Eck’s Saloon, long a haven for both local and national hard rock acts like Warrant, Quiet Riot, and Skid Row, recently closed. The Lakewood-based music venue and bar, once owned by Mike Bruno (who also used to own Iliff Park Saloon and Bruno’s Saloon) and which changed hands twice over the last two years, was home to fans of ’80s hair metal and hard rock, hearty drinkers and bikers.
The walls near the decent-sized stage were lined with a good deal of hair-metal memorabilia. Poison’s Bret Michaels, Warrant, Enuff Z Nuff have played at Eck’s and in 2014 the venue hosted acts like Kip Winger, who played an acoustic show there last March, Michael Schenker Group, Jackyl and Faster Pussycat.
[Article includes photos and videos].By Jon Solomon
http://blogs.westword.com/backbeat/2015/01/ecks_saloon_close_lakewood.php
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JAY-Z JUST DROPPED $56 MILLION ON A SCANDINAVIAN STREAMING COMPANY
He may not have much in common with Taylor Swift…but are they both challenging Spotify now?
Hip-hop star Jay-Z is buying a Scandinavian music streaming company for $56 million to add to a business empire that has spanned clothing and sports bars.
Project Panther Bidco Ltd, a company controlled by the 45-year-old rapper, said on Friday it had agreed to buy Sweden-listed Aspiro, which runs the music streaming services WiMP and Tidal, for 464 million Swedish crowns ($56 million) in cash.
Jay-Z, real name Shawn Corey Carter, is one of the world’s best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 100 million records. Forbes estimated his net worth at $520 million last year. He told Reuters he saw Aspiro as “an innovative high-quality company with strong future growth potential.”
The move will inevitably provoke speculation that the rapper is joining Taylor Swift in challenging the dominance of music streaming service Spotify, although Jay-Z didn’t immediately say anything that suggested a Swift-style open confrontation was on the cards.
Married to pop star Beyonce, Jay-Z has had a number of business interests, including 40/40 Club sports bars, Rocawear clothing and sports agency Roc Nation Sports (as well as champagne maker Armand de Brignac).
His mix of music and entrepreneurial interests mirrors that of other rappers, including De Dre, who sold his Beats headphones business to Apple Inc. AAPL -1.46% , and 50 Cent, who sold his vitamin water business to Coca-Cola Co. KO -2.21% .
Project Panther said it had followed the development of Aspiro for some time, believing it to be “an innovative high-quality company with strong future growth potential”.
Norwegian media house Schibsted SBSNY -0.80% , which indirectly owns a 76% stake in Aspiro, said it had accepted the offer, while Aspiro’s board said it was united in recommending the bid, virtually ensuring its success.
http://fortune.com/2015/01/30/jay-z-just-dropped-56-million-on-a-scandinavian-streaming-company/
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‘GLEE’S’ MELISSA BENOIST WILL PLAY ‘SUPERGIRL’
CBS has found its “Supergirl.” Actress Melissa Benoist has been cast in the lead role of the upcoming drama, which is executive produced by Greg Berlanti (“Arrow,” “Everwood”) and Ali Adler (“Chuck”).
Benoist has busted onto the Hollywood scene in recent years with roles on “Glee” and in Damien Chazelle’s breakout indie film “Whiplash,” which was nominated last week for the Academy Award for Best Picture. She has also appeared in guest starring roles in dramas including “Homeland” and “The Good Wife.”
In the show, Benoist will reportedly play Kara Zor-El, a Krypton-hailing young woman who has kept her powers hidden while growing up on Earth. The series will explore what happens when, at the age of 24, Kara finally begins to embrace her superhero destiny.
The Huffington Post | By Lily Karlin
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/22/melissa-benoist-supergirl_n_6525980.html
[Editor’s note: In case you don’t remember, Melissa is from Littleton!]