& ENTERTAINMENT& ENTERTAINMENT Vol. 40 - No.12 • SEPTEMBER 2022 • www.houstonmusicnews.net • FREE KillersThe Also In This Issue Andrew CreatureSalgadoCanyonCollectiveSoulShinedownScorpionsSpyroGyraZZTopClutchIPrevail
Special Events at The 19th WednesdaysTuesdaysHoleKaraokeBingoFridays 10 oz. Steak OnlySpecialLunch$13.99 LiveSEPTEMBERMusicSchedule Friday, September 2 - Split Grin, Ryan Paul & The Branded, Apex Fallen, BC Binge Saturday, September 3 - Billy Rocks, Casanova Caravan, Marilyn Monroe Memoria Church Friday,SymptomaticSeptember9 - Non-Coformist Band, Drunk Ned, Alien Shore Saturday, Sept. 10 - Dirtymind, Sonic Voodoo, Kendall Mason Band,, Chasing Amea Friday, Sept. 16 - Amnesia Joyride Saturday, September 17 - Crosswind Friday, Sept. 23 - Inner Directed Type, Chant, Alloy, Brainwashed Saturday, Sept. 24 - Ever The Wolf, Under The Son, Stomping White Pony, Raz Cat Friday, September 30 - Freaks (Live Tribute), Safer Alternative, My Dad Died, Framing Skeletons Every Thursday Night Live AllSession!JamMusiciansWelcome! GRILL & SPORTS BAR 202 Sawdust Rd. (The Woodlands) • 281-363-2574 • http://www.19th.cc The 19th Hole Grill & Bar is celebrating our 32nd Year Anniversary of being a live music venue DART TOURNAMENT EVERY MONDAY NIGHT!! Take I-45 to the Rayford/Sawdust exit in Spring • Go west on Rayford/Sawdust • Make a right turn at the first red light We’re at the end of the strip center on your left! @ 8:00 PM https://www.facebook.com/theHOLE19TH/ 2 Music News • September 2022
For A Free Subscription email us at musicnew@airmail.net and in the subject line put “Sign Me Up Now” 2022 Hi HelloFolks,Music News readers. I hope everybody had a great August. As you can probably tell, Concert Season is in full Swing Now. There were a lot of great concerts again this month. Maybe you made it out to one of them. There was Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Joan Jett, John Waite, Men At Work, Rick Springfield, Goo Goo Dolls, Gloria Trevi and a lot more. This month looks about the same. Lots of great shows are coming like the Scorpions, The Killers, Shinedown, ZZ Top, Clutch, UB40, Earth Wind & Fire and more. At any rate, this year looks like all the big acts will be out in force and we plan on being there at as many of them as we can make it to. We hope to see you there also Now, on to the new issue. In this issue, as usual, we have some great stories and information to pass on to you. Check out stories in this month’s issue on the Scorpions, The Killers, Shinedown, ZZ Top, Clutch, UB40, Laurie Morvan, Collective Soul, I Prevail, Creature Canyon and another installment of the original story, THE BIKER along with a lot more! Also in this issue are a ton of great pictures of bands performing around the Houston area. I’m sure you’re going to be familiar with a lot of these bands. If you have pictures of local bands performing, please email them to us. I would really appreciate it and I know the bands do as well. Keep it up... We would like to see more pictures from you. We’d also like to invite you to check out our Spanish music section. Not only does it support the Spanish music community, it does so in Spanish. It would appear that Music News has now become the only bilingual music publication in Houston. Check out great stories in it this month on Carlos Vives, Pepe Aguilar, and Mauricio Ochman. We hope you like them. I sincerely hope that everybody reading this new publication finds something here that they like and I would like to encourage you to let your friends and colleagues know about us. Just look for us every month at http://www.houstonmusicnews.net.
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September 2022 • Music News 3
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Contents VOL. 40 NO. 12 SEPTEMBER 2022ISSUE NO. 515 4 Music News • September 2022 Page Shinedown10Page14ScorpionsPage 6 The Killers Shinedown Perform at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on October first. Recording Artist/ Songwriter Andrew Salgado Stays The course Finds #1 The Scorpions bring their “Rock Believer Tour” to Toyota Center September 17 The Killers Perform At Toyota Center Sept. 8th. The Band Just Released Their New Single “boy” Page 8 Andrew Salgado Spyro Gyra Perform at Dosey Doe Big Barn On September 24 Page 16 Spyro Gyra PageUB4022 UB40 With Other Reggae Greats At The Arena Theatre Sept. 11 Laurie Morvan Band Perform at Green Oaks Tavern September 21 Page 18 Laurie Morvan
Contents VOL. 40 NO. 12 SEPTEMBER 2022ISSUE NO. 515 September 2022 • Music News 5 ALSO IN THIS ISSUE RANDOM SHOTS starting Page 64 Page 48 Carlos MauricioPepePageVives51AguilarPage53Ochmann SCMaye Page 26 Creature Canyon Creature Canyon Announce National Tour Appearing at White Oak Music IPageHall28Prevail I Prevail Perform on The Lawn at White Oak Music Hall in Houston on September 25 Page 30 ZZ Top ZZ Top Return To The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion September 25th Earth, Wind & Fire Perform At Smart Financial Center September 14 Page 34 Earth, Wind & Fire Clutch Perform At Warehouse Live With Helmet, Quicksand and JD Pinkus CollectiveSeptemberThursday,29thPage36ClutchSoulReleaseNewAlbum Vibrating and perform at Smart Financial CollectiveSeptemberCentre21Page40Soul Page 44 The PepeCarlosPageBiker56VivesPage60Aguilar(english)Page62MauricioOchmann
The Killers have released their first new music following the release last year of their acclaimed seventh album Pressure Machine. “boy” is out today via Island Records. Written by frontman Brandon Flowers, the song sees the band return to their anthemic stadium-filling sound. The band debuted the track at last month’s Mad Cool Festival in Madrid. The song was written before Pressure Machine and, says Flowers, the themes explored in the lyrics actually led him on the path to writing and recording that album. Flowers elaborates,“This was the first song written after we had to cancel the Imploding The Mirage tour due to the pandemic. I had recently moved back to Utah and started to make trips to Nephi, where I grew up. I found that the place I had wanted to get away from so desperately at 16 was now a place that I couldn’t stop returning to. I have a son approaching the age I was at that time in my life. With “boy”, I want to reach out and tell myselfand my sons - to not overthink it. And to look for the “white arrows” in their lives. For me now, white arrows are my wife, children, my songs and the stage.”
6 Music News • September 2022
The Killers Perform At Toyota Center September 8
The Killers’ buzz had effectively traveled back across the Atlantic by fall 2003, and the band was offered a prime spot at the annual CMJ Music Marathon in New York City. A worldwide deal with Island followed shortly thereafter, positioning the Killers to join the ranks of fellow indie/ post-punk revivalists Interpol, the Rapture, and theSharedStrokes.U.K.
dates with British Sea Power and stellastarr* in 2004 gave the Killers an opportunity to showcase material from their debut album, Hot Fuss, which was released that June. “Somebody Told
Produced by The Killers, Stuart Price and Shawn Everett, the track’s release comes ahead of the band’s North American stadium and arena tour - the biggest of their career to date - which will reach Houston’s Toyota Center on September 8. As they matured from their indie dance-rock roots into torchbearers of new wave- and Americana-inspired anthems, Las Vegas rock quartet the Killers earned global success. With a mix of ’80s-styled synth pop and fashionista charm, the band’s multi-platinum 2004 debut, Hot Fuss, became one of the decade’s biggest releases, spawning four hit singles — including their most enduring hit, “Mr. Brightside” — and catapulting the group into the international spotlight. After the abrupt stylistic shift on 2006 sophomore effort Sam’s Town — which de-emphasized the band’s new wave revivalism in favor of the heartland rock of Bruce Springsteen and Rattle and Hum-era U2 — they struck a balance between their two sides on a consistent run of Top Ten releases that peaked with 2017’s charttopping Wonderful Wonderful. In 2020, their sixth album, Imploding the Mirage, garnered critical praise and scored them a U.S. alternative chart-topper with the single “Caution.” Less than a year later, they released the pensive tonal shift PressureFoundingMachine.foursome Brandon Flowers (vocals/keyboards), David Keuning (guitar), Mark Stoermer (bass), and Ronnie Vannucci (drums) first came together in late 2001. Flowers had parted ways with his former synth pop group Blush Response after refusing to move to Los Angeles with the rest of his bandmates. Instead, he remained in Las Vegas, where he soon met local guitarist and Oasis fanatic Keuning. The two began collaborating on material; within weeks, they’d composed their soon-to-be radio hit “Mr. Brightside.” Stoermer, a former medical courier, and Vannucci, a classical percussion major at UNLV, eventually joined the fray, and the band began playing small clubs in their hometown. A U.K. representative for Warner Bros. caught wind of the Killers’ brewing hype, and although he neglected to bring them on board the Warner roster, he did pass along their demo to the London-based indie imprint Lizard King. The British label quickly signed the Killers, who temporarily moved to the U.K. and issued a limited-edition single for “Mr. Brightside.”
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The Killers Release New Single “boy” Stream Here at https://thekillers.lnk.to/boySingle
The Killers returned in 2008 with Day & Age, which eschewed the Americana tangents of Sam’s Town in favor of pop pastiches and sleek, Bowie-inspired oddball dance-rock. The band’s return to the dancefloor was emboldened by Stuart Price, a veteran producer who had previously worked with Madonna and Gwen Stefani, and the Top 40 single “Human” helped the Killers continue their commercial streak. A lengthy tour carried the group into 2009, which also saw the release of the concert album Live from the Royal Albert Hall. Solo work filled many of the next few years, including Brandon Flowers’ Flamingo, Ronnie Vannucci’s Big Talk, and Mark Stoermer’s Another Life. After reconvening in early 2011, the band got to work on their fourth studio album, enlisting a small army of notable producers, including Daniel Lanois, Steve Lillywhite, Damian Taylor, Stuart Price, and Brendan O’Brien. The resulting Battle Born was released in September 2012. The set peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, while lead single “Runaways” landed on the Hot 100. In early 2013, the Killers announced that they would be releasing their first greatest-hits collection. Entitled Direct Hits, the November release featured two newly recorded songs, “Shot at Night” and “Just Another Girl,” which were produced by M83 and Stuart Price, respectively.In2015, the Killers began working on new material for their fifth studio album, eventually choosing producer Jacknife Lee to helm the bulk of the tracks. The resulting record, 2017’s Wonderful Wonderful, featured cameos by Mark Knopfler and Brian Eno, as well as the radio hit “The Man.” It debuted at number one on the U.K., Australian, and U.S. charts. Before the Killers embarked on the road to support the album, the band announced that Mark Stoermer and David Keuning would not be participating in the tour, yet they had not officially left the group. Flowers and Vannucci forged forth, traversing the globe with touring musicians Jake Blanton, Ted Sablay, Robbie Connolly, and Taylor Milne. By the end of the decade, the original lineup was effectively reduced to a loose trio, as Keuning did not appear on their next album and Stoermer provided bass for just a handful of tracks. That set,
The Killers Me,” “Mr. Brightside,” “Smile Like You Mean It,” and “All These Things That I’ve Done” all became worldwide chart hits, and Hot Fuss peaked at number seven on the Billboard Top 200. Buoyed by such success, Flowers became a sought-after media presence, often lashing out at such groups as the Bravery for riding his band’s coattails into the mainstream. The frontman’s confidence was not unwarranted; by 2006, Hot Fuss had earned five Grammy nominations and sold over five millionRathercopies.than take a break to recover from their heavy tour regime, the Killers immediately set to work on a second album. A newly built facility at the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas became the band’s studio, and legendary producers Flood and Alan Moulder (who had previously worked together with U2 and the Smashing Pumpkins) were chosen to helm the controls. Instead of mining the glamour and glitz of their hometown (as they did to a successful extent on Hot Fuss), the group instead focused on nostalgia and the demise of old-fashioned American values, citing veteran songsmith Bruce Springsteen as a chief influence. The popularity generated by leadoff single “When You Were Young” led up to the highly anticipated release of Sam’s Town in early October 2006. While the album did not match the popularity of the band’s debut, it nevertheless sold 700,000 copies worldwide during its first week, eventually spawning three U.S. singles and gaining the Killers two additional Grammy nods. Sawdust, a collection of B-sides, rarities, and remixes, followed one year later, serving as a stopgap recording between the band’s proper studio albums.
September 2022 • Music News 7 (continued from previous page)
In early 2021, a deluxe version was issued, featuring the previously unreleased “C’est La Vie” and reworked versions of “Caution” and “Blowback.” By then, there was already talk of another Killers album in the works, with Keuning and Stoermer back in the mix. Before details could be confirmed, the band teamed up with major influence Bruce Springsteen for a reworking of a Day & Age track that was rechristened “Dustland.” That one-off single landed just a month before Flowers and company finally announced their seventh album, which was released less than a year after Mirage.The stark Pressure Machine marked a significant shift in the band’s approach. A restrained concept album that focused on Flowers’ home of Nephi, Utah, it stripped away their usual anthemic bombast and Vegas glamour to examine the darker side of small-town life. The melancholic LP hit number nine on the Billboard 200 and featured guests Phoebe Bridgers (“Runaway Horses”) and Dawes (“The Getting By”). Released a year later, the anthemic “Boy” marked something of a return to their signature sound.
2020’s Imploding the Mirage, ushered in a fresh era for the Killers. For this sixth fulllength LP, Flowers and Vannucci were joined by multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Rado (Foxygen) and a team of famous guests including Adam Granduciel (War on Drugs), k.d. lang, Natalie Mering (Weyes Blood), Stuart Price, Blake Mills, Lucius, and Lindsey Buckingham. Upon release, the critically acclaimed Mirage topped the charts in Australia and the U.K., rising into the Top Ten in the U.S. upon the popularity of U.S. Alternative Top Ten singles “Caution” and “My Own Soul’s Warning.”
Most recently Christian Lamitschka, President of Country Music International Radio in Germany heard Andrew’s new single and immediately began to share it across the airwaves. The results have been so good that Christian’s team has been spinning it for weeks in a row now. Back in the United States
8 Music News • June 20228 Music News • September continued2022 on next page
Recording Artist/Songwriter Andrew Salgado Stays The Course Finds #1
Inspiration can arrive from many sources but the most compelling for Nashville’s Andrew Salgado was and remains his father. As a youth living in Chicago Andrew watched his father perform from backstage. Years later the man’s persona and stage presence has been molded by basically on the job training by seasoned professional musicians. Andrew was a natural with rhyming words and as he approached his teens he was stringing verses together, verses that later would become complete songs. So much so that today Andrew has a complete library of eight hundred songs that he has written or co-written. In fact one of those songs “Lipstick Stains On My T-Shirt” is now enjoying the number one spot on The Roots Music Report, the international radio station tracking service. But the molding did not end there, it only began in Chicago and then years later Andrew would become an undeniable stage presence in his own right after he moved to Nashville. Recently while performing in Houston Texas at Katy Vibes due to the loud cheering and comments from the audience Andrew missed some words in his own written song. Most would have died on stage right there and then but not Andrew, he kept on singing bringing the audience into flub along with him. He began smiling while interjecting new rhyming words to the effect of guess who forgot the words to his own song. The packed house loved it and the talent scouts and recording studio executives could see first hand the relaxed personal style of this young man. Darice G, CEO of Synapse Publishing & Entertainment, LLC, brought years of corporate business, marketing and entertainment experience to the table as she sought out and signed Andrew to a multi-year publishing and record label deal which has culminated in earning the number one spot in Roots. Along the way she has placed Andrew’s music in a movie, a theatre production, and on the radio as well as engaged world class publicist, promoters, attorneys, musicians and more to assure the path stays focused and true.
Recording Artist/Songwriter Andrew Salgado Stays The Course Finds #1 - continued the youthful molding of his career was coming through loud and clear as Andrew was welcomed at radio station after radio station around the country. Additionally, Andrew likes to stop in local record stores while on tour with his guitar in hand and does what are known in the industry as pop up performances. Clearly Dad has paved the way for this rising talent. One of Andrew’s proudest moments was when he won first place in the Panama City Beach FL first annual Pepsi Original Gulf Coast Jam national singer-songwriter competition and went on to co-write songs on his first album with Nashville greats such as Darryl Worley, Jim ‘Moose’ Brown and Don Sampson. The man has a product and he’s eager to share it with others. On the big stage Andrew has toured with such greats as Clint Black and Toby Keith. Most recently Andrew performed at the Chesterfield Outdoor Amphitheater in Missouri and it was a marvelous experience. All of this inspired by a Dad whose life story would in essence mold a young heart some of it by osmosis and the rest by just being Dad and showing his son the ropes. Andrew Salgado is living proof that independent artists can still rise above the usual noise of the industry. Working hand in hand with the professionals associated with Synapse Publishing And Entertainment Andrew’s career is not just blossoming the man is on track to a long and prosperous career. Andrew’s current radio single came from his recent third album, ‘86 Vol 2-Autumn Dawn’ which was his first vinyl release which is now being carried by 10 record stores across the country such as Tom Lounges Record Bin in Indiana to Chief Records in Fort Worth, TX. Tim Board from Front Range Radio shares: “Lipstick Stains on My T-Shirt” is the current hit off of Andrew’s album 86 Volume 2 - Autumn Dawn but don’t overlook some of the other good tracks on the album such as “Grace”, “Why Didn’t I Call”, “Keep Coming Back” and “Bad Boy”. Radio show host Wild Bill Kenton adds: “Sitting in a casino with a pair of dice in your hands is how I would describe Andrew Salgado’s newest release 86 Vol 2. You let the dice fly, and never know how they’re going to land. You could get Country. You could get country rock. You could even get some Latin infused country. Better yet, every song pays out.” Andrew Salgado | Facebook or visit MUSIC (andrewsalgado.net)
September 2022 • Music News 9
continued on next page @ https://www.facebook.com/Shinedown @ https://wwwTwitterhttps://www.instagram.com/shinedown/?hl=en@https://twitter.com/ShinedownWebsite@https://www.shinedown.com/AtlanticRecords@.atlanticrecords.com/artists/shinedown Multi-platinum band Shinedown have released their soaring and poignant anthem “Daylight.” Offering an assurance that you are never alone, the single’s meaningful portrait of a vital human connection reflects the importance of our relationships and the people in our lives whose support and empathy help get us through to the next day.
Shinedown’s new single, the soaring and poignant anthem “Daylight,”
FOLLOW SHINEDOWN ONLINE Facebook
10 Music News • September 2022 Shinedown Perform At The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion On October 1 Touring In Support Of Their New Album Release Planet Zero Check Out These Great Songs Off The New Album “Planet Earth” Now! “Dayhlight” - https://shinedown.lnk.to/Daylight “Planet Zero” - https://youtu.be/IipnUpoW-58 “The Saints of Violence and Innuendo”https://shinedown.lnk.to/TheSaintsOfViolenceAndInnuendoPR
is a meaningful portrait of a vital human connection that reminds us that we are never alone, and reflects the importance of empathy and the relationships in our lives that help get us through to the next day. Planet Zero, which already spawned the band’s record-breaking 18th #1 hit with lead single and title track “Planet Zero,” is available for order here tion.https://shinedown.lnk.to/planetzeroat“Thisisaboutthehumancondi-We’vegottolive,andwe’vegot to live with one another. And that should be something that is celebrated and not tolerated. That’s what ‘Daylight’ really represents. It’s our humanity. It’s an understanding that we’re all on this planet together, and we’ve got to figure out ways to take care of one another. A lot of times, it may just be asking someone ‘are you okay?’ because you could potentially save someone’s life just by asking. We can’t lose our empathy and courage towards each other, or our willingness to pick someone up if you see them on their knees, because there’s gonna be a moment in time when you need someone to pick you up,” says Brent.“Planet Zero,” “Daylight,” and previously released album track “The Saints of Violence and Innuendo” are the latest additions to a catalog that has earned Shinedown recognition for their timely and relevant messages behind their chart-topping hits that resonate with not only their global audience and the rock community, but the greater public and our culture at large. With more than 6.5 billion global streams, the record for the most mainstream rock #1 hits ever, platinum or gold certification for all their albums, and major media praise, Shinedown has cemented their status as one of the most vital and forwardthinking powerhouses in music.
“Daylight” is the latest addition to a catalog that has earned Shinedown recognition for their timely and relevant messages behind their chart-topping hits that resonate with not only their global audience and the rock community, but the greater public and our culture at large. With more than 6.5 billion global streams, the record for the most mainstream rock #1 hits ever, platinum or gold certification for all their albums, and major media praise, Shinedown has cemented their status as one of the most vital and forward-thinking powerhouses
September 2022 • Music News 11 Shady Acres Saloon 1115www,shadyacressaloon.comW.19thStreet,Houston77008713-534-1112 NEVER A COVER! September 1 - Paul Ramirez September 9 - The Hightailers September 15 - Lil Ed & Choir Boys September 22 - Ray Cashman Sept. 15 Lil Ed and the ChoirThursdayBoysNight Heights Blues TheSeptemberSeries9HIghtailersSept. 1 RamirezPaul Sept. 22 Ray Cashman Sept. FriendlyDogQuinnKory3 Sept. HendrixOpie4Sept. 2 New Vintage Sept.ClarkGus10 Sundays - Bingo @ 3 - 6 pm • Mondays - FREE Bar Trivia Night @ 7-10pm Tuesdays - Steak Nite & Movie • Wednesdays - Bocci Ball League Play 9/1 - Paul Ramirez 9/2 - New Vintage 9/3 - Kory Quinn 9/4 - Opie Hendrix 9/8 - The Hightailers 9/9 - Sam Turner & Cactus Cats September Entertainment Schedule Seymore’sSept.11and18SundayShootoutSept. 9 CactusTurnerSamandCatsSept. RevivalHardluck24 9/10 - Gus Clark 9/11 - Seymore’s Sunday Shootout 9/15 - Lil Ed & The Choir Boys 9/16 - Eric Korb Band 9/17 - Band TBA 9/18 - Seymore’s Sunday Shootout 9/22 - Ray Cashman 9/23 - Line Shack 6 9/24 - Hardluck Revival 9/25 - Shame On Me 9/29 - Rick Lee 9/30 - Mitch Jacobs Sept. Shame25On Me Sept.ShackLine23
TION#1Songs40-yearnotchingMainstreamBillboard’sKerch[drums]–wereBass[bass,Smith[vocals],Zach–BrentMyers[guitar],Ericproduction],andBarrynamed#1onGreatestOfAllTimeRockArtistsChart,afterthemostever#1s(17)inthehistoryoftheMainstreamRockChartwithastringofconsecutivehitsingles“AtlasFalls,”“ATTEN-ATTENTION,”“GETUP,”“MONSTERS,”“DEVIL,”andnow“PlanetZero.”Withover6.5billionglobalstreams,18#1ActiveRockhits,10millionalbumssoldworldwide,14platinumandgoldsingles,platinumorgoldcertificationforalltheiralbums,all28careersinglesreachingtheTop5onBillboard’sMainstreamRockSongsChart,andcountlesssold-outarenatours,Shinedownhavealsobecomeanessentialculturalforceasevidencedbytheirmajormediaacclaimandparticipationintheprestigious92YTalksseries.Theband’slaststudioalbum,2018’sac-claimed
band Shinedown
6 Music News • November 2020Music News • December 202012 Music News • September 2022 (continued from page Shinedown10) in music.
ATTENTION ATTENTION ,debuted in theTop 5 on the Billboard 200 and simultaneously hit#1 on Billboard’s Alternative, Top Rock and Hard Rock Albums Charts. Shinedown also recently made their ATTENTION ATTENTION feature film available worldwide. A stunning visual counterpart to their 2018 acclaimed album of the same name, the film, directed by Bill Yukich(Beyoncé, Metallica,Wiz Khalifa),brings to life the album’s narrative about a mental health journey and the resolve of the human spirit, weaving together 14 songs into limitlessanothercinematicprovocativeandthought-provokingastorythatilluminatesyetdimensionofShinedown’screativity.
Planet Zero’s previously released lead single “Planet Zero” and album track “The Saints of Violence and Innuendo” introduced an album that is an incisive yet optimistic look at the fractures and frays of a society that has undergone many challenges in the last few years, seeing Shinedown take on the forces that are keeping us divided at a time when we need to be coming together. The high-concept,viscerally chargedalbum, produced by Shinedown’s Eric Bass, takes a hard look at the divisiveness among those of differing ideologies, cancel culture ran rampant, the toxicity of social media, the need for honesty in our public discourse, and the corrosive effects of these things on mental health and humanity. A dystopian saga that warns of dangerous dehumanizing consequences, Planet Zero is a reminder that if we shut each other down, we risk losing empathy, respect for one another, and our ability to communicate and unify in a way that leads to actual progress and understanding. The album also shares hope, perseverance, triumph, and reminders that we all need one another, like on “Daylight.” After all, it is the band’simpassioned striving for unitythathas long been at the heart of their creativeMulti-platinum,output. record-breaking
Planet Zero is an incisive yet optimistic look at the fractures and frays of a society that has undergone many challenges in the last few years, seeing Shinedown take on the forces that are keeping us divided at a time when we need to be coming together. The highconcept, viscerally charged album, produced by Shinedown’s Eric Bass, takes a hard look at the divisiveness among those of differing ideologies, cancel culture ran rampant, the toxicity of social media, the need for honesty in our public discourse, and the corrosive effects of these things on mental health and humanity. A dystopian saga that warns of dangerous dehumanizing consequences, Planet Zero is a reminder that if we shut each other down, we risk losing empathy, respect for one another, and our ability to communicate and unify in a way that leads to actual progress and understanding. The album also shares hope, perseverance, triumph, and reminders that we all need one another. After all, it is the band’s impassioned striving for unity that has long been at the heart of their creative output.
September 2022 • Music News 13 2525 WEST BAY AREA BLVD • FRIENDSWOOD, TX 77546 • 281-993-8926 Open 12:00 Noon til 2:00am HAPPY 7 DAYS A WEEK @ 12PM – 7PM FREE POOL EVERY SUNDAY @ 9PM - 1AM SPORTS & MUSIC III Friday, September 23 The Feel Band Classic Rock, Blues Rock, Modern Rock Come out and check out what the buzz is about! Friday, Sept. 9 VOV Band Houston based band performing covers and original music. Formed by musicians from other well known local bands. VOV is short for Victims of Virgo. Angela Fitch on vocals, Dean Businelle on bass & vocals, Rob Perez on guitar, & Randy Zunagain on drums. Bands perform from 9:00 pm - 1:00 am NFL TICKET EVERY GAME EVERY SUNDAY Join Us, You’ll Have A Blast! 10ft. Big Screen! Big Sound!
14 Music News • September 2022 continued on next page
The Scorpions Bring Their “Rock Believer Word Tour” To Toyota Center This Month
Scorpions, one of the most iconic and influential hard rock bands of all time will return to Houston on September 17th at Toyota Center on their Rock Believer World Tour with special guests Thundermother on their Farewell Tour. Fresh off of their sold-out Sin City Night Las Vegas residency, scorpions kicked off a two month-lon run of dates that started on August 14th in Toronto. 50 years have gone by since the days the juvenile Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and MatthiasJabs wandered the streets of Hannover, which was just awakening from post war paralysis, witha barrow carrying their instruments and amplifiers. In these 50 years, they have become Germany’s, or rather Continental Europe’s most successful rock band, the living proof that not only VW, Mercedes or BMW are able to compete internationally, but classic rock music made in Germany as well. Countless bands, including the Smashing Pumpkins as well as Green Day, Korn, System Of A Down or Queensryche have covered songs by the Scorpions throughout theyears. “Rock You Like A Hurricane” on its own was covered over 150 times by different musicians. Expressing a career like the one of the Scorpions in mere numbers is almost impossible.However, one number that should still be mentioned is more than 100 million records sold to date. This makes the Scorpions the most successful rock band of Continental Europe by far. In Germany, the Scorpions have sold more than one million copies of “Crazy World”alone–and with this, in the rock genre easily draw even with Nirvana (Nevermind), AC/DC (Back In Black) or Guns‘N Roses (Use Your Illusion I). They deservedly received double platinum for it in 1991. Like in Switzerland and Canada as well, by the way. Additionally, “Sting In The Tail” (1991) and thesingle “Wind Of Change” (1991) were awarded platinum in Germany. Incidentally, the latter was No.1 in seven countries! The complete inventory of worldwide gold awards is simply too extensive to be listed here. However, countless silver, gold and platinum awards are only one side of the Scorpions’ history. Another is their unabated desire to travel. No other rock band of their caliber after so many years takes to the stage as often as the Hannover natives. Theyhave played thousands of concerts in all corners of the planet: in Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo,
The band’s most new album is Rock Believer and it was released this year. Rock Believer is the nineteenth studio album by Scorpions. It was released in February of this year worldwide. This is the band’s first studio album with drummer Mikkey Dee, who replaced James Kottak in 2016. It is also their first studio album in seven years since the release of Return To Forever in 2015 , making it the longest gap between studioWithalbums.over 100 million records sold around the world and an incredible catalog boasting classics like “Wind of Change,” “Still Loving You,” “Rock You Like a Hurricane,” “Send Me an Angel,” and many more, Scorpions remain one of the true voices in rock. In 2022, the band celebrates its 57th anniversary.
In terms of their music, the Scorpions have maintained an impressive balance between the wide-ranging musical tastes of their fans in different continents. In the USA it’s the straight rock numbers that are expected of the SCORPIONS. The same in Britain, Australia and Japan. In Eastern Europe and Russia, as well as in the countries of the South - Central and South America, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Greece - it’s the rock ballads that the fans love best.
Looking back, the Scorpions have achieved everything that defines an internationally successful rock band. Their hard rock hits like Rock You Like
A Hurricane, Blackout, Big City Nights, Dynamite, Coast To Coast, The Zoo, Coming Home, Hit between The Eyes and Tease Me Please Me thrill millions all over the world. The Scorpions virtually created a genre of modern hard rock. Together with Led Zeppelin, the Scorpions are the inventors of the hard rock ballad. Their power rock ballads, such as Still Loving You, Holiday, Send Me An Angel, When You Came Into My Life and You And I, as well as their unplugged oriented songs like Always Somewhere, A Moment In A Million Years and When The Smoke Is Going Down, appeal even to confirmed opponents of hard rock. In 1991 the Scorpions landed a worldwide No. 1 hit with the rock ballad Wind Of Change composed by Klaus Meine. But Wind Of Change was not just a hit single. The song formed the soundtrack for one of the most significant events in world politics towards the end of the 20th century. Wind Of Change became the anthem for the fall of the Berlin Wall and the lifting of the Iron Curtain. From the very beginning, it was the vision of Scorpions founder Rudolf Schenker “to conquer the world through music” and “one day count among the best heavy rock bands in the world.” In musical terms, the Scorpions cover the whole spectrum of rock-specific genres, hard ‘n’ heavy, unplugged and crossover. Yet right across the various arrangements the distinctive Scorpions identity is clearly recognizable in all Scorpions hits. The Scorpions ‘ songs and words address global issues and reflect what people around the globe feel about life. Musically the Scorpions ‘ compositions span the spectrum between driving rock riffs and deeply emotional power rock ballads.
September 2022 • Music News 13 (continued from previous page) Moscow, Washington, Dubai, Paris or Berlin.In 1988, they were the first Western rock band to play sold-out shows five days in a row in the then still Soviet Leningrad. Pioneering achievements elsewhere as well: through very early concerts in China and Southeast Asia, they have opened doors for many other Western bands. They’ve swept the board big time in Brazil in 1985 at the legendary “Rock in Rio” festival, when other German bands could at best dream of foreign countries. The performance is documented on the epochal live album “World Wide Live”, which was the band’s final breakthrough in the US, for all time cementing their reputation as one of the planet’s hottest live bands. And then there was the 1989 “Moscow Music Peace” festival, where the Scorpions ultimately conquered Russia, inspiring Klaus Meine to write the track that not much later became the theme song to the Iron Curtain’s final fall: “Wind of Change”. There were many magic live moments; some of them are captured on live albums, others on film and video recordings. These are the moments, which have cemented the Scorpions’ reputation as one of the rare bands rising far above the Foundedcrowd.inHannover, West Germany in 1965, Scorpions were part of the first wave of metal in the 1970s with their debut album, Lonesome Crow, released in 1972. The band rose to arena status with seminal releases Lovedrive, Virgin Killer, and Animal Magnetism. In the ’80s, Scorpions amassed a string of Billboard chart toppers from Love at First Sting and Blackout, including multiple Top 10 singles “Rock You Like a Hurricane” and “No One Like You,” as well a string of successful singles such as “Send Me an Angel,” “Still Loving You,” and “Wind of Change. The band was also ranked #46 on VH1’s Greatest Artists of Hard Rock and their hit “Rock You Like a Hurricane” also landed at #18 on VH1’s list of the 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs. In 2015, Scorpions released Return to Forever, the same year the band celebrated its 50th anniversary. Celebrated across the globe, the iconic rock act has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide and has received multiple honors including World Music Award winners, a postage stamp in Brazil, a Star on Hollywood Rock Walk, and Echo honors.
Spyro Gyra, whose odd name has since become world famous, was first known simply as “Tuesday Night Jazz Jams,” a forum wherein Beckenstein and Wall were joined by a rotating cast of characters. Tuesday just happened to be the night when most musicians weren’t playing other gigs to pay their bills. Around this time, a young keyboardist named Tom Schuman began sitting in when he was only sixteen years old. This young man, of course, remains a
16 Music News • September 2022 continued on next page
As Spyro Gyra looks forward to 2020 and beyond, they show no sign of slowing down. Over the last 40+ years, they have performed over five thousand shows, released thirty-one albums (not counting “Best Of…” compilations) selling over ten million albums while also achieving one platinum and two gold albums. Although few acts have accomplished this type of record, they have done it by constantly challenging themselves as is evidenced by their last studio release “The Rhinebeck Sessions” which was written and recorded over three days in the studio.Born in Brooklyn, bandleader Jay Beckenstein grew up listening to the music of Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins and Dizzy Gillespie, and started playing the saxophone at age seven. Beckenstein attended the University at Buffalo, starting out as a biology major before changing to music performance (read classical and avant garde). During summer breaks, he and an old high school friend, keyboardist Jeremy Wall, played gigs together back on Long Island. Wall attended college in California, and after both graduated, Beckenstein stayed in Buffalo’s thriving music scene, where Wall eventually joined him. “Not many people know it, but Buffalo was like a mini Chicago back then, with a smoking blues, soul, jazz, even rockabilly scene, of all things,” Beckenstein muses. “After being confined to classical music for so long, it was heaven. I was in the horn sections around town, backing some great vocalists.”
Spyro Gyra Perform at Dosey Doe Big Barn On September 24
The first few years saw the group’s identity split into a dynamic live act and a producer centric recording process, borne out of the rotating cast of characters in the jazz jam beginnings. These albums were the product of the band and a great number of the top session players in New York. In 1983, Beckenstein made the decision to make the albums the work of the band members he shared the stage with night after night, only supplementing with (continued from previous page)
Spyro Gyra occasionalThereguests.wereseveral personnel changes in the 1980’s, which slowed down about twenty years ago. Julio Fernandez became the group’s guitarist in 1984 and, except for a short hiatus at the end of that decade, has continued in that position. Scott Ambush became the band’s bass player in 1991 making this the beginning of his third decade in the band. Bonny Bonaparte joined the band in 2006 making him the “new guy” at five “Whenyears.wefirst started,” Beckenstein recalls, “a lot of the jazz purists got on our case about calling what we did jazz and now it’s funny to hear us getting respect from the same people. Like, wow, what you guys did was so much more intriguing than some of the stuff they hear today… Art manifests itself in a multitude of styles and contexts. Isn’t that why we started to play in the first place?”In1977, they foreshadowed the DIY movement of the punks of the 1970’s by self-releasing their eponymous debut album. Spyro Gyra was picked up by Amherst Records, a local label who then made a deal for subsequent albums to go to Infinity Records, a label owned by MCA Records. After gaining Infinity its only gold (soon to be platinum) record with Morning Dance, Infinity folded and the group was picked up by MCA Records. There they stayed until MCA acquired noted contemporary jazz label GRP Records. Spyro Gyra moved to GRP in 1990 and put out all but one of their 1990’s output on that label. In 1999, they released a single album, Got The Magic on Windham Hill Jazz. The “aughts” had them returning to an indie mode, licensing their albums to Heads Up International. Most of those Heads Up albums have since returned to the band as self released independent releases. 2011 sees them returning to Amherst Records in Buffalo with A Foreign Affair. In 2013, the band got together in the studio over a three day period with the intention of capturing their innate ability to construct compositions through a jam approach, written nd recording a whole new album, The Rhinebeck Sessions. The response was great, both on the radio and in the press. As one writer put it, “Unfairly lumped in with smooth jazz acts, a band that’s always been lethal in a field full of meek performers has fully bared its teeth. Their finest album since their early 80s heyday.”In2014, the band did an extended Morning Dance tour, playing their landmark breakthrough album on its 35th anniversary which was also their 40th anniversary as a band. After that look backward, they then released a text of their work in the 2000’s, The Best Of The Heads Up Years. Now, 2019 brings up the long anticipated release of Vinyl Tap, in which they once again challenge themselves with something new, an album of all covers from the classic rock era.“My hope is that our music has the same effect on the audience that it does on me,” says Beckenstein. “I’ve always felt that music, and particularly instrumental music, has this non-literal quality that lets people travel to a place where there are no words. Whether it’s touching their emotions or connecting them to something that reminds them of something much bigger than themselves, there’s this beauty in music that’s not connected to sentences. It’s very transportive. I would hope that when people hear our music or come to see us, they’re able to share that with us. That’s the truly glorious part of being a musician.”
September 2022 • Music News 17 member to this day. “Don’t forget the interminable Dead-like solos we were taking,” Beckenstein cracks. “We were the kings of self-indulgence, but eventually we earned our right to charge a quarter at the door. It was a complete shock when word of our psychosis got out and we started packing them in!” The group’s increasing popularity – combined with the purchase of a new sign for the club – prompted the owner to insist that Beckenstein come up with a name for his band.
“It began as a joke. I said ‘spirogyra,’ he misspelled it, and here we are thirty years later. In retrospect, it’s okay. In a way, it sounds like what we do. It sounds like motion and energy.”Intheir earliest days, Spyro Gyra took their cues from Weather Report and Return to Forever –bands whose creative flights were fueled by a willingness to do things that had never been done before. “I believed that we were springing from what Weather Report did,” says Beckenstein. “I never thought in commercial terms. I just thought they were the next step in the evolution of jazz, and that we would be part of it.”
The Laurie Morvan Band is a 5piece high energy, rockin’ blues band based in Long Beach, CA that honed its distinctively tight sound through joyful, relentless, and ever-expanding touring throughout the USA, Canada, Mexico and Europe, amassing over 80 festival performances along the way. “Tasty yet blistering Strat work that hits all the right notes and overflows with soul.” (Vintage Guitar). Picture this. A tall, blue-eyed blonde steps up to the microphone, a guitar in her hands and confidence in her soul. She launches into a set of hot, modern blues, spiced with burning guitar solos, soulful harmonies and compelling songwriting. Her in-between song banter is affable and relatable, and she wants to bring a healing joy to your heart through her music.Get to know the Laurie Morvan Band in just 60 seconds! https://
18 Music News • September 2022
Other accolades include twice being named the House of Blues Radio Hour “Blues Breaker” artist of the week, a B.B. King’s Bluesville “Picks to Click”, and winning the Blues Festival Guide’s Blues Artist on the Rise Award. Throughout her career, Laurie’s unique, creative guitar style has been highlighted in the world’s top guitar magazines. “Morvan singes the strings with fast, clean chicken pickin’, reaches heights of lyrical ecstasy through liquid bends, and kicks the rhythm in the pocket with propulsive comping” (Guitar Player). “Stunning California axe slinger... exhilarating electric blues guitar style” (Modern Guitars). For upto-the-minute highlights and tour info, visit: www.LaurieMorvan.com.
Continuing the lineage of recording excellence, the band’s next release, Breathe Deep, was a semi-finalist for Best SelfProduced CD at the 2012 IBC.
Making their first big splash on the national blues scene in 2008 at the International Blues Challenge, the Laurie Morvan Band was a finalist for best live band while simultaneously their CD, Cures What Ails Ya, was a finalist for Best Self-Produced CD.
Laurie Morvan Band Perform at Green Oaks Tavern September 21
youtu.be/hUmx5RHLV8gLaurie’s Gravity CD, released in 2018, made the 1st Round Grammy Ballot for Best Contemporary Blues, and was nominated for Best Blues Album in the prestigious Downbeat Reader’s Poll. Recorded with Grammy and BMA Award winning producer/ drummer Tony Braunagel, it features 12 of Laurie’s original songs all punctuated with her creative, signature guitar playing. The band also garnered the attention of the international market with a nomination for Best New Artist in the Independent Blues Awards.“Laurie is one hell of a great guitarist and if you have not had the pleasure of seeing her, put it on your must do list!” (Blues Blast). “Morvan has all the soulfulness of Bonnie Raitt and the swaggering, muscular guitar tone of Stevie Ray Vaughan” (News Gazette, Champaign IL). In addition to Laurie’s fiery guitar work, Laurie Morvan Band performances feature crowd-pleasing harmonies of backup singer/percussionist Lisa Morvan along with dueling solos between Laurie and keyboardist Tom Salyers, fueled by the tight-as-nails rhythm section of bassist Pat Morvan and drummer Robert Gates.
The band’s Fire It Up! CD won the Blues Foundation Award for Best SelfProduced CD at the 2010 International Blues Challenge (IBC), a worldwide competition held in Memphis, TN. The Big Ten TV Network featured the Laurie Morvan Band in their very own half-hour TV special,which was filmed live at the Elnora Guitar Festival in Champaign, IL and was aired nationwide.
September 2022 • Music News 19 211 E. Main St. • Humble, TX • 281.570.4344 • www.greenoakstavern.com Green Oaks Tavern SEPTEMBER 2022 RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED (call, email or FB message us) • Happy Hour Tues-Sat @ 4-7pm Sunday, Sept. 4 Kevin & SwansonDerek RimsayDevonSept.Saturday,3 Friday, September 2 HamiltonBandLoomis Friday, September 9 Aaron LaCombe & Oliver Steck Friday, Sept. 16 Jill Donahue & The Edge Ericwith Demmer Hugo& Rodriguez Saturday,Sept. 10 Van Wilks Band SaturdaySep. 17 Jamie VesselsLynn Wed., September 21 Laurie Morvan Friday, September 23 Sparky Parker Band BandTonySept.Saturday,24VegaFriday,Sept.30JordanMatthewYoung
20 Music News • September 2022 https://www.thebigeasyblues.com Thursday, August 25 Houston Blues Society Jam Hosted by Lightning Rob Thursday Nights The Mighty Orq’s Tequila Thursdays
COME CHECK OUT OUR NEWLY REMODELED PATIO! 3939 Cypress Creek Parkway Houston, TX 281-893-286077068 Daily Specials Monday $4 Jager, Pool League (free), Free Poker Tuesday Happy Hour All Day $3 Wells & $3 Domestics Karaoke from 9pm to 1am Wednesday $2 Off All Pitchers, $4 Jim Beam Fire, Free Pool, Open Jam Thursday $3 All 360 Vodkas Friday & Saturday 12 - 7pm $4 Fireball $4 Jim Beam Fire Sunday 2 - 7pm $3 Jager & $3 360 Vodkas (All Day For 360 vodkas) Build Your Own Bloody Mary All Day OPEN MIC EVERY WEDNESDAY HOSTED BY HEAVY HONEYS http://www.acadiabarandgrill.com September 2022 • Music News 21 Thursday, September 1 - Illuminade - Dueling pianos Friday, September 2 - EpicDeath, Whiskey Fueled Death, Distorted Rage, Mouthskin Saturday, September 3 - Iced Out Sunday, September 4 - Fostermother, Supernaut, and Stone Nomads Thursday, September 8 - Ryan Cross, Mourning Bliss, Black Kennedy Friday, September 9 - Downfall 2012 Casey’s last show with Rainchild, Soa Saturday, September 10 - Walker and Wylde, Mollie Danel, Pink Williams Sunday, September 11 - Eli Lev, Darcy Segura, Patrick Gamble Thursday, September 15 - AV8, Budafish, Chasing Amea, Cassanova Caravan Friday, September 16 - 307 Departure, Lucid Illusions, Psycho Jenni. Blackmoore Saturday, September 17 - Catch Your Breath, NDGO, Ethreal and more | Constitution Fest Sunday, September 18 - Fallujah, Psycroptic, Interloper, Cognitive at Acadia Thursday, September 22 - The Dirty Birds Friday, September 23 - Falling Through April, Hazen, A Nightmare From Texas Saturday, September 24 - The Hipocrats, Planet Moon, Crushing Planes Sunday, September 25 - Satri, Garrett Accardi Thursday, September 29 - Radio Ranch, Michael Koby Friday, September 30 - MANSON, Projeckt Revolution, Count C Feit
UB40 Sets 2022 Tour With Other Reggae Greats on next page
Having sold 100 million records worldwide, UB40‘s lineup features Jimmy Brown (drums), Robin Campbell (guitar/vocals), Earl Falconer (bass/ vocals), Norman Lamont Hassan (percussion/vocals), Martin World.”wideLivingstonealbumUnitedAlbum.Grammy®Shaggy,ComesOriginaltheisbring“ThreeclassicsAnderson’sAmerican-bornbysolo,CallthemoreinMattson(trumpet/flugal/trombone),Mullings(keyboards/WX7/saxophone),MeredithTony(keyboards),LaurenceParryIanThomp-(saxophone)–andnewleadvocalistDoyle.ThebandoriginallyformedBirmingham,U.K.andhaschartedthan50singlesintheU.K.Doyle’sleadvocalsarefeaturedonrecentlyreleasedtrack“YouDon’tAnymore.”In1974whenBobMarleywenthesurprisedthemusiccommunitychoosingashisleadguitaristtheAlAnderson.Itwasstunningleadworkonsuchas“NoWoman,NoCry”andO’ClockRoadblock”thathelpedattentiontoTheWailers’music.HethesolememberoftheBobMarley&Wailers’mid-1970sline-upintheWailers.MaxiPriest’s2019album,ItAllBacktoLove,co-producedbywasnominatedfortheawardforBestReggaeHefollowedthatwith2020’sStateofMind,acollaborativewithRobinTrowerandBrown.Hescoredaworld-hitwithhis1988coverof“Wild
UB40 will perform its worldwide hit singles “Red Red Wine” and “(I Can’t Help) Falling In Love With You,” and many more, as well as songs from their most recent album, Bigga Baggariddim, for which the tour is named. (UB40 has many other dates this year in the U.K. and Europe.) Tickets are available here. Says UB40’s Robin Campbell in the April 11 announcement, “We can’t wait to feel the vibe and love of a live crowd in the states, and for all the UB40 fans to meet our new vocalist Matt [Doyle]. They can expect a phenomenal show. We’ll be sure to bring the party.”
Having sold 100 million records worldwide, UB40‘s lineup features Jimmy Brown (drums), Robin Campbell (guitar/vocals), Earl Falconer (bass/ vocals), Norman Lamont Hassan (percussion/vocals), Martin CallthemoreinMattson(trumpet/flugal/trombone),Mullings(keyboards/WX7/saxophone),MeredithTony(keyboards),LaurenceParryIanThomp-(saxophone)–andnewleadvocalistDoyle.ThebandoriginallyformedBirmingham,U.K.andhaschartedthan50singlesintheU.K.Doyle’sleadvocalsarefeaturedonrecentlyreleasedtrack“YouDon’tAnymore.”
continued
UB40, the legendary reggae-pop band and four-time Grammy® nominees, will hit the road this summer in the U.S. for a 2022 tour. They’ll be joined by three acts: the Original Wailers featuring Al Anderson, Maxi Priest and Big Mountain.UB40 will perform its worldwide hit singles “Red Red Wine” and “(I Can’t Help) Falling In Love With You,” and many more, as well as songs from their most recent album, Bigga Baggariddim, for which the tour is named. (UB40 has many other dates this year in the U.K. and Europe.) Tickets are available here. Says UB40’s Robin Campbell in the April 11 announcement, “We can’t wait to feel the vibe and love of a live crowd in the states, and for all the UB40 fans to meet our new vocalist Matt [Doyle]. They can expect a phenomenal show. We’ll be sure to bring the party.”
22 Music News • September 2022
UB40, the legendary reggae-pop band and four-time Grammy® nominees, will hit the road this summer in the U.S. for a 2022 tour. They’ll be joined by three acts: the Original Wailers featuring Al Anderson, Maxi Priest and Big Mountain. Their show will hit Houston’s Arena Theatre on Slunday,k September 11th
24 Music News • September 2022 continued from page 22
Meanwhile, UB40 continued to tour, and in 2018 they celebrated their 40-year anniversary with a concert at the Royal Albert Hall and a new album called For the Many. Sax player Brian Travers died on August 22, 2021 after treatment for brain tumors; he was 62 years old.
Terence Wilson, better known as Astro, died on November 6, 2021 after a brief illness; he was 64 years old.
Titled Getting Over the Storm, it featured covers of country music songs by the likes of Willie Nelson, George Jones, Randy Travis, and more. Astro left the band after release of Getting Over the Storm; he’d join forces with Ali Campbell and Mickey Virtue in a separate trio in 2016, calling themselves UB40 featuring Ali, Astro & Mickey.
UB40 Reggae Tour
Big Mountain earned a worldwide hit with their cover of “Baby I Love Your Way.” On the tour, the group will also perform songs from their forthcoming albumNamedAboutFreedom.UB40after a British unemployment benefit form, pop-reggae band UB40 were formed in a welfare line in 1978, and their multiracial lineup reflected the working-class community their members came from. The band consolidated its street credibility with political topics appealing to dissatisfied youth, and got a boost from fans of the waning 2-Tone ska revival movement. Brothers Robin (lead guitar) and Ali Campbell (guitar, lead vocals) formed the centerpiece of the group, along with Earl Falconer, saxophonist Brian Travers, drummer James “Jimmy” Brown, and percussionist Norman Hassan. The group started gigging in 1979, scoring an opening slot with the Pretenders by the end of the year. By 1980, UB40 had added keyboardist Michael (Mickey) Virtue and toaster Terence Wilson (aka Astro) to round out their initial lineup. Their first single, “Food for Thought,” reached the U.K. Top Ten in 1980, beginning a long streak of chart appearances. Signing Off and Present Arms were big sellers in Britain, if not America, and addressed the political issues of the day in songs like “One in Ten,” a Top Ten hit blasting Margaret Thatcher for the country’s unemployment rate. Released in 1983, Labour of Love, an album of reggae cover songs, gave the group its first chart album in America and first number one U.K. hit with Neil Diamond’s “Red Red Wine.” Several albums of original material sold well in the U.K., but only respectably in the U.S., where the group’s biggest hit was a Top 30 cover of Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You Babe” featuring the Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde. In 1988, the group performed “Red Red Wine” at a Nelson Mandela tribute concert, and a Phoenix radio station trotted the single out for a second goround. Listener response was far more enthusiastic, and “Red Red Wine” reentered the charts and went all the way to the top. Finally having a hit on the path toward conquering the lucrative American market, UB40 responded with another covers album, Labour of Love II, which produced Top Ten singles with versions of the Temptations’ “The Way You Do the Things You Do” and Al Green’s “Here I Am (Come and Take Me).” The group scored a huge hit in America with Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” which was initially featured in the Sharon Stone film Sliver and spent seven weeks at number one. By this time, UB40 had largely abandoned their trademark leftwing politics and were concentrating more on perfecting their reggae oldies covers than their original material; however, the gimmick resulted in huge sales figures in both the U.S. and U.K., with Promises and Lies reaching number six in the States and number one in Britain.In the spring of 1998, UB40 released Presents the Dancehall Album in the U.K. A third Labour of Love collection followed a year later. In fall 2002, UB40 bounced back with yet another collection. The Fathers of Reggae, which appeared on Virgin in November, highlighted the band’s roots in reggae in a selection of classics. In 2003, the band scored a major hit in the U.K. when its version of the spiritual “Swing Low” with the multicultural choir United Colours of Sound became the official anthem for the 2003 English Rugby team. The song was featured on the 2003 album Homegrown. As their 2005 album, Who You Fighting For?, was being released, an announcement was made that the band would be working with Birmingham’s Repertory Theatre to stage a new musical in the spring of 2006. Two years later, their album Twentyfourseven became their last with vocalist Ali Campbell and keyboardist Michael Virtue. UB40’s 2010 release, Labour of Love IV, introduced Ali’s brother Duncan as the group’s new lead singer. They also released a remastered two-CD/DVD version of Signing Off as a 30th Anniversary Special Edition, which the band toured across America and Europe.
In 2011, Robin Campbell, Brian Travers, Terence Wilson, Norman Hassan, and Jimmy Brown started bankruptcy proceedings against the existing group over debts accrued by their label, DEP International. Alongside former singer Ali Campbell, they were declared bankrupt that year. In 2013, they released their 18th studio album.
Creature Canyon Announce National Tour Appearing at White Oak Music Hall September 20th Credit: Christiaan Mikey 26 Music News • September 2022
CITY/STATE VENUE
The band’s latest single “Sleepwalking” was just added to Spotify’s official “Fresh Finds Indie” playlist at https://music.crhttps://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DWT0upuUFtT7oStreamthetrackhereateaturecanyonmusic.com/sleepwalkingorwatchthemusicvideohereathttps://youtu.be/vFf91xqHws0.RemarksissetforreleaseonFriday,September2viaGNURoam/KartelMusicGroup.Pre-add/Pre-savethealbumhereathttps://creaturecanyon.lnk.to/Remarks
Thursday, September 15 Phoenix, AZ The Rebel Lounge Monday, September 19 Austin, TX Mohawk Indoor Tuesday, September 20 Houston, TX White Oak Music Hall Thursday, September 22 New Orleans, LA Gasa Gasa Friday, September 23 Nashville, TN The East Room Saturday, September 24 Atlanta, GA Vinyl Tuesday, September 27 New York, NY TV Eye Thursday, September 29 Pittsburgh, PA Revel Sunday, October 2 Minneapolis, MN Skyway Theatre Monday, October 3 Madison, WI The Bur Oak Wednesday, October 5 Denver, CO Lost Lake Lounge
*MORE DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED*
San Diego-based alternative rock outfit Creature Canyon have announced a national headlining tour in support of Remarks — their forthcoming debut fulllength album. With additional dates to be announced, the tour will begin in Phoenix, AZ at Rebel Lounge on September 15 with stops in Austin, TX, Houston, TX, Nashville, TN, Atlanta, GA, New York, NY, Pittsburg, PA and Denver, CO, among others. Tickets are on saleTonow.purchase tickets and for more information, visit the Creature Canyon website here at creaturecanyonmusic.com.https://Havingattendedarecent performance at The Venice West in California, mxdwn raved that “Musically, the secret weapon of the band is the mixture of unique guitar and keyboard/organ tones, the steadiness of the bass and drums, and a strong lead vocalist…not just talented technically, but led the band’s mixture of charisma with poise, and helped walk the fine line between connecting with the audience and yet keeping a certain meaningfulCreaturedistance.”Canyon encapsulates the fiery energy of indie/alt rock with waves of contemporary psychedelia. Known for their thrilling and captivating live performances, Creature Canyon — Austin Steele (vocals, guitar), Ryan Amyot (guitar), Kyle Victoria (drums), Aaron Lund (bass), and Luc Fralic (keyboards, percussion) — has received nods from Billboard, Paste, and many other industry frontmanProducedtastemakers.byPrivateIslandChristianLum,engineered by Mike Schuppan (Foster The People, Young The Giant, Wolf Alice), mixed by Jordon Silva (Vance Joy, The Avett Brothers), and mastered by Brian Lucey (Cage The Elephant, Arctic Monkeys, The Black Keys), Remarks is a dynamic portrayal of personal growth and reflection in the modern age. Diving into colorful and nuanced experiences that traverse through organic and synthetic soundscapes both familiar and new, the album highlights lyrics that encompass uncertainty and moments of selfrealization gained by navigating the demise of a dysfunctional relationship and emerging on the other side with a newfoundTalkingperspective.aboutthe album, Creature Canyon say, “creating this album has been a journey for us, both emotionally and sonically. We spent a lot of time early on in the writing process establishing a sound that collectively represented each and every member of the band. We all had equal contributions to the songwriting, pulling from each member’s past experiences to bring it all together.”Remarks
track listing: CREATURE“Not“Faded“Remarks”“Electric“Heartbeat”“Magnesium”“Naive“Sleepwalking”“Simulator”“Pressure”“In“Mirrors”TheDark”Kid”Touch”Fire”Human”CANYON https://linktr.ee/CreatureCanyonONLINE:September2022•MusicNews27
credit Andrew Barrack
CREATURE CANYON TOUR DATES DATE
I Prevail Perform on The Lawn at White Oak Music Hall in Houston on September 25
28 Music News • September 2022
Employing a blistering blend of metalcore, pop-punk, and post-hardcore that invokes names like Bring Me the Horizon, We Came as Romans, and A Day to Remember, the band issued their debut EP, Heart vs. Mind, via Fearless Records in December 2014. A hardhitting cover of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space,” which elicited over two million views on YouTube, helped further establish the band as a rising force within the hardcore scene. They later proved their original songwriting capability with the release of their 2016 debut album, Lifelines. Featuring a re-tooled lineup that consisted of Burkheiser, Vanlerberghe, Menoian, and new guitarist Dylan Bowman, the LP debuted at number one on the Billboard alternative, hard music, and rock charts. The following year, the group parted ways with Runestad and bassist Tony Camposeo, recruiting replacements Gabe Helguera and Eli Clark. They got to work on their follow-up album while touring with the Word Alive, We Came as Romans, and Escape the Fate. In 2019, the band returned with sophomore effort Trauma, which included the singles “Bow Down” and “Breaking Down.” At the end of the year, the set received a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album and “Bow Down” entered the fray, competing for Best Metal Performance. The following year saw the band release a stripped-down acoustic version of the moody Trauma single “Hurricane.” After “DOA,” a collaborative single with Joyner Lucas, I Prevail issued a live version of their previous album under the title Post Traumatic.Their most recent album was released just last month and the title of the album is True Power. On June 17, 2022, the band released the single “Body Bag”. The song is the lead single for their new album. On July 12, 2022, the band also released the second single “Bad Things”.
An explosive American posthardcore quintet with pop/punk tendencies, I Prevail emerged in 2013 and found success the following year with a metallic rendering of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space.” The band earned a pair of Grammy nominations in 2019 in relation to their chart-topping sophomore full-lengthBasedTrauma.outofRochester Hills, Michigan, I Prevail formed in 2013 around the talents of Brian Burkheiser (vocals), Eric Vanlerberghe (vocals), Steve Menoian (guitar), Jordan Berger (guitar), and Lee Runestad (drums).
Slovenia to Argentina, from Australia to Sweden, from Russia to Japan and most points in Followingbetween.a lengthy hiatus during which the individual members of the band traveled the world, they switched labels (from British Decca’s London label to Warner Bros.) and returned with two amazingly provocative albums, Deguello and El Loco Their next release, Eliminator, was something of a paradigm shift for ZZ TOP. Their roots blues skew was intact but added to the mix were tech-age trappings that soon found a visual outlet with the nascent MTV. Suddenly, Billy, Dusty and Frank were video icons, playing a kind of Greek chorus in videos that highlighted the album’s three smash singles: “Gimme All Your Lovin’, “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs.” The melding of grungy guitar-based blues with synth-pop was seamless and continued with the follow-up album Afterburner as they continued their chart juggernaut. ZZ TOP had accomplished the impossible; they had moved with the times while simultaneously bucking ephemeral trends that crossed their path. They had become more popular and more iconic without ever having to be “flavor of the week.” They had become a certified rock institution, contemporary in every way, yet still completely connected to the founding fathers of the genre. They stayed with Warner for one more album, Recycler, released in 1990 and switched to RCA where they debuted with Antenna and followed with Rhythmeen, XXX and Mescalero. Beyond that, both a lavish four CD box set compilation, Chrome, Smoke & B.B.Q. and a two-CD distillation of that package, Rancho Texicano, were released by Warner.In 2012, ZZ TOP unveiled LA FUTURA, their first studio album in nine years. Produced by Rick Rubin and Billy F Gibbons, and released on American Recordings, it reflected the solid blues inspiration that has powered the band since the very beginning with a contemporary approach that underscored the group’s inclination to experiment and explore new sonic vistas. The album included the widely lauded “I Gotsta Get Paid” that has become both a video and in-concert sensation. ZZ Top’s rich history became the subject of a box set release the following year. ZZ Top: The Complete Studio Albums 1970-1990 offered no fewer than 10 of the band’s most lauded albums all with the original mixes restored. ZZ TOP’s career retrospective The Very Baddest surfaced in 2014. It spans the entire course of their London, Warner Bros. and RCA years. Listeners can follow the evolution of the band’s sound from the early ‘70s into the ‘00s on either a 40 track double CD or a 20 track single CD. That same year Eagle Rock Entertainment released Live at Montreux 2013 on both Blu-ray and DVD formats, showcasing their live act, leaving no doubt as to why they have been such a huge concert draw for the last several decades.
ZZ Top Return To The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion September 25th
20 Music News • Decemberr 202030 Music News • September 2022
“That Little Ol’ Band From Texas” has been at it for well over a half century, delivering rock, blues and boogie on the road and in the studio to millions of devoted fans. With iconography as distinctive as their sound, ZZ TOP is virtually synonymous with beards, hotrod cars, spinning guitars and that magic keychain, all of which transcend geography and language. The band consists of singer/guitarist Billy F Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard (a/k/a “The Man With No Beard”) and bassist Elwood Francis, who stepped up in 2021 after the passing of longtime member Dusty Hill. With the release of each of their albums the band has explored new ground in terms of both their sonic approach and the material they’ve recorded. ZZ TOP is the same but always changing.Their latest album RAW (Shelter Records/BMG, July 2022) was recorded at the historic Texas venue Gruene Hall as part of the filming for the 2019 Grammynominated documentary directed by Sam Dunn, aptly titled ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band From Texas. Billy, Frank and Dusty blazed through 12 career-spanning tunes in what their guitarist calls “a satisfying return to our roots and a very special circumstance that we’re delighted to share with the friends and fans who have stuck with us all this time.” The album is issued “in righteous memory” of Dusty, and in conjunction with their 50+ date 2022 North American RAW WHISKY TOUR. The tour’s title is partially derived from the new ZZ Top Tres Hombres Whisky offered from Balcones Distilling. It was in Houston in the waning days of 1969 that ZZ TOP coalesced from the core of two rival bands, Billy’s Moving Sidewalks and Frank and Dusty’s American Blues. The new group went on to record the appropriately titled ZZ Top’s First Album and Rio Grande Mud that reflected their strong blues roots. Their third, 1973’s Tres Hombres, catapulted them to national attention with the hit “La Grange,” still one of the band’s signature pieces today. The song is unabashed elemental boogie, celebrating the institution that came to be known as “the best little whorehouse in Texas.” Their next hit was “Tush,” a song about, well, let’s just say the pursuit of “the good life” that was featured on their Fandango! album, released in 1975. The band’s momentum and success built during its first decade, culminating in the legendary “World Wide Texas Tour,” a production that included a longhorn steer, a buffalo, buzzards, rattlesnakes and a Texas-shaped stage. As a touring unit, they’ve been without peer over the years, having performed before millions of fans through North America on numerous epochal tours as well as overseas where they’ve enthralled audiences from continued on next page
RAW’s 12 tracks include “Certified Blues” that was originally heard on ZZ Top’s First Album as well as “La Grange,” the band’s 1973 breakthrough and “Tush,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Legs” and other eternal ZZ Top song catalog standouts. The album captured during the one day, kept the whole process simple and straightforward. A nod to the band’s early days. Billy F Gibbons served as producer, with engineering by Jake Mann and G.L. G-Mane Moon; RAW was mixed by Ryan Hewitt. It is available on 180gram vinyl, CD and through digital platforms.
That became, in essence, the soundtrack to the film and now it’s also an audio document of ZZ Top’s early beginnings. Still going strong Gibbonstoday.” continues, “Our director suggested going back to what it was like when we first started recording in our early days: the band in the studio together in a mostly unfettered way. We were quite comfortable in the room as heard on the tracks with that level of branded intimacy.”
saw the release of ZZ TOP’s Live! Greatest Hits From Around The World album on Suretone, consisting of 15 songs recorded live in 13 cities across three continents. Guitar legend Jeff Beck joins the band on stage in his native London for two songs – “Rough Boy,” and a cover of Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Sixteen Tons,” the latter of which was inspired by a hoax YouTube video claiming to be ZZ TOP and Jeff Beck playing that very song. Their rendition matches the hoax video, in what Billy describes as “a mega meta kinda thang.”
The release of the RAW album is supported by ZZ Top’s ongoing RAW WHISKY TOUR which, when all is said and done, will have consisted of more than 100 dates across North America. The tour’s title is a hat tip to both the forthcoming album as well as the recent release of ZZ Top Tres Hombres whisky from Balcones Distilling of Waco, TX, a flavorful 100 proof mash bill of roasted blue corn, malted barley and rye.
The elements that keep ZZ TOP fresh, enduring and above the transitory fray can be summed up in the three words of the band’s internal mantra: “Tone, Taste and Tenacity.” Of course, the three members of the band have done their utmost to do their part in assuring that ZZ TOP prevails. As genuine roots musicians, they have few peers. Billy is widely regarded as one of American finest blues guitarists working in the rock idiom. His influences are both the originators of the form – Muddy Waters, B.B. King, et al – as well as the British blues rockers who emerged the generation before ZZ’s ascendance. In his early days of playing, no less an idol than Jimi Hendrix singled him out for praise. Part mad scientist, part prankster, he’s a musical innovator of the highest order and a certified “guitar god.” He also had a recurring small screen presence in the hit TV series Bones in which he played a bearded, gruff, rock guitarist. No type casting problems for Billy. Frank has also been keeping the beat in that great tradition. As both a roots and progressive drummer, he has been acknowledged as key to the band’s powerful on-stage and in-studio presence. He and Dusty, in their early years together, served as Lightnin’ Hopkins’ rhythm section which, as Frank tells it, was a life changing experience. Frank, despite his last name, is the guy in the band without a beard. But when you’re with him, you’re with a Beard. He’s a rockin’ paradox who provides the pulse of ZZ TOP. Elwood has been a part of the ZZ TOP family for the better part of three decades. Initially the band’s guitar tech, he was personally ordained by Dusty to fill in on bass duties when he fell ill in the summer of 2021. After Dusty’s untimely passing that year, Elwood became the permanent bassist; his exceptional musicianship (and coincidental facial hair) make him a worthy successor to the absolute legend that is, and always will be, Dusty Hill.
2022 sees the release of RAW, a new album from the original line up of ZZ Top — Billy F Gibbons, Frank Beard and Dusty Hill — created in a singular circumstance. The album, released through Shelter Records/BMG was recorded at Gruene Hall in Texas, in conjunction with the GRAMMYnominated feature documentary ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band from Texas. The film’s director Sam Dunn sought a means to visually convey how the band made albums at its inception with all of three members in the same room at the same time.
September 2022 • Music News 31 (continued from previous page) ZZ ReturnTop
The classic honky-tonk setting of Gruene Hall, established back in 1878, was chosen for an unfettered, roots-oriented recording session that is chronicled in the documentary. Released by Banger Films, the feature offers insight into the history of the band’s classic Gibbons/Beard/Hill incarnation.
The new album’s liner notes by Gibbons and Beard note of the RAW sessions, “..it was, in a very real way, a return to our roots. Just us and the music, no audience of thousands, no concession stands, no parking lot social hour, no phalanx of tour busses. Just us. We knew right then it was a very special circumstance, all of us in the same place at the same time and what a time it most certainly was!”
When it comes to the live experience, they’ve still got2016it.
Gibbons commented, “The Director suggested we find a way to illustrate the early style from the start of our five plus decades run. Gruene Hall, the oldest dance hall in Texas, was selected as a fitting backdrop to replicate the look of the band’s very beginnings. When we arrived, we were surprised to see that all our gear had been transported there so, as cameras rolled, we picked up the instruments and commenced an unplanned jam session. Fortunately, our stage engineers were on hand with tape machines in place to capture the performances that went down.
ZZ Top “RAW”ServedBest
ZZ TOP’s music is always instantly recognizable, eminently powerful, profoundly soulful and 100% Texas American in derivation. The band’s support for the blues is unwavering both as interpreters of the music and preservers of its legacy. It was ZZ TOP that celebrated “founding father” Muddy Waters by turning a piece of scrap timber than had fallen from his sharecropper’s shack into a beautiful guitar, dubbed the “Muddywood.” This totem was sent on tour as a fundraising focus for The Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi, site of Robert Johnson’s famed “Crossroads” encounter with the devil. ZZ TOP’s support and link to the blues remains as rock solid as the music they continue to play. They have sold millions of records over the course of their career, have been officially designated as Heroes of The State of Texas, have been referenced in countless cartoons and sitcoms and are true rock icons but, against all odds, they’re really just doing what they’ve always done. They’re real and they’re surreal and they’re ZZ TOP.
Friday, September 2, 9:00 pm - 1:00 am Bedrock Tavern 12215 Grant Rd - Cypress, TX 77429 Friday, September 16, 9:00 pm - 1:00 am Andy’s Bar & Grill 27200 Hwy 290 - Cypress, TX 77433 Friday, September 23, 9:00 pm - 1:00 am Aspens Bar & Grill 817 Clear Lake Rd - Kemah, TX 77565 Sunday, Oct 2, 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm The Hawg Stop Bar & Grill 11335 Sheldon Rd - Houston, TX 77044 Saturday, October 8, 8:00 pm - 12:00 am Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino Que Pasa Lounge 794 Lucky Eagle Dr - Eagle Pass, TX 78852 Friday, October 14, 9:00 pm - 1:00 am Andy’s Bar & Grill 27200 Hwy 290 - Cypress, TX 77433 Saturday, October 22, 9:00 pm - 1:00 am BB 12220Wolf’sMurphy Rd - Stafford, TX 77477 Saturday, October 29, 8:00 pm - 12:00 *Happy 230BackwoodsHalloween!!!SaloonLexingtonCt-Conroe, TX 77385 Saturday, November 5, 9:00 pm - 1:00 am Aspens Bar & Grill 817 Clear Lake Rd - Kemah, TX 77565 Friday, November 11, 9:30 pm - 1:30 am Pennison’s Sports Pub Sugar Land 2446 Settler’s Way - Sugar Land, TX 77479 Friday, November 18, 9:00 pm - 1:00 am The Abbey Pub 2002 N Fry Rd - Houston, TX 77084 Saturday, December 24, 9:00 pm - 1:00 am Aspens Bar & Grill 817 Clear Lake Rd - Kemah, TX 77565
Open 6 Days A Week Tuesday thru Sunday Thursday, September 1 - Pierce and the Purple Moon Friday, September 2 - Pot Roast Saturday, September 3 - Wake Zone Sunday, September 4 - Katie’s Jam with guest host Paul Ramirez Thursday, September 8 - Jay Hooks Friday, September 9 - Bayou Gipsies Saturday, September 10 - Eric Demmer Sunday, September 11 - Katie’s Jam with guest host Bob Emmons and friends Thursday, September 15 - Hugo Jamz Trio Friday, September 16 - Jamie Lynn Vessels Saturday, September 17 - Pierce and the Purple Moon Sunday, September 18 - Katie’s Jam with guest host Chris Castaneda Tuesday, September 20 - The Celtic Cowboys Thursday, September 22 - Keith Vivens Friday, September 23 - Peewee Bowen @ 8pm - 12am Saturday, September 24 - Sonn Wolf Sunday, September 25 - Katie’s Jam with guest host Mark May Thursday, September 29 - Eric Demmer Friday, September 30 - Chip Oliphant Saturday, October 1 - Jay Hooks September 2022 • Music News 33
34 Music News • September 2022 Cr: Neil Chapman / Unholy Racket Earth, Wind, & Fire Perform At Smart Financial Center September 14 continued on next page
During the 1970s, a new brand of pop music was born – one that was steeped in African and African-American styles –particularly jazz and R&B but appealed to a broader cross-section of the listening public. As founder and leader of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, Maurice White not only embraced but also helped bring about this evolution of pop, which bridged the gap that has often separated the musical tastes of black and white America. It certainly was successful, as EWF combined high-caliber musicianship, wide-ranging musical genre eclecticism, and ’70s multicultural spiritualism. “I wanted to do something that hadn’t been done before,” Maurice explains. “Although we were basically jazz musicians, we played soul, funk, gospel, blues, jazz, rock and dance music…which somehow ended up becoming pop. We were coming out of a decade of experimentation, mind expansion and cosmic awareness. I wanted our music to convey messages of universal love and harmony without force-feeding listeners’ spiritual content.”Maurice was born December 19, 1941, in Memphis, TN. He was immersed in a rich musical culture that spanned the boundaries between jazz, gospel, R&B, blues and early rock. All of these styles played a role in the development of Maurice’s musical identity. At age six, he began singing in his church’s gospel choir but soon his interest turned to percussion. He began working gigs as a drummer while still in high school. His first professional performance was with Booker T. Jones, who eventually achieved stardom as Booker T and the MGs.After graduating high school, Maurice moved to the Windy City to continue his musical education at the prestigious Chicago Conservatory Of Music. He continued picking up drumming jobs on the side, which eventually lead to a steady spot as a studio percussionist with the legendary Chicago label, Chess Records. At Chess, Maurice had the privilege of playing with such greats as Etta James, Fontella Bass, Billy Stewart, Willie Dixon, Sonny Stitt and Ramsey Lewis, whose trio he joined in 1967. He spent nearly three years as part of the Ramsey Lewis Trio. “Ramsey helped shape my musical vision beyond just the music,” Maurice explains. “I learned about performance and staging.” Maurice also learned about the African thumb piano, or Kalimba, an instrument whose sound would become central to much of his work over the years.In 1969, Maurice left the Ramsey Lewis Trio and joined two friends in Chicago, Wade Flemons and Don Whitehead, as a songwriting team composing songs and commercials in the Chicago area. The three friends got a recording contract with Capitol and called themselves the “Salty Peppers,” and had a marginal hit in the Mid-western area called “La La Time.” That band featured Maurice on vocals, percussion and Kalimba along with keyboardists/vocalists Wade Flemons and Don Whitehead. After relocating to Los Angeles and signing a new contract with Warner Bros., Maurice simultaneously made what may have been the smartest move of his young career. He changed the band’s name to Earth, Wind & Fire (after the three elements in his astrological chart). The new name also captured Maurice’s spiritual approach to music – one that transcended categories and appealed to multiple artistic principals, including composition, musicianship, production, and performance. In addition to
White, Flemons and Whitehead, Maurice recruited Michael Beal on guitar, Leslie Drayton, Chester Washington and Alex Thomas on horns, Sherry Scott on vocals, percussionist Phillard Williams and his younger brother Verdine on bass. Earth, Wind & Fire recorded two albums for Warner Brothers: the self-titled 1970 album Earth, Wind And Fire and the 1971 album The Need Of Love. A single from this album, “I Think About Lovin’ You,” provided EWF with their first Top 40 R&B hit. Also in 1971, the group performed the soundtrack to the Melvin Van Peebles film ‘Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song’. In 1972, White dissolved the line-up (except he and brother Verdine White) and added Jessica Cleaves (vocals – formerly of the R&B group The Friends of Distinction), Ronnie Laws (flute, saxophone), Roland Bautista (guitar), Larry Dunn (keyboard), Ralph Johnson (percussion) and Philip Bailey (vocals, formerly of Friends & Love). Maurice became disillusioned with Warner Brothers, which had signed the group primarily as a jazz act. Maurice, in contrast, was more interested in combining elements of jazz, rock, and soul into an evolving form of fusion, a truly universal sound. A performance at New York’s Rockefeller Center introduced EWF to Clive Davis, then President of Columbia Records. Davis loved what he saw and bought their contract from Warner Bros. With Columbia Records, debuting with the 1972 album Last Days And Time, the group slowly began to build a reputation for innovative recordings and exciting, live shows, complete with feats of magic (floating pianos, spinning drum kits, vanishing artists) engineered by Doug Henning and his then-unknown assistant David Copperfield. Their first gold album, Head To The Sky, peaked at number 27 pop in the summer of 1973, yielding a smooth tangy cover of “Evil” and the title track single. The first platinum EWF album, Open Our Eyes, whose title track was a remake of the classic originally recorded by Savoy Records group the Gospel Clefs, included “Mighty Mighty” (number four R&B) and “Kalimba Story” (number six R&B). Maurice once again shared a label roster with Ramsey Lewis, whose Columbia debut Sun Goddess, was issued in December 1974. The radio-aired title track was released as a single under the name Ramsey Lewis and Earth, Wind & Fire. It went to number 20 R&B in early 1975. The Sun Goddess album went gold, hitting number 12 pop in early 1975. Maurice had also played on Lewis’ other high-charting album, Wade In The Water; the title track single peaked at number three R&B in the summer of 1966. The inspiration for “Shining Star” (one of EW&F’s most beloved singles) was gleaned from thoughts Maurice had during a walk under the star-filled skies that surrounded the mountains around Caribou Ranch, CO a popular recording site and retreat during the ’70s. The track was originally included in the ‘That’s The Way Of The World’ movie that starred Harvey Keitel and was produced by Sig Shore (Superfly).
Earth, Wind, & Fire
September 2022 • Music News 35 (continued from previous page)
All ‘N All peaked at number three pop in late 1977, won three Grammy’s, and had arrangements by Chicago soul mainstay Tom Tom Washington and Eumir Deodato. The singles were “Serpentine Fire” (number one R&B for seven weeks) and “Fantasy.” The group’s horn section, the legendary Phenix Horns (Don Myrick on saxophone, Louis Satterfield on trombone, Rahmlee Michael Davis and Michael Harris on trumpets) became an integral part of the Earth, Wind & Fire sound. During this time, Maurice produced several artists such as The Emotions (1976’s Flowers and 1977’s Rejoice which included the number one R&B/pop hit “Best Of My Love”) and Deniece Williams (1976’s This Is Niecy which included the Top Ten R&B hit “Free”). In the late seventies, in association with Columbia Records, Maurice also launched a record label, ARC.
The multi-platinum greatest-hits set The Best Of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. I included a cover of the Beatles’ “Got To Get You Into My Life” went to number one R&B and number nine pop in Summer 1978. The group performed the song in the 1978 Bee Gees/Peter Frampton movie ‘Sgt. Pepper ’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’. Another single, “September,” made it to number one R&B, number eight pop in early 1978. On the flip side was the enchanting popular radio-aired album track “Love’s Holiday” from All ‘N All Their live performances were stellar as well. Sellout crowds were spellbound by the band’s bombastic performances. Their performances blasted a cosmic wave of peace, love and other happy vibrations to audiences using a combination of eyepopping costumes, lights, pyrotechnics and plain old good music. Sometimes they even threw in magic illusions. Earth, Wind & Fire’s message was one of universal harmony, in both musical and cultural senses. “We live in a negative society,” Maurice told Newsweek. “Most people can’t see beauty and love. I see our music as medicine.”
“Shining Star” glittered at number one R&B for two weeks and hit number one pop in early 1975. It was included on their 1975 multi-platinum album That’s The Way Of The World that held the number one pop spot for three weeks in Spring 1975 and earned them their first Grammy Award. The title track single made it to number five R&B in summer of 1975. It also yielded the classic ballad “Reasons,” an extremely popular radio-aired album track. The multi-platinum album Gratitude held the number one pop album spot for three weeks in late 1975. On the album was “Singasong” (gold, number one R&B for two weeks, number five pop), the Skip Scarborough ballad “Can’t Hide Love” (number 11 R&B), and the popular radioaired album tracks “Celebrate,” “Gratitude,” and the live version of “Reasons.” In 1976, Maurice decided he wanted to record a spiritual album. The multi-platinum album Spirit parked at number two pop for two weeks in fall of 1976 and boasted the gold, number one R&B single “Getaway” and “Saturday Nite.” Spirit is remembered as one of EWF’s best albums and sadly for also being the last project of Producer Charles Stepney. He died May 17, 1976, in Chicago, IL, at the age of 45. Charles was a former Chess Records projects.andmusician/multi-instrumentalist/songwriterarranger/producer/sessionMaurice’smaincollaboratoronhisEWFThemulti-platinumalbum
The multi-platinum album I Am hit number three pop in Summer 1979 on the strength of the million-selling single “Boogie Wonderland” with The Emotions (number two R&B for four weeks, number six pop) and the phenomenal gold ballad “After The Love Has Gone,” written by David Foster, Jay Graydon and Bill Champlin that stayed at number two R&B/pop for two weeks. Their Faces album peaked at number ten pop in late 1980 and was boosted to gold by the singles
“Let Me Talk” (number eight R&B), “You” (number ten R&B), and “And Love Goes On.” The million-selling funked-up “Let’s Groove,” co-written by The Emotions’ Wanda Vaughn and her husband Wayne Vaughn, was the track that re-energized EWF’s career, parking at number one R&B for eight weeks and number three pop, causing their Raise! album to go platinum (hitting number five pop in late 1981). Their next gold album Powerlight made it to number 12 pop in spring 1983 and included the Top Ten R&B single and Grammy-nominated “Fall In Love With Me.” Their 1983 Electric Universe album stalled at number 40 pop, breaking the band’s string of gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums. In 1983, Maurice decided he and the band needed a break. During this hiatus, Maurice recorded his self-titled solo album Maurice White and produced various artists including Neal Diamond, Barbra Streisand and Jennifer Holliday. Reuniting with the band in 1987, EWF released the album Touch The World and scored yet another number one R&B single, “System of Survival” and embarked on a corresponding nine-month world tour. This was followed by the 1988 release The Best Of Earth, Wind & Fire Vol. II In 1990 the group released the album Heritage. Two years later, Earth, Wind & Fire released The Eternal Dance; a 55-track boxed set retrospective of the band’s entire history. The appearance of such a project after a prolonged period of relative inactivity signaled to many listeners that the band was calling it quits but that did not turn out to be case. In 1993, EWF released the album, Millennium that included the Grammynominated “Sunday Morning” and “Spend The Night.”Earth, Wind & Fire kept recording and in 1996 released Avatar and Greatest Hits Live; followed by 1997’s In The Name Of Love; 2002’s That’s The Way Of The World: Alive In ’75; Live In Rio which was recorded during their 1979 “I Am World Tour;” 2003’s The Promise, which included the Grammy-nominated “Hold Me” and 2005’s Illumination, which included the Grammy-nominated “Show Me The Way.” In 2000, the nine-piece ’70s edition of Earth, Wind & Fire reunited for one night only in honor of their induction into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. In 2001, Eagle Rock Entertainment released the documentary ‘Earth, Wind & Fire: Shining Stars’, which contains rarely seen historic video footage along with in-depth interviews with the bandEvenmembers.though Maurice is no longer a part of the touring group, he remains the band’s heart and soul from behind the scenes as composer and producer. Maurice reflects, “I wanted to create a library of music that would stand the test of time. ‘Cosmic Consciousness’ is the key component of our work. Expanding awareness and uplifting spirits is so important in this day. People are looking for more. I hope our music can give them some encouragement and peace.”
Sunrise On Slaughter Beach will be released through the band’s own label, Westhermaker Music. This will be Clutch’s first studio album since Book Of Bad Decision which was released in 2018, making it one of their longest gaps betweenFrontmanalbums.and lyrical wordsmith Neil Fallon shares “We Strive for Excellence looks back fondly on childhood summers filled with grand plans gone awry, inexplicable bruises, untreated injuries, and of course, the timeless wisdom of Evel Knievel.”
Excellence” Stream
at https://www.clutchmerch.com/
Thursday, September 29th ‘We Strive For Here at https://orcd.co/dlyly45 For Early Access To New Album Pre-Orders Now Open Here
Release New Single
PHOTO CREDIT: DAN WINTERS continued on page 38 US groove rock masters CLUTCH have dropped a brand new single “We Strive for Excellence”. The track is available digitally from all DSPs here at https://orcd.co/dlyly45. A brand new Clutch album is coming soon. The album is to be titled Sunrise On Slaughter Beach and is scheduled for a September 16th release. The band also announced that fans can now RSVP to be the first to get notified of the official details and early access to all of the albums exclusive variants and bundles. Fans can clutch here at https://orcd.co/dlyly45.
RSVPs
36 Music News • September 2022 Clutch Perform At Warehouse Live With Helmet, Quicksand and JD Pinkus
CLUTCH have curated a new Spotify playlist to coincide with the release of “We Strive for Excellence”, check it out here at 3NlZsjNNOoCvwjCv58mcNRopen.spotify.com/playlist/https://Clutchreleasedtheirfirst new single off the new album, “Red Alert (Boss Metal Zone)” ( https://youtu.be/ 6snEKE4abHk ), back in April to much acclaim from fans and critics alike. The
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38 Music News • September 2022 (continued from page 36) track has already hit nearly 300k streams on Spotify alone and the official music video has clocked up 340k YouTube views.CLUTCH have also announced a new set of US headline dates this fall. Joining them on the 26 date run will be Helmet and Quicksand who will be rotating the main support slot nightly and special guest JD Pinkus. The band also have an extensive 2022 worldwide touring schedule, including summer festivals, further headline dates, and a return to Europe. Clutch released their twelfth studio album, Book Of Bad Decisions, through their own Weathermaker Music in 2018. Rolling Stone described the album as “bathed in the grit and liberal fuzz tone that has made their live shows legendary.” The band embarked on a successful co-headlining tour with Dropkick Murphys in 2019, with support from Hatebreed, Amigo The Devil, and Russ Rankin of Good Riddance. Two of the band’s most recent albums, Earth Rocker (2013) and Psychic Warfare (2015), were included in Classic Rock Magazine’s 50 Best Rock Albums of the 2010s. Clutch Biography by John Bush When they debuted in the early ’90s, Maryland hard rock workhorses Clutch combined elements of funk and metal inspired by Faith No More and Led Zeppelin. Through the decades, they’ve built a devoted fan following through constant touring and hit alt-rock crossover albums, starting in the late ’90s with Clutch and The Elephant Riders and extending into the 2000s. By the 2010s, the veteran quartet reached new heights, achieving late-era success with 2013’s Earth Rocker and 2015’s Psychic Warfare, which both peaked in the Top 15 of the Billboard 200. Formed in 1991 in Germantown, Maryland, the group included Neil Fallon (vocals), Tim Sult (guitar), Dan Maines (bass), and Jean-Paul Gaster (drums). They built a local following through constant gigging, and after just one 7" single (the classic Earache release “Passive Restraints”) Clutch were signed by EastWest Records. Their debut LP, Transnational Speedway League, followed in 1993. A self-titled album appeared two years later and afforded Clutch some mainstream exposure. They jumped to the larger Columbia label for 1998’s Elephant Riders, and many thought the group might join its sonic cousins Korn and Deftones in the alternative metal winner’s circle. That didn’t quite happen. But it didn’t matter, because a quality fan base continued to thrive for Clutch. Pure Rock Fury appeared in 2001, and the similarly uncompromising Blast Tyrant came three years later as their first for DRT Records. Their seventh full-length, Robot Hive/ Exodus, followed in 2005 and featured the first lineup change since the early ’90s, the addition of organist Mick Schauer.Clutch’s numerous side releases included a groove-based album (2000’s Jam Room) as well as Live at the Googolplex and the rarities record Slow Hole to China, both issued in 2003. Also issued in 2005, Pitchfork & Lost Needles combined Clutch’s 1991 Pitchfork 7" with unreleased demos and early tracks. In the fall of 2006 the band hit the studio with producer Joe Barresi (Kyuss, Melvins) to record its next album; the resulting From Beale Street to Oblivion appeared in March 2007. In 2008 Clutch released a CD/DVD compilation of live tracks from shows in New Jersey, Pittsburgh, and Sydney titled Full Fathom Five: Audio Field Recordings 2007-2008 on their own label, Weathermaker Music. The band followed up in 2009 with Strange Cousins from the West before delivering its tenth album, Earth Rocker, in 2013. Buoyed by the success of that album (their highest-charting release ever) and eponymous lead single, Clutch continued their relentless touring through late 2015, when they released their 11th album, Psychic Warfare. Topping the rock/hard rock charts, the effort landed just outside the Top Ten of the Billboard 200, making it their highest-charting effort to date. They promoted the album with another extensive tour that carried them into 2018, when follow-up Book of Bad Decisions was released. Like its two predecessors, the album was another Top 20 hit on Billboard, spawning singles “Gimme the Keys” and “In Walks Barbarella.” To close the decade, the band issued a steady stream of one-off tracks under the banner of the “Weathermaker Vault Series.” In late 2020, they collected those songs on the compilation Weathermaker Vault Series, Vol. 1, which featured rarities like “Run John Barleycorn Run” from a 2014 split single with Lionize, and a cover of Pappo’s Blues’ “Algo Ha Cambiado.”
Trending chart positions as of this writing are #4 Current Alternative Albums, #6 Current Rock Albums, #6 Independent Albums, #10 Current Digital Albums, #10 Digital Albums, #14 Internet Albums, #22 Canadian Album Sales, #23 Top Current Albums Sales, #28 Top Album Sales and #28 Top Albums w/ TEA. Yes folks, this band has another bona-fide hit on their hands.
Collective Soul has already released two singles and videos from the album, “Cut The Chord” and “All Our Pieces.” A lyric video for “All Our Pieces” premiered on SPIN.com and can now be seen on the band’s official YouTube page. SPIN.com describes the new album as a “…masterful pop-rock effort…” and as Ed Roland explained to them about the song, “you got to go to that point where you say we’re not clicking on all cylinders but we’ll get there, you know it’s there because you had it before.”
Collective Soul will be making a special Houston area appearance this month on the 21st at Smart Financial Centre in Sugar Land. The Band is touring in support of their new studio album, Vibrating. Vibrating is the tenth studio album by Collective Soul and the follow up to their previous album, Blood, which was released in June of 2019. Vibrating was released in last month on August 12 on their own label, Fuzze-Flex Records via AMPED Distribution. The album is available in all formats, CD, vinyl, and on digital worldwide. The album was released to critical acclaim. On the first day of release, the band shot up to #1 on the Alternative Album Chart, #9 on Apple Music/iTunes and it became the #12 bestselling Rock CD on Amazon. Not bad for it’s first day out the gate.
Photo by David Abbott
Another source tells us that when it came to their recent New York show, “Palladium Times Square could barely contain the energy, thrill, art, and melody within its four walls – something both us and NYC welcome in a concert setting. There were about 30 songs performed by the two bands over a couple of hours. Every moment, each song, all of the production… simple, effective, and colorful… transfixing us all…” Collective Soul is Ed Roland (vocals/ guitar), Dean Roland (rhythm guitar), Will Turpin (bass/background vocals), Jesse Triplett (lead guitar/background vocals), and Johnny Rabb (drums/background vocals).
26 Music News • October 2020Music News • September 2022 Collective Soul Release New Album Vibrating and Annouce Performance at Smart Financial Centre September 21 “Cut The Cord” https://wwwhttps://youtu.be/4OTfSushYnwvideo“AllOurPieces”lyricvideo.youtube.com/watch?v=rgDOeU5VtsMVIBRATINGbuylink:https://found.ee/CollectiveSoulVibrating
“I think we’re on a roll,” observes Ed Roland, the band’s frontman and chief songwriter. “We’re not afraid to stretch the boundaries, but we do know how to stay in our lane when we need to. Sometimes, though, we just have to go faster.” As he continues, “Our fans have been waiting for Vibrating for almost three years now, and I can’t wait for them to hear it. They’re excited because both See What You Started and Blood set such a high standard for where we’re going as a band, and it’s only going to continue getting better with Vibrating. I really do believe that.”
Vibrating has also been getting rave reviews everywhere, such as American Songwriter, who stated, “It’s yet another notch in Collective Soul’s expanding catalog, further proof they’re as committed and passionate about their music as any working group closing in on its third decade. Those who have lost track over the years should jump back in to appreciate just how vibrant, and well, vibrating, they remain.” The Courier-Gazette concurred with them and wrote, “The Georgia band offers 10 songs that positively pulsate with its usual boundless energy, post-grunge rock. Grade: A-“ For this tour, Collective Soul has teamed up with rock band Switchfoot for the first time to deliver a new massive summer experience to all their fans. The tour is underway right now as you read this article. It is scheduled to conclude on September 25th in Dallas, TX and their show at Smart Financial Centre will probably be one of their best considering they only have 3 tour dates after that.Already reviews from the show are pouring in and it appears that this is definitely one of their best presentations. One news source reports that “Lead singer Ed Roland’s transformation in stage presence alone could be a subject of a TED Talk, but also his vocal strength and banter back and forth with the audience also has aged like a fine wine. The rest of the band have found a chemistry that, for lack of a more appropriate term, just fits and produces a vivid live experience.”
Saturday, September 17 - Saturday Night Jazz with Cory Wilson and friends - The Jazz Collective Sunday, September 18 - The Lab with Arlo - Comedy Open Mic Night Monday, September 19 - Kevin Cowart Collective Tuesday, September 20 - Kevin Jeffries Acoustic Wednesday, September 21 - Randy Soffar Singer/Songwriter Song Swap and Open Mic @ 8:00 pm Thursday, September 22 - Bombs Over Leon’s Comedy Night @ 7 - 10 pm Friday, September 23 - Shotgun Sally Saturday, September 24 - Saturday Night Jazz with Cory Wilson and friends - The Jazz Collective Sunday, September 25 - The Lab with Arlo - Comedy Open Mic Night Monday, September 26 - Industry Night & Classical Jam with Grace Lewis and Cory Wilson Tuesday, September 27 - Kevin Jeffries Acoustic Wednesday, September 28 - Randy Soffar Singer/Songwriter Song Swap and Open Mic @ 8:00 pm Thursday, September 29 - Band TBA Friday, September 30 - Ben Clifton Trio 1006 McGowen 713-650-1006
Leon’s Lounge Is Now Available For Private Parties! Make Your Reservations Now!! This September at Leon’s Lounge Thursday, September 1 - Clayton Farris Trio with Horace Grigsby Friday, September 2 - Jimmy Smith Pedal Steel with Sash Lukashin and Kevin Ray
Saturday, September 3 - Saturday Night Jazz with Cory Wilson and friends - The Jazz Collective Sunday, September 4 - The Lab with Arlo - Comedy Open Mic Night Monday, September 5 - James Masanotti Trio Tuesday, September 6 - Kevin Jeffries Acoustic Wednesday, September 7 - Randy Soffar Singer/Songwriter Song Swap and Open Mic @ 8:00 pm
Thursday, September 15 - Clayton Farris Trio with Horace Grigsby Friday, September 16 - Jerome Gillespie II Quartet
38 Music News • August 2021
September 8 & 22 42 Music News • September 2022
Thursday, September 8 - Bombs Over Leon’s Comedy Night @ 7 - 10 pm Friday, September 9 - Mestizaje Quartet Saturday, September 10 - Saturday Night Jazz with Cory Wilson and friends - The Jazz Collective Sunday, September 11 - The Lab with Arlo - Comedy Open Mic Night Monday, September 12 - James Masanotti Trio Tuesday, September 13 - Kevin Jeffries Acoustic Wednesday, September 14 - Randy Soffar Singer/Songwriter Song Swap and Open Mic @ 8:00 pm
OPEN 8-11:00WEDNESDAYSMICPM 1006 HOUSTON,MIDTOWNMcGowenTX713-659-5366 Leon’s LoungeLeon’s LoungeLeon’s LoungeLeon’s LoungeLeon’s Lounge and SOFFARRANDYHostedby present All Musicians’s and All Genre’s of Welcome!Music Bring Your Instruments and HarmonicaKeyboardsDrumsGuitarPlay!BassVocals If it makes music, bring it!
Better hope that you don’t run out of gas, Down In Hollywood They’ll drag you right out of your car and kick your ass, In Hollywood Their standing on a corner just waiting for a sucker like you Down In Hollywood If you wanna stay healthy, keep a movin’ right on through.” Written by Ryland Cooder and Tim Lee Drummond performed by Bruce Willis.I was in Los Angeles and heard it was happening at The Viper Room on Sunset Blvd so why not truk on over and check out the action. The night air was just right for a scoot so I hopped on 101 and made my way to the strip. Now what I am about to tell you may not seem believable but it happened, I know I was there. I had taken the exit onto Sunset Blvd heading west and the further along I rode I was passing through some questionable areas and then the strip started taking shape looking like what you see in the magazines. As I approached the famous area I decided to pull over and snap a few shots. After all how often does one get to the west coast if you are from out of state and this would be a cool memory for sure. As I got into position to shoot some shots out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of some guy lurking over a scantily clad young woman. He pushed her, then looked my way, jumped into his El Dorado and quickly whisked away. The young lady by the way was indeed young but the lady part could have been rather questionable. Know what I mean Jean? Anyway she crossed the street in a fast pace and came right up to me. She said. “I cannot thank you enough he’s my man but sometimes we just don’t see eye to eye.” I replied that I hadn’t done anything and she said, “oh yes you did, he heard your bike, saw you and you pointing your phone and he beat tracks.” I said well that’s all good and all but I didn’t even see you two when I pulled over I was just going to create some frozen memories with my phone. I showed her the photo. She smiled and as she was looking at me, my back was to the street, a car pulled up and rolled by rather slow. She said she had to be going and thanked me again. So the night was off to a bit of a strange start, it was ok but weird. I fired up my scooter, pulled out into traffic and made my way further west. Then I saw this really outrageous nightclub marquee sign and so like a moth to a flame I decided to stop. Went inside and worked my way up to the bar and ordered a Glenlivet and a cigar. They had both. The bar was shaped like a horseshoe and I could see across to the other side. Every stool and all the chairs against the far wall were all filled except one. My scotch and cigar arrived, a nice 50 ring Connecticut wrapped box pressed Rocky Patel. I was a happy camper. As I looked across the bar again I noticed that the empty chair was now occupied and it looked like that same gal that was on the street back a mile or so was sitting in it. I smiled, raised my glass as if to say cheers. A smile and handwave came back at me. A guy and a gal approached me and asked if I would mind moving over one stool so they could sit together I said no problem and moved
44 Music News • September 2022
The Biker, The Blues & Hollywood California continued on next Downpage In Hollywood
September 2022 • Music News 45 Page 2 - The Biker, The Blues & Hollywood California
continued on next page my stuff over one stool. I don’t know why but I volunteered what I am about say to that couple but I did… I put my phone in my hand and said you know about a mile or so east of here I stopped to take a photo of that end of the strip looking west and there was this young woman and a guy across the street. Now just as I started to say more the bartender came up in front of me asked if I wanted another round but also interrupted me and said, “Say that again”. Then as I was repeating myself he broke in again and called for the other bartender. “Ed we got another one”. Got another what I wondered but obviously it had something to do with the girl. Then they told me about a young woman in her twenties that used to stop in and rest in that very chair across the bar by the wall. Every once in a while somebody stops in and we find out about another sighting. Sighting I asked? You see that woman was found dead about ten years ago and every once in a while she returns here to sit down and rest. I told them all that I had just snapped a photograph and went for my cell to show them. The contents of the photo were gone just a blank rectangle remained. No one seemed surprised just grins popping up. Go figure. I decided to have one more so I could time the drink with my cigar and then I would leave. Nobody else saw her just me, I mean come on that’s totally weird but it happened and that’s my story, go figure! Cool place beyond the strange situation but it let me know that I was in what some folks call Hollyweird. As I traveled west from there the shall we say “participants” become a bit more flashy. I wondered if they were outsiders like me just dropping in to check it out or maybe they were “regulars”? Lots of goth looking folks and at one red light I could hear electronic dance music. Whoa I thought maybe they just dropped in to see what condition their condition was in? It reminded me of songwriter Mickey Newbury’s “Just Dropped In To See What Condition My Condition Was In” made famous in 1967 by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition. I was having a good time, started humming the melody and my smile was a mile wide. Then some guy pulled up beside me in this really cool early model Thunderbird with the port holes on each side. Now I felt like I was moving into a scene from American Graffiti. My mind was running on overtime having fun with the possibilities. Three guys walking west heard my bike and stopped and pointed at me and the bike, probably more so the bike. One guy threw up a peace sign and I said to myself yep I am in California for sure. As I sat at the next light I remember thinking how sad it was that so many great rock and blues artists who had lived here had also died here for one
And explode into space” - SteppenwolfAin’titthe truth? Life is good with so much to see and take in before it’s all over. There’s a lot of really cool people in living all over the nation and that’s cool.
46 Music News • September 2022 Page 3 -
The Biker, The Blues & Hollywood California reason or another, many due to dope and alcohol. Just listen to Janis sing Kozmic Blues and you can feel the blues pouring out of her, to this day people talk about the soul and blues that woman delivered and it is just as relevant today as it was then. Then of course Jimi, wow, Red House now come on read between the lyrics and take a peak at the meaning. “There’s a red house over yonder” was the emotional appeal of the man himself sharing what the lyrics portray as being close to someone but yet away for a reason. Many of rock’s soon to be stars lived at the famous hotel close by and people like Alice Cooper would go there. This is where he met the soon to be famous manager promoter Shep Gordon. One of the greatest promoters the world of rock has ever known. He was creative, ballsy, and he understood discontinuous change. If there sentedrepre-CooperthatanythingwasAlice with his original shock rock shows it was discontinuous change. They knew their target audience just as Gene Simmons dialed in on his too. All of these people were bringing something to life on stage that America was ready for and much of it came out of this area of the country. So here I was puttin’ up the famous Sunset Strip taking it all in feeling curious about it all and reminiscing about it’s history. So many places up ahead like The Viper Room, Whisky A GoGo, The Trubadour, The Rainbow, The Roxy and more. How cool is this trip I kept thinking to myself. My bike was running well, the evening was just right, and the sights and soon the sounds would be over the top. Then there was The Doors and Jim Morrison. How does on top that? It’s all here the history and it’s still cooking even to this very day. Even today’s blues rock greats perform here, after all who wouldn’t want to be on the same stages that these early pioneers if you were them? Up ahead someone scrawled long live Houston of Blues Hollywood. The iconic real estate has since made its departure and made room for the new. I spied a taco truck and decided to stop for a quick bite. As I sat at their picnic table a woman asked me if I knew were Pinks Hot Dogs was located? I told her no I was from out of town but three other people told her immediately. Turns out Pink’s is one of the hot spots for indoor, outdoor quick food where a number of local musicians and movie and television personalities stopped by. The guy putting the tacos, burritos, and sandwiches together turned on “Born To Be Wild” and pointed at me. Indeed it was a good night, this place is cool. As the song goes, “Get your motor runnin’ Head out on the highway Lookin’ for adventure And whatever comes our way Yeah darlin’ go make it happen Take the world in a love embrace Fire all of your guns at once
Smart Financial Centre October 1st 48 Music News • September 2022
Carlos Vives Performs At
Two-time GRAMMY and 15-time Latin GRAMMY award winner Carlos Vives is heading out on the North American leg of his “Después De Todo ‘VIVES’” and is set to hit Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land on OctoberChosen1st.
by Billboard Magazine as one of the best of 2022 so far, Cumbiana II, Vives’ most recent album that includes current single “Teke Teke,” with Black Eyed Peas and Play-N-Skillz is continuing to climb the Top 10 chart in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica. He also has recent collaborations with Carlos Rivera, Los Angeles Azulez, Pedro Capo, Camilo and more.
September 2022 • Music News 49 continued on next page
Carlos Vives is one of the most important figures in Latin music today and is the creator of a new sound based on the traditional music of the Caribbean coast and the northern region of Colombia. Vives’ work as an artist revolves around the study, knowledge and dissemination of the Colombian identity in its many facets and in its complex diversity. In 1993 he formed the band La Provincia as a tribute to musicians from the most remote and rural regions of the Caribbean and as a laboratory for new talents in contemporary music. Vives and La Provincia have traveled around the world, taking the culture and value of Colombian identity to all corners of the world, helping them quickly earn international recognition. His album Vives surpassed 2 billion streams, and was steered by the global hits “La Bicicleta” (Shakira) and “Robarte un beso” (Yatra), which have generated a combined 2.5 billion views on YouTube. His awardwinning work “Cumbiana” includes not only an album but also the Latin GRAMMY®winning documentary “The lost world of Cumbiana”, and the book “Cumbiana, stories of a lost world”, exposing a true creative universe around the origin and the evolution of cumbia. In 2015, he founded the initiative “Tras La Perla’’ to promote sustainable development in the city of Santa Marta and its region influenced by the Sierra Nevada and Ciénaga Grande. In 2016, he also created the Río Grande Music School with the purpose of offering new artistic experiences based on creating a dialogue around Colombian music and culture, new local music proposals and world music. As his most beloved slogan indicates, “united in diversity”, Carlos Vives has made his mark across generations through music and the relentless and inspired advocacy for his culture.
University with a degree in marketing. While continuing to play music on the side, Vives got interested in acting and in 1982 won a role in the Colombian films Tiempo Sin Huella and a Spanish-language remake of David Copperfield (he played the adult lead). Later he extended his professional reputation enough to work on Puerto Rican television and more than a dozen films. After forming a band called La Provincia, the singer and guitarist began performing a popular national style known as vallenato. He successfully toured his own country and South America. He released halfa-dozen albums including 1987’s No Podrás Escapar de Mí, and 1993’s Clásicos de la Provincia, a collection of vallenato standards that proved his commercial breakthrough. It was certified multi-platinum at home and platinum in the U.S. In 1994, “La Gota Fria” became his first smash single, climbing to the top spot on most Latin charts. 1995’s La Tierra del Olvido marked the beginning of a transition: In addition to recording songs from both the classic and contemporary vallenato repertoires, as he had from the beginning, it marked the first of his record-
Carlos Vives is a multiple Grammyand Latin Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and actor from Colombia. He is globally renowned for his command of traditional styles such as vallenato, porro, cumbia, and champeta, as well as pop, rock, and reggaeton. He has sold tens of millions of recordings and his videos regularly garner billions of views. He has been releasing singles and albums since 1986, starting with Por Fuera y por Dentro (recorded while he was still a successful actor in telenovelas and films). Later outings, such as 1992’s Clásicos de la Provincia, sold more than 1.2 million copies in Colombia alone. 2002’s Déjame Entrar won the Grammy for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album, while 2015’s Más + Corazón Profundo took home the award for Best Tropical Latin Album. Furthermore, Vives has won numerous Latin Grammys and been nominated more than 30 times; he has also won several Premios Nuestra Tierra industry prizes. He has duetted on videos with Sebastian Yatra (“Robarte un Beso”) and Shakira (“La Bicicleta”), which have registered more than a billion views each and topped Latin Songs charts. In 2019, Vives was chosen by Billboard magazine as one of the Top Latin Artists of the 2010s (number 45 out of 100). The following year, he took home another Latin Grammy for Best Tropical Song for “Canción Para Rubén,” with Rubén Blades, off 2020’s Cumbiana. In 2021 he issued Latin Grammy-winning “Canción Bonita” with Ricky Martin and provided the theme song for the popular Disney animated film Encanto. Vives was born in 1961 in Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia. At age 12 his family moved to Bogota, where he first encountered rock & roll and took part in the local scene as a lead vocalist and guitarist in several garage bands. He attended and graduated from Jorge Tadeo Lozano
Carlos Vives
50 Music News • September 2022 ings to contain his own songs. In 1996, under the slogan of Unete a los Locales (Join the Local Ones), the talented musician created his own label, Gaira, to promote and give an incentive to local artists, though he continued to record for EMI. In 1998 he joined fellow top-tier Colombian stars Shakira and Charlie Zaa onstage during a benefit for victims of an earthquake that destroyed Colombian coffee fields. Vives issued the smash El Amor de Mi Tierra in 1999; in 2000 it received a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Album. Released in 2001, Déjame Entrar won the artist his first Grammy for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album. He shifted direction for 2004’s En Rock de Mi Pueblo, which added a healthy dose of rock & roll (continued from previous page)
and rap to his vallenato grooves. This album received a Grammy nomination in 2005. Vives and EMI fell into a contract dispute after the recording was released and he didn’t record again for five years. Clásicos de la Provincia II, issued in 2009, was a collection of early vallenato and traditional songs and only released in Colombia through a supermarket chain. In 2012 he resurfaced as a coach for the Colombian version of The Voice. His contract difficulties behind him, he signed with Sony and the single “Volví a Nacer” was issued in the fall of 2012. It entered several international charts at number one. It was followed in January 2013 by the release of the album Corazón Profundo, which also reached the top spot. He followed it with a second hit single, “Como le Gusta a Tu Cuerpo” (featuring Michel Teló) and commencedWhiletouring.ontheroad, Vives continued to record. Más Corazón Profundo appeared in 2014. It featured new songs (including duets with Choc Quib Town and Marc Anthony) as well as extended mixes of singles and “Volví a Nacer.” In the summer of 2015, he released an audio/video document entitled Más + Corazón Profundo Tour: En Vivo Desde la Bahiá de Santa Marta. In 2017, Vives returned with his 15th studio album, Vives, which included the single “La Bicicleta,” featuring Shakira. The single peaked at number two on the Hot Latin Songs chart while the full-length took the same spot on the Top Latin Albums list, while its video garnered more than 1.2 billion views as did another video/single from the album, “Robarte Un Beso” with Sebastian Yatra. Singles from the album were issued throughout the following year; all charted at streaming.In2019, after a world tour, Vives released a number of duets. They included “Si Me Das Tu Amor” (feat. Wisin) and “Indira II” (feat. Gusi). After being chosen by Billboard magazine as one of its Top Latin Artists of the 2010s, Vives began the next decade with several charting singles including “No Estas Solo: Canciones Para Es Enfermos” (feat. Rubén Blades) and “No Te Vayas,” the latter peaked at number four on the Hot 100 in May. Its remix with Manuel Turizo followed immediately, becoming an international club hit within two weeks of release. In 2020, he released Cumbiana, which found him further embracing Latin pop and reggaeton. Included on the album was the song “Canción Para Rubén,” again featuring longtime friend Rubén Blades. The track won Best Tropical Song at the Latin Grammy Awards. In April 2021, Vives joined Ricky Martin for their song “Canción Bonita.” Later that year, Vives performed the Lin-Manuel Miranda-penned theme song for the Disney animated feature film Encanto.
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continued on next page modernity. Likewise the aching title track to 1998’s Por Mujeres Como Tu; with its meld of Anglo and Mexican cultures (also known as “mestizaje”), 1999’s Por una Mujer Bonita scored him his first Grammy and sold more than four million copies. In the 21st century, Aguilar issued a series of albums in tribute to the iconic singers and songwriters who preceded him, including 2004’s number three hit Con Orgullo por Herencia; it offers a homage to the music of his parents. Aguilar founded his own studio and label and has continued to work the mines of tradition while throwing curveballs in the process: The genre-blurring No Lo Habia Dicho from 2016 offered his takes on everything from Colombian vallenato and cumbia to Latin pop, banda, and ranchera. Aguilar was born San Antonio, Texas while his parents were on tour, but he was raised in Zacatecas, Mexico. He made his singing debut at age three when his father brought him on-stage at Madison Square Garden to perform.
While the younger Aguilar was steeped in the history of Mexican folk music from birth, it didn’t stop him from absorbing the sounds he heard on the radio. A major fan of Pink Floyd and the Who, he formed the rock band Equs as a teen and wrote and covered new wave and classic rock hits. The band didn’t last long, however, and by age 20, Aguilar had returned to singing the Tejano music of his youth. He signed to Musart and made his recording debut in 1989 with Pepe Aguilar con Tambora, a banda album with drums. Two more volumes followed in 1990 and 1991. Sebastian heard him at a concert and offered to produce his next album. The great mariachi wrote all of the songs on Recuérdame Bonito, gearing them specifically toward the qualities in Aguilar’s voice. The set hit number eight on the Mexican Regional Albums chart and got massive airplay in the north of Mexico and Southwest Texas. While he continued to record, Aguilar was building his reputation through his
Pepe Aguilar is a best-selling, award-winning Mexican singer, songwriter, and producer. The son of multi-platinum singing icons Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre, he has won four Grammys, five Latin Grammys, a whopping 19 Lo Nuestro awards and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His album sales top 15 million globally and his concerts have been consistent sellouts for more than two decades. Aguilar’s voice is rooted deep in the mariachi tradition, a romantic, lonesome, haunting baritone that underscores the charro (cowboy) in Mexican culture which has been all but lost in the confusing 21st century narcocorrido era. While his love songs have consistently topped the charts, his bandas, polkas, and pop tunes have registered as equally successful. His commercial breakthrough occurred with his fourth album, 1992’s Recuérdame Bonito. Written and produced by Joan Sebastian, it included traditionally styled songs that highlighted Aguilar’s singular vocal technique which straddles history and
Pepe Aguilar Brings His “Jaripeo Without Borders Tour 2022” to Toyota Center
September 2022 • Music News 51
52 Music News • September 2022 (continued from previous page)
Pepe Aguilar widely celebrated stage show, which showcased hits from Mexico’s past as well as his own music. Aguilar was a master showman, playing for hours at a time all the while involving his audiences at every turn whether playing in Caracas, Mexico City or Laredo, Texas. This constant touring set the stage for 1998’s classic, Por Mujeres Como Tu. Its title track single topped the charts, and the album reached number four and spent 81 weeks on the chart. Not one to argue with success, Aguilar promoted the album on television, radio, and on stages.
The set became the first entry in a trilogy that also included chartbusters Por el Amor de Siempre, and Por una Mujer Bonita. The latter also won a Grammy, and its tour took him from Chile to Alaska.In 2000, Aguilar issued Lo Grande de Los Grandes, a collection of covers by historic songwriters who included Javier Solis, Jorge Negrete, Pedro Infante, Miguel Acevez Mejia, and Vicente Fernandez. In 2001, Lo Mejor de Nosotros netted the chart-topping single “Me Vasa Extranar,” while the album peaked at number four and spent 26 weeks on the chart. In 2003 he left Musart and founded his own studio and label, Equinoccio Records that produced the charting full-length Y Tenerte Otra Vez. It became his first number one album. He followed it some months later with Con Orgullo por Herencia. It was a tribute comprised of 12 ranchera classics made popular by his parents and hit number three. Aguilar penned “Miedo” in 2004, which became the theme song for the TV series Big Brother México. It marked the first time he’d sung an original in 15 years and audiences ate it up. It landed in the Top Five on Latin Pop and Top Ten on Mexican Regional Songs.As previously mentioned, Aguilar was a known experimenter. Now that he was working for his own label, he could take more chances. To that end, he cut the album No Soy de Nadie that reveled in pop ballads. It peaked at number four, but more importantly, established him in new markets such as Puerto Rico and even Cuba. Though Aguilar toured almost incessantly, he did find time to record, releasing Historias de Mi Tierra in 2005 and Enamorado in 2006 — both walked the line between mariachis and deeply romantic pop ballads. The former landed at number 14. 2007 saw the release of 100% Mexicano (number 16 and a Grammy winner). It featured exclusive songs in mariachi- and Sinaloan-style banda penned by Marc Antonio Solis, Martin Urieta, Leonel Garcia (of Sin Bandera), and Reily Barba, among others. The following year, Homenaje proved a collection that viewed his late father as “more than a father, but also a colleague, and a Zacatecan artist who opened countless doors in his exemplary passage through this world.” In 2008 Aguilar participated in a Grammy U SoundChecks event in Los Angeles. He performed live and was asked questions by students. At the beginning of the century’s second decade, Aguilar released the selfproduced, Bicentenario,Grammy-winningwhosepurpose was to celebrate Mexico through some of his own most representative songs in two fundamental genres of traditional Mexican music: ranchera and banda. The release of 2012’s Con Mariachi was the vehicle for a concert tour and Aguilar brought his two-plus-hour show of traditional tunes to the North American continent, selling out many venues, including the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles for three consecutive evenings. Later that year, he released the Grammy-winning Mas de un Camino EP, a fusion of modern ranchera, pop, and mariachi that landed inside the Top 20 on the Top Latin Albums chart. The following year during a tour break, he participated in the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live “A Conversation With” series and discussed his career. To coincide with the moderated question-and-answer session, the museum unveiled the exhibit “Pepe Aguilar…La Leyenda Continúa,” that gave visitors an in-depth look at the music and vocational trajectory of the regional Mexican artist. In October of 2013, he issued the Latin Grammywinning Lastima Que Sean Ajenas, a magnificent collection of rancheras that peaked in the top spot on the Regional Mexican albums chart. He was also the focus of a wildly successful episode of MTV Unplugged, performing 13 of his best-known songs across several genres from ranchera to rock with his own group and a cast of illustrious guests that included Natalia Lafourcade, Miguel Bose, his children Angela and Leonardo (also professional singers), La Marisol (La Santa Cecilia) and others. The soundtrack album placed well inside the Top Ten at Regional Mexican albums, Latin Pop, and Top Latin Albums charts simultaneously and was certified triple platinum. Aguilar followed it by touring across North, South, and Central America. After a short break, he reentered the studio with co-producers/cowriters Yamil Rezc and Chile’s Francis and Mauricio Duran of Los Bunkers, and delivered a genre-blurring program of rock, pop, cumbia, vallenatos, romanticas, and banda, trusting his audience would follow him. They did. While the pre-release single “Maria” hit the top spot on streaming charts, the fulllength peaked at number three on two different album lists. The same year he issued a tribute compilation Pepe Aguilar Interpeta Joan Sebastian. After intensive touring, Aguilar, deeply moved by the death of songwriter Juan Gabriel, became one of many Mexican artists to issue his own tribute in December of 2018 with Fue un Placer Conocerte: Gracias Juan Gabriel, Vol. 1.
Actor Mauricio Ochmann will be appearing September 9th at The Arena Theatre
continued on next page Mauricio Ochmann will be appearing September 9th at The Arena Theatre. Were told that this will be more than an eye opening experience and is billed as “Acting InMauricioLife.”
September 2022 • Music News 53
Mauricio Ochmann was born on November 16, 1977, in Washington, D. C. Ochmann never knew his biological parents and during his first years of life grew up with his adoptive mother, María, and her first husband, Guillermo, who finally divorced. After the separation, Mauricio and his mother moved to Mexico, where the actor’s mother began a relationship with German Thomas Ochmann and lived with his brothers Thomas, Christian and Paulo. Years later Mauricio moved to Los Angeles, where he studied acting in Joanne Baron Studio of Santa Monica. From a young age, Mauricio showed interest in the performance by participating in various local activities and works, but it was at age 16 that he got his first professional opportunity on the TV show La Otra Cosa by Héctor Suárez. After studying in Los Angeles he got a small role in the movie Message in a Bottle, alongside actors like Kevin Costner and Robin Wright. After his first works, he returned to Mexico where actor and producer Humberto Zurita and his wife Cristian Bach give him the opportunity to star in his first telenovela with Bárbara Mori, titled Azul Tequila, which premiered in 1998. The following year he is chosen by Elisa Salinas to star in the telenovela Háblame de amor with Danna García. After entering in the television, decides to act in
Ochmann is an American-born, Mexican actor best known for his roles in telenovelas, such as Amarte Asi, where he starred as Ignacio “Nacho” Reyes. He also appeared in Kevin Costner’s film Message in a Bottle, the TV series That’s life and Latino Green. He appeared as Fabián Duque in Telemundo’s Dame Chocolate. He starred as Victorino Mora in Telemundo’s hit Victorinos and was the leading role in the Telemundo novela El Clon. He is also the star of “El Chema” a spin off of his character “Chema Venegas” from the hit television series “El Señor de los Cielos”.
Mauricio Ochmann works of theaters and its first putting in scene was in “Equus” with which it obtains to several recognitions, among them the prize to “Actor Revelation in Theater” by the National Association of Theater Critics. In 2000 he returned to Los Angeles and participated in the series produced by Diane Ruggiero, entitled That’s Life. At the end of this one returned to Mexico to act along to Lorena Rojas in the telenovela Como en el cine (2001), for Televisión Azteca. In 2003, he participated in the telenovela Mirada de mujer, el regreso, sequel of Mirada de mujer. Also he was part of the cast of productions like Ladies’ Night, in 2004 on 7 mujeres, 1 homosexual y Carlos, along to Adriana Fonseca, Rogelio Guerra, Luis Felipe Tovar and Ninel Conde. In 2005 he appeared in the thriller film, Ver, oír y callar, along to Luis Felipe Tovar and Paola Núñez. Also, with Litzy he protagonized the telenovela Amarte así, Frijolito, in the character of “Ignacio”; and in the film Tres, by Carlos Valdivia. Among his works are the telenovelas Dame chocolate and Marina which he abandoned because of addiction problems. In 2007 he participated in Victoria, in which he shared credits with Géraldine Bazán and Andrea López, among other artists; the melodrama was a remake of Señora Isabel and Mirada de mujer (1997), starring Angelica Aragón and Ari Telch. Between 2010 and 2011 i starred in the telenovelas Victorinos, remake of Cuando quiero llorar no lloro and that in turn is based on the book written by the promotedthirdinthefinalappearedwheredeseries,theyeartheHernández,alongRosatelenovelastarsreadyCantoral.alongElOteroauthorVenezuelanMiguelSilvaandsexodébiltoItatíAl-in2012,heinherlasttitleddiamante,withCarlathenfollowingheenteredTelemundoElSeñorlosCielos,heonlyintheepisodeoffirstseason,thesecondandseasonwastomain protagonist. Thanks to this series he was nominated several times in the annual awards of Telemundo. But it was at the 2015 ceremony where he won the “Best Bad Boy” award. After concluding his participation in the series, Mauricio began to dedicate himself to the cinema and to participate in publicity campaigns. In 2015 he premiered his film A la mala; this would be his first project with the woman he would marry in 2016, Aislinn Derbez. Also, in 2016 he appeared in the American series Easy; later he returned to play Jose María “Chema” Venegas, in the series El Chema, spin-off of the series El Señor de los Cielos. Thanks to this character Mauricio has managed to be recognized in several parts of the world, receiving positive critics as well as negative, given a personage supposedly based on El Chapo. More recently, the company had signed a first-look deal at Pantaya.
54 Music News • September 2022 (continued from previous page)
Septiembre 2022 En EspañolEn EspañolEn EspañolEn EspañolEn Español También Dentro De Esta Sección Pepe MauricioAguilarOchmann VivesCarlos Septiembre 2022 • Music News 55
Carlos Vives Se Presenta En El Smart Financial Centre El 1 De Octobre 56 Music News • Septiembre 2022
Carlos Vives, ganador de dos premios GRAMMY y 15 premios Latin GRAMMY, se dirige a la etapa norteamericana de su “Después De Todo ‘VIVES’” y está programado para llegar al Smart Financial Center en Sugar Land el 1 de octubre. Elegido por la revista Billboard como uno de los mejores de 2022 hasta el momento, Cumbiana II, el álbum más reciente de Vives que incluye el sencillo actual “Teke ??Teke”, con Black Eyed Peas y Play-N-Skillz continúa escalando la lista Top 10 en Chile, Colombia, Ecuador y Costa Rica. También tiene colaboraciones recientes con Carlos Rivera, Los Ángeles Azulez, Pedro Capo, Camilo y más.
Vives es un cantante, compositor y actor colombiano ganador de múltiples premios Grammy y Latin Grammy. Es mundialmente reconocido por su dominio de estilos tradicionales como el vallenato, el porro, la cumbia y la champeta, así como el pop, el rock y el reggaetón. Ha vendido decenas de millones de grabaciones y sus videos obtienen regularmente miles de millones de visitas. Ha estado lanzando sencillos y álbumes desde 1986, comenzando con Por fuera y por dentro (grabado cuando aún era un actor exitoso en telenovelas y películas). Salidas posteriores, como los Clásicos de la Provincia de 1992, vendieron más de 1,2 millones de copias solo en Colombia. Déjame Entrar de 2002 ganó el Grammy al Mejor Álbum Latino Tropical Tradicional, mientras que Más + Corazón Profundo de 2015 se llevó a casa el premio al Mejor Álbum Latino Tropical. Además, Vives ha ganado numerosos premios Grammy Latinos y ha sido nominado más de 30 veces; también ha ganado varios premios de la industria Premios Nuestra Tierra. Ha hecho duetos en videos con Sebastián Yatra (“Robarte un Beso”) y Shakira (“La Bicicleta”), que han registrado más de mil millones de visitas cada uno y encabezaron las listas de canciones latinas. En 2019, Vives fue elegido por la revista Billboard como uno de los mejores artistas latinos de la década de 2010 (número 45 de 100). Al año siguiente, se llevó a casa otro Grammy Latino a la Mejor Canción Tropical por “Canción Para Rubén”, con Rubén Blades, de Cumbiana de 2020. En 2021 emitió “Canción Bonita” ganadora del Grammy Latino con Ricky Martin y proporcionó el tema principal de la popular película animada de Disney Encanto. Vives nació en 1961 en Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia. A los 12 años su familia se mudó a Bogotá, donde conoció por primera vez el rock & roll y participó en la escena local como vocalista principal y guitarrista en varias bandas de garaje. Asistió y se graduó de la Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano con una licenciatura en marketing. Mientras continuaba tocando música, Vives se interesó en la actuación y en 1982 ganó un papel en las películas colombianas Tiempo Sin Huella y una nueva versión en español de David Copperfield (interpretó el papel principal adulto). Posteriormente amplió su reputación profesional lo suficiente como
Septiembre 2022 • Music News 57 Continúa en la página siguiente (Continuación de la página anterior) CarlosVives
Carlos Vives es una de las figuras más importantes de la música latina actual y es el creador de un nuevo sonido basado en la música tradicional de la costa caribe y la región norte de Colombia. El trabajo de Vives como artista gira en torno al estudio, conocimiento y difusión de la identidad colombiana en sus múltiples facetas y en su compleja diversidad. En 1993 formó la banda La Provincia como tributo a los músicos de las regiones más remotas y rurales del Caribe y como laboratorio de nuevos talentos de la música contemporánea. Vives y La Provincia han viajado por todo el mundo, llevando la cultura y el valor de la identidad colombiana a todos los rincones del mundo, ayudándolos a ganar reconocimiento internacional rápidamente. Su álbum Vives superó los 2.000 millones de reproducciones y fue dirigido por los éxitos mundiales “La Bicicleta” (Shakira) y “Robarte un beso” (Yatra), que han generado un total de 2.500 millones de visitas en YouTube. Su premiada obra “Cumbiana” incluye no solo un álbum sino también el documental ganador del Latin GRAMMY® “El mundo perdido de Cumbiana”, y el libro “Cumbiana, historias de un mundo perdido”, exponiendo un verdadero universo creativo en torno a la El origen y la evolución de la cumbia. En 2015 fundó la iniciativa “Tras La Perla’’ para promover el desarrollo sostenible en la ciudad de Santa Marta y su región influenciada por la Sierra Nevada y Ciénaga Grande. En 2016 también creó la Escuela de Música Río Grande con el propósito de ofrecer nuevas experiencias artísticas a partir de crear un diálogo en torno a la música y la cultura colombianas, las nuevas propuestas musicales locales y las músicas del mundo. Como indica su eslogan más querido, “unidos en la diversidad”, Carlos Vives ha dejado su huella a lo largo de generaciones a través de la música y la defensa incansable e inspirada de su cultura.Carlos
58 Music News • Septiembre 2022 (Continuación de la página anterior) para trabajar en la televisión puertorriqueña y en más de una docena de películas. Después de formar una banda llamada La Provincia, el cantante y guitarrista comenzó a interpretar un estilo popular nacional conocido como vallenato. Recorrió con éxito su propio país y América del Sur. Lanzó media docena de álbumes, incluidos No Podrás Escapar de Mí de 1987 y Clásicos de la Provincia de 1993, una colección de estándares de vallenato que demostraron su avance comercial. Fue certificado multiplatino en casa y platino en los EE. UU. En 1994, “La Gota Fria” se convirtió en su primer sencillo exitoso, subiendo al primer puesto en la mayoría de las listas latinas. La Tierra del Olvido de 1995 marcó el comienzo de una transición: además de grabar canciones del repertorio de vallenato clásico y contemporáneo, como lo había hecho desde el principio, marcó la primera de sus grabaciones en contener sus propias canciones.En1996, bajo el lema de Unete a los Locales, el talentoso músico creó su propio sello, Gaira, para promover e incentivar a los artistas locales, aunque siguió grabando para EMI. En 1998 se unió a las estrellas colombianas de primer nivel Shakira y Charlie Zaa en el escenario durante un evento benéfico para las víctimas de un terremoto que destruyó los cafetales colombianos. Vives emitió el éxito El Amor de Mi Tierra en 1999; en 2000 recibió una nominación al Grammy por Mejor Álbum Latino. Lanzado en 2001, Déjame Entrar le valió al artista su primer Grammy por Mejor
Carlos Vives
Álbum Latino Tropical Tradicional. Cambió de dirección para En Rock de Mi Pueblo de 2004, que agregó una buena dosis de rock & roll y rap a sus ritmos de vallenato. Este álbum recibió una nominación al Grammy en 2005. Vives y EMI entraron en una disputa contractual después de que se lanzó la grabación y no volvió a grabar durante cinco años. Clásicos de la Provincia II, emitido en 2009, fue una colección de canciones tradicionales y de vallenato temprano y solo se lanzó en Colombia a través de una cadena de supermercados.En2012resurgió como entrenador de la versión colombiana de La Voz. Dejando atrás sus dificultades contractuales, firmó con Sony y en otoño de 2012 se emitió el sencillo “Volví a Nacer”. Entró en varias listas internacionales en el número uno. Le siguió en enero de 2013 el lanzamiento del álbum Corazón Profundo, que también alcanzó el primer puesto. Lo siguió con un segundo sencillo de éxito, “Como le gusta a tu cuerpo” (con Michel Teló) y comenzó a hacer giras. Mientras estaba de gira, Vives siguió grabando. Más Corazón Profundo apareció en 2014. Incluía nuevas canciones (incluidos duetos con Choc Quib Town y Marc Anthony), así como mezclas extendidas de sencillos y “Volví a Nacer”. En el verano de 2015, lanzó un documento de audio/video titulado Más + Corazón Profundo Tour: En Vivo Desde la Bahía de Santa Marta. En 2017, Vives regresó con su decimoquinto álbum de estudio, Vives, que incluía el sencillo “La Bicicleta”, con Shakira. El sencillo alcanzó el puesto número dos en la lista Hot Latin Songs, mientras que el álbum completo ocupó el mismo lugar en la lista Top Latin Albums, mientras que su video obtuvo más de 1.200 millones de visitas al igual que otro video/sencillo del álbum, “Robarte Un Beso” con Sebastián Yatra. Los sencillos del álbum se emitieron a lo largo del año siguiente; todos registrados en streaming. En 2019, luego de una gira mundial, Vives lanzó varios duetos. Incluyeron “Si Me Das Tu Amor” (con Wisin) e “Indira II” (con Gusi). Después de ser elegido por la revista Billboard como uno de sus mejores artistas latinos de la década de 2010, Vives comenzó la próxima década con varios sencillos en las listas de éxitos, incluidos “No Estas Solo: Canciones Para Es Enfermos” (con Rubén Blades) y “No Te Vayas”. este último alcanzó el puesto número cuatro en el Hot 100 en mayo. Su remix con Manuel Turizo siguió de inmediato, convirtiéndose en un éxito de club internacional dos semanas después del lanzamiento. En el 2020, lanzó Cumbiana, que lo encontró abrazando aún más el pop latino y el reggaeton. Incluida en el álbum estaba la canción “Canción Para Rubén”, nuevamente con su viejo amigo Rubén Blades. La canción ganó el premio a la Mejor Canción Tropical en los Premios Grammy Latinos. En abril de 2021, Vives se unió a Ricky Martin para su canción “Canción Bonita”. Más tarde ese año, Vives interpretó el tema musical escrito por Lin-Manuel Miranda para la película animada de Disney Encanto.
60 Music News • Septiembre 2022 Mauricio Ochmann se presentará el 9 de septiembre en El Arena Theatre. Se nos dijo que esto será más que una experiencia reveladora y se anuncia como “Actuando En Vida”. Mauricio Ochmann es un actor mexicano nacido en Estados Unidos mejor conocido por sus papeles en telenovelas, como Amarte Así, donde interpretó a Ignacio “Nacho” Reyes. También apareció en la película Message in a Bottle de Kevin Costner, la serie de televisión Así es la vida y Latino Green. Apareció como Fabián Duque en Dame Chocolate de Telemundo. Interpretó a Victorino Mora en el éxito de Telemundo Victorinos y fue el papel principal en la novela de El Actor Mauricio Ochmann Se Presentará
El 9 De Septiembre En El Arena Theatre
Continúa en la página siguiente Telemundo El Clon. También es la estrella de “El Chema”, un spin-off de su personaje “Chema Venegas” de la exitosa serie de televisión “El Señor de los Cielos”.Mauricio Ochmann nació el 16 de noviembre de 1977 en Washington, D. C. Ochmann nunca conoció a sus padres biológicos y durante sus primeros años de vida creció con su madre adoptiva, María, y su primer esposo, Guillermo, de quien finalmente se divorció. Tras la separación, Mauricio y su madre se mudaron a México, donde la madre del actor inició una relación con el alemán Thomas Ochmann y vivía con sus hermanos Thomas, Christian y Paulo. Años más tarde Mauricio se mudó a Los Ángeles, donde estudió actuación en el estudio Joanne Baron de Santa Mónica. Desde muy joven Mauricio mostró interés por la actuación participando en diversas actividades y obras locales, pero fue a los 16 años que obtuvo su primera oportunidad profesional en el programa de televisión La Otra Cosa de Héctor Suárez. Después de estudiar en Los Ángeles consiguió un pequeño papel en la película Message in a Bottle, junto a actores como Kevin Costner y Robin Wright. Luego de sus primeros trabajos regresa a México donde el actor y productor Humberto Zurita y su
Septiembre 2022 • Music News 61 (Continuación de la página anterior)
estrenó su película
Mauricio Ochmann esposa Cristian Bach le brindan la oportunidad de protagonizar su primera telenovela junto a Bárbara Mori, titulada Azul Tequila, la cual se estrena en 1998. Al año siguiente es elegido por Elisa Salinas protagonizará la telenovela Háblame de amor junto a Danna García. Tras incursionar en la televisión, decide actuar en obras de teatro y su primera puesta en escena fue en “Equus” con la que obtiene varios reconocimientos, entre ellos el premio a “Actor Revelación en Teatro” por la Asociación Nacional de Críticos Teatrales. . En 2000 regresó a Los Ángeles y participó en la serie producida por Diane Ruggiero, titulada That’s Life. Al término de ésta regresó a México para actuar junto a Lorena Rojas en la telenovela Como en el cine (2001), para Televisión Azteca. En 2003 participó en la telenovela Mirada de mujer, el regreso, secuela de Mirada de mujer. También formó parte del elenco de producciones como Ladies’ Night, en 2004 en 7 mujeres, 1 homosexual y Carlos, junto a Adriana Fonseca, Rogelio Guerra, Luis Felipe Tovar y Ninel Conde. En 2005 apareció en la película de suspense Ver, oír y callar, junto a Luis Felipe Tovar y Paola Núñez. Asimismo, con Litzy protagonizó la telenovela Amarte así, Frijolito, en el personaje de “Ignacio”; y en la película Tres, de Carlos Valdivia. Entre sus obras se encuentran las telenovelas Dame chocolate y Marina que abandonó por problemas de adicción. En 2007 participó en Victoria, en la que compartió créditos con Géraldine Bazán y Andrea López, entre otros artistas; el melodrama fue un remake de Señora Isabel y Mirada de mujer (1997), protagonizada por Angélica Aragón y Ari Telch. Entre 2010 y Victorinos,telenovelasprotagonicé2011lasremake de Cuando quiero llorar no lloro y que a su vez está basada en el libro escrito por el autor venezolano Miguel Otero Silva y El sexo débil junto a Itatí Cantoral. Ya en 2012 protagoniza su última telenovela titulada Rosa diamante, junto a Carla Hernández, luego al año siguiente incursiona en la serie de Telemundo, El Señor de los Cielos, donde solo aparece en el episodio final de la primera temporada, en la La segunda y tercera temporada fue ascendida a protagonista principal. Gracias a esta serie fue nominado varias veces en los premios anuales de Telemundo. Pero fue en la ceremonia de 2015 donde ganó el premio al “Mejor chico malo”. Luego de concluir su participación en la serie, Mauricio comenzó a dedicarse al cine ya participar en campañas publicitarias.En2015
A la mala; este sería su primer proyecto con la mujer con la que se casaría en 2016, Aislinn Derbez. Asimismo, en 2016 apareció en la posteriormenteestadounidenseserieEasy;volvió a interpretar a Jose María “Chema” Venegas, en la serie El Chema, spin-off de la serie El Señor de los Cielos. Gracias a este personaje Mauricio ha logrado ser reconocido en varias partes del mundo, recibiendo tanto críticas positivas como negativas, dado un personaje supuestamente basado en ElMásChapo.recientemente, la empresa había firmado un acuerdo de primera vista en Pantaya.
62 Music News • Septiembre 2022
El 25
Square Garden para actuar. Si bien el joven Aguilar estuvo inmerso en la historia de la música folclórica mexicana desde su nacimiento, eso no le impidió absorber los sonidos que escuchaba en la radio. Un gran fanático de Pink Floyd y The Who, formó la banda de rock Equs cuando era adolescente y escribió y cubrió éxitos de new wave y rock clásico. Sin embargo, la banda no duró mucho y, a los 20 años, Aguilar había vuelto a cantar la música tejana de su juventud. Firmó con Musart e hizo su debut discográfico en 1989 con Pepe Aguilar con Tambora, un álbum de banda con batería. Siguieron dos volúmenes más en 1990 y 1991. Sebastian lo escuchó en un concierto y se ofreció a producir su próximo álbum. El gran mariachi escribió todas las canciones de Recuérdame Bonito, orientándolas específicamente hacia las cualidades de la voz de Aguilar. El conjunto alcanzó el número ocho en la lista de álbumes regionales mexicanos y obtuvo una difusión masiva en el norte de México y el suroeste de Texas. Mientras continuaba
Aguilar fundó su propio estudio y sello y ha continuado trabajando en las minas de la tradición mientras arroja obstáculos en el proceso: el género borroso No Lo Habia
Pepe Trae Su “Jaripeo Sin Fronteras Tour 2022” Toyota Center De Septiembre
Dicho de 2016 ofreció sus opiniones sobre todo, desde el vallenato y la cumbia colombianos hasta el pop latino, la banda y ranchera.Aguilar nació en San Antonio, Texas mientras sus padres estaban de gira, pero se crió en Zacatecas, México. Hizo su debut como cantante a los tres años cuando su padre lo llevó al escenario del Madison
Al
Pepe Aguilar es un cantante, compositor y productor mexicano ganador de premios y éxito de ventas. Hijo de los íconos del canto multiplatino Antonio Aguilar y Flor Silvestre, ha ganado cuatro premios Grammy, cinco Latin Grammy, la friolera de 19 premios Lo Nuestro y tiene una estrella en el Paseo de la Fama de Hollywood. Las ventas de su álbum superan los 15 millones en todo el mundo y sus conciertos se han vendido consistentemente durante más de dos décadas. La voz de Aguilar está profundamente arraigada en la tradición del mariachi, un barítono romántico, solitario e inquietante que subraya el charro (vaquero) en la cultura mexicana que casi se ha perdido en la confusa era del narcocorrido del siglo XXI. Si bien sus canciones de amor han encabezado constantemente las listas de éxitos, sus bandas, polkas y melodías pop se han registrado como igualmente exitosas. Su avance comercial se produjo con su cuarto álbum, Recuérdame Bonito de 1992. Escrita y producida por Joan Sebastian, incluía canciones de estilo tradicional que destacaban la singular técnica vocal de Aguilar que se encuentra a caballo entre la historia y la modernidad. Del mismo modo, la dolorosa canción principal de Por mujeres como tú de 1998; con su fusión de las culturas anglo y mexicana (también conocido como “mestizaje”), Por una Mujer Bonita de 1999 le valió su primer Grammy y vendió más de cuatro millones de copias. En el siglo XXI, Aguilar publicó una serie de álbumes en homenaje a los cantantes y compositores icónicos que lo precedieron, incluido el éxito número tres de 2004 Con Orgullo por Herencia; ofrece un homenaje a la música de sus padres.
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Aguilar
Septiembre 2022 • Music News 63 (Continuación de la página anterior) Pepe Aguilar
grabando, Aguilar estaba construyendo su reputación a través de su espectáculo teatral ampliamente celebrado, que mostraba éxitos del pasado de México, así como su propia música. Aguilar era un maestro del espectáculo, tocaba durante horas seguidas mientras involucraba a su público en todo momento, ya sea tocando en Caracas, Ciudad de México o Laredo, Texas. Esta gira constante preparó el escenario para el clásico de 1998, Por mujeres como tú. Su sencillo principal encabezó las listas, y el álbum alcanzó el número cuatro y pasó 81 semanas en la lista. Sin discutir con el éxito, Aguilar promocionó el álbum en televisión, radio y escenarios. El set se convirtió en la primera entrada de una trilogía que también incluía éxitos de listas de éxitos como Por el amor de siempre y Por una mujer bonita. Este último también ganó un Grammy, y su gira lo llevó desde Chile hasta Alaska. En 2000, Aguilar publicó Lo Grande de Los Grandes, una colección de versiones de compositores históricos que incluían a Javier Solís, Jorge Negrete, Pedro Infante, Miguel Acevez Mejía y Vicente Fernández. En 2001, Lo Mejor de Nosotros obtuvo el sencillo “Me Vasa Extranar”, que encabezó las listas de éxitos, mientras que el álbum alcanzó el puesto número cuatro y permaneció 26 semanas en la lista. En 2003 dejó Musart y fundó su propio estudio y sello, Equinoccio Records, que produjo el disco de larga duración Y Tenerte Otra Vez. Se convirtió en su primer álbum número uno. Le siguió unos meses después con Con Orgullo por Herencia. Fue un tributo compuesto por 12 clásicos de la ranchera popularizados por sus padres y llegó al número tres. Aguilar escribió “Miedo” en 2004, que se convirtió en el tema principal de la serie de televisión Gran Hermano México. Fue la primera vez que cantó un original en 15 años y el público se lo comió. Aterrizó en el Top Five de Latin Pop y en el Top Ten de Canciones Regionales Mexicanas. Como se mencionó anteriormente, Aguilar era un conocido experimentador. Ahora que estaba trabajando para su propio sello, podía correr más riesgos. Para ello, grabó el disco No soy de nadie que se deleitaba con baladas pop. Alcanzó el puesto número cuatro, pero lo que es más importante, lo estableció en nuevos mercados como Puerto Rico e incluso Cuba. Aunque Aguilar estuvo de gira casi incesantemente, encontró tiempo para grabar, lanzando Historias de mi tierra en 2005 y Enamorado en 2006, ambos en la línea entre los mariachis y las baladas pop profundamente románticas. El primero aterrizó en el número 14. 2007 vio el lanzamiento de 100% Mexicano (número 16 y ganador del Grammy). Contó con canciones exclusivas en banda estilo mariachi y sinaloense escritas por Marc Antonio Solís, Martín Urieta, Leonel García (de Sin Bandera) y Reily Barba, entre otros. Al año siguiente, Homenaje mostró una colección que vio a su difunto padre como “más que un padre, también un colega, un artista zacatecano que le abrió innumerables puertas en su paso ejemplar por este mundo”. En 2008, Aguilar participó en un evento Grammy U SoundChecks en Los Ángeles. Actuó en vivo y los estudiantes le hicieron preguntas.Aprincipios de la segunda década del siglo, Aguilar lanzó Bicentenario, de producción propia y ganadora de un Grammy, cuyo propósito era celebrar a México a través de algunas de sus canciones más representativas en dos géneros fundamentales de la música tradicional mexicana: la ranchera y la banda. El lanzamiento de Con Mariachi de 2012 fue el vehículo para una gira de conciertos y Aguilar trajo su espectáculo de más de dos horas de melodías tradicionales al continente norteamericano, llenando muchos lugares, incluido el Anfiteatro Gibson en Los Ángeles durante tres noches consecutivas. Más tarde ese año, lanzó el EP Mas de un Camino, ganador de un Grammy, una fusión de ranchera moderna, pop y mariachi que llegó al Top 20 en la lista Top Latin Albums. Al año siguiente, durante un receso de la gira, participó en la serie “A Conversation With” del Museo Grammy en L.A. Live y habló sobre su carrera. Para coincidir con la sesión moderada de preguntas y respuestas, el museo inauguró la exhibición “Pepe Aguilar... La Leyenda Continúa”, que les dio a los visitantes una mirada profunda a la trayectoria musical y vocacional del artista regional mexicano. En octubre de 2013, lanzó Lastima Que Sean Ajenas, ganadora de un Grammy Latino, una magnífica colección de rancheras que alcanzó el primer puesto en la lista de álbumes regionales mexicanos. También fue el foco de un episodio de gran éxito de MTV Unplugged, interpretando 13 de sus canciones más conocidas en varios géneros, desde ranchera hasta rock con su propio grupo y un elenco de invitados ilustres que incluía a Natalia Lafourcade, Miguel Bosé, sus hijos Angela. y Leonardo (también cantantes profesionales), La Marisol (La Santa Cecilia) y otros. El álbum de la banda sonora se colocó dentro del Top Ten en las listas de álbumes regionales mexicanos, pop latino y Top Latin Albums simultáneamente y fue certificado triple platino. Aguilar lo siguió con una gira por América del Norte, del Sur y Central. Después de un breve descanso, volvió al estudio con los coproductores/coescritores Yamil Rezc y los chilenos Francis y Mauricio Duran de Los Bunkers, y entregó un programa de géneros confusos de rock, pop, cumbia, vallenatos, románticas y banda, confiando en que su audiencia lo seguiría. Lo hicieron. Si bien el sencillo de prelanzamiento “Maria” alcanzó el primer lugar en las listas de transmisión, el álbum de larga duración alcanzó el puesto número tres en dos listas de álbumes diferentes. El mismo año editó un recopilatorio homenaje a Pepe Aguilar Interpeta Joan Sebastian. Después de una gira intensiva, Aguilar, profundamente conmovido por la muerte del compositor Juan Gabriel, se convirtió en uno de los muchos artistas mexicanos en emitir su propio tributo en diciembre de 2018 con Fue un Placer Conocerte: Gracias Juan Gabriel, vol. 1.
Stellar Perform At Rise Rooftop Stellar, the Incubus tribute band put on a fine show this night at Rise Rooftop. That’s no surprise to us, Rise Rooftop hardly every books any act in that isn’t the best in their field and Stellar has a reputation for being the best Incubus tribute band in the southern states. Everybody was really stoked to hear them perform one Incubus hit after another. It made for a great night for Incubus fans. (Photos by Greg Holleman)
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The Mark May Band Perform At Green Oaks Tavern In Humble
This night found us at Humble’s hotspot for the Blues, The Green Oaks Tavern. We had dropped by to check out our old friend Mark and his new lineup and they were everything we thought they would be. The show, as we expected was fantastic. Mark and the guys performed selections from Mark’s previous albums as well as a few unexpected covers that were performed to perfection. If you’re looking for the Blues, here’s two great tips..... Green Oaks Tavern.... and The Mark May (PhotosBand!byKevin D. Wildman)
(Photos By Brian Lambert)
Escape Performs At Dosey Doe Big Barn
Dosey Doe Big Barn played host to Houston’s finest Journey Tribute band this night as Escape took to the stage to bring the sounds of Journey to the crowd there. Escape is Bobby Cayton, Tom Calandra, Josh Howe, Wesley Murrell, and Joel Gregoire.
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The Spare Parts Band and Friends Perform At The Concert Pub North (Photos By Greg Holleman)
The Feel Perform At The Gold Club III
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When we’re looking for great Music south of Houston, one of the first places that comes to mind is The Gold Club II in Friendswood. This night The Feel were rockin’ the stage to the tunes of Hendrix (“Hey Joe”), Traffic (“Dear Mr. Fantasy”), ZZ Top (“Blue Jean Blues”0, and Ted Nugent (Stranglehold”) It was a great evening as always, so now you now why we choose “The Gold Club III” in Friendswood. By Kevin D. Wildman)
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Along with the sounds of sizzling burgers at The Burger Ranch this past month, the crowd was treated to the sounds of great Country Music performed by the John Swat Swatner Band. John is a Texas Native and a Iraq War Veteran who returned and decided to make Country Music his calling. Lately John has been working in Nashville on recordings with several renown writers. We’re told that this night he put on a fantastic show here at The Burger Ranch (Photos By Brian
John Swat Swatner Band Perform At The Burger Ranch
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The Hatbox Band Perform at High Volume Music Live The Hatbox Band put on a private show this past month at High Volume Music Live. Guesting with them was Scotti Fraser who you probably remember from The Scotti Fraser Band. (Photos by Greg Holleman)
Another one of our favorite places to check out live music is Katie’s Bar in Bacliff. We’ve been going there for about 10 years now and we’ve seen some of the best shows there. WHether it’s Rock, Country, or the Blues, Katie’s is one of your best choices south of Houston. This night when we dropped by we were treated to a little bit of Country Music by the trio Harmony Creek Band. These guys put on an excellent show and played a little bit of everything. Some of the songs that they performed that night were “Just Call Me Lonesome” by Radney Foster, “The Dance” by Garth Brooks, and “Dixieland Delight” by Alabama. It really made for a great night of Country Music.
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The Harmony Creek Band Perform At Katie’s Bar in Bacliff
(Photos By Kevin D. Wildman)
Victim Perform At Rise Rooftop
One of Houston’s heaviest Hard Rock bands put on a show to be remember this night at Rise Rooftop. Victim has been performing around town for over 30 years now and is without a doubt one of Houston’s most popular Hard Rock acts. This night at Rise Rooftop they put on a show that was without a doubt over the top and will go down as one of their best gigs in years. We’ve been hearing a lot of good things about this show. Check them out whenever you get a chance and we’re sure you’ll become a fan too. (Photos by Brian Lam-
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Houston’s Premiere Foreigner tribute, Double Vision took the Concert Pub North stage by storm and delivered another one of their earth shattering concerts. If you want Foreigner, you’ve got Foreigner. These guys are strictly top notch and alway put on a wonderful show, just like this night. Congratulations goes out to The Concert Pub North for continuing to bring in the best in local entertainment. You’re always guaranteed to a great night of entertainment there. (Photos By Kevin D. Wildman)
Double Vision Perform At The Concert Pub North
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If you like to party inside the Heights area, then make sure you put The Shady Acres Saloon on your list of places to go. They have one of the best backyard party places you’ve ever been too. They also book some of the best talent you’ve ever seen. Every time we’ve been there we’ve had a great time. This night we dropped by to see Line Shack 6 perform. We haven’t seen them before, but they certainly lived up to our expectations for seeing great entertainment there. This night they were cranking out some great Country hits. Some of the songs they performed included “Walking After Midnight” by Patsy Cline, “Fire Away” by Chris Stapleton, and John Denver’s “Take Me Home Country Roads”. Great Band! Great Venue! Great(PhotosEntertainment!!ByKevin D. Wildman)
Line Shack 6 Perform At The Shady Acres Saloon
Another milestone was shared by Houston’s “Grand Lady Of The Blues”, Trudy Lynn. Trudy celebrated her 75th Birthday in true style on stage at The Big Easy, backed by her long-standing band, The Steve Krase Band. Steve actually celebrated his birthday the following night there. We’d have brought you pictures from that, but to be quite honest, they would have looked exactly like the ones here. We’d like to wish Trudy Lynn and Steve Krase both a very Happy Birthday! It was great seeing the two of you on stage together again.
(Photos By Kevin D. Wildman)
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Trudy Lynn Celebrates Her Birthday At The Big Easy
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Under The Son Perform At The 19th Hole
This night we dropped by the 19th Hole to check out the Classic Rock Band, Under The Son. This puts their own twist on these classic old songs with their own take on them and easily make these songs all their own. This night they put on quite a good show. Their raw and unbridled passion for these songs really comes across in the music making every song very enjoyable. They put on a fine show ths night (Photos By Kevin D. Wildman)
Saturate Perform At The Acadia Bar & Grill
(Photos By Kevin D. Wildman)
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Saturate was one of the opening bands last month for the Relevant Saints New Single and Video Release Party. Saturate released their newest album, “The Seperation Effect” not to long ago to rave reviews. The album was well received in the Metal scene in Houston, and the band is constantly working on new songs. Their show this night at The Acadia Bar & Grill was very good and inspiring. Keep your eyes on these guys. One of these days some national label is going to be picking them up. Until then, you can enjoy seeing them in the local Houston clubs.
(Photos By Kevin D. Wildman)
This night we dropped by The Acadia Bar and Grill for the big Relevant Saints New Single and Video Release Party and it was a blast. In The Aftermath was another one of the fantastic openng acts that performed there and they really kicked some ass this night. Their show was really good. Here’s another Metal act that you need to check out before they get signed.
In The Aftermath Perform At The Acadia Bar & Grill
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(Photos By Kevin D. Wildman)
John Waite Performs At Smart Financial Centre
Really, all I can say is “whole lotta what!?!” It was a three act show and maybe he was confined to a somewhat acoustic set, but WTF, the songs were even slower than normal! Perhaps the next time we see him he won’t be confined in an opening position and might be able to let loose with a set that really illustrates the talent he has. We can only cross our fingers.
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Last month, former frontman for The Babys and Bad English, John Waite performed at Smart Financial Centre. I’ve got to admit, I was a little stunned by his set. Here’s a man that had countless hits with both The Baby’s and Bad English, not to mention his solo hits and he hits the stage with only a six-song set. First off let me tell you that he was incredible. He looked great and sounded great, but the song selection was a little worse than awful. He started out with the song “Change”, which was written and performed by a rock band from New York called Spider. It also appeared on one of his solo album. From there he went into the Bad English hit “When I See You Smile.” A couple of his solo songs followed. They were “Bluebird Cafe” and “Missing You.” He did a great job on both of these and then segued into “Midnight Rendevous”, the massive hit by The Baby’s. He then closed his set with the Led Zeppelin classic, “Whole Lotta Love.”
If you’re a Pantera Fan, we’re told that this was the place to be as one of Houston’s hottest tribute bands, Black Tooth Grin TX took to the Rise Rooftop stage to perform one of the finest evenings of Pantera music to be heard. We’ve heard nothing but rave reviews about this show and photographer Brian Lambert was there to capture the moment. Check out these cool pictures! (Photos by Brian Lambert)
Black Tooth Grin TX Perform At Rise Rooftop
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Men At Work Perform At Smart Financial Center
(Photos By Kevin D. Wildman)
The 11-song set started off with “Touching The Untouchables” off of Men At Work’s first album, Business As Usual, followed by “No Restrictions” off their second album, Cargo. Next up was one of the band’s big hits, “Down By The Sea”, off of Business As Usual, that was greeted by a rousing applause by the audience. Then the band was back to the second album Cargo with “Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive”, “No Sign Of Yesterday”, “Overkill”, and “It’s A Mistake.” When the band broke into “Who Can It Be Now,” the big breakout song for Men At Work off of their first album, Business As Usual, the crowd went crazy. No doubt this was the big one that they had been waiting for. Who can forget the wonderful video for this show that was shown in heavy rotation on the fledgling video station MTV. This song was played over and over and over every day back then. “Down Under” followed this as well and the momentum of the songs was just driving the audience crazy. Here’s another song that became a staple under the auspices of MTV. The band concluded their set with another great hit off of Business As Usual, “Be Good Johnny.” As you can see, the band never strayed from their first two albums for this show and it made perfect sense. These songs were the ones most engained in their heads. Yes, without a doubt, this was probably the best set during the entire concert this night. The band just killed it. No doubt somethings get better with age, and Men At Work are the proof of that. The band performed these songs with great energy and conviction.
Without a doubt, the breakout performance at the concert that featured Rick Springfield, Men At Work, and John Waite had to be Men At Work. Colin Hay and the band were nothing less than fantastic putting on a fine show here this night. Colin’s vocals sounded better than ever and the band of musicians that he assembled for this show were equally as impressive. Performing with Colin this night were Jimmy Branly (drums), San Miguel Perez (guitar, backing vocals), Yosmel Montejo (bass, backing vocals), Scheila Gonzalez (sax, flute, keys, backing vocals), and Cecilia Noel (backing vocals). The energy put on this band was equally as impressive. Backup vocalist Cecilia Noel could be seen parading all over the stage and interacting with every musician. Saxophonist Scheila Gonzalez was nothing less than spectacular as she added whatever was needed to every song, whether it be sax, flute, keys or vocals. The incredible San Miguel Perez layed down some really great licks to everyone of the songs there and then the rhythm section of Jimmy Branly and Yosmel Montejo really kept the show traveling at an exciting pace.
Rick Springfield Performs at Smart Financial Center
This night, the headlining act for the concert featuring John Waite, Men At Work and Rick Springfield was Rick Springfield. All I’ve got to say for the most part about the concert is that Rick Springfield is the consumate showman. He hit the stage with a lot of energy, but you could tell there was something a little wrong with him. It turned out that he was sick and had a bad throat, but after all that, he really put on a wonderful show. Maybe his vocals weren’t quite up to par, but hell this guy is 74 years old and although he was sick, he was still bouncing all over the stage like he was in his early 20s. He was really doing a helluva job. With as many hits as Rick Springfield has, you can pretty much know what to expect. He hit the stage running with “Affair of the Heart,” followed by “I Get Excited,” and “Party at the Beach.” He then took a couple of minutes to talk about how he and Sammy Hagar had gotten together to start at Tequila brand together before launching into the Sammy Hagar cover, “I’ve Done Everything For You.” Hit after hit followed during this 12-song set. And as you might be able to guess the closing numbers on this show were his biggest hits. Starting at song eight, he went right into “Love Is All Right Tonite,” followed by “Don’t Talk To Strangers,” “Human Touch,” “Love Somebody,” and then finishing the set with... yes, you guessed it... “Jessie’s Girl.” Despite being ill, Rick indeed put on a fine show. Augmenting his vocals during a few of the songs were the audience. I swear, everybody there knew all the words to the songs and if Rick had a tough time getting them out, it didn’t matter. The audience sang along with him and it really turned out great for everybody. Our hat’s off to Rick for continuing on even though he was a little under the weather. I can’t wait to see him again! (Photos By Kevin D. Wildman)
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