VIDEO: Rob Thomas Acoustic Performance

97 BHT, Atlantic Records, The Mall At Steamtown, and F.Y.E. proudly presented Matchbox Twenty front man and Grammy award winner Rob Thomas, with an intimate, acoustic performance at the 97 BHT studios.

EXCLUSIVE: Chris Daughtry On Kris Allen, New Single, Lady GaGa

No pun intended, but it is no surprise to the band Daughtry that the first two singles off of Leave This Town were co-written by Nickelback front man Chad Kroeger.

“Soon as we made the decision to put those on the record, we looked at it and goes, ‘That’ll probably be the first two singles,’” said lead singer Chris Daughtry, who sat down with me before performing at Wachovia Arena. “They’re great songs and we agree that they fit the bill.”

The group led off the sophomore LP with the single, “No Surprise”, followed by the latest, “Life After You.” Daughtry played the new track at both the American Music Awards and the halftime show of the Cowboys/Raiders game on Thanksgiving.
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Speaking of tracks co-written by the Idol alum – Daughtry also wrote a track for American Idol champ Kris Allen. Although previously reported that it would not make Allen’s final LP, Chris confirmed that the song will be included on the Wal-Mart exclusive version of self-titled album.

“It’s called ‘Send Me All Your Angels’ and it’s a great song,” remarked Daughtry. “At the end of the day, there’s songs on our record that didn’t make it either that we were bummed out about. We had 70 songs to weed through.”

VIDEO: 97 BHT & E&R Entertainment Presents Sean Paul!

Tickets on sale now!

EXCLUSIVE: We The Kings Finish CD - Due Out In December

Better late than never for We The Kings – who finished recording the new LP, Smile Kid about two weeks after expected.

Last time I chatted with WTK front man Travis Clark, the band was on the eve of releasing “Heaven Can Wait” to radio stations across the country. With The Ralphie Radio Show receiving the track a day early, I asked Travis when we could expect an LP. He originally noted that the band hoped to finish work on it before October. I reconnected with him and guitarist Hunter Thomsen on Tuesday, October 13.
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Check out the performance here.

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“Last night I finished the last vocal for it,” said Clark. “So it was a little delayed, but it was worth it, because it’s perfect now.”

Clark is also relieved the band finished recording it before embarking on its current tour with All Time Low, Hey Monday, and The Friday Night Boys. We The Kings will release the sophomore LP on December 8.

VIDEO: Jason Derulo Inside The Woodlands!

97 BHT Presented Warner Bros. Recording Artist Jason Derulo, featuring his hit song, "Whatcha Say", live inside Club HD at The Woodlands, Plains - Rte. 315 - on Thursday, October 8! Thank you for coming out!

Powered by The Woodlands, Warner Bros. Records, & The Only Radio Station in NEPA Playing "Whatcha Say" - 97 BHT!

EXCLUSIVE: 97 BHT & E&R Entertainment Presents Sean Paul/Keri Hilson/Colby O'Donis!

97 BHT & E&R Entertainment presents Sean Paul with special guests Keri Hilson & Colby O'Donis on Friday, November 13 at the Wachovia Arena!

A special pre-sale for 97 BHT listeners will take place Friday. Stay tuned to this page for more info. Tickets go on sale to the general public this Saturday at Noon.

There's only one radio station in NEPA bringing you Sean Paul, Miss Keri Baby, & Colby O - 97 BHT!

Powered by E&R Entertainment & 97 BHT!

EXCLUSIVE: Daughtry "Flattered" By Theory's Comments on RRS

Theory Of A Deadman revealed on The Ralphie Radio Show about a month ago that the band passed on a headlining Fall tour to support Daughtry’s arena tour. Chris Daughtry heard the interview.

“I was very flattered that they took us over (their own tour),” said lead singer Daughtry. “Any band like that, that’s doing it big in the rock world, that’s not too cool for school to hang with the Daughtry boys… we’re very flattered and honored.”

It’s certainly a humble statement from the front man of a band that has sold over 7.5 million albums worldwide to date. It seems as if Daughtry assumes nothing when it comes to the rock and pop realms.

“Same with Nickelback, when we did that tour… these guys are huge in the rock world, and we just feel like the freshmen in high school just trying to get our props.” Daughtry said.

Props or otherwise, the band is clearly doing something right as it readies for its first arena trek – a new venue that will bring a different performance.

“We’re gonna have pyro this time, I think,” said Daughtry. “Our stage is obviously going to be bigger – more production, more lights.”
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Click here to purchase tickets to Daughtry's show at Wachovia Arena.
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Chris noted that the target set time is about an hour and a half. This brings yet another facet in to view – the physical preparation.

“Any time you’re playing that long, as a singer, (it’s) definitely a stretch, especially when you’re used to playing, yunno, an hour at the most,” he said. “And these songs, some of them are just ridiculous to sing. Some of them… once you listen back to it, you’re like, ‘Why did I write that?’”

So Daughtry is hitting the gym to ready himself for the 36 date jaunt that begins October 19 in Topeka, KS. So is guitarist Brian Craddock, but he joked that it’s for different reasons.

“I developed, while in Germany, this beer gut,” Craddock admitted, while laughing. Although, Daughtry quickly pointed out that everybody sings during the show at one point or another.

Everyone doesn’t “tweet” though. Craddock is the self-described cynic of the crew – ever since a bad experience with his MySpace profile and spam, he stays away from the social networking sites. Meanwhile, Daughtry updates his Twitter account all the time. Apparently, he even checks his “at replies.”

“I think I see you on Twitter a lot,” Daughtry commented regarding my posts. “If I check, when I’ve only gotten maybe 40 or 50 tweets in, I can stay on top of it.”

EXCLUSIVE: The Ting Tings Live In Studio

Thanks to Rodano's in Public Square, Wilkes-Barre for providing free food!

Powered by Rodano's, Columbia Records & 97 BHT!

RICARDO/E&R ENTERTAINMENT ON LIL' WAYNE'S ARTIST RIDER

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E&R Entertainment's CEO, Ricardo, chats about Lil' Wayne's artist rider, which leaked on to the Internet. Ricardo brought Weezy to the Wachovia Arena last fall.

E and R Entertainment is also bringing "The Terrific Teen Tour featuring Mitchel Musso" to the Wachovia Arena on Thursday, July 9th.

- Lil' Wayne's Wilkes-Barre Concert
- E and R Entertainment
- Lil' Wayne's Rider

SWB YANKEES SHELLEY DUNCAN!

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Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees outfielder Shelley Duncan calls up The Ralphie Radio Show on Friday, as the Yanks ready to open their home schedule and defend the Governor's Cup!

Click Here to visit the Yankees' official site!

DAILY DOWNLOAD: The Academy Is...

01.15.09 : The Academy Is... - About A Girl
William & Adam talk about the track with Ralphie:

The guys chat about the Presidential Inauguration, Warped Tour, & Cancun:

Interviewing The Cab... In A Cab.

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Cliche? Very. But that didn't stop 97 BHT's Ralphie Aversa from interviewing Alex DeLeon and Ian Crawford of The Cab, in a cab, courtesy of Posten Taxi in Wilkes-Barre. The boys were in town with The Academy Is... for an acoustic performance at Hot Topic inside The Wyoming Valley Mall.

The boys talk about Fall Out Boy, Lil Wayne, Demi Lovato, & much more.

Video:

Audio:

The Cab/The Academy Is... Inside Hot Topic

The Academy Is... & The Cab will perform acoustic sets inside The Wyoming Valley Mall's Hot Topic this Thursday! Win your way in to this exclusive performance by listening to A.J. In The Afternoon & Ralphie Aversa on 97 BHT. Only 30 people will be allowed in store to view the performance at 5 PM. Both bands will sign autographs for 200 people after, around 5:30. Details on how to obtain passes are here. Hot Topic will open at 7 AM on Thursday.

Plus - 1 Lucky Winner will eat lunch with both bands on Thursday afternoon! All thanks to Hot Topic & 97 BHT... Stay tuned!

RALPHIE REPORT: Partying Priest leads to Daily News Collab

The following will appear in this Wednesday's edition of The Weekender.
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An appearance by a disgraced pastor at a 97 BHT event led to a major collaboration between The Ralphie Report and the New York Daily News.

As of late Sunday evening, a reporter from the Daily News and me were in contact, exchanging e-mails. A phone interview followed Monday.

This second stream of communication began with revelation of a cameo by Episcopal Reverend Gregory Malia at “Club HD” – the Thursday night 18-and-up party held weekly inside Evolution at The Woodlands Inn & Resort. The evening in question fell two weeks before Christmas.

It seems the news won’t get better in the New Year for Fr. Greg, who found himself as the subject of a Daily News Sunday edition article last week. The piece cited various sources in outlining nights where Malia would spend tens of thousands of dollars on bottle service at posh nightclubs located throughout Manhattan, primarily in the Chelsea district. Some were quoted as mentioning that Malia was both a generous purchaser and tipper – sending bottles of Dom Perignon to complete strangers, all while throwing down thousands of dollars – and in some cases – shopping sprees as gratuity.

The day the article ran, Bishop Paul V. Marshall of the Diocese of Bethlehem, called for a probe in to the allegations, while stripping Malia of his priestly duties. Bishop Marshall previously appointed Malia vicar of St. James, a summers-only parish in Dundaff.

As widely speculated and confirmed by the Bishop – the small parish isn’t the revenue source of the outlandish Manhattan lifestyle. Rather, Malia’s spending is a result of his pharmacy. New Life Home Care launched in 2000 and specializes in medicines for blood disorders. According to the Daily News, the priest is a hemophiliac.

But this story seems far from finished with news of a rumored night of clubbing right here in Northeastern PA, as well as photos that emerged last week. The shots, printed in the Daily News, depict the pastor partying at New York hotspot Pink Elephant with short-skirted cocktail waitresses while shots were served and bottles handed out.

As of press time, the Diocese’s committee had not reached a decision regarding Malia. But, the Diocese’s website still contains Bishop Marshall’s initial statement, along with a running list of links to various news articles on the events. Yes, there’s even a link to the Daily News’s photo gallery of Fr. Greg inside Pink Elephant.

Call the Diocese what you’d like, but you’d be remiss to call them secretive.

BON JOVI BECOMES A “HILLRAISER”

Jon Bon Jovi will perform a fundraiser concert for Senator and soon-to-be Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The event, scheduled for later this month, could run you as much as $1,500 per ticket. But if you can afford admission, you will be afforded an intimate performance with the Garden State singer inside Manhattan’s Town Hall.

Clinton is still millions of dollars in debt from her 2008 Presidential Campaign.
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Listen to Ralphie Aversa weekdays from 5-10p on 97 BHT.

Pictures of NEPA'a Partying Priest...

The New York Daily News continues its coverage of Father Gregory Malia of Wilkes-Barre with these pictures taken inside Pink Elephant, an exclusive NYC club and one of Fr. Greg's many haunts...

Happy New Year!

Big thank you to everyone who celebrated the 2K9 with myself and A.J. at The Wilkes-Barre Hardware Bar Entertainment Complex... I'm not really big in to "resolutions" per say - I have goals that I'm constantly reaching for on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis - but that being said, I do have a few things in mind...

- Go to Church!!! This carries over from last year - I did a great job the first half of the year, and fell apart in the second.

- More Blog Threads!!! Of course, the holidays always affect the number of posts to this site, but I am making more of a consistent effort in 2009 to not only post more, but report more, break exclusives more, and share more pictures from my events/life occurances.

And on with the 2009...

RALPHIE REPORT: Father Party-er of Wilkes-Barre

REVISED 12/30/2008
The following will appear this Wednesday in The Weekender.
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Turns out that one of the most extravagant partiers that calls The Valley their residence, doesn’t even party within Northeastern PA.

He is 43 year-old Gregory Malia – but many in the area as well as the bar staffs he so generously tips simply know him as “Father Greg.”

That isn’t a nickname for his charitable contributions on bills – tipping as much as 60 percent on one tab, which brought the grand total to a staggering $45,000.

Nope, this big city, bottle-ordering patron is of the priesthood. Father Gregory Malia preaches at St. James, a summer-only Episcopal Church in Carbondale.

 
Credit the New York Daily News with breaking this story. Their reporter scored an interview with Fr. Greg, however a publicist for the company which Malia owns cut the conversation short. The pharmacy specializes in medicine dedicated to blood disorders – allegedly the source funding these spending sprees of up to $52,000… in one night.

You’re probably wondering, and the answer is no, Malia doesn’t see anything wrong with the situation.

“I work hard. I make good money. How I spend it – that’s my business,” the priest told a reporter for the Daily News, which ran the article in its Sunday edition.
Bishop Paul V. Marshall of the Diocese of Bethlehem cares to dissent. The diocesan head swiftly released a statement via the Internet the day that the article ran.

“The allegations made in the article, if true, constitute a serious violation of ordination vows to be ‘a wholesome example’ to a priest's people,” writes Bishop Marshall. “If true, they may also violate other canonical provisions and certainly portray an unacceptable idea of Christian stewardship,” Bishop Marshall wrote. The Bishop goes on to reveal that The Daily News did not reach out to him or his communications department for comment, and that Malia hadn’t returned an e-mail and a phone call.

Furthermore, the Bishop removed Malia as his vicar at St. James, prohibiting him from the exercise of priestly ministry.

The Daily News would not comment on the piece, noting that it is still a work in progress.

I shouldn’t and won’t pass judgment on Malia, however I will say that he could certainly teach a thing or two about tipping to most of the celebrities and athletes that roll through this area.

T.I. SHOW CANCELLED

Speaking of celebrities in the 570, T.I. will not be one of them, at least in 2008. E & R Entertainment’s Jingle Jam, which was to feature T.I.P. along with fellow Atlanta artist Young Jeezy, was canceled Monday.

The concert was slated for December 29. Ticket holders can receive a full refund at point-of-purchase. The promoter cited ticket sales as the reason for cancellation, although a reschedule date is still in the works – pending approval from the judge overseeing T.I.’s forthcoming jail sentence, which begins in March 2009.
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Listen to Ralphie Aversa weekdays from 5-10p on 97 BHT.

T.I. Show Postponed

The promoter told me yesterday morning that the show will be postponed to early next year. Ticket holders can keep their tickets for the future date or receive a full refund from the Arena box office.

Greetings from Niagara Falls - I first found out about this yesterday, however for some reason I couldn't send the item to Blogger from my Blackberry.

I'll have more on this, with possibly an exclusive word from the promoter, Monday afternoon on the show. Be listening around 5 PM.

T.I./Jeezy Tickets!

Win tickets to E&R Entertainment's "Jingle Jam 2008" featuring T.I. and Young Jeezy! Another big show in NEPA - and more free tickets from 97 BHT! T.I. and Jeezy take over the Wachovia Arena on Monday, December 29th.

Purchase tickets here.

97 BHT's already given away THE PROMOTER'S FRONT ROW SEATS - starting Thursday at 5PM with Ralphie, you'll have your chance to win 5th Row Seats - and we'll count down to the front row every weekday after.

T.I. called in to The Ralphie Radio Show to talk about the big concert and his CD - check it out here.

And don't forget, you heard about this show FIRST on 97 BHT!

EXCLUSIVE: T.I. INTERVIEW

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T.I. discusses "Entourage" - "Paper Trail" - plans for Christmas and 2009 on 97 BHT - A Ralphie Radio Show Exclusive.


Click Here To Purchase Tickets To The Show.