el-blog-del-rock-n-roll

Hail, Hail, Rock'n'Roll

2011-10-27T21:53:00.001-07:00

The focus of Gimme Shelter is, of course, the Altamont concert, but what have lingered with me are the film's smaller, closer sadnesses

It had been a while since I had seen Gimme Shelter, the 1970 documentary directed by Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin that follows the Rolling Stones' 1969 US tour, from Madison Square Garden through hotel rooms and photo shoots, attorneys' offices and recording studios, culminating in the ill-fated Altamont Free Concert in northern California. Along the way there are donkeys, hippies, Hell's Angels and Uncle Sam hats, and a man with a revolver, stabbed as he attempts to invade the stage.

I found it startling this time. This was perhaps because lately most of the music documentaries I have seen have been cleaner, more conventional affairs – John Scheinfeld's excellent Harry Nilsson: The Missing Beatle, for instance, which interviewed the songwriter's family, friends and associates, and drew on archive footage, home movies and personal photographs to build a portrait.

Gimme Shelter, by contrast, was an example of the Maysles' association with the direct cinema movement, spurning interviews and voiceovers in favour of more spontaneous documentation, letting the action unfold without explicit comment. The camera hovers over the action, a blurred, ill-lit and intimate thing. But what I found most surprising was the way it shook my view of its subject. Of course, the Rolling Stones are a band I love, that I have danced to, driven to, worked to, that I have listened to my entire life, but it's easy to turn bands of their stature into monuments, to forget the fragility, the humanness of them. Instead, they become the Mount Rushmores of rock'n'roll – a blank-faced tribute to their greatness; we remember their size before their frailty.

Gimme Shelter made these musicians life-sized again. It was in the dirt beneath their fingernails, in the hole in the right toe of Keith's snakeskin boots, in all of the velvet, steady swigs of liquor and the thrum of a helicopter taking off into the dark, night air.

The focus of the film led, of course, to that December day at the Altamont Speedway, to the 300,000 people spilling towards a free concert, hoping for a Woodstock West; to the performances by the Flying Burrito Brothers, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and, as the sun went down, the Stones. It was an eventful day: drink, drugs and car thefts, peace signs, fights, arrests, altercations, four births and four deaths – one of which, the fatal stabbing of 18-year-old Meredith Hunter by a member of the Hell's Angels, was the headline tragedy.

Yet what have lingered with me are the film's smaller, closer sadnesses. There is a scene in which the band travel to Alabama to record Wild Horses in the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. It took three days to record: the melody stirred up by Keith Richards and Gram Parsons, the lyrics coined by Richards and Jagger, the chorus – so legend holds – written in the studio toilets.

Richards has spoken about the song's beginnings, of the sadness of going back on the road after the birth of his son Marlon, of "being a million miles from where you want to be". And he spoke of how it took on a different shade in the hands of Jagger, recently abandoned by Marianne Faithfull. "I wrote this song because I was doing good at home with my old lady," Richards said, "and I wrote it like a love song. I just had this 'Wild horses couldn't drag me away,' and I gave it to Mick, and Marianne just ran off with this guy and he changed it all around, but it's still beautiful."

The scene shows the band listening back to the song in a half-lit room. The camera takes in Charlie Watts' mouth, the empty Coke bottle perched on the stereo, Richards rolling his head back against the sofa, mouthing the words. It brings a new light to this band, this song, one coloured by the ashen tinge to their skin, the dark circles beneath their eyes, by the way Jagger sniffs, just once, at the opening line, the way he presses a bottle to his lips, runs the liquor over his teeth, and with the song's final notes, fans his hands wide, in a slow, soft mingling of sadness and pride.

Source http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2011/oct/27/hail-hail-rock-n-roll-gimme-shelter?newsfeed=true

Saskatoon's the Sheepdogs land cover of Rolling Stone

2011-08-02T01:33:00.000-07:00

Sure, they won a contest that made them rock stars literally overnight with a Rolling Stone magazine cover and major label deal with Atlantic Records, but Saskatchewan rockers The Sheepdogs have long been preparing for their chance to shine.

Since 2006, the band has been consistently touring, self-releasing albums and toiling in the rock 'n' roll trenches. "We've been working hard for a long time," said the band's grateful frontman Ewan Currie. "We're doing our best to stay humble and hard-working, we feel very blessed. All we needed was the attention."

Fellow indie rockers would agree. Evidence of the band's respected pedigree came in a Montreal café just minutes after the Sheepdogs were officially announced as winners of the Do You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star? contest on Monday.

Tracking down the in-demand band for a quick interview via the usual channels was proving challenging, but a chance café run-in with Montreal musicians Josh Trager (who plays drums in the Sam Roberts band) and Liam O'Neil (formerly of the Stills, now a frequent collaborator of Broken Social Scene and Sam Roberts) proved fortuitous.

Appreciating The Sheepdogs's musicianship -- all these bands had played Montreal's Osheaga festival just a few days prior -- Trager and O'Neil located a contact for the band. Minutes later, Ewan Currie called.

"My cell phone has been vibrating off the hook since this happened," said Currie, speaking from the lobby of his New York hotel. "We've known for a while but haven't been able to talk about it until, like, forty minutes ago!"

The Sheepdogs and their rock 'n' roll sound (not to mention their shaggy beards and long hair, very ‘70s rock vibe) emerged victorious among the competition's sixteen finalists -- all unsigned acts.

At the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee in June, it came down to a showdown between The Sheepdogs and California singer/songwriter Leila Broussard, who is the contest's runner up. Rolling Stone readers voted to choose the winner.

And so, their five-song digital EP, Five Easy Pieces, comes out Tuesday and the band performs that same night on NBC's Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.

As for their Rolling Stone cover, it hits newsstands Friday and is featured on a massive billboard in New York's Times Square. Currie is especially excited that the Sheepdogs will be opening for Kings of Leon on part of that band's upcoming tour.

So how did this all happen? As Currie tells it, the Sheepdogs ended up in the contest when a music industry fellow named Joel Carrier (now their manager) passed along their music to Atlantic Records, who opted to include The Sheepdogs in the initial selection of 1200 competing bands.

For Currie and his bandmates (guitarist Leot Hanson, drummer Sam Corbett and bassist Ryan Gullen) seeing their dreams come true has been a surreal trip so far. "The music industry has changed so much that there's no set way of proceeding," Currie said. "There's not a formula you follow, like for other careers. You have to sort of jump on any opportunity that comes along and this has been a godsend for us."

As to those who may mistake the Sheepdogs for another reality show-type overnight success story, Currie feels it's understandable some people might make that assumption. "It just means they're not looking at the whole story," he said. "If you're going to get widespread attention you might have to take a little heat as well and that's fine. We're not going to be universally loved by everyone. Even the Beatles had their critics."

Source http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/saskatoons-the-sheepdogs-land-cover-of-rolling-stone/article2116451/

Shoot a video to get into rock 'n' roll marathon

2011-03-30T21:52:00.000-07:00

Seattle Southside Visitor Services (www.seattlesouthside.com), the official tourism department for the cities of Tukwila, SeaTac, Kent and Des Moines, announces a Facebook Video Contest to win entry to the third annual Dodge Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon & 1/2 Marathon benefiting the American Cancer Society(r) taking place on Saturday, June 25, 2011.

Last year's Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon sold out in April with 28,000 marathon and half marathon runners, an estimated 118,000 spectators and generated approximately $35 million in economic impact for the region. Runners hoping to participate in the race this year are encouraged to submit a three-minute video to the Seattle Southside Facebook page (www.facebook.com/seattlesouthside). The three videos with the most "Likes" will win an entry to either the full or half marathon. The contest will be live April 1-30, 2011 and the race is very likely to sell out in that timeframe.

"Last year was the first year we held the Facebook Video Contest and we had such great results we wanted to do it again," said Katherine Kertzman, director of Seattle Southside Visitor Services. "The contest is our way of helping people insure their spot in the event, which typically sells out weeks in advance. The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon offers something for everyone and it is wonderful to see how creative people can be when submitting their videos."

Anyone is eligible to enter the Facebook Video Contest and there is no purchase necessary. To participate, people should create a three-minute video explaining why they are deserving of an entry to the race. The longer a video stays on the Seattle Southside Facebook page the more votes participants can earn. For complete contest rules and regulations, please visit www.seattlesouthside.com or Seattle Southside's Facebook page.

Source http://www.federalwaynews.net/2011/03/30/news/shoot-video-get-rock-n-roll-marathon

Rock 'n' roll to be celebrated in style

2011-03-15T20:46:00.000-07:00

Our society has become accustomed to getting "the news" right here, right now.

We have done so through the advent of the instant replay button of digital communication. And what we see and get from it frequently amazes. Sometimes it adds value to our lives. Or offends.

iPhone, iPod, iMac, and for that matter i-almost-everything-else, are more than just accepted; to their makers' eternal joy – I am sure – digital technology's progeny have become seemingly indispensable survival items for today's young person. And through them all the world has become a stage.

There was a time when my parents – each typical post World War 1 conservative, hard-working, community-focused individuals – observed and studied the times in which they lived through newspapers, radio, and our fabulous local library in Petone.

Then, suddenly, in the 1950s their world went to rack and ruin. Rock 'n' roll arrived.

Good taste seemed, to them at least, to fly out the window. I was forced for reasons of self-preservation to keep my lime green and burnt orange party garb out of Mum's sight. After-school homework collaboration "sessions" with peers up at Elbe's Milk Bar in High St with its shiny Wurlitzer jukebox assumed a place in our lexicon of those times.

War raged in Vietnam. Protest barged off our university campuses on to the streets. And rock 'n' roll was the glue that bound us together as we struggled to make sense of it all, and get through.

Pat Teal, a Rose City rock and roller, recalls of her teenage years: "Never will forget that jiggly stiletto-heel walk. Train to town and tram up to the [Wellington] Town Hall. The huge sounds of Johnny Devlin; and the coffee bars, especially Suzie's in the old Majestic Theatre building. It was both magic and amazing, and we lived it for all it was worth."

Capturing and re-creating the colour, noise and excitement of those vibrant and challenging times is what Palmy's Rose City Rock and Roll Revival Club will be leading, as members celebrate its 25th anniversary next month.

And you can get to party along with it too, at the Retro Dine and Dance with its '50s era party theme in High Flyers on Friday, April 22, then again at Square Affair's Rock and Roll High School Hop on Saturday, April 23, in the Ballroom, B&M Centre at the Arena. Those attending the hop will be entertained by Gerry Lee, in what promises to be a full and exciting evening's programme.

Tickets for both the Retro Dine and Dance and High School Hop are available from i-SITE in The Square.

Source http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/tribune/4774544/Rock-n-roll-to-be-celebrated-in-style

'People You Know' Still Like That Old Time Rock 'n Roll

2011-02-21T02:04:00.000-08:00

The crowd spills outside South Miami's Casa Larios restaurant. The parking valet is overwhelmed with Mercedes, BMWs, and a Porsche or two. The outdoor eating area is buzzing. Inside, it's three-deep at the bar, and getting a table is impossible -- the dance floor can't contain the crowd. Couples dance between tables and later in the evening, on chairs.

Its a pretty wild scene, especially considering most in the crowd are over fifty, many are in their sixties, and one wouldn't have to look to far to find a great-grandmother or grandfather.

In the house are jamming rock band 'People You Know.' Most members are veterans of Miami's 60's-70's rock scene, when they played in bands that enjoyed major popularity. In those days, local bands like Coke, Babe, and The Antiques produced excellent musicians that went on to form groups like the Miami Sound Machine and staf bands like Malo. They produced records, played everything from high school proms to, in the case of Carlos and Victor Angulo, opening slots for The Rolling stones.

The crowd is full of doctors and lawyers, and a former U.S. Ambassador has been spotted. There are architects, powerful politicos, and plenty of the once-kids-now-adults who were fans four decades ago. The band is no exception: there is a sign company executive, a lawyer, an executive in a Fortune 500 company, and an engineer/architect all pounding out the hits from back in the day.

Lead singer David Bruce is the youngster of the group, and he claims he's not as young as he seems. "Playing with these guys is like being with rock 'n roll royalty," he says.

Carlos Angulo fondly remembers the tour with the Stones. He had just gotten married, and was on his honeymoon: "It was an experience we will never forget."

Gabby Sanchez, a rock 'n roll kid back in the 70's, laughs when asked about the old popular saying back in the day, "Never trust anyone over the age of 30." Sanchez looks around from behind his drum set, studies the band and crowd, and proclaims, "I guess we can't trust anyone over 65!"

The band breaks into Del Shannon's "Runaway" and segues with the Stones' "Brown Sugar,' then comes right back with "Good Lovin'." The usually sedate Casa Larios throbs with the music; there is a dance floor frenzy. Bartenders can't keep up with the orders, waiters struggle to get plates to the table. This is a crowd not short on cash, and serious about reliving an important part of their youth.

"What was it like when they said let's get together again?" Victor Angulo smiles. "I left music for ten years. Little by little i started getting back into it and I am really enjoying it."

P.Y.K., as fans and group members call the band, play a couple of times a month: outdoor events like First Friday in Coral Gables, Art on the Mile, and every month or so at Larios. They generate a buzz about the band promoting their events on Facebook and Twitter. And whenever they play, there's a built-in following of at least a couple hundred hardcore fans.

"We are more popular than ever," says Sanchez from behind his desk in a well-appointed Kendall law office.

Indeed, that seems to be the case, as these guys can still "bring it" forty years later and draw the crowds to prove it.

Hank Tester will have more from People You Know during the 11 p.m. news hour Sunday night.

Source http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local-beat/This-is-serious-old-time-rock-n-roll-116562113.html

VH1 crowns an unlikely king of rock

2011-02-10T23:45:00.001-08:00

A portrait of an unrelenting rocker at 65, the documentary "Lemmy" (11:30 p.m., VH1, VH1 Classic and Palladia) reaches levels of poignance and even pathos. And it has some "Spinal Tap" moments of comedy as well.

Never married and rather proud of avoiding domesticity, Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister lives in a rent-controlled apartment near the Sunset Strip surrounded, if not entombed, by a lifetime of collectibles and trash.

He spends hours at a stretch playing a trivia video game at the rock-and-roll bar while milking Jack Daniels and Cokes.

A gruff-looking troll of a man with an gravelly delivery and a nearly incomprehensible Welsh accent, Lemmy maintains an unchanging style that is a grab-bag blend of greaser, biker, cowboy and showman. His influences are as disparate and deep as those of rock 'n' roll.

He has inspired generations of musicians and many are on hand here to sing his praises and jam with the godfather, if not the inventor, of heavy metal and thrash metal.

The film is crowded with interviews with musicians Dave Grohl, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Joan Jett, Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osborne, Slash, The Clash's Mick Jones, Joy Division/New Order's Peter Hook, IceT, David Navarro, Pulp's Jarvis Cocker, as well as actor/musician Billy Bob Thornton and professional wrestler Triple H.

All contend that he's not only a musical inspiration but a living embodiment of the rock-'n'-roll lifestyle. His ability to keep performing while maintaining a staggering appetite for sex, drugs, nightlife and gambling leave even these hard-livers astounded by his endurance, not to mention his survival.

For his part, Lemmy does not like to celebrate choices that took the lives of so many of his friends, including Jimi Hendrix, who was Lemmy's boss back when he was a roadie for the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

A veteran of several hard rock and psychedelic bands, who knew the Beatles and saw them play at the Cavern Club, Lemmy never succumbed to the glitz and glamour that made so many of his contemporaries so respectable.

He'll never be knighted like Mick Jagger or Sir Paul, but he's already got a title. "(Blank) Elvis and Keith Richards," says the Foo Fighters Dave Grohl. "Lemmy's the king of rock and roll."

Viewers get a chance to affect the outcome of the new cosmic series "Bar Karma" (10 p.m., Current TV). In each episode a character walks into a bar set at the end of the universe, a cosmic purgatory where they take stock of their pasts and decide their next step in a life of endless possibility.

Audience members are invited to a website ( www.current.com/studios ) where they can throw in their own two cents about the next step and even the music on the bar's jukebox. The 12-episode series starring William Sanderson ("Lost") was created by Will Wright (creator of the Sims and SimCity).

Source http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110211/ENTERTAIN/102110308

Rock ‘n Roll Marathon to Raise Funds for “TASK”

2011-01-24T21:42:00.000-08:00

When thousands of runners take to the streets for the first “Solutia St. Louis Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon” next October, they’ll be raising funds for a local group that helps ‘special kids’ play team sports and learn life skills.

In addition to Solutia being introduced as the title sponsor of the event Monday, TASK was introduced as the benefitting charity.

TASK stands for Team Activities for Special Kids. Founder Deb Freund says that in 15 years, her organization has gone from 27 kids playing t-ball, to over 800 playing 13 sports and participating in several clubs, “They want to have friends. They want to participate on a team, know what it’s like to score a goal, know what it’s like to be able to do the different activities and do well. It’s priceless for them just to feel like they belong.”

TASK is a special partner for Solutia CEO Jeff Quinn, whose daughter Grace has been an athlete there for over a decade, “What you see is social growth. Special needs children have the same desire as all kids do to have those social interaction opportunities and to watch the kids grow socially has been very rewarding.”

Freund says the money raised by the marathon will help TASK build its own facility in southwest St. Louis County, which will allow it to serve up to five thousand children.

The Rock ‘n Roll Marathon, which will feature bands, cheerleaders and other events every mile along the route, is scheduled for October 23.

Source http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2011/01/24/rock-n-roll-marathon-to-raise-funds-for-task/