Ghost

I know some of the true, diehard, elite metal fans don't consider these guys metal or consider them even good. But there are a lot of people who are not normally metal fans who really do like these guys. Their music is not aggressive, it's very melodic, easy on the ears. Their lyrics might be a little risque because of the concept of Devil worship, Satanism and the occult and some people are bothered by lyrics of that nature. Their singer is not screaming his lungs out. Their guitars are not so aggressively played that it sounds like more distortion than talent. These guys, overall, are a good metal band. I started listening to them after their new song "Call Me Little Sunshine" was getting some serious overplay on the local Cincinnati, Ohio, heavy metal station 96.5 or 96 Rock as it's known or the local hard rock station 102.7, aka WEBN.

-The group was formed in Linkoping, Sweden by Tobias Forge. His former band was a band called Repugnant, a death metal band from Sweden. He is their front man and is backed by a band who refer to themselves as "Nameless Ghouls" while Forge dons a Pope-like costume. Prior to forming the band, he contacted a former band mate named Gustaf Lindstrom, who helped Forge record a song called "Stand by Him" in 2008. They both also recorded two additional tracks "Prime Mover" and "Death Knell". The concept of Satanism and the occult became an inspiration for Forge and he wanted the band to be anonymous, theatrical. As he hired the people who would become the backing band, they were to be dressed in black hooded robes and referred to as "Nameless Ghouls". Calling the band Ghost, Forge dressed in Pope-like regalia but painted his face to look like a skull, even going as far as to wear contacts to make his eyes look black and referring to himself as Papa Emeritus.

Vocalist Tobias Forge

-Their music is metal, but has enough of a pop melody to make it appealing to all ages. Sometimes their lyrics can be a little risque, especially considering their songs can sometimes deal with Satanism, horror imagery and the occult. As long as those who listen know that those are just lyrics about the Devil, occult and horror and don't actually start worshipping the Dark One, it shouldn't be bothersome to them

-Their debut album Opus Eponymous combined 70s hard rock and 80s hair metal to create an amazing album. 2013's Infestissumam introduced keyboards, combining pop and metal together. 2015's Meliora introduced New Wave of British Heavy Metal and new wave rock but with Ghost's personal stamp of approval on it. Their 2018 album Prequelle had a lot of ABBA influences on it in addition to heavy inspiration from Judas Priest and King Diamond. Their most recent album, Impera, topped charts internationally with songs like "Hunter's Moon", "Call Me Little Sunshine".

-In the beginning, Tobias Forge wanted to play lead guitar. He auditioned four singers: Messiah Marcolin, Mats Leven, Krister Goransson, J.B. Christofferson. All took a hard pass on it and, by default, Forge accepted the role. In March 2010, it only took two days after he posted three songs by Ghost on MySpace to start getting calls from managers and record labels. Initially, this band played underground shows and had to play a lot of shows to get their name around. With their concerts looking like occult rituals, metal fans in their home country took to them almost instantly. Their popularity exploded. 2010 saw the release of a three track demo along with a single called "Elizabeth" following close behind. Their debut album was 2010's Opus Eponymous and was released on Rise Above Ltd.

Opus Eponymous

-No one knew what to expect with this album. But when people listened to it, they heard an amazingly melodic sound, combining 60s psychedelic rock, doom-laden hard rock and the short-lived phase of New Wave of British Heavy Metal. The band's multi-genre approach worked beautifully and was in heavy contrast to their sinister appearance. This music started growing internationally and was gaining the band fans all over the world. Some metal fans found it difficult to listen to their music while progressive music fans jumped right on it. The band toured internationally and it allowed them nomination for a Swedish Grammis award. Not long after, they were successfully signed to Universal's Loma Vista Records

-International touring lasted at least two years. Their single, "Secular Haze", was released and followed by the album Infestissumam in January of 2013. This album was recorded by producer Nick Raskulinecz and done in Nashville. Vocalist Tobias Forge employed the use of a backing choir to help fill out the vocals. Because of the heavy Satanic, occult themes in the lyrics and the band's reputation for occult activity, almost every choir in the region boycotted these sessions. The chorus vocals had to be done in Hollywood, out of the Bible Belt area of Nashville. Even the artwork was coming under fire. It was, as some put it "basically a 16th century orgy". Infestissumam topped Swedish rock charts and gained the band fans internationally. The band won the Grammis Award and P3 Guild Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Album for 2013. They even started gaining fans who were not traditional metal fans because of their easy on the ears sound, their keyboards and amazing vocals. Later that same year, they released If You Have Ghost, which was an album of covers produced by Dave Grohl.

Infestissumam

If You Have Ghost

-May 2015 seen the demise of Forge's alter ego, Papa Emeritus II. That role went to Forge's brother, who was three months younger than him, and assumed the role of Papa Emeritus III. Ghost released the single "Cirice" as a free download, where it went high on charts in nine countries. That following August saw the introduction of Meliora. This album, under the production of Klas Ahlund, who produced Katy Perry, Usher, Kesha and Madonna, offered a sound like no other for Ghost. This album offered pop rock combined with 70s hard rock from sources of inspiration like Blue Oyster Cult, Alice Cooper and even the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. This album is what introduced the band to the international hard rock and metal market. "Cirice" won them a Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 2016 and this album took home another Swedish Grammis award while topping the charts in 13 other countries. They even did a small album called Popestar which had a mix of covers. These include: "Missionary Man" by Eurythmics

Meliora

-In 2017, legal issues had hit the band hard. The identities of the musicians in Ghost remained a secret, but Forge was sued by former band mates Simon Soderberg, Mauro Rubino, Martin Hjertstedt and Henrik Palm over royalties relating to the songs and the "anonymous" nature of the band members disappeared. The case was dismissed and when the live album Ceremony and Devotion was released, Forge moved on with a new cast of band mates.

Ceremony and Devotion

-2018 saw not only a new album, Prequelle, but a new identity: Cardinal Copia. This album, produced by Tom Dalgrin, and left the eerie Satanism and occult lyrics behind. They wanted to move more mainstream and become the type of band that filled arenas. According to Forge, he wanted the band "...to sound like the best 1970s band you never heard...". This album has that hard rock feel in addition to a heavy funky feel on the bass but also be radio friendly with disco beats and synthesizers thrown in for good measure. As for lyrics, the Bubonic Plague and the Dark Ages were the sources here. This album topped charts in several countries. It claimed the top spot on the US Top Rock Albums chart and made the Top Three on the Billboard 200 charts. To this day, this is their highest charting album. One of the singles, "Rats" was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Song

Prequelle

-During their punishing tour schedule, Forge was constantly writing. Out of those sessions came Seven Inches of Satanic Panic, a two song EP featuring the eerie-sounding songs "Mary On A Cross" and "Kiss the Go-Goat". In 2021, they did a one-off occurrence and recorded Metallica's "Enter Sandman" for The Metallica Blacklist tribute album and Ghost's own song "Hunter's Moon" appeared on the soundtrack for the film Halloween Kills.

Seven Inches of Satanic Panic

-2022 seen the release of one of the band's most successful tracks, "Call Me Little Sunshine" from their Impera album. When the video for "Call Me Little Sunshine" debuted, it received almost eight million views. The band re-enlisted the aid of Klas Ahlund and native New Yorker Andy Wallace to produce the album. Forge brought in his love of Blue Oyster Cult, very early Judas Priest, Queen and New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands Def Leppard and Tygers of Pan Tang. He also welcomed, with open arms, full participation from Opeth guitarist Fredrik Akesson. This album, featuring 12 songs, has a happy balance of keyboards, dual lead guitars and nice, smooth drumming. These influences, which inspired Forge, is clearly obvious in songs like "Spillways", "Kaisarion" and "Darkness at the Heart of My Love". When the album debuted, it went into the US Top 200 at number 2 and topped charts all over Europe.

Impera

Murder, She Wrote (1984)

I forgot how good this show was. It might seem dated in today's era, where entertainment on TV consists of reality TV shows like The Bachelor / The Bachelorette, Survivor, Seeking Brother Husband and other mind-rotting drama, where people are fighting or tempting their significant others to cheat or even older women looking for younger men to hook up with. But these old shows are great. The way the characters dress and talk, act and more takes you back to a more simple time, when there was less to worry about.

Summary

-Jessica Fletcher is a professional writer and amateur detective on the side who uses her good manners, charm and high intellect to help solve every case she encounters

Cast

-Angela Lansbury: Jessica Fletcher

-William Windom: Dr. Seth Hazlitt

-Ron Masak: Sheriff Mort Metzger

-Louis Herthum: Deputy Andy Broom

-Tom Bosley: Sheriff Amos Tupper

-Will Nye: Deputy Floyd

-Michael Horton: Grady Fletcher

-Ken Swofford: Lt. Catalano

-Julie Adams: Eve Simpson

Did You Know?

-The harbor of Cabot Cove, Jessica's home town, is in reality the lake for Jaws on the Universal Studios tram tour

-While Angela Lansbury was nominated for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series for all twelve seasons of the show, she didn't win any Emmy awards for the show

-Jessica Fletcher's middle name is Beatrice, a tribute to Angela Lansbury's close friend Bea Arthur

-Jessica Fletcher couldn't drive, unlike Angela Lansbury, who did drive. Jessica Fletcher got around on bicycles, taxis or rides/lifts from the people around her

-The show got its name from a Miss Marple mystery called Murder She Said, which was, in turn, based on an Agatha Christie novel

-Despite being filmed in the fictional Maine town of Cabot Cove, the show was actually filmed on the West Coast. Jessica Fletcher's house was actually the Blair House Inn Bed and Breakfast in Mendocino, California. Other locations that look like New England were actually Northern California and Oregon

-Jessica took her maiden name McGill from Angela Lansbury's mother. Angela Lansbury's mother was born Charlotte Lillian McIldowie, who took the name Moyna McGill when she started acting

-Doris Day and Jean Stapleton were offered the roles of Jessica Fletcher, but refused. Angela Lansbury accepted the role

-There was a crossover episode done with Magnum P.I. It involves Jessica going to Hawaii and getting pulled into a case where Magnum (Tom Selleck) is framed for a crime and Higgins (John Hillerman) asks for Jessica's assistance. The episodes were called Magnum P.I.: Novel Connection (1986) and Murder, She Wrote: Magnum on Ice (1986)

-Angela Lansbury, Jerry Orbach (who often appeared on the show) and David Ogden Stiers all appeared in the 1991 Disney film Beauty & The Beast. Lansbury played Mrs. Potts and even sang the iconic theme. Jerry Orbach played Lumiere and David Ogden Stiers played Cogsworth

-On the show, prior to marrying her husband Frank Fletcher, Jessica wanted to pursue journalism as a career. She worked as a schoolteacher in her hometown of Cabot Cove, Maine where she and her husband lived until his death

-There is an actual harbor inlet called Cabot Cove in Kennebunkport, Maine

-Angela Lansbury was more than familiar with the whole murder-mystery genre. She had appeared in two film adaptations of Agatha Christie novels Death on the River Nile (1978) and The Mirror Crack'd (1980). In The Mirror Crack'd, she played a sleuth named Jane Marple. By the time this show premiered, everyone was more than willing to welcome Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher with open arms

-On the show, her late husband Frank was a Korean War veteran. He was a bomber pilot

-The framed color photo that is supposed to be of Jessica and her husband Frank is actually a photo of Jessica and her husband Peter Shaw

-When Angela Lansbury died in 2022, this show was binge watched by more people than ever before

Geddy Lee Announces Title of His Memoir and The Release Date

For all fans of Geddy Lee and Rush, your day is about to be made. Bassist / vocalist Geddy Lee has announced he is writing a memoir. Better yet, he's also releasing the date in which this book will be appearing on shelves at bookstores everywhere.

November 14 of this year is when fans of both Geddy Lee and Rush can start expecting to see the book, titled My Effin' Life, on bookstore shelves. Lee had previously teased the world with the rumor of a memoir, but now those rumors are being laid to rest and replaced with a positive confirmation from the man himself.

He went on the band's Twitter page and posted an old photo of him with the words "More soon...". He announced that he would release a then untitled autobiography in September 2021. The announcement was done via Instagram and referred to it as an "epic-length account" of his life both "on and off stage". He said the idea came to him while at home during the COVID-19 lockdown

He stated "Little did I know that as of March 2020 I'd be locked down for over a year and a half - the longest time I'd spent in Toronto since I was 19 and hit the Northern Ontario bar circuit with Rush". He also gave credit to co-writer Daniel Richler, who had helped write 2018's Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass and stated that Richler was the one who pushed him to take a look at his life. "[He] saw how I was struggling in the aftermath of [former bandmate Neil Peart's 2020] passing and tried coaxing me out of my blues with some funny tales from his youth, daring me to share my own in return." According to the September 2021 post, the book's release was scheduled for 2022.

April Birthdays

Since it's April, it's time to say Happy Birthday

Jet Li

-Birth name: Li Lian Jie

-DOB: 4/26/1963

-Where: Beijing, China

-He not only did the voice overs for the character Kit  Yun in the video game Rise to Honor, he also did the motion capture work for the fight scenes, working closely with Corey Yuen.

Ritchie Blackmore

-Birth name: Richard Hugh Blackmore

-DOB: 4/14/1945

-Where: Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, England

-He quit Deep Purple for good in 1994 because he felt Ian Gillan, the vocalist for Deep Purple, wasn't taking the tour very seriously and the old tensions between him and Gillan were starting to fire back up

Jeremy Clarkson

-Birth name: Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson

-DOB: 4/11/1960

-Where: Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England

-He provided notes for the sleeve of the re-issued Genesis album Selling England by the Pound

Eddie Murphy

-Birth name: Edward Regan Murphy

-DOB: 4/3/1961

-Where: Brooklyn, New York

-Prior to entering the world of acting, he performed stand up comedy at the same comedy club, the Bay Area Comedy Club, as Robin Williams and Caryn Johnson, who would later go on to fame as Whoopi Goldberg

Roddy Piper

-Birth name: Roderick George Toombs

-DOB: 4/17/1954

-Where: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

-DOD: 7/30/2015

-Where: Hollywood, California

-He holds a black belt in judo

Sebastian Bach

-Birth name: Sebastian Phillip Bierk

-DOB: 4/3/1968

-Where: Freeport, The Bahamas

-He himself said that when he was a child and attending school in The Bahamas, he was the only white child in a class of close to forty black children