Goin’ WIDE With The Beatles

Man, I thought I’d seen it all …Years ago, at the Manor Theatre in Charlotte, I finally coaxed my daddy into letting me see the first Beatles feature, A Hard Day’s Night. The sight of John, Paul, George and Ringo lookin’ “larger than life” on the big-screen was nothin’ less than awesome (even if [...]

Goin’ VoIP, RoCK Style!

Face it … just about every successful rocker/agent/producer/manager/songwriter/etc. is using the new VoIP systems (for the uninitiated, VoIP means “Voice Over Internet Protocol”) … and are really digging some serious and positive results from it!

It has some tremendous advantages, like the ability to transmit more than one telephone call on a single broadband-connected telephone line. [...]

The Rock Revolution Goes To Cincinnati

CINCINNATI. One of the finest river-towns in America is probably best known for the rockin’ WKRP IN (well, you know …) — not for Sixties impact!BUT …without the bright lights and happenin’ venues of C-Town, there’d be a lot missing from the sights, sounds and even political change of that era.
To kick things off, [...]

The Rock Revolution Pt. 13 Rockin’ In The USA

As The Beatles and other British groups were criss-crossing America with their unique brand of rock, it seemed that every kid in the country became part of a rock group in one capacity or another. Some groups that were already performing either changed their formats, names … or, of course, hairstyles.

From Texas, the Sir [...]

Viva … WHAT?!?!

Man, you’ve GOT to be kidding me! Wait … I’ve gotta take a break from the regular blog to say somethin’ here:
Look … Elvis, like Vegas, is not to be messed with! Both are definite wondrous products of this country and have brought joy to millions worldwide! Though Elvis is gone, the [...]

The Rock Revolution — Elements of the Rock

While running the Rock Revolution series, a couple of readers have emailed (not commented) two questions that I thought I’d answered a coupla clicks ago:What REALLY made the ’60s acts so popular? Why can’t today’s acts get the same momentum?Well, let’s get specific elements on your screen:

They were ENTHUSIASTIC … and it showed on [...]

The Rock Revolution Pt 12 — Surf’s Up

Okay … we’ve talked about the beginnings of the British Invasion, and how it actually changed the face of rock-n-roll. And, though the scene, as a whole, needed the “facelift”, there were a few stateside acts that were already carving their own little niche in the genre.

On the West Coast, the surf-and-rod sounds of [...]

the ALZHEIMER’S MEMORY WALK

We’ll return to our ROCK REVOLUTION series shortly. For now, I want to use this post to make a very important announcement:
It’s a sad, humbling scenario: A family member — once so full of life and ideas — now shuffles along, not even remembering who you are. A vacant, imploring stare emanates [...]

The Rock Revolution Pt. 11 — THE INVASION BEGINS

While Rock America was teetering on the brink of superblahdom, the new British groups were picking up steam (and extra bookings) at places like the Star Club and Kaiserkeller in Germany and, of course, the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool. Their records were becoming as big as their live performances. While the blues [...]

The Rock Revolution: WHAT MADE THEM BIG?

While the Beatles are readin’, lemme sneak in here (q-u-i-e-t-l-y!) and give ya a quick peek at why these (and other) groups hit so big with EuroTeens … and, later, in America:
First, the groups were simple in their set-ups. No big “pyros,” giant orchestras, turntables and DJs; just guitars, drumkit and (often) piano. [...]