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!