RATT Infestation at the OC Fair

So my intentions were to really dig into this whole blogging business...but obviously I lost focus early on. I have a lot of great ideas, but never seems to be enough time. I will move forward to post more frequently, but chances are the content will be limited, however, riveting all the same. Well, at least it is in my mind.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Have you heard that the Orange County Fair had a Ratt infestation this past Sunday, 8/1? Ok, so maybe not rodents, but certainly the Pacific Amphitheater had its share of men and women with rat infested hair styles!

The show started off with Dokken, and I will say that frontman, Don Dokken was full of jokes. With nearly a dozen albums over the years, I guess I must not have been that big of fan because I only recognized a handful of songs. The same was true of Ratt - I think I might have recognized 5 songs total. But it didn't stop me from playing air drums and rocking out.

Dokken songs I recognized: Breaking the Chains, In My Dreams, ...there were a few others, but the names escape me.

Ratt songs I recognized: Round and Round, Wanted Man, Back for More, Loving You is a Dirty Job, ...and a few others, but song titles are lost on me.

And more than anything, watching the crowd was full of good finds!! Women in tight clothing who should not have been in tight clothing. I suppose the same could be said for some of the men as well. Oh, and if someone would have given me a dollar for every Iron Maiden shirt we saw that night, I'd be covered for my next Vegas trip!!

Another preview track from PJL. Enjoy!

A guy I used to know...

So there's a guy I used to know. Well, I still know him. But if it weren't for the Internet, chances are we probably wouldn't be in touch. Thanks to Facebook and other various social networking sites, I can share this with my TWO followers...

I met Paul in 1985, I think. Chances are that our paths crossed starting in 1982 when we were freshmen at St. Francis High School in Mountain View, CA but we didn't actually communicate until our junior year. He was in the SFHS band. And he had a band. Two totally different concepts...and it was the band he formed outside of school that made me a fan. Back then it was Osiris that rocked my world...

There were other bands that he did stuff and things with. Such as Colorfield and The Floydian Slips.  The one that I remember best was The Strangers. Man, I loved their music. Would catch a show or two when they passed through Chico, and I thought for sure they would make it big.

Fast forward 24 or so years. Turns out that Paul has decided to put together a solo album. About freakin' time, my friend. Figure since the goal of my blog is primarily about the music that I love, this is as good a place as any to share the news about A Fear of Flashing Light, the new solo CD by Paul Lesinski. I've had the opportunity to hear 2 songs so far, and think they sound lovely. Am looking foward to hearing more.  For a taste, check out Wondering Why, a song originally created in 1989.

Enjoy.

ps... check out PJL's blog @ Isorski's Musings.

Rest in Peace Ronnie James Dio

Sunday, May 16, 2010 is a sad day indeed. Early in the morning, the news broke that Ronnie James Dio had  passed away after a battle with stomach cancer. Now, truth be told, I haven't listened to Dio or much metal over the past few years, but youthful memories of Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Dio cannot be ignored.  No one can deny that the 5'4" head banger, who created the devil horns, knew how to bring the rock.

When I see lightning - you know it always brings me down
Cause it's free and I see that it's me
Who's lost and never found
Feel the magic -feel it floating in the air
But it's fear - and you'll hear
It calling you beware ...

Bring the Rock @ Largo at the Coronet - Friday, May 7, 2010

Friday, May 7, 2010

I've been meaning to blog about this, but have been busy with finishing up my master's program that I almost forgot. But trust me, all it takes is a moment to remember! What an amazing night!

To start, the girls (Elizabeth, Kelly, and Anna) and I had been planning for this day/evening for a few weeks. Thanks to my friend, Cosmo, we had found out that Josh Homme would be a part of this event and that became the incentive to take a half day off work and head out to LA!

I'm a late bloomer, so I had not a clue what Bring the Rock was. Turns out that it is the brain child of Greg Behrendt (think a punk rock Ty Pennington on speed), who by all accounts is fan-freakin-tabulous! Truth be told, when he first came out, I thought perhaps he was gay (it was the sweater), but he did make reference of a wife in regards to his story of how this show came to be. The man loves music. He loves everything about it. The sound and the stories behind how the music came to be. I totally respect that. I wish I could be that committed.

Back track for just a moment. Friday came, the girls and I worked a half day so we could make sure we'd have a spot in line for front/center seats. We got to LA shortly before 3p and got situated. Wandered over to Largo at the Coronet which is a stunning and intimate less than 300 seat theater. The box office was open and the gentleman working was awesome. We were told to come back at 7 to get our seating assignment but that as "diehard fans are rewarded" he guaranteed us front and center. This allowes us to spend the afternoon wandering the area, grabbing a bite to eat, and in the end discovering the tastiest tequila I've ever had!!

Once back at Largo, we hung out until it was time to go in. Ran into Dweezil Zappa who was attending the show in support of his sister, Moon who would be performing.  Speaking of peforming, here is how the show went:

The show opened with  Reigning Monarchs - Mike Eisenstein, Peter Adams, Mark Rivers along with Nina Gordon (Veruca Salt) and Jeff Russo (Tonic) who made up the band The Eletrick SnoFlake. Think of a very white bread folky looking group. And then they broke into their version of Straight Out of Compton. You get the idea. Funny stuff!! In between the various comedians/musicians, The Eletrick SnoFlake entertained the full house.

For a more entertaining review, here is what Greg had to say about the evening:

Friday night's Bring The Rock at Largo was a total blast in the pants area. It's been at least 3 years since we've done one here in Los Angeles, and that was at the old Largo where if you got 75 people you had a rocking house. Well the new Largo At The Coronet holds about 280 Hot Punks and Kittens which is much harder to fill. Especially since I'm not nearly as popular as I once was. I am however slightly better dressed. (Note Day Of The Dead grey cardi and shorty tux pants w/ Chucks) But thanks to the big heartedness of Ben Stiller, Moon Zappa, Josh Homme, Paul Greenberg and Brendan Walsh we were able to fill that sucker up for one of the best nights of entertainment you can have in skin. Josh from Queens of The Stoneage regaled us with a story about having a midget hurled at him in Germany. Brendon talked about taking to many mushrooms and missing Ween, Ben shared the surreal experience of he and Judd Apatow pitching the the Rolling Stones a movie idea that Mick had pitched to them to pitch to the rest of the band unbeknownst to the band, and Moon confessed to having a bizarre romantic? relationship with Mike Bordin drummer for Faith No More. Each story was followed up by a song sometimes performed by the story teller and Electrik Snowflake who opened the show alone with the prettiest version of Straight Outta Compton you are likely to hear. Oh and my buddy and comedy genius Paul Greenberg gave a drum miming seminar. Me? I sported a poumpahawk, (my word) did something funny? and then was unable to play my favorite song on guitar! Proceeds went to support Stillerstrong.org We will do one again in late summer! I'm making my wish list now. Does anyone know Dave Grohl or Brad Pitt? STAY TUNED

Highlights for me:

• Listening to Josh's story of being in Germany and having a very large man toss a midget on stage, who then went into full ninja stance before jumping back into the crowd. Story got better, since according to Josh, he figures anything thrown on stage becomes his. And later on after the show while hitting on the female bartender, the large man appears claiming that the woman is his girlfriend. Seeing the midget, Josh claimes "well, that's my midget."  Moral of the story is that if Josh claims all items tossed on stage as his, then I'm sure as fuck going to find a way to catapult my big ass onto stage during the next show!!
• Ben Stiller telling stories about being approached by Mick Jagger with a movie pitch. And then the surrealness of watching Stiller play the drums w/ ESF. Playing a Stones song of course.
• Moon Zappa was an amazing story teller with awesome comedic timing! She closed the show w/ feather in her cap and an emotionally funny version of Colors of the Wind, a song from Pocahontas: " Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon, Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned? Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains? Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?"  Damn good stuff!!!

Photos: 

Shifty turns 39 today!!

Happy Birthday to Christopher Aubrey Shiflett!

Sure, he may be known as that guy from the Foo Fighters, but he really is so much more!

Shiftography
1997: No Use for a Name - Making Friends
1997: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Have a Ball
1998: Swingin' Utters - Five Lessons Learned (lead guitar on "I Need Feedback" and "United 21")
1998: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Are a Drag
2001: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Blow in the Wind
2002: Foo Fighters - One by One
2003: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Take a Break
2004: Jackson United - Western Ballads
2004: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah
2005: Foo Fighters - In Your Honor
2006: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Love Their Country
2007: Jesse Malin - Glitter In The Gutter (additional guitar on "Prisoners Of Paradise")
2007: Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
2008: Jackson United - Harmony & Dissidence
2008: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Have Another Ball

I've had the pleasure of meeting Chris a handful of times. And I must say that he is truly one of the nicest guys I've ever met. I absolutely love Jackson United and when Chris performs acoustic style, I do what I can to see as many shows as possible. There's so much more I'd like to write about Chris, but sadly need to focus on work today. Just wanted to wish him a happy 39th!

You say "Groupie"...I say "Music Appreciator"

"They don't even know what it is to be a fan. Y'know? To truly love some silly little piece of music, or some band, so much that it hurts."Sapphire, Almost Famous

So, my husband and a handful of friends accuse me of being a groupie. I say that is just not true. For those who don't know me, here is a brief history. In 2007, I won tickets to see The Police at Dodger Stadium. This is one of those bands I never had a chance to see in the 80s and was always sad I missed out. This was also one of those big name shows that were out of my price range. So, winning tickets was a huge bonus! What I didn't realize was that after going to the show and seeing the Foo Fighters open, that my life would change.

I didn't even know I was a FF fan until seeing them live that day. Every song hit me like a ton of bricks. By the time they were done performing, I thought "forget The Police, I want more of this..." Dont' get me wrong, The Police were awesome and I had a blast seeing them, but by the time I got home that night, I was online searching for anything and everything Foo. So began the obsession. Nearly 3 years later, I have seen at least a dozen or more FF shows, along with a handful of various side project shows, including Me First and The Gimme Gimmes, Jackson United, Chris Shiflett (acoustic), Chevy Metal, Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders, Sunny Day Real Estate, and of course, the huge sensation "super band", Them Crooked Vultures.

Does this make me a groupie? Well, first off, according to wikipedia, a "groupie is a person who seeks emotional and sexual intimacy with a musician or other celebrity." I can safely say, I am not a groupie. I truly love music. Given the opportunity, I would have traveled the earth to see The Doors, Led Zeppelin, or Pink Floyd.  All bands I am passionate about. But the fact is by the time I became old enough to go to concerts, these bands no longer existed. The Foos and all things branching off from Dave, Chris, Taylor or Nate have become my Zeppelin.

I guess what it all comes down to is this is what makes me happy. I work hard and am a faithful wife and dedicated friend...I pay my bills and obey most laws. And dammit, I will continue to love my rock and roll.

"We are not Groupies. Groupies sleep with rockstars because they want to be near someone famous. We are here because of the music, we inspire the music. We are Band Aids." ~ Penny Lane, Almost Famous