Big Words I Know By Heart

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Big Words I Know By Heart Episode 55: ‘Ellipsis’

Big Words I Know By Heart Episode 55: ‘Ellipsis’

Co-host Terry Kimmel was proud of how far I’ve come with the local film community in the last few years.  From knowing nothing about to to branching out bit by bit (and with some of his guidance), I feel like I have a basic understanding of what’s going on and which projects are under development.  Rick Masi was a man who’s projects I’d heard spoken highly of (‘Tales Of Darkened Light’, in…

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Big Words I Know By Heart Episode 54: ‘Minutiae’

Big Words I Know By Heart Episode 54: ‘Minutiae’

One thing I learned about Rochester comedy was that all roads lead to comic Woody Battaglia.  The man is a powerhouse, hosting multiple weekly open mics, an FM Variety Show (‘Almost Tuesday’ on 104.3 WAYOFM) and an iTunes podcast with a very peculiar twist (‘My Minute With Andre’).  I’m not sure if he’s okay with being referred to as an alt-comic, but his standup stemmed from his love of ‘90s…

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Big Words I Know By Heart Episode 53: ‘Deja Vu’

Big Words I Know By Heart Episode 53: ‘Deja Vu’

Back when I did the Big Words Radio podcast, many references were made to the ‘Big Words Poltergeist’.  It was the big bad wolf I could blame for mistakes, mistapings, lost audio material, etc.  Well, you could say that the Big Words Poltergeist struck again last month and it struck more than once.  Or you could just chalk it up to bad luck, or a series of unfortunate events.  During the sound…

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Big Words I Know By Heart Episode 52: ‘Luminosity’

Big Words I Know By Heart Episode 52: ‘Luminosity’

The nice thing about having a room full of comedians is that I don’t need to be funny.  I’m not even sure if I was on this episode, but Guest Don Johnson and returning Co Host Jesse Winterhalter Jr. brought their A game.  Between the two, they’ve been entertaining Buffalo audiences no less than three times a week for no less than two years at their open mics, featured gigs, headlining gigs,…

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Big Words I Know By Heart Episode 51: ‘Intelligentsia’

This episode marks the ten year anniversary (give or take a few days) that a) I walked into producer Richard Wicka’s Home Of The Future for the first time (for an interview on Susan Marie’s ‘This Is Not The Apple’ podcast) and b) that Richard and I have been great friends.  In all that time, he’s been many things to me: a friend, a mentor, a creative, an intellectual, and someone who I look up…

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Big Words Video 51.1: Richard Wicka-‘Notes From The Ground Floor’ I’ve been a very bad blogger.  It’s been some time since a new show and an update of any kind on the site, so this is me catching up.  

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Big Words I Know By Heart Episode 50: ‘Licentious’

Big Words I Know By Heart Episode 50: ‘Licentious’

Before I say anything else, it needs to be said that the above crotch grab was real.  I didn’t think that guest Rick Matthews was really going to go for it during pictures, but it actually happened.  In addition to everything else about the comedian, he is committed to his craft.  He’s in it to win it.

I’m very late in posting this (having just wrapped Episode 51), but I’d been hearing about…

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Big Words I Know By Heart Episode 49: ‘Scoville’

Big Words I Know By Heart Episode 49: ‘Scoville’

Wing King Drew Cerza was originally on the boards all the way back in 2014.  There was a massive scheduling issue though, as Drew had a press conference the same day.  So we finally got around to making it happen this month and Cerza did not disappoint.  The founder of the National Buffalo Wing Festival was a real sport with my line of questioning, he was charming and he was genuinely as…

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Big Words Video 49.1: WingFest Promo Teaser

Big Words Video 49.1: WingFest Promo Teaser

This Bonus clip is really just a glorified ad, but it’s a really tantalizing montage for WingFest.  I’m not really sure what else to say about it.  I’ve gone, I’ve eaten and I’ve had a great time.  If you want a sampler platter of WingFest or if you’ve never been, this should answer all of your burning questions:

Henry Gale was…

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Big Words I Know By Heart Episode 48: ‘Certified’

Big Words I Know By Heart Episode 48: ‘Certified’

Up until the show, Frank Pusateri was someone I’d travelled in the same circles with (even rubbed elbows with), but never officially met.  During my time writing bar reviews for Night Life Magazine (2000-2009), I’d been to more than my share of Night Life Music & Club Awards.  Simply put, it’s the biggest night in Buffalo for the local music community.  Everybody who’s anybody is under one roof.…

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Big Words Video 48.1: ‘Only Gambling’ & 48.2: ‘Leaf In A Storm’

Big Words Video 48.1: ‘Only Gambling’ & 48.2: ‘Leaf In A Storm’

I normally ask an upcoming guest for ONE video clip to supplement the show.  Poor Frank got propositioned for two.  He’s promoting his new book ‘Only Gambling’, but I didn’t want to ignore his rich history on the Buffalo music scene.  So there you have it.  Frank’s homework was more complicated than guesting on the show!  He came through with flying colors, though.  Big Words Video 48.1 is a…

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Big Words I Know By Heart Episode 47: ‘Maquette’

Big Words I Know By Heart Episode 47: ‘Maquette’

It’s better to have too many questions and not get to all of them than not enough and too much time left on the show clock.  That’s exactly what happened with this episode.  During show prep, I usually don’t feel ‘comfortable’ going into the studio until I have roughly three pages of questions in a 14 point font including the intro paragraph and the outro plug (which, by the way, I haven’t used…

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Big Words I Know By Heart Episode 46: 'Impresario'

Big Words I Know By Heart Episode 46: ‘Impresario’

One of the most difficult parts of the job as a host with a guest like Sabrina Pena Young is wondering which parts of her varied career to touch down on.  Maybe I’m a little too OCD with my research, but as a mixed media artist (films, music and books), there was a lot of ground to cover.  So we started with her ‘New Genre’ award-winning virtual opera ‘Libertaria’ and worked our way out from…

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Big Words Video 46.1: 'Behind The Scenes' and 46.2: 'Spiritus'

Big Words Video 46.1: ‘Behind The Scenes’ and 46.2: ‘Spiritus’

I’ll say this about filmmaker, composer and author Sabrina Pena Young.  She came prepared.  Not only did she have two professional Bonus clips to round out the show episode, but she chose to share an exclusive sneak peek at her upcoming virtual opera ‘Spiritus’ with my viewers.  I continue to be surprised and amazed by the variety and the quality of the show’s compendium clips.

Young’s first…

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Big Words Video 46.1: 'Behind The Scenes' and 46.2: 'Spiritus'

Big Words Video 46.1: ‘Behind The Scenes’ and 46.2: ‘Spiritus’

I’ll say this about filmmaker, composer and author Sabrina Pena Young.  She came prepared.  Not only did she have two professional Bonus clips to round out the show episode, but she chose to share an exclusive sneak peek at her upcoming virtual opera ‘Spiritus’ with my viewers.  I continue to be surprised and amazed by the variety and the quality of the show’s compendium clips.

Young’s first…

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Big Words I Know By Heart Episode 45: ‘Verisimilitude’

As soon as I saw Arnold Palmer in Rhonda Parker’s uproariously funny speed-dating film gone horribly wrong ‘Lonely Bananas’, I knew I had to get actor Brad Spiotta on the show.  He brought the character to life with his own wardrobe choices, mannerisms and speech patterns, and the results were a riot.  Spiotta was a solid interview: humble, charming and quick with his responses.  I got a little…

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Big Words Video 45.1: Brad Spiotta-‘Past Hauntings’

Maybe I hammer too hard sometimes on the importance and choice involved with each guest selecting a Bonus clip, but actor Brad Spiotta provided a really good one, and the timing couldn’t have been any better.  With a half hour to shoot each episode, there’s barely enough time for the interview, let alone the time to set a clip up, roll it and then react to it.  Hence the Bonus clips.…

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