Mary J. Blige
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WP Thursday JUNE 14,2012 WWW.LOHUD.COM Puzzles inside B Japan is inspiration Rock to create Gaga shoes Designer adds platform goddess for ‘wow’ geisha footwear By Yuri Kageyama Yonkers native Mary J. Blige The Associated Press AJapanese talks about her breakout role shoe designer has become a in ‘Rock of Ages’ movie pop diva’s fa- vorite by tak- By Heather Salerno ing geisha and [email protected] making it Ga- ga. Mary J. Blige has reigned for years Noritaka as the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul. Tatehana is But she might earn another royal the man be- nickname with the big-screen adapta- hind Lady Ga- tion of the Broadway musical “Rock of ga’s towering, Ages”: the Empress of Hard Rock. clog-like shoes, Lady Gaga wears plat- Opening in theaters Friday, the film fol- which have no form shoes created by lows the romance of small-town girl Sherrie heel and are 10 Noritaka Tatehana. (Julianne Hough) and big-city boy Drew to 18 inches WONG MAYE-E/ (Diego Boneta) as they chase their Hollywood tall. Her ap- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS dreams circa 1987, as told through the fist- pearances on pumping, head-banging hits of Def Leppard, Poi- TV shows and music videos, teetering son, Tw isted Sister, Bon Jovi and more. And al- in his creations, have helped make him though Blige, who plays a nightclub owner, is best such a fashion star that some of his known for funk-flavored ballads filled with raw emo- shoes sell for more than $15,000 a pair. tion, she had nothing but a good time belting out the Tatehana, who has made more than era’s heavy metal anthems. 20 pairs for Lady Gaga in the past two “It was just like singing the songs that I sing, be- years, said he took the traditional “ge- cause they’re very passionate, energetic, meaningful ta” shoes of geishas and made a modern songs,” she says. “I had fun putting my all into it. It was form with his sculptural platforms. very nostalgic.” “My work became an icon. It worked Now 41, with nine Grammy Awards and worldwide not only as branding for me. It also be- sales of 50 million albums to her credit, the Yonkers na- came part of her branding,” Tatehana tive was influenced early on by artists like Aretha said in a recent interview at his Tokyo workshop, cluttered with art books and See BLIGE, Page 4B his sleek shoes — some glittering with Swarovski crystals, others with golden Mary J. studs. Blige arrives The 26-year-old, who evokes the pen- at the “Rock sive mood of a monk with his quiet of Ages” voice, long hair tied back in a bun and premiere at baggy Yohji Yamamoto pants, was still Grauman’s astudent when his career took off. In Chinese fact, Lady Gaga’s first pair of Tateha- Theatre in nas had been the subject of his gradua- Los tion thesis at the prestigious Tokyo Uni- Angeles. versity of the Arts, where he studied JORDAN traditional weaving and kimono dye- STRAUSS/ ing. INVISION He made the shoes with pink, reptil- ian-looking leather from a stingray, common in Japanese crafts such as Yonkers native Mary J. Blige makes her movie-musical decoration for swords. He started his debut as strip-club owner Justice in “Rock of Ages.” In the fashion brand by trumpeting the de- film, the Grammy-winning singer belts out 80s hits like Pat sign in an email he sent to dozens of Benatar’s “Shadows of the Night.” DAVID JAMES people in the industry. He received just three responses: one from a blogger, one from a journal- ist and one from Lady Gaga’s stylist. Lady Gaga was not available for comment. But fashion guru and beer heiress Daphne Guinness said she is a big fan. “I am so happy to have a friend who See SHOES, Page 4B Flash Sketch Mob pops up in Nyack this weekend These artists — from amateurs to to 1p.m. Then the images will be Nyack artist Public invited to create pros — will all be taking part in a Flash scanned. Bill Batson portraits of downtown Sketch Mob planned by Nyack artist Bill At around 9 p.m., the artwork will be is seeking Batson as part of this weekend’s Art projected onto the side of a building at artists, By Latoya West Walk in Nyack, an annual festival that North Broadway and High Avenue in professional [email protected] features Nyack shops displaying the Nyack for all to see. or work of local artists from Friday to Sun- “This is for anyone who loves art and amateurs, If you’re strolling downtown in day. for anyone who loves artwork,” Batson, to take part Nyack on Saturday, don’t be surprised if To take part in the Flash Sketch Mob, who sketches local buildings himself for in a Flash you see groups of artists gathered on participants will meet up at the Nyack his online Nyack Sketch Log, told us in a Sketch Mob each block. Some might be painting on Center at 10 a.m. on Saturday, where recent interview. on Saturday canvas. Others might be drawing on pa- they will be asked to create a portrait of For more information and to register, in Nyack. per. And you might even see a young art- different sections of downtown Nyack visit Batson’s site at sketchflashmob. KRIS BURNS ist making do with an Etch-A-Sketch. during a two-hour window from 11 a.m. wordpress.com. BENEFITS SEND US YOUR STORIES Celebrate Canine companies the arts Next Friday is Take The Putnam Arts Coun- Your Dog To Work cil benefit presents a Day and we want cabaret-style concert to know about celebrating the music some dog-friendly of composer Richard workplaces in the Rodgers. It features Lower Hudson music from “Carousel,” Valley. If you take “Oklahoma!,” “The your dog with you King and I,” and more. to the office, let us Adessert reception is know for an up- included. Space is coming story. COMING FRIDAY limited. 7:30 p.m. Email editor Karen OUTDOOR FUN Saturday. Tickets are Croke at Rebel with a Cause $20. Belle Levine Art kcroke1@lo hud- Grow your own cleaners .com Singer and songwriter Ani DiFranco is back to Center, 521Kennicut Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocanti- perform at Clearwater. Hill Road, Mahopac. co Hills just launched a series of hands-on summer pro- LoHud Weekend For reservations: 845- grams. This Saturday, learn how to make your own 803-8622. www.put cleaning supplies, using Stone Barns produce. Go home namartscouncil.com. with a small batch of products and original recipes. 1-3 p.m. $40. Go to www.stonebarnscenter.org to register. 4B Thursday, June 14,2012 WP The Journal News lohud.com BLIGE: Soul singer belts out ’80s tunes in ‘Rock of Ages’ film Continued from Page 1B Franklin and Chaka Khan. WHAT DID MARY THINK Her cover of Anita Bak- OF TOM CRUISE? er’s “Caught Up in the Rapture” — taped at a re- Mary J. Blige is relatively new to the acting game, but cording booth at the Gal- after 20 years in the music industry, the singer is more leria mall in White Plains than qualified to critique her “Rock of Ages” co-star —led to her being signed Tom Cruise. by Uptown Records at 18. So we asked her to review Cruise’s transformation into But Blige also recalls rock icon Stacee Jaxx, whom the actor portrays as a spending lots of time as a leering, boozy combination of Axl Rose and Jim Morri- girl watching pop stars son. He’s shirtless for the entire film, sports a jewel- and rock ’n’ rollers on studded codpiece and has a raunchy love scene on an air MTV after the channel hockey table while crooning Foreigner’s “I Want to launched in 1981. Know What Love Is.” Plus, he’s got a monkey sidekick “It was all about Pat named Hey Man. Benatar during that time. “You watch different rock ‘n’ roll singers — he must It was all about Journey at have been studying them, because his every move was that time,” she remem- them,” says Blige. “The way they speak, really low, like bers. “It was all about Ma- they’re the coolest thing on the planet.” donna and Cyndi Lauper. “He really delivered,” she adds. “He made me believe he We caught all that stuff on was a rock star.” the videos.” —Heather Salerno So Blige had a blast re- visiting the decade known for hairspray, spandex, DON’T FORGET TO LOOK FOR … leather and ripped denim. Yonkers native Mary J. Blige, right, with Julianne Hough, makes her movie-musical debut BEDFORD’S CATHERINE ZETA-JONES In the film, she’s Justice, as strip-club owner Justice in “Rock of Ages.” DAVID JAMES who runs a “gentleman’s With “Rock of Ages,” the Welsh-born actress – who club” and gives a down- moved to Bedford with husband Michael Douglas and and-out Sherrie a job; in their two children two years ago — tackles her first one scene, a jumpsuit- movie-musical since winning the Oscar for best support- wearing Blige turns Jour- ing actress as murderer Velma Kelly in 2002’s “Chicago.” ney’s “Any Way You Want (Who can forget how glowing and gorgeous the nearly It” into a study guide for nine-months-pregnant star looked as she accepted her strippers. award?) Being chosen to por- She takes on another villainous role with this film, as tray Justice was an unex- Patricia Whitmore, the mayor’s wife who declares, “Rock pected thrill for Blige, ‘n’ roll is a disease,” and vows to clean up Hollywood’s whose most prominent sleazy Sunset Strip.