Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
You can’t talk about progressive rock without mentioning the band Yes. Yes is progressive rock. The band, formed in 1968, and known for hits such as “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” “Roundabout” and “I’ve Seen All Good People,” has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and enjoys touring and meeting their fans. Chris Squire, who founded the group with Jon Anderson, says it never ceases to amaze him how many fans show up to support them.
Best known as Ari Gold’s much maligned assistant Lloyd on “Entourage,” Rex Lee has become a fan favorite on the hit HBO series. With just a stare and a well-placed word, Lee is a scene-stealer, especially when he spars with his cantankerous boss Ari (Jeremy Piven). “I found out after I got the role that they didn’t have an Asian American actor in mind for the part originally,” says Lee, 39. “Women auditioned, African Americans, everyone. I was told they didn’t quite know what they wanted until I walked through the door and showed them what they wanted.” Laughing, he adds, “And I choose to believe that!”
Having music legends as parents can be daunting. But Benjamin Taylor takes it all in stride. The son of James Taylor and Carly Simon, the 31-year-old singer-songwriter has his own successful career. Currently promoting his latest album “The Legend of Kung Folk Part 1,” Taylor’s eclectic musical style actually pays homage to David Bowie and the Roots than to his own lineage.
Grenada was the setting, the hotel the Spice Island Beach Resort. As I swamp in my very own pool, located on my very private patio in front of my very private room, I was thinking about two things. One, some of the cliches really are true. I could overhear little American tourist spawns shouting “Marco . . . Polo!” at each other from the communal pool. I didn’t have to look at them, though. Make that double my pleasure.
Best known for playing Marcia on “The Brady Bunch,” Maureen McCormick has a new generation of fans, thanks to her spunky appearances on reality shows such as “Celebrity Fit Club” and “Gone Country.” But reality TV has nothing on the actress’s drama-filled early years. In her page-turning memoir “Here’s the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice” (William Morrow, $25.95), McCormick — now 52 — reveals that life wasn’t as perfect as it seemed on “The Brady Bunch.”
Part of the Route 30A New Urbanism movement, where places like Rosemary Beach and Alys Beach recreate small-town Americana fantasies in a strikingly appealing fashion, WaterColor is both mesmerizing and a little unnerving. Mesmerizing because it’s perfect, and unnerving for the very same reason. Most people who know the area are aware that the film “The Truman Show” was filmed nearby Seaside for a reason: It looked too good to be true.
Comedian Jamie Kennedy is used to getting laughs in the United States, thanks to his work in the “Scream” films and his TV show “The Jamie Kennedy Experiment.” But making foreign audiences laugh wasn’t something he felt confident he could accomplish.
Juliana Hatfield had a knack for penning clever songs with her group the Blake Babies. She was an indie sensation. What her fans didn’t know was that Hatfield was battling an eating disorder and depression. With her telling memoir “When I Grow Up” (Wiley, $24.95), Hatfield describes her life as a rock star. She also writes about being filled with self-doubt. Hatfield, who also has a new CD out called “How to Walk Away,” is an avid traveler who got the bug to get up and go at a young age.
Even Rick Springfield is surprised that his latest album — “Venus in Overdrive” — has charted higher than his 1982 breakthrough record “Working Class Dog.” The latter spawned the hit singles “I’ve Done Everything for You,” “Love is Alright Tonite” and, of course, “Jessie’s Girl.” As well known for his singing as his tall, angular good looks, Springfield is back on the road to promote “Venus.”
Born in the United States to Korean parents and raised in Canada — where she calls Vancouver home — Grace Park got the travel bug early. Though concurrent roles on “The Cleaner” and “Battlestar Galactica” — as well as the Canadian series “The Border” — preclude her from taking as many vacations as she’d like, Park says visiting new countries is one of the joys in life she shares with her husband, Phil Kim. India and Brazil hold special places in Park’s heart, but her favorite destination thus far is Italy’s quaint Vernazza.