Alvin Lee, "The Gibson 335" Guitar Superman

Alvin Lee, the former front-man for Ten Years After, still remains one of the greatest "Guitar Supermen" in the world today. His trusty sidekick is his beloved Gibson 335 and his Marshall Jubilee 2550 amp. Alvin named his Gibson "Big Red", and he's been offered as much as $500,000 for it by a fan, but he bluntly refused to sell his beloved companion. "Big Red" has now become too valuable for Alvin to tour with it as he continues to play concert events. Alvin's guitar is worth more than many homes, and costs lots to insure. But Gibson did make Alvin a replica copy of it to travel with. The original "Big Red" only cost Alvin Lee around $90 when he first bought it.

Alvin once explained how he modified his Gibson to give it both hum and distortion to guitar legend Les Paul, and he replied, "I do all this work to make pickups that don't hum by putting screens on them and the first thing you do is take them off again". Alvin "took off the humbucker covers" and turned the "bridge pu" backwards according to his own words.

Alvin has always been something of an electronic wiz. According to his own website, he built his own amp at the young age of just 16. And his experiments on his guitars have always contributed to their unique sound. With Alvin Lee at the helm, Ten Years After was always one of the greatest live guitar acts ever. His appearance at Woodstock was one of the greatest highlights of that entire music festival. Alvin Lee, Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend and Carlos Santana all turned in awesome guitar performances.

Alvin continues to record and tour. His last release, ALVIN LEE IN TENNESSEE is a great Cd, done with a number of very talented sessions musicians and other music legends.

For a lifetime of fantastic guitar work and music, Wizbang Pop officially recognizes Alvin Lee with the honorary title of "Guitar Superman" here.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND Faces Theater Boycott Threat

AMC Theaters are threatening the blockbuster new version of ALICE IN WONDERLAND with a boycott threat unless the producers of the movie keep the current theater to DVD cycle at 17 weeks, rather than shortening it to just 12 weeks. Theater owners fear that a shorter box office to DVD cycle will mean less movie-goers. However, a recent trend has been towards shorter theater to DVD cycles as movie producers attempt to maximize profits while films are still hot and fresh in the public mind.

The new version of ALICE IN WONDERLAND has so many blockbuster powerhouse factors going for it. The film is from Disney and director Tim Burton, and stars Australian actress Mia Wasikowska as 19 year old Alice Kingsley, along with box office smash star Johnny Depp. The film cost $150 million to produce and is shot in 3D. AMC would be damn fools to turn down an opportunity to play this film which will surely be a box office smash for sure.

Actress Mia Wasikowska is very nice, yet not very well known in the U.S. yet. I got to meet this talented 20 year old actress a few months ago when she was working out of my Clinton Market grocery store filming the new Gus Van Sant project tentatively titled RESTLESS. RESTLESS now looks likely to have a 2011 release date. Mia Wasikowska is also scheduled to star in JANE EYRE in 2011 as well. Besides ALICE IN WONDERLAND, the very versatile young actress will appear in the controversial film THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Since just 2004, the young actress has had 17 films including the upcoming JANE EYRE and RESTLESS.

Osmond Family Suicide Tragedy

Sadly, the adopted son of Marie Osmond killed himself last night by jumping to his death from his apartment building in downtown Los Angeles. 18 year old Michael Blosil left behind a note claiming that he suffered from lifelong depression, had no friends and felt like he just didn't fit in. The death of her son had to be a heartbreak to the 50 year old actress, singer and doll designer.

In 2007, MSNBC had reported that Michael had entered a rehab facility due to problems he was having. In 2009, Marie Osmond announced that her adopted daughter, Jessica, was living in a lesbian relationship, which is a lifestyle contrary to the teachings of the Mormon LDS faith of the family.

The death of her son is only the latest sad event to hit the life of the beautiful entertainer, who's life once seemed so ideal.

UGLY BETTY Coming To An End In April

ABC's once proud comedy break-out hit comedy, UGLY BETTY, will come to an end in April. America Ferrara once won both the Golden Globe and SAG awards for best actress in a comedy series as well. Actress Salma Hayek had the vision to produce this odd little show, and for the first few years ratings were good as were the critical reviews. But then, the ratings started to dramatically soften, and it appeared as if the series had run it's course with many viewers. What was once fresh and cool eventually seemed sort of tired.

The cast and production crew put up their very best efforts on this show, often putting in 12 hour days, days a week, at least 10 months of the year. And that effort seemed to show because of all the critical acclaim. But now that's all coming to an end. Now the only question is how the series ends.

General Larry Pratt's "Andy Warhol 15 Minutes Of Fame" Quickly Ending

For 62 year old General Larry Pratt, his "Andy Warhol 15 minutes of fame" appears to be quickly ending. Last week, his newly recorded version of "Pants On The Ground" debuted at #46 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 charts. This week the song tumbled down to #60. And on the Digital charts, his song tumbled from a debut at #22 down to #33.

There are several key reasons why the General's song has faded so quickly. First, it took weeks to get his outrageous song recorded. Secondly, the recorded version of the song was nowhere as funny as the live version of the song he performed on AMERICAN IDOL. His live performance was hilarious, including his rolling on the ground. It was so absurd that it was a real comedy classic. But, the recorded version of the song quickly leaves the impression that this isn't such a great song after all. "Pants On The Ground" never was a great song to begin with. It was simply a piece of silliness that became water cooler talk overnight. And even the marketing of the song took too long to strike when the iron was hot.

In Addition to the single version, there's a dance version of the song as well. But so far, there doesn't appear to be an album available. Maybe, there won't be one.

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

Charlie Sheen's Personal Problems Endangering TWO AND A HALF MEN

You heard it here first. We warned you that Charlie Sheen's latest batch of personal problems might just derail the filming of TWO AND HALF MEN and possiby endanger the wildly popular comedy series. Now, it's happened. Charlie Sheen was a no-show for Monday and Tuesday's scheduled shoots. Now, amid new problems with Charlie Sheen entering rehab according to a TMZ report, as well as potential bail problems stemming from his domestic charge, filming for the #1 comedy in the U.S. is being suspended for at least two weeks.

It is still possible that the series will go on and the remaining six episodes including the season finale can still be shot in time for CBS to continue to air the series without interruption. However, the mounting problems for Charlie Sheen are only making the future of this series look considerably clouded.

DVD Review: THE HURT LOCKER

THE HURT LOCKER is so far the very best movie ever made about the Iraq War. It is also a strong contender for Best Picture at the Oscars this year as well. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film gets an awesome 97% rating from the polling of film critics. The film follows the heroism of a bomb disposal team in Iraq seeking to rid 2004 Baghdad of roadside bombs and other booby trap devices.

Capturing realistic war action, and courage under fire, members of an EOD(Explosive Ordinance Disposal) unit with only 38 days left on their current tour of duty, face some of their worst and most dangerous situations. Screenwriter Mark Boal based this story on his firsthand experiences he hand in Iraq working as a journalist following an elite bomb disposal team. What Boal penned was a very gritty and riveting tale, and the photographic style of this film reminds you of a journalistic vision of U.S. soldiers at very dangerous work. The film also well captures all of the anarchy and confusion of war, where you cannot tell your friend from foe, and potential danger lurks everywhere. U.S. soldiers are like policemen in the middle of a major security crisis, attempting to restore order to a complete chaos situation.

It doesn't matter what position you hold on the war itself, because you can't help but admire those like this bomb disposal unit who are saving lives by doing their very dangerous work. Those that plant bombs in the middle of civilian areas due to the religious tensions between the rival sects create a serious danger to civilian as well U.S. servicemen lives. And not everyone in Iraq likes the American presence despite this important peacekeeping duty.

THE HURT LOCKER is an extremely good film. It certainly deserves serious consideration for Best Picture this year, although AVATAR probably remains the public favorite.

The Bottom Line: An extremely good film for the most part with few faults. +++ 1/2(three and a half stars, or nearly excellent).