I'm probably the least qualified person I know to talk dance—fortunately, my next guest, New York native Tomoe ”Beasty” Carr is an expert on the subject. Recently, Beasty was crowned winner of the Red Bull Dance Your Style qualifier in Boston and will head to the U.S. Red Bull Dance Your Style National Finals taking place in Washington, D.C from Oct. 22-23.   For this episode, Beasty talks all about the world of battling in the dance world and some of the competitions she's taken part in. We also look at her background and building a career in dance, which includes training in Japan at Next Generation Dance Studio under the tutelage of Cebo for 10 years. She is well versed in hip hop, house, waacking, locking, popping, breaking, and ballet & modern.

Citywide Blackout

Beasty talks dance styles and being part of Red Bull Dance Your Style

For years, publishing a Halloween-themed collection has been the dream of author Kevin Lucia, and on Oct. 22, it comes true with the release of “October Nights” through Crystal Lake Publishing. Set in the fictitious town of Clifton Heights, the book contains four shared-world tales of small-town Halloween horror.   In this episode, Kevin and I walk through the world of Clifton Heights and how it came to be. We look at characters in horror, and what makes them truly matter to the reader. Kevin and I run through each of the stories and how these made the final cut as opposed to other idea (which any good writer has a ton of!).   Last spring, at the height of the pandemic's first wave, Kevin saw the publication of his first hardcover limited edition novella from Cemetery Dance Publications, “Mystery Road.” We talk about how the last year and a half has been and how it influenced him as a writer.

Kevin Lucia lives a dream with the release of the nightmarish “October Nights”

I recently had the chance to check out “Cheer Up! Love and Pompoms,” available through Oni Press. The story, it's true-to-life characters and the world behind them were such an immediate draw that I read it three times.   Annie is a smart, antisocial lesbian starting her senior year of high school who’s under pressure to join the cheerleading squad to make friends and round out her college applications. Her former friend Bebe is a people-pleaser, a trans girl who must keep her parents happy with her grades and social life in order to maintain their support of her transition.   In this episode, Writer Crystal Frasier and Artist Val Wise share their experiences working together for the first time. We take a long look at the characters of Bebe and Annie, how their friendship deepens throughout the book and what each brings to the overall story. We talk about transgender characters in comics and how this has changed in recent years as well as Aunty Jen, to whom the book is dedicated.

Cheer Up! creators talk real-life character connections and lessons to be found

Imagine this: The Grim Reaper approaches you one day and asks if you want their job. Crazy, right? But it's this idea that kicks off Jessica Vitalis' book “The Wolf's Curse.”   The Great White Wolf is very, very old. And she is very, very tired. For hundreds of winters, she has searched for someone to take her place. But she is invisible to most people. In all those years, only three have seen her. One died young. One said no. One is still alive — a 12-year-old boy named Gauge.   In this interview, Jessica and I talk about worldbuilding and character creation that preceded writing the book and how she is reflected in Gauge. She takes us through the process of becoming a published author with Greenwillow/HarperCollins and her advice to those with a book and the goal of seeing it on store shelves.   Jessica and I also dive into her other work and what about this story made it stand out from the others. She talks about her transition from Columbia grad to writer and what she had to learn along the way.

Debut author Jessica Vitalis talks about her unique take on Death

What if you lived in a world full of superheroes? Would you be amazed every day to see people who can perform impossible feats or would they just be part of the landscape? In this episode, “Astonishing Times” co-writer and co-creator Frank Barbiere joins me to talk all about this new five-part series, which you can only get at comiXology Originals.   Noah Sans, a young reporter living in the shadow of his father, lives in a world full of superheroes—but no one seems to care. After a world changing event called The Cataclysm, people moved on, and now heroes are old news. But when Noah begins investigating a mysterious murder, he comes face to face with his most revered heroes and is forced to confront a secret past that could change the world forever.   We talk about Noah's character and his perspective on the world of heroes and himself, especially when compared to his father, a journalist who was friends with the greatest heroes. We look at the world creation and how he and co-writer Arris Quinones crafted the cast.   Frank also talks about working with Arris, who is no stranger to the world of comics (he's the host of YouTube's Variant) but newer to writing them. We also look at the rest of the team and brilliant work they did bringing this idea to life.

Frank Barbiere walks us through some “Astonishing Times”

After hearing international singer-songwriter Heerraa's new single “Feel Alive,” I knew that had to learn more about her. And the more I learned, that more I was interested in her being a guest on Citywide, so here we are! In this episode, we dive into the new song and what inspired the upbeat sound in a time when things can look pretty grim. Heerraa talks about the different people she's met in her music career and the lessons they've had for her.   In addition to music, Heerra's a co-founder of nationwide youth movement, Ascendance. To date, the team has impacted over 13,000 students through their programs, student-led conferences, monthly web series and more. We talk about how the organization got started, what it's done so far, and plans for the future.   Following this, enjoy the new single, “Feel Alive.” I was so hooked by the song that I listened to the rest of her work and I hope you do too.

Heerraa talks awards, virtual tours, and helping students find their path

If you're at all connected with the local scene of Boston, the name Gene Dante and the Future Starlets is a familiar one. It certainly is to me, and it's with great pleasure that I interviewed him for this episode! We talk about the band being back on stage at Ralph's Rock Diner and how it felt to play for a crowd once more.   Recently, Gene released two new singles, “High Time” and “She's Outside.” "High Time" is all about showing narcissists the door and removing the bad seeds from your life and Gene talks about how his own experiences with folks like this influenced the song. We take a look at the amazing music video by Director Silvia Graziano and what made it happen.   We also talk about the impact that the band has had over the years and the kind of effect that Gene hopes comes from all these years in music.   Following this, kick back and enjoy “High Time.” It's a great example of the band's glam rock sound and doesn't disappoint!

Gene Dante talks about being back on stage and putting out new singles

Over a century after women were granted the right to vote, Galia Gichon explores this pivotal moment through her new book, “The Accidental Suffragist.”   It's 1911, and Helen Fox is a factory worker living in New York's tenements. When tragedy strikes in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, Helen is seduced by the cause for women’s suffrage and is soon working alongside famous activists.   In this interview we look at how this subject came to Galia's attention and the research she undertook to learn all about it. We learn about Helen Fox, her motivation to join the movement, and how she changes as a person. Galia's been able to hold several in-person readings and book events and talks about the experience of being in front of an audience.

Galia Gichon dives into the Women‘s Suffrage Movement in new novel

It was seven months ago that writer David Rohlfing made his Citywide Blackout debut for his first book, “Deliberate Duplicity.” And now he's back with a prequel story, “Cold Consequences,” which sees Det. Sasha Frank five years younger and on the trail of a murderer following a drug deal gone wrong.   David and I talk about the quick turnaround from the first book to the second and how he learned from his debut novel. David takes us through the book (not everything though, you gotta get your copy to see how it ends!) and how different a person Sasha Frank is five years ago.   We also look at the return of in-person events and if David has any planned at this time. He's done plenty of virtual events as well as interviews with the media and we talk about how he's adapted to the electronic format of book releases.

Author David Rohlfing returns with the prequel in his Sasha Frank detective series

It all started with a Tweet that read “Music Coming Soon.” Those three words kicked off a flurry of guesses as to who 4 Minutes Later really were and what they were all about. After three years, Junyor and Moon got to unveil this new project, a blend of styles called Alien Pop.   In this interview, we talk about the group's origins, what it was like to keep a secret for three long years, and how it felt to finally tell the world. Junyor and Moon explain to me what Alien Pop is and how past projects influenced their current style.   I'm not that familiar with the music scene in Canada, and Junyor and Moon walk me through it, introducing artists that they've worked with and others that I'm dying to check out.   Following this, kick back and relax with the group's new single “In My Head.” It's the first song of theirs that I heard and led me to checking out their entire discography.

4 Minutes Later talk about the Tweet that launched their career

This one has been a long time coming. I've been a fan of Kristian Montgomery and The Winterkill Band for awhile now, and in this episode we get to hash things out for his newest album, “Prince of Poverty.” It's one of three recorded during the pandemic and this fall he'll release “A Heaven for Heretics."   Kristian has been a part of the Boston Music Scene for some time and talks about the way he fits in (and sometimes doesn't). He talks about the challenge in getting noticed in the U.S. while at the same time he's become well known in Europe. He's also done shows over there and shares some tales about the audiences and what they're like.   We also do a deep dive into his newest album, “Prince of Poverty,” released earlier this year. The album touches on a lot of different subjects—from judgement over the past to America and how he views it.   After this, enjoy two songs from the new album, “American Fire” and “A Warm Grave.”

Kristian Montgomery talks touring, the Boston Music Scene, and new releases

BONUS TRACK-LX looks at destructive relationships in new single   In the newest episode I head to LA (virtually at least) to talk with Julianna Joy, who's made a life and career for herself in music. We talk a lot about the support that artists don't get and how it's impacted them. It's mind-boggling to think of this given the money that revolves around shows and we look at how this needs to change.   We also talk about her newest singles, which include “Don't Come to LA” and “Spirits.” There's a story behind the tunes, which focus on a relationship that just didn't work out and the artist making the tough call to let it end.   After this, kick back and relax with the new single, “Don't Come to LA.”   Following the music break, I talk with LX for her new single “Naked Truth,” which shows the reality behind getting out of a destructive relationship, while also celebrating being able to end it in the first place. LX and I talk about the real-life relationship that inspired the song and her own battles with these kinds of confrontations.   After this, enjoy the new single, “Naked Truth.” I dug the honesty of the song as well as the style.

Julianna Joy talks new music and why more support for artists is needed

I'm excited to once again sit down with writer Robert Stadnik, creator of the popular Exodus series. We look at a series of short stories he's working on that expand on characters, plots, and events of the series. We also talk about the future of the Exodus series and if Robert think it will eventually be finished.   Recently it's been announced that book expos and conventions will be returning, with some already held, and Robert discusses what he plans to do and if he feels ready to get back amongst the crowds.   Ten years ago, Robert wrote a superhero story “Tales Of A Former Child Superhero.” We talk about the genre and how he got into it, and his plans for further developing this and other stories.

Author Robert Stadnik talks a return to events and expansion of his Exodus series

In 2018, author J. Lee published his first book, “The Hubley Case,” introducing the world to the character Ben Siebert. At the time, it was supposed to be a one-off story, with no sequels planned. But the fans spoke, telling Lee that they wanted another adventure for Siebert—and so we have “The Silent Cardinal,” available on Aug. 3.   In this interview, Lee and I talk about his feelings as release day approaches and plans for in-person events now that such things can be done. We look at the continuation of the story and how Ben grows as a person. We also talk about the villains and how to make such characters unique in a world where thriller bad guys are so prevalent.   Lee also talks about the complex story he created and how it all came to be, as well as his planning process and outlining.  

Author Justin Lee is back with a most unexpected sequel

Citywide Blackout is the home for artists of all kinds, from filmmakers to musicians to authors and everything in between. The show also covers comic-cons, book expos, and film festivals.

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