ANBERLIN

10/16/08 You may remember that about a month ago I told you I'd interviewed a band called Electric Touch and saw them in concert here in L.A., and then the next day, my daughter, Aly, saw their show and said hello to the band up in San Francisco. Well this week, just about the opposite happened…ONLY BETTER!!! Last night, I had a conversation with lead singer Stephen Christian from a great band called Anberlin and saw their concert here in L.A., but the night before, Aly interviewed Stephen and saw the band's show in San Francisco! As my friend Bree pointed out to me, "Jim, I'm sure you are the ONLY person in the world that could tell this story!" So true! How blessed am I? How blessed are my girls? So, let me back up and tell you how all of this came about.

While I was exchanging emails with the band's record label in New York, trying to set up my conversation with Stephen here in L.A., I asked the publicist if she could add Aly's name to the band's guest list for the show. I should tell you that I've had several conversations with Stephen now, and Aly's been with me for at least two of them. And, Angie used to be the band's publicist before they singed a big-time record contract and moved further into the big leagues. More on Angie in a minute. So, when I told Anberlin's new publicist that Aly was a freshman Radio/TV major at SFSU and was getting involved with the campus radio station, she asked me if Aly would be interested in doing a brief "interview" with Stephen. After several email exchanges between me, Aly, me, Anberlin's publicist, Anberlin's publicist and Aly, Aly was set to do her VERY FIRST one-on-one "interview" (conversation with Stephen Christian of Anberlin!!!!)

You can only imagine Aly's excitement to have the opportunity to spend about 10 minutes on the phone speaking with the lead singer of the band she and her roommate, Cassie, were going to see in concert later that same day!! I'm soooooo proud of Aly for doing a great job preparing great questions to ask Stephen, and for having the guts to do it in the first place!! GREAT job, ALY…here's to many more in your future radio career!
So, quickly, fast forward to last night and MY turn to speak with Stephen. As I mentioned earlier, Angie used to be Anberlin's publicist and she and Stephen know each other well, so I asked Angie to join me for the interview and concert. I was scheduled to do the interview at 5:30p, just after soundcheck, so Angie could not get out of work in time, but she would meet me at my place later for the show. Well, I'm a big believer in things happening for a reason, so get this: the Avalon, where Anberlin played last night, is only 2 train stops from my house. So, when I got there for my 5:30p conversation, the tour manager said Stephen was nowhere to be found. He was gone…couldn't find him. It turned out that he'd gone home (he just moved to L.A.) with his brand new bride (he just got married) for dinner. The tour manager apologized a thousand times and asked if I could come back at 7p to speak with Stephen. I told him it was absolutely no problem because I lived so close, plus, I thought to myself, "This is perfect, now Angie will be able to join me for my chat and she'd be able to hello to Stephen. PERFECT!!!

Sure enough, Angie and I returned at 7p, Stephen met us both outside the band's tour bus, again, apologized to me A MILLION times for not being there earlier, and the three of us jumped on the bus and sat in the back "bedroom" to have our conversation. PERFECT!!! We had another great conversation about the band's new album, New Surrender, Angie and Stephen got a chance to catch up and we were ready to leave the tour bus and go inside The Avalon to see the show…….but, not until Stephen was nice enough to tell Angie to go to the band's merchandise table inside the venue and tell the guy there that he, Stephen, said to give Angie a rare vinyl (yes, VINYL) copy of New Surrender! Stephen is just that kind of guy, he's super nice and very, very talented! Anberlin rocked, as usual (4th time I've seen them) and everything worked out…PERFECT! Life is good!

Peace!

10/7/08 If last night I saw a GREAT film, tonight I saw a TERRIBLE film: Role Models. What a piece of crap this thing is. Why do people make these worthless films? Not only is it bad and not funny, it's borderline offensive. It perpetuates lots and lots of ugly stereotypes that I'd love to think someday we'll get past. And that's all I gotta say about that! ☹

Peace!

10/6/08 I saw a GREAT film tonight: The Boy In the Striped Pajamas. And I invited my new friend, Bree Walker, to join me. She and I met for a quick drink before shooting up the block to see this great piece of work. I'm so glad I had someone to share this movie with. The movie studio PR people often email or call me after I see a film to ask my opinion or offer a quote they can use in their promotional pieces. In this case, I had a very simple, succinct thing to tell them: "This film is equally as difficult to watch as it is important to see." This is another one of those movies that I'm sure won't make a dime at the box office but I HIGHLY recommend you search it out and see it. And Bree, thanks for the company!! ☺

Peace!

CARLOS!

10/4/08 What can I say…last night, I saw Carlos Santana in concert!! Normally, that would be ALL I would need to say about that because as many of you know, he is MY MAN!!! He is one of the most amazing human beings walking the Earth! Needless to say, he is one of the most incredible musicians on the planet! Normally, that would be ALL I would need to say. But tonight was special…extra special! I've seen Santana in concert close to 70 times in my life, and a few of those times, I was able to take my then very young daughters with me. In fact, if memory serves me well, BOTH of my girls' first rock concerts were most likely Santana in concert. So last night, I saw Santana with my now-24-year old daughter Angie, and, as it turned out, my sister Connie and Angie's mom, Irma. The extra special part of last night was that, for the first time, I was able to enjoy Santana in concert with Angie as an adult, where she could REALLY appreciate Santana's amazing musicianship, his incredible stage show and ALL the great songs she's grown up with, literally since she was born!!

We were lucky enough to get four tickets because I'd been given two from the folks at the Nokia Theatre and Angie got two as well, since the Nokia is a client of her PR firm, MSO. We were also lucky enough to get passes to the VIP lounge

and, as luck would have it, I happened to walk into Michael Jensen, Carlos' longtime publicist and my longtime friend, as we walked into the VIP lounge before the show
began. He was nice enough to bring all four of us "After Show" passes so we could hang out in the lounge after the show. Well, I'm sure I don't have to tell you how amazing the show was, so, again, I'll just share my review, but let's just say it was another magical night with family and the music of one of the most impressive – and important – man in my life: Carlos Santana!! Not a bad way to spend a Friday night…not bad, at all!!!!! ☺
Peace!

ST. JOSEPH CATHOLIC SCHOOL REUNION

9/29/08 Yesterday's St. Joseph's School (Holy Jose, I affectionately call it) reunion was a BLAST! I spent the night at my old friend Tony Zam's house – the VERY house he and I ran around in when we were grade school kids! The very house where we played spin-the-bottle, where we listened to record albums, where we played baseball, football, soccer in his front yard and on his driveway. What a cool trip back in time.
Many, many thanks to Mark Dunn, Roni Treckman and Jackie Gilman for all their hard work making yesterday's reunion happen. What a cool trip it was to see John Lydon, John Rodriguez, Jim Ryan, Terri Weller, Alex Costa, Sue Moore, Robert Meyung, Michelle Juif, John West, etc, etc, etc after more than 35 years!!!!! Hey, at my age, these types of memories are priceless. I've sent Cindy a handful of VERY OLD and brand new photos of my Holy Jose friends so you guys can see how well we've all aged! Click here for more reunion pictures!
Well, this Friday night I get to spend the evening with two of my favorite people on the planet: my beautiful daughter, Angie, and Carlos Santana!! We're going to see Santana at the Nokia Theatre in downtown. What can I say: a night of Santana music in the company of my daughter….life is good!!!! ☺

Peace!

9/27/08 I had NO plans to write anything today but felt compelled to do so for two reasons: 1) Last night's party for GTM was even better than I'd expected it would be. All of us shared lots and lots of tears – both of joy and sadness – and we all shared lots and lots of laughs. Many, many thanks to our hosts Rona Elliott and Michael Jensen for giving all of us GTM fans and friends an opportunity to share our love for a man who, for five years, was my human "firewall" at Rockline before any of had even heard the term "firewall." 2) I met a very cool, very lovely woman last night: Bree Walker. People in L.A., New York and San Diego may know her as a former television anchorwoman and reporter. But what you might not know – and I did NOT know – was that Bree started out as a rock and roll DJ. She's a "rock chick" as well as a very intelligent and passionate social activist. It was definitely my very unexpected pleasure to meet her last night. You just never know!!

Tomorrow I'm joining to another very cool event, only this one has absolutely nothing to do with music, movies or anything work-related…at all! Tomorrow, I'll be attending a reunion of the St. Joseph's School Class of 1972!! Yep, I'm going to see friends of mine from grade school and junior high (I went to a Catholic school from 1-8th grade!) that I've not seen in OVER 35 YEARS!! How cool is that?!

Peace!

BODY OF LIES

9/26/08 Last night I saw a screening of Body of Lies, a wild ride drama set in the Middle East and starring Leo Di Caprio and Russell Crowe as CIA agents. Overall, I'd have to say it was…OK. Some of the stuff was simply unbelievable, and I mean that literally. Leo's character is the guy on the ground, here, there and everywhere in the Middle East. He's supposedly the VERY best in his field. Yet he allows himself to get involved with a beautiful local girl, putting his life and hers in jeopardy. Some of the action/chase scenes were well, unbelievable as well. It could have been a much cooler thriller but instead it turned out to be just a body of tries: it tried to be cool, it tried to be suspenseful, it tried to be edgy, it tried to be thrilling and it fell short in every way.

And earlier today at the press junket for the movie, many of us felt that Russell and Leo knew the movie was not as good as it could have been because both did not seem as enthusiastic about answering questions about the movie as they could have been. Both were cool, and Russell, despite his reputation as being a real pain in the ass – at least today – was pretty cool, often using humor to perhaps deflect tough questions about the holes in Body of Lies. Leo, on the other hand, was pretty quiet, not so outgoing, until he was asked about his own private political and social work. He was very happy to talk about his support of Sen. Barack Obama (and I was VERY happy to listen) and his many other social endeavors. So, the truth about Body of Lies: it's just OK!

Later tonight, I'm going to a very bittersweet affair: one of my radio mentors, George Taylor-Morris has throat cancer and has been given less than a year to live. Despite the dire diagnosis, George is NOT the type of guy that's going to sit around and feel sorry for himself. Instead, he's asked that a groups of his closest friends and associates join him for a party – that's right, a PARTY – to celebrate his life, and not worry about his impending death. That is one of the many reasons why I admire GTM so much. And for the record, when I'm gone, do the same – THROW A PARTY – I'll even provide the soundtrack!!

Peace!

THIS and THAT

9/22/08 I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. As you all may recall, mine started Friday night with a Lindsey Buckingham concert at The Grove in Anaheim (thanks again, Dan!). Saturday night I was at The Greek Theatre (again!) to see a fantastic double bill featuring two of the greatest voices in the history of music – and I DO NOT exaggerate – Al Green and Gladys Knight. Yesterday, I spent all day and night backstage (actually the "Media Tent" located on the top level of a parking structure across the street from the Nokia Theatre in downtown L.A.) covering the 60th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. More on that later, but first, let me tell you a bit about Saturday's Al Green/Gladys Knight concert.

I was happy to be able to invite my cousin Rocio to join me for the show. As I've said a million times – in this blog and in-person – to everyone I know, nothing makes me happier than to be able to share all the wonderful events I'm blessed to be able to attend. I've invited Rocio to many, many, many events throughout the years, but we've never been able to coordinate schedules, etc. Well, tonight I was glad that she could join me for what turned out to be an amazing show. I was also happy to be able to treat her to a very nice well, experience: VIP parking, VIP passes, great, great seats and a great, great show. Gladys opened the show with a plethora of her hits. What a voice!!! I'd seen her last year at the Hollywood Bowl but tonight's show was extra special because she sung so many of the great songs Rocio and I had grown up loving. Then, it was Al Green's turn to come onstage and sing hit-after-hit-after-hit-after-hit-after-hit!!! What a voice….what a performer…what a musical treasure we have in Al Green. This was the third time I had the honor and deep pleasure of seeing "The Reverend" live in concert: first, at the massive concert in Cleveland during the opening weekend celebrations for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Second, in Washington, DC when I went back to help produce one of two major concerts/benefits immediately following 9/11. That night, I had the honor of briefly meeting Al when he stopped by our broadcast trailer for a few minutes on-air.

Both Rocio and I were young kids and early teens when Al Green and Gladys Knight were in the prime of their careers and cranking out all the great hits we all know. To be able to see them live – together – all these years later and still sounding soooo good is a blessing, indeed. Rocio, I hope you had a good time. I'm happy you were finally able to join me for a very, very special event. Let's do it again some other time!

OK, following Saturday great concert, I had to get up, grab a cup of coffee, put on my tuxedo (YEP, I actually have one…a thrift store find, purchased especially for occasions like the Oscars and the Emmys, where I'm required to wear one) and head down to the Nokia Theatre in downtown L.A. to cover the Emmys. Now, before I say this, ANYONE who knows me well will understand when I say the following: 1) I watch VERY little TV, so I know VERY little about TV shows and even less about TV actors and actresses. 2) I LOVE the Dallas Cowboys and they played the Green Bay Packers yesterday. So, where do you think I would rather be? Backstage at the Emmys or on my couch watching the Cowboys beat the Packers? Hmm, football? TV stars I know nothing about?

OK, that said, I know a million people would love to trade places with me and be in the same room as the biggest television stars in the world, so you know I'm not REALLY complaining. I know how blessed I am but honestly, covering these awards shows (Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, etc) makes for a very, very long day and night of work. Yes, it is WORK!. The bottom line is this: I was seated at my assigned spot in the Media Tent at The Emmys by 1p yesterday afternoon, and my head hit the pillow at about 2AM this morning!!! Now, ALL THAT SAID, I'm blessed to do what I do, no complaints at all, but I do enjoy some aspects of my job more than others. Plus, I'm a music guy!!!

Music – television – movies. Those are the 3 worlds I live in and Thursday and Friday I'll be in movie land: Thursday I'll see the new Leo Di Caprio and Russell Crowe film Body of Lies and Friday I'll talk to both of them about the film. As I said, no complaints!

Peace!

GROOVE AT THE GROVE: BUCKINGHAM ROCKS O.C.!

9/20/08 Thanks to my good longtime friend Dan Hogle – who I'd not seen in years until we bumped into each other a couple months back at the Collective Soul show at the Greek Theatre – I saw Fleetwood Mac guitarist extraordinaire Lindsey Buckingham last night at the beautiful – and I do mean BEAUTIFUL – Grove of Anaheim. Dan and I have known each other since my early days at KLOS and now he's a bigwig at The Grove and was kind enough to invite me to any show I ever wanted to see there. Well, I saw Lindsey Buckingham on their schedule and I immediately took Dan up on his offer…and I'm SOOOOO glad I did.

Dan set me up with tickets, parking and a complimentary drink – or two – in the VIP section of The Grove. Then Lindsey hit the stage to do sizzling versions of solo hits, new songs from his current Gift of Screws solo CD, and LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of Fleetwood Mac Classics!!! Oh by the way, I brought my best buddy Mark along for two reasons: 1) he's my best buddy! 2) He's a HUGE fan of Lindsey's guitar playing…as am I. And man, Lindsey did not disappoint. What a show!!! Here's my review.

GROOVE AT THE GROVE: BUCKINGHAM ROCKS O.C.!
With his wife and kids sitting in the front row (and two of his kids joining him onstage for one song), Lindsey Buckingham Friday brought his Gift of Screws tour to The Grove in Anaheim, CA, just down the road from his home in Los Angeles. And as most in the crowd expected - or certainly hoped - the Fleetwood Mac member treated the hometown audience to a healthy helping of Mac classics such as "World Turning," "Tusk," "Go Your Own Way," "Big Love," "Never Going Back Again" and "Secondhand News" (his first encore)," plus solo songs such as "Trouble," "Go Insane" and "Under the Skin." Buckingham capped the evening with two tracks, "Treason" and "Time," from his just released Gift of Screws album. Buckingham's tour continues tonight in Salt Lake City and Wednesday in Denver.

After, Mark and I went back to his house in Redondo Beach, where I spent the night, got up, took the train back to my place, grabbed a cup of coffee, sat down to write this post, finished some work and am now getting ready to greet my cousin Rocio, who is coming over to join me tonight for…….yep, you guessed it…another concert tonight!! BUT, this ain't no ordinary concert….people, we are talking the Reverend AL GREEN and GLADYS KNIGHT…together…on the same stage at the Greek Theatre!!!!!

I'll tell you all about it in a couple of days. You'll forgive me for not being able to write tomorrow: tomorrow I've got to be at the Nokia Theatre in downtown ALL day and night to cover the Emmys!!! My friends, there is never a dull moment in my blessed life!! Gotta go, I think I hear Rocio at the door. "I'll be right there…." ☺☺

Peace!

60th Primetime Emmy® Awards

9/16/08 Today began VERY bright and early (for me). At about 8:30a, I hopped on what passes for a subway system here in L.A., the Metro Red Line, bound for downtown Los Angeles and more specifically, the Nokia Theatre. At 9:30a, us "media types" were ordered to be present for what was dubbed an "Emmys walk-thru." Sunday night I'll be donning my tuxedo (yep, I've got ONE!) to cover the 60th Annual Emmys, but this morning, it was walking through what was the empty shell of what will be the "General Media" tent. And I do mean "tent." This is the first year the Emmys will be held at the Nokia Theatre, so the powers that be decided to build the "General Media" tent…ON THE ROOF OF A PARKING STRUCTURE ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE THEATRE! All of us "media types," which include nobodys like me as well as ALL the people I guess some of you watch every night at 7 or 7:30: Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, Insider something or other, Extra! Hollywood whatever, etc, etc, etc. All of us will be housed in the "General Media" tent the night of the show, where, hopefully, the winners will walk thru to answer dumb questions offered up by the aforementioned "media types." But not me! Nope, you see, I don't watch much TV. It may be more accurate to say that the ONLY TV I watch is news (CNN, MSNBC, FOX), sports, and PBS (Tavis Smiley, Charlie Rose, Frontline, documentaries, etc). It's a safe bet none of those people will be winning Emmys on Sunday night, so I'll just be pressing "record" on my well, recording gear and wishing I was at home watching the Cowboys play the Packers!! ARGHH!!!!

Following the Emmys walk-thru, I got back on the train, got back home to do my "regular work" (writing my daily Pop, Rock and Classic Rock News columns, and, today, preparing for not one, but TWO interviews I did tonight with two great bands, Electric Touch and the Airborne Toxic Event, both of whom played tonight at the Wiltern Theatre, ironically enough, located at the corner of WILshire & WesTERN! Get it, Wiltern Theatre?

I arrived for my 4p conversation with Electric Touch, proceeded to the backstage area and asked for the band's tour manager. By now, you should be getting the hang of what I do when I interview bands at the venue, usually after soundcheck and before the show: I arrive backstage and try and find the tour manager! And as is often the case, a tour bus (usually belonging to the band I'm about to speak with) was parked across the street. I called the tour manager, who promptly asked if I could see where the tour bus was parked (UMM, YEAH, RIGHT ACROSS

THE STREET FROM ME!), I said yes, and walked over. I was invited in by lead singer Shane, whom Aly and I had met and spoken to back in April at the Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California, outside Palm Springs. (Quick side note here: Aly is actually going to see this very same show tomorrow night up in San Francisco, and with any luck, get a chance to say hi to Shane and the guys again!) Quickly, Electric Touch consists of 3 guys from Texas and Shane, an Englishman, and has a very cool, very classic rock (think T-Rex, The Beatles, The Kinks, Cheap Trick). As usual, I asked Shane to dissect several songs on the album, including "Who Put the Fire Out," "Love Is In Our Hearts," "Saved" and "Don't Be Afraid."

After my conversation with Electric Touch ended, I jumped out of the tour bus, walked down Wilshire Boulevard and ducked into a tiny Chinese food joint for some "dinner" (ahh, the glamorous life) before walking back to the backstage area to hook up (say it with me now) the tour manager for Airborne Toxic Event, who led me to the downstairs dressing rooms at the Wiltern (a place I'd been many, many times before, including my first time when several years ago I had the extreme pleasure of meeting Pete Townshend of The Who), where I sat and waited for lead singer and main songwriter Mikel Jollett and guitarist Stephen Chen to finish another interview, before the 3 of us went off into a separate room, sat on a couch and began to chat. THIS BAND KICKS ASS!!! Their self-titled CD is packed with great, great songs, the best of

which is "Sometime Around Midnight." And man, that's saying something, because there are plenty more great songs, including "Wishing Well," "Gasoline," "Does This Mean You're Moving On?" and "Innocence." And Mikel and Stephen are really cool guys, super intelligent, really
interesting to talk to and just way cool people. My conversation with them was one of those that could have gone on for hours…in fact, all THREE of us said so. I've said this before, but the VERY BEST compliment anyone can ever give me after a conversation/interview is, "Man, that was great. You had some great questions, not the usual crap we always hear." And that's exactly what Mikel and Stephen said after we were forced to stop because they had to go soundcheck. Definitely be on the lookout for these guys. If you like U2, the Arcade Fire, Echo & the Bunnymen, etc, you'll really love this band. Let me give you three sample lyrics to give you an idea of what I mean:

"Then she emerged from the dark like a ghost in my head."
"The words she said like bullets from a gun."
"Melancholy soundtrack to her smile."

Mikel is no ordinary songwriter, and the Airborne Toxic Event is no ordinary band!

After watching soundcheck, I walked back outside just to check out the crowd coming in to the show and to grab my ticket from will call. I'm telling you, BOTH these bands deliver live as well! Again, I'd seen Electric Touch play at Coachella and then once again at the Key Club in Hollywood, and tonight, they were more polished (in a good way) and yet more raw (in a good way) than ever. A solid young rock band, indeed. And the Airborne Toxic Event was everything I expected them to be. This was my first time seeing them live, but based on the album, I had high expectations, which were met…and then some! I describe their sound as "BIG MUSIC!" For five people onstage, they put out a sound that seems to be generated by twice as many musicians. If you remember a great band called The Waterboys (one of my all-time favorite bands!!), that's who Airborne reminded me of more and more, especially live. BIG MUSIC!! Big, dynamic music!

What a day it's been! What a varied, exciting life I lead. How blessed am I? And I'm so, so happy that my "baby" girl, Aly, gets to see this exact same show tomorrow night up in San Francisco. You have NO idea how happy that makes me!!!!!

Friday I'll be in Anaheim to see Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac. Life is good!

Peace!

West Beach Music Festival

9/15/08: The two days – and one looooooooooong night – up in Santa Barbara could not have been more fun. Mark and I drove up Saturday morning, got there early enough to grab a bite and a beer at the El Torito steps from the beach before the festival gates opened, then walked across the street to pick up our passes for the West Beach Music Festival. The stages, food booths, vendors, VIP area, etc, were all literally on the sand, just north of the pier. The first order of "business" for me was to hook up with Todd Brodginski from MSO PR, who would escort me backstage to the artist's trailers to have a conversation with Big Head Todd & the Monsters lead singer/guitarist Todd Park Mohr. And here's a first for me: in all the years I've been doing interviews – on tour buses, backstage, in hotel rooms, in offices, in alleys, etc, etc – I've never had to literally wake my conversation partner up from a sound sleep to get the conversation started. But that was the case when I walked into BHTM's trailer and Todd was crashed on the couch. The band had just flown in cross-country to do this show and needless to say, they were tired. I felt bad for Todd, but luckily, we're old friends and know each other well, so he apologized to me, while I told him there was nothing to apologize for. After we finished tripping over each other being nice, I began our brief chat by asking Todd his reaction to Sen. Hillary Clinton using his song "Blue Sky" from the new album All the Love You Need
at the Democratic National Convention. Obviously he was proud and humbled by the honor, especially since he was a Clinton supporter and because the band hails from Denver, site of the convention.

After our talk ended, I went back out front for the rest of the day and hung out with Mark in the VIP area, enjoying lots and lots of free Heineken beers and free food. I left the area to stand right up front near the stage when Big Head Todd & the Monsters set began. Later, after the sun went down, I met up with Angie and her friend, Bari, and we watched pop star Natasha Bedingfield's performance from the side of the stage.

Following Natasha's set, several of the MSO PR people, including Angie and her boss, Todd, invited me and Mark backstage again and into BHTM's now abandoned trailer to well, party like a rock star!! And boy, did we!!! While BHTM were well on their way to their next gig in the next town, we took over their fully-stocked trailer and began to well, enjoy ourselves. No sense in cold beer and good food going to waste, we all said!

After closing down the backstage area – literally…they kicked us out so they could clean the trailer – we stopped off in our respective hotel rooms (located directly across the street), freshened up and grabbed cabs to State Street in Santa Barbara, where we topped off the evening with stops in two bars, closing the second with shots of, hell, who knows, I can't remember, before calling it a night. After all, day two of the festival was still ahead of us.

Sunday morning saw Mark waking up at the crack of dawn (well 9ish) and scooting out of the room to stake a spot at the exact same bar we'd closed down just a few short hours ago, only this time, it was for breakfast and FOOTBALL…lots and lots of football…and coffee!!! I met Mark a bit later, after checking out of the hotel. While watching football, I got a call from my sister Patty, who told me she and my brother-in-law Bruce were taking a ride on their Harley's and I suggested they ride up to Santa Barbara, where, with Angie's help, we got them two tickets to Sunday's music festival, which, to be honest, wasn't all that great. The lineup was packed with much younger bands, and I had no interviews lined up. We were obviously tired from the day before, so by about 5p, we were all ready to head back home. With yet another busy week ahead, the thought of my head hitting my pillow early Sunday night was heaven. A 2-hour drive later, I was in heaven.

Coming up this week, interviews with and concerts by two great young bands, Electric Touch and Airborne Toxic Event, and Emmys (Yes, those Emmys, which I'll be covering this Sunday) walk-thru at the Nokia Theatre in downtown L.A., a Lindsey Buckingham concert on Friday, Al Green AND Gladys Knight at the Greek Theatre on Saturday, and yes, those darn Emmy Awards on Sunday. Other than that, just another boring week! ☺

Peace!

MOVIE WEEK

9/12/08: Some weeks are busier than others! This past week has been crazy!!!! It started Monday with my conversation with Amos Lee and his concert in Hollywood. And speaking of "Hollywood," I put on my "Hollywood Boy" hat for the rest of the week: On Tuesday afternoon I saw a screening of Flash of Genius, starring Greg Kinnear, Lauren Graham and Alan Alda. Tuesday night I saw a film called Choke, starring Sam Rockwell and Anjelica Huston. On Wednesday, my sister Connie and I saw Righteous Kill, starring the dynamic duo of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. Yesterday, I was invited to a screening of Nights In Rodanthe, starring Richard Gere and someone I've had a "thing" for for a long time, Diane Lane! That said, I was a VERY happy camper when this morning I had the pleasure – and I do mean pleasure – of interviewing Diane and Richard at my home away from home, the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. Diane looked every bit as beautiful as I'd hoped she would. And as luck would have it, when she walked into the room, I happened to be standing near the door, so she smiled (I'm melting here!) and said hello! ☺ Life is good!! I know she's married and all, but I just think she's equal parts beauty and brains. And a woman in every sense of the word! These are the days – and I have many – when my job doesn't suck! Oh, and the movie is good: it gives men and women my age hope that we'll get a second chance at love. And it's not just a "chick flick" because much of it deals with Gere's character and the struggles he's going through, so guys will like it as well.

After having Diane Lane smile and say hello, and a great lunch at the Four Seasons, I could have started my weekend right then and there, but I also had to speak with Greg Kinnear and Lauren Graham later today for Flash of Genius. I've interviewed both before; both are very cool, however the movie did nothing for me.

Time now to get ready to drive up the coast tomorrow for day-one of the West Beach Music Festival in Santa Barbara. My buddy Mark and I will be driving up together and my daughter, Angie, will be there as well. Her company, MSO PR, is handling publicity for the festival and has arranged for me to interview my old friend Todd Park Mohr, lead singer and amazing lead guitar player of Big Head Todd & the Monsters! Two days of music and sun on the beach in Santa Barbara…yep, life is good!

AMOS LEE

9/8/08: Today I had the great pleasure of speaking with, and seeing in concert, a great, great new voice in the world of rock/blues/soul: Amos Lee. Having just said Amos is a "new voice," actually, his voice harkens back to an amazing combination of Curtis Mayfield-meets-Marvin Gaye-meets-Al Green-meets-Teddy Pendergrass-meets-Stevie Wonder-meets well, AMOS LEE! His current album, Last Days at the Lodge, contains an array of great tracks that span romantic soul ("Won't Let Me Go," "Baby I Want You"), to poignant protest ("Jails and Bombs") to good old fashion broken heart ballads ("What's Been Going On").

In person, Amos couldn't be nicer, more soft spoken, more intelligent and more interesting to talk to, which I did in a tiny dressing room in the basement of the Music Box on Hollywood Blvd. Topics we discussed include the album's producer (Don Was), the lightening speed in which the music business is changing, crossing that friends-to-lovers bridge in the album's first hit, "Won't Let Me Go," and dealing with the green monster, jealousy, in songs like "Truth" and "What's Been Going On." His answers were candid, delivered in a very low-key tone. In a nutshell, his offstage – or in the case of our conversation location, BELOW stage – personality matched the quiet confidence he displays onstage. His show was well, mesmerizing. One of the song titles on Amos' album sums up the way he conveys his message to his fans: "Street Corner Preachers." Do yourself a favor: pick up Last Days at the Lodge…TODAY…and pick up a ticket to his next concert. I can almost guarantee you will not be disappointed with both experiences!

Peace!

EDDIE "KNOCK ON WOOD" FLOYD

8/31/08: After a night of drinking, talking about and listening to music at my friend Mark's house, I was back on the train and heading back for day-two of the Long Beach Bluesfest. Today I'd be able to bounce around the grounds more and really enjoy more of the music because I only had one "conversation" scheduled. And man, what a "conversation" it was. But before I tell you about the wonderful gentleman that is Mr. Eddie Floyd, I'll tell you that I saw the Dirty Dozen Brass Band just put on an incredible show! I'd never seen them live before, but man, I can't wait to see them again. If you EVER get a chance, put on your Mardi Gras dancing shoes and check them out…they are soooooo much fun!!
Ok, so about mid-afternoon, Eddie Floyd - the guy who co-wrote and sang the soul classic "Knock On Wood" (covered by so many, including David Bowie), the man who wrote "Raise Your Hand" (covered by none other than Bruce Springsteen), the man who wrote hit after hit after hit for all-time greats such as Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, again, just to name a few – came on stage and just tore it up!!!! Not surprisingly, he sang hit after hit after hit, had the crowd on its feet the whole time, and, at 73-years young, still has the ladies swooning. At one point, he had two girls onstage stage with him, as, as I told him later, was the meat in the middle of a "fanwich!" The brother oozes soul…cool…and class!

After Eddie's set, I was once again escorted backstage to the artist's trailers to meet the man himself! Wearing a snow-white sport coat with black pants and shirt, Eddie was looking the part of a classic soul singer, for sure! I again spoke with Eddie in his trailer and, unlike yesterday when I talked about many blues greats, this time Eddie and I spoke about the biggest names in soul, many of which I've already mentioned above. And let me tell you, Eddie wrote for, sang with or shared stages with them ALL! And he could not be a nicer gentleman. He had all the time in the world for me, and after we wrapped, walked out of the trailer, handed me HIS personal business card and posed for a picture.

After I left the backstage area to enjoy more music…and a VERY cold adult beverage or two…I ran into my friend Amy Jensen from Hawthorne High. I had a feeling I might, knowing what a huge blues fan she is, and sure enough I did. So I joined Amy and her 3 girlfriends on the grass for some great blues and soul music, another beer or two, some crackers and cheese and the beautiful ocean breeze and blue sky! People, life is good!

Oh, speaking of ocean breezes and blue skies, next weekend I'll be in "Surf City,"Huntington Beach, for the wedding of my niece, Jennifer Rake, and her great guy, Tom Hilton. Then the weekend after that, I'll shoot UP the coast to beautiful Santa Barbara, CA for the West Beach Music Festival, starring Big Head Todd & the Monsters, Ziggy Marley, George Clinton & P-Funk, and many, many more. But before that, on Monday, September 8, I am really looking forward to speaking with a great, great contemporary soul man, Amos Lee, and seeing his concert at the Music Box in Hollywood (sound familiar? The Alarm, Joe Bonamassa). Amos' new album is called Last Days at the Lodge and I highly recommend it!

Peace!

29th ANNUAL LONG BEACH BLUES FESTIVAL

Today and tomorrow I'll be attending the 29th annual Long Beach Blues Festival. Sadly, this year I won't have my good Hawthorne High School friends Betty or Betsy joining me. Betty is down in San Diego moving her daughter into the dorms at San Diego State and Betsy was unable to make it our here from her home in Wilmington, NC. Last year, the 3 of us – along with Amy, my other HHS friend – had a great time at the festival.
Well this year I'm, ahh, "working" the LB Bluesfest. In fact, today I had the distinct honor and pleasure of speaking with the legendary John Mayall, known to many as the "Godfather of British Blues." John is partially responsible for furthering the careers of people like Eric Clapton as well as future members of bands such as the Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac, just to name two. I also spoke with slide guitar great Roy Rogers, who opened the entire day's festivities today. After Roy's set, I ducked backstage to his trailer to spend a few minutes talking about the blues, blues greats such as B.B. King, John Lee Hooker (Roy produced a couple of John Lee's albums) and Buddy Guy, and radio…good old free-form FM radio. The kind of radio where back in the day deejays played the music they wanted to play and radio fans like Roy and I got turned on to lots and lots of great music. Roy and I could have gone on for hours, but we wrapped after about 20 minutes, one of his band members snapped a quick photo of us, and I began to walk down the row of "artist trailers" where who should I see, standing all alone outside his trailer: JOHN MAYALL! I was not scheduled to speak with John until much later in the day – after his set, but I swear it was one of those things where it would have actually been rude if I'd walked past him without saying hello. So I did! I said hello, introduced myself and told him we'd be chatting later after his show. But, John Mayall, THE John Mayall, said to me, "Well, if you've got a few minutes right now, why don't we sit down and chat." After thanking him once, twice or 15 times, we walked right into his trailer and we began to talk. Again, with a guy like John Mayall, and with ALL of the people he's played with in his career, we could have talked for hours…days…weeks!! He shared great stories about old "Slowhand," about how he simply "rang Eric up" after he'd left The Yardbirds and asked if he'd be interested in joining his band, The Bluesbreakers, which of course Eric did. John talked about playing with all-time greats such as Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, B.B. King. He spoke about The Rolling Stones, Cream, Jimi Hendrix. I'll NEVER get tired of hearing rock and roll stories like that!! And here I am with John Mayall, sitting in a little trailer, talking about some of the biggest names in the history of the blues and rock and roll. Finally, I told him my own John Mayall story, about the time my sister Patty, brother and I flew into Chicago for a blues, baseball and beer weekend, got to our hotel, Patty called Buddy Guy's Legends blues club and asked who was playing that night. I'll never forget the moment she turned to me, while still on the phone, and simply said, "John Mayall." Of course I shouted back, "JOHN MAYALL? THE John Mayall?" We managed to sneak into the packed club and see the man himself play at Buddy Guy's blues club on the south side of Chicago! Man, we sure took care of the "Blues" part of our weekend in a hurry! What a night! And now, to think this was only day-one of the Long Beach Bluesfest. Tomorrow I'm going to get a chance to meet and speak with another living legend, this time Stax Records soul man Eddie "Knock On Wood" Floyd, a man who wrote some of the biggest hits in the history of soul music. Life is good!

Peace!

THEY GROW UP WAY TOO FAST...

8/20/08: Today I helped moved my "baby" girl, Alyson, into the dorms at San Francisco State University. Shockingly (NOT!), Aly is going to be a Communications major and shockingly (NOT!) wants to eventually get into…RADIO!! People let me tell you that Aly is a music sponge…she loves everything from The Beatles to Anberlin, from Pink Floyd to Jason Mraz! Sound familiar? Yep, just read my previous post and you'll see I have TWO girls who someday will not only be following in their dad's footsteps, but soon, making their own mark in the world of rock and roll, and eventually taking over where I leave off. So you'll be hearing more and more about Aly in future posts as well.

Peace!

I'M A VERY PROUD PAPA!

8/13/08: OK, I'm just gonna come right out and say this from the very top: I'M A VERY PROUD PAPA! This afternoon I made a return trip to speak at MY high school journalism teacher Konnie Krislock's journalism workshop, held at Long Beach State University. Konnie and I reconnected in 2006, at my 30-year high school reunion. It was the first time I'd seen or spoken with my favorite high school teacher since graduation. After telling her what I did for work, she said – OK, say it with me now – "What a cool job you have," then asked if I would speak at her workshop. I did in 2007 and when it came time to ask me back this year, Konnie also asked if my daughter Angie, now an Associate Publicist in the music business herself, would join me. Konnie loved the idea of sharing a multi-generational success story with her students. Angie said "yes" and so we did the tag-team talk thing.I started first, did my thing, told my story then handed the podium over to Angie. People, let me tell you, Angie was a ROCK STAR!!! The kids were giddy with excitement as she rattled off rock band after rock band after rock band (Underoath, Norma Jean, Anberlin, Uh Huh Her, the Allman Brothers Band, the Black Crowes, Aerosmith, Art Garfunkel, Ozzy Osbourne) that she works with, giant mega-tours (Warped Tour, Ozzfest, etc, etc) that she helps promote, huge concert festivals that she does PR for (Coachella, Stagecoach, etc, etc), famous concert venues (The Roxy, The Viper Room, The Nokia Theatre, etc, etc) that are her clients, and all the other one-off projects that she handles. All while I sat and watched with tremendous pride swelling up in my heart!After class, Angie was LITERALLY surrounded by students asking her more questions, asking for her business card and wanting to grab Warped Tour stickers she'd brought along. Konnie could not have been happier. She and I stood 5 feet outside the circle of students that surrounded Angie like well, a ROCK STAR, and Konnie said to me, "Well, look who's the rock star now." All I said to her was, "I knew she would be. I knew the kids would love to hear her story. I hope at least one of them is inspired to follow their passion, to pursue their dream, to well, have one of the coolest jobs in the world! Life is good!
Peace
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MORE MOVIE TALK...

8/9/08: Last Sunday, I had breakfast at the Four Seasons prior to interviewing Ben Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr. and Jack Black for Tropic Thunder. This after noon, I had brunch at the Beverly Hilton Hotel prior to speaking with British actor Steve Coogan for his very funny new film, Hamlet 2. Steve also happens to be in Tropic Thunder. For those who've seen it, he plays the director of the movie inside the movie. Steve's a very cool guy, surprisingly laidback for a comedian. I'll tell you this, I'd be very pleasantly surprised if this movie does well at the box office, and that's probably why I liked it. As my sister Connie always says, "Jim likes all the movies most people don't like." I take that as a huge compliment. What she means is I'm not a big fan of the Hollywood blockbuster, bombs exploding, people flying, computer-generated extravaganzas. Silly me, I actually like movies with characters, real characters with real lives, problems, issues, who actually talk to each other in the film. You know, like movies used to be before they all turned into big-screen video games.

I promised Susan, so since I'm talking about movies, I'll well, wrap: I liked Hamlet 2, I enjoyed speaking with Steve, and if you get a chance and before it goes away, go to the movie's website, www.hamlet2.com, click "Enter Site," select the Promotions page and enter access code: 9PW29RZGJ4 and download the song "Rock Me Sexy Jesus," the campy song that ends the film. But, if you're super sensitive about religion or easily offended by a fun parody of Jesus (think Monty Python-meets- Jesus Christ Superstar), then stay away from Hamlet 2 and for God's sake (get it, for God's sake), don't rock with Sexy Jesus. God bless! Life is good!

Up next, a VERY special day with my daughter, Angie. Talk about things coming completely full circle: This Wednesday, Angie and I will be speaking at MY high school journalism teacher Konnie Krislock's journalism workshop for high school seniors, held at Long Beach State University. This will be my second time speaking to the kids about well, about what I do…like this blog. And this year, Konnie asked if Angie - a big-time music biz publicist in her own right – would join me and tell her story, how she got into this crazy beautiful world of rock and roll. I'll be a real proud papa, for sure!

Peace
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GO COWBOYS!

8/6/08: OK, this has nothing to do with rock and roll or the movies, but it has EVERYTHING to do with another of my passions – my loves! Plus it's my blog, so what the heck. Today, my sister Connie and I went to the Dallas Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, CA. We took in a morning and afternoon practice…watched Tony Romo, T.O. Marion the Barbarian, D Ware, "Pacman," etc, etc, get ready for a Super Bowl run. Hey, now that I think about: Romo's Hollywood, T.O.'s Hollywood, the Cowboys do have stars on their helmets…I guess it is rock and roll and Hollywood as well. Oh well, GO COWBOYS!
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