Go East, Music Man...

Finally a chance to settle in and talk about my trip the the Temple that is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The museum was a center piece of a revitalization of Cleveland and quite a successful one at that. The city has totally backed the museum, as is evident as soon as you get offa the plane. Before you leave the terminal, you're great by one of MANY large guitars that are painted by a wide variety of artists. Following that, is about 20 or so reproductions of concert posters. Very difficult to try and look at while you hafta go chase down your bag...

We stayed downtown, nearby the museum. Everywhere you went, you were surrounded by these giant guitars. I confess to not doing too much reading of the plaques accompanying the guitars. It was really enough just getting your pictures and heading to the museum. I'll post some more of those pics and some of the pics I got outside and just inside of the museum next post, which won't be too far off into the future...

Still groovin'...

Old school it is...

Remember what I was saying about photo policies at concerts being more relaxed these days? Well, someone forgot to mention that to the peeps at Wild Horse Pass Casino in Chandler AZ. After asking several of the wrong people the photography policy, I was finally told NO CAMERAS WHATSOEVER. The ticket also throws in "no sound recording devices" for good measure. Los Lobos is a very fan friendly band. They're cool with pics, let people set up recording equipment (ala Grateful Dead, Black Crowes), and they even come out to sign autographs and take pictures after the show. So, I was more than a bit bummed having come out with 2 cameras to find out no pictures. If you get clearance ahead of time, you can get a pass (not sure the particulars or restrictions). I go to my seat and a few minutes later, this guy sits next to me with a camera, with a zoom lens no less! He had talked his way by the people at the front and had his camera and no special pass. He took pics for the first coupla few songs before security came over and told him to knock it off. Meanwhile, others were taking pics here and there with phone and hand held cameras. Security did talk to some of those people but not all. I still wasn't gonna push anything. I didn't buy a ticket to get hassled or thrown out over some pics. Music first! By the time they hit the encore though, I thought it was time to sneak some in. Not having time to properly set my camera settings, the pics were pretty underwhelming. Nothing was tightly focused and some were even blown out in the bright spots. This was the best I could salvage from the show and it leaves a bit to be desired (yes, I was sitting that close);

It's a shame, having the opportunity to take some great stage shots with only one row of people in front of me but, what the hell. The main point, as mentioned earlier, was the show, and it was GREAT! I've never walked away disappointed from a Los Lobos show and this night was no exception. They came out with a coupla semi acoustic numbers and then just rolled the rest of the evening. They were joined onstage for a few numbers by Marcos Reyes from War.

I did end up hanging out to talk to the band and get autographs after the show. It was here I got the best photo of the night:

Still groovin'...

Up on the wall...

A quick little post as I anxiously await seeing Los Lobos perform tonight, for what I believe will be the 6th time, tying them for the most times I've seen any band. Picture taking policies have changed a bunch since my first concert 34 years ago. Now, it's just a matter of what kinda camera I'll be able to bring in to the show.

Speaking of picture taking, I'd say I have about 97% of my posters and music shirts photographed now. There's still some posters in a large box with my memorabilia goodies and some stuffed in record sleeves I had forgotten about. I know of a few shirts I didn't see while photographing the bulk a few weeks back so I suspect there's another bag or box floating around somewheres... Next week is when I REALLY hope to have everything photographed and posted and ready to be offered up for display in exhibitions or museums. I still don't have a lotta leads on where to do this but I need to finish the picture taking and cataloging first. Next week's the goal 'cause the following week will take me to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for maximum education, research, and enlightenment, as well as some good ol' entertainment. If all goes well, I may have some leads on how and where to display my goods. So, that's what's happening here. Next up should be some Los Lobos pics. If not, talk to y'all next month!

Back to the old days (sorta)...

After a long, long wait, ZZ Top has finally released some brand new material. The four song EP 'Texicali' was released on itunes today as a sampler to the still un-named full CD release later this year. The buzz around 'Texicali' (as most ZZ Top releases going back to 1989) is that they've gone back to "the ol' ZZ Top 'Tres Hombres' sound". Really, that's never been the case. Now, I don't mean that in a negative way whatsoever. I've been a huge fan for a long time and enjoyed alla their releases. I find it funny how the fans continue to clamour for the old sound and the band keeps saying "here it is". These guys are far too hip to go alla the way back to a sound from 40 years ago. Critics and fans alike have been really missing the boat though, on what the band's been doing since the synth-boogie days of the late 80's. Each release has been more stripped down than it's predecessor, while still staying on toppa what's going on in modern technology. 'Rhythmeen' and 'XXX' were blues-rock masterpieces that nobody really bothered to notice. 'Mescalero' seemed like the band finally said 'screw it' and just went with what they felt like. The four songs on 'Texicali' take us back to the good ol' days of 'Rhythmeen' and 'XXX' in style and sound somewhat too. The mix sounds a little bit more straight ahead (a Rick Rubin trademark) without too much else thrown in. "I Gotsta Get Paid" seems to have a little more originality to it than the others, stretching out a bit more than they have in a while. "Over You" does kinda go back to the early ZZ Top style, reminding me of one of my favorites "Sure Got Cold After the Rain Fell". While I don't think "Over You" quite hits that high of a mark, it's still nice to be taken back to that era. This song does have a bit o' strings/synth flavor tucked discreetly in the background. Does 'Texicali' for tell of a great CD to come? Dunno... hard to say. If the other tracks continue in that late 90's vein and the band stretches out on a good 5 or 6 or 7 minute track or two, throw in some serious blues... yeah, we could have something here. I'm just glad to have them back...

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Take it to da Hall...

In my continuing quest to avoid returning to life in a box, I continue to photograph my various memorabilia in hopes to put it on display out there somewhere. I have planned a trip to the one and only Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. The idea is to examine what's on display and how it's displayed (ie. casing, framing, etc.). I've got so many cool little items and think it would be beneficial to see how the pros do it. With a no photograph policy at the hall, I will be reduced to Rock and Roll nerd status, pen and notebook in hand. I dunno... maybe I can take a hand held cassette recorder and take verbal notes, looking like the ultra-hip retro music reporter. I'll be out there a week so I can also enjoy the museum as well and not make it an entire research mission. I'll post more here and there as the trip nears, with a report on return as well. I have yet to see the 2012 induction, despite HBO's best efforts for viewing opportunities. It's on the DVR, awaiting viewing and editing. It'll be surreal watching the Beastie Boys induction, with the passing of Adam Yauch. Admittedly, I've really only been a BB fan within the last handful of years. I've had a CD or 2 for a while but those eventually led to me exploring more and more. It's been tough lately with alla these passings. Losing Duck Dunn really hurts too. More to come...

WHO WENT TO CHURCH THIS SUNDAY

WHO WENT TO CHURCH THIS SUNDAY, a photo by NOTIMEWARP MUSIC on Flickr.

Cool to see this entire concert released by Stones archives. Statute of limitations allows me to tell the story of this acquisition;

It was, I think, 1981, and I was a a street fair. Me and a friend went into this used book and record store to look around. Quite naturally, I started with the Stones section. I came across this record and saw in the bottom right corner "watch for part two: 'Charlie Watts and His Fabulous Rolling Stones' ". I had read in a Stones book about this other bootleg and was more interested in that one for the song selection. So, I took the record up to the counter and asked if they had this other record. The clerk told me no and went to help another customer. Alright, cool. Suddenly, in a very uncharacteristic moment, I looked at the clerk, then the door of the shop, back to the clerk, and then whispered to my friend if I should walk out with the record! Now, I've never been the criminal type. Always way too afraid of getting caught and a really terrible liar to boot. But, for whatever reason, I wanted to take this record home free of charge. And, ya know, what the hell, right? Bootlegs are stolen from the artist so if I steal the record, the bootlegger doesn't make anything either. Didn't really think about the fact that the store probably paid for it but, they shouldn't be selling it either, right? I mean, as a fan, I'm kinda glad they do because then you have something only a select number of people have. And it's not like I'm gonna reproduce it for profit. So, out the door I went. After the initial rush subsided, I thought "Well, hell... if I woulda known I was gonna get away with that, I shoulda grabbed the double San Fransisco Stones bootleg instead!"

The concert itself was pretty great. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is just unreal on this record and the version of "Wild Horses" is really unique itself. Check out the Stones Archive site and download the concert or one of the others they have. Great stuff from the Stones!

So collectable...

A little over a month now of live broadcasting and I wouldn't say that NOTIMEWARP RADIO's setting the internet on fire. In this day and age of ipods, clouds, and Pandora, people tailor their listening to specifically what they wanna hear. And who can blame them? The music industry (labels and FM radio) really drove everyone away by shoving the same crap down everybody's throats alla the time. I haven't listened to FM radio in over 3 years except for a peak just for my own amusement every now and then, and they're STILL playing the same songs! One problem they started that does carry over to the personal listening approach is how does one get turned on to new music? Yeah, there's a lotta different outlets out there to explore (to say the least) but, really, there's almost too many. Now, as much as I don't like Pandora ('nother story, 'nother time), it has turned me onta some pretty cool stuff. It's not without it's advantages. Turning people onta music while listening to music I like has been the premise of NOTIMEWARP RADIO. While my tastes are a tad eclectic, it is for the most part groove orientated, so there is a common thread in there. While alla this radio stuff makes for a cool hobby and good intentions of turning people onta stuff, with alla the competition out there, I'm gonna make a slight adjustment to the format (while there aren't that many people to upset by the change). You may or may not have noticed some of the cool stuff I've collected and photographed for my Flickr page . I started collecting around the mid/late 70's and never really stopped. Along with records, tapes, CD's, I also collected the stuff most fans do; posters, buttons, programs, concert shirts, post cards, books, magazines, etc. Now, I've amassed a pretty decent collection over the last 35 years or so. While a small portion of it is on display in my apartment, most of it is contained in boxes and plastic bags. Seems kinda a waste, don't it? I'm NOT interested in selling any of it, but what'd be really cool is to display it for fun and profit and just good ol' educational purposes. So what I've decided to do is shift the emphasis to the Flickr page and hopefully build interest there to people that are interested in displaying some of these items for the public to come and see. The radio station will be (to an extent) an audio accompaniment to that. Most of the items will have music corresponding on the station. I'll still keep a good variety of tunes on there since a lotta my stuff would fall into the Classic Rock category. Plus, I don't want it to be dominated by artists I've have a lotta items from. It'll still be, I think, one of the coolest sounding radio stations out there so I do hope everyone checks in for a while time to time! Still groovin'...