Who is Chip Weinman? Funny you should ask ...
I don't know if you've seen them or not, but there are something like 20 billboards in an around Baltimore, all bearing the cryptic question "Who is Chip Weinman?"
Turns out, Chip Weinman is a dude with a pretty interesting story.
He's a 62-year-old aspiring pop crooner who has never released an album or played a gig. Saturday is his debut, and what a debut it is: He is headlining the Hippodrome Theatre, backed by a 47-piece orchestra, six backup singers and special guest Sheena Easton. The show is being taped for a PBS special.
Here's a link to the piece I did about Weinman, which ran in today's paper ...
I talked to Weinman, who recently had his thyroid removed (which meant he couldn't sing for months) and lost about 100 pounds. It's one of the more bizarre and interesting pieces I've done in a while.
Weinman seems determined to get his shot, but when I interviewed him, he didn't come off as conceited or overbearing.
"Who does this and gets away with this?" he said. "If I can pull this off, it will be pretty interesting. ... I hope they'll like me, because I can't be anybody but who I am."
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
I don't care who he is - he's no Chris Sligh!
Posted by: bryanintowson | November 12, 2009 3:50 PM
These remind me a lot of the "I Hate Steven Singer" billboards which popped up all over Philly. They are put up by a local jeweler looking to attract publicity.... and they work.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3147/2930781779_5237169168.jpg
Posted by: OLD MAN GNAR | November 12, 2009 4:07 PM
Yeah me to never heard his name before.
Posted by: College Papers | February 17, 2011 7:09 AM