Erica Banas: Writing Samples

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13 Iconic Musicians Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II recognized many individuals with honors of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. During her legendary reign as Queen, she knighted a number of popular musicians. Here is a brief explainer on the various levels of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Per the U.K.’s official Honours System website, the following are the five title distinctions in order of importance the British Monarchy can bestow upon individuals for their non-combative contributions to th
93.3 WMMR •

'The Masked Singer': Every Rock Star Contestant

The Masked Singer has been on the air in the United States since 2019 and has been a hit for Fox. Since its debut, it has aired ten seasons and well over 100 episodes. The premise of the show finds a wide range of celebrities in a singing competition. The catch is they’re wearing elaborate costumes disguising their identity. Hosted by Nick Cannon, the series features a celebrity panel that tries to guess the identity of each contestant. The recurring celebrity panel includes Ken Jeong, Jenny Mc
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'My Cousin Vinny': 15 Hilarious Quotes from the Iconic Comedy

My Cousin Vinny hit theaters on March 13, 1992. It would go on to gross a respectable $52.9 million at the box office. However, the comedy took on a life of its own thanks to film rentals and countless airings on cable. The film was anchored by outstanding performances from Joe Pesci as the titular Vinny Gambini. He is called upon by his cousin Bill (Ralph Macchio) to represent him and his friend, Stan (Mitchell Whitfield), in a trial for a murder they did not commit. Initially, when questioned
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5 Corey Taylor Quotes to Live By

Corey Taylor is one of the most prominent figures in rock today and for good reason: He always has something interesting to say, and it seems like that trait isn’t something that’s waning with age. One of the funniest things Taylor said in 2023 was his rant against a certain Beatles song. That song? The 1967 stand-alone single “All You Need Is Love.” In fact, his hatred led to him writing “All I Want Is Hate” for his second solo album CMF2. In an August appearance on the Zach Sang Show, Taylor
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5 of Rock's Funniest Songs

Rock and Roll is many things: Cool, loud, in-your-face, and, sometimes funny. One of the best examples of this comes via The Offspring, whose fifth studio album, Americana, was released on November 17, 1998. The album was a big hit for the band. Americana sold 198,000 copies in the United States during its first week of release. It went on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide. Five million copies alone were sold in the United States. Dexter Holland summarized the album’s overall sentiment
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Sesame Street: 6 Classic Performances from the Iconic Children's Show

Sesame Street premiered on November 10, 1969. For over 50 years, the iconic children’s show has been educating and entertaining countless people all over the world. The show was the brainchild of Joan Ganz Cooney, Lloyd Morrisett and Jim Henson. Sesame Street featured some of Henson’s most popular Muppet characters. Among them were Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Grover and Oscar the Grouch. Over the show’s history, more and more characters were added. Some of these characters went on
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8 Celebrities You May Have Forgotten Were Veterans

There are a number of notable rockers and other celebrities who served in the military. However, there are also a number of entertainers you may not remember also enlisted. This Veterans Day, we take a look at some celebrities you may have forgotten were also veterans. But First, Some Facts About Veterans Day! Per the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Day is observed on November 11 to honor the end of World War I. While the Treaty of Versailles officially brought an end to WW
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6 Rock Bands and the Stories of Their First Gigs

Even though these bands have gone on to perform in front of massive crowds, every band had to start somewhere. Yes, never forget that even the most popular bands in the world have humble beginnings. More often than not, these acts played in half-empty rooms in front of just a handful of people. Those people were likely friends or family. Worse, many of these bands would likely tell you some of their early shows were in front of even less than that. However, it’s in those moments where bands of
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7 Incredible Isolated Vocal Tracks You Must Hear

One of our favorite viral video trends is isolated vocal tracks. They often capture the awe-inspiring talent of the world’s best singers. Just how popular is this trend? A simple Google search of “isolated vocal tracks YouTube” yields about 954,000 results. The most popular results are YouTube playlists that feature a diverse selection of these videos spanning every genre imaginable. These videos are incredibly important. For starters, they often show off a singer’s true ability to sing. It’s
105.7 WROR •

10 Most Iconic 'As Seen On TV' Items

Suzanne Somers died yesterday (October 15) at age 76. She was, of course, known for acting in hit shows like Three’s Company and Step By Step, but she also became ubiquitous thanks to the ThighMaster. The iconic piece of fitness equipment is one of many items that took off thanks to infomercials. These “As Seen On TV” items range from the aforementioned fitness products, to kitchen gadgets, to cleansers and everywhere in between. While infomercials aren’t as prevalent as they were in the ’80s,
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10 Best Rock/Pop Songs About Masturbation

Birds do it. Bees do it. Even educated fleas do it. No, we’re not talking about love. Instead, we’re talking about masturbation. There are numerous benefits from engaging in the act of self-love. According to the Cleveland Clinic, many studies have found that masturbation helps reduce stress, improves sleep, prevents the onset of anxiety/depression and also enhances your sex life. So, what has us thinking about “Celebrating Palm Sunday” or whatever other slang you use for masturbation? Cyndi L
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10 Women Artists Who Have Yet to be Inducted into the Rock Hall

From May 2011 to February 2012, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame featured an exhibit called “Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power.” From September 2012 to August 2014, the exhibit traveled around to various museums in the United States. It made its final stop at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich. While at that museum, I was given a private tour of the collection of over 70 different performers. These performers ranged from Janis Joplin and Tina Turner to Chrissie Hynde and Stevie Nicks. T
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Tina Turner: 10 Iconic Performances from the Queen of Rock & Roll

Tina Turner was a one-of-a-kind performer that plenty of artists, regardless of gender, have tried to emulate. Alas, there was but one Tina, and her energy and presence were truly all hers. Turner’s death yesterday (May 24) at age 83 leaves a massive void in the music world that will never be filled. How lucky we are as fans to be able to revisit her many incredible on-stage moments over and over. Here are just 10 examples that show just how iconic of a performer she was and how there will neve
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Josh Freese: 14 Songs the New Foo Fighters Drummer Played On

Josh Freese is a noted session drummer that’s also currently a member of the punk band The Vandals and new wave icons Devo. Now, he’s added a third band to that short list: Foo Fighters. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band lost their longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins in March 2022 when he died suddenly at age 50. Since Hawkins’ death, the Foos were silent for 17 months about who would be their new drummer. They broke their silence on May 21 when Freese was unveiled as the new Foo drummer during a s
96.3 KKLZ •

5 Mint Julep Variations to Try During the Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is May 6. When the masses descend on Churchill Downs in their finest Derby duds (and hats), they’ll be ordering Mint Juleps like crazy. Per the Kentucky Derby’s official website, “Each year, almost 120,000 Mint Juleps are served over the two-day period of Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby weekend at Churchill Downs Racetrack. That’s a feat that requires more than 10,000 bottles of Old Forester Mint Julep Ready-to-Serve Cocktail, 1,000 pounds of freshly harvested mint and 60,00
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David Letterman: Top 10 Most Viewed Videos on YouTube

David Letterman and his influence on comedy and the late-night talk show still looms large since he stepped down from The Late Show in 2015. Letterman has since moved on to various endeavors, including his Netflix show My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman. However, past Letterman highlights have resurfaced as of late thanks to his revamped YouTube channel. Since being relaunched in February 2022, the channel has seen near-daily uploads of classic moments from both The Late S
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