Crassness is contagious. Fortunately, so is intelligence—which is why listening to Steely Dan is good for you…if you don’t find 80 percent of Gaucho to be hilarious, don’t vex yourself with The Larry Sanders Show. — Ian MacDonald, The People’s Music Crack the code, solve the crime. — Special Agent Dale Cooper, Twin Peaks […]
Indian summer is the summer after summer. It’s that period of time—a few days or a few weeks—of warm air, wide open skies, and stillness, summer’s last stand before the chill of autumn sets in. Growing up, I always loved Indian summer. I still do. It feels like a secret. Regular summer is all loud […]
Just finished Philip Norman’s 818-page Paul McCartney The Life and am starting to feel that my own life might have a serious deficiency insofar as excitement is concerned. And accomplishment, too. Yeah, and money. But there’s one thing I have that Paul McCartney doesn’t have and never will, no matter how hard he tries… and […]
The cinder block building that, 54 years or so ago, housed the Heritage coffeehouse, located at 3842 Mission Blvd. in Mission Beach, is having a reunion with a lot of the folks who used to play there (including myself) this month on October 14. The building now calls itself the Single Fin Surf Bar, but […]
In a world full of angst on this ball of confusion, it is encouraging to report that another rock ‘n’ roll love letter of respite has arrived from the allied forces of The Hollywood Project. Olympic Boulevard is the second effort by singer/songwriter/guitarist Dave Humphries, lyricist Stephen Kalinich, and keyboardist/producer Wolfgang Grasekamp. It’s another ten-track […]
Nina Francis’ unusual path so far in her career as a singer/songwriter saw her leave the area for LA after high school, but did so to develop her arresting voice and writing ability at USC. She received a degree in popular music performance in 2014, exposed to notable mentors at the Thornton School of Music. […]
Jim Cline loves music festivals. He is on the phone with me from Nashville, where he is attending the Americana Music Association Awards, his eighth time at the gala. “The music is number one,” he says. “And the people, too!” Cline is also excited about the upcoming Country Music Festival that he has put together […]
He’s been playing guitar for over 45 years, making all kinds of music in nearly all types of settings. Sometimes as a teacher at the Blue Guitar, doing other work in recording studios, quite often playing live music that can vary from big band to rock, from country to Django Reinhardt-style Gypsy swing jazz. Steve […]
