VIDEO: From the Overheard and Famous in San Diego art gallery opening 3-29-10 at the Ruby Room, with selected artwork from 15 years of Overheard and Famous Former Neighbors comics in the Reader - Cathryn Beeks and Sven-Erik Seaholm performing (for the first time!) the popular Overheard in San Diego theme song!
VIRTUAL JEWEL IS SWEET AND WILD
Antimusic reports: ClubCorp announces that it has teamed with FIRST SPIN to simulcast live, in experiential High-Definition format, an exclusive virtual concert and album-launch event by Jewel in 34 of its private clubs in 30 cities across the country.
The June 7, 2010, event, preceding by just days the release of her new "Sweet and Wild" album, will provide members and guests with the unique opportunity to experience Jewel's telecast studio performance with the feel of watching live in an intimate venue.
Members and guests attending this exclusive, innovative event, at a cost of $50 per ticket (tickets are limited), will enjoy a private club setting to watch the concert on a 10-by-10-foot screen. - more on this story
LOCALS ON THE RISE: STEVE PHILLIPS AND THE PESCADERO PICKERS
Originally known as Six Foot Set, and then Men in Blue, surf rockers Steve Phillips and the PescaderoPickers was formed in OceanBeach by friends who’d gone to school together. Though using only a sequencer for drums, they landed a slot as house band at Fiddler’s and at Sadie's/DVO in WarnerSprings, as well as playing the Del Mar fairgrounds.
Steve Phillips grew up in OceanBeach, and entered the local music scene in the late 1960s with his group, The Inmates.The Inmates was one of a handful of bands that played San Diego’s large dance venues popular at that time; the WarMemorialBuilding in BalboaPark, San Diego State College, UCSD Elliot, OB and Santa Clara Rec. Centers, and others.
The Inmates teamed with songwriter June Jackson, and recorded in LA in 1967-68.Their single “This is the Day” on the Kopit label made local top-40 charts in many outlying markets.The Vietnam draft effectively put an end to the Inmates in 1968-69.All members of the band survived the war, but never played together again.
Dennis Dobler grew up in the same neighborhood as Steve, and graduated from Point Loma High School one year earlier, in 1963.Although Dennis and Steve were loosely acquainted through surfing and a mutual friend, they never performed together.
Dennis too was drafted, and served a tour of duty in Viet Nam.After returning from the war, he began writing music and performing in local coffee houses with Gary Grissom, also a guitarist and songwriter from the OB neighborhood.
Darrell Killingsworthgrew up in Long Beach, California, and graduated from RichardHenryDanaHigh School.Darrell has played drums and percussion for numerous LA area bands over the years.He is also an accomplished guitarist.
An incredible turn of events brought Darrell into Steve’s world a mere two years ago.Darrell was welcomed to the extended Music Family that Steve, Dennis and other area musicians had been a part of for years.He was one of the missing puzzle pieces to what would later become the Pescaderos band.
Tommy Sanchez walked out of a dark backcountry night and into the Dodge Valley Oasis where the Pescadero Pickers were performing as the house trio.A local acquaintance approached Steve and asked if Tommy, his buddy, could set in on a harp number.Steve reluctantly agreed, and brought the stranger to the mike near the end of the evening.Tommy blew the roof off the place.We signed him to a lifetime contract. Tommy’s hometown is Escondido, California.
In 2009, the band appeared on a compilation album of OB bands, Waves. In 2010, they won the Reader's Famous Former Neighbors Song Contest. Bandleader Steve Phillips answered our queries:
Can you describe your music for readers who may not have heard?
The foundation of our act is classic blues; Stevie Ray Vaughn, BB King, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and the like.We are also big fans of Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, Chuck Berry, and manyother 1960-70-ish rockers.Finally, we do a handful of originals to round out the sets.
Long programs of pure blues formulae get monotonous for some folks.For this reason, we have been known to throw in some stuff completely out of left field every now and then; kind of a palate cleanser for the ears.Sometimes we go back to our roots and grind out a couple of Ventures surf instrumentals, or pull out the accordion and do a polka.
What’s in your CD player now?
Stevie Ray Vaughn, “The Real Deal”; What can I say? The Cat could play!
The Meters, “Funkify Your Life”; New Orleans Funk Groove at it’s best. You’ll hear this influence in the bottom end of some of our original tunes.
Electric Flag, “Long Time Comin’”: Mike Bloomfield’s 1967 super-group. Together for less than a year, they recorded one of the best blues-rock albums of all time.
Various groups, “Golden Age of Doo Wop”; I love this stuff. I was a little kid when this was goin’ down, but it really made an impression.Sure, some of this era’s music is truly awful, but the best tunes are still among the most romantic ever recorded.
Coco Montoya, “Just Let Go”; Local LA boy makes good! Smokin’ guitar; Really tears it up live.
What would your grade school teachers say about you?
Well, my grade school teachers would be 90 to 100 years old now, so not much.
What's your best/most effective pickup line?
“Get in the car, I have a gun!”JUST KIDDING * JUST KIDDING
Do you have any fears or phobias?
Yeah.The first 27 years of my life were free of all irrational fears. I first experienced intense fear at the San Francisco airport, on my way home from a business trip.It was a warm September afternoon, and I was onboard a packed PSA 727 about to take off for the return flight to San Diego.
Something went wrong, and the pilot shut the plane down.As we sat on the tarmac, the cabin temperature began to climb.A half-hour went by, and all the babies and kids aboard were now crying and screaming.The heat was now suffocating, and I started to feel trapped.
I WANTED OFF THE PLANE!!!I wanted to run to the exit, pound on the door, and scream.Instead, I just gritted my teeth, and clutched the arm rests for what seemed like forever.
I had just learned first-hand what claustrophobia is all about.I have flown countless times since then, but I have never been completely comfortable with being sealed in an airplane since that day.
What was your first pet?
I started life on my Grandparents’ farm in southern Indiana. I got my first pet when I was four years old. It was a goose, and his name was Wilmer.We ate him for Thanksgiving.He was delicious!
Worst TV commercial ever?
I find comic value in commercials for local businesses featuring sports celebrities.You know, you’ve seen them:The sports celebrity wears his jersey, and holds a football or baseball bat while reading a prepared pitch in an emotionless monotone, followed by the business guy coming on camera, patting him on the ass, and saying something patronizing.
Who should play you in a movie?
Mel Gibson, for sure.We’re the same age, although you wouldn’t know it; He has a much better makeup crew than I do.I love the way he plays the sweet-guy-gone-psycho because of some heinous, unprovoked, atrocity in his past.In my movie, however, he would write and perform some epic blues tunes instead of embarking on a spree of revenge killings.
Psychics - real or fake?
I KNEW you were going to ask that!!
Ever seen a ghost or UFO?
Not since my late teens when I lived in the Haight-Ashbury District of San Francisco.Ghosts and UFO’s were pretty much a daily occurrence. The aliens were intrusive, and annoying. They never had stash of their own, were always whining about something, had crabs, and smelled bad.
Ideal superpower (and what would you do with it)?
I would love to be able to see just 1 hour into the future.My work-year would immediately shrink from a grueling 52 weeks, to a more acceptable 43-day racing season at the Del Mar track.
Worst movie you've seen?
Man, that’s a hard one.There have been some really bad flicks.‘Ishtar’ is probably the worst of the worst.Why?I don’t know where to begin…..Utterly, totally, awful to the core!
What video game are you into playing now?
I don’t play video games anymore.I write and record music, and practice my instruments, in the time slot that used to be for video games.
I’m old enough to remember when Pong was a jaw-dropping wonder of modern technology, so I burned out on games early relative to most.I think my last true addiction was Super Mario Brothers, so you get the idea.
Magazine subscription you always renew?
Surfer.I have a nearly uninterrupted collection of Surfer mags, going back to the beginning.Today’s mags are crap compared to the old days:Nothing but advertising and glamour shots of the pros surfing Indo, Pipe, etc.Nothing anymore for average Joe’s like me who live for
4-foot OB, or 6-foot Cliffs.I keep meaning to stop the subscription, but haven’t done so yet.Oh look, my May issue just fell through the mail slot!Cowabunga!!
Best advice you ever got?
That would have to be Mr. Lloyd, my first landlord.He accurately predicted in 1975 that the price of the average house in OceanBeach would one day exceed $50,000, and encouraged me to buy anything and everything I could.OF COURSE, I didn’t listen.A big Homer “DOH” on that one.
Most visited websites?
San Diego Reader; What’s happening around town,
Sign On San Diego (U-T); Local and national news,
Musician’s Friend; An online “Toys ‘R Us” for musicians.
Surfline & Surfshot; Surf reports and features, local surfcams.
San Diego Fish; Reports and forums for San Diego fishermen.
Mac or PC?
The only Macs in my life are the big ones I buy and consume beneath the Golden Arches.
What’s the best thing you’ve ever won?
That’s Easy: A golf tournament “Closest to Pin” prize; A set of Callaway clubs and bag.
It’s important to say up front, I don’t golf.Well, I go out with a bag of clubs and whack at the little white ball, but I wouldn’t call what I do “golf”.Long way of saying, I’m a municipal course hacker.
Just the same, I beat out 143 other golfers in a best-ball tournament by sinking a shot on the Closest to Pin hole from 135 yards out.My first, and probably last, hole-in-one, the one time it counted!
Yeee-Hawww!
What’s your drink of choice?
Paulaner Salvator double bock beer.If it’s a special occasion, add single shots of brandy to each bottle.Warning:Don’t try this at home without proper supervision!I’m a trained professional!
First book you remember reading?
The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway.Papa writes a masterpiece using no more than a 3rd grade vocabulary.If you’ve never read it, I highly recommend you do.
Something about you few would know or guess?
I don’t think many people know that I pray every day.I pray for the health and well-being of my family, my friends, and all of the folks out there who struggle from day-to-day to be decent people and live honorable lives.I keep my faith to myself, and am outwardly a very earthy guy.For this reason, the importance to me of a strong spiritual life would probably surprise some.
THE DONKEYS TO PORTRAY FICTIONAL 60S BAND ON TV'S LOST FINALE ON MAY 23?
Paste Magazine reports: Lost is so littered with literary and pop culture references, it’s hard to keep up with every book, TV character or musician mentioned—whether they’re real or imagined. One imagined bit of pop culture that worked its way into the show several times is the Grateful Dead-esque band Geronimo Jackson, the creation of Lost writer Eddy Kitsis.
The fictional band—a 1970s rock group with psychedelic leanings as judged by its logo—appeared on a minor character’s t-shirt in one episode, and was heard on a Dharma van radio in another, according to Wired.
Kitsis, who had dreams of Grateful Dead rock stardom growing up, wanted to turn Geronimo Jackson into the real deal. After learning of The Donkeys from friend and Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn, Kitsis enlisted the San Diego quartet to rework its “Excelsior Lady” into “Dharma Lady,” and a real-life Lost band was born. A snippet of “Dharma Lady” was featured on the show in 2009 before finding its way to iTunes, and its rumored that Geronimo Jackson will be making its way into the series finale on May 23. (read more at http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2010/05/lost-writer-brings-fictional-band-to-life.html)
The Donkeys are Jessie Gulati, Anthony Lukens, Sam Sprague, and Tim DeNardo, who have been friends since high school. They shared a rehearsal space together as part of different bands. But when those bands stopped practicing, they came together and started creating songs and playing shows. Though two of the band members surf, nobody would accuse their country cooked, burrito baked songs of being surf music.
They were mentioned in the May 2008 issue of Spin, and featured on National Public Radio, as well as recording several live sets for Daytrotter.com, a studio-concert website. After being signed to the Dead Oceans record label, whose roster also includes Dirty Projectors, These Are the Powers, Bishop Allen, and Phosphorescent.
The Donkeys album Living on the Other Side was released in September 2008. Sam Sprague's brother Andrew usually joins the band for tours, as an auxiliary musician.
Rosey Bystrak at http://www.sddialedin.com reports on the Festival of Beers held on Sunday, May 2, where she was pouring next to the booth operated by Rock Bottom brewery. City rules required the vendors to stop serving beer at 5:30pm - following excerpts her subsequent blog entry:
Last year...the organizers went booth by booth to make sure taps were removed. This year, it was left to the brewers who stalled, just trying to get rid of product.
In the booth next to me, where Natalie had worked her shift, a volunteer was being cited for pouring after 5:30. She reluctantly handed her ID to the cop who was nailing her, and it was clear that she did not understand her infraction. When the Rock Bottom honcho caught wind of what was happening, he attempted to defend her, and while I was out of earshot, I saw the cop push him, and with help of an Elite security who put him in a chokehold, he was thrown to the ground and subsequently arrested. While the event as a whole was successful, it is unfortunate that it ended on such a sour note. Should a citation be given? Perhaps. Throwing a donating brewer to the ground? I call unnecessary and excessive force on that one. #FTP.
ADAM LAMBERT IN YOUR FACE, MEGADETH OFF THE RADIO, MORE
Adam Lambert will embark on his first solo tour in June, playing 19 U.S. dates and bringing fellow "Idol" rocker Allison Iraheta along for part of the ride. more
Antimusic Reports: Megadeth and Slayer have confirmed that they will each perform, start to finish, their 1990 releases - Slayer's world-wide, million-selling Seasons In The Abyss and Megadeth's Platinum Rust In Peace - on the upcoming Canadian and American Carnage Tours.
The six-date Canadian Carnage kicks off July 23 in Quebec City, while the 19-city American Carnage dates begin August 11 in Glens Falls, NY (complete itinerary is below). With Slayer and Megadeth co-headlining, Testament will be Special Guest on all dates.
The American Carnage Tour, originally scheduled to take place in January and February, had to be postponed due to Slayer vocalist/bassist Tom Araya's treatment for severe back pain, an occupational hazard for the rocker who is known for aggressively swinging his long mane of hair while performing. - more on this story
Stone Temple Pilots will post a track from their new self titled album every week on Amazon.com leading up to the May 25 release. The promotion kicked off on Friday when they posted the first song "Between The Lines." Check it out here
Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford will hit the road this summer and fall 2010, for his first solo tour in more than seven years. Halford remarks: "I am pleased to be releasing Crucible - Remixed & Remastered; along with Halford - Live In Anaheim DVD and CDs this year,' adds Rob Halford. 'The Halford band have not toured for more than seven years, and everyone knows how important my solo work is to me. While the other members of Judas Priest enjoy a well-deserved break for the remainder of 2010, I am very excited about getting Halford onto as many stages as we can before year's end." more
BEATLE BUSTED IN SAN DIEGO!!
A member of a Beatles tribute band was arrested by San Diego police after performing during a morning TV news show.
Authorities said they had been looking for Theodore Felicetti, who plays Paul McCartney in the band, for more than a year. He was wanted on a failure to appear warrant related to a drunk driving case, San Diego police Cpl. Scott Merritt told Fox 5 San Diego.
Merritt said officers recently looked at the band's Facebook page and noticed an upcoming appearance on Fox 5 Morning News, complete with the time and location (Fox 5 is owned by Tribune, which also owns the Los Angeles Times).
"That made things easy for me and my partner," Merritt said. "We parked up the street and heard the band playing as we walked to the station."
Police arrived at the station's Kearny Mesa studio several minutes before 9 a.m. as the band Help was playing a cover of "I Am the Walrus." They waited until the band finished playing, then arrested Felicetti, Help's base player, without incident.
Erick Allen Wales, 24 has been missing since Monday April 19.
"It is not in his character and he's not someone who takes risks," said friend Julie Kesterson.
Wales was last seen on Monday around 6:30 a.m. in Mission Valley leaving for work. He was wearing a black shirt and blue jeans. He has light brown hair and blue eyes and is 6 foot and 140 pounds. He sometimes wear's glasses. He drives a Black Saturn Ion, with the license plate FR33BSD (FreeBSD is an open source operating systems) and it has a broken right side mirror.
He stops at an ATM of the 15 freeway near Aero Drive. At 8:00 a.m., a call was made to Wales' cell phone but it went directly to voice mail. All other phone calls have gone to voice mail and it appears the phone has been turned off.
There was a report that he was spotted around Island and 5th Avenue, where Wales has gone in the past. Police checked, but he was not found.
Wales was a member of the San Diego band Dehra Dun and played the keytar. Wales worked for San Diego Channel 6 in the IT Dept. and now works in IT at various other companies.
"Never misses calls home, never misses emails to friends or associates. To have him drop off suddenly, that's suspicious," said Lt. Ernie Herbert of the San Diego Police Department.
"Whenever I needed a problem solved, he was the one I went to," said Joshua Zimmerman, his roommate of 7 years.
Technology is reaching out to search for him via Twitter #finderickwales and #erickwales. For more information visit www.finderickwales.com.
If you have any information please contact the San Diego Police Department at (619) 531-2000 or email [email protected].
LOCALS ART ---- a few locals who've appeared in the Reader comix ---
More later!
********TODAY'S "WHAT THE F-CK" ALBUM COVER
You laugh, but you should hear this soulful mama belting out "These Boots Were Made For Walking" and "Hard Day's Night"! You'll laugh even harder...
And this is AFTER he pimped his ride!
What makes this so WTF isn't the clothes - it's the medieval dungeon they look so comfortable in...
And OTHER skiing songs?!?!?! That first one killed the dude!!
If you ever see me at a party that looks anything like this WTF-shindig --- pleeeze KILL ME!
Rated WTF, too scary for kids OR adults...
"God Isn't Dead" - he's just partying up a storm! Liquor bottles, hypo needles, the peep shadow of a seductive dame - lady, are you preaching or selling?
Either that guitar is gigantic, or that's one tiny effin bobblehead zombie!
Why Easy Rider centerfold painters should never draw album covers...
This cover illustrates how I feel while listening to Lady GaGa -
So he'd rather stroke his loaf (with a swollen red tip) than dance with a dame??
First record ever owned by John Hinkley.
Who cares about young Jack Burns and George, when there's two gigantic mutant Playmates in the room?!
WTF is this dumbass looking at US?!?! And WTF is the Open Face Sandwich Club?
Where oh where to start - the guy's giant pointy elf shoes? The mysterious brown liquid seeping out from between the girl's legs and onto the floor? The Beep Beep poster with inexplicable ocean motif? The hemorroid donut mounted on a wall with garden trellis?
If Love Ain't Nothin' But a Business, guess who just declared bankruptcy?
Thanks to everyone who came out to the Overheard and Famous in San Diego art gallery opening on Monday, March 29th at the Ruby Room! Bunches of photos and video clips coming soon -
The night before the opening reception, I heard my name on KPRI radio as I drove into San Diego, while randomly flipping stations. It was Cathryn Beeks on the Homegrown Hour, talking about the show - and then she played the Overheard in San Diego theme song!! I almost drove off the road - thanks, Cathryn!!
The Reverend Stickman, Carly-plus-one, me -- in case we've never met, howaya? --- and fellow cartoonatic Christie Maconnell, the Rock 'N' Roll Comics colorist who put up the strip display.
Happy Ron Hill played his "Famous Former Neighbors" song (which seems to imply that I think my "sh-t don't stink," heh heh), and Cathryn Beeks was joined by co-writer Sven-Erik Seaholm to mock me in song once again, with their "Overheard in San Diego" theme song.
Happy Ron, Bart Mendoza, and Carlos Olmeda, Collage Menage, Neener, Carnal Comics writer Jamie Ralph Gardner, videographers Duane and Susan, and random passersby...
The winner? Steve and the Pescadero Pickers !! Their tune tells of the summer that Bob "Gilligan" Denver moved next door to Steve in OB -----
Due to some confusion -- no doubt compounded by me being on vacation all week --- bandleader Steve wasn't notified in time to play it at the show, but you can checkitout - and all the song submissions, along with their final vote stats - at http://www.sandiegoreader.com/audioclips/sets/famous-former-neighbors/
All in all, it was terrific to see the Reader comic strips getting their own spotlight showcase - my thanks to the Ruby Room for letting me plaster my scribbles all over their walls and letting my friends and I play all night in their colorful sandbox! Thanks also to the artists who came out to do live art demonstrations, and you can checkout a selection of comic strips from the show all thru April at the RRoom --
Thanks also to my associates at the Reader who spearheaded fun stuff like the song contest ----
Now, it's back to being an obscure underemployed cartoonatic and itinerate writer-slash-blogger - surely, it's all downhill from here...
*************************************************
HAPPY RON HILL "Famous Former Neighbors"
**********************************************************************
HERE'S THE NEW Overheard in San Diego
***********************************************************
ARCHIVE OF Famous Former Neighbors
************************************************************************************
OWES IT ALL TO THE MAN WITH NO NAME....
“We play hip-hop with a twist,” says Tim Beaman (aka Timmy B) of the trio OCT/Outta Control, who all moved to San Diego from Detroit six years ago in hopes of kickstarting their recording and performing career.
“We do the unexpected, like starting off a set with a crazy electric guitar solo and setting a sick Beastie Boy-style party vibe. We make music that reflects our life, which is pretty much a never ending struggle AND a big party, all at the same time. We don’t have sick cars or money, so we don’t rap about that.”
The band cites surprising inspirations, such as the Prince formerly known as Fresh, Will Smith. “He’s one of the sickest MCs in the game,” says Beaman. “If you don’t think so, check out his song ‘Freak This.’ We actually live our lives by that saying.”
Another big inspiration is a man whose name they don’t even know.
“We were in L.A. trying to get into record label offices to hand out our demo, even though we knew it wasn’t going to work. After getting thrown out of Capitol Records, we talked to the guy who threw us out for a while. He told us that he had thrown out 50 Cent and Kanye when they were still unsigned. After talking for a few minutes, he looked at us and said ‘If you’re good at what you do, don’t quit. It’ll happen for you too.’”
Outta Control has released three albums, as well as contributing to last year’s SDMA-nominated hip-hop compilation Best of Daygo City.
Tuesday 4/13 -The Bare Back Grill with hostess Lindsay White and guests 7:00 Vera's Veil 7:45 Speaking Idly 8:15 Travis Ross 8:45 Lindsay White 9:30 Jeffrey Joe Morin No Cover
Thursday 4/15 -Winston's Happy Hour Acoustic Jam in OB from 5 to 8 with me and Kate 5:00 open 5:30 open 6:00 Ves Frank 6:30 Katie Leigh and the Infantry 7:00 Justin Froese 7:30 Soup
Sunday 4/18 - The debut ofListen Local Living Room, a house concert series in Spring Valley, CA, happens this Sunday, April 18th from 4 to 8pm. "In the Round" sets featuring Lindsay White, Rev. Stickman, Rusty King, Bass Hamza and two surprise guests plus a set by The Cathryn Beeks Ordeal. Taco bar, desserts and refreshments. $20 donation saves your seat... reserve yours now!
Music News
Artist of the Week: CatchVes Frank this Thursday at Winstons at 6pm as part of a stellar lineup including some of San Diego's best acoustic artists! no Cover!
Link of the Week: Only a few seats left for Listen Local Living Room, our first house concert event. Amazing acoustic music in our living room plus a fiesta bar and other surprises. $20 donations reserves your seat, they're going fast!
Cliff Keller says "Resounding Joy is the best paying gig in San Diego... in terms of Karma. We perform at various Assisted Living Facilities in San Diego, lead drum circles for our active military's children, and help various other people in need through the power of music. We are looking for people who would like to give a little bit of time helping others. You need not be a pro musician, just a generous person who wants to share music with those who really appreciate it. Resounding Joy's next training for new volunteers (Joy Givers) is on Saturday April 24th. If you'd like to learn more about it contact [email protected] for details and to sign up."
The Game happens again on Tuesday, April 20th and the title is MAKE ME. Write a song to that title and show up by 7pm to get your name in the drum. Artists perform songs unplugged in the listening room upstairs at Desi N Friends in Point Loma. No need to rsvp, see you there!
Crystal Pollard's story "The Scar" was recently published! Check it out here. Congrats, Crystal! We love you. :)
Flip and Rollie update: The boys are playing every Friday on the patio at Moondoggies in PB from 5 to 9, no cover! These guys are too much fun and a great way to start your weekend. When you see them, tell them Listen Local loves them!
More Friday Fun! Catch Astra Kelly along with Echo Revolution, Wendy Bailey and Kenta Hayashi this Friday at The Ruby Room.
In case you haven't heard, The Homegrown Hour is on every Sunday night at 8pm and features 10 songs by some of San Diego's best bands and solo artists. Tune in this Sunday to hear an interview with The Paragraphs.
Save the Date. Mysweet baby turns 40 on Sunday, June 6th and we're celebrating with an all-day picnic at Kate Sessions Park in PB. This park has awesome views and plenty of room for relaxation. It's also the last of the parks that allow drinking of adult bevies. Join us!
Get Uked to It (or San Diego Gets Uked) - 15 San Diego artists have their songs covered on Ukelele
By Bart Mendoza:It’s true, ukeleles get little respect in the music world. But with their portability and ease of use it’s easy to see the four stringed instruments appeal.
Long a favorite for fans of Hawaiian music and century old pop tunes, the current resurgence in popularity has seen many modern era tunes showing up in uke players set lists.
Here are 15 songs originally performed by San Diego based artists, recast for ukelele.
MUSTAINE MAKES ROCK VIDEO BASED ON SAN DIEGO TANK ATTACK
Noisecreep reports: On May 17, 1995, a U.S. Army veteran and unemployed plumber in San Diego, Shawn Timothy Nelson, snapped and stole an M60 Patton tank from a nearby National Guard Armory. He drove down the highway, crushing cars, fire hydrants and an RV before he was stopped and killed by police.
The headline-grabbing story forms the basis of Megadeth's new video for 'The Right to Go Insane,' the second single from the band's acclaimed 2009 disc Endgame. In the clip, which surprisingly features no performance footage, frontman Dave Mustaine is filmed sneaking onto a military facility, stealing a tank and playing crash-up derby through the streets.
Video footage from the cockpit shows Mustaine singing and laughing, while shots from a surveillance helicopter depict a missile gunsight tracking him as he pillages.
No word from the family of Shawn Timothy Nelson, who was killed by police on live TV after the stolen tank got stick on a highway divider, on what they think of famous neighbor Mustaine having so much fun with their tragic true-life story. (more Megadeth, 'The Right to Go Insane' -- Video Premiere )
NEW COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL MUSIC DATABASE IS LAUNCHED
If you wanna see a list of over 2,100 San Diego bands, with links to full profiles, photos, discographies, articles, MP3s, etc, checkout http://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/search/
Believe it or not, you can click on ANY LOCAL MUSICIAN'S NAME (around 4,900 musicos listed!) and bring up bios of every notable band they've ever been in! Try it here withRob Crow ---
AND, if that wasn't cool 'nuff, click on an instrument, say like this here link to "Drums" - BAM, a list of EVERY DRUMMER IN SAN DIEGO!!!
We've been working on this massively cross-linked Local Music Database for over two years now, covering a century of San Diego history --- if you're a local performer who wants to add or edit a page, go to http://www.sandiegoreader.com/band/edit/
By Bart Mendoza: In honor of the release of a new book on Jim Croce’s music, Anthology, here are a more than ten things that you might have overlooked about the music icon. The book includes music & lyrics + stories behind 40 tunes! Penned by Ingrid Croce, published by Hal Leonard) For more info, please visitwww.jimcroce.com
I also highly recommend the Jim Croce’ DVD Anthology, Have You Heard:
1)Jim Croce is now the third San Diego related artist to be portrayed on film or TV. In the 4th episode of ABC-TV’s, Life on Mars(2008), he is played by Don Puglisi, in conversation with the show’s star during a brief scene set in a night club.
2)Jim Croce’s album, Life & Times, has been immortalized at the Sleeveface site: http://www.sleeveface.com/?p=288 – from the site: “One or more persons obscuring or augmenting any part of their body or bodies with record sleeve(s) causing an illusion” – Amazing!
5)Frank Sinatra released a single of “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” which hit #83 in 1974. Dean Martin then used the same arrangement of the song for his version. Here’s a Glen Miller Big Band arrangement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA3Eq8r8fGs
7)In 1977, Maureen McCormick (aka Marcia Brady) sang a version of “I’ll Just Have to Say I Love You InA Song” on the TV’s The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.
12)His songs have appeared in TV shows such as Eli Stone ("You Don't Mess Around With Jim")/ 2008), The West Wing ("Time in a Bottle" / 2003), The Greatest American Hero ("You Don't Mess Around With Jim" / 1981)
13)His songs have appeared in movies such as Home Alone 3 ("Bad Bad Leroy Brown"/ 1997) and The Ice Storm ("I Got a Name").
14)Jim Croce appeared on several TV shows including In Concert, Rock Concert and twice on NBC’s the Tonight Show: Aug. 15 1972 (other guests included Danny Thomas and the comedy duo Burns & Schrieber) and May 30 1973 (other guests included Karen Valentine)
Antimusic reports: Mike Keneally is set to launch his first full-band tour in nearly five years, bringing his ever-evolving, remarkably inventive musical vision to the Northeast US in early May for five shows in support of his latest Exowax Recordings release, Scambot 1.
From Keneally's well-documented recorded work as a guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist in Frank Zappa's last touring band, to his recordings and performances with Robert Fripp, Dethklok, Wayne Kramer, Steve Vai, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Andy Partridge and many others, he's earned a reputation as someone who can bring an intense, original musical voice to any situation. His extensive and wildly diverse original catalog of 19 albums and counting defies traditional classification, and concertgoers are regularly left awestruck by his band's high-wire-act execution of the eclectic material.
In a unique twist, this tour's Mike Keneally Band members also comprise the opening act, the band of Keneally's longtime bassist Bryan Beller (Steve Vai, Dethklok), whose intricate jazz/rock compositions and tasteful playing earned his sophomore album Thanks In Advance widespread acclaim.
The sneakily-titled "They're Both The Same Band" Northeast Tour 2010 features Keneally, Beller, drummer Joe Travers (Zappa Plays Zappa), and guitarists Rick Musallam (Ben Taylor, Byrd York) and Griff Peters (Billie Myers, Anika Paris). - more on this story
Antimusic reports: Local Reelin' In The Years Productions, the music footage library, has uncovered a 30-minute film of home movies from the 1950s featuring the legendary Hank Williams Sr. along with Marty Robbins, the Carter Family, Merle Travis, Lefty Frizell, Hank Snow, Maddox Bothers & Rose, Bill Monroe and a host of others.
These images, shot in pristine 16mm color film, capture these classic artists in performance and in rare candid moments. Highlights include Hank Williams singing at a disc jockey convention in Nashville, Marty Robbins playing guitar on a front lawn, Kitty Wells standing in front of her tour car and Merle Travis preparing to board a small plane.
This newly recovered footage was shot by John Banks, part owner of radio station KRDU in Dinuba, CA while these artists were at the station and his home. In addition to filming these artists in California, Banks took his 16mm camera to Nashville and captured many artists backstage during a convention of disc jockeys held in the early 1950s. - more on this story
ASSASSIN REUNITES APRIL 17TH - CAN'T KEEP GOOD LOCAL '80S METAL DOWN!!
“In 1996, I threw all my belongings into a storage unit, quit my job in San Diego, and set out on a road trip across North America to see what was out there,” says Michael Reed, who later formed Deep Shag Records. Though based in Atlanta, the label specializes in ‘80s San Diego metal bands.”
Reed’s biggest coup to date has been discovering and issuing an unreleased album by Assassin (1983 – 1986), recorded in 1984 when the band was still opening for national acts such as Alcatrazz and hometown heroes like Riot. “The Assassin CD has been a steady seller,” says Reed, “and we wanted to do something special to promote the album.”
The result – an Assassin reunion on April 17 at 4th & B, the band’s first gig together in over 20 years. Included will be two former locals returning to town just for the gig: singer Pete Papps and guitarist Vinnie Cavarra.
The three current San Diegans/former Assassins onstage will include John Osmon (OU812), Thom Beebe (owner of Guitar and Bass Land/Skin City Drums), and Leroy Vega, whose later local group Stress has also seen its music reissued by Deep Shag. Former Assassin Dave Bundy Imondi (Deeper Purple) will also be attending (tho Vega is drumming).
“There are four other San Diego bands that would ideal to reunite and perhaps release some of their old material,” says Reed. “Bible Black, Victim, Aircraft, and Prowler. However, between missing members and those who have moved on, it’s very difficult to get a band back together after all this time. Even for one show.”
Notwithstanding, opening for Assassin will be another local ‘80s metal band Reed persuaded to reunite for the show; Street Liegel.
“DJ Wigman will be playing nothing but classic ‘80s rock between bands,” says Reed, “and a slide show with hundreds of photos from San Diego’s ‘80s rock scene will be projected on screen for your amusement. Or horror!”
Assassin was formed in the summer of 1983 by guitarists Thom Beebe and Vinnie Cavarra who worked together at Guitar Trader. They sought out noted drummer Leroy Vega and, in recruiting him, also lucked into a vocalist, his friend Pete Papps. After a brief stint with Neil Foote, the band settled into its classic early lineup with the addition of Chicago native John Osmon on bass.
During the mid-eighties, Assassin opened for headliners like Poison, Alcatrazz, Grim Reaper, Precious Metal, and local metalheads Riot.
By the end of 1985, Assassin had received several label offers, but was holding out for just the right deal. While working towards that goal, Pete Papps left in January of 1986 to form Red Alert, and the band brought in L.A. vocalist Marc Anthony. With some new material, Assassin continued on a short while longer before problems with their new singer forced the band to implode.
JUDY COLLINS SELLS OUT - TWICE! SO SHE'S COMING BACK TO SAN DIEGO ON APRIL 23RD
On March 23, AMSD/Acoustic Music San Diego promoter Carey Driscoll reported that “Based on two consecutive nights of sold out Judy Collins shows this week, and before she'd even played the first of those two shows, her management re-booked her with me, for a month from now – April 23.”
“I hope the people whose email addresses I've collected in a folder of ‘Didn't get in to these two concerts,’ plus some of those who came last night or will be there tonight, plus whomever else I can round up, will add up to enough to cover the expenses again.”
Judy Collins has thrilled audiences worldwide with her unique blend of interpretative folksongs and contemporary themes. Her impressive career has spanned more than 40 years. At 13, Judy Collins made her public debut performing Mozart's "Concerto for Two Pianos" but it was the music of such artists as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, as well as the traditional songs of the folk revival, that sparked Judy Collins' love of lyrics. She soon moved away from the classical piano and began her lifelong love with the guitar. In 1961, Judy Collins released her first album, A Maid of Constant Sorrow, at the age of 22 and began a thirty-five year association with Jac Holzman and Elektra Records.
Collins is also noted for her rendition of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" on her classic 1967 album, Wildflowers. "Both Sides Now" has since been entered into the Grammy's Hall of Fame. Winning "Song of the Year" at the 1975 Grammy's Awards show was Judy's version of "Send in the Clowns," a ballad written by Stephen Sondheim for the Broadway musical "A Little Night Music."
Released on September 29th, Judy's new book, Sanity and Grace, A Journey of Suicide, Survival and Strength, is a deeply moving memoir, focusing on the death of her only son and the healing process following the tragedy. The book speaks to all who have endured the sorrow of losing a loved one before their time. In the depths of her suffering, Judy found relief by reaching out to others for help and support. Now, she extends her hand to comfort other survivors whose lives have been affected by similar tragedy.
In a recent appearance on ABC's Good Morning America, Collins performed "Wings of Angels," the heartbreaking ballad that she wrote about the loss of her son. The song is currently available on the newly released Judy Collins Wildflower Festival CD and DVD, which also feature guest artists Arlo Guthrie, Tom Rush and Eric Andersen.
This extraordinary concert was filmed at the famed Humphrey's By the Bay. The concert was the culmination of a 25 city national tour.
Judy Collins continues to create music of hope and healing that lights up the world and speaks to the heart.
www.AMSDconcerts.com (formerly AcousticMusicSanDiego) AMSDconcerts 4650 Mansfield Street San Diego, CA 92116 (619) 303-8176 (8am-7pm) (619) 201-0520 (Days of concerts only)
*************************************************
LOCALS IN THE NEWS
Alex Chilton, best known as a member of '60s pop-soul act the Box Tops and the '70s power-pop act Big Star, died March 17 at a hospital in New Orleans. The cause of death is believed to be a heart attack. A lengthy Reader feature on the latterday Box Tops can be found at Just Sing the Hits - When Bands (Barely) Reunite
Ratt drummer Bobby Blotzer's autobiography 'Tales Of A Ratt' is set to be released on April 20th, the same day as Ratt's new CD 'Infestation' more
Stone Temple Pilots' first single from their forthcoming album "Between The Lines" was just posted online for your listening pleasure. The only hitch is you have to Tweet the song to get a listen. If you are up to it, go here.
The Soft Pack tore up Austin's SXSW Fest, with several media outlets raving, including Spin Magazine. Video footage fromn the Spin/MySpace Music showcase at the Loft on 6th Street can be found at Live Video from Austin: The Soft Pack Unplugged!
Megadeth were forced to leave the stage three songs into it's headlining set Tuesday night (March 16th) at Rams Head Live in Baltimore, MD after problems with the venue P.A. prevented the band from continuing its performance. Dave Mustaine told fans about the problems with the inferior P.A. and then explained "some delirious a**hole decided that it was a good idea to throw their beverage over the [mixing] console, thus ending the concert ." more
BW&BK is streaming Ratt's 'Eat Me Up Alive' - the opening track from their first new album in over ten years, Infestation. more
Ratt will be hitting the road with the Scorpions this summer. more
Local MP3tunes operator Michael Robertson is facing more legal trouble over allegedly assisting illegal music downloads. more MP3tunes' Copyright Conundrum
Scott Weiland offers this explanation for his split with Velvet Revolver: "When Velvet Revolver first got together, it was great. I got to know the guys before: Met Duff at the gym... I was in rehab with Matt. I'd only met Slash twice - he's not the most social person. We had all been through the same experiences, and it felt like a gang," Weiland tells Details Magazine according to Jam!. "But everyone was a rock star. There were petty jealousies. Then the wives got involved with the business of the band, and that was the beginning of the downfall." more
Starting this week on the official Stone Temple Pilots Facebook page, fans can win tickets to see Stone Temple Pilots. To win, each date will have an associated trivia question. The first person to correctly answer the trivia question wins two tickets to said show. more
As I Lay Dying will headline a spring tour with support from Demon Hunter, Blessthefall, and War Of Ages. more
Pearl Jam announced that they will play 11 Midwest and East Coast tour dates in May of 2010. The tour kicks-off on May 3rd at Sprint Center in Kansas City and wraps on May 21st at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Pearl Jam's U.S. tour follows the band's previously announced headlining appearance at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation Festival on May 1st. Band of Horses will open all shows except the May 20th Madison Square Garden engagement, where The Black Keys will open. - dates
************************************************
12 MILLION DOLLAR SETTLEMENT IN BARKER PLANE CRASH
Jam! reports: A $12 million dollar settlement has reportedly been reached in the case of the wrongful death of Travis Barker's friend Chris Baker who died in the 2008 airplane crash that put the Blink-182 rocker and the late DJ AM in the hospital.
While Barker and DJ AM, real name Adam Goldstein, escaped from the plane, which crashed during take off from an airfield in South Carolina, two of their friends and the two pilots were killed. Travis' best friend Chris Baker was one of those who lost his life in the crash.
Jam! reports that legal papers show that Baker's widow Otilia and three-year-old son Sebastian have received more than $12 million from Clay Lacy Aviation, Goodyear Tire and Rubber and Learjet as a result of the lawsuit. - You can read the Jam! report here
************************************************
WTF SLEESTAKS!
I have SO many problems with this bizarre Land of the Lost relic.
First, what's up with asking the kiddies to help that Sleestak EAT poor lil' Dopey?! "He craves raw, bloody meat and does not know which rope is attached to Dopey. Which is the right one?" And why's the Sleestak a toy, while the Dino is drawn?
"Puzzle" 1 instructs "Look into this sacred cave, then cover it. How many Sleestak can you remember having seen?" Fair 'nuff, that's a KIND of a puzzle. But then look at the effin answer key -- "Any humans who gaze upon our god will die." Geez, Muhammad much?
Plus, written as if by Sleestak, the answer key indicates that THIS IS A SLEESTAK-CREATED PUZZLE! Notice the possessive apostrophe in the puzzle title, "Sleestak's...."...No wonder they wanna trick kids into killing Dopey...
"Puzzle" 2 - not really a puzzle. "Grumpy the dinosaur surprised Will, Holly and Chaka while they were out on a walk. Can you solve the puzzle of how Will and Holly will escape?" Well, clearly, we can see that some mirror thingly blinds Grumpy. BUT...
"How will WILL AND HOLLY escape?" WTF, what about Chaka?! Those sick fukken Sleetak puzzlemakers made a snuff film, and this clip shows Chaka seconds before getting bit in two...and, BTW, how stoopid are Will and Holly that they can still be "surprised" by a thirty foot tall dinosaur, AND NOT A FREAKIN' TREE IN SIGHT!
So let's refer to the answer key as to how the two mentally challenged humans escape..."Hit Chaka with a rock, breaking his leg, then run." I say again - WTF?! The dumbass duo is supposed to sacrifice Chaka to the dino?!
And if the answers are written by Sleestak, why are they such Chaka haters - or do they simply wanna eat "raw and bloody meat" offa Will and Holly themselves, while Grumpy polishes off the hairy Oompa Loompa?
The answer to number 3? "Dopey is slower than even a Sleestak. He should fall easily to the wicked eviscerating claws."
Sid and Marty Krofft - the Owsleys of Saturday morning TV ---
HARGO GOES TO INDIA - Local Musico Blogs From the Other Side of the World
"My teachers used to skip over my name and say, 'Oh, you're here,' " says Hargobind Hari Singh Khalsa. "Kids started calling me Hargo when I was 7." Hargo is Sikh. "People say, 'What is that?' It's the fifth-largest religion in the world, but people don't even know about it."
Hargo got his first taste of fame at the age of 16, when his tune “Giving” was selected as official theme song for the 1999 South Africa Peace Conference. “I wrote that when I was eight years old, in choir,” he says. “While performing in Oregon [years later], I got to do that song. A woman approached me and said they were looking for a theme song to kick off that event.”
A 2000 performance opening for Seal earned him a ringing endorsement from the headliner (“This young man’s music moved me deeply”). Hargo says “That was around 2000, in New Mexico, at the Peace Festival. I played him a few of my songs on a 12-string. He flipped it over, Hendrix style, and played a song from his new album. He asked me what I thought about another song he played, and I told him it had interesting chords. When he played the bridge, I told him I thought it was too chordy, and it took away from the strength of the melody.”
Hargo's publicity photos include several shots by legendary rock photographer Mick Rock. “His photos were being displayed at Morrison Hotel [in La Jolla],” says Hargo. “We saw in the Reader that he was going to be there, but we missed it by a day. When my dad mentioned it to a yoga teacher in New York, the guy said ‘He’s one of my students.’ When I was there, I asked if I could meet him. He’s a really cool, laid back guy."
"I was one of only three people he's ever photographed that wasn't already famous. And he did it at a greatly reduced rate. Before he’d take pictures, he’d twirl around with his eyes closed. Then he’d open his eyes and just start shooting pictures. I’d hear him say ‘Okay, Hargo, we got a great shot, you motherf*cker!’ It was a lot of fun.”
JAS: Hey man, how are things? I've finally posted the 2nd video blog from our trip, TurbanCam episode 2 from our time Bombay. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxtIiVh8Mew
It's really cool, you should definitely check it out. Took us a while to get it online because we've had limited internet access the past week or so. HARGO
Bombay:I have food poisoning.Hargo calls it "the Indian flu".I call it explosive vomiting.We spent the last two days trolling around the waterfront in Bombay (or Mumbai, I'm still not really sure what to call this city), under the auspices of purchasing train tickets to Amritsar and meeting some people in the Indian music industry.The meetings have been going really well, we're learning more and more about how music is made, listened to, and distributed over here.
Ringtones are selling better than any other format - there are over 500 million cellphone subscribers in India, more than the entire population of the U.S., and the cellphones are cheaper and more available than computers, MP3 players, or even CD players.
Conventional music downloads, CDs, and tapes are very much on the decline here, though I've been pleased to find a great many MP3 CDs for sale in bootleg music stores all over the country (a format seemingly exclusive to the bootleg market, but highly advantageous to a foreign music hoarder like myself).
Movie soundtracks are so much more important to the musical culture here than the "O.S.T." stuff we have back in America - stars are born and die under the lights of Bollywood cinema here.As such, we're thinking of covering some well known Bollywood tracks and collaborating with some well known Indian musicians in the scene for maximum exposure.And selling it as a ringtone, of course.
The train tickets didn't go down quite as well.We tried for two straight days to get tickets, and if all had gone well we would be on a train to Rajasthan at this very moment - as it happens, we're leaving tomorrow afternoon, and we won't have much time to linger on our way to Amritsar.We'll stay in a five star waterfront hotel tonight on the "Queen's Necklace" - what the locals call the ring of lights made by all the waterfront properties lining the beaches of Mumbai.
I spent most of yesterday lying on the cement barriers that keep the water at bay, throwing up again and again and talking to all kinds of interesting people.Indian folks are in my experience just as curious and open as I'd hoped, and there was a lot of exciting cross cultural exchange and conversation that happened yesterday - I specifically remember a conversation with two guys my age about how different relationships between men and women tend to be here.
There's very little casual sex, much more courting - meeting parents, years and years of dating...there's much more respect here, though it's also very hard for a girl and a guy to just hang out and be friends due to all the pressure and sexual tension.
Disney is really big over here.The Indian family is also a very different beast - in between vomiting episodes, I told some of the folks I was hanging out with about how my parents were divorced, and the shock and disappointment in their eyes had very little to do with the contents of my stomach.Indian families stick together, no matter what, through thick and thin, through heartbreak and outright betrayal.It's pretty inspiring.
Anyway, I'm going to get back to packing and trying to keep my breakfast down - Hargo and Andi are busy with Qi Gong but my stomach just can't take it this morning.My next update will probably be from Amritsar.
“Poker is going to be a big theme for us, as the song continues to gain a following and earn more exposure,” says Phil Bellante of the marketing push behind his card-themed tune “All In.”
“I wrote the song in ten minutes while watching a TV [poker] tournament,” says Bellante, whose own favorite game is no-limit Texas Holdem. “I want to license it for movies, video games, TV shows, casinos, gambling websites, and of course poker tournaments. I think it has the potential to be like [Kenny Rogers’] ‘The Gambler’…it certainly has more to do with cards than ‘Poker Face’ by Lady Gaga, and yet that song is played in relation [to gaming] all the time.”
To that end, the singer/songwriter recently plugged his tune on the pokernewsdaily.com website and Phil Gordon’s ESPN radio show Poker Edge.
“Phil’s brother-in-law is a friend of mine, so I’ve known him for years. He has a lot of connections who are looking at the song now, plus I spend a lot of time getting it around to others…several Nashville songwriters are pitching ways to make it a hit. It’s all self-marketing and self-financed for now, but that’s the only way to get things done.”
Bellante says he’s willing to consider most any opportunity to market “All In.” “A lot of people are telling me that I should be able to make money off the song, that it appeals to the same kind of passion that poker players have.”
“But selling out isn’t always as easy as it looks.”
Bellante comes from a long line of politically aware, socially relevant, musically adroit, and vocally unpredictable singer-songwriters like Neil Young, Harry Nilsson, Perry Farrell, Bruce Springsteen, and their deep-thought free-world-rockin’ brethren. Think Edwin McCain backed by the Cowboy Junkies.
“I was inspired by the way Tracy Chapman addresses social issues in her songs,” says Bellante, “with lyrics that are meaningful and relevant without being preachy.”
Raised in Cleveland, Bellante grew up in a musical family, studying both piano and guitar. “My grandmother was playing piano right into her 90s,” he says, “and that made her one of the coolest people I knew. My mother was a poet, and that has always influenced my lyrics.”
After graduating from college and arriving in San Diego with business degree in hand, Bellante says, “The only business I was interested in was the one called ‘show.’ Luckily, I found a musical partner right away in drummer Aaron Redfield [Switchfoot].”
Bellante’s 2008 release EP2 was produced and recorded by J. Logan Stewart and Taylor Barefoot at Barefoot Studios. Videos for several songs were directed by Steve Woroniecki (Mariah Carey, Kid Rock).
“My lyrics and the overall direction of my music have come from my vast life experiences and observation of others,” says Bellante. “I have looked under the surface of things in life to try to understand the whys of life. My music simply leads people to places in their soul to help them see things clearly: that is the best way I can describe it.”
Rock Radio reports: Dave Mustaine says police were called to the set of a video shoot because Megadeth were using a tank in their promo film.
Checking in via his Live Line service, where he leaves phone messages for fans who can listen in, he explains that officers arrived to investigate the situation as the band worked with the war machine.
Mustaine says: "We're on location making the video for Right to go Insane. We've got an M68a tank. The cops are here – it can get pretty hairy with this video shoot." - more on this story
Adam Lambert follows the footsteps of Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta to return to "American Idol" stage. The show's eighth season alum himself has confirmed that he is going to sing in an upcoming episode of the popular reality singing competition. more
Patti Page sang about the 'sand dunes and salty air' of Cape Cod in a song recorded more than 50 years ago. Now she's being honored with her own road on the Massachusetts vacation haven. more
Carlos Santana plans a covers album. According to Billboard the effort will include Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love" with Thomas, the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" with India.Arie and Yo-Yo Ma, Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing" with Joe Cocker, the Rolling Stones' "Can't You Hear Me Knocking " with Scott Weiland, Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" and Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son." more
Stone Temple Pilots unveiled their first new album in nine years at a private listening party on Tuesday night (February 23) in New York City, according to HeadbangerNYC.com. The yet-to-be-titled album will be out June 1st. Classic Rock has a tracklisting here
Jay Leno is back as host of the Tonight Show starting Monday, March 1. NBC said Wednesday he'll be joined the first two weeks by Adam Lambert, Robin Thicke, Ben Harper, Ryan Bingham and Lifehouse. Perhaps CBS booked all the really big name music acts already? more
Megadeth's Dave Mustaine tells fans, "The Rust In Peace Record Is Not Going To Be Part Of Our Repertoire Going Forward... This Is It" more
Talking Metal celebrates their 300th podcast with David Ellefson of Megadeth (originally broadcast live on Talking Metal Live 2/9/10). Ellefson interview topics include his return to Megadeth, the twenty-year cycle of metal, his 14-year-old son, Exodus, the "Rust In Peace" album and 20th anniversary tour, the song "Head Crusher," Hail, and Frank Bello. In this interview Ellefson states that he is has no problem with playing songs live off the last couple Megadeth albums, even though he was not involved in the recording of them. To listen to an MP3 of the podcast go to - TalkingMetal.com
************************************************
WHY MACHINE HEAD HATES SAN DIEGO
Blabbermouth reports: MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn has revealed that his band has "fired" the city of San Diego, and will never play there again. He tells Rock Radio DJ David "The Captain" Grant, "A lot of crowds are awesome. But if we're playing San Diego, we're not going to go on the radio and say, 'San Diego crows are awesome' — because they're not. They're beat. That's MACHINE HEAD slang for 'We don't like them.' They don't come to a show and rage and go crazy. They come to a show and say, 'Okay... this is cool. Oh, I like this song.' We're not into that. I don't know why they come to a rock show with that kind of attitude. So we don't go to San Diego anymore. They're fired." http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=135780
************************************************
TRAVIS BARKER FIGHTS PHOTOGS
Jam! reports: A trash media photo-stalker (aka paparazzo) reportedly called the cops on blink-182's Travis Barker after a run-in on Saturday, February 20, at a Calabasas, Ca restaurant. Information about the incident is a "star said, stalker said" affair with Barker taking to his Twitter to give his side and the other side posting what Barker has labeled an "edited" video.
The tabloid reports vary, Jam! places the incident on "Sat night" and says that Barker was at the restaurant with "friends". However, Barker's account places the incident in the morning and hints that he was out to breakfast with his children when he had a run-in with a photo-stalker who threatened him.
Apparently there were 3 photographers, then an hour later Barker had evened the odds by calling in reinforcements. The cops were reportedly called because Barker allegedly took away the photo-stalker's cell phone and slashed his tires, according to the Jam! report. However, while police were called to the scene for a vandalism claim, no arrests were made.
Here is what Barker had to say about the incident: "When I'm out at breakfast at 8am in the morning the last thing i appreciate is some photographer threatening me 2 a fight while he's 3 deep. When i defend myself/my kids that don't make me a tough guy .I was outnumbered and threatened so i did what any man would.
"Paparazzi cried like young girls when it was no longer 3 of them against me and my kids. Didn't they remember threatening me an hr ago?? What happened to the tough guys with the cameras? It was gonna be a fair fight..3 against 3? I mean i weigh a buck 40, your 200lbs and 6′6. - more of Travis' comments
************************************************
TRAVIS BARKER FLYING SOLO (AGAIN)
Spinnermusic reports: While blink-182 fans patiently await a new album from the reunited band, it appears that solo projects are all the rage with the members of the group. Travis Barker has recruited some big names for his forthcoming solo album.
The original announced guests made it sound like a hip-hop heavy effort with the likes of Lil Wayne, RZA and The Game making appearances but Barker now says that fans can expect an ecletic mix of music and announced an additional guest singer.
"I'm not singing or being an MC or anything," the Blink-182 Drummer tells Spinner. He goes on to talk about the special guests for the album, "I'm rounding it out right now," he said.
"I just love music. The more I can be around it the better, so with my album it's no one genre. It goes from everything from punk rock to hip-hop to some electro stuff on there to a metal song with Corey Taylor from Slipknot. It's been really fun and interesting up till now." - Read the Spinner report here
***********************************************
AS SEEN ON DVD - MiniReviews by JAS
SHERLOCK HOLMES' SMARTER BROTHER: I'm not sure why this isn't ranked up there with Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles - much of the same cast is in place. I just watched it on Encore Channel, for the first time since it was new in theaters in 1975. Tho Mel Brooks didn't direct, I heard his voice doing two cameos, so he was at least hanging around the set - Gene Wilder wrote and directed.
It's a little bittersweet to be laughing and then realize that Dom Deluise, Madeline Khan, Leo McKern, and Marty Feldman have all passed away --- but there are a lot of great scenes, from the Bunny Hop musical number(s) to the GREAT battle scene atop three rolling horse carriages, with Holmes and his nemesis grabbing giant sign props as they pass the shops, to use as weapons, like a giant hand and a giant foot...
And Marty Feldman as the Watson-like sidekick with "photographic hearing" - what a treat! Now if only the Encore Channel would show Wilder's OTHER forgotten self-made, Brooks-inspired vanity gem, World's Greatest Lover ---
AVATAR: I was prepared to not like Avatar, since most CGI characters leave me cold - but the pro-ecology POV and excellent blend of animations and live action won me over. Mr. Shepherd compares the story and execution to Pocahontas, but really it's more like an adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series. Guy goes to live in another world while asleep, falls for and mates with beautiful and kick-ass tough native lady, wins the respect of huge colored-skin alien dude (green on Mars, blue on Pandora), learns to lead the "savages" to victory over planetside military aggression - some to think of it, Cameron owes the Burroughs estate a bunch of money for this story ----
Now that I'm noting John Carter swipes, I see many more, right down to both main characters being formerly military men who have become privateers, just before finding themselves on another world, mixing with the alien natives.
There IS a Carter movie finally being made, I understand, tho the casting is a bit wonky – hard to picture Thomas Hayden Church as Hajus, let alone Willem “Green Goblin” DaFoe as Tars Tarkus, but I’ll checkitout anyway. The state of CGI tech would seem to give it a fair shot, with even the 15 foot tall Martians now fully possible to do. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Car...)
John Ratzenberger’s role hasn’t been specified yet, but I’m betting he’ll voice one of those ambulatory brain thingys….
PLANET OF THE APES: A forest planet for apes DOES make more sense than a sandy desert world, tho this is one of the few tweaks to the original that qualifies as any sort of improvement. Putting the "origin" story in the hands of goth cartoonatic Tim Burton is almost as misplaced an idea as it was to have Rod “Twilight Zone” Serling script the original version (very few of Serling's ideas, words, and social commentary actually made it onto the screen, despite him usually being cited as "screenwriter").
Perhaps this franchise should instead be restarted with a do-over, as in the second Hulk movie that attempted to cleanse the public’s palate of Eric Bana(l) – how cool would it be to see Remake of the Apes by Terry Gilliam and the crew behind Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth? Ooooh, or now that Sam Raimi is off Spidey Four….
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Top 5 Movies to Leave Playing While You Commit Suicide
5 - Pink Floyd, The Wall: Because its worldview is even more bleak than your own.
4 - Lisztomania: Since you're going to Hell anyway, why not Hollywood's own version of an Hieronymus Bosch painting.
3 - Chronicles of Narnia, UK TV show version: 'Cause nobody can survive thru to the ending.
2 - Natural Born Killers: It clearly has no respect for the sanctity life OR good film making, so why not?
1 - No Country For Old Men: 'Cause it sucks even worse than you.
THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE: A show well worth peeping. Starring the woman who played lady cop Annie in the U.S. version of the (woefully underrated) Life on Mars TV show, the Notorious Bettie Page is a pretty good movie. It goes into surprising depth RE the increasingly federalized attempts to legislate all aspects of the sex biz out of existence, as well as covering a lot of Miss Page's (very interesting) personal biographical history.
Star Gretchen Mol (who seems to specialize in period pieces - the '70s in Life on Mars, and now the '50s) does well with projecting both innocence and naughtiness. I've met part-time pornographer Bunny Yeager and can vouch that the movie's portrayal is fairly accurate, if a bit superficial - much more could have been done with the motivations behind choosing such an "outlaw" endeavor, in an social-status era when jail wasn't anywhere near the worst thing that could result.
All in all, tho, a well-done flick --
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE: Named after one of the weakest Beatles tunes, of around three dozen Beatlecentric cuts covered or referenced in the film, Across the Universe wants to ride the musical comeback wave of High School Musical, Moulin Rouge, or even Hedwig and the Angry Inch - instead, it falls off the board into Sgt Bee Gee's Pepperland and Cop Rock-ville. Why did they bother? And, more annoyingly, why did I watch it expecting anything different? You'd think I would have learned after All This and World War II ----
Top 5 WORST Beatles tunes:
5) Maxwell’s Silver Hammer (until/unless performed by Steve Martin, whose rendition comprises the four most watchable minutes of Sgt Bee Gee’s…)
4) Across the Universe (“Lyrics flying out like golden rain into a paper cut, they slither as they pass like turds…”)
3) Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da (I mean, the only reason Molly got into Desmond’s band was because Desmond liked her face – WTF?! Is this actually The Ballad of Paul and Linda?)
2) Lovely Rita (Just call the meter maid a b-tch and get over it already)
1) Martha My Dear (Like Lovely Rita, the dog this was named for was a total b-tch.)
Top 5 Worst Beatles Lyrics:
5) "Goo Goo G'Joob" (Gesundheit -- Here's a handkerchief. No, you keep it...)
4) "No one will be watching us, why don't we do it in the road" (Uh, guys, I think the middle of the road is the one place on Earth where EVERYone will be watching you!)
3) "And he told us of his life in the land of submarines" (Right before we executed him for Nazi war crimes, seeing as how subs only exist due to escalation of military kill-capability)
2) “Well here’s another clue for you all, the Walrus was Paul” (Yeah, we noticed the Walrus was HOLDING A BASS GUITAR – big whoopin’ clue).
1) “Honey pie, honey pie, honey pie, honey pie” (Don’t know if they were hungry or horny when they did that, but you can bet they were reeking like Tommy Chong’s beard)
SEX - THE ANNABEL CHONG STORY: I wrote Annabel's first big-budget movie, the superhero spoof Sordid Stories, and got to know her a bit while we worked on a comic book version of the film. I've regaled friends with tales of being on the set while she filmed porn scenes, but my best, er, sordid story about Annabel involves the time I drove her home from a 50-man...how to put this....uh...."back door" film shoot.
[WARNING - "YUCK" ALERT, read on at your own peril] So....While she was riding in my back seat, I kept looking in the, uh, rear view mirror, to see her (wearing a short dress) sliding back and forth across the vinyl bench seat every time I took the slightest turn or lane change. It was like I had a freakin' Slip-N-Slide back there or something. WTF?? After I dropped her off, I noticed my back seat was smeared with what I can only politely describe as, uh, leftover lubricant from her film shoot. Takes a lotta lube to accommodate 50 men.
Needless to say, that was the last time I gave Annabel a ride. I'm lucky her butt didn't stick to my back seat like a damp suction cup (although that WOULD have kept her more stationary, made less of a mess, and perhaps saved me the HUGE tip I had to give my car detailing guy later that day).
SHERLOCK HOLMES: I've long been a fan of the Doyle books, and the movie references countless things from the Doyle canon in a way that hardcore fans like me find delightful, but in an action movie context geared surprisingly well for the 21st century crowd, most of whom wouldn't know Sherlock Holmes from the Rolling Stones, or Sherlock's smarter brother Mycroft....
The flick uses a lot of flashy high tech supergraphics similar to the CSI TV shows (which, after all, begin and end as baldfaced Doyle/Holmes ripoffs-slash-tributes), without being SO modern as to feel like anachronisms. Coupled with almost relentless action scene after action scene, it was so engaging, and so filled with twists, both physical and philosophical, that I didn't want leave the room long enuff for a quick bathroom break. Every bit of the movie seemed to vital to miss ---
Lots of witty and intelligent stuff going on - I look forward to at least a couple of repeat viewings! For a VERY long time, the only TV or movie Holmes I've found acceptable are Basil Rathbone (by virtue of his radio incarnation more than the films), and Jeremy Brett from the PBS show (which are among the best direct-from-Doyle adaptations) - well, and maybe a couple of those weird shows with Matt Frewer/Max Headroom as Sherlock.
Now, and for some time to come, Robert Downey Jr. IS the personification of Mr. Holmes for me! Been digging his movie groove since his wonderful Chaplin biopic -- I doubt anybody would have bothered making this new movie without him. I hope the sequel they seemed to set up happens ----
************************************************
SAN DIEGO'S REELIN' IN THE YEARS CHRONICLES THE BRITISH INVASION
Dusty Springfield - Once Upon A Time 1964-1969
Small Faces - All Or Nothing 1965-1968
Herman's Hermits - Listen People 1964-1969
Gerry & The Pacemakers - It's Gonna Be All Right 1963-1965
The Invasion Arrives March 23, 2010
Over forty-five years after the Beatles sparked the legendary 'British Invasion' that forever changed the face of popular music, Reelin' In The Years Productions, in association with Voyage Digital Media, is proud to announce the release of the initial four DVDs in the new British Invasion series. The four titles are Dusty Springfield - Once Upon A Time 1964-1969, Small Faces - All Or Nothing 1965-1968, Gerry & The Pacemakers - It's Gonna Be All Right 1963-1965 and Herman's Hermits - Listen People 1964-1969. Distributed by Naxos of America Inc., all four DVDs will be available separately and as a deluxe boxset featuring a bonus fifth disc with over 2 hours of additional content.
Produced by Reelin' In The Years Productions, each DVD features complete 1960's television performances filmed at the time the songs were hits and while the artists were at the height of their careers. Interspersed between the performances, original band members and others who helped create their classic music, talk about each song and recount special moments in the history of the group. In addition, all performances have been transferred from the original master tapes and include best-possible video and remastered audio. Each DVD also includes a 24-page booklet with insights and essays by noted rock historians as well as previously unseen photos and memorabilia. The series, originally released only in the UK in September of 2009, has received both commercial success and critical acclaim, with four-star reviews and inclusion in many year-end “Best Of 2009" lists in the British music press.
Reelin' In the Years is the San Diego-based company that has produced some of the most highly-regarded anthology DVD series including the four-volume, GRAMMY-nominated American Folk Blues Festival series, the multi-platinum selling Definitive Motown series (Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles) and the award winning Jazz Icons series. As in all of their projects, each DVD is produced with the full support and cooperation of the artists or their estates.
Notes about each of the four individual releases:
DUSTY SPRINGFIELD - Once Upon A Time 1964 - 1969
Features 20 definitive complete television performances by Britain's greatest pop diva including “You Don't Have To Say You Love Me," “Son Of A Preacher Man," “Wishin' And Hopin'" and “I Only Want To Be With You." Dusty's story is told through new interviews with Burt Bacharach, Madeline Bell (who sang back-up for Dusty in the '60s), Simon Bell (Dusty's back-up singer from the '70s to the '90s), and a newly discovered interview from 1978 with Dusty herself. Bonus features include Dusty's complete 1965 and 1966 New Musical Express Poll Winners Concert appearances as well as a duet with Burt Bacharach on “A House Is Not A Home." Annie Randall, Dusty's biographer, wrote the accompanying essay.
SMALL FACES - All Or Nothing 1965 - 1968
In the mid-1960's the Small Faces challenged the Who, Kinks, Rolling Stones and even the Beatles for UK chart domination. This is the band's first official anthology and features 27 complete performances capturing every aspect of their brief but brilliant run including early Mod/R&B classics such as “What'cha Gonna Do About It", “Sha La La La Lee" and “All Or Nothing", timeless rockers like “Tin Soldier" and later psychedelic treasures including “Itchycoo Park", and “Green Circles." Nine songs are included from the band's masterwork Ogden's Nut Gone Flake including “Lazy Sunday", “Song Of A Baker", the title track and the six song “Happiness Stan" suite. Also included are interviews filmed exclusively for the DVD with original members Ian McLagan, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston as well as archival interviews with the late Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane. The 24-page booklet includes an informative essay by pop historian Ken Sharp as well as rare in-studio photographs by famed engineer Eddie Kramer.
GERRY & THE PACEMAKERS - It's Gonna Be All Right 1963 - 1965
The first band ever to have their first three singles top the British charts, Gerry & The Pacemakers rivaled the Beatles in the early years of the British Invasion. Their first official anthology DVD features 17 classic complete performances including the smash hits “How Do You Do It?," “I Like It" and “You'll Never walk Alone" as well as the timeless classics “Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" and “Ferry Cross The Mersey." Also included is an interview with Garry Marsden that was conducted exclusively for the DVD at Liverpool's legendary Cavern Club. Bill Harry, founder/publisher of Mersey Beat, the music paper that originally chronicled the Liverpool scene, also tells the band's story both on screen and in his accompanying liner notes.
HERMAN'S HERMITS - Listen People 1964-1969
The DVD is their first official anthology chronicling their meteoric rise melding a traditional British music hall influence with good time rock 'n roll. Among the 22 full-length performances are all of their biggest hits including “I'm Into Something Good," “Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter," “I'm Henry VIII, I Am" and their later evocative masterpieces “No Milk Today," and “Listen People." The Herman's Hermits' story is told by original members Peter Noone, Keith Hopwood, Karl Green and Barry Whitwam as well as in the accompanying essay by GRAMMY-winning music historian Rob Bowman. A complete concert filmed in 1966 for Australian television is included as a bonus feature.
(David Peck with Elvis Costello, courtesy Reelin' In the Years)
David Peck's Reelin' in the Years Productions maintains an archive of over 10,000 filmed musical performances, as well as representing others with footage to license for broadcast or video releases. VH1 probably couldn't make shows like I Love the '70s and Behind the Music without Peck's ever-growing database of footage.
Peck told staff writer Dave Good about how the Reader played a role in his Grammy-winning career as a music video archivist.
“I was in Off the Record one night. I was 18 at the time. The guy who worked there turned me on to all these great Stones videos. This was ’84, when video collectors were underground. There was no YouTube; there was nothing. Collecting videos was a swapping thing. So he turned me on to this great rare stuff — the Stones playing with Muddy Waters — and that’s when I got the bug and started collecting.”
“In ’86, John D’Agostino, who was then writing for the Reader, wrote an article about me as a collector, and it kinda went from there. I started doing research and consulting on projects. By ’98, I started representing video libraries, and now I have amassed the world’s largest library of music footage.”
Peck once told me a great story about locally-shot footage that includes longtime local DJ Jim McIness.
Reelin' holds a piece of historical footage featuring McInnes, which it has licensed for use to VH1. "I got ahold of a piece of film that was shot at a backyard party here in San Diego , around 1981," he says. "Weird Al Yankovic was there, before he really broke big, when he was still doing 'Another One Rides the Bus' on [syndicated radio show] Dr. Demento. Jim is playing with him, and he's playing Weird Al's accordion and somebody comes by and spills beer on the thing. Weird Al got really upset with him, because it was a brand new accordion! And Jim is just shrugging his shoulders, like, 'hey, it's just an accordion, not a Les Paul,' but Weird Al wasn't laughing. Shows which one of them actually had the sense of humor, huh?"
McInnes explained to me in a phone interview "What happened was that my friend tried to pour a beer in my mouth while my hands were occupied trying to play accordion for the first time, and it spilled into the [instrument's] bellows. [Weird] Al was a good sport about it - he'd just had the accordion cleaned!"
reports: Tom DeLonge, frontman for blink-182, has cut the price on his Rancho Santa Fe home to just under $5 million, about 25% less than what he spent on the house, renovations and décor.
The single-story house, first listed for $6.25 million in 2007, sits on 1.1 acres in a gated golf community of Rancho Santa Fe, about 25 miles north of San Diego. The guitarist and vocalist paid $5.5 million for the house in 2005 with his wife, Jennifer, an interior designer who redecorated the home. The five-bedroom, five-bath house of 6,500 square feet was built in 2003 and comes with a pool. The DeLonges are looking for a bigger property for their family, according to their agent, Laura Barry of Barry Estates.
I guess it makes sense that rockers as rich as the guys in blink 182 can afford to deep discount. "I guess this is growing up..." and all that, dontcha know.
So it's kind of a hoot to discover that in 2007, three years before Tom DeLonge opted out of homeownership in Rancho Santa Fe, the debut album by +44 with Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker included a track dissing Hoppus' former neighbors in oh-so-upscale neighborhood.
His rage against the Rancho is mainly directed at the neighborhood's homeowners association. Hoppus told newstimeslive.com “There's a song called ‘Lillian’ on the record that's about people that try to control other people's lives...And there's a place in San Diego called Rancho Santa Fe, which is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been in my life. It's country sides, rolling hills, there's trees everywhere. It's this gorgeous place, and it's filled with some of the most backstabbing, evil, just bitter, bitter people in the world."
"The homeowners association is very strict and it's strange because everybody who lives there is very wealthy…They're just bitter and it's a sour, sour community. The woman who started the homeowners association there is a woman named Lillian. So it's kind of about people trying to control one another.”
Hoppus seems pretty bitter and sour himself, judging from the tune's lyrics:
"The place I used to live, made me feel like a tourist - I couldn't coexist with the cold and suspicious - When the last remaining left was starting to filter - It seemed the perfect time to step into the future
Your heart is no grave to be perfectly honest - Your mouth's a smoking gun -And you smile while your twisting the knife in my stomach - Until everything is gone - Take all you can from me I've got weak constitution - I'm led so easily So easily
I left it all behind, in the dead of last winter - I left it all behind, but the question still lingers - So long forgotten friends, no, you don't know the difference - Between love and submission, and I'm not that obedient
I expect the next +44 album will include a tirade against Hoppus' Porsche mechanic ("Fixed my air with faulty parts, now my leather interior smells like farts").
************************************************
"TOO MANY TRAILS, MAN" - OR "WHY I STOPPED TAKING PSYCHEDELIC DRUGS....."
Because who can get any work done with all THIS going on????
************************************************
COMING IN 2010 - ROCK 'N' ROLL COMICS: JOAN JETT AND THE RUNAWAYS
Here's a sneak peek at the cover art for the full-color Runaways issue of Rock 'N' Roll Comics, which will be released to tie in to the Runaways movie --- www.myspace.com/rocknrollcomics
Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics: The Runaways with Joan Jett and Lita Ford
Writer: Spike Steffenhagen, Jay Allen Sanford
Artists: Joe Paradise, Larry Nadolsky
Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics presents the Runaways, the ‘70s jailbait rockers whose story is wild and crazy enough to merit both a feature film starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning and an even more revealing no-punches-pulled comic book bio! Three complete full-color stories chronicle the rise and fall of the Runaways themselves, as well as going far beyond the bio-pic to also cover the solo careers of band stars Joan Jett and Lita Ford.
Scripted by rock ‘n’ roll historian Spike Steffenhagen (Kiss: Comic From the Elder) and San Diego Reader columnist Jay Allen Sanford, this lovingly illustrated edition features art by Joe Paradise (Overheard in San Diego) and Larry Nadolsky (Deposit Man). Unauthorized and proud of it!
The government is handing out Trillions. Now you can too! Help spread the wealth and holiday cheer by forwarding this Trillion Dollar gift to all of your friends! Print and pass it on!
Shipping in Autumn 2010 from Bluewater Productions
ROCK 'N' ROLL COMICS - The Led Zeppelin Experience:
The Led Zeppelin saga is one of the wildest in rock history, and this graphic novel pulls no punches in dramatizing the backstage, behind-the-scenes story. From their early days as the New Yardbirds on through their rise to superstardom (and controversy), all five issues of the original Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics series are collected in one rockin’ volume, with art by Scott Pentzer (Razor), Marshall Ross (Deepest Dimension), David Neer (Sports Superstars), Francois Escalmel (Frank Zappa: Viva La Bizarre), and others. The collection also includes update material, bringing the saga up to 2010.
************************************************
SHIPPING SUMMER 2010: ROCK 'N' ROLL CARTOON HISTORY - THE SIXTIES
Here's the first look at the cover art for the 300 page graphic novel Rock 'N' Roll Cartoon History: The Sixties, shipping summer 2010 from Bluewater Productions. www.bluewaterprod.com -- www.myspace.com/rocknrollcomics
***********************************************
THE RETURN OF ROCK 'N' ROLL COMICS!
Here's a sneak peek at the first promo art for the locally-produced Rock 'N' Roll Comics: Hard Rock Heroes, a 400 page graphic novel shipping from Bluewater Productions in early 2010, as well as the 240 page Beatles Experience comic, the Pink Floyd Experience, Led Zeppelin Experience, the Elvis Presley Experience, and more -
JAS
First, here's the first look at the Elvis Presley Experience cover art:
And here's the scoop and a first look at the cover of the Pink Floyd Experience:
The Pink Floyd Experience: All five issues of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics series The Pink Floyd Experience have been out of print and in demand for over fifteen years. As showcased in Pink Floyd’s own official box CD set Shine On, the Floyd comics chronicle rock’s most enigmatic psychedelic warriors, from their early dayz with stoner icon Syd Barrett, through their split (and later reformation). With art by Marvel and DC star Ken Landgraf (Wolverine, Hawkman, Nightwing & Flamebird, etc.), the collection also includes update material, bringing the saga up to 2010.
Hard Rock Heroes: What goes together better than comics and rock music? With almost 300 pages of Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics, Hard Rock Heroes goes WAY beyond Behind the Music, to tell the real life, behind-the-scenes stories of rock’s most heavy hitters. Creators include Stuart Immonen(Superman: End of the Century),Ken Landgraf(Wolverine),Jay Allen Sanford(Overheard in San Diego..), Todd Loren(Beatles Experience), Scott Pentzer (Razor), Mike Sagara(Ninja High School), and many others.
Hard Rock Heroes is a book-length pictorial history, covering bands like Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Van Halen, Motley Crue, Poison, Megadeth, Pantera, Anthrax, Motorhead, Sammy Hagar, and more. The cinematic stories are realistically drawn, researched from countless photo and video archives, with an encyclopedic eye toward visual accuracy, dramatic flair, and journalistic depth.
Also includes the never-before published “missing” Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics #8 from 1990, on Skid Row. The lack of an eighth issue has vexed collectors and catalogers for years – exactly 20 years later, the story can finally be told, and collectors can finally own ALL the Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics!
As a bonus treat, Hard Rock Heroes also features the Motley Crue comic story from their official box CD set Music To Crash Your Car To II, released in 2004 and written and drawn by original Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics creators Lyndal Ferguson and Larry Nadolsky. Shipping February 2010.
(colors: Christie Maconnell)
"Great ideas, like the marriage of rock 'n' roll and comics, have the half-life of Uranium and will always be popular," says series co-creator Jay Allen Sanford, who has worked on over 200 reality-based comic books and thousands of similar cartoon strips for the San Diego Reader, as well as for magazines like Rip, Spin, and Oui. "The folks at Bluewater clearly have their fingers on the same pop culture pulse that enabled the original Rock 'N' Roll Comics to become one of the top-selling indie comics of the '90s. Truth is often stranger than fiction...and certainly much more interesting!"
The Beatles are bigger than ever, now available online for the first time digitally, on the Vegas stage in “Love,” and in the new Beatles: Rock Band video game. Now comes the most comprehensive and encyclopedic illustrated Beatles story ever, the Beatles Experience! Over 200 pages, dramatizing one of the most compelling tales in pop culture history, drawn from thousands of photos and interviews, meticulously researched and featuring stunning art by Mike Sagara (Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics) and Stuart Immonen (Legion of Super Heroes, Ultimate X-Men).
Covering the Beatles’ lives from birth and beyond their breakup, dramatized in dialogue and scene recreations more akin to a film bio than a mere documentary, the Beatles Experience also includes a Chronolog timeline going down each page, with encyclopedia background and footnotes detailing related events happening at the same time in the world, in music, and in the Beatles’ own tumultuous and extraordinary lives.
The Led Zeppelin Experience:
The Led Zeppelin saga is one of the wildest in rock history, and this graphic novel pulls no punches in dramatizing the backstage, behind-the-scenes story. From their early days as the New Yardbirds on through their rise to superstardom (and controversy), all five issues of the original Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics series are collected in one rockin’ volume, with art by Scott Pentzer (Razor), Marshall Ross (Deepest Dimension), David Neer (Sports Superstars), Francois Escalmel (Frank Zappa: Viva La Bizarre), and others. The collection also includes update material, bringing the saga up to 2010.
YOKO ONO COMICS AND STORIES - When Johnny Met Yoko, with dialogue and captions paraphrased from published Lennon interviews. Plus John Lennon: A Life in the Day
READER EXCLUSIVE - For the first time anywhere on the web, here's the promo trailer for Star Trek: The Continuing Mission, episode six: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/audioclips/66/
************************************************
The Twilight Zone made it's TV debut 50 years ago, on 10-2-59 - we asked local musicos to tell us their own favorite Zone episodes --- (more "What's Your Favorite Twilight Zone?" )
***********************************************
THE ROCKETEER AND OTHER FAMOUS '80S COMICS BEGAN RIGHT HERE IN SAN DIEGO - Here's a detailed history of local Pacific Comics, who recruited comic superstars like Jack Kirby to create one of the first successful indie comic book lines. Pioneers in the fight for comic creators' rights and royalties, former employees and operators reveal how they did it, and what went so terribly wrong...
THE KOMPLETE KISS KOMIX KRONICLES - Comprehensive collection of stuff I’ve done about working with Kiss on a comic book series in San Diego, along with a bunch of never-before-seen artifacts from the Kiss Komix archives AND an article by Kiss comic author Spike Steffenhagen, offering his own very-different take, ala Rashomon, on the same events I describe in my essay...
ROCK 'N' ROLL COMICS: THE INSIDE STORY - In 1989, San Diego's Revolutionary Comics ("Unauthorized And Proud Of It") launched Rock 'N' Roll Comics, featuring unlicensed biographies of rock stars, most of which I wrote. Some performers, like Frank Zappa and Kiss, were supportive, while others like New Kids On The Block considered our comics akin to bootlegs and sued. In June 1992, publisher Todd Loren was found dead in his San Diego condo, brutally murdered...
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK VS REVOLUTIONARY COMICS - The inside story of how a hugely successful boy band tried to sue local-based Rock 'N' Roll Comics over an unauthorized biography of the group, sparking a court case that established, for the very first time, first amendment rights for comic books. Illustrated by comic superstar Stuart Immonen (Superman, etc.)...
OVER A MILLION CARNAL COMICS ARE IN PRINT - Here's how and why we made some of the top-selling erotic comics of all time, right here in San Diego, including what Gene Simmons has to do with it all, backstage tales of porn stars, and more confessions of a comic pornographer...
COMICS AND CENSORSHIP - DON'T BE AFRAID, IT'S ONLY A COMIC BOOK - A local-centric history of comic book censorship, and the fight for the rights of comic creators...
TWILIGHT ZONE AND STAR TREK WRITER GEORGE CLAYTON JOHNSON PRESENTS - The inside story of a local horror comic book series featuring Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, plus sci-fi king Larry Niven, Zap Comix co-founder Spain Rodriguez, Matthew Alice artist Rick Geary, Vampire Lestat painter Daerick Gross, yours truly JAS, and many more...
THE BIRTH OF IMAGE COMICS: INSIDE STORY OF A LOCAL PUBLISHING POWERHOUSE - Illustrated tale revealing how Spawn creator Todd McFarlane and local comic artist Jim Lee (the Punisher, etc.) conspired to create the ultimate creator-owned comic books...
"Before It Was The Gaslamp: Balboa's Last Stand" - Cover story 6-21-07: In the late 70s/early 80s, I worked at downtown San Diego's grindhouse all-night movie theaters, for the owner of the Pussycat Theatre chain, Vince Miranda - this detailed feature recalls those dayz, the death of the Balboa Theatre, etc.
"Battle Of The Peeps" - feature article about a weird gig I had in the mid-'80s, running a strip club called Jolar, for the nation's second biggest pornographer, Harry Mohney (Deja Vu Showgirls founder).
"Field Of Screens" - Cover story 7-6-06: Complete theater-by-theater history of San Diego drive-ins thru the years, including a few which screened X-rated fare for awhile.
"Pussycat Theaters - When 'Cathouses Ruled California" -- for the first time, the detailed inside story of the west coast Pussycat Theater chain of adult moviehouses, which peaked in the '70s but later died out. Told by those who actually ran the theaters!
VIDEO: From the Overheard and Famous in San Diego art gallery opening 3-29-10 at the Ruby Room, with selected artwork from 15 years of Overheard and Famous Former Neighbors comics in the Reader - Cathryn Beeks and Sven-Erik Seaholm performing (for the first time!) the popular Overheard in San Diego theme song!
VIRTUAL JEWEL IS SWEET AND WILD
Antimusic reports: ClubCorp announces that it has teamed with FIRST SPIN to simulcast live, in experiential High-Definition format, an exclusive virtual concert and album-launch event by Jewel in 34 of its private clubs in 30 cities across the country.
The June 7, 2010, event, preceding by just days the release of her new "Sweet and Wild" album, will provide members and guests with the unique opportunity to experience Jewel's telecast studio performance with the feel of watching live in an intimate venue.
Members and guests attending this exclusive, innovative event, at a cost of $50 per ticket (tickets are limited), will enjoy a private club setting to watch the concert on a 10-by-10-foot screen. - more on this story
LOCALS ON THE RISE: STEVE PHILLIPS AND THE PESCADERO PICKERS
Originally known as Six Foot Set, and then Men in Blue, surf rockers Steve Phillips and the PescaderoPickers was formed in OceanBeach by friends who’d gone to school together. Though using only a sequencer for drums, they landed a slot as house band at Fiddler’s and at Sadie's/DVO in WarnerSprings, as well as playing the Del Mar fairgrounds.
Steve Phillips grew up in OceanBeach, and entered the local music scene in the late 1960s with his group, The Inmates.The Inmates was one of a handful of bands that played San Diego’s large dance venues popular at that time; the WarMemorialBuilding in BalboaPark, San Diego State College, UCSD Elliot, OB and Santa Clara Rec. Centers, and others.
The Inmates teamed with songwriter June Jackson, and recorded in LA in 1967-68.Their single “This is the Day” on the Kopit label made local top-40 charts in many outlying markets.The Vietnam draft effectively put an end to the Inmates in 1968-69.All members of the band survived the war, but never played together again.
Dennis Dobler grew up in the same neighborhood as Steve, and graduated from Point Loma High School one year earlier, in 1963.Although Dennis and Steve were loosely acquainted through surfing and a mutual friend, they never performed together.
Dennis too was drafted, and served a tour of duty in Viet Nam.After returning from the war, he began writing music and performing in local coffee houses with Gary Grissom, also a guitarist and songwriter from the OB neighborhood.
Darrell Killingsworthgrew up in Long Beach, California, and graduated from RichardHenryDanaHigh School.Darrell has played drums and percussion for numerous LA area bands over the years.He is also an accomplished guitarist.
An incredible turn of events brought Darrell into Steve’s world a mere two years ago.Darrell was welcomed to the extended Music Family that Steve, Dennis and other area musicians had been a part of for years.He was one of the missing puzzle pieces to what would later become the Pescaderos band.
Tommy Sanchez walked out of a dark backcountry night and into the Dodge Valley Oasis where the Pescadero Pickers were performing as the house trio.A local acquaintance approached Steve and asked if Tommy, his buddy, could set in on a harp number.Steve reluctantly agreed, and brought the stranger to the mike near the end of the evening.Tommy blew the roof off the place.We signed him to a lifetime contract. Tommy’s hometown is Escondido, California.
In 2009, the band appeared on a compilation album of OB bands, Waves. In 2010, they won the Reader's Famous Former Neighbors Song Contest. Bandleader Steve Phillips answered our queries:
Can you describe your music for readers who may not have heard?
The foundation of our act is classic blues; Stevie Ray Vaughn, BB King, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and the like.We are also big fans of Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, Chuck Berry, and manyother 1960-70-ish rockers.Finally, we do a handful of originals to round out the sets.
Long programs of pure blues formulae get monotonous for some folks.For this reason, we have been known to throw in some stuff completely out of left field every now and then; kind of a palate cleanser for the ears.Sometimes we go back to our roots and grind out a couple of Ventures surf instrumentals, or pull out the accordion and do a polka.
What’s in your CD player now?
Stevie Ray Vaughn, “The Real Deal”; What can I say? The Cat could play!
The Meters, “Funkify Your Life”; New Orleans Funk Groove at it’s best. You’ll hear this influence in the bottom end of some of our original tunes.
Electric Flag, “Long Time Comin’”: Mike Bloomfield’s 1967 super-group. Together for less than a year, they recorded one of the best blues-rock albums of all time.
Various groups, “Golden Age of Doo Wop”; I love this stuff. I was a little kid when this was goin’ down, but it really made an impression.Sure, some of this era’s music is truly awful, but the best tunes are still among the most romantic ever recorded.
Coco Montoya, “Just Let Go”; Local LA boy makes good! Smokin’ guitar; Really tears it up live.
What would your grade school teachers say about you?
Well, my grade school teachers would be 90 to 100 years old now, so not much.
What's your best/most effective pickup line?
“Get in the car, I have a gun!”JUST KIDDING * JUST KIDDING
Do you have any fears or phobias?
Yeah.The first 27 years of my life were free of all irrational fears. I first experienced intense fear at the San Francisco airport, on my way home from a business trip.It was a warm September afternoon, and I was onboard a packed PSA 727 about to take off for the return flight to San Diego.
Something went wrong, and the pilot shut the plane down.As we sat on the tarmac, the cabin temperature began to climb.A half-hour went by, and all the babies and kids aboard were now crying and screaming.The heat was now suffocating, and I started to feel trapped.
I WANTED OFF THE PLANE!!!I wanted to run to the exit, pound on the door, and scream.Instead, I just gritted my teeth, and clutched the arm rests for what seemed like forever.
I had just learned first-hand what claustrophobia is all about.I have flown countless times since then, but I have never been completely comfortable with being sealed in an airplane since that day.
What was your first pet?
I started life on my Grandparents’ farm in southern Indiana. I got my first pet when I was four years old. It was a goose, and his name was Wilmer.We ate him for Thanksgiving.He was delicious!
Worst TV commercial ever?
I find comic value in commercials for local businesses featuring sports celebrities.You know, you’ve seen them:The sports celebrity wears his jersey, and holds a football or baseball bat while reading a prepared pitch in an emotionless monotone, followed by the business guy coming on camera, patting him on the ass, and saying something patronizing.
Who should play you in a movie?
Mel Gibson, for sure.We’re the same age, although you wouldn’t know it; He has a much better makeup crew than I do.I love the way he plays the sweet-guy-gone-psycho because of some heinous, unprovoked, atrocity in his past.In my movie, however, he would write and perform some epic blues tunes instead of embarking on a spree of revenge killings.
Psychics - real or fake?
I KNEW you were going to ask that!!
Ever seen a ghost or UFO?
Not since my late teens when I lived in the Haight-Ashbury District of San Francisco.Ghosts and UFO’s were pretty much a daily occurrence. The aliens were intrusive, and annoying. They never had stash of their own, were always whining about something, had crabs, and smelled bad.
Ideal superpower (and what would you do with it)?
I would love to be able to see just 1 hour into the future.My work-year would immediately shrink from a grueling 52 weeks, to a more acceptable 43-day racing season at the Del Mar track.
Worst movie you've seen?
Man, that’s a hard one.There have been some really bad flicks.‘Ishtar’ is probably the worst of the worst.Why?I don’t know where to begin…..Utterly, totally, awful to the core!
What video game are you into playing now?
I don’t play video games anymore.I write and record music, and practice my instruments, in the time slot that used to be for video games.
I’m old enough to remember when Pong was a jaw-dropping wonder of modern technology, so I burned out on games early relative to most.I think my last true addiction was Super Mario Brothers, so you get the idea.
Magazine subscription you always renew?
Surfer.I have a nearly uninterrupted collection of Surfer mags, going back to the beginning.Today’s mags are crap compared to the old days:Nothing but advertising and glamour shots of the pros surfing Indo, Pipe, etc.Nothing anymore for average Joe’s like me who live for
4-foot OB, or 6-foot Cliffs.I keep meaning to stop the subscription, but haven’t done so yet.Oh look, my May issue just fell through the mail slot!Cowabunga!!
Best advice you ever got?
That would have to be Mr. Lloyd, my first landlord.He accurately predicted in 1975 that the price of the average house in OceanBeach would one day exceed $50,000, and encouraged me to buy anything and everything I could.OF COURSE, I didn’t listen.A big Homer “DOH” on that one.
Most visited websites?
San Diego Reader; What’s happening around town,
Sign On San Diego (U-T); Local and national news,
Musician’s Friend; An online “Toys ‘R Us” for musicians.
Surfline & Surfshot; Surf reports and features, local surfcams.
San Diego Fish; Reports and forums for San Diego fishermen.
Mac or PC?
The only Macs in my life are the big ones I buy and consume beneath the Golden Arches.
What’s the best thing you’ve ever won?
That’s Easy: A golf tournament “Closest to Pin” prize; A set of Callaway clubs and bag.
It’s important to say up front, I don’t golf.Well, I go out with a bag of clubs and whack at the little white ball, but I wouldn’t call what I do “golf”.Long way of saying, I’m a municipal course hacker.
Just the same, I beat out 143 other golfers in a best-ball tournament by sinking a shot on the Closest to Pin hole from 135 yards out.My first, and probably last, hole-in-one, the one time it counted!
Yeee-Hawww!
What’s your drink of choice?
Paulaner Salvator double bock beer.If it’s a special occasion, add single shots of brandy to each bottle.Warning:Don’t try this at home without proper supervision!I’m a trained professional!
First book you remember reading?
The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway.Papa writes a masterpiece using no more than a 3rd grade vocabulary.If you’ve never read it, I highly recommend you do.
Something about you few would know or guess?
I don’t think many people know that I pray every day.I pray for the health and well-being of my family, my friends, and all of the folks out there who struggle from day-to-day to be decent people and live honorable lives.I keep my faith to myself, and am outwardly a very earthy guy.For this reason, the importance to me of a strong spiritual life would probably surprise some.
THE DONKEYS TO PORTRAY FICTIONAL 60S BAND ON TV'S LOST FINALE ON MAY 23?
Paste Magazine reports: Lost is so littered with literary and pop culture references, it’s hard to keep up with every book, TV character or musician mentioned—whether they’re real or imagined. One imagined bit of pop culture that worked its way into the show several times is the Grateful Dead-esque band Geronimo Jackson, the creation of Lost writer Eddy Kitsis.
The fictional band—a 1970s rock group with psychedelic leanings as judged by its logo—appeared on a minor character’s t-shirt in one episode, and was heard on a Dharma van radio in another, according to Wired.
Kitsis, who had dreams of Grateful Dead rock stardom growing up, wanted to turn Geronimo Jackson into the real deal. After learning of The Donkeys from friend and Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn, Kitsis enlisted the San Diego quartet to rework its “Excelsior Lady” into “Dharma Lady,” and a real-life Lost band was born. A snippet of “Dharma Lady” was featured on the show in 2009 before finding its way to iTunes, and its rumored that Geronimo Jackson will be making its way into the series finale on May 23. (read more at http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2010/05/lost-writer-brings-fictional-band-to-life.html)
The Donkeys are Jessie Gulati, Anthony Lukens, Sam Sprague, and Tim DeNardo, who have been friends since high school. They shared a rehearsal space together as part of different bands. But when those bands stopped practicing, they came together and started creating songs and playing shows. Though two of the band members surf, nobody would accuse their country cooked, burrito baked songs of being surf music.
They were mentioned in the May 2008 issue of Spin, and featured on National Public Radio, as well as recording several live sets for Daytrotter.com, a studio-concert website. After being signed to the Dead Oceans record label, whose roster also includes Dirty Projectors, These Are the Powers, Bishop Allen, and Phosphorescent.
The Donkeys album Living on the Other Side was released in September 2008. Sam Sprague's brother Andrew usually joins the band for tours, as an auxiliary musician.
Rosey Bystrak at http://www.sddialedin.com reports on the Festival of Beers held on Sunday, May 2, where she was pouring next to the booth operated by Rock Bottom brewery. City rules required the vendors to stop serving beer at 5:30pm - following excerpts her subsequent blog entry:
Last year...the organizers went booth by booth to make sure taps were removed. This year, it was left to the brewers who stalled, just trying to get rid of product.
In the booth next to me, where Natalie had worked her shift, a volunteer was being cited for pouring after 5:30. She reluctantly handed her ID to the cop who was nailing her, and it was clear that she did not understand her infraction. When the Rock Bottom honcho caught wind of what was happening, he attempted to defend her, and while I was out of earshot, I saw the cop push him, and with help of an Elite security who put him in a chokehold, he was thrown to the ground and subsequently arrested. While the event as a whole was successful, it is unfortunate that it ended on such a sour note. Should a citation be given? Perhaps. Throwing a donating brewer to the ground? I call unnecessary and excessive force on that one. #FTP.
ADAM LAMBERT IN YOUR FACE, MEGADETH OFF THE RADIO, MORE
Adam Lambert will embark on his first solo tour in June, playing 19 U.S. dates and bringing fellow "Idol" rocker Allison Iraheta along for part of the ride. more
Antimusic Reports: Megadeth and Slayer have confirmed that they will each perform, start to finish, their 1990 releases - Slayer's world-wide, million-selling Seasons In The Abyss and Megadeth's Platinum Rust In Peace - on the upcoming Canadian and American Carnage Tours.
The six-date Canadian Carnage kicks off July 23 in Quebec City, while the 19-city American Carnage dates begin August 11 in Glens Falls, NY (complete itinerary is below). With Slayer and Megadeth co-headlining, Testament will be Special Guest on all dates.
The American Carnage Tour, originally scheduled to take place in January and February, had to be postponed due to Slayer vocalist/bassist Tom Araya's treatment for severe back pain, an occupational hazard for the rocker who is known for aggressively swinging his long mane of hair while performing. - more on this story
Stone Temple Pilots will post a track from their new self titled album every week on Amazon.com leading up to the May 25 release. The promotion kicked off on Friday when they posted the first song "Between The Lines." Check it out here
Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford will hit the road this summer and fall 2010, for his first solo tour in more than seven years. Halford remarks: "I am pleased to be releasing Crucible - Remixed & Remastered; along with Halford - Live In Anaheim DVD and CDs this year,' adds Rob Halford. 'The Halford band have not toured for more than seven years, and everyone knows how important my solo work is to me. While the other members of Judas Priest enjoy a well-deserved break for the remainder of 2010, I am very excited about getting Halford onto as many stages as we can before year's end." more
BEATLE BUSTED IN SAN DIEGO!!
A member of a Beatles tribute band was arrested by San Diego police after performing during a morning TV news show.
Authorities said they had been looking for Theodore Felicetti, who plays Paul McCartney in the band, for more than a year. He was wanted on a failure to appear warrant related to a drunk driving case, San Diego police Cpl. Scott Merritt told Fox 5 San Diego.
Merritt said officers recently looked at the band's Facebook page and noticed an upcoming appearance on Fox 5 Morning News, complete with the time and location (Fox 5 is owned by Tribune, which also owns the Los Angeles Times).
"That made things easy for me and my partner," Merritt said. "We parked up the street and heard the band playing as we walked to the station."
Police arrived at the station's Kearny Mesa studio several minutes before 9 a.m. as the band Help was playing a cover of "I Am the Walrus." They waited until the band finished playing, then arrested Felicetti, Help's base player, without incident.
Erick Allen Wales, 24 has been missing since Monday April 19.
"It is not in his character and he's not someone who takes risks," said friend Julie Kesterson.
Wales was last seen on Monday around 6:30 a.m. in Mission Valley leaving for work. He was wearing a black shirt and blue jeans. He has light brown hair and blue eyes and is 6 foot and 140 pounds. He sometimes wear's glasses. He drives a Black Saturn Ion, with the license plate FR33BSD (FreeBSD is an open source operating systems) and it has a broken right side mirror.
He stops at an ATM of the 15 freeway near Aero Drive. At 8:00 a.m., a call was made to Wales' cell phone but it went directly to voice mail. All other phone calls have gone to voice mail and it appears the phone has been turned off.
There was a report that he was spotted around Island and 5th Avenue, where Wales has gone in the past. Police checked, but he was not found.
Wales was a member of the San Diego band Dehra Dun and played the keytar. Wales worked for San Diego Channel 6 in the IT Dept. and now works in IT at various other companies.
"Never misses calls home, never misses emails to friends or associates. To have him drop off suddenly, that's suspicious," said Lt. Ernie Herbert of the San Diego Police Department.
"Whenever I needed a problem solved, he was the one I went to," said Joshua Zimmerman, his roommate of 7 years.
Technology is reaching out to search for him via Twitter #finderickwales and #erickwales. For more information visit www.finderickwales.com.
If you have any information please contact the San Diego Police Department at (619) 531-2000 or email [email protected].
LOCALS ART ---- a few locals who've appeared in the Reader comix ---
More later!
********TODAY'S "WHAT THE F-CK" ALBUM COVER
You laugh, but you should hear this soulful mama belting out "These Boots Were Made For Walking" and "Hard Day's Night"! You'll laugh even harder...
And this is AFTER he pimped his ride!
What makes this so WTF isn't the clothes - it's the medieval dungeon they look so comfortable in...
And OTHER skiing songs?!?!?! That first one killed the dude!!
If you ever see me at a party that looks anything like this WTF-shindig --- pleeeze KILL ME!
Rated WTF, too scary for kids OR adults...
"God Isn't Dead" - he's just partying up a storm! Liquor bottles, hypo needles, the peep shadow of a seductive dame - lady, are you preaching or selling?
Either that guitar is gigantic, or that's one tiny effin bobblehead zombie!
Why Easy Rider centerfold painters should never draw album covers...
This cover illustrates how I feel while listening to Lady GaGa -
So he'd rather stroke his loaf (with a swollen red tip) than dance with a dame??
First record ever owned by John Hinkley.
Who cares about young Jack Burns and George, when there's two gigantic mutant Playmates in the room?!
WTF is this dumbass looking at US?!?! And WTF is the Open Face Sandwich Club?
Where oh where to start - the guy's giant pointy elf shoes? The mysterious brown liquid seeping out from between the girl's legs and onto the floor? The Beep Beep poster with inexplicable ocean motif? The hemorroid donut mounted on a wall with garden trellis?
If Love Ain't Nothin' But a Business, guess who just declared bankruptcy?
Thanks to everyone who came out to the Overheard and Famous in San Diego art gallery opening on Monday, March 29th at the Ruby Room! Bunches of photos and video clips coming soon -
The night before the opening reception, I heard my name on KPRI radio as I drove into San Diego, while randomly flipping stations. It was Cathryn Beeks on the Homegrown Hour, talking about the show - and then she played the Overheard in San Diego theme song!! I almost drove off the road - thanks, Cathryn!!
The Reverend Stickman, Carly-plus-one, me -- in case we've never met, howaya? --- and fellow cartoonatic Christie Maconnell, the Rock 'N' Roll Comics colorist who put up the strip display.
Happy Ron Hill played his "Famous Former Neighbors" song (which seems to imply that I think my "sh-t don't stink," heh heh), and Cathryn Beeks was joined by co-writer Sven-Erik Seaholm to mock me in song once again, with their "Overheard in San Diego" theme song.
Happy Ron, Bart Mendoza, and Carlos Olmeda, Collage Menage, Neener, Carnal Comics writer Jamie Ralph Gardner, videographers Duane and Susan, and random passersby...
The winner? Steve and the Pescadero Pickers !! Their tune tells of the summer that Bob "Gilligan" Denver moved next door to Steve in OB -----
Due to some confusion -- no doubt compounded by me being on vacation all week --- bandleader Steve wasn't notified in time to play it at the show, but you can checkitout - and all the song submissions, along with their final vote stats - at http://www.sandiegoreader.com/audioclips/sets/famous-former-neighbors/
All in all, it was terrific to see the Reader comic strips getting their own spotlight showcase - my thanks to the Ruby Room for letting me plaster my scribbles all over their walls and letting my friends and I play all night in their colorful sandbox! Thanks also to the artists who came out to do live art demonstrations, and you can checkout a selection of comic strips from the show all thru April at the RRoom --
Thanks also to my associates at the Reader who spearheaded fun stuff like the song contest ----
Now, it's back to being an obscure underemployed cartoonatic and itinerate writer-slash-blogger - surely, it's all downhill from here...
*************************************************
HAPPY RON HILL "Famous Former Neighbors"
**********************************************************************
HERE'S THE NEW Overheard in San Diego
***********************************************************
ARCHIVE OF Famous Former Neighbors
************************************************************************************
OWES IT ALL TO THE MAN WITH NO NAME....
“We play hip-hop with a twist,” says Tim Beaman (aka Timmy B) of the trio OCT/Outta Control, who all moved to San Diego from Detroit six years ago in hopes of kickstarting their recording and performing career.
“We do the unexpected, like starting off a set with a crazy electric guitar solo and setting a sick Beastie Boy-style party vibe. We make music that reflects our life, which is pretty much a never ending struggle AND a big party, all at the same time. We don’t have sick cars or money, so we don’t rap about that.”
The band cites surprising inspirations, such as the Prince formerly known as Fresh, Will Smith. “He’s one of the sickest MCs in the game,” says Beaman. “If you don’t think so, check out his song ‘Freak This.’ We actually live our lives by that saying.”
Another big inspiration is a man whose name they don’t even know.
“We were in L.A. trying to get into record label offices to hand out our demo, even though we knew it wasn’t going to work. After getting thrown out of Capitol Records, we talked to the guy who threw us out for a while. He told us that he had thrown out 50 Cent and Kanye when they were still unsigned. After talking for a few minutes, he looked at us and said ‘If you’re good at what you do, don’t quit. It’ll happen for you too.’”
Outta Control has released three albums, as well as contributing to last year’s SDMA-nominated hip-hop compilation Best of Daygo City.
Tuesday 4/13 -The Bare Back Grill with hostess Lindsay White and guests 7:00 Vera's Veil 7:45 Speaking Idly 8:15 Travis Ross 8:45 Lindsay White 9:30 Jeffrey Joe Morin No Cover
Thursday 4/15 -Winston's Happy Hour Acoustic Jam in OB from 5 to 8 with me and Kate 5:00 open 5:30 open 6:00 Ves Frank 6:30 Katie Leigh and the Infantry 7:00 Justin Froese 7:30 Soup
Sunday 4/18 - The debut ofListen Local Living Room, a house concert series in Spring Valley, CA, happens this Sunday, April 18th from 4 to 8pm. "In the Round" sets featuring Lindsay White, Rev. Stickman, Rusty King, Bass Hamza and two surprise guests plus a set by The Cathryn Beeks Ordeal. Taco bar, desserts and refreshments. $20 donation saves your seat... reserve yours now!
Music News
Artist of the Week: CatchVes Frank this Thursday at Winstons at 6pm as part of a stellar lineup including some of San Diego's best acoustic artists! no Cover!
Link of the Week: Only a few seats left for Listen Local Living Room, our first house concert event. Amazing acoustic music in our living room plus a fiesta bar and other surprises. $20 donations reserves your seat, they're going fast!
Cliff Keller says "Resounding Joy is the best paying gig in San Diego... in terms of Karma. We perform at various Assisted Living Facilities in San Diego, lead drum circles for our active military's children, and help various other people in need through the power of music. We are looking for people who would like to give a little bit of time helping others. You need not be a pro musician, just a generous person who wants to share music with those who really appreciate it. Resounding Joy's next training for new volunteers (Joy Givers) is on Saturday April 24th. If you'd like to learn more about it contact [email protected] for details and to sign up."
The Game happens again on Tuesday, April 20th and the title is MAKE ME. Write a song to that title and show up by 7pm to get your name in the drum. Artists perform songs unplugged in the listening room upstairs at Desi N Friends in Point Loma. No need to rsvp, see you there!
Crystal Pollard's story "The Scar" was recently published! Check it out here. Congrats, Crystal! We love you. :)
Flip and Rollie update: The boys are playing every Friday on the patio at Moondoggies in PB from 5 to 9, no cover! These guys are too much fun and a great way to start your weekend. When you see them, tell them Listen Local loves them!
More Friday Fun! Catch Astra Kelly along with Echo Revolution, Wendy Bailey and Kenta Hayashi this Friday at The Ruby Room.
In case you haven't heard, The Homegrown Hour is on every Sunday night at 8pm and features 10 songs by some of San Diego's best bands and solo artists. Tune in this Sunday to hear an interview with The Paragraphs.
Save the Date. Mysweet baby turns 40 on Sunday, June 6th and we're celebrating with an all-day picnic at Kate Sessions Park in PB. This park has awesome views and plenty of room for relaxation. It's also the last of the parks that allow drinking of adult bevies. Join us!
Get Uked to It (or San Diego Gets Uked) - 15 San Diego artists have their songs covered on Ukelele
By Bart Mendoza:It’s true, ukeleles get little respect in the music world. But with their portability and ease of use it’s easy to see the four stringed instruments appeal.
Long a favorite for fans of Hawaiian music and century old pop tunes, the current resurgence in popularity has seen many modern era tunes showing up in uke players set lists.
Here are 15 songs originally performed by San Diego based artists, recast for ukelele.
MUSTAINE MAKES ROCK VIDEO BASED ON SAN DIEGO TANK ATTACK
Noisecreep reports: On May 17, 1995, a U.S. Army veteran and unemployed plumber in San Diego, Shawn Timothy Nelson, snapped and stole an M60 Patton tank from a nearby National Guard Armory. He drove down the highway, crushing cars, fire hydrants and an RV before he was stopped and killed by police.
The headline-grabbing story forms the basis of Megadeth's new video for 'The Right to Go Insane,' the second single from the band's acclaimed 2009 disc Endgame. In the clip, which surprisingly features no performance footage, frontman Dave Mustaine is filmed sneaking onto a military facility, stealing a tank and playing crash-up derby through the streets.
Video footage from the cockpit shows Mustaine singing and laughing, while shots from a surveillance helicopter depict a missile gunsight tracking him as he pillages.
No word from the family of Shawn Timothy Nelson, who was killed by police on live TV after the stolen tank got stick on a highway divider, on what they think of famous neighbor Mustaine having so much fun with their tragic true-life story. (more Megadeth, 'The Right to Go Insane' -- Video Premiere )
NEW COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL MUSIC DATABASE IS LAUNCHED
If you wanna see a list of over 2,100 San Diego bands, with links to full profiles, photos, discographies, articles, MP3s, etc, checkout http://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/search/
Believe it or not, you can click on ANY LOCAL MUSICIAN'S NAME (around 4,900 musicos listed!) and bring up bios of every notable band they've ever been in! Try it here withRob Crow ---
AND, if that wasn't cool 'nuff, click on an instrument, say like this here link to "Drums" - BAM, a list of EVERY DRUMMER IN SAN DIEGO!!!
We've been working on this massively cross-linked Local Music Database for over two years now, covering a century of San Diego history --- if you're a local performer who wants to add or edit a page, go to http://www.sandiegoreader.com/band/edit/
By Bart Mendoza: In honor of the release of a new book on Jim Croce’s music, Anthology, here are a more than ten things that you might have overlooked about the music icon. The book includes music & lyrics + stories behind 40 tunes! Penned by Ingrid Croce, published by Hal Leonard) For more info, please visitwww.jimcroce.com
I also highly recommend the Jim Croce’ DVD Anthology, Have You Heard:
1)Jim Croce is now the third San Diego related artist to be portrayed on film or TV. In the 4th episode of ABC-TV’s, Life on Mars(2008), he is played by Don Puglisi, in conversation with the show’s star during a brief scene set in a night club.
2)Jim Croce’s album, Life & Times, has been immortalized at the Sleeveface site: http://www.sleeveface.com/?p=288 – from the site: “One or more persons obscuring or augmenting any part of their body or bodies with record sleeve(s) causing an illusion” – Amazing!
5)Frank Sinatra released a single of “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” which hit #83 in 1974. Dean Martin then used the same arrangement of the song for his version. Here’s a Glen Miller Big Band arrangement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA3Eq8r8fGs
7)In 1977, Maureen McCormick (aka Marcia Brady) sang a version of “I’ll Just Have to Say I Love You InA Song” on the TV’s The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.
12)His songs have appeared in TV shows such as Eli Stone ("You Don't Mess Around With Jim")/ 2008), The West Wing ("Time in a Bottle" / 2003), The Greatest American Hero ("You Don't Mess Around With Jim" / 1981)
13)His songs have appeared in movies such as Home Alone 3 ("Bad Bad Leroy Brown"/ 1997) and The Ice Storm ("I Got a Name").
14)Jim Croce appeared on several TV shows including In Concert, Rock Concert and twice on NBC’s the Tonight Show: Aug. 15 1972 (other guests included Danny Thomas and the comedy duo Burns & Schrieber) and May 30 1973 (other guests included Karen Valentine)
Antimusic reports: Mike Keneally is set to launch his first full-band tour in nearly five years, bringing his ever-evolving, remarkably inventive musical vision to the Northeast US in early May for five shows in support of his latest Exowax Recordings release, Scambot 1.
From Keneally's well-documented recorded work as a guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist in Frank Zappa's last touring band, to his recordings and performances with Robert Fripp, Dethklok, Wayne Kramer, Steve Vai, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Andy Partridge and many others, he's earned a reputation as someone who can bring an intense, original musical voice to any situation. His extensive and wildly diverse original catalog of 19 albums and counting defies traditional classification, and concertgoers are regularly left awestruck by his band's high-wire-act execution of the eclectic material.
In a unique twist, this tour's Mike Keneally Band members also comprise the opening act, the band of Keneally's longtime bassist Bryan Beller (Steve Vai, Dethklok), whose intricate jazz/rock compositions and tasteful playing earned his sophomore album Thanks In Advance widespread acclaim.
The sneakily-titled "They're Both The Same Band" Northeast Tour 2010 features Keneally, Beller, drummer Joe Travers (Zappa Plays Zappa), and guitarists Rick Musallam (Ben Taylor, Byrd York) and Griff Peters (Billie Myers, Anika Paris). - more on this story
Antimusic reports: Local Reelin' In The Years Productions, the music footage library, has uncovered a 30-minute film of home movies from the 1950s featuring the legendary Hank Williams Sr. along with Marty Robbins, the Carter Family, Merle Travis, Lefty Frizell, Hank Snow, Maddox Bothers & Rose, Bill Monroe and a host of others.
These images, shot in pristine 16mm color film, capture these classic artists in performance and in rare candid moments. Highlights include Hank Williams singing at a disc jockey convention in Nashville, Marty Robbins playing guitar on a front lawn, Kitty Wells standing in front of her tour car and Merle Travis preparing to board a small plane.
This newly recovered footage was shot by John Banks, part owner of radio station KRDU in Dinuba, CA while these artists were at the station and his home. In addition to filming these artists in California, Banks took his 16mm camera to Nashville and captured many artists backstage during a convention of disc jockeys held in the early 1950s. - more on this story
ASSASSIN REUNITES APRIL 17TH - CAN'T KEEP GOOD LOCAL '80S METAL DOWN!!
“In 1996, I threw all my belongings into a storage unit, quit my job in San Diego, and set out on a road trip across North America to see what was out there,” says Michael Reed, who later formed Deep Shag Records. Though based in Atlanta, the label specializes in ‘80s San Diego metal bands.”
Reed’s biggest coup to date has been discovering and issuing an unreleased album by Assassin (1983 – 1986), recorded in 1984 when the band was still opening for national acts such as Alcatrazz and hometown heroes like Riot. “The Assassin CD has been a steady seller,” says Reed, “and we wanted to do something special to promote the album.”
The result – an Assassin reunion on April 17 at 4th & B, the band’s first gig together in over 20 years. Included will be two former locals returning to town just for the gig: singer Pete Papps and guitarist Vinnie Cavarra.
The three current San Diegans/former Assassins onstage will include John Osmon (OU812), Thom Beebe (owner of Guitar and Bass Land/Skin City Drums), and Leroy Vega, whose later local group Stress has also seen its music reissued by Deep Shag. Former Assassin Dave Bundy Imondi (Deeper Purple) will also be attending (tho Vega is drumming).
“There are four other San Diego bands that would ideal to reunite and perhaps release some of their old material,” says Reed. “Bible Black, Victim, Aircraft, and Prowler. However, between missing members and those who have moved on, it’s very difficult to get a band back together after all this time. Even for one show.”
Notwithstanding, opening for Assassin will be another local ‘80s metal band Reed persuaded to reunite for the show; Street Liegel.
“DJ Wigman will be playing nothing but classic ‘80s rock between bands,” says Reed, “and a slide show with hundreds of photos from San Diego’s ‘80s rock scene will be projected on screen for your amusement. Or horror!”
Assassin was formed in the summer of 1983 by guitarists Thom Beebe and Vinnie Cavarra who worked together at Guitar Trader. They sought out noted drummer Leroy Vega and, in recruiting him, also lucked into a vocalist, his friend Pete Papps. After a brief stint with Neil Foote, the band settled into its classic early lineup with the addition of Chicago native John Osmon on bass.
During the mid-eighties, Assassin opened for headliners like Poison, Alcatrazz, Grim Reaper, Precious Metal, and local metalheads Riot.
By the end of 1985, Assassin had received several label offers, but was holding out for just the right deal. While working towards that goal, Pete Papps left in January of 1986 to form Red Alert, and the band brought in L.A. vocalist Marc Anthony. With some new material, Assassin continued on a short while longer before problems with their new singer forced the band to implode.
JUDY COLLINS SELLS OUT - TWICE! SO SHE'S COMING BACK TO SAN DIEGO ON APRIL 23RD
On March 23, AMSD/Acoustic Music San Diego promoter Carey Driscoll reported that “Based on two consecutive nights of sold out Judy Collins shows this week, and before she'd even played the first of those two shows, her management re-booked her with me, for a month from now – April 23.”
“I hope the people whose email addresses I've collected in a folder of ‘Didn't get in to these two concerts,’ plus some of those who came last night or will be there tonight, plus whomever else I can round up, will add up to enough to cover the expenses again.”
Judy Collins has thrilled audiences worldwide with her unique blend of interpretative folksongs and contemporary themes. Her impressive career has spanned more than 40 years. At 13, Judy Collins made her public debut performing Mozart's "Concerto for Two Pianos" but it was the music of such artists as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, as well as the traditional songs of the folk revival, that sparked Judy Collins' love of lyrics. She soon moved away from the classical piano and began her lifelong love with the guitar. In 1961, Judy Collins released her first album, A Maid of Constant Sorrow, at the age of 22 and began a thirty-five year association with Jac Holzman and Elektra Records.
Collins is also noted for her rendition of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" on her classic 1967 album, Wildflowers. "Both Sides Now" has since been entered into the Grammy's Hall of Fame. Winning "Song of the Year" at the 1975 Grammy's Awards show was Judy's version of "Send in the Clowns," a ballad written by Stephen Sondheim for the Broadway musical "A Little Night Music."
Released on September 29th, Judy's new book, Sanity and Grace, A Journey of Suicide, Survival and Strength, is a deeply moving memoir, focusing on the death of her only son and the healing process following the tragedy. The book speaks to all who have endured the sorrow of losing a loved one before their time. In the depths of her suffering, Judy found relief by reaching out to others for help and support. Now, she extends her hand to comfort other survivors whose lives have been affected by similar tragedy.
In a recent appearance on ABC's Good Morning America, Collins performed "Wings of Angels," the heartbreaking ballad that she wrote about the loss of her son. The song is currently available on the newly released Judy Collins Wildflower Festival CD and DVD, which also feature guest artists Arlo Guthrie, Tom Rush and Eric Andersen.
This extraordinary concert was filmed at the famed Humphrey's By the Bay. The concert was the culmination of a 25 city national tour.
Judy Collins continues to create music of hope and healing that lights up the world and speaks to the heart.
www.AMSDconcerts.com (formerly AcousticMusicSanDiego) AMSDconcerts 4650 Mansfield Street San Diego, CA 92116 (619) 303-8176 (8am-7pm) (619) 201-0520 (Days of concerts only)
*************************************************
LOCALS IN THE NEWS
Alex Chilton, best known as a member of '60s pop-soul act the Box Tops and the '70s power-pop act Big Star, died March 17 at a hospital in New Orleans. The cause of death is believed to be a heart attack. A lengthy Reader feature on the latterday Box Tops can be found at Just Sing the Hits - When Bands (Barely) Reunite
Ratt drummer Bobby Blotzer's autobiography 'Tales Of A Ratt' is set to be released on April 20th, the same day as Ratt's new CD 'Infestation' more
Stone Temple Pilots' first single from their forthcoming album "Between The Lines" was just posted online for your listening pleasure. The only hitch is you have to Tweet the song to get a listen. If you are up to it, go here.
The Soft Pack tore up Austin's SXSW Fest, with several media outlets raving, including Spin Magazine. Video footage fromn the Spin/MySpace Music showcase at the Loft on 6th Street can be found at Live Video from Austin: The Soft Pack Unplugged!
Megadeth were forced to leave the stage three songs into it's headlining set Tuesday night (March 16th) at Rams Head Live in Baltimore, MD after problems with the venue P.A. prevented the band from continuing its performance. Dave Mustaine told fans about the problems with the inferior P.A. and then explained "some delirious a**hole decided that it was a good idea to throw their beverage over the [mixing] console, thus ending the concert ." more
BW&BK is streaming Ratt's 'Eat Me Up Alive' - the opening track from their first new album in over ten years, Infestation. more
Ratt will be hitting the road with the Scorpions this summer. more
Local MP3tunes operator Michael Robertson is facing more legal trouble over allegedly assisting illegal music downloads. more MP3tunes' Copyright Conundrum
Scott Weiland offers this explanation for his split with Velvet Revolver: "When Velvet Revolver first got together, it was great. I got to know the guys before: Met Duff at the gym... I was in rehab with Matt. I'd only met Slash twice - he's not the most social person. We had all been through the same experiences, and it felt like a gang," Weiland tells Details Magazine according to Jam!. "But everyone was a rock star. There were petty jealousies. Then the wives got involved with the business of the band, and that was the beginning of the downfall." more
Starting this week on the official Stone Temple Pilots Facebook page, fans can win tickets to see Stone Temple Pilots. To win, each date will have an associated trivia question. The first person to correctly answer the trivia question wins two tickets to said show. more
As I Lay Dying will headline a spring tour with support from Demon Hunter, Blessthefall, and War Of Ages. more
Pearl Jam announced that they will play 11 Midwest and East Coast tour dates in May of 2010. The tour kicks-off on May 3rd at Sprint Center in Kansas City and wraps on May 21st at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Pearl Jam's U.S. tour follows the band's previously announced headlining appearance at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation Festival on May 1st. Band of Horses will open all shows except the May 20th Madison Square Garden engagement, where The Black Keys will open. - dates
************************************************
12 MILLION DOLLAR SETTLEMENT IN BARKER PLANE CRASH
Jam! reports: A $12 million dollar settlement has reportedly been reached in the case of the wrongful death of Travis Barker's friend Chris Baker who died in the 2008 airplane crash that put the Blink-182 rocker and the late DJ AM in the hospital.
While Barker and DJ AM, real name Adam Goldstein, escaped from the plane, which crashed during take off from an airfield in South Carolina, two of their friends and the two pilots were killed. Travis' best friend Chris Baker was one of those who lost his life in the crash.
Jam! reports that legal papers show that Baker's widow Otilia and three-year-old son Sebastian have received more than $12 million from Clay Lacy Aviation, Goodyear Tire and Rubber and Learjet as a result of the lawsuit. - You can read the Jam! report here
************************************************
WTF SLEESTAKS!
I have SO many problems with this bizarre Land of the Lost relic.
First, what's up with asking the kiddies to help that Sleestak EAT poor lil' Dopey?! "He craves raw, bloody meat and does not know which rope is attached to Dopey. Which is the right one?" And why's the Sleestak a toy, while the Dino is drawn?
"Puzzle" 1 instructs "Look into this sacred cave, then cover it. How many Sleestak can you remember having seen?" Fair 'nuff, that's a KIND of a puzzle. But then look at the effin answer key -- "Any humans who gaze upon our god will die." Geez, Muhammad much?
Plus, written as if by Sleestak, the answer key indicates that THIS IS A SLEESTAK-CREATED PUZZLE! Notice the possessive apostrophe in the puzzle title, "Sleestak's...."...No wonder they wanna trick kids into killing Dopey...
"Puzzle" 2 - not really a puzzle. "Grumpy the dinosaur surprised Will, Holly and Chaka while they were out on a walk. Can you solve the puzzle of how Will and Holly will escape?" Well, clearly, we can see that some mirror thingly blinds Grumpy. BUT...
"How will WILL AND HOLLY escape?" WTF, what about Chaka?! Those sick fukken Sleetak puzzlemakers made a snuff film, and this clip shows Chaka seconds before getting bit in two...and, BTW, how stoopid are Will and Holly that they can still be "surprised" by a thirty foot tall dinosaur, AND NOT A FREAKIN' TREE IN SIGHT!
So let's refer to the answer key as to how the two mentally challenged humans escape..."Hit Chaka with a rock, breaking his leg, then run." I say again - WTF?! The dumbass duo is supposed to sacrifice Chaka to the dino?!
And if the answers are written by Sleestak, why are they such Chaka haters - or do they simply wanna eat "raw and bloody meat" offa Will and Holly themselves, while Grumpy polishes off the hairy Oompa Loompa?
The answer to number 3? "Dopey is slower than even a Sleestak. He should fall easily to the wicked eviscerating claws."
Sid and Marty Krofft - the Owsleys of Saturday morning TV ---
HARGO GOES TO INDIA - Local Musico Blogs From the Other Side of the World
"My teachers used to skip over my name and say, 'Oh, you're here,' " says Hargobind Hari Singh Khalsa. "Kids started calling me Hargo when I was 7." Hargo is Sikh. "People say, 'What is that?' It's the fifth-largest religion in the world, but people don't even know about it."
Hargo got his first taste of fame at the age of 16, when his tune “Giving” was selected as official theme song for the 1999 South Africa Peace Conference. “I wrote that when I was eight years old, in choir,” he says. “While performing in Oregon [years later], I got to do that song. A woman approached me and said they were looking for a theme song to kick off that event.”
A 2000 performance opening for Seal earned him a ringing endorsement from the headliner (“This young man’s music moved me deeply”). Hargo says “That was around 2000, in New Mexico, at the Peace Festival. I played him a few of my songs on a 12-string. He flipped it over, Hendrix style, and played a song from his new album. He asked me what I thought about another song he played, and I told him it had interesting chords. When he played the bridge, I told him I thought it was too chordy, and it took away from the strength of the melody.”
Hargo's publicity photos include several shots by legendary rock photographer Mick Rock. “His photos were being displayed at Morrison Hotel [in La Jolla],” says Hargo. “We saw in the Reader that he was going to be there, but we missed it by a day. When my dad mentioned it to a yoga teacher in New York, the guy said ‘He’s one of my students.’ When I was there, I asked if I could meet him. He’s a really cool, laid back guy."
"I was one of only three people he's ever photographed that wasn't already famous. And he did it at a greatly reduced rate. Before he’d take pictures, he’d twirl around with his eyes closed. Then he’d open his eyes and just start shooting pictures. I’d hear him say ‘Okay, Hargo, we got a great shot, you motherf*cker!’ It was a lot of fun.”
JAS: Hey man, how are things? I've finally posted the 2nd video blog from our trip, TurbanCam episode 2 from our time Bombay. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxtIiVh8Mew
It's really cool, you should definitely check it out. Took us a while to get it online because we've had limited internet access the past week or so. HARGO
Bombay:I have food poisoning.Hargo calls it "the Indian flu".I call it explosive vomiting.We spent the last two days trolling around the waterfront in Bombay (or Mumbai, I'm still not really sure what to call this city), under the auspices of purchasing train tickets to Amritsar and meeting some people in the Indian music industry.The meetings have been going really well, we're learning more and more about how music is made, listened to, and distributed over here.
Ringtones are selling better than any other format - there are over 500 million cellphone subscribers in India, more than the entire population of the U.S., and the cellphones are cheaper and more available than computers, MP3 players, or even CD players.
Conventional music downloads, CDs, and tapes are very much on the decline here, though I've been pleased to find a great many MP3 CDs for sale in bootleg music stores all over the country (a format seemingly exclusive to the bootleg market, but highly advantageous to a foreign music hoarder like myself).
Movie soundtracks are so much more important to the musical culture here than the "O.S.T." stuff we have back in America - stars are born and die under the lights of Bollywood cinema here.As such, we're thinking of covering some well known Bollywood tracks and collaborating with some well known Indian musicians in the scene for maximum exposure.And selling it as a ringtone, of course.
The train tickets didn't go down quite as well.We tried for two straight days to get tickets, and if all had gone well we would be on a train to Rajasthan at this very moment - as it happens, we're leaving tomorrow afternoon, and we won't have much time to linger on our way to Amritsar.We'll stay in a five star waterfront hotel tonight on the "Queen's Necklace" - what the locals call the ring of lights made by all the waterfront properties lining the beaches of Mumbai.
I spent most of yesterday lying on the cement barriers that keep the water at bay, throwing up again and again and talking to all kinds of interesting people.Indian folks are in my experience just as curious and open as I'd hoped, and there was a lot of exciting cross cultural exchange and conversation that happened yesterday - I specifically remember a conversation with two guys my age about how different relationships between men and women tend to be here.
There's very little casual sex, much more courting - meeting parents, years and years of dating...there's much more respect here, though it's also very hard for a girl and a guy to just hang out and be friends due to all the pressure and sexual tension.
Disney is really big over here.The Indian family is also a very different beast - in between vomiting episodes, I told some of the folks I was hanging out with about how my parents were divorced, and the shock and disappointment in their eyes had very little to do with the contents of my stomach.Indian families stick together, no matter what, through thick and thin, through heartbreak and outright betrayal.It's pretty inspiring.
Anyway, I'm going to get back to packing and trying to keep my breakfast down - Hargo and Andi are busy with Qi Gong but my stomach just can't take it this morning.My next update will probably be from Amritsar.
“Poker is going to be a big theme for us, as the song continues to gain a following and earn more exposure,” says Phil Bellante of the marketing push behind his card-themed tune “All In.”
“I wrote the song in ten minutes while watching a TV [poker] tournament,” says Bellante, whose own favorite game is no-limit Texas Holdem. “I want to license it for movies, video games, TV shows, casinos, gambling websites, and of course poker tournaments. I think it has the potential to be like [Kenny Rogers’] ‘The Gambler’…it certainly has more to do with cards than ‘Poker Face’ by Lady Gaga, and yet that song is played in relation [to gaming] all the time.”
To that end, the singer/songwriter recently plugged his tune on the pokernewsdaily.com website and Phil Gordon’s ESPN radio show Poker Edge.
“Phil’s brother-in-law is a friend of mine, so I’ve known him for years. He has a lot of connections who are looking at the song now, plus I spend a lot of time getting it around to others…several Nashville songwriters are pitching ways to make it a hit. It’s all self-marketing and self-financed for now, but that’s the only way to get things done.”
Bellante says he’s willing to consider most any opportunity to market “All In.” “A lot of people are telling me that I should be able to make money off the song, that it appeals to the same kind of passion that poker players have.”
“But selling out isn’t always as easy as it looks.”
Bellante comes from a long line of politically aware, socially relevant, musically adroit, and vocally unpredictable singer-songwriters like Neil Young, Harry Nilsson, Perry Farrell, Bruce Springsteen, and their deep-thought free-world-rockin’ brethren. Think Edwin McCain backed by the Cowboy Junkies.
“I was inspired by the way Tracy Chapman addresses social issues in her songs,” says Bellante, “with lyrics that are meaningful and relevant without being preachy.”
Raised in Cleveland, Bellante grew up in a musical family, studying both piano and guitar. “My grandmother was playing piano right into her 90s,” he says, “and that made her one of the coolest people I knew. My mother was a poet, and that has always influenced my lyrics.”
After graduating from college and arriving in San Diego with business degree in hand, Bellante says, “The only business I was interested in was the one called ‘show.’ Luckily, I found a musical partner right away in drummer Aaron Redfield [Switchfoot].”
Bellante’s 2008 release EP2 was produced and recorded by J. Logan Stewart and Taylor Barefoot at Barefoot Studios. Videos for several songs were directed by Steve Woroniecki (Mariah Carey, Kid Rock).
“My lyrics and the overall direction of my music have come from my vast life experiences and observation of others,” says Bellante. “I have looked under the surface of things in life to try to understand the whys of life. My music simply leads people to places in their soul to help them see things clearly: that is the best way I can describe it.”
Rock Radio reports: Dave Mustaine says police were called to the set of a video shoot because Megadeth were using a tank in their promo film.
Checking in via his Live Line service, where he leaves phone messages for fans who can listen in, he explains that officers arrived to investigate the situation as the band worked with the war machine.
Mustaine says: "We're on location making the video for Right to go Insane. We've got an M68a tank. The cops are here – it can get pretty hairy with this video shoot." - more on this story
Adam Lambert follows the footsteps of Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta to return to "American Idol" stage. The show's eighth season alum himself has confirmed that he is going to sing in an upcoming episode of the popular reality singing competition. more
Patti Page sang about the 'sand dunes and salty air' of Cape Cod in a song recorded more than 50 years ago. Now she's being honored with her own road on the Massachusetts vacation haven. more
Carlos Santana plans a covers album. According to Billboard the effort will include Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love" with Thomas, the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" with India.Arie and Yo-Yo Ma, Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing" with Joe Cocker, the Rolling Stones' "Can't You Hear Me Knocking " with Scott Weiland, Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" and Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son." more
Stone Temple Pilots unveiled their first new album in nine years at a private listening party on Tuesday night (February 23) in New York City, according to HeadbangerNYC.com. The yet-to-be-titled album will be out June 1st. Classic Rock has a tracklisting here
Jay Leno is back as host of the Tonight Show starting Monday, March 1. NBC said Wednesday he'll be joined the first two weeks by Adam Lambert, Robin Thicke, Ben Harper, Ryan Bingham and Lifehouse. Perhaps CBS booked all the really big name music acts already? more
Megadeth's Dave Mustaine tells fans, "The Rust In Peace Record Is Not Going To Be Part Of Our Repertoire Going Forward... This Is It" more
Talking Metal celebrates their 300th podcast with David Ellefson of Megadeth (originally broadcast live on Talking Metal Live 2/9/10). Ellefson interview topics include his return to Megadeth, the twenty-year cycle of metal, his 14-year-old son, Exodus, the "Rust In Peace" album and 20th anniversary tour, the song "Head Crusher," Hail, and Frank Bello. In this interview Ellefson states that he is has no problem with playing songs live off the last couple Megadeth albums, even though he was not involved in the recording of them. To listen to an MP3 of the podcast go to - TalkingMetal.com
************************************************
WHY MACHINE HEAD HATES SAN DIEGO
Blabbermouth reports: MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn has revealed that his band has "fired" the city of San Diego, and will never play there again. He tells Rock Radio DJ David "The Captain" Grant, "A lot of crowds are awesome. But if we're playing San Diego, we're not going to go on the radio and say, 'San Diego crows are awesome' — because they're not. They're beat. That's MACHINE HEAD slang for 'We don't like them.' They don't come to a show and rage and go crazy. They come to a show and say, 'Okay... this is cool. Oh, I like this song.' We're not into that. I don't know why they come to a rock show with that kind of attitude. So we don't go to San Diego anymore. They're fired." http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=135780
************************************************
TRAVIS BARKER FIGHTS PHOTOGS
Jam! reports: A trash media photo-stalker (aka paparazzo) reportedly called the cops on blink-182's Travis Barker after a run-in on Saturday, February 20, at a Calabasas, Ca restaurant. Information about the incident is a "star said, stalker said" affair with Barker taking to his Twitter to give his side and the other side posting what Barker has labeled an "edited" video.
The tabloid reports vary, Jam! places the incident on "Sat night" and says that Barker was at the restaurant with "friends". However, Barker's account places the incident in the morning and hints that he was out to breakfast with his children when he had a run-in with a photo-stalker who threatened him.
Apparently there were 3 photographers, then an hour later Barker had evened the odds by calling in reinforcements. The cops were reportedly called because Barker allegedly took away the photo-stalker's cell phone and slashed his tires, according to the Jam! report. However, while police were called to the scene for a vandalism claim, no arrests were made.
Here is what Barker had to say about the incident: "When I'm out at breakfast at 8am in the morning the last thing i appreciate is some photographer threatening me 2 a fight while he's 3 deep. When i defend myself/my kids that don't make me a tough guy .I was outnumbered and threatened so i did what any man would.
"Paparazzi cried like young girls when it was no longer 3 of them against me and my kids. Didn't they remember threatening me an hr ago?? What happened to the tough guys with the cameras? It was gonna be a fair fight..3 against 3? I mean i weigh a buck 40, your 200lbs and 6′6. - more of Travis' comments
************************************************
TRAVIS BARKER FLYING SOLO (AGAIN)
Spinnermusic reports: While blink-182 fans patiently await a new album from the reunited band, it appears that solo projects are all the rage with the members of the group. Travis Barker has recruited some big names for his forthcoming solo album.
The original announced guests made it sound like a hip-hop heavy effort with the likes of Lil Wayne, RZA and The Game making appearances but Barker now says that fans can expect an ecletic mix of music and announced an additional guest singer.
"I'm not singing or being an MC or anything," the Blink-182 Drummer tells Spinner. He goes on to talk about the special guests for the album, "I'm rounding it out right now," he said.
"I just love music. The more I can be around it the better, so with my album it's no one genre. It goes from everything from punk rock to hip-hop to some electro stuff on there to a metal song with Corey Taylor from Slipknot. It's been really fun and interesting up till now." - Read the Spinner report here
***********************************************
AS SEEN ON DVD - MiniReviews by JAS
SHERLOCK HOLMES' SMARTER BROTHER: I'm not sure why this isn't ranked up there with Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles - much of the same cast is in place. I just watched it on Encore Channel, for the first time since it was new in theaters in 1975. Tho Mel Brooks didn't direct, I heard his voice doing two cameos, so he was at least hanging around the set - Gene Wilder wrote and directed.
It's a little bittersweet to be laughing and then realize that Dom Deluise, Madeline Khan, Leo McKern, and Marty Feldman have all passed away --- but there are a lot of great scenes, from the Bunny Hop musical number(s) to the GREAT battle scene atop three rolling horse carriages, with Holmes and his nemesis grabbing giant sign props as they pass the shops, to use as weapons, like a giant hand and a giant foot...
And Marty Feldman as the Watson-like sidekick with "photographic hearing" - what a treat! Now if only the Encore Channel would show Wilder's OTHER forgotten self-made, Brooks-inspired vanity gem, World's Greatest Lover ---
AVATAR: I was prepared to not like Avatar, since most CGI characters leave me cold - but the pro-ecology POV and excellent blend of animations and live action won me over. Mr. Shepherd compares the story and execution to Pocahontas, but really it's more like an adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series. Guy goes to live in another world while asleep, falls for and mates with beautiful and kick-ass tough native lady, wins the respect of huge colored-skin alien dude (green on Mars, blue on Pandora), learns to lead the "savages" to victory over planetside military aggression - some to think of it, Cameron owes the Burroughs estate a bunch of money for this story ----
Now that I'm noting John Carter swipes, I see many more, right down to both main characters being formerly military men who have become privateers, just before finding themselves on another world, mixing with the alien natives.
There IS a Carter movie finally being made, I understand, tho the casting is a bit wonky – hard to picture Thomas Hayden Church as Hajus, let alone Willem “Green Goblin” DaFoe as Tars Tarkus, but I’ll checkitout anyway. The state of CGI tech would seem to give it a fair shot, with even the 15 foot tall Martians now fully possible to do. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Car...)
John Ratzenberger’s role hasn’t been specified yet, but I’m betting he’ll voice one of those ambulatory brain thingys….
PLANET OF THE APES: A forest planet for apes DOES make more sense than a sandy desert world, tho this is one of the few tweaks to the original that qualifies as any sort of improvement. Putting the "origin" story in the hands of goth cartoonatic Tim Burton is almost as misplaced an idea as it was to have Rod “Twilight Zone” Serling script the original version (very few of Serling's ideas, words, and social commentary actually made it onto the screen, despite him usually being cited as "screenwriter").
Perhaps this franchise should instead be restarted with a do-over, as in the second Hulk movie that attempted to cleanse the public’s palate of Eric Bana(l) – how cool would it be to see Remake of the Apes by Terry Gilliam and the crew behind Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth? Ooooh, or now that Sam Raimi is off Spidey Four….
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Top 5 Movies to Leave Playing While You Commit Suicide
5 - Pink Floyd, The Wall: Because its worldview is even more bleak than your own.
4 - Lisztomania: Since you're going to Hell anyway, why not Hollywood's own version of an Hieronymus Bosch painting.
3 - Chronicles of Narnia, UK TV show version: 'Cause nobody can survive thru to the ending.
2 - Natural Born Killers: It clearly has no respect for the sanctity life OR good film making, so why not?
1 - No Country For Old Men: 'Cause it sucks even worse than you.
THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE: A show well worth peeping. Starring the woman who played lady cop Annie in the U.S. version of the (woefully underrated) Life on Mars TV show, the Notorious Bettie Page is a pretty good movie. It goes into surprising depth RE the increasingly federalized attempts to legislate all aspects of the sex biz out of existence, as well as covering a lot of Miss Page's (very interesting) personal biographical history.
Star Gretchen Mol (who seems to specialize in period pieces - the '70s in Life on Mars, and now the '50s) does well with projecting both innocence and naughtiness. I've met part-time pornographer Bunny Yeager and can vouch that the movie's portrayal is fairly accurate, if a bit superficial - much more could have been done with the motivations behind choosing such an "outlaw" endeavor, in an social-status era when jail wasn't anywhere near the worst thing that could result.
All in all, tho, a well-done flick --
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE: Named after one of the weakest Beatles tunes, of around three dozen Beatlecentric cuts covered or referenced in the film, Across the Universe wants to ride the musical comeback wave of High School Musical, Moulin Rouge, or even Hedwig and the Angry Inch - instead, it falls off the board into Sgt Bee Gee's Pepperland and Cop Rock-ville. Why did they bother? And, more annoyingly, why did I watch it expecting anything different? You'd think I would have learned after All This and World War II ----
Top 5 WORST Beatles tunes:
5) Maxwell’s Silver Hammer (until/unless performed by Steve Martin, whose rendition comprises the four most watchable minutes of Sgt Bee Gee’s…)
4) Across the Universe (“Lyrics flying out like golden rain into a paper cut, they slither as they pass like turds…”)
3) Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da (I mean, the only reason Molly got into Desmond’s band was because Desmond liked her face – WTF?! Is this actually The Ballad of Paul and Linda?)
2) Lovely Rita (Just call the meter maid a b-tch and get over it already)
1) Martha My Dear (Like Lovely Rita, the dog this was named for was a total b-tch.)
Top 5 Worst Beatles Lyrics:
5) "Goo Goo G'Joob" (Gesundheit -- Here's a handkerchief. No, you keep it...)
4) "No one will be watching us, why don't we do it in the road" (Uh, guys, I think the middle of the road is the one place on Earth where EVERYone will be watching you!)
3) "And he told us of his life in the land of submarines" (Right before we executed him for Nazi war crimes, seeing as how subs only exist due to escalation of military kill-capability)
2) “Well here’s another clue for you all, the Walrus was Paul” (Yeah, we noticed the Walrus was HOLDING A BASS GUITAR – big whoopin’ clue).
1) “Honey pie, honey pie, honey pie, honey pie” (Don’t know if they were hungry or horny when they did that, but you can bet they were reeking like Tommy Chong’s beard)
SEX - THE ANNABEL CHONG STORY: I wrote Annabel's first big-budget movie, the superhero spoof Sordid Stories, and got to know her a bit while we worked on a comic book version of the film. I've regaled friends with tales of being on the set while she filmed porn scenes, but my best, er, sordid story about Annabel involves the time I drove her home from a 50-man...how to put this....uh...."back door" film shoot.
[WARNING - "YUCK" ALERT, read on at your own peril] So....While she was riding in my back seat, I kept looking in the, uh, rear view mirror, to see her (wearing a short dress) sliding back and forth across the vinyl bench seat every time I took the slightest turn or lane change. It was like I had a freakin' Slip-N-Slide back there or something. WTF?? After I dropped her off, I noticed my back seat was smeared with what I can only politely describe as, uh, leftover lubricant from her film shoot. Takes a lotta lube to accommodate 50 men.
Needless to say, that was the last time I gave Annabel a ride. I'm lucky her butt didn't stick to my back seat like a damp suction cup (although that WOULD have kept her more stationary, made less of a mess, and perhaps saved me the HUGE tip I had to give my car detailing guy later that day).
SHERLOCK HOLMES: I've long been a fan of the Doyle books, and the movie references countless things from the Doyle canon in a way that hardcore fans like me find delightful, but in an action movie context geared surprisingly well for the 21st century crowd, most of whom wouldn't know Sherlock Holmes from the Rolling Stones, or Sherlock's smarter brother Mycroft....
The flick uses a lot of flashy high tech supergraphics similar to the CSI TV shows (which, after all, begin and end as baldfaced Doyle/Holmes ripoffs-slash-tributes), without being SO modern as to feel like anachronisms. Coupled with almost relentless action scene after action scene, it was so engaging, and so filled with twists, both physical and philosophical, that I didn't want leave the room long enuff for a quick bathroom break. Every bit of the movie seemed to vital to miss ---
Lots of witty and intelligent stuff going on - I look forward to at least a couple of repeat viewings! For a VERY long time, the only TV or movie Holmes I've found acceptable are Basil Rathbone (by virtue of his radio incarnation more than the films), and Jeremy Brett from the PBS show (which are among the best direct-from-Doyle adaptations) - well, and maybe a couple of those weird shows with Matt Frewer/Max Headroom as Sherlock.
Now, and for some time to come, Robert Downey Jr. IS the personification of Mr. Holmes for me! Been digging his movie groove since his wonderful Chaplin biopic -- I doubt anybody would have bothered making this new movie without him. I hope the sequel they seemed to set up happens ----
************************************************
SAN DIEGO'S REELIN' IN THE YEARS CHRONICLES THE BRITISH INVASION
Dusty Springfield - Once Upon A Time 1964-1969
Small Faces - All Or Nothing 1965-1968
Herman's Hermits - Listen People 1964-1969
Gerry & The Pacemakers - It's Gonna Be All Right 1963-1965
The Invasion Arrives March 23, 2010
Over forty-five years after the Beatles sparked the legendary 'British Invasion' that forever changed the face of popular music, Reelin' In The Years Productions, in association with Voyage Digital Media, is proud to announce the release of the initial four DVDs in the new British Invasion series. The four titles are Dusty Springfield - Once Upon A Time 1964-1969, Small Faces - All Or Nothing 1965-1968, Gerry & The Pacemakers - It's Gonna Be All Right 1963-1965 and Herman's Hermits - Listen People 1964-1969. Distributed by Naxos of America Inc., all four DVDs will be available separately and as a deluxe boxset featuring a bonus fifth disc with over 2 hours of additional content.
Produced by Reelin' In The Years Productions, each DVD features complete 1960's television performances filmed at the time the songs were hits and while the artists were at the height of their careers. Interspersed between the performances, original band members and others who helped create their classic music, talk about each song and recount special moments in the history of the group. In addition, all performances have been transferred from the original master tapes and include best-possible video and remastered audio. Each DVD also includes a 24-page booklet with insights and essays by noted rock historians as well as previously unseen photos and memorabilia. The series, originally released only in the UK in September of 2009, has received both commercial success and critical acclaim, with four-star reviews and inclusion in many year-end “Best Of 2009" lists in the British music press.
Reelin' In the Years is the San Diego-based company that has produced some of the most highly-regarded anthology DVD series including the four-volume, GRAMMY-nominated American Folk Blues Festival series, the multi-platinum selling Definitive Motown series (Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles) and the award winning Jazz Icons series. As in all of their projects, each DVD is produced with the full support and cooperation of the artists or their estates.
Notes about each of the four individual releases:
DUSTY SPRINGFIELD - Once Upon A Time 1964 - 1969
Features 20 definitive complete television performances by Britain's greatest pop diva including “You Don't Have To Say You Love Me," “Son Of A Preacher Man," “Wishin' And Hopin'" and “I Only Want To Be With You." Dusty's story is told through new interviews with Burt Bacharach, Madeline Bell (who sang back-up for Dusty in the '60s), Simon Bell (Dusty's back-up singer from the '70s to the '90s), and a newly discovered interview from 1978 with Dusty herself. Bonus features include Dusty's complete 1965 and 1966 New Musical Express Poll Winners Concert appearances as well as a duet with Burt Bacharach on “A House Is Not A Home." Annie Randall, Dusty's biographer, wrote the accompanying essay.
SMALL FACES - All Or Nothing 1965 - 1968
In the mid-1960's the Small Faces challenged the Who, Kinks, Rolling Stones and even the Beatles for UK chart domination. This is the band's first official anthology and features 27 complete performances capturing every aspect of their brief but brilliant run including early Mod/R&B classics such as “What'cha Gonna Do About It", “Sha La La La Lee" and “All Or Nothing", timeless rockers like “Tin Soldier" and later psychedelic treasures including “Itchycoo Park", and “Green Circles." Nine songs are included from the band's masterwork Ogden's Nut Gone Flake including “Lazy Sunday", “Song Of A Baker", the title track and the six song “Happiness Stan" suite. Also included are interviews filmed exclusively for the DVD with original members Ian McLagan, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston as well as archival interviews with the late Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane. The 24-page booklet includes an informative essay by pop historian Ken Sharp as well as rare in-studio photographs by famed engineer Eddie Kramer.
GERRY & THE PACEMAKERS - It's Gonna Be All Right 1963 - 1965
The first band ever to have their first three singles top the British charts, Gerry & The Pacemakers rivaled the Beatles in the early years of the British Invasion. Their first official anthology DVD features 17 classic complete performances including the smash hits “How Do You Do It?," “I Like It" and “You'll Never walk Alone" as well as the timeless classics “Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" and “Ferry Cross The Mersey." Also included is an interview with Garry Marsden that was conducted exclusively for the DVD at Liverpool's legendary Cavern Club. Bill Harry, founder/publisher of Mersey Beat, the music paper that originally chronicled the Liverpool scene, also tells the band's story both on screen and in his accompanying liner notes.
HERMAN'S HERMITS - Listen People 1964-1969
The DVD is their first official anthology chronicling their meteoric rise melding a traditional British music hall influence with good time rock 'n roll. Among the 22 full-length performances are all of their biggest hits including “I'm Into Something Good," “Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter," “I'm Henry VIII, I Am" and their later evocative masterpieces “No Milk Today," and “Listen People." The Herman's Hermits' story is told by original members Peter Noone, Keith Hopwood, Karl Green and Barry Whitwam as well as in the accompanying essay by GRAMMY-winning music historian Rob Bowman. A complete concert filmed in 1966 for Australian television is included as a bonus feature.
(David Peck with Elvis Costello, courtesy Reelin' In the Years)
David Peck's Reelin' in the Years Productions maintains an archive of over 10,000 filmed musical performances, as well as representing others with footage to license for broadcast or video releases. VH1 probably couldn't make shows like I Love the '70s and Behind the Music without Peck's ever-growing database of footage.
Peck told staff writer Dave Good about how the Reader played a role in his Grammy-winning career as a music video archivist.
“I was in Off the Record one night. I was 18 at the time. The guy who worked there turned me on to all these great Stones videos. This was ’84, when video collectors were underground. There was no YouTube; there was nothing. Collecting videos was a swapping thing. So he turned me on to this great rare stuff — the Stones playing with Muddy Waters — and that’s when I got the bug and started collecting.”
“In ’86, John D’Agostino, who was then writing for the Reader, wrote an article about me as a collector, and it kinda went from there. I started doing research and consulting on projects. By ’98, I started representing video libraries, and now I have amassed the world’s largest library of music footage.”
Peck once told me a great story about locally-shot footage that includes longtime local DJ Jim McIness.
Reelin' holds a piece of historical footage featuring McInnes, which it has licensed for use to VH1. "I got ahold of a piece of film that was shot at a backyard party here in San Diego , around 1981," he says. "Weird Al Yankovic was there, before he really broke big, when he was still doing 'Another One Rides the Bus' on [syndicated radio show] Dr. Demento. Jim is playing with him, and he's playing Weird Al's accordion and somebody comes by and spills beer on the thing. Weird Al got really upset with him, because it was a brand new accordion! And Jim is just shrugging his shoulders, like, 'hey, it's just an accordion, not a Les Paul,' but Weird Al wasn't laughing. Shows which one of them actually had the sense of humor, huh?"
McInnes explained to me in a phone interview "What happened was that my friend tried to pour a beer in my mouth while my hands were occupied trying to play accordion for the first time, and it spilled into the [instrument's] bellows. [Weird] Al was a good sport about it - he'd just had the accordion cleaned!"
reports: Tom DeLonge, frontman for blink-182, has cut the price on his Rancho Santa Fe home to just under $5 million, about 25% less than what he spent on the house, renovations and décor.
The single-story house, first listed for $6.25 million in 2007, sits on 1.1 acres in a gated golf community of Rancho Santa Fe, about 25 miles north of San Diego. The guitarist and vocalist paid $5.5 million for the house in 2005 with his wife, Jennifer, an interior designer who redecorated the home. The five-bedroom, five-bath house of 6,500 square feet was built in 2003 and comes with a pool. The DeLonges are looking for a bigger property for their family, according to their agent, Laura Barry of Barry Estates.
I guess it makes sense that rockers as rich as the guys in blink 182 can afford to deep discount. "I guess this is growing up..." and all that, dontcha know.
So it's kind of a hoot to discover that in 2007, three years before Tom DeLonge opted out of homeownership in Rancho Santa Fe, the debut album by +44 with Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker included a track dissing Hoppus' former neighbors in oh-so-upscale neighborhood.
His rage against the Rancho is mainly directed at the neighborhood's homeowners association. Hoppus told newstimeslive.com “There's a song called ‘Lillian’ on the record that's about people that try to control other people's lives...And there's a place in San Diego called Rancho Santa Fe, which is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been in my life. It's country sides, rolling hills, there's trees everywhere. It's this gorgeous place, and it's filled with some of the most backstabbing, evil, just bitter, bitter people in the world."
"The homeowners association is very strict and it's strange because everybody who lives there is very wealthy…They're just bitter and it's a sour, sour community. The woman who started the homeowners association there is a woman named Lillian. So it's kind of about people trying to control one another.”
Hoppus seems pretty bitter and sour himself, judging from the tune's lyrics:
"The place I used to live, made me feel like a tourist - I couldn't coexist with the cold and suspicious - When the last remaining left was starting to filter - It seemed the perfect time to step into the future
Your heart is no grave to be perfectly honest - Your mouth's a smoking gun -And you smile while your twisting the knife in my stomach - Until everything is gone - Take all you can from me I've got weak constitution - I'm led so easily So easily
I left it all behind, in the dead of last winter - I left it all behind, but the question still lingers - So long forgotten friends, no, you don't know the difference - Between love and submission, and I'm not that obedient
I expect the next +44 album will include a tirade against Hoppus' Porsche mechanic ("Fixed my air with faulty parts, now my leather interior smells like farts").
************************************************
"TOO MANY TRAILS, MAN" - OR "WHY I STOPPED TAKING PSYCHEDELIC DRUGS....."
Because who can get any work done with all THIS going on????
************************************************
COMING IN 2010 - ROCK 'N' ROLL COMICS: JOAN JETT AND THE RUNAWAYS
Here's a sneak peek at the cover art for the full-color Runaways issue of Rock 'N' Roll Comics, which will be released to tie in to the Runaways movie --- www.myspace.com/rocknrollcomics
Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics: The Runaways with Joan Jett and Lita Ford
Writer: Spike Steffenhagen, Jay Allen Sanford
Artists: Joe Paradise, Larry Nadolsky
Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics presents the Runaways, the ‘70s jailbait rockers whose story is wild and crazy enough to merit both a feature film starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning and an even more revealing no-punches-pulled comic book bio! Three complete full-color stories chronicle the rise and fall of the Runaways themselves, as well as going far beyond the bio-pic to also cover the solo careers of band stars Joan Jett and Lita Ford.
Scripted by rock ‘n’ roll historian Spike Steffenhagen (Kiss: Comic From the Elder) and San Diego Reader columnist Jay Allen Sanford, this lovingly illustrated edition features art by Joe Paradise (Overheard in San Diego) and Larry Nadolsky (Deposit Man). Unauthorized and proud of it!
The government is handing out Trillions. Now you can too! Help spread the wealth and holiday cheer by forwarding this Trillion Dollar gift to all of your friends! Print and pass it on!
Shipping in Autumn 2010 from Bluewater Productions
ROCK 'N' ROLL COMICS - The Led Zeppelin Experience:
The Led Zeppelin saga is one of the wildest in rock history, and this graphic novel pulls no punches in dramatizing the backstage, behind-the-scenes story. From their early days as the New Yardbirds on through their rise to superstardom (and controversy), all five issues of the original Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics series are collected in one rockin’ volume, with art by Scott Pentzer (Razor), Marshall Ross (Deepest Dimension), David Neer (Sports Superstars), Francois Escalmel (Frank Zappa: Viva La Bizarre), and others. The collection also includes update material, bringing the saga up to 2010.
************************************************
SHIPPING SUMMER 2010: ROCK 'N' ROLL CARTOON HISTORY - THE SIXTIES
Here's the first look at the cover art for the 300 page graphic novel Rock 'N' Roll Cartoon History: The Sixties, shipping summer 2010 from Bluewater Productions. www.bluewaterprod.com -- www.myspace.com/rocknrollcomics
***********************************************
THE RETURN OF ROCK 'N' ROLL COMICS!
Here's a sneak peek at the first promo art for the locally-produced Rock 'N' Roll Comics: Hard Rock Heroes, a 400 page graphic novel shipping from Bluewater Productions in early 2010, as well as the 240 page Beatles Experience comic, the Pink Floyd Experience, Led Zeppelin Experience, the Elvis Presley Experience, and more -
JAS
First, here's the first look at the Elvis Presley Experience cover art:
And here's the scoop and a first look at the cover of the Pink Floyd Experience:
The Pink Floyd Experience: All five issues of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics series The Pink Floyd Experience have been out of print and in demand for over fifteen years. As showcased in Pink Floyd’s own official box CD set Shine On, the Floyd comics chronicle rock’s most enigmatic psychedelic warriors, from their early dayz with stoner icon Syd Barrett, through their split (and later reformation). With art by Marvel and DC star Ken Landgraf (Wolverine, Hawkman, Nightwing & Flamebird, etc.), the collection also includes update material, bringing the saga up to 2010.
Hard Rock Heroes: What goes together better than comics and rock music? With almost 300 pages of Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics, Hard Rock Heroes goes WAY beyond Behind the Music, to tell the real life, behind-the-scenes stories of rock’s most heavy hitters. Creators include Stuart Immonen(Superman: End of the Century),Ken Landgraf(Wolverine),Jay Allen Sanford(Overheard in San Diego..), Todd Loren(Beatles Experience), Scott Pentzer (Razor), Mike Sagara(Ninja High School), and many others.
Hard Rock Heroes is a book-length pictorial history, covering bands like Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Van Halen, Motley Crue, Poison, Megadeth, Pantera, Anthrax, Motorhead, Sammy Hagar, and more. The cinematic stories are realistically drawn, researched from countless photo and video archives, with an encyclopedic eye toward visual accuracy, dramatic flair, and journalistic depth.
Also includes the never-before published “missing” Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics #8 from 1990, on Skid Row. The lack of an eighth issue has vexed collectors and catalogers for years – exactly 20 years later, the story can finally be told, and collectors can finally own ALL the Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics!
As a bonus treat, Hard Rock Heroes also features the Motley Crue comic story from their official box CD set Music To Crash Your Car To II, released in 2004 and written and drawn by original Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics creators Lyndal Ferguson and Larry Nadolsky. Shipping February 2010.
(colors: Christie Maconnell)
"Great ideas, like the marriage of rock 'n' roll and comics, have the half-life of Uranium and will always be popular," says series co-creator Jay Allen Sanford, who has worked on over 200 reality-based comic books and thousands of similar cartoon strips for the San Diego Reader, as well as for magazines like Rip, Spin, and Oui. "The folks at Bluewater clearly have their fingers on the same pop culture pulse that enabled the original Rock 'N' Roll Comics to become one of the top-selling indie comics of the '90s. Truth is often stranger than fiction...and certainly much more interesting!"
The Beatles are bigger than ever, now available online for the first time digitally, on the Vegas stage in “Love,” and in the new Beatles: Rock Band video game. Now comes the most comprehensive and encyclopedic illustrated Beatles story ever, the Beatles Experience! Over 200 pages, dramatizing one of the most compelling tales in pop culture history, drawn from thousands of photos and interviews, meticulously researched and featuring stunning art by Mike Sagara (Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics) and Stuart Immonen (Legion of Super Heroes, Ultimate X-Men).
Covering the Beatles’ lives from birth and beyond their breakup, dramatized in dialogue and scene recreations more akin to a film bio than a mere documentary, the Beatles Experience also includes a Chronolog timeline going down each page, with encyclopedia background and footnotes detailing related events happening at the same time in the world, in music, and in the Beatles’ own tumultuous and extraordinary lives.
The Led Zeppelin Experience:
The Led Zeppelin saga is one of the wildest in rock history, and this graphic novel pulls no punches in dramatizing the backstage, behind-the-scenes story. From their early days as the New Yardbirds on through their rise to superstardom (and controversy), all five issues of the original Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics series are collected in one rockin’ volume, with art by Scott Pentzer (Razor), Marshall Ross (Deepest Dimension), David Neer (Sports Superstars), Francois Escalmel (Frank Zappa: Viva La Bizarre), and others. The collection also includes update material, bringing the saga up to 2010.
YOKO ONO COMICS AND STORIES - When Johnny Met Yoko, with dialogue and captions paraphrased from published Lennon interviews. Plus John Lennon: A Life in the Day
READER EXCLUSIVE - For the first time anywhere on the web, here's the promo trailer for Star Trek: The Continuing Mission, episode six: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/audioclips/66/
************************************************
The Twilight Zone made it's TV debut 50 years ago, on 10-2-59 - we asked local musicos to tell us their own favorite Zone episodes --- (more "What's Your Favorite Twilight Zone?" )
***********************************************
THE ROCKETEER AND OTHER FAMOUS '80S COMICS BEGAN RIGHT HERE IN SAN DIEGO - Here's a detailed history of local Pacific Comics, who recruited comic superstars like Jack Kirby to create one of the first successful indie comic book lines. Pioneers in the fight for comic creators' rights and royalties, former employees and operators reveal how they did it, and what went so terribly wrong...
THE KOMPLETE KISS KOMIX KRONICLES - Comprehensive collection of stuff I’ve done about working with Kiss on a comic book series in San Diego, along with a bunch of never-before-seen artifacts from the Kiss Komix archives AND an article by Kiss comic author Spike Steffenhagen, offering his own very-different take, ala Rashomon, on the same events I describe in my essay...
ROCK 'N' ROLL COMICS: THE INSIDE STORY - In 1989, San Diego's Revolutionary Comics ("Unauthorized And Proud Of It") launched Rock 'N' Roll Comics, featuring unlicensed biographies of rock stars, most of which I wrote. Some performers, like Frank Zappa and Kiss, were supportive, while others like New Kids On The Block considered our comics akin to bootlegs and sued. In June 1992, publisher Todd Loren was found dead in his San Diego condo, brutally murdered...
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK VS REVOLUTIONARY COMICS - The inside story of how a hugely successful boy band tried to sue local-based Rock 'N' Roll Comics over an unauthorized biography of the group, sparking a court case that established, for the very first time, first amendment rights for comic books. Illustrated by comic superstar Stuart Immonen (Superman, etc.)...
OVER A MILLION CARNAL COMICS ARE IN PRINT - Here's how and why we made some of the top-selling erotic comics of all time, right here in San Diego, including what Gene Simmons has to do with it all, backstage tales of porn stars, and more confessions of a comic pornographer...
COMICS AND CENSORSHIP - DON'T BE AFRAID, IT'S ONLY A COMIC BOOK - A local-centric history of comic book censorship, and the fight for the rights of comic creators...
TWILIGHT ZONE AND STAR TREK WRITER GEORGE CLAYTON JOHNSON PRESENTS - The inside story of a local horror comic book series featuring Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, plus sci-fi king Larry Niven, Zap Comix co-founder Spain Rodriguez, Matthew Alice artist Rick Geary, Vampire Lestat painter Daerick Gross, yours truly JAS, and many more...
THE BIRTH OF IMAGE COMICS: INSIDE STORY OF A LOCAL PUBLISHING POWERHOUSE - Illustrated tale revealing how Spawn creator Todd McFarlane and local comic artist Jim Lee (the Punisher, etc.) conspired to create the ultimate creator-owned comic books...
"Before It Was The Gaslamp: Balboa's Last Stand" - Cover story 6-21-07: In the late 70s/early 80s, I worked at downtown San Diego's grindhouse all-night movie theaters, for the owner of the Pussycat Theatre chain, Vince Miranda - this detailed feature recalls those dayz, the death of the Balboa Theatre, etc.
"Battle Of The Peeps" - feature article about a weird gig I had in the mid-'80s, running a strip club called Jolar, for the nation's second biggest pornographer, Harry Mohney (Deja Vu Showgirls founder).
"Field Of Screens" - Cover story 7-6-06: Complete theater-by-theater history of San Diego drive-ins thru the years, including a few which screened X-rated fare for awhile.
"Pussycat Theaters - When 'Cathouses Ruled California" -- for the first time, the detailed inside story of the west coast Pussycat Theater chain of adult moviehouses, which peaked in the '70s but later died out. Told by those who actually ran the theaters!
VIRTUAL JEWEL IS SWEET AND WILD
In 2009, the band appeared on a compilation album of 
THE DONKEYS TO PORTRAY FICTIONAL 60S BAND ON TV'S LOST FINALE ON MAY 23?
HAVE YOU SEEN ERICK WALES??
TODAY'S "WHAT THE F-CK" ALBUM COVER
After people checked out the 60 or so comic strip art boards, 
Happy Ron, Bart Mendoza, and Carlos Olmeda, Collage Menage, Neener, Carnal Comics writer Jamie Ralph Gardner, videographers Duane and Susan, and random passersby...
BTW, we had six song entries - 
OWES IT ALL TO THE MAN WITH NO NAME....
Tuesday 4/13 - The Bare Back Grill with hostess 
Thursday 4/15 - Winston's Happy Hour Acoustic Jam in OB from 5 to 8 with me and Kate 5:00 open 5:30 open 6:00 Ves Frank 6:30 Katie Leigh and the Infantry 7:00 Justin Froese 7:30 Soup 
Sunday 4/18 - The debut of 
Artist of the Week: Catch 
Link of the Week: Only a few seats left for 
Cliff Keller says "
Crystal Pollard's story "The Scar" was recently published! 
More Friday Fun! Catch Astra Kelly along with Echo Revolution, Wendy Bailey and Kenta Hayashi this Friday at The Ruby Room.
In case you haven't heard, The Homegrown Hour is on every Sunday night at 8pm and features 10 songs by some of San Diego's best bands and solo artists. 
Artists performing in the next 
Save the Date. My sweet baby turns 40 on Sunday, June 6th and we're celebrating with an all-day picnic at Kate Sessions Park in PB. This park has awesome views and plenty of room for relaxation. It's also the last of the parks that allow drinking of adult bevies. Join us!
Long a favorite for fans of Hawaiian music and century old pop tunes, the current resurgence in popularity has seen many modern era tunes showing up in uke players set lists. 
Reed’s biggest coup to date has been discovering and issuing an 
Hargo's publicity photos include several shots by legendary rock photographer Mick Rock. “His photos were being displayed at Morrison Hotel [in La Jolla],” says Hargo. “We saw in the Reader that he was going to be there, but we missed it by a day. When my dad mentioned it to a yoga teacher in New York, the guy said ‘He’s one of my students.’ When I was there, I asked if I could meet him. He’s a really cool, laid back guy."
PART FOUR: INDIA INDEED
Bellante’s 2008 release 
NEWS SHORTS
TRAVIS BARKER FIGHTS PHOTOGS
TRAVIS BARKER FLYING SOLO (AGAIN)
AS SEEN ON DVD - MiniReviews by JAS
SHERLOCK HOLMES' SMARTER BROTHER: I'm not sure why this isn't ranked up there with Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles - much of the same cast is in place. I just watched it on Encore Channel, for the first time since it was new in theaters in 1975. Tho Mel Brooks didn't direct, I heard his voice doing two cameos, so he was at least hanging around the set - Gene Wilder wrote and directed.
AVATAR: I was prepared to not like Avatar, since most CGI characters leave me cold - but the pro-ecology POV and excellent blend of animations and live action won me over. Mr. Shepherd compares the story and execution to Pocahontas, but really it's more like an adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series. Guy goes to live in another world while asleep, falls for and mates with beautiful and kick-ass tough native lady, wins the respect of huge colored-skin alien dude (green on Mars, blue on Pandora), learns to lead the "savages" to victory over planetside military aggression - some to think of it, Cameron owes the Burroughs estate a bunch of money for this story ----
PLANET OF THE APES: A forest planet for apes DOES make more sense than a sandy desert world, tho this is one of the few tweaks to the original that qualifies as any sort of improvement. Putting the "origin" story in the hands of goth cartoonatic Tim Burton is almost as misplaced an idea as it was to have Rod “Twilight Zone” Serling script the original version (very few of Serling's ideas, words, and social commentary actually made it onto the screen, despite him usually being cited as "screenwriter"). 
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE: Named after one of the weakest Beatles tunes, of around three dozen Beatlecentric cuts covered or referenced in the film, Across the Universe wants to ride the musical comeback wave of High School Musical, Moulin Rouge, or even Hedwig and the Angry Inch - instead, it falls off the board into Sgt Bee Gee's Pepperland and Cop Rock-ville. Why did they bother? And, more annoyingly, why did I watch it expecting anything different? You'd think I would have learned after All This and World War II ----
SHERLOCK HOLMES: I've long been a fan of the Doyle books, and the movie references countless things from the Doyle canon in a way that hardcore fans like me find delightful, but in an action movie context geared surprisingly well for the 21st century crowd, most of whom wouldn't know Sherlock Holmes from the Rolling Stones, or Sherlock's smarter brother Mycroft....
SAN DIEGO'S REELIN' IN THE YEARS CHRONICLES THE BRITISH INVASION
DUSTY SPRINGFIELD - Once Upon A Time 1964 - 1969
GERRY & THE PACEMAKERS - It's Gonna Be All Right 1963 - 1965
HERMAN'S HERMITS - Listen People 1964-1969
(David Peck with Elvis Costello, courtesy Reelin' In the Years) 
McInnes explained to me in a phone interview "What happened was that my friend tried to pour a beer in my mouth while my hands were occupied trying to play accordion for the first time, and it spilled into the [instrument's] bellows. [Weird] Al was a good sport about it - he'd just had the accordion cleaned!" 
TOM DELONGE'S sd HOUSE JUST GOT A LOT CHEAPER - Mark Hoppus says the neighbors are a-holes
I guess it makes sense that rockers as rich as the guys in blink 182 can afford to deep discount. "I guess this is growing up..." and all that, dontcha know. 
I expect the next +44 album will include a tirade against Hoppus' Porsche mechanic ("Fixed my air with faulty parts, now my leather interior smells like farts").
THE RETURN OF ROCK 'N' ROLL COMICS!
Also includes the never-before published “missing” Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics #8 from 1990, on Skid Row. The lack of an eighth issue has vexed collectors and catalogers for years – exactly 20 years later, the story can finally be told, and collectors can finally own ALL the Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics!
As a bonus treat, Hard Rock Heroes also features the Motley Crue comic story from their official box CD set Music To Crash Your Car To II, released in 2004 and written and drawn by original Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics creators Lyndal Ferguson and Larry Nadolsky. 
(colors: Christie Maconnell)
"Great ideas, like the marriage of rock 'n' roll and comics, have the half-life of Uranium and will always be popular," says series co-creator Jay Allen Sanford, who has worked on over 200 reality-based comic books and thousands of similar cartoon strips for the San Diego Reader, as well as for magazines like Rip, Spin, and Oui. "The folks at Bluewater clearly have their fingers on the same pop culture pulse that enabled the original Rock 'N' Roll Comics to become one of the top-selling indie comics of the '90s. Truth is often stranger than fiction...and certainly much more interesting!" 
The Led Zeppelin Experience:
THE BEATLES IN 
UNEXPECTED BEATLES ART - The Fab Four turn up in the oddest places... 
CELEBRITY HOUSE HUNTING IN SAN DIEGO - Real estate broker Jeff Paiste has squired several famous musicians around San Diego in their search for decent digs to lease or rent, including Bread frontman David Gates and the late George Harrison.... 
JOEY MOLLAND/BADFINGER INTERVIEW - Badfinger's last man standing, Joey Molland, reveals more about the tragic story of Badfinger, as well as meeting and working with John Lennon, George Harrison, and Todd Rundgren, plus the Concert for Bangladesh, and more. 
THE DAY JOHN LENNON WAS SHOT - Local celebs share their recollections of December 8, 1980, plus guest essays from Al Kooper (who was recording with George Harrison that day) and others.... 
