And now my first bit of useless comedy trivia. Q: Who was the first guy to ever host “Saturday Night Live,” back in 1975? A: George Carlin. And as a tribute to the comedian, who died of heart failure Sunday, NBC will air that first episode Saturday at 11:30 p.m.

“You never forget the people who were there at the beginning,” producer Lorne Michaels said in a statement released this afternoon by NBC. “George Carlin helped give ‘Saturday Night Live’ its start as our first host. He was gracious, fearless, and most important of all, funny.”

Got this from Counting Crows’ publicist. And if one of you wins, maybe we’ll see your poster at the White River show.

COUNTING CROWS INVITE FANS TO DESIGN THEIR SUMMER TOUR POSTER

To celebrate the launch of Counting Crows summer tour, the band is calling all Counting Crows fans and artists to help create their summer tour poster!

One lucky winner will have their poster design printed and sold on tour.

Entrants will create and submit an original tour poster design that captures the sound and energy of Counting Crows.

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With George Michael, Cyndi Lauper, the B-52s and Billy Idol in the area next week (not to mention the show Boy George had to call off), I thought a little ’80s trivia challenge would be totally tubular! Like, gag me with a spoon or something.

1. Sure, you know George Michael. But what’s the other guy’s name in Wham?

A. Donnie Wahlberg

B. Ralph Tresvant

C. Rick Astley

D. Andrew Ridgely

2. What’s Boy George’s surname?

A. Palacios

B. O’Dowd

C. Masters

D. Prentice

3. Which

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Lazlo will soon be replaced as program director at Seattle’s KNDD-FM (The End, 107.7). He’s making the move to focus on his radio show “The Church of Lazlo,” which airs from 2 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, according to an e-mailed press release issued by The End’s parent company Entercom afternoon.

Mike Kaplan has been hired to take over as program director, and Lazlo will step down when Kaplan arrives, the release said. Kaplan was previously station manager at WEZB-FM, and Entercom station in New Orleans.

“Mike has done phenomenal work at

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Boy George won’t be appearing at Showbox at the Market on July 20 as planned or anywhere else in the U.S. for the matter. The ’80s pop icon couldn’t get a work visa, according to an e-mail press release just issued by publicist, Girlie Action.

The release contained the following statement from Boy George’s publicist.

"At the moment, Boy George cannot come to the United States of America because he has been refused permission to enter by the USA Administration. This is not in respect of anything he has done in

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Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I drop several of the “seven words you can never say on television” in most casual conversations. But as a tribute to the late George Carlin, I propose that we all double up on our foul language today. Are you @%#@%@@#@ people with me? Meanwhile, you can read the obit Reuters ran by clicking the link.

There’s also a cool You Tube clip here that sheds light on the mind of Carlin, actually an excerpt from the audio version of his book

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Pop powerhouse Maroon 5 and Counting Crows are headed to Auburn’s White River Amphitheatre for a co-headlined tour stop on Sept. 21, according to a press release just received from Live Nation.

The tour – which also features Augustana opening – will kick off on July 25 at Virginia Beach, Virginia. The bands will be working with Reverb, an environmental non-profit, to make the tour green and educate and engage fans to promote environmental sustainability, today’s release said.

Tickets will go for $30.50 to $126 and will go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday (June 27).

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Taste of Tacoma is just around the corner. Loose Gravel, 2112 and Randy Oxford are among the local favorites that will play this year’s festival, set for June 26 to 28 at Ruston’s Point Defiance Park. But you should also check out Agnes Ingarra, a hidden gem that’s worth checking out.

Ingarra has been a hit on the festival circuit lately, with an eclectic pop style that may recall R&B crooner Joss Stone one minute and Chris Isaak or Coldplay the next. Last weekend, she played a big gig, opening for Filipino pop stars

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I usually try my best not to sound like a fanboy, but sweet sassy molassy! I was just on a conference call with Stevie Wonder! I got to talk to the guy who wrote "Living for the City," "Higher Ground" and many more of the greatest songs of the rock era.

And as I come down from that experience I wanted to share some news. Among other things, Wonder confirmed that he’s working on a jazz album with Seattle native Quincy Jones and his buddy, Tony Bennett (though he joked about being "the last one to hear about

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A lot of people thought Pearl Jam front man Eddie Vedder’s soundtrack for “Into the Wild” should have been recognized at the last Oscars. And it would have been nominated if they’d had this rule in place.