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Review: Hale Milgrim’s Quips and Clips Vol. 3
Review of Hale Milgrim’s Quips and Clips at the Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara, 3/2/12.
Concert Review: Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks
Review of Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks at SOhO, Santa Barbara, 2/27/12.
Photos: Jake Shimabukuro
Jake Shimabukuro at the Carpinteria Plaza Playhouse Theater, 2/13/12. (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Concert Review: Robben Ford and the Yellowjackets
Review of Robben Ford and the Yellowjackets at the Lobero Theater, 2/17/12.
Interview: Robben Ford
Robben Ford has been playing guitar professionally for over four decades, and was ranked one of the Greatest 100 Guitarists of the 20th Century by Musician magazine. He has released multiple solo albums, helped launch the jazz fusion band Yellowjackets, and has worked with artists ranging from Joni Mitchell to Jimmy Witherspoon to Kiss to George Harrison to Miles Davis.
This phone interview took place on 2/15/12, and was the basis of a preview article for the Robben Ford and the Yellowjackets concert at the Lobero Theatre on 2/17/12.
Review: Music Documentaries at SBIFF
Review of several music documentaries at the 2012 Santa Barbara International Film Festival: Under African Skies, Family Band: The Cowsills Story, Music Man Murray, Rhino Resurrected, Tales From the Tavern, Cure For Pain: The Mark Sandman Story, plus an appreciation of the soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange
Concert Review: Richie Furay
Review of The Richie Furay Band at the Maverick Saloon, Santa Ynez, California, 2/1/12. This was part of the series Tales From the Tavern.
Photos: The Cowsills
Bob Cowsill and director Louise Palanker at the screening of Family Band: The Cowsills Story on 2/3/12 at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, plus the concert afterwards with Bob and John Cowsill at SOhO (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Photos: Steve Aoki
Steve Aoki at the Earl Warren Showgrounds, Santa Barbara, 1/20/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Interview: Larkin Grimm
Larkin Grimm is a well-traveled, eclectic singer-songwriter in the “freak folk” genre. The Swans’ Michael Gira has described her as “the sound of the eternal mother and the wrath of all women”, and also said “her voice is like the passionate cry of a beast heard echoing across the mountains just after a tremendous thunder storm, when the air is alive with electricity.” Grimm’s fourth album Soul Retrieval, which was recorded with the help of famed T. Rex and David Bowie record producer Tony Visconti, will be released in February 2012.
Interview: Richie Furay
Richie Furay is best known for co-founding two notable bands: Buffalo Springfield, which is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and for which Furay was one of the primary songwriters along with Neil Young and Stephen Stills, and Poco, which is regarded as one of the pioneering bands of the country-rock genre. After leaving Poco in the early 1970’s, Furay was in the short-lived supergroup Souther-Hillman-Furay, and has since released several solo records. His song credits include “Kind Woman”, “A Child’s Claim To Fame”, “Hurry Up”, “Keep On Believin'”, “You Are The One”, and “Let’s Dance Tonight”. Furay answered these questions by email on 1/5/12, and this interview formed the basis of a preview article for his 2/1/12 performance at the Maverick Saloon in Santa Ynez, California.
Interview: Richard and Van Dyke Parks
Murray Gershenz, aka Music Man Murray, is passionate about music, and has spent over 70 years collecting, buying, and selling records. But the time has come to sell his collection, which numbers in the hundreds of thousands. The catch – he wants his collection to stay intact. It sounds like he’d settle for half a million dollars, a bargain for a collection valued in the millions.
Murray’s story is captured in the documentary film Music Man Murray, which premieres at this year’s Santa Barbara International Film Festival. This film was produced and directed by Richard Parks, with music by his father Van Dyke Parks, who has had his hand in many notable music releases over the last five decades. Richard and Van Dyke responded to the following questions by email on January 20 and 21, 2012.
Interview: Paul Cotton
Paul Cotton was a songwriter, guitarist, and singer for the country rock band Poco from 1970, when he replaced Poco co-founder Jim Messina, until 2010. His compositions for Poco include “The Heart of the Night”, “Bad Weather”, “Indian Summer”, and “Ride The Country”. He has also released three solo albums, and is currently working on his fourth.
This interview was done for a preview article for Cotton’s show at SOhO in Santa Barbara on 1/14/12. He emailed his answers on 1/10/12.
Concert Review: David Bromberg and Hot Tuna
Review of David Bromberg and Hot Tuna at Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara, 1/6/12.
Photos: David Bromberg and Hot Tuna
David Bromberg Quartet and Hot Tuna at Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara, 1/6/12 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Interview: Chuck D
Chuck D is one of the most important figures in the history of hip-hop music. He is the founder and lead rapper for the hugely influential (and controversial) band Public Enemy, which created a powerful mix of politically-charged lyrics and layered, aggressive sounds. Their second album, 1988’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, is widely regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, and is considered to be hugely important for making rap music popular with white audiences. Other notable Public Enemy albums include Yo! Bum Rush the Show (1987), Fear of a Black Planet (1990), Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black (1991), and How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul??? (2007).
Chuck D answered the following questions by email on 1/6/12 for a preview article for Public Enemy’s 1/14/12 concert at the Majestic Ventura Theater. (L. Paul Mann photo)
Interview: Jack Casady
Jack Casady played bass guitar for the Sixties band Jefferson Airplane, which is best known for the hits “Somebody To Love” and “White Rabbit”. Their albums Surrealistic Pillow, After Bathing At Baxter’s, Crown of Creation, and Volunteers are amongst the best of the psychedelic rock genre. Casady also played on “Voodoo Chile” with Jimi Hendrix, and “Song With No Words (Tree With No Leaves)” from David Crosby’s first solo album. As the Sixties wound down, Casady and Jefferson Airplane lead guitarist Jorma Kaukonen’s attention shifted to their new band Hot Tuna, which focused on acoustic and electric folk- and blues-based music. (L. Paul Mann photo)
Remembering Musicians Who Died in 2011
A list of some of the notable musicians who passed away in 2011, including a few who performed in the Santa Barbara area in recent years. Some are well-known, many are not, but all are worthy of our respect. R.I.P. — Rock In Peace.
Interview: Wanda Jackson
Wanda Jackson is often referred to as the “Queen of Rockabilly”, and for good reason. After some success as a country singer, Elvis Presley himself encouraged her to try singing rockabilly, resulting in a string of hot tracks including “Hot Dog! That Made Him Mad”, “Mean, Mean Man”, “Fujiyama Mama” (which hit No. 1 in Japan), “Funnel of Love”, and “Let’s Have a Party” (which was a Top 40 hit in the U.S.) She blazed the trail for women in rock ‘n’ roll, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. Not content to rest on her laurels, earlier this year she released an album of smoking covers called The Party Ain’t Over, which was produced by and featured the guitar of Jack White. (L. Paul Mann photo)
Interview: Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke is an extraordinary acoustic guitar player, with a style that draws on folk, blues, and jazz, but comes together in a way all his own. His musical career took off with his 1969 album 6 and 12 String Guitar, and since then he has released dozens of albums and entertained countless audiences with his guitar prowess, singing, and hilarious stories between songs.
This interview was conducted by phone on 11/18/11, and was the basis for a preview article on his 12/2/11 concert at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara.
UPDATE: At the end of this post, I’ve added Kottke’s email replies to questions that were the basis for a preview article for his 11/8/14 concert at the Lobero Theatre. They were received on 10/28/14.
Review: American Music Awards 2011
Review of 2011 American Music Awards, 11/20/11 at Nokia Theater, Los Angeles
Dr. Poplove at the American Music Awards
Or: how I (almost) learned to stop worrying and love pop music
Concert Review: Alan Parsons
Review of Alan Parsons Live Project at the Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara, 11/12/11.
Concert Review: Gordon Lightfoot
Review of Gordon Lightfoot at the Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara, 11/9/11.
Interview: Alan Parsons
Alan Parsons has had a truly amazing career in music. His start was as an assistant engineer on the Abbey Road and Let It Be albums by The Beatles. He went on to engineer Pink Floyd’s Atom Heart Mother and their sonic masterpiece Dark Side of the Moon. He also engineered and/or produced works by Paul McCartney (Red Rose Speedway, Wildlife), The Hollies (“The Air That I Breathe”), Pilot (“Magic”), Al Stewart (“The Year of the Cat”), and Ambrosia. He then focused his attention on The Alan Parsons Project, with classic albums including Tales of Mystery and Imagination, I Robot, Pyramid, Eve, The Turn of a Friendly Card, and Eye in the Sky, and songs including “Eye in the Sky”, “Games People Play”, “I Wouldn’t Want To Be Like You”, and “Sirius”, the latter of which is particularly beloved by fans of the Chicago Bulls.
This interview, conducted by phone on 11/1/11, was done for a preview article for a benefit concert by the Alan Parsons Live Project at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara on 11/12/11 for the United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County.
Interview: Andy Shernoff
Andy Shernoff was the primary songwriter for The Dictators, a seminal New York City proto-punk rock band whose huge influence was sadly never matched by huge record sales. Shernoff also played bass, keyboards, and sang many of the songs. The band’s first album The Dictators Go Girl Crazy!, released in 1975, is a brilliant mix of irreverent lyrics and youthful energy. Two more albums followed – 1977’s Manifest Destiny and 1978’s Bloodbrothers. Their last studio album was 2001’s D.F.F.D. (“Dictators Forever Forever Dictators”), which is arguably their strongest album after their debut. Shernoff also played bass on Joey Ramone’s 2002 solo album Don’t Worry About Me, and has produced and/or played with various other bands/artists. He currently is playing solo shows at Manhattan’s Lakeside Lounge.
This interview was conducted by email, with answers received on 10/18/11.
Concert Review: Glen Campbell
Review of Glen Campbell at the Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara, 10/9/11.
Interview: Don Fleming
Don Fleming is a musician and producer who has had his hands in an amazing number of projects, mostly in the alt rock universe. As a musician, he was a member of the Velvet Monkeys, B.A.L.L., Gumball, and Half Japanese. As a producer, he has worked with Sonic Youth, Hole, Teenage Fanclub, Alice Cooper, The Dictators, The Posies, Screaming Trees, and more. Don recently released a cool EP called Don Fleming 4 which includes contributions from Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon.
This interview was conducted by email, with answers received on 10/10/11.
Concert Review: Don Henley and Emmylou Harris
Review of Don Henley and Emmylou Harris at the Santa Barbara Bowl, 9/24/11.
Photos: Peter Hook with Perry Farrell and Moby
Peter Hook at The Music Box, Hollywood, 9/14/11 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Concert Review: Bert Lams and Tom Griesgraber
Review of Bert Lams and Tom Griesgraber concert at Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company, 9/6/11.
Interview: June and Jean Millington
Fanny has a distinguished place in rock and roll history as the first all-female rock band to record a full-length album (the self-titled Fanny in 1970) for a major label. In this pioneering band, June Millington sang and played guitar, and her sister Jean Millington played bass guitar. Fanny released a total of five stellar albums in the 1970’s (the last without June), and toured with many of the era’s biggest artists. Both June and Jean played on albums by Ringo Starr and Barbra Streisand. June also played guitar on Cris Williamson’s classic Women’s Music album Changer And The Changed, and co-founded the Institute for the Musical Arts. Jean also performed on albums by David Bowie and Keith Moon. The sisters recently released the album Play Like A Girl.
This interview with June and Jean was conducted by phone on 8/19/11.
Photos: Ray Manzarek
Ray Manzarek at the Sunset Strip Music Festival, House of Blues event honoring Motley Crue, 8/18/11 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
Photos: Uriah Heep
Uriah Heep at the Sunset Strip Music Festival, Key Club, 8/18/11 (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)
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