Back when I used to eek out a few bucks writing about music, one particularly hard-ass editor accused me of being “not a Real Rock Critic.” This was likely due to my unwillingness to indulge in the widespread practice of pondering the sociopolitical leanings of a band in the context of a record review rather than just basing my critique on how the music sounded to me. I never really ‘got’ the former approach. I’m not interested in reading paragraphs of turgid, impenetrable prose and rock-crit wankery. Just tell me how the music sounds so I know if I want to buy the record. Continue reading Recommended Listening: The Sheepdogs→
Apparently, Jimi Hendrix Always Dressed Like This (all Post Photos By Gail, Click any Image to Enlarge)
Every picture tells a story. During his career, Photographer Barrie Wentzell collected an endless cache of unheard stories from and about many of rock’s greatest legends that would blow your head right off. From 1965 to 1975 – certainly one of the (if not the) most vibrant and fertile decades for Rock & Roll music and culture — Wentzell shot both live performance and candid, intimate photographs of everyone who was anyone: from Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles to The Kinks and Led Zeppelin for the UK weekly music rag, Melody Maker. Continue reading Morrison Hotel Gallery Presents The Melody Maker Photography of Barrie Wentzell→
Yes guitarist (also a member of Asia) Steve Howe was born on this day April 8th, in 1947. The band Yes was a passionate favorite of mine growing up in the seventies. In fact, one of the most crazy fun and highly memorable concerts I’ve attended was the co-headlining concert of Yes with Peter Frampton back in the summer of 1976, which took place before a crowd of 55,000 people at Anaheim Stadium in Southern California. Continue reading Happy Birthday, Steve Howe!→
Led Zeppelin Guitarist Jimmy Page turns 68 years old today, having been born on January 9th, 1944. Happy Birthday, Jimmy! You still rock harder than all the rest!
Primarily known as a designer of custom clothing for Rock Stars, Michael Houghton has taken his love of All Things Rock into the fine art world with a series of works on canvas known simply as “The Smoking Series.” Featuring large scale canvases (36” x 36”) adorned with appropriated, iconic images of Rock legends such as Jimmy Page, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, you’ll notice that each has one thing in common: a smoldering cigarette. Whether perched between pouting lips or dangling from fingertips, everybody’s got one. Continue reading Must See Art: The Smoking Series By Michael Houghton→
