Nov 04
Feb 05
Here’s some ultra cool photos of some classic bands in their prime. You’ve got Van Halen in the pre-record deal days with photos from the Whiskey and Starwood clubs in Hollywood. The Who, Paul McCartney, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Eagles, Robin Trower, Tommy Bolin, and Chicago. Most pics are shot in the 1970s when these bands were totally in their prime.
Check out the pics of Eddie with his Explorer and pre-striped Stratocaster! Pete Townshend in his Gibson SG Special glory! Rare pics of Tommy Bolin with Deep Purple. Great action shots of Zeppelin and the Stones.
The photographer is legendary Sunset Strip photographer Marvin Rinnig. Marvin says, “Photography has always been good to me. It’s always interesting and it’s never work. The role of a photographer is to capture a moment in history. I’ve met the coolest characters and I’ve been thrown into the craziest situations. Imagine when I shot The Mentors with strippers in front of Hollywood High School on Sunset Blvd. Car horns honking, people yelling at us, it was crazy…”
“So I think these photos should bring us back to a different era. When all these old guitar wankers were young and relevant. Long live Keith Richards.”
Check them all out here: http://www.marvinrinnig.com/
Nov 04
Yes, it has been a long time since I added anything to the blog. But then, I received a comment from Arnold Mitchem the other night…
Lil’ Elmo fans will remember Arnold as the Cosmos’ bass player through a large chunk of the Vegas years and he appears on the Definitive Video.
Arnold shared his new band, the Bourgeois Gypsies with me and now I’m sharing them with you! Cool stuff here….
Nov 21
Ah yes! The reunion tour!
First of all, let me say that I haven’t seen Van Halen since the Starwood days. It was a fun show all in all. Eddie looks healthy and is playing as well as ever. David still does well with his game show host persona and Wink Martindale smile. Alex is as solid as ever. Wolfgang’s inexperience shows, but he plays well, sings well and proves he can hang with the big boys.
The show was all early DLR stuff of course. No Sammy tunes, but that’s not a surprise. I am a bigger fan of Sammy than Dave. Sammy’s just a better all around vocalist. On this night, David started out strong, but seemed to get weaker as the night went on. He relied heavily on the backup vocals of Eddie and Wolfgang, and he screws around the timing. End of the night – he can’t hit the notes in Jump.
The show is still about Eddie. Just an amazing guitarist. Astounding technique. Never makes a mistake. He broke a string on his Frankenstein Strat and made it through the song. For you non-players out there, when a string breaks on a tremolo-equipped guitar like Eddie’s, the guitar will go wildly out of tune. Solos and chord patterns suddenly have to be reinvented on the spot. Eddie made it through unscathed. I’m sure most of the crowd never noticed.
Alex is the anchorman he’s always been. A solid rock drummer with all the right chops in all the right places. Plus he has some sort of voodoo brother link to Eddie.
Wolfgang still seems a little stiff onstage. Chalk that up to inexperience. He’ll loosen up with time. The bass playing is right on – it could be easy to overplay. Wolfgang does it right. His backup vocals with Ed were right on. It’s tough holding a harmony over 4 bars behind “You Really Got Me” without wavering. They sound good together.
I’ve included a pic from the good old days, pre record deal. This photo was shot by my buddy Marvin Rinnig. You can see all of Marv’s rock and roll photography at www.Musikfoto.com
a week earlier…
Nov 15
Shaw Blades at the Canyon Club in Agoura on Saturday night. More of an unplugged show to showcase their new cd Influence. Covered a bunch of material that was influential to them growing up.
The vocal blend between these two guys is just great. Tommy Shaw has an impossible range, and Jack’s is up there as well. Nice harmonies with a third buddy up on stage with them.
The stage had two couches against the back walls with family members and friends sitting onstage during the show, lending a very intimate atmosphere to the proceedings. Jack and Tommy shared stories with the audience as well. They seem like they are having a ball up there.
The set started with California Dreaming, and included songs by Simon and Garfunkel, Orleans, Yes, Steely Dan, Emerson Lake Palmer, and, of course, Styx and Nightranger. A superb treatment of the Zombies’ Time of the Season.
I had a good time watching these guys. They’re alot of fun.
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