There's a reason Lauren Green looks like she's playing catch-up when performing with Mike Huckabee's Little Rockers.
The Minnesota native and Fox network's religion correspondent got tapped by the eponymous host of "Huckabee" to play in his talk show's house band. At first, Green admitted to me, she had to think again to understand the band's name: "'The Little Rockers'? Why is it? Oh, now I get it. He's from Little Rock, Arkansas." Huckabee, a former Republican presidential candidate, was guv of Arkansas.
"Yeah, I'm in the band," she said. "It's funny because I'm a classically trained pianist and I'm playing in the band."
When she's not on assignment, she looks forward to these gigs, although her appearances come with Huckabee's understanding that "There's a learning curve here," Green said. "I've got to learn how to do this. So I'm bringing the charts to 'Sweet Home Chicago' to my Moscow Conservatory-trained teacher.
"The first time I was so scared. I said, 'You realize I don't play pop music?' Mike has just been great. He's just a wonderful person to work with and he loves his music, which is why I like working with him. He said, Oh, you'll be OK. We just want people who work at Fox in the band." (See a video of the band at www.mikehuckabee.com.)
Green says she's thinking about starting a backstage-with-the-band blog. "We played with James Burton, the lead guitarist with Elvis," she said. "I was sitting there in the green room talking with him and Rick Stanley, Elvis' stepbrother. It was like, 'Oh my God, pinch me right now. I've got to write this down.' What an amazing opportunity to sit in the green room with some of these people who knew The King so well, knew his thoughts, his dreams, his hopes. Some of the stuff I couldn't put in a blog. ... You can't betray someone's confidence."
She hasn't lost her Minnesota values in the big city.
Green also received a different kind of exposure in the January issue of Oprah's magazine. The 5-foot-10¼ Green was featured in "The Height Report" about dressing tall women.
"It felt so right being treated so specially. It was like, 'Oh yes, this is what I was meant for,'" said Green, who was decked out in loan clothing worth $2,800.
Shown the door Hubbard Broadcasting has cut loose longtime receptionist Mark Hughes.
Maybe it's just my perception, but hasn't he been there since the Hubbards put up the original antennas?
"I'm sorry, Mark doesn't work here," I was told Wednesday when I called KSTP-TV. He used to work there? "That is correct. Is this C.J.?" the receptionist asked.
She transferred my call to Bruce Hagerty, director of building services, who said only: "Mark's no longer with us. Beyond that I can't comment. It's an employment situation."
Hughes could not be reached for comment.
If the gossip I am hearing is accurate, somebody high up named Hubbard should take a look at the conclusion of this employment situation. So I called Chairman and CEO Stanley S. Hubbard. When Mr. Hubbard returns my call, I'm going to tell him the rumor is -- although S. could get the facts -- that Hughes got into trouble for trying to get KSTP-TV included in an event from which the station was being excluded.
Although I'm unfamiliar with Hughes' job description, this sounds like a receptionist overstepping boundaries. That's a forgivable offense in this economy where everyone is taking on additional responsibilities, unless company officials are looking for reasons to ax people.
Hartnett: Una-jogger? A taxi would appear to be the secret to any four-minute miles Josh Hartnett runs.
TMZ.com has a photo of "Josh Hartnett: Taxi Jogger," who was described as being "Dressed in his standard Unabomber chic, [Josh Hartnett] accomplished a four-minute mile ... in a NYC cab. He worked on his car-dio." (See it at www.tinyurl.com/cys2l4.)
To hammer home the Unabomber angle, the website provided a link to "Josh Hartnett is Da Bomb" showing a side by side of the police composite of the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski,, who hid under a hoodie, and Hartnett, who was wearing a hoodie.
Hartnett would probably prefer talk about his busy sex life to any Kaczynski comparisons.
C.J. is at 612.332.TIPS or cj@startribune.com. E-mailers, please state a subject -- "Hello" doesn't count. More of her attitude can be seen on Fox 9 Thursday mornings.
The Australian rock hero will play the Armory with his old band supporting their new album, “Wild God.”
