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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

yes...T- H - E TERRY REID plus BRANDY ROW, 9.24.14

 

 Upon my excited declaration of going to photograph Terry Reid playing live at Molly Malone's viewing-friendly The Snug venue on 9.24.14, online friend Stephen Schmidt  queried, "Do you mean THE Terry Reid?!"  (filmmaker Stephen proudly boasts of Reid's autograph on his beer bottle circa 1992.)
Yes, T H E  Terry Reid of legendary superlungs, songwriting prowess and guitar heroism from the mid-1960s and up. He is always on everyone's favorite singers' lists, and his "Terry Reid- Terry Reid" lp remains on your humble photojournalist's top ten ever of anything list for songwriting, feel, and rowdy delivery of all seeming instant classics--his compositions Mayfly, Rich Kid Blues, Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace, Silver White Light and covers Superlungs My Supergirl, Highway 61 and Stay With Me Baby

One should note the world at large prefers and deifies his later work "River" for its sublime, quiet and pensive sweep a la Nick Drake, whom we no longer have. And the world should cower in awe that we indeed still have Reid. His rollercoaster travails have been much documented, but with no degree of separation I can vouch for one of them. Reid once had a now long gone manager so career-toxic that the latter was suspended from his law profession with the judge noting on public record that aforementioned manager was much vilified for constantly writing bad checks. Even I had sued him about same (and am not nor was not naive about business. His first check for my creative services cleared and the second one bounced sky-high, the manager's modus operandi. I had him arrested when he stood up our court date. He now flips houses on reality television.) 

Naturally for any creative artist with such gifts, Terry Reid prefers to experiment throughout the assorted decades' march. In a graciously granted mini-interview, he expounded on his current choices,"I always like challenges and thought the direction of Latin music underpinning my songwriting was a good match now. Later I realized the complexity of Latin rhythms probably always had been there in my music, which has had a lot of range to match the vocals." *


Hence this gig featured the combo of Reid on predictably sublime vocals and some rather interesting  acoustic guitars, alongside renowned bassist Chico Rey and drummer Jorge Corona. The set featured much from the "River" release, and quite a bit of Reid's amusing onstage banter. Reid's warm rapport with the crowd prompted it to answer with joking, faux-teenage squeals of "Terry! Terry!" a la his teenage popstar daze, and to launch the novelty of participatory slow dancing to a major act (see pic below.) 


Rogue British "truebadour" (one of his band names) Brandy Row sang a solo set of his edgy modern ballads and observations. He struck me as a quite talented mashup of both of Oasis' Gallagher brothers (snarky but indisputably top tier) without the concomitant problems. We didn't see much of his fabled full-sleeves ink onstage except an ascot of neck decoration and his hands. He remains one to watch. 


 I'd be remiss if I didn't quote the most touching assertion to acts by a promoter I've ever read. Chico Rey not only played bass for Terry but produced this show and offered the following on his social media before the gig, "To my dear friend Terry who has served as an inspiration to a young boy, who never compromised and stood for his ground for himself and a testament to integrity, I thank you. To young Brandy I hope you enjoy this night, because it's the small shows and the beginning of one's journey that you remember, not all the craziness that follows. I thank you."

PHOTO OPS:
Rock and roll couturier Evita Corby and Terry Reid, 
longtime chums from Evita's days booking On The Rox at 
the Roxy Club in Hollywood CA.
*It was a mini-interview because I was blurting out how Godhead his 1969 self-titled album was to all my punk rock friends and me. I think at least half of the major bands I've known immediately covered something from that self-titled Terry Reid album as soon as it came out...


More info galore, go to Terry Reid website: LINK
Brandy Row website: LINK
Chico Rey website: LINK
(show sponsor) Foxes Cosmetics: LINK as modeled by The Glam Skanks see LINK

Sunday, September 28, 2014

NEVER MIND THE RULES: SUSAN HYATT and LINA LECARO ROCK/WORK OUT


In an event promoting their forthcoming book Never Mind The Rules: How To Rock At Love, authors Susan Hyatt and Lina Lecaro held a free Pilates And Champagne workout in Studio City, Calif. 
9/14/14 for a fortunate few.

Susan's genuine rock and roll pedigree via her bands Stimulator, The Sirens of Soho (it's their "Calling All My Girls" as theme song on the "Bethanny" reality tv show,) The Pandoras, the 21st Century Pandoras, Magnifica, et al. served her well. The workout playlist included Nine Inch Nails, Hole, Iggy and The Stooges, Goldfrapp, Marilyn Manson and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
 

Above, left to right: workout women were interviewed on their nonconformist approaches to romance for a video related to the book. Seen here is Susan with Lisa Rae Black, guitarist in their mutual band the 21st Century Pandoras (center photo); right: Susan solo.

Here's a song I like by Stimulator, one of Susan Hyatt's bands: 

JOYEUX ANNIVERSAIRE Be`Be`!



(photographers
unknown)
Happy Birthday Brigitte Bardot. 
"I gave my beauty and my youth to men. I am going to give my wisdom and experience to animals."- Be`Be`

She remains controversial because she is such a public commodity. Despite this, I prefer to think of her as a magnified, iconic version of a multifaceted human being, albeit one of jaw-droppingly astounding beauty. Her unfortunate National Front associations could stem from impatience with those cultures which have not evolved from kneejerk cruelty to animals and diminution of women as their social norm and who now want to impose same on her beloved France. Were my French at all fluent, I'd suggest education rather than excoriation as a better tactic to our 80-year-old birthday grrrrl...

Sunday, September 21, 2014

BLUE FLOWERS

Blue flowers, I know not what. Sorta cymbidium-looking. Affordable at supermarket for photo subject and niceness at home.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

ROCK OUT WITH 3HAB. REALLY.





Fun evening last night in Simi Valley with vastly overachieving jam band 3HAB of the musical conglomerate 3HAB,Ahab/Rehab, and visitor Stephen Schmidt, film production sound engineer in from West Virginny. With Tony Matteucci from THE DOGS, James Hawkins formerly with Etta James and Little Caesar and Clackers Kay with anybody great locally, this power trio submits perfect arrangements and performances of Jimi Hendrix, Savoy Brown, Van Halen, The Who, Cream and my favorite in their set, ballad  "To Sir With Love" by Lulu. Anyone local to Los Angeles/SoCal area missing them in future should kick themself silly. WAY too good for the venues they often play...

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

THE GLAM SKANKS- ROCKED AND LOADED

Bad ass musicians and cute to boot! THE GLAM SKANKS played Club Loaded in 
Hollywood CA 9.6.14 to debut their five count 'em five new videos.


  It's hard to keep up with the lineup changing their stage noms des guerre for each gig, but currently it's Ali Cat (Ali Torres) on lead vocals, V (Veronica Witkin) on guitar, Breanna Blue (Breanna Fields) on bass, and Linzy Jewlz (Lindsay Martin) on drums.
Music biz kids exposed to pro talent and work ethics from tender ages, it shows. Terrific musicians the lot of them, and Ali has that real rock drive voice one never encounters on tv contests.




 


Lead singer Ali Cat
trespassing on early Linda Ronstadt's brunette sultriness...


Their set is about 80% fun, original songs and 20% glam covers. They demonstrably are doing everything right, and can only get even better. Sadly, I'll never work for them because they've got the photographer for Aerosmith and Johnny Depp right there in the family (and I like her, genuine nice person and true animal-lover.) But it's always fun to catch major acts at the nascent ascent of an inevitable upward curve. And as a non-blood-relative fan wrote on Facebook, "We NEED a current all female band who are great!" 



What ARE those girls doing?!? Would Bowie and Ronson have approved?









For more info go to LINK
First released of their five videos below:

Sunday, September 14, 2014

POP TEEN TITAN KODA CORVETTE / MISS LELA BROWN / DJ KISS plus ANDREW LANE


 

Message from a teenage opera: 
this photofeature dispatch delved into the successful world of Teen Pop. On 9.3.14, multi-platinum, award-winning producer Andrew Lane (Backstreet Boys, Hannah Montana, Disneymania) presented the showcase/launch party for 15-year-old singer KODA CORVETTE at S.I.R. Studios in Hollywood CA, abetted by already mature talents of 12-year-old Miss Lela Brown and 11-year-old DJ Kiss.  Mr. Lane displays much  natural warmth in guiding these teen and pre-teen professionals through the rigors of today's pop music biz. 

Ms. Corvette, originally from Portland OR by way of her Swiss-German family, evinced much confidence in her singing, songwriting, navigating the corps du ballet while dancing, and red carpet, work-the-room know how. She also performed a solo turn at the piano to show off that special voice. At the set's end, she thanked her choreographer as well as Mr. Lane, high-fiving the latter.
 
 







Opener was Miss Lela Brown, hip hop artist with an haute couture fashion model-worthy strut whose interactive approach to go carousing in the audience a la Iggy Pop was appreciated. DJ Kiss kept the sounds spinning.
 

 


 RED CARPET PHOTO OPS:
Below left: Koda Corvette, her father and brother share the glory. Right: Everybody! Below, producer Andrew Lane of Drew Right Productions with actress Fallon Smythe; last but hardly least, music industry legend Russ Regan with Lane.