icepack

by A.D. Amorosi

With January over, what do we know about Philly in

’

04? That it’s not the thinnest, nicest or politest city (according to whomever lists these things); that we get lots of reality programming, what with Survivor and Switched! hosting auditions here and MTV’s Real World laying claim to Third and Arch this spring (reported here last spring -- dag, MTV moves slow); that you can easily convince local folks you are a DJ from Q102 or WLDW, even with a scary moniker like "Rocco"; that Utah Mormons got no love for TLA Releasing, pressuring Sundance to cancel TLA’s gay-Mormon-themed Latter Days; that Esquire thinks we’ve got the best new restaurant in La Croix and Folio finds Philadelphia mag not bad when it comes to catchy headlines; and that Tony Luke’s stayed open only one fatal Sunday in its history just to serve Eagles fans green Cheez Whiz steaks. Must be a lot of that left over.Ö Catch a preview of your next straight-to-DVD purchase now:

www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/jersey_girl . Don’t cry over the split. "Bennifer" was merely a ruse to heat up the duo’s careers. Ask director Kevin Smith, who’ll surely stop through Philly in the first week of March en route to Jersey’s N.Y.C. premiere.… Producer/director Lee Daniels nailed distribution (Newmarket) for his Philly-lensed The Woodsman at Sundance, and BBE’s Tayyib Smith, who went to Utah to promote his Mario Van Peebles project, will barely get off the plane before bringing Ursula Rucker and J-Live to Beyond, Jan. 29. Forget all that Sundance stuff: Get me that Dr. J sex tape Page Six got in the mail. (Wasn’t my address closer?)… Changes at the Conduit in Trenton: Booker Joey Sweeney is no longer there, a mutual arrangement that leaves owner Paul Browning scheduling shows and Sweeney following other blissful options. Also in a new job: Wendy Wolf, who’s been with Robert and Benjamin Bynum since Zanzibar Blue was on 11th Street, 14 years ago, now runs their marketing/PR.… PhillySoulCollective, Making Time, 611 and GFS join up to benefit the Greater Philadelphia Food Bank at La Tazza 108’s "Brrrrr" on Jan. 30... After working for interior design mavens Meg Rodgers and Toffini & Lewis, Matt Di Natale teams with Dominic Angelucci for Design Mechanix. They are currently conceptualizing/renovating Fiso, the redo of Eden Roc on South Street.… WhoWhatWhere: Saxophonist Elliot Levin and pianist Dave Burrell bop the Merriam’s lobby for The Producers -- it’s an intermission-time gig they’ll continue through its run and during most Merriam shows this season. The Philadelphia Orchestra has a one-night stand with its former love, The Academy of Music, Jan. 31 for their Academy Ball, with Simon Rattle and Audra McDonald in on the threesome. A camera crew followed M. Night Shyamalan out of Jim’s Steaks: Either it’s for the Sci-Fi channel’s documentary about him or Jim’s is haunted by the ghost of a kid, a comic book fan, I dunno. If real-life boxing manager Jackie Kallen (the subject of Paramount’s Against the Ropes) is hitting Philly with director Charles Dutton, can its star, Meg Ryan, be far behind?… Cash Money, Rich Medina and Botany 500’s rare-funk monthly, "The Get Down," starts Feb. 3 at Fluid.… Andrew Ryan isn’t just releasing records with his bands, V.I.P. (an EP for Space Foundation), Illoin (its "Sea Change"/"Gamelon" single) and the avant-skronky Make a Rising (they’ll debut their CD at The Khyber Feb. 4). Ryan also started www.blackmountainmusic.com, an online collective that’s home to new music heads’ unreleased materials. "Every musician has dead albums or solo wanderings under their bed they weren’t able to release," says Ryan, who’ll share "sketches and dead ends" for download. Then there’s The Roots’ new Okayplayer label through Decon/Red Distribution. While the first release -- a compilation with Jean Grae, Madlib and Little Brother, whose 9th Wonder produced bits of Jay-Z’s Black Album -- is set for summer, the label hopes to hook up with two unsigned artists who submit music by Feb. 13 to www.okayplayer.com (Will it be you?)… When legal eagles Paul Czech and Lisa Colbath aren’t embroiled in claims against Clear Channel (as reported here previously), they’re repping the CNN starlet of South Philly: the 14-year-old bloody, pus-filled Band-Aid-eater who got a mouthful of yuck (reportedly) eating deep-fried sweet potato balls at Grand King Buffet on Snyder Ave. The case is in Common Pleas Court.… DJs Lil' Dave and Junior team up for EAVESDROP, Fridays, 6-9 p.m. on WKDU 91.7 FM.… Cashman & Associates start a weekly Wednesday "Girls Night Out" series with the 76ers, Pravda and other regional businesses hit hard financially by the brisk winter, starting with Feb. 4’s cosmo party at 32º and continuing at The Papery, North and Titus.… Happy belated second anniversary to 32º, which celebrated by rolling out Pravda’s Carpathian Mountain spring-water-based vodka (if you Google its Draculian distillery name -- Jobert Polska -- you get some wack pay-for-porn site). Also a happy-b to the dressy DelloBuono boys, Peter and Dylan. On a sad note, Herb Johnson, Overbrook’s most underrated soul crooner, passed away last week. Some know his voice from Barbara Mason’s "Yes I’m Ready," some from Remember Me. We will.