Musical ramblings from the manager
For the purpose of this two parter, we are defining ‘Celebrity Sightings’ as casual encounters with persons who have a reason to be widely known to the public. Getting to see the Black Crowes first at the Hollywood Palladium and later at the Wiltern Theater don’t count as ‘encounters’. Seeing a celebrity standing five feet […]
One of my favorite cartoonists these days is Pearls Before Swine creator Stephan Pastis. I have never met him, but I always enjoy reading the introduction he writes for his daily cartoon strip compilations. Many of them involve his dealings with fans and/or other cartoonist. In his honor, I almost called this FTV Sometimes […]
You read that right: “Gigs in the Round”, not “Getting Around to Gigs”. Transportation to and from gigs is a different chapter. This one will discuss gigs where the band is not on a traditional stage but literally surrounded by the crowd they are playing for. The name more than likely is a play […]
What were you listening to during the Summer of Love? Listening to the radio then meant AM Top 40 as FM was just getting to be the next big thing. At 13 going on 14 years old, I was listening to a lot of pop songs and chumming around with a new piano playing […]
Every pet owner knows that their pet is the best ever – so we sadly announce the passing of our Mr Mittens aka Mittu, our wonderful Hemingway polydactyl cat. He was a large, shy black cat with probable Maine Coon genetics (a BIG boy) who brought us much joy. Alas, at approximate age 15 (he […]
“Look them in the eye and give them a good, firm handshake. None of that ‘wet dishrag’ stuff.” If you had this conversation with your father at some point in your younger years, welcome to the fraternity. I am not exactly sure how far back in time this goes, but when this piece of […]
James Brown lived by “The One”. He learned his rhythmic chops from drummers who learned them from the African traditions of their ancestors. The emphasis on what Brown referred to as “hitting the one” gave him his unique brand of music. Whether it was called “soul” or “funk”, it was a pulsing, drum propelled […]
“The hardest working man in show business.” James Brown couldn’t even escape this title when he died in December of 2006. His family memorial service was squeezed between bookend engagements at The Apollo Theater in New York City and the James Brown Arena in Augusta, Georgia. In holding true with his life on the road, […]
Among the many hats my father wore during his 40 plus year tenure as an employee of the State of Michigan, one was that of a detective. If one ponders the skills that make a good detective, it doesn’t take too much imagination to understand why I never found it in my best interests […]
Contrary to an urban musical myth I am about to burst, not all rock drummers hailing from across the pond are named Mick. Listening to Jeff Beck’s Truth recently (with that relatively unknown vocalist named Rod Stewart out front), I noted the exceptional drumming done by Mick Waller. This got me to […]