Philly radio just got a little duller now that Brian Carter's passed away, even though he'd been broadcasting out of his hometown of Baltimore for some time. From 1987 to 1999, the team of Carter and Sanborn turned morning-radio comedy into an art, first on Power 99 and later on WDAS-FM. The duo proved that being a humorous on-air pair didn't require either the talent or the listeners to be assholes. They could be ribald, caustic and corny without a hint of the "gonzo" that long ago destroyed much of morning radio. They were warm and welcoming, and hearing Carter's voice after their opening theme song "Two for the Price of One" made the rest of your day that much better. They were hip-hop's equivalent of Abbott & Costello, without the schtickiness. Carter will be missed. Condolences to his family.
It sounds as if the long-vacant corner on Sixth and Bainbridge streets next to chi-chi Bistrot La Minette is getting a makeover from the brewhaus hosses of the Bella Vista Beer Distributors. You want casks? We hear the space will be stuffed with them.
That Da Comrade! gig at West Philly's Glitoria house over the weekend that I mentioned in Icepack Illustrated last Friday turned out to be the raucous, Beefheart-like ensemble's swan song. "It simply ran its course," said principal singer/songwriter Fletcher Van Vliet, a sideburn-wearing gent who pens and croons sea-shanty-esque waltz-pop for his own On the Water project. "But there'll be a new outfit with new music to come." Comrade was a mussed-up fave of mine; here's hoping for more of the same.
There's been a flurry of activity at the twin towers of 2031 and 2029 Walnut St., the loneliest part of that long block. While the former address will blossom into Cherry Hill habitué Greg Vernick's Vernick Food & Drink in a minute and a huff, that Le Bec-Fin-based café I wrote about a while ago is quickly gathering steam at the latter address, the one-time home of David Carroll's much-missed Magazine, then Monkey Bar then the sad Strongbox not-spot. La Petite Dauphine is ex-LBFer David Smith's coffee/small French cuisine plate salon. Expect a race to the finis between the two addresses.
One of this town's favorite benefactors, Gerry Lenfest of Lenfest Broadcasting, is finally ready to launch the U.S.' first broadcast television network designed for African-American audiences in the Philly area. Bounce TV will air on Comcast channel 262 in collaboration with WMCN 44 and Bounce founders Martin Luther King III and ex-UN ambassador Andrew Young — both of whom have been in and out of Philly since December when they pre-launched the channel. A soft Bounce, so to speak.
Icepack Illustrated lives at Critical Mass.
