This ain't no foolin' around...

Welcome back to the next installment of my trip to the Rock and Roll temple that is the Hall of Fame museum. From the lobby, you go down the escalator to the lower level. This is where the largest collection of items that you're allowed to photograph is assembled. Unless noted (usually for song lyrics or pictures), everything you see is the real deal. Down here is Billy Gibbons' Eliminator car (with a request you take pics for personal use only, no posting or sharing), next to Joan Jett's Jaguar. Next to that is the drum kit Alex Van Halen used on Van Halen's 1980 Invasion tour (which I got to see). Kinda amazing he only used it for the one tour and here I am seeing it in person for the 2nd time in 32 years.

There were also circular displays of various guitars, including a Bobby Womack ESP Acoustic from 1975, Sting's Spector NS-2 bass from 1983, a Rick Danko bass from 1995 and this 2000 Strat that belonged to Link Wray;

From there, you finally went into the museum portion. The first of many films you can watch is your first option, this one called "Mystery Train". It's an excellent 12 minute piece that takes you back to the early 1900's, showing clips from Country, Gospel, and Blues players as well as just regular folk, singing songs of the time. During the course of the film, it slowly brings alla these influences together, giving you an excellent set up of how it all came together to become rock and roll.

As much as I hate to keep breaking this into short, seemingly never ending little bits, I'm gonna save the next portion for next time as this was when I truly started to get the chills and being moved by what I was seeing. See ya next time...

What's that funny looking building over there?

Day 2 of our trip was day one of our visits to the RRHOF. We walked from the hotel, down 9th Street (decorated with even more guitars) until we reached the federal building and our first glimpse of the museum. Nestled next to Lake Erie, the humidity rises quite nicely as does the heat for some reason. It also sits next to a science center and Browns Stadium, with a great view of downtown now behind us. Walking into the building, the excitement and spirit of Rock and Roll begins to really hit you. To the right, is the massive gift shop, fulla shirts, hats, novelties, books, and MUSIC. All genres are mixed together, with the inductees split off into a section of their own. To the left, is yet more of these large guitars, including this one;

Also adorning the joint, is quite a few remnants from U2's ZOOTV tour, possibly to compliment the U23D movie (which we saw twice);

Next, we headed off to the membership booth, where we met one of 2 Meagans we would have the pleasure of talking to for the week. A Duet (for 2 entries) membership was in order, since we'd be there for six days and $44 for six days would be insane for entry.

Tune back in tomorrow for the next installment, the MASSIVE lower level and the few remaining pictures I was allowed to take of the museum. And also don't forget to tune into NOTIMEWARP RADIO for great music that brings some ear vibes to alla these pics and words you see here!

Still groovin'...

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...