There’s no doubt… he “shot the tambourine man” and himself in the foot.

I have never seen a guy crater so badly and then obviously throw in the towel so intentionally than would-be American Idol finalist Jason Castro. Yes, the guy from Rockwall (I think) who did not do North Texas proud during his run for the coveted idol post.

Idol is now in its 7th season and this is the first time I have paid any attention to it. And the only reason I’m paying attention now is because the show is finally allowing the contestants to play instruments during their performances. (It makes me wonder if Bo Bice would’ve actually won instead of taking 2nd place had he been allowed to show his incredible chops on the guitar.)

But, back to the dude with the dreadlocks. I honestly believe the guy feigned forgetting the lyrics to Bob Dylan’s classic “Mr. Tambourine Man.” I mean, give me a break! The line he supposedly forgot is “in the jingle-jangle morning I’ll come following you.”  I’m sorry but that line is ingrained into the sub-consciousness of genereations of music lovers who probably sing it to themselves in their sleep.

Castro certainly didn’t have any trouble remembering “and the ancient empty streets to dead for dreaming.” Not exactly the easiet line in the song. In fact, that’s one of the verses that was not included in The Byrds classsic cover of the song.

When Simon told him to “pack your suitcase” I believe his unspoken reply was “Ialready have.”

But the thing that disappoints me most about his lack of effort came in interviews he did after being voted off the show. He said he was having a hard enough time doing two songs a week and now the three remaining finalist will have to perform 3 songs a weeks

Again, GIVE ME A BREAK!!! If this guy wants to be a professional musician how many songs does he think he’s going to have to handle during a single headlining concert? It’s gonna be a heck of alot more than 3 I can tell you that much. When I saw Paul McCartney at the AAC in 2005 he performed 30 songs.. granted, he has a teleprompter and he did write the songs… but his 63-year old (at the time) hide didn’t even break a sweat. I know because I was sitting front-row center.  

So, I guess this means Castro is content with getting his rear-end handded to him by a 17-year old kid, David Archuletta, who doesnt seem to have any problem handling 2-to-3 songs a week.

And let me tell you,  that David Cook is already a rock and roll star… regardless if he becomes out “next Americdan Idol” or not.

Later

 

 
 

 

 

  

  

Tracy Roberson Still On The Stand

“I chose to put my education on hold so that my children could have it better that I did.” That’s the way Tracy described to the jury how her life was controlled by her husband Darrell.

 

“I was never able to go anywhere without my kids. And if I did it was phone call after phone call asking why I was without the kids.”

 

She described how one time she was in line at “Taco Bell and called” multiple times and “said I know the line is not that long.l within minutes he pulled into the driveway at Taco Bell to check on her.

 

She described another near violent incident where he pulled a gun on her and threatened to never let her seen the kids again if she tried to leave him.

 

She claims the reason she never left Darrell because he always threaten to never let her see her kids again.

 

“I had a very, very low self-esteem except when I was with my kids.”

 

She bought a 2nd cellphone that she hid from Darrell so she could talk to her family with him questioning her about it all the time.

 

“Darrell didn’t feel comfortable if I didn’t give him all the attention.”

 

She told the jury she has been involved with Darrell for 21 years and in that time frame the only sexual encounters she has ever had are with Darrell and the victim Devin.

 

She says she met Devin inside a grocery store when they exchanged phone numbers. She said he as handsome and she gave him the number to her secret cellphone. Devin said “I was pretty and that made me feel good because I never received that type of compliment.”

 

She admits she was keeping their relationship a secret as they called each other and sent text messages. Their kids attended the same school and they would meet outside the school to pick up their children.

 

She said Devin suggested several times that they get together and finally had a meeting at 9pm at Cravens Park near her home. “We talked, we listened to the radio, we played, we laughed, we joked.” “He made me feel like a different person… Like a good person.” “Very sweet and gave me a lot of compliments I had never heard.” “We kissed, we flirted.”

 

She admits they “had sex” on a second encounter at another park where they had met. Darrell was out playing cards that night as usual and she had no fear of getting caught.

 

 

She said he was special to her and she was special to him. She admits the text messages between them were sexual and she knows it was “wrong to have an affair.” “Devin and I only had sex twice.” Both times in the park approximately over a 2 month period before he was killed.

 

She never thought through what she was doing whether it was right or wrong.

 

On the night Devin was killed Darrell was out playing cards and they text messaged each other and agreed to meet.

 

Devin came to the house, the kids were in bed, she was in the truck with him where only “a robe and some panties.” She thought about having sex with him. It was after midnight and she had no reason the believe Darrell would come home. They were kissing, caressing. He had been drinking. “We were kissing caressing and holding each other then there were lights and it was Darrell I saw him get out. Darrell got out of the car and screaming get your “A” out of the car. He raises his hands and he had a gun and I started screaming. Devin started in reverse and I got in the floorboard because I thought he was going to shoot us. He fired the shots as we were moving.” She remembers 4 shots being fired. “It happened so fast I’m thinking seconds.”

 

She was not trying to save her own hide. She never believed Darrell would kill Devin she thought it “would be me.”

 

“He (Darrell) pulled me out and saying I can’t believe you did this to me. I was scared I ran in my house because I didn’t think he would shoot me in front of my kids. I dialed 911 Darrell put down the gun.”

 

Defense attorney: “Were you being raped?”

 

Tracy: “No, ma’am.”

 

 

“I felt if I said anything to the 911 operator he would’ve shot me in front of my kids.”

 

She admits she wanted the 911 operator to hear what was going on inside the house.

 

“He was yelling that he couldn’t believe that I was “F-ing” off on him”

 

“Did you stick to your story about be raped?”

 

“Yes I did”

 

“How do you feel about that?”

 

“I feel awful about it because I’ve lost my life and I want to say I’m sorry to the LaSalle family but I know there are no words in the English language strong enough.”

 

“But you’re still lying to the police at this point about being raped?”

 

“Yes I am.”

 

“Why did you continue to lie?”

 

“Because I was afraid that they would tell Darrell”

 

(At 3pm the judge calls for a 15-minute recess)

 

Tracy Roberson Takes The Stand In Punishment Phase

Tracy Roberson takes the stand in her own defense in the punishment phase of her 2nd degree manslaughter conviction on Friday.

 

In a desperate effort to avoid going to the penitentiary, 37-year old Tracy Roberson pleaded with the jury of 6 women and 6 men to grant her probation. A 2nd degree manslaughter conviction can carry from 2-to-20-years in prison… But due to the fact that Tracy Roberson has no prior felony convictions she is eligible for probation.

 

Tracy admitted she was nervous as she told the jury she was raised by her grandparents along with 3 other siblings but said she was among a total of 11 children by the same mother and father.

 

Her grandmother, who was in essence her mother, passed away earlier this year.

 

She told the jury that she and Darrell were high school sweethearts and that she gave birth to her oldest child while she was a senior in High School.

 

But they did not marry until after the birth of their second child.

 

Darrell worked as a property manager while she attended real estate school after they married.

 

She says her world revolves around “my kids.”

 

She says Darrell would leave the house every day around 4pm and would not return until 5am. When asked where he would go she said “he would go gamble.” Testimony during the trial indicated that he “played poker” all night every night. In fact, he acknowledged to authorities that he was at a poker game and had to leave early when he caught Tracy with the victim Devin LaSalle the night Darrell shot and killed LaSalle.

 

Tracy told the jury that the oldest daughter, 18-year old Quintoria, had a scholarship to Texas A@M but turned it down “after what has happened.”

 

(More to come)

 

Lunch Break In Roberson Punishment Phase

The jury just broke for lunch without hearing from Tracy Roberson.

 

Defense attorneys say they will have Tracy on the stand after lunch.

Roberson 18-Year-Old Daughter Takes The Stand

 

Tracy Roberson’s 18-year-old daughter, Quintoria Roberson, sobbed almost uncontrollably as she told the jury that if her mother goes to prison she will have to give up any plans to attend college.

 

 

Quintoria says it will be up to her to continue raising her two younger sisters, 13-year-old Kayla and 9-year old Jayla.

 

Quintoria told the jury that she “prays every night” with her two younger sisters. She says their mother is the primary caregiver in term of emotionally raising the children. Qunitoria says: “we’re all very, very close, I can’t imagine my mom not being around this past weekend was very, very hard.”

 

She says her mother has taught them to always be respectful to others and that her mother has been very remorseful over the affair that occurred between Tracy Roberson and Devin LaSalle.

 

Prosecutors declined to question Quintoria and she was allowed to step down from the witness stand.

 

 

Punishment Phase Starts In Tracy Roberson Trial

As the punishment phase of the trial rolls on here in the Tarrant Co. Courthouse we’ve heard from a number of witnesses, mainly friends and family of the defendant, who describe 37-year old Tracy Roberson as a loving, caring and “very involved” mother… Whose presence in the lives of her 3 daughters can not be replaced by another family member or friend.

Roberson was convicted Friday of 2nd degree manslaughter in the death of her alleged lover, 32-year old Devin LaSalle.

 

LaSalle was shot in the head and killed as he tried to drive away from Roberson’s home on December 11, 2006. The fatal shot was fired by Tracy’s husband, Darrell Roberson, who, according to trial testimony, had long suspected that his wife was having an affair.

 

Roberson was indicted on the 2nd degree manslaughter charge for falsely “crying rape” at the time the fatal shot was fired.

 

Prosecutors convinced the jury that it was Tracy Roberson’s reckless behavior (the false rape cry) that caused her husband, Darrell Roberson, to fire the shot that killed LaSalle.

 

Defense Attorneys tried to argue that Tracy’s husband never believed that she was being raped by LaSalle and played a 911 tape that indicated that Darrell Roberson did not believe the rape cry.

 

In fact, Tracy Roberson was still inside LaSalle’s truck when Darrell Roberson starting firing a 10mm handgun at the vehicle. One bullet passed through the passenger door… Narrowly missing Tracy Roberson.

 

Court officials have told NBC5 that Tracy Roberson is scheduled to take the witness stand in and effort to convince the jury to grant her probation so that she can continue raising her children.

 

Roberson spent the weekend in jail… One family member broke down and cried on the witness stand saying the children are taking this very hard and would not eat and had trouble sleeping without their mother there in the home.

 

 

 

 

 

Music Downloads Not Only Rob the Artists, But the Listeners as Well.

Last week (April 14), I attempted to buy the new album (CD) by the Austin-based protest singer-songwriter James McMurtry. The problem was I couldn’t find a “record” store that carried such an obscure artist.

In fact, music stores are becoming as rare as hen’s teeth. It seems all of the CD outlets like Warehouse Music, Tower, Virgin, etc. have all closed down.

Certainly, illegal music downloads are part of the problem but I believe iTunes and other pay-per-download sites are just as much to blame.

I believe this robs the listener as well. From what I have read, most people who use pay-per download sites are only grabbing the one or two songs they know they like from a particular artist…

And that’s a shame!

Over the years, I have purchased countless albums in pursuit of a certain song, only to find that after I listened to the entire body of work, there were other songs that “grew” on me and ended up being even more enjoyable.

Also, when a person downloads individual songs, they do not get the CD cover with all the information concerning who wrote the songs and who played various instruments during the production process.

I’m hearkening, of course, back to the good old daysof the album (LP) cover.

(I still argue that an”album” is a collection of songs regardless of what format its played on).

The album cover was often a work of art that could be studied over and over again as we continued to flip the LP over and over again.

Alas, those days are for all intents and purposes, lost forever.

But now, it seems the good old days of the “record” store are lost forever as well.
(Don’t even bring up Wal-Mart or Best Buy…they’re just not the same).

And that is a shame.

There was so much more to be gained from getting the full package, rather than a simple download.

Later

Now I know why everyone is so crazy about Billy Ray’s kid!

Up until now, I have been perplexed about why the world is doing back-flips over Miley Cyrus or Hannah Montana or whatever her alter ego may be.

But, the other night, I watched the CMT Country Music Awards Show. Hannah and her dad, Mr. Acky-Breaky-Heart, served as hosts for the show.

My initial belief had always been that Hannah was simply riding her old man’s coat-tails to stardom. Now I think its the other way around.

Let’s face it… Billy Ray has been on his 14th-minute-and-59th-second for years now. And that final tick of Andy Warhol’s metaphoric clock appeared to be coming faster than a Dale, Jr. driven NASCAR.

Now it seems his 15-year old daughter has saved his shaggy-haired hide.

That girl has more poise, confidence and overall stage presence than a galaxy of stars twice her age.

In fact, during the on-stage banter with the audience, ol’ Billy Ray looked like a rank amateur next to his daughter.

She delivered her lines like they were truly coming right off the top of her head… While it was painfully obvious that her old man was simply reading the teleprompter and hoping the inevitable train-wreck could be avoided.

Well, it all stayed firmly on the rails thanks in large part to Miley’s natural ability as a performer.

The song that the father-daughter team sang as a duet was simply awful. But at least when Miley was singing there seemed to be a glimmer of hope. (I’m sure Simon Cowell would’ve had a smug field day with Billy Ray).

I had never seen Miley perform before, and I’ve certainly never watched the Hannah Montana show (if that’s even what it’s called).

But I certainly now know who has the talent in that family.

So, hang on for the ride Billy Ray… It appears your little girl has re-set Andy’s clock on your career.

Later

Scorsese Scores as Stones Soar in “Shine A Light”

In the immortal words of Mick and Keef, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” But Oscar-winning movie director Martin Scorsese certainly tries to deliver everything you could want in his concert-documentary on the Rolling Stones called “Shine A Light.”

The movie is somewhat reminscent of “The Last Waltz,” Scrosese’s 1978 film on The Band’s final concert.

There are several guest stars who join the Stones on stage and “Marty” (as Mick and Keef refer to him) is in the movie multiple times fretting over various logistical and technical problems.

The best part is when Mick apparently plays a practical joke on Marty, who has been pulling his hair out and begging the Stones for an advanced set list. I won’t give it all away but Marty gets his set list just in the “Mick” of time.

I will admit, my initial reaction when I heard that there was going to be a movie of a Stones concert was, “Why?” In the past 5 years or so, the Stones have put out multiple-multi-disc DVD’s of recent shows including “Four Flicks” and “Bigger Bang.”

I guess I just wasn’t considering that “Marty” would give us something completely different and much more enjoyable than those straight-forward concert DVDs…and he does. But, you will have to go see the film to understand what I mean.

The film was shot in New York City’s much-heralded Beacon Theatre and former President Bill Clinton introduces the band.

But for me, there were three moments in the film that made it well worth the price of admission.

First was the song, “As Tears Go By.” It’s a beautiful song and the poignancy of the moment of Keef on the 12-string and Mick actually standing still to sing it is overwhelming.

The second moment was the song, “Far Away Eyes.” Mick delivers it with the perfect amount of country honk and wry humor that has always surrounded this incongruous gem.

The third moment was, believe it or not, Christina Aguilera. I will admit that I was not familiar with the song that she and Mick perform as duet, but its dynamite! I know nothing about this girl other than there was a controversy a few years ago over who was better, Christina or Britney.

Let me tell you, Britney couldn’t hold that girl’s microphone.
And believe me, it wasn’t “Just My Imagination,” either.

Later

Another era in technology is upon us, yet, people still ask: “what are you filmin’?”

It really is funny… I have little kids walk up to me on a regular basis and ask: “What are you filmin’?” And, as I said in my previous blog, if I’m in a sarcastic mood I will say: “we haven’t filmed anything in 30 years!”

That’s why I find it funny that little kids will ask the “filmin’” question… there’s no way they have ever seen a TV news crew shooting film. Heck, I’ve been in this business for a quarter century and I’ve never shot one frame of film while covering a news story.

Well, guess what, folks?! The era of videotape is about to pass.  At NBC5 we have been shooting on both digital-videotape and computer hard-drive (simultaneously) for the past 18 months or more.  It won’t be long before we do away with the videotape all together and shoot exclusively on some type of computer hard-drive or flash-drive.

Change of any kind can be a slow and painful process but fortunately this one has been rather smooth (some photographers at NBC5 will look at me cross-eyed over that statement).  Now that we are all “up to speed” with the system we can literally produce a packaged news report (with voice track, soundbites and cover video) in a matter of 20-to-30-minutes. I have actually written, voiced, edited and fed the completed piece back to the station in right at 15 minutes.  In the videotape era we generally reserved a full hour for the editing process alone for a report running 90-seconds in length. (At NBC5 most of our packaged reports run 1-minute-10-seconds in length.)

So, in much the same manner that VHS tape has slowly faded away to DVDs and now TiVo,  the videotape is disappearing from the newsroom. But, to quote John Mellencamp: “…if you’re not part of the future then get out of the way!”

Later