocalists on the album. The singer on Black Is The Night is Kathrin deBoer of the group Belleruche. Belleruche split up in 2013 and Kathrin has been singing with various DJs. Most of the songs on The Soundcatcher have a guest vocalist or rapper. The Songcatcher is probably Beare's most popular album to date. Like many DJs, Beare likes to experiment with different kinds of music. He seems to be into reggae beats right now like on his 2016 CD Dubcatcher 2. He produced an album for the singer on that album Katrina Blackstone. And he does occasional live shows. He is in Germany next week. Here's the video for Black Is The Night by DJ Vadim featuring Kathrin deBoer.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast July 15, 2018

UFC Fight Night 133 review.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Jessica Aguilar vs Jodie Esquibel

Here's the match video of Jessica Aguilar vs Jodie Esquibel from last night's UFC show in Boise, ID. This fight was supposed to happen last month in Utica, NY but the New York State Athletic Commission saw something in Jessica that they didn't like. Apparently, she is suing them. Jessica is a once elite fighter who at age 36 is on the down side of her career. Also, injuries have slowed her down. Jodie is a points fighter who trains at Jackson Wink in New Mexico. The problem that Jodie has is she doesn't get close enough for her strikes to land properly. She was able remain competitive in this fight because Jessica was only marginally more effective. Between rounds, Jessica's trainer Din Thomas told her exactly how to finish the fight. She didn't listen to him. The fight was close enough that it could have been scored even. But the idiots in Jodie's corner told her she won both rounds. So she lost round three and the look on her face when Jessica was announced as the winner by unanimous decision was hilarious. I don't know if Jessica can beat anyone good. She squeaked out a win over a mediocre points fighter. Listen to your coach. He knows what he's talking about. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Liz Carmouche vs Jennifer Maia

Here's the match video of Liz Carmouche vs Jennifer Maia from last night's UFC show in Boise, ID. Liz is a former Bantamweight title contender who has dropped to Flyweight. She has a significant size advantage at 125. But she didn't look good losing to Alexis Davis in her Flyweight debut. Also, she is 34 years old and she has slowed down due to injuries. I have never thought that she is an elite fighter anyway. Jennifer is making her UFC debut. She is a former Invicta Flyweight champ. I think she is an overrated points fighter. Though she trains at the famed Chute Boxe in Brazil, she was a boxer before that and that's all she does. I thought if Liz took the fight to the ground, she would win. It wasn't a great fight but Liz did what she had to do to win. And as with the Cat Zingano fight, I understand why Liz was conservative. She didn't want to make a mistake. But Jennifer is useless on the ground. So I don't know what the concern was. Jennifer's entire offense for three rounds was clinching on the fence. After round two, Jennifer's corner told her she was losing. So you would think she would go for broke. Nope. Jennifer is not the kind of fighter who can go down two rounds and mount a comeback. Points fighters can't do that. I scored the fight 30-27 for Liz. She needed the win and now she needs to beat someone better. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Cat Zingano vs Marion Reneau

Here's the match video of Cat Zingano vs Marion Reneau from last night's UFC show in Boise, ID. This was probably the best of the three women's fights on last night's show. And it wasn't that good. Cat is a former Bantamweight title contender who hadn't won in a long time. And she didn't look good at all in her last fight. She's 36 years old and she has been slowed down by injuries. Marion Is a fighter who seems to be moving up. She's on a two fight winning streak. But she's 41 years old. Her biggest problem is consistency. If she wins this fight she can move into the title picture. But Cat needs a win just to remain relevant. I wouldn't say that Cat dominated the fight. But she was able to get a takedown when she needed it and Marion's defense was not good. Round one was fairly close. But once Cat got that first takedown, she knew how to win the fight. Of course I would have liked to see her go for a finish. But I can understand why she was conservative. She needed a win and she couldn't make a mistake. Sitting on Marion and punching her occasionally was the right decision. I scored it 30-27 for Cat. Two of the judges scored it that way and the third scored it 30-26. There were rumblings that round three should be 10-8. I didn't think Cat's dominance was quite at that level. She never went for a finish and she didn't need to. I was disappointed that Marion wasn't competitive. But we've seen this from her before. She'll be great in one fight and then be terrible like she was last night. Cat did her job but I think she needs a couple more wins to get back into the title picture. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Oliver Sain

Artist:Oliver Sain
Song:On The Hill
Album:St. Louis Breakdown: The Best Of Oliver Sain




Sax player Oliver Sain recorded as a leader in the 70s. But he was a very important figure in the development of St. Louis R&B mostly as a producer. And he had a good eye for talent. Solomon Burke called Sain the Quincy Jones of St. Louis. Sain was born Mar. 1, 1932 in Dundee, MS. His grandfather was the guitarist in delta blues pioneers The Beale Street Sheiks. Sain moved to Greenville, MS in 1949 to play drums in Sonny Boy Williamson's band. Sain's stepfather Willie Love was the guitarist. Sain also played with Howlin' Wolf, Claude Jones and Clarence Hines. After a US Army stint in Korea, Sain reunited with Love backing up Little Milton. This is when Sain, influenced by Charlie Parker, started playing the sax. Sain moved to Chicago in 1955 to reunite with Howlin' Wolf. He became a member of the Chess Records house band. In 1959, Sain went to St. Louis for a gig with Little Milton. Sain stayed in St. Louis permanently and became Milton's musical director. Sain hired Fontella Bass to play piano and he discovered her singing talent. When he left Milton's band in 1964, he started the Oliver Sain Soul Revue with lead singers Fontella Bass and Bobby McClure. And of course Fontella went on to a great solo career. Sain opened his own recording studio in St. Louis in 1965. And he produced all kinds of artists there. On The Hill is from Sain's 1972 solo debut album Main Man. This and some of his other songs like Bus Stop are frequently sampled by hip hop guys. He only recorded three albums and in the 80s he returned to producing new acts at his recording studio. Oliver Sain died from bone cancer on Oct. 28, 2003 at age 71. This comp of Sain's 70s recordings was released by Excello in 1996. It was reissued by Sain's estate as a digital download in 2009. Check it out if you like soulful sax. Here's a video for On The Hill by Oliver Sain.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Paul Hardcastle

Artist:Paul Hardcastle
Song:Shelbi
Album:Jazzmasters: The Greatest Hits





Most fans are probably familiar with British musician Paul Hardcastle from his 1986 chart topper 19. After that it took a few years for Hardcastle to figure out what he wanted to do. He started recording as Jazzmasters in the early 90s and Hardcastle has been a Smooth Jazz staple ever since. After 19, Hardcastle had a couple more hits in England. He continued to record for Chrysalis and he also worked in TV. For contractual reasons, Hardcastle wasn't able to release music under his own name. He released music as The Deff Boyz and The Acid Boyz. Then in 1993 Hardcastle released his first Jazzmasters album on his own Trippin' 'N' Rhythm label. He also released albums as Hardcastle and Kiss The Sky. But the Jazzmasters albums really caught on in the Smooth Jazz market. Shelbi is from the 1997 album Cover to Cover. I chose it because it comes with a music video. The song is very typical of Hardcastle's Jazzmasters music. It's more aural wallpaper than jazz. It's perfect for the Smooth Jazz market. Hardcastle plays all the electronic instruments. He sometimes brings in guest musicians. In this case, the flute is by session musician Gary Barnacle. You can get Shelbi on this Jazzmasters comp. Hardcastle releases albums as Paul Hardcastle, Jazzmasters and more recently The Chill Lounge in 2015. It says on his website that Hardcastle is getting back into dance remixes which he hasn't done since the early 80s. And his new album Hardcastle 8 will be released in September. You can listen to a couple of tracks on his website. I expect it to top the Smooth Jazz charts like many of his Jazzmasters albums. Here's the video for Shelbi by Paul Hardcastle.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast July 13, 2018

UFC Fight Night 133 preview, Asuka and Kairi Sane and DEEP JEWELS 21 announced.

SARAMI vs Alyssa Garcia added to Aug. 26 DEEP show

SARAMI, Alyssa Garcia

DEEP has announced a couple of women's fights to DEEP 85 Impact Aug. 26 at Korakuen Hall. Both fights are at Atomweight scheduled for two five minute rounds. I don't know why these are on a DEEP show instead of DEEP JEWELS except that I have said for years that DEEP JEWELS should close and they should fold the women into DEEP. I don't see the need for DEEP JEWELS when the talent level is so low. SARAMI will face Alyssa Garcia. SARAMI is 28 years old from Toyama. Her record is 11-10. She's been a DEEP JEWELS regular since 2012. She was thought to have some potential when she started out. But I don't think that's true anymore. Her last fight was a shot at Mina Kurobe's DEEP JEWELS Atomweight Championship. She lost of course. She beat Tomo Maesawa to get the title shot. Neither of them are any good. Alyssa is 24 years old from Whittier, CA. She's a Josh Barnett trainee. Her record is 3-5. Her claim to fame is she beat RIZIN Atomweight tournament winner Kanna Asakura at the Dec. 2016 RIZIN show. Then Alyssa lost in the first round of the RIZIN Atomweight tournament. And her latest fight was a loss to Ayaka Hamasaki. RIZIN probably wants to rematch Alyssa with Kanna. But they can't do that if she keeps losing. I guess they are crossing their fingers. The other fight is Emi Tomimatsu vs Si Woo Park. Emi is 36 years old. She's been a fighter since 2006 and she was a pro wrestler before that. Her record is 13-13 and her last fight was a loss to Park Jung Eun on the June DEEP JEWELS show. Her opponent is a Korean kickboxer who lost both her MMA fights. So you have a fighter who should retire against a kickboxer who shouldn't be a fighter. That's entertainment.

Three matches added to Sept. 16 DEEP JEWELS show

Nanaka Kawamura, Yuko Kiryu

DEEP JEWELS announced that DEEP JEWELS 21 will be Sept. 16 at Shinjuku FACE. The main event hasn't been announced yet. But three matches have been announced for the show. They have also called for amateur fighter applications. That may fill up much of the card. All three matches are at Atomweight and are scheduled for two five minute rounds. Nanaka Kawamura will face Yuko Kiryu. 22 year old Nanaka is from the popular idol group Masked Woman. Obviously DEEP JEWELS is desperately trying to turn her into a fighter because she's already a celebrity. So far she's 1-1. She won her last fight in June over Momoko Yamazaki by TKO. That would be good news except Momoko is not really a pro fighter. She's a club hostess who was making her pro debut after some amateur fights. I guess they think an easy win will give Momoko confidence. Yuko is 30 years old. She trains at Brave and she has a 6-6 record. Her last win was at the March DEEP JEWELS show over Tomomi Souda who was making her MMA debut at age 39. She's attractive but a low level fighter. Tomo Maesawa will face Park Jung Eun. Tomo is 30 years old. Her record is 10-8. She seems to alternate wins and losses. Her last fight was a win at the March DEEP JEWELS show over Yuko Saito who is an older fighter with a 2-1 record. Park might have some potential. She's 21 years old from Korea with a 4-3-1 record. She made her DEEP JEWELS debut in March with a win over Emi Tomimatsu. She has also fought for Road FC. And in the third fight, Emi Sato will face Mizuki Furuse. Emi is 37 years old. Her record is 3-2. All three of her wins were over winless fighters. She has fought for Shooto and DEEP. Mizuki is 17 years old from Kanagawa, Japan. She has a 2-4-1 record. Obviously they want to encourage her because she's young. But she has to beat someone to move up and she hasn't done that. All three fights will be on the prelims. Stay tuned for further announcements from DEEP JEWELS.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Aaron Watson

Artist:Aaron Watson
Song:Outta Style
Album:Vaquero





After almost twenty years in music, Aaron Watson became an overnight success when his 2015 album The Underdog topped the Country Album charts. The success has continued with the 2017 album Vaquero and the single Outta Style. He was born Aug. 20, 1977 in Amarillo, TX and he grew up in Abilene. He grew up singing in church. As a teen, he wanted to play shortstop for the Houston Astros. He learned to play guitar while attending Abilene Christian University. And that's where he met country music star Larry Gatlin who encouraged Watson to keep writing songs. And Watson released his debut album in 1999. It looked like he was getting somewhere when Asleep At The Wheel leader Ray Benson produced Watson's 2002 album shutupanddance and Benson got Willie Nelson to make a guest appearance. But he was still turned down by every record company in Nashville. So he started his own company BIG Label Records in 2008. Though it is a vanity label, Watson hired an aggressive promotion staff who were determined to get him radio play. They also had distribution from independent distributor The Orchard which is now Sony RED. Watson started to see results with the 2012 album Real Good Time. And then the 2015 album the Underdog topped the Country Album charts. He was the first independent country artist to top the album chart. That Look was Watson's first chart single. The success continued with the 2017 album Vaquero. Outta Style reached #24 on the Country Singles chart. It's Watson's biggest hit to date. And it only took almost twenty years to become an overnight success. Watson is currently on tour. I'm sure he will record new music after the tour. He writes and produces everything. There was talk last year that he would expand his label and sign new artists. It hasn't happened yet but it takes time to develop new talent. He could use his experience to help others. Here's the video for Outta Style by Aaron Watson.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Kairi Sane vs Vanessa Borne

Here's the match video of Kairi Sane vs Vanessa Borne from this week's episode of NXT. Vanessa is 30 year old Danielle Kamela of Scottsdale, AZ. She was a dancer for the Phoenix Suns before coming to the WWE two years ago. Her only win so far was at last year's Mae Young Classic. As with Lacey Evans, Vanessa is at a certain level and either she has to improve drastically or she's not going to make it. Kairi beat her in April. But Vanessa called her out recently. The match is very similar to Kairi's matches with Lacey. Commentary tries to put Vanessa over. But obviously Kairi makes her look much better than she is. Selling and her dramatic facial expressions are a big part of Kairi's talent. Vanessa needs to work on those things. Kairi takes a beating at first. She hurts her back. But then she has her big comeback which fires up the crowd. And she uses a new finisher. No elbow drop. She takes a double toe hold and bridges into a submission that she calls The Anchor. It's the first time she has used it on TV. Afterwards, she cuts a promo on Shayna Baszler. Kairi says she beat Shayna before and she will do it again...and again...and again. And the crowd starts chanting "again". Kairi has the crowd in the palm of her hand. Next week there will be a four way match with Kairi, Nikki Cross, Candace LaRae and Bianca Belair. The winner gets a title shot at NXT Takeover Brooklyn. So I'll see you here next week for that. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Turbans

Artist:The Turbans
Song:When You Dance
Album:The Complete Herald Recordings





This doo wop classic was a top 40 hit in 1955. It was the only big hit for The Turbans. The Turbans were from Philadelphia led by lead singer Andrew "Al" Banks along with second tenor Matthew Platt, baritone Charlie Williams and bass Andrew "Chet" Jones. Jones wrote all the songs and Banks arranged and produced everything. The nicknames were given to avoid confusion. They started singing together after graduating from high school. They didn't have a name and their manager Herman Gillespie suggested they wear caps. It looks like he suggested the Scottish golf hats or tams as they are called. Williams said "I'd wear a turban first". And that's how they became The Turbans. They won a talent contest in 1954 and this brought them to Herald Records. The first single was Let Me Show You (Around My Heart) with When You Dance on the B side. As sometimes happens, DJs preferred the B side. When You Dance reached #3 on the R&B charts and #33 on the pop charts. It turned out to be The Turbans only hit. Jones wrote the song and it was arranged by Banks and guitarist Leroy Kirkland. It looks like King Curtis may have played the sax solo as he was in Kirkland's band at the time. They recorded several singles for Herald and then Big Top, Roulette, Parkway and Imperial. Nothing seemed to work. Platt and Williams were replaced by Earl Worsham and John Christian of The Quadrells. Jones left and was replaced by Reggie Price of The Quadrells. The Turbans finally split up in 1962. This CD has all their Herald recordings. Banks was constantly reforming The Turbans. And he was in an early 70s version of The Drifters. He again was planning to reform The Turbans when he died in 1977. One thing is for sure. When You Dance is a classic. Here's a video for when You Dance by the Turbans.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Asuka vs James Ellsworth lumberjill match

Here's the match video of Asuka vs James Ellsworth from last night's episode of Smackdown. Smackdown GM Paige made this a Lumberjill match to keep Ellsworth from running. So the entire Smackdown women's roster surrounded the ring. Charlotte was absent as she is recovering from surgery to fix a leaky boob implant. What all the women surrounding the ring have in common is they all hate Ellsworth. So he tried to run but they wouldn't allow it until they started fighting each other. He used that distraction to escape up the ramp until Becky Lynch and Naomi dragged him back to the ring. Asuka ended this foolishness when her leap from the top rope to the floor took everyone out. Carmella used this distraction to hand Ellsworth hair spray to blind Asuka. But he misses and Asuka applies the Asuka Lock for the win. Carmella tries to attack Asuka afterwards. But when Asuka kicks her ass, Ellsworth distracts Asuka enough to spray her and Carmella hits a superkick. Then Paige finds Carmella and Ellsworth backstage and tells them that on Sunday, Ellsworth will be suspended above the ring in a shark cage. I told you last week they would do that. That's not going to prevent shenanigans from happening. But this angle has probably gone as far as it can go. It's time for a title change and for Ellsworth to get the heave ho. He has a very short shelf life. Even Carmella can't hide her disgust for Ellsworth. And his cluelessness was never funny except to Vince. Of course this angle has been a waste of Asuka's considerable talent. But to her credit, she has played this straight. She hasn't tried to be funny so I don't think it has hurt her. She needs to get back to serious asskicking hopefully this Sunday at Extreme Rules. Enjoy the video!