Volume 1 January 2015
LACY YOUNGER This ‘Girl with a Gun’ is not afraid to get her feet dirty
Likes to Boogie
Check out all the fun we’ve been having with talented local musicians
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Contents Feature 4 Lacy Younger Album Review 11 The Sickstring Outlaws Jams 12 Ongoing Jams 13 Nick Abadilla’s Studio 14 BNS Brewery 15 Proud Mary’s Events 16 Backwater Blues Band 17 Trailerpark Rockstar 18 Stolen Hubcaps 19 Royal Flush Blues
The Team Editor Eli J. Medellin Design / Technology Jennifer Medellin Photography Nick Abadilla Eli J. Medellin Jam Master Mark Eppler Staff Sheri Salomone Stormie Jackson
Lette
r fro m the Editor
Welcome to Boogie Magazine. It took us longer to get here than we thought, but we’re learning as we go. I think we can safely call this one the “Hell or High-water” issue. First of all, I want to thank everyone for your support and especially the musicians who contributed and befriended us since the beginning. Three months ago we started hosting jam sessions. The first one was at Nick Abadilla’s photography studio in Mission Valley. We were overwhelmed by the turnout of high-caliber musicians who came from all over, for nothing else but the sheer pleasure of being able to play impromptu sets with different musicians. Thus was born the idea to host monthly jam sessions to raise money for charity. So far we’ve raised $800 to help local families during the holidays. These sessions inspired us to launch a new kind of magazine that not only showcases these fantastic musicians, but will also help to promote the entire live music scene. We intend to deliver the live music experience through a rich, interactive digital magazine with high-quality photography and videos showcased in a beautifully engineered format . As we started building this new digital magazine, we quickly realized we needed somewhere to share ongoing information in real time. We tried a blog and built a beautiful website but it ended up being Facebook that stole the show. We were amazed to receive over 500 likes in less than 90 days and we’re steadily growing thanks to your support. These online volumes of Boogie Magazine are hereby dedicated to highlight the best of the live music scene wherever we go from here. Come share the experience with us and show us how much you like to boogie!
Eli J. Medellin
Publisher / Editor
Videography Brad Anderson Special Thanks The Moneymen Boogie Magazine 2
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Lacy Younger
She’ll tell ya how you like it by Eli J. Medellin Photography by Nick Abadilla
W
ith a Farrah Fawcett smile and body to match, she produces a confident energy that takes over any room. She sings, records, promotes and tours without fear or hesitation, has a history in the rock ‘n’ roll scene and has stories to tell. That’s the sort of energy we wanted for the cover of the very first volume of Boogie Magazine. Someone whose photo would scream, “Hell yeah, look at this!” Ladies and Gentlemen… Lacy Younger. I met Lacy recently at a brunch-time gig in San Marcos. She was ‘sitting in’ with her buddy and singing compeer, Christine Gilardi. It was a small gig, not too many people, but the two of them, it seemed, were having a good time. Upon introduction, Lacy handed me a polished package with matching cards, CD artwork, and an autographed eight by ten glossy (which I put up in my bar at home). Later, I went to see her play with Temple Of The Dad, at Mother’s Saloon in Ocean Beach. It was a warm Saturday night and the placed was packed with people dancing in their seats and the dance floor was rock’n. The band was playing a variable set of popular classic rock from the likes of Journey to Lynyrd Skynyrd. Lacy stood out with her flashiness and unmistakable, highenergy rock ‘n’ roll voice. I had to push my way through a mess of sweaty, enthusiastic fans just to get to her during the break to say hi. This was just about the time when Boogie Magazine was being conceived. When asked who would be on our first cover, my immediate reply was, ‘Lacy Younger.’ I knew that she had just returned from a successful gig in England and would have an interesting story to share right off the bat. I wasted no time calling her to request an interview, which she accepted graciously. I arranged to met her at one of my favorite spots in Old La Mesa, Hoffer’s Cigar Bar. It’s a relaxing beer and wine bar with a comfortable patio in back for smokers to enjoy a cigar and a beer at the same time. They frequently have some well known blues performances on weekend nights. A smoke filled blues experience, who would of thunk it?
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The sun was setting on La Mesa Boulevard. As I looked down the street I saw Lacy with her long, sexy legs walking toward Hoffer’s as though she was walking right out of the sunshine. I felt an overwhelming confidence that this would turn out to be an interview to remember. We quickly ordered a couple of drinks and aside from the occasional motorcycle and sirens in the distance, we found a semi-quiet corner to talk about her life, work, and music. How was England? How’d that trip go? England was amazing, in fact, they invited me back next year so I’m pretty stoked. I played at the castle and it went really well. When you play festivals like that, first you play several venues before the main event. One of the venues was a huge place called Revolution. The locals said, ‘Oh no, not there’, ‘locals don’t like that place’, ‘that’s where all the kids play.’ Well I said, “I don’t care, I’m gonna pack that place!” and it ended up being packed! What’s great is I get to go into the audience after gigs like that -- with three or four hundred people -- and most of them just heard my music online, watched videos, and they actually showed up at this place, that they didn’t like, to watch me perform! That made me feel really good to see the demographic ranged from 30 to 50, so the place paid me accordingly-- I think they were happy and I think they were realizing they don’t have to have to cater to just college kids. It’s amazing how clubs can be generous when they are really happy. Some bands don’t ever get to see that. Right? It was incredible. I’m already planning my trip back. Good! Where do you like to play here in the states? Well, I’ve played all over. The labels I worked with would release a single on the East Coast first, and I would do these really long radio tours, plug some great dates in Chicago, New York, Nashville, but I really wanted to play on the West Coast. I played huge venues, ones that would hold 10,000 people, as the headliner and people would be singing my songs. They’d know every word in the front row and I would go, “Man, I want to do that at home!” But at home no one knows me because it costs more money to pay for radio promotions on the West Coast. *ha* That’s how it was for years, until I didn’t have a record deal anymore. Now without a label, I have been able to focus more on just playing smaller places at home, just to keep the ball rolling. You know, when you do it on your own, you can get out and just make some music. I was doing a lot of that with Danny Campbell, a drummer from North County [San Diego], when he said, “Let’s just make a record!”, and that’s who I made my most recent one with, Live the Way You Like It. --- The way I like it! Yeah baby, I tell you how you like it, right? Don’t you love that? But it works. So he’s the one who got me playing locally. Just prior to that record I was able to do the smaller West Coast places with Jimmy Lewis from Super Unloader. Jimmy is a phenomenal guitar player, great singer, we did a lot of radio tours together, a couple of West Coast tours as a duet, and smaller gigs. So, I’ve only began a few years back, kinda doing this at home, on the West Coast, which is a new thing for me. At home, the places I like to play are near my home in Point Loma, where I grew up. Humphrey’s is one of my favorite venues. I’ve opened there for Huey Lewis, Three Dog Night, Kenny Wayne Shepard, Los Lonely Boys, and couple of others. I’ve headlined there too, at a couple of charity events, all on the big stage. I love that, that’s probably my favorite venue. Then places in OB, I like the smaller places like Gallagher’s or Winstons. I’ve played many, but as far as my favorite, those would probably be it. Okay, tell me about Nashville. Nashville? Well, I began writing seriously, I’m gonna say, in my late 20’s was when I started getting focused. I’ve done a lot of songwriting from the beginning, I was a poet when I was a kid, I wrote songs since I was little, but I got serious in my late twenties, when I entered one of my songs in an international songwriting contest put on by Jim Beam. All
“Yeah baby, I tell you how you like it, right? Don’t you love that?” over the world anyone could enter and I ended up winning along with four others. We opened for Terry Clark and James House in Nashville, at the Wildhorse Saloon, which was beyond what I had been doing. I had gotten a lot of demo work and commercials jingles in L.A. and Nashville, but I just hadn’t gotten a deal yet. So I went and it was really nice to be recognized. Backstage, at that show, I was offered a deal with a producer, Bill Warner. I recognize that name! Yes, he’s a brilliant producer and engineer and his wife, Christie Mana, is a #1 hit country songwriter. She wrote Blake Shelton’s first hit, “Austin”, and “Loud” by Big and Rich. She’s written a lot of really great stuff. Bill and Christie were at that show and they came backstage said, “You know, we really think you’ve got something special” and offered me a production deal. So I did some stuff with them. Prior to them I was working with David Chase. He produced Gary Morris, Amy Grant . . . in fact the girl that was his receptionist was Faith Hill. We used to go to lunch together when I was recording with David. This all leads up to the story of my son coming into the picture. Faith was married to Dan Hill and she really wanted to have babies and it turns out I ended up getting pregnant by the guy I was engaged to, but I was getting ready to break up with him to when I got pregnant. I was in the middle of working with David Chase, so I had to sit down at lunch and tell him, “I’m going to have a baby so I’m out of here for awhile.” I didn’t see how I could be on the tour with a little baby, and I felt the first five years were most critical. So I told David, “I’m out of this deal” and he asked, “Did you tell Faith your news?” He said, “she’ll probably start crying” and he was right, she started crying, but we were young, we were in our twenties, and she went on— So I went home and had the baby, and I’m up in the middle of the night, feeding my baby every two freak’n hours and here she is on Nashville Now with Gary Morris and she’s got a new record deal and I’m thinking, ‘What the fuck?’ It was kinda crazy, she went from being the receptionist -- I knew that she wanted to sing and she started doing stuff with David and Scott Hendricks -- I was like, “I’m supposed to be doing this!” So I didn’t quite make it to five years, I made it to 4 1/2 and that’s when I won the Jim Beam contest and I went back to Nashville. What’s your son’s name? When I was 20 I had a dream, you know when you have those dreams that stand out, they’re super vivid and you wake up still in the mood of it, going, ‘wow, that dream was out there’. You look around and you’re still kind of in it. This dream was like that. In the dream, I’m having this baby. I’m in the hospital going through labor and the doctor’s saying, “Come on you can do it”. I have the baby, and he shows me that he has a full head of hair. The doctor asks , “What’s his name?” and he kept asking and I was thinking and thinking and he asked a third time, and I said Dillon, and he goes, “After Bob Dylan or Dylan Thomas, the author?” This is what the doctor asks me in my dream, and I say, “Kinda both, I don’t know.” So I wake up and I figure maybe I’m going to have a Dillon someday. Six years later, I get pregnant and I knew it was him. My husband said he thought it was going to be a girl, and I said, “No, sorry, it’s Dillon. Trust me, I know.“ And it was and he came out with a full head of hair. You said he was your husband…? Yeah, I ended up staying with him. I had my son and married him afterwards then I divorced him one year later. I always say I was married for five minutes, I shit you not, I was married for five minutes, that was it, but I got the most amazing kid out of it.
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So how do you spell it? Well, I went back and forth but I ended up spelling it Dillon, like the marshal. How old is he now? 24, my little tiny boy-man who’s 6’ 3” Does he have any aspirations to do music? You know what? He played a lot when he was teenager, he had a band. He played at a party for this surf club in La Jolla when he was really young. His band also played at the VFW. I went and saw him and I almost started balling because I didn’t know he could sing that well. Later he just dropped it and I ask him, “Are you ever going to sing again, ever? Don’t waste your gift!”. He says, “Probably someday” but he’s not doing it now. It’s in there, but yeah. Tell us about your recordings. You have three cds? Yeah, on my first cd I was offered a deal by Asylum Records in New York and I ended up backing out at the last minute to go with my manager at the time. He was an interesting character. He used to manage Grace Jones, Scott Baio, all these huge people from the 80’s and early 90’s, these actors that sang, like Donna Summer. He managed Janis Joplin in the early part of her career, her first, I think, 6 years. He used to say, “You remind me of Janis when her voice was still pure.” She used to have more of a range until later on and then it was all about screaming. Well, that happens, hard alcohol is not good for the vocal cords. Well it wasn’t just alcohol . . . Right! So Steve managed me back then and formed Sagestone Records, but it only lasted about 3 1/2 years until they went under. It was me, Leon Russell, and some guy from San Diego on stage. I was supposed to tour with [Leon Russell] in the summer but by that time I had made [Steve] sign back all publishing to me. What happened was we released the record on the East Coast, and I played to a huge audience in Chicago and was doing really well. Then in Denmark my single went #1 and I wanted to go there right away, but they refused to back it. I felt like I was fighting for my life. They spent $150,000 making this piece of shit record that I hated and they wouldn’t spend ten grand to promote it so they were in breach of contract. I told them, “Start backing this up or give me back my stuff ” so they released everything back to me except a small percentage. I ended up reworking that record, which lead to another deal with Big Deal /Hyena Records for my cd, Still Wild, produced by Val Garay. He’s produced everybody from Jackson Brown, Lynda Ronstadt, James Taylor -- that record did really well for me. I worked with them for like 3 years, 3 singles, toured a ton, amazing people. The head of that label is Henry Marx. He’s been in the business since like the early 50’s, since he was a kid. I mean, he knows the industry inside out, he owns Music Force publishing everything from Tupac to Alisha Keys to Bobby Caldwell. That’s kind of off beat for him. Bobby is not really a R&B singer. No, he’s adult contemporary pop, but that’s what
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Henry is genius at. He knows how to push people to go outside the box. Honestly, he really knows good music when he hears it and he’s so honest. That’s why his publishing is worth millions, the guy is a genius and we’re still very close friends. In fact, he gave me a distribution deal for my live record. He’s very supportive. To find people like that in the music industry, who’ve been at it for so long, and know everybody, is so rare. It’s very rare. We’ll, you can find them, meet them, but to get them to actually work with youRight, he used to say, “We need to get you management, all this stuff is happening, it’s getting ridiculous that you have no manager.” and I’d tell him, “No, Henry, you’re managing me, I don’t want anyone else!” and he’d say, “No you’re crazy, I have enough going on.” After about 8 months he realized, “You know, here I am managing you. How did you make that happen? I am doing exactly what I said I didn’t want”, and I’m like, “Yeah, that’s right! You’re mine.” You do a really good job of promoting yourself. What’s your secret? I learned from the best, I mean honestly the best publicist, Jayne Rogovin. She was in Nashville, she passed away a few years ago. She taught me everything I don’t want to know ‘cause honestly I didn’t want this job! I wish somebody else would do it, but do I have a budget like I used to have? No, I do not! So I remember all the things she would do at opportune times. If one thing happens that gets you out there, get ready to have a couple things to follow-up on to keep the momentum going. It’s really up to me keeping the fire under my ass. So say I get a nomination, that’s a good example, when I got nominated for singer/ songwriter of the year by San Diego Music Awards, #1 was to keep writing more new stuff, and #2 go play as many gigs that are offered to you within that realm as possible, so you can mention it. Find out if there’s a possibility for any television, or collaborate with someone else and get yourself out there. Just keep the ball rolling, don’t be lazy, that’s really it. Anyone who does what I do knows, none of us are getting any younger and you can sit around and hope for other people to make pathways and open doors for you, but if you’re not up and ready to run through them and you don’t have something in your hand to deliver to them, you suck. There’s 50 people behind you ready to run your ass over, with total fire in their belly, absolute killer instinct. You really need to have, not only the quality of product, but the ability to deliver it in every way you know. What’s the one most important thing she taught you? How to self promote. When that was her job, I didn’t have to do anything but show up. I never wrote a word about myself. Where I come from being humble is a good thing. In this day and age, the kids that are up and coming, they’ve never had a publicists, they aren’t afraid to say it themselves, “Hey, I am - blah blah blah, look at me.” She taught me when opportunities come up, to find that balance between being humble and still getting the word out there about what you plan to do so people show up and listen. Let’s talk about your nomination, best singer/songwriter. It was me, AJ Croce and some others in 2014, it’s over. I did not win, but makes you feel good to be nominated. Who’s in the committee for this? This is people’s choice, where fans voted on the San Diego Music Awards website. This year seems to be my year, I just found out yesterday that I got nominated for the Australian Songwriter Association. They have a huge contest with an international segment. Out of thousands I’m in the top 10. Do you have to submit yourself? Either your publicist, your label, or you.
You look for these things online? Well, Jayne taught me. Artists who’ve been around for awhile know, back in the day my label would send a hard copy of the CD with all my press kit, meaning, tons of paper that’s printed out. I remember Tons of reviews of records, articles, photos, the CD is on a thing that’s a big as this [notebook] right here. They mail it out. There were no digital press kits. I remember when Jayne said, “You’ve gotta see this!” People actually invented the digital press kit, Sonic Bits, and now there are bunches. Reverbnation is another. I didn’t even like computers at that point. My label had MySpace, before Facebook, they had four guys sitting in a room and their job was to work social media as me on MySpace, this is the crazy stuff that goes on behind the scenes! That was just the beginning of social media on the internet, that was it, mySpace. I was really reluctant to be involved and thinking, “Glad you’re doing it and I’m not!” But now it’s me doing it. She showed me how it all works and now my press kit is on SonicBids. It has music, photos, press, and it’s all at the click of a button, you can email it in five seconds, bing it’s gone. So you’re doing TV? I made a living at it for two years in my early 20’s and all the jobs I kept getting were hosting and co-hosting live-TV, which is so much fun. I been on a lot of live radio and TV. When you do radio tours, that’s all you do is get up and do three radio stations in a row. You do live interviews, sing, tell jokes and try to be funny and clever until they kick you out and you go to the next one. I’ve been in three states in one day before. It’s crazy, the guy asks, “Lacy, where’d you come from?” and I look at Earl, my road manager, and say, “I don’t know, where did we just come from, somewhere in Kentucky?” and he tells me, “No, we were somewhere in Missouri.” I didn’t even know where I was or where I was going, literally, it was a lot, but I thrive on it, it’s fun.
“I like a minor cord, you know what I’m say’n? It just does something for me and I like the blues orientation of a lot of music ‘cause I feel that.” What’s your drive, what keeps you going? I think just the satisfaction I get from creating something and then seeing it through to the end and having it be a song that I can sing and share with people. It’s really gratifying, a great form of self expression and I find it very cathartic. ‘Cause a lot of my stuff, you know, people say, oh it’s another song about heartbreak. Friends tell me to write something happy and I go, “Fuck you, you write something happy. I’m not inspired by that right now.” I like a minor cord, you know what I’m say’n? It just does something for me and I like the blues orientation of a lot of music ‘cause I feel that. I mean, the CD you gave me, Live the Way You Like It, that was a party cd about, “Let’s rock ‘n’ roll”. Ha, I love rock ‘n’ roll too, yeah. Rock ‘n’ roll is who I am for sure. That’s actually my favorite style, I really enjoyed that. That CD’s about being on the road which I’ve done a lot. Who are your influences? I’m gonna say late 60’s, early 70’s rock ‘n’ roll, a lot of the southern and British bands that had a blues influence, the Rolling Stones and early Rod Steward like Faces, Humble Pie, those bands. I liked Paul Rogers in Free and Bad Company. I wanted to be him, I didn’t want to be with him, I wanted to be that guy. He could deliver with such balls and such a blue-eyed soul. His voice was amazing to me and their music had that inflection of a lot of blues, yet it rocked. So yeah, you hear that common thread throughout a lot of those people I just mentioned. I don’t listen
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to a lot of new stuff, and I’m going to say the two top bands in the last 15 years, right off the top of my head that I loved, were like The Black Crowes and Jet and you can hear all those influences in their music. You know what I mean, it’s so obvious why I like them. I love that kind of music. Unlike my last single, “Something You Do”, which the best on the charts commercially for me. The minute I wrote it I said, “I hate this song!” and Val said, “This is a smash, we need to go record it right now.” I didn’t want to do the song until we were on our way to Bonnie Haze’s house. She wrote huge hits for Bonnie Ray including “Love Letter” and In the “Nick of Time”. So here, I’d written part of this song in the hotel room, then later in the car with Val and I said, “Give me a pen, I’ve got the rest of it.” I had the first couple verses, the chorus and the melody. We were at Bonnie Haze’s and she helped me finish the lyrics. We timed it up, I did a demo at her house. I have like three or four other songs that are very adult contemporary, really mellow, and produced in a very AC kinda way. At the time, I said this not what I’m doing at all, and Val said, “That’s what everybody says and it ends up being their biggest hit”. He was right, it did really well. Funny how that happened but I hardly ever do it live. Is it like one of those things where you felt at the time, but then put it in the closet and never want to see it again? I do it all the time. I have lots of songs like that. Yeah. I mean I love it, lyrically I’m really proud of it, I like the way it sounds but to do it live kinda bores me. I am a rock ‘n’ roller. You are a rock ‘n’ roller, I’ve seen you you on stage and I’ve heard one CD. You have a real rock ‘n’ roll attitude, I love that, where’d you get that from? I don’t know, like the stage presence is probably just me being so into what I’m doing I don’t care and the funny thing is the older I get, the more my neck does not forgive me. What’s hysterical, is the older I’ve gotten the more head thrashing I do. Then I see videos and realize I need to stop doing that. The next morning I wake up going, “ahh”, like my trapezius muscles are so sore but I’m having so much fun! I don’t know, I’m so into what I’m doing, to me it’s joy, pure joy. When all the harmonies are like spot on and everybody’s just super good at what they’re doing, there’s nothing like it. Do you have a set band right now? I do now, again. The guys that I went to England with did a great job but they’re kind of the pick-up band that I had to put together because the band I’d been working with this last seven months backed out at the last minute. The band I work with now is Temple of the Dad, not Temple of the Dead. They’re from Point Loma too, so we have that in common. Why do they call it Temple of the Dad? Are they all dads? Yes. When they started playing together, they all had other bands. Sun Tower, Kevin and Pete’s band, started raising money for their kids’ schools music programs and bought instruments, like ukuleles, for the whole school. They did it over and over again and I saw an ad. They were looking for a singer when I met Pete and I liked what they were doing so much I wanted to merge and do some stuff together for charity. We ended up getting together and I mean, the musicianship, I’m stoked, they learned a lot of my stuff and we do a conglomeration of killer classic rock from the 60’s and 70’s. Honestly they’re so fucking good, I enjoy them. What are the names of the band members? Kevin Whelan, lead guitar player. Pete Mechalas, guitar. Vince Escaleria, base. Austin Bunn, drums Rodger First, vocalist/guitar. Quite often if I book stuff as Lacy Younger, they are my band, and it’s Lacy Younger Band, then if we do stuff together that’s like a joint effort it’s Temple of the Dad with Lacy Younger. If we do corporate gigs, it’s just Template of the Dad. I’ve been enjoying them immensely and I think they’re probably going to come with me to Germany. I think half of them are anyway, in May.
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Do you have a crazy story? I’m sure you have a lot of them. When I was 15 years old, um, at that time, I used to go backstage to many concerts because my friend, Tom Brunholtzle, was head of security at the sports arena and many other venues. So I could get passes to anything and I didn’t have to do any ‘favors’. I always ended up being one of the guys, not one of the hookers. -- groupies I would take all my cute girlfriends for that and just shove them into harms way so that I could be with the guys. They probably liked that. I was a guy in a girls body, when it came to that kind of stuff, I would block with my chicks, because they were happy to be that, I didn’t want to be that. They were groupies. They wanted to be with ‘so and so’. I didn’t, I wanted to BE him, not with him. I just wanted to be like one of the guys. It’s so funny, because when you’re tall and leggy like me and you’re young they think that you want that. I just wanted to learn about what they did and I’m just excited about music. So we went to see Humble Pie at the sports arena when I was 15. That’s when Steve Marriot was still alive. I just remember standing off to the side and we were going to leave after the end and they had this woman that was like their road-mom and they called her ‘Mother’. She had hair down to her butt, it was so thick. She was the most beautiful lady I ever saw. She was probably in her thirties and to me that was old back then, but she was so beautiful and she just came over and said, “You. You have to come over here because Steve and the guys want to meet you.” So we went and got to know them and had the best time. I was trying to explain how I was a singer and they were so adorable. They were never rude, they were totally crazy, but gentlemen.
“When you watch the movie, Almost Famous, that’s about my life, I was there.” How old where they back then? I was 15, I’m going to say, I don’t know. I thought they were OLD, because to me they looked a lot older, but at that time they had a different base player, Kevin. By the end of the night, we stayed backstage there for a long time, I lived about 5 blocks from there. It was about four in the morning and we all went to my mom’s house. Everyone was just having a good time, talking about music, playing music. Then my mom comes out and goes, “What the hell is going on?” Of course, I’m like, “Mom, don’t you understand? This is Humble Pie in the house”, and she could give a shit. She was like, “What? Humble Pie? People of the pie? I don’t understand” and I’m like, “Go back to bed!” I’ll never forget that they came over and hung out. When you watch the movie, Almost Famous, that’s about my life, I was there. I was doing that at a really young age, only he was a writer and I was a songwriter and musician wanting to be these people. I watched that film and I’m going, wow, that was on Saratoga Street in Ocean Beach, oh yeah, that party, it was in my neighborhood and the same exact kind of things that were going on. Ocean Beach and the Sports Arena, right there in Point Loma. Talk about nostalgia!
When I was playing this place in England I met another singer and songwriter at the same festival. After one of the gigs, I said, “Well, let’s jam”. So we just started playing guitar and singing. She sang some of her stuff and I harmonized -- I love harmonies, I’ll sing with anybody. When I heard some of her music, I was an instant fan. By the end of the next two days, she asked me to sing with her and sit in onstage at the castle. She loved the harmonies we were doing together. Her music is absolutely mind blowing - she’s a phenomenal guitarist, I wish I could... I think she started off playing bass when she was in high school and she’s developed this technique that’s so unique, I can’t even explain it, like she plays in a certain way that’s adorable, but it’s very percussive on the acoustic guitar. That’s all she needs is that, so like between her playing that way with those techniques and her dad sitting in with her on stage, it was magical. She’s brilliant with lyrics. So someone like her. No one knows who she is over here, but she’s starting to do very well in Europe. You know I’m sure people know who she is, I’m not sure to what degree, but I’m a huge fan. She’s a lovely person. We were fast friends in two days. What’s her name? Heidi Browne, her dad is Colin Browne who played piano for Kate Bush. He’s so talented. I would help people like her, and I’ve worked with a bunch of people like Christine Gilardi! You know, this other chick that I’ve done a duet with, Deblois Milledge, super talented songwriter and she never had a real deal... She never had anyone really put any money behind her, but that would be a lot of fun. What’s in the future for you? Anything new? Actually, I’ve been writing the last few months to make another CD. I’m hoping to involve Bill Warner. I actually have a couple of projects that are possibilities with two different people. Have you been talking to Bill Warner? Yes. I also talked to Val Garay and he wants to do a spec deal which would be phenomenal too. I feel like right now, I’m on fire. I have so much freedom, which is amazing. My son is grown and doing really well, so I don’t need to worry about that. I don’t make the bank that I used to make, so I’ve learned how to do things in a different way. I feel like the possibilities are endless and I honestly have been having great success this last year all over the place. I’m trying to keep up and make sure that I can back it up. Get out there, play and support myself in that way. That was good for me, how’s that for you? Great! Great, it was great, you got a cigarette? That was fabulous!
Finish this sentence, I wish... Okay, I wish I had ten million dollars so I could make my own record label and promote other artists that I believe in and think are wonderful, unique and have something to contribute. That would be so much fun. Do you have any artists in mind that you would help out? Sure yeah, I do, and I mean I meet people every other week that I’m blown away by. This is what happens when you’re addicted to music.
Want some more? Chec k out Lacy on Reverbn ation Boogie Magazine 9
On the Streets
“Leave this mess behind� by William Blake
Watch on YouTube
youtu.be/yEtkj04AG3Y
k a e r B . e m d n i h e b s s e m is h t e v a e l a n n a Iw y m f o o g g n i t t e L . s t n i a r t s e r y m m o r f e fre . y a w a s g n i h t e s o h t w e r h t I s e y , s g n i g n belo
SAN DIEGO, November- We were out shooting another event and we just happened to walk past and noticed a musician using the garage behind him for acoustics. I dropped a flyer for our next jam session and we kept going, but we both stopped and turned back. Without a word, I pulled out my phone and Eli turned on his cameras and we waited quietly When he finished the song I asked if we could record him to which he smiled and said yes, but he wanted to play an original piece. Of course, that caught our attention. He explained that he had come from Tennessee and was trying to make a new life for his family as he recovered from an illness. Just then I noticed his family sitting nearby, watching closely. He shared a soulful piece about letting go of worldly possessions and focusing on finding the things that matter in life. We listened in silence as he poured out his heart to a wide-eyed audience in a small alley near the Midway. by Stormie Jackson 10 Boogie Magazine Photography by Eli J. Medellin
Halloween and closing night for Parkway Bar
The Sickstring Outlaws Johnny Drank Jack
CD Review by Eli J. Medellin The Sickstring Outlaw’s Johnny Drank Jack is a tall glass of good ole honky-tonk with a shot of “psyco-billy” I said that I was not going to do CD reviews because I don’t consider myself qualified to critique anyones hard work in the studio, but Mark Eppler gave me this CD, I put it in the player of my car and I haven’t ejected it yet. A collection of very well recorded sessions that are easy to listen to and original “outlaw” songs that are reminiscent of my honky tonk days back in Texas. The intro track is a country rock’n instrumental followed by fast-paced ‘hellbelly’ tune “Ole Saint Peter” complete with banjo and fiddle accompaniment. I like every song on this recording, all of which spell out their obvious influences such as Ronnie Van Zant, Waylon Jennings, George Jones and “getting stoned.” The song “Dive Bars is a “haw-larious score about how the dive bar scene has changed since those honky tonk days of old. The title track “Johnny Drank Jack” is a fine bar side (as opposed to side bar) tribute to the “Man in Black” (Check out the Video on their website). This CD fades out perfectly with a, last one to leave the bar, mellow tune called “One More Round.” Well played Outlaws… Well played. If I owned a cowboy lid, it would be off to you.
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Ready to Jam?
Calling all Intermediate & Advanced Musicians Tom’s Band Camp 1st and 3rd Tuesdays 8:00pm - 11:00pm
Jamming Out Wednesdays 7:00pm - 11:00pm
Blues Jam & Open Mic Wednesdays 8:00pm - 12:00am
Aztec Open Mic Thursdays 8:00pm - 12:00am
Pal Joey’s Cocktail Lounge
The House of Blues
The Pour House
Aztec Brewing
Do you play well with others? Wanna jam? Check out Tom’s Band Camp every first and third Tuesday. Great opportunity to get in some stage time. 21+
Presented by BLUSD this free, family friendly jam welcomes musicians of all ages. With seriously high-caliber musicians this jam is not for beginners!
Hosted by “Lil Kane” anyone can join in on this mixed open mic and jam. Just off the Coast Highway 101 in Oceanside. 21+
Hosted by On Point Promotions this jam is held a little hideaway in Vista with great brews and awesome music. Come check it out. 21+
tomsbandcamp.com
5147 Waring Rd, San Diego, CA
jammingout.net
1055 5th Ave, San Diego, CA
pourhouseoceanside.com
1903 S Coast Hwy, Oceanside, CA
aztecbrewery.com
2330 La Mirada Dr, Vista, CA
What’s a jam session?
Each show is a unique experience where musicians show up, sign in, and play impromptu versions of well known songs. The leader is whoever steps up and chooses song, key and tempo with only has a few seconds to explain to the rest of the musicians. Each set has different musicians and sets are determined by the coordinator. It sounds like a mess but somehow it always seems to work out and turns into an exciting event for participants and audiences alike.
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Brunch Jam
@Nick Abadilla’s Photo Studio
SAN DIEGO, October- Just a bunch of friends playing together at Nick Abadilla’s photo studio. Boogie Magazine was not a idea yet when we held this jam, but its significant in that this is when we started to think about getting our jams out of the garage and into the public. We started to think about putting on jam sessions once a month at different locations each time. Plus, we could try raising money for charities, bringing musicians together to have fun and for a good cause. When thinking of a name for hosting the show, Boogie Magazine came to my mind as a blast from the past. This was just the beginning.
By Eli J. Medellin Photography by Nick Abadilla 13
Boogie Magazine
Watch on YouTube
youtu.be/GZolutYgYOY
Boogie Blues Jam @BNS Brewery SANTEE, November- BNS Brewery was the first venue to host our Boogie Magazine Charity Jam Session. They have some tasty brews, friendly staff, a fairly large space and most of all, a large stage. That was exactly what we needed to make room for the thirty something musicians that showed up to play. For the charity, we decided to do raise money for Coe’s List. She has a long list of local charities and listeners in need. Every time a donation is made, she will select someone on the list in need and makes a contribution. On this particular day we were able to raise $500. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this effort and judging by Nick’s great photographs, looks like everyone had a great time. Special thanks to The Moneymen and Big Jon of 101KGB for their support. Photography by Nick Abadilla Videography by Brad Anderson
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Watch on YouTube
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrN4J0-FEStrSlbM122IqPDo2rXXdvah7
Boogie Jam @Proud Mary’s SAN DIEGO, December 20- Our second Boogie Magazine Charity Jam Session was held at Proud Mary’s Southern Bar and Grill. Proud Mary’s is a nice setting for a blues jam, with musically influenced oil paintings on the walls and an authentic southern menu (Eppler says to try the fried gator). Some of the same musicians showed up as last time, like John January, Paul Whitaker, Steve Douglas Mary and David Lewis, and Tom Tice, just to name a few. We also made some new friends including Rhythm from Rhythm and the Method, Robert Cowen, Mark Fahl, Robby Whitehead, and Miles Head. Highlights of the show was when Stoney B and Big Slim shared the stage with Nick Abadilla, and Joel Bolado on back-up guitars, Ray Brown and Chuck Arcilla on horns, Rhythm on drums and Terry Lee Fenwick on keyboard. We managed to raise another $300 for Coe’s List. Coe showed up for the first part of the show to thank all the musicians for participating in this effort to raise money which will be used to help out needy families just in time for the holidays. Thanks again to the Moneymen for bringing in the gear and starting off the show, and special thanks to 101KGB’s Big Jon for sticking around to help MC. Photography by Nick Abadilla Videography by Brad Anderson
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Watch on YouTube youtu.be/-inSYR6jA6o
Backwater Blues Band
with special guest Deanna BoGart at Humphrey’s Backstage Lounge
SHELTER ISLAND, December 16- Award winning musician Deanna Bogart sat in with the Backwater Blues Band at Humphrey’s Backstage Live. They played a mix of Louisiana and Chicago-style blues this particular night with Deanna switching from saxophone to the keyboard with ease. She also did a special “boogie-woogie” tune for her new friends at Boogie Magazine. Thanks to Tom Stewart of Backwater Blues for inviting us to this special event. Photography by Eli J. Medellin Video by Brad Anderson
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Watch on YouTube youtu.be/0uF2icrE5RY
Trailerpark Rockstar at #LAROCKSTV
HOLLYWOOD, November 2- Trailerpark Rockstar was featured in an episode of an online show called LAROCKSTV. The filming was done at Flashback Studios in North Hollywood and Boogie Magazine was there. The host of the show, Red Beard, brought them on to play four songs: “Troubled Sons”, “Hot Rod Heaven”, “Walk Away” and “Trailerpark Rockstar.” Afterwards, Red Beard did a short interview, all of which can be seen on the LAROCKS. Photography by Eli J. Medellin 17 Boogie Magazine Video by LAPhotographer.org
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The Future of Rock and Roll is in Stolen Hubcaps at Thrift Trader
SAN DIEGO December 19- The Stolen Hubcaps gave an amazing performance at ThriFt Trader on El Cajon Blvd playing their own versions of songs from Black Keys and White Stripes among others. Their originals were off the charts as well. Miles Head was extraordinary on his own homemade guitars. Bass man, Joseph Hoang, could not stand still, bringing the energy level up a notch and Brent Jensen kept the beat roll’n like a train. This is a band that we will be following closely. By Eli J. Medellin
Boogie Magazine 18
Royal Flush Blues At Teo Leo’s
SAN DIEGO, November 9- Our good friend Rosa Lea Schiavone of Wicked Harem Promotions put on a fantastic show at Teo Leo’s last November, dubbed the Royal Flush Blues show. This particular event featured three incredible acts, Li’l A & the Allnighters, Candye Kane and BB & the Blues Shacks. Dancers hit the dance floor as soon as Li’l A & the Allnighters took the stage and did not stop till the music was over. The show also turned out to be a birthday party for Candye Kane who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer six years ago. “I’ll keep singing till I drop dead on stage,” said Kane. All the way from Germany, BB & the Blues Shacks did not give anybody a break from the rip roaring, foot stomping, guitar smoke’n sound that kept the dancers on their toes and the drinks a flow’n. by Eli J. Medellin
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