Happy Halloween Bruce Style!

Image by bogdog Dan via FlickrWow, this is Bruce like I never saw him....I got scared just watching! ;)

Haven't Written Much Lately

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball that you were not prepared for. I feel like one hit me in the head....so I haven't been writing or commenting much but I'm still here. Hoping for some real exciting music news to happen soon...

Movie Ticket Winner!

There was a huge drawing for the winner of the 2 free tickets to the Paul Rogers and Queen movie (see this post for details). Ok, so the drawing wasn't huge, but it was still fun to see which name I picked out of the hat. The winner is:

Drew

Led Zeppelin to Tour!

The question is:

Is it REALLY Led Zeppelin without Robert Plant?

I asked in a previous post if you would go see Zeppelin sans Roberto. I am still not sure how I feel about it. I think a lot of it will depend on prices.

Today In Rock History

I have this little button you can click in my sidebar that will lead you to a cool site to find out what relevant rock happenings occurred on any given date.

On this date back in 1964 two young blokes ran into each other on a train and that reunion was the beginning of one of the biggest rock bands ever...

Check out the Rock and Roll Guru to find out who I'm talking about it you don't know.

On a sadder note, todday in 1991 Bill Graham, legendary rock and roll promter, died in a helicopter crash. If you're unfamiliar with him, I recommend skimming through his bio. He had an incredibly interesting life and a generous caring heart for the artists and the attendees of the thousands of concerts he promoted. His name appears on most of my older ticket stubs.

Graham was killed in a helicopter crash near Vallejo, California in 1991, while returning home from a Huey Lewis and the News concert at the Concord Pavilion.^[5] Graham had attended the event to discuss promoting a benefit concert for the victims of the 1991 Oakland firestorm, after a large portion of the Oakland/Berkeley Hills burned.

Bob Dylan Story

I was just visiting Jeff at Imagine Echoes and he has a review of the new DVD "Inside Bob Dylan’s Jesus Years: Busy Being Born…Again!".  It reminded me of a story from my own life.  I'll preface it with a quote from Jeff's blog:

"Inside Bob Dylan's Jesus Years is an in depth look at the evangelical Dylan era. There are many who probably never knew that Dylan went through this stage in his life which means that there are many who wouldn't have any reason to watch this film."

I'm not good with dates but I would guess this happened in very early 80's.  Here is the short version of this story that I may have told here already, if so, I apologize for repeating myself (they say the memories the first thing to go as we age...)

I was on the beach drinking beer with my boyfriend, Nuel.  We heard that Bob Dylan was going to be doing a free concert that evening not far from where we lived.  Nuel was ecstatic and said we were going but I didn't want to go because of the venue.  This "free concert" just happened to be at a huge church in Costa Mesa called Calvary Chapel. 

It was the height of Dylan's "Jesus Years" and I thought it would be very hypocritical of us to go see him for free at a church.  It seemed so wrong (now looking back, it doesn't seem wrong, just weird).  But Nuel insisted.  So we got in the car and drove down there.  I had my arms crossed over my chest and was not speaking to him the whole way there and refused to get out of the car.  After all, I was a woman of principal and I was not backing down.  PLUS we were both kind of drunk and I thoguht God would strike us dead if we stepped foot into His House while intoxicated. 

So I sat in the car and listened while Nuel sat in the church.  I eventually snuck up and looked in to at least SEE Bob.  So that was it.  Nuel eventually got bored because he was hoping for Bob's classic tunes but all he got was preaching and Christian songs.  Looking back the whole thing seems silly, especially the fact that we were drinking on the beach...

I Will have one of these to review, then give away, so let me know if you are a Cheap Trick fan!

“I WANT YOU... TO WANT... ME” ON DVD!

CHEAP TRICK’S BUDOKAN!: 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION,

CHEAP TRICK’S LIVE AT BUDOKAN NOW BECOMES A “SIGHT & SOUND” EVENT AS 1978 CONCERT FOOTAGE IS RELEASED FOR THE FIRST TIME, ALONGSIDE NEWLY MIXED AND MASTERED AUDIO OF THE ORIGINAL CONCERT ON 3 CDs

Movie Tickets for Paul Rogers and Queen!

I've been given the opportunity to offer YOU two free tickets to this one night only showing!
Here is a link that shows locations of theaters. I have two free tickets to give away and am doing it the old fashioned way: picking a name out of a hat. So if you are interested and will use these tickets, leave your name in the comments and I will have the drawing on Tuesday, October 28th at 6pm PST. Good luck!

Bruce and Billy Raise $7 Million for Barak

Regardless of your political thoughts....this must have been a damn good show. I would love it if they release the DVD (it was recorded). We;ll see.

There is a good review that I hoisted off of Pete's blog, Blogness at the Edge of Town. If you go to his blog whatever you do, do NOT read point number three under the Billy/Bruce post, its crazy.)
or you can read the review here.

Don Miggs Interview on The Ripple Effect:

The Ripple Effect has an excellent interview with one of my favorite musicians, Don Miggs. I've loved his band, MIGGS, ever since I first heard them back in 06, or was it 07?

If your interested in the review check it out here. You can also check out Miggs on their myspace page and buy their music.

Here is a clip of Don singing a Springsteen song, and not an easy one to sing, he does it well:

Review of "The Best of Bond" CD

The music for the James Bond's  movies has always been a huge part of each film.  This CD compiles the best of them.  It's a winner.  Check it out if you like Bond, James Bond.

Just as James Bond has evolved over time, so have the films’ memorable themes.  ‘The Best Of Bond… James Bond’ collects an impressive selection of classic and contemporary Bond themes by many of popular music’s top stars, including Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Live & Let Die,” Madonna’s “Die Another Day,” Duran Duran’s chart-topping “A View To A Kill,” Shirley Bassey’s “Goldfinger,” Tina Turner’s “GoldenEye,” kd lang’s “Surrender,” Sheryl Crow’s “Tomorrow Never Dies,” Chris Cornell’s “You Know My Name,” Carly Simon’s “Nobody Does It Better,” and Tom Jones’ “Thunderball,” among many others.  John Arnold’s previously unreleased “James Bond Theme” closes the collection.

Related articles by Zemanta

• "Best of Bond.... James Bond" to be Released Ahead of "Quantum Solace"

I'm Going to the Symphony:

Saturday night I'll be going to the Cerritos Permorming Arts Center for this:

"Bridging the gulf between rock n’ roll and classical music, conductor/arranger Brent Havens takes the podium to present The Music of Led Zeppelin, a program he scored to extend the listening experience of Led Zeppelin’s timeless tunes.

Performed by an orchestra and amplified with a full rock band and screaming vocals, Havens and his ensemble capture Led Zeppelin’s “sheer blast and power” riff for riff while cranking out new musical color."

Is Ringo Looking for Attention or What?

I know I may get bashed for saying this....but I've never been overly impressed with Ringo Starr. I think he's a fine drummer and all but the least talented of the four Beatles.

When I saw this clip yesterday I was not sure if it was a joke or a gimmick or if maybe he had a few too many bowls of the good stuff...


What do you think is up with Ringo and his video request for "no more fan mail".

Blog Action Day 08

If you are interested, I posted on poverty today at my other blog, Writing from the Inside Out, for Blog Action Day '08.

Shakespeare and U2 - I'm Up for That

U2 the musical: it’s a beautiful day for Bono and the Bard

It’s the Bard meets Bono and is the hottest musical in Burbank California this month. A US theatre company has mixed U2 and Shakespeare to create hit musical As U2 Like It.

Matt Walker, the show’s creator, said: "Even though Shakespeare and U2 are nearly 400 years apart, there’s such a similarity in the language they use. They share common themes too which include love and loss, heartbreak and politics."

See online : Sunday Tribune

Ken Sweeney Entertainment Editor

I need to check into this since its in my area!  

Yep, I can imagine this as a U2 lyric:  "What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."

Other Music

Image via WikipediaWhat have you been listening to lately?

I've been listening to very little true Classic Rock in the last few days.  Not sure what it means but I think I just need the less familiar right now.  Sometimes life gets fragile and you  have to be careful where you visit in your own mind...


Pink
Cat Stevens
Marc Broussard
Indigo Girls
The Eurythmics
Jem
Gavin Rossdale
Black Lab
Kings o Leon
Radiohead
Counting Crows
Nina Gordon

TEST

this is a test to see if Twitterfeed works....

Todd Rundren "Arena" Review

Todd Rundgren is considered to be a creative genius because of his many talents and roles: producer, song-writer, guitarist, pianist, drummer, video director, engineer, and computer programmer! He recently turned 60 years old and to celebrate performed this new release, “Arena” in its entirely live.

Anyone wondering if his career was over after not hearing from him for four years – the answer is “absolutely not”. This album indicates that he is still full of energy and ideas. Todd describes Arena as “big stadium rock”. I didn’t have the urge to flick my Bic and wave it around while listening, but I did play it twice in a row and found myself liking it very much. On the second time through I picked up on a theme of social injustice, gun control and peace running through the lyrics. I also noticed some influence of Ac/DC, Bad Company and Boston.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I still associate Todd Rundgren singing ballads but this is definitely more of the “Utopia” Todd (someone said of him that he’s a musical schizophrenic and had to “form an alter ego (the band Utopia) to explore his 'progressive ' ideas and leave his pop ideas for his solo albums.”

I read this quoate sums him up well, “Anyone who can pen a beautiful love song and at the same time deliver a head-banging rocker has got to be special”. This album is for the head bangers!

Image by cindy47452 via Flickr

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I've been talking to a friend about Syd Barrett and what an interesting person he was. Trying to decide what our favorite Pink Floyd songs are. That's impossible! But if I absolutely had to pick one it would be....Wish You Were Here followed closely by Shine on You Crazy Diamond.

Santana Fans:

MULTI DIMENSIONAL WARRIOR EXPLORES SPIRITUAL ESSENCE OF SANTANA

ALL TRACKS PERSONALLY SELECTED BY CARLOS SANTANA

Title arrives in stores October 14th of Columbia/Legacy

"In an unprecedented concept, disc one comprises 14 vocal performances chosen from albums spanning the 1970s, ’80s, ’90s, and ’00s, while disc two comprises 14 instrumental performances from albums covering the same years. MULTI DIMENSIONAL WARRIOR is the first anthology to include tracks from the band’s three major label associations: Columbia , Polydor/ PolyGram, and Arista/BMG"

There is an interview with Carlos about the project and much more info here.

Update:  I will be receiving one to review!  Honestly, I already KNOW it will be excellent.  I love the idea of having the instrumental only songs separate.  Santana can be great background music for a hot date....

CCR 40th Annivesary Release (and update on my record album project)

I've always been a fan of Creedance Clearwater Revival and thought it was a shame that the brothers had such a hard time getting along...its bad enough when two bandmates, like David Gilmore and Roger Waters, can't agree, but Tom and John Fogerty were brothers!

Their music reminds me of growing up in the 70's and opening the package of the 6 CDs I received in the mail brought those memories flooding back! The art work on the CDs is very cool, its having little mini record albums. I highly recommend this set to any CCR fan. I stumbled across a really good review of this set on a blog I'd never seen before, check it out, its called Bag of Songs.

I'm looking forward to listening to each album all the way through again, I noticed some songs on there that seemed "new" to me. These guys were actually pretty versatile and weren't afraid to experiment. But they will always be rememberd for their biggest hits.

Here are my personal favorites. What are yours?

• Born on the Bayou
• Down on the Corner
• Fortunate Son
• Green River
• Have You Ever Seen the Rain
• Hey Tonight
• Lodi
• Lookin' Out My Back Door
• Proud Mary
• Someday Never Comes
• Sweet Hitch-Hiker
• Travelin' Band
• Who'll Stop the Rain

(Update on my record album project....its going to take some doing to get to that precious box so hopefully I will have the energy for it tomorrow!)

A Sad Tale of Record Albums

Been thinking alot about vinyl lately, I'm so glad its coming back!  This weekend I am going to climb up to the top shelf of my garage storage and pull out "the Box" so I can share the remnants of my collection with you.

Image via Wikipedia

Here's a quick history of me and my record albums:

Age 4 - it was all about The Beatles.  Those albums weren't mine, but they are now.
Age 9 - 12 I started my collection with  mostly mellow sounds like Carole King, Joni Mithcell Cat Stevens, Simon and Garfunkle, Rod Stewart, Elton John.  Then I discovered REAL MUSIC...rock and roll that soothed my soul.  Pink Floyd, Zeppelin, Cream, Humble Pie, The Stones.  I had about 100 albums or so by the time I moved out of my mom's house at age 19.

Came home one night and along with my strereo, they had been ripped off.  My entire collection...gone.

Slowly rebuilt.  Got all the ones I used to have and added more, U2, Springsteen, Bowie, The Clash, Iron Maiden, Van Halen, etc. etc. etc.  Lets just say I had pretty much anything you could think of that was pop, rock or heavy metal.  Around 200 albums.

Then....I went to church and to leave the ugly details out lets just say I believed the bullshit I was told and as a good Christian I TOSSED my entire record collection into the trash.  Crying the whole time.  But brainwashed to think I was doing it to please God (if there is a God he would never make me throw away Pink Floyd or any others).

I did make ONE exception.  I kept Bruce, I had every album he'd done (still do) and justified that he didn't cuss or sing trashy songs so God would be okay with him.

People - is this sad or what?

Luckily, as sisters do, many of my albums were intermingled with hers, so a few years later I discovered that I still had about 50 records left (the stuff she liked more than me....)

Lesson:  Never get brainwashed by a relilgion or cult.  Never listen to anyone who tells you music is "wrong".  Music is art, communitcion, poetry. 

I'll take some photos of my remaining box of vinyl and post some here over the weekend.

The Ripple Effect on the Radio, with special guest...me!

I just got off the air with Pope, Racer and Boston - the guys from the The Ripple Effect blog - one of the best music blogs on-line.

When they asked me to be a guest on their show I was flattered but scared....me, on the radio? NO WAY! I would make an @ss of myself, I'm a "written-word" kinda girl. But how could I turn down a request from these musical connoisseurs? I admire their ability to FIND GREAT MUSIC plus they are so funny and, underneath the humor, very professional with their show.

"Catch the best music you're not listening to on the Ripple Effect. Now every other week on internet radio. Wednesday night 9 pm Ripple (pacific) time. Hit button for details."

So thanks, guys, it was so much fun and you helped me through!

They asked me to bring three songs for them to play and I chose:

"Songs for Boys" by U2 off their first album "Boy"
"Come Home" by Back Door Slam off their first (and only so far) album
"Suddenly Wonderful" by MIGGS, one of my favorite bands that you may have never heard of...yet

I had so much fun talking to those guys. If you want to discover new music their blog is a great place to go to read reviews and the radio show is an excellent place to hear their weekly selections.

The guys said some incredibly generous things about my blog and compared it to a local bar where people stopped in after work to say hi, chat with each other and see what was new. I can't think of a higher compliment! THANKS AGAIN FOR HAVING ME!

TRUE CONFESSIONS:
Just listened to the interview - I don't like how I came across when they complimented my blog...I was stunned by their kind words and trying not to sound all emotional (a typical response for me) so instead I came across kind of BLAH like "oh thanks, guys". I will learn for next time to not THINK, to just BE and hopefully it will go better. :)