The Doors and Kerouac

I grew up with Kerouac. If he hadn't wrote On the Road, the Doors would have never existed.~ Ray Manzarek

Richards apologizes to fellow Rolling Stone Jagger

Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has apologized to Mick Jagger for derogatory comments he made about the lead singer in his 2010 memoir "Life", which caused a rift within the band.

In comments reported by Rolling Stone magazine, the two rock'n'roll veterans agreed it was time to move on.

Fans will be relieved to see them burying the hatchet, as the row had threatened to undermine plans to celebrate the Rolling Stones' 50th anniversary this year and to go on another world tour.

"Looking back at any career you are bound to recall both the highs and the lows," Jagger was quoted as saying. "In the 1980s for instance Keith and I were not communicating very well.

"I got very involved with the business side of the Stones, mainly because I felt no one else was interested, but it's plain now from the book that Keith felt excluded, which is a pity. Time I reckon to move on."

Richards added: "Mick's right. He and I have had conversations over the last year of a kind we have not had for an extremely long time and that has been incredibly important to me.

"As far as the book goes, it was my story and it was very raw, as I meant it to be, but I know that some parts of it and some of the publicity really offended Mick and I regret that."

An eagerly anticipated world tour by one of the world's biggest music acts is now not expected to happen until 2013 at the earliest, according to the same magazine.

Some industry sources had put the delay down to the argument between Richards and Jagger, but Rolling Stone said it may be more closely linked to concerns over Richards' health.

"The quality of the guitarist's performances declined after he suffered a head injury on vacation in Fiji in April 2006, midway through the Bigger Bang tour," the magazine said.

As well as the tour, the Rolling Stones have announced the July 12 release of a picture book tracing their rise to global fame. The band debuted at the Marquee Club in London's Oxford Street on the same date in 1962.

There will also be a "groundbreaking" documentary film released in September.

(Reuters-Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Steve Addison)

The Flaming Lips’ Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Musical to Debut This Year

The Flaming Lips long-awaited musical Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, based on their 2002 album of the same name, will make its debut later this year at the La Jolla Playhouse, in La Jolla, CA. According to an article on the LA Times Music Blog, the musical will premiere this winter, and will be written and directed by Des McAnuff (Jersey Boys).

In addition to songs from Yoshmi Battles the Pink Robots the musical will also feature songs from albums including The Soft Bulletin and At War with the Mystics.

Yoshimi has been in the works since 2007 when Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network, The West Wing) was confirmed to write its script. However, as the LA Times points out, Sorkin’s name was not included in a press release revealed yesterday by La Jolla Playhouse.

JImi Hendrix in Life magazine March 15,1968

Life Magazine called him the "most spectacular guitarist in the world" on March 15,1968.

The Black Keys Storm Madison Square Garden

By Stacey Anderson, Rolling Stone

The Black Keys pulled something of a bait-and-switch at their Madison Square Garden show on Monday night: they stormed the stage as a quartet, with singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney supplemented by two backing musicians. The band soon proved that they didn't need the additional firepower, though; they cast off the extra players quickly, with a cocksure authority that became the night's theme, and showed unequivocally that they could command the arena alone.

For their first of two sold-out nights at MSG, the Keys remained faithful to their retro-rock ethos of late. The duo's shrewd hour-and-a-half set relied on minimal stage effects, an absence of marquee guests and the rudely heavy riffs of their recent seventh LP, El Camino – the same album that largely eschewed the Keys' blues roots, and not coincidentally, their most successful to date. More than any of the band's preceding material, the songs from El Camino cast a spell over the packed arena as Auerbach wound their hooks into broad, euphoric payoffs.

The Keys' slow-burn success over the past decade has hinged on their egos; longtime underdogs, they exude a kind of triumphal arrogance that was on full display at MSG. The duo opened with the sing-song chirp of "Howlin' for You" (from their Grammy-winning 2010 LP, Brothers), which was impeded by murky sound mixing. It clarified in time for El Camino's "Run Right Back," sped up into a plaintive squeal via the ferocious drumming of Carney, who hunched over his kit and took no solos in the show (no matter to the audience, who howled unabated each time the spotlight landed on him).

 When the band shed their two hired hands (bassist Gus Seyffert and keyboardist John Wood), they hit a stride of ragged, cavernous bombast that belied their numbers; Auerbach's riffs seemed the work of a full cavalry, decadent and drenching the Garden completely, especially on the faithful renditions of El Camino's "Dead and Gone" and "Gold on the Ceiling" and the drawling throwback "Girl Is On My Mind" from 2004's Rubber Factory. This pared-down interlude was the highlight of the set, and a clearly emotional one; the band also offered one nod to their 2002 debut, The Big Come Up, with the swaggering blues cadence of "I'll Be Your Man."

The manic pace was unyielding – the Keys' fervor hardly translates to inert ballads – and it culminated in "Tighten Up," with the Brothers single's roiling pace capped by Auerbach's note-perfect whistling. (Rolling Stone has already extolled his talents.) The band closed out the night with a buoyant, rapturous take on El Camino lead single "Lonely Boy," as Carney hulked over his kit with a determined grimace and Auerbach hopped on one foot in a fitting Chuck Berry allusion, goading the crowd to clap along.

After leaving the stage for a perfunctory few minutes, the pair returned underneath an obscenely large disco ball to deliver the lithe falsetto purr of Brothers' "Everlasting Light" – a song of such featherweight funk that it seemed incongruous when first released, but proved perfectly in sync with the glam inclinations of El Camino and also the Black Keys' powerful vitality at Madison Square Garden. The track wound down the evening as a succinct, poignant statement, a moment in which Auerbach and Carney seemed to assert that they always knew where they were going: straight to the biggest stages in the world.

Who is Mayer Hawthorne?

In the event that you have not yet heard of Mayer Hawthorne, we at The Showbiz Kids wanted to make sure that our readers were aware of this extremely talented and retro-sounding, soul artist.  Mayer Hawthorne (born Andrew Mayer Cohen; February 2, 1979) is an American singer, producer, songwriter, arranger, audio engineer, DJ, rapper and multi-instrumentalist currently based out of Los Angeles, California.  Hawthorne’s sound is certainly reminiscent of some of the great music from the golden era of Motown and Soul, while remaining fresh and new as is evident on his  2nd studio release, How Do You Do.

Cohen took his stage name "Mayer Hawthorne" from a combination of his middle name (Mayer) and the name of the street he grew up on in Michigan (Hawthorne Rd). "Mayer Hawthorne and The County" is a name Cohen often uses when performing or recording as Mayer Hawthorne with other artists.  According to Cohen, "The County" is basically anyone who plays an instrument or sings on his album and “The Country” is also his band when he performs live. 

In addition his solo career, Cohen also performs and records hip-hop under the name “Haircut.” His DJ name, “Haircut,” is an ode to his childhood. He would get upset and throw a tantrum every time he had to get a haircut as a child, so his parents would take him to buy a record to take his mind off the trauma.

Born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan,  Hawthorne moved to Los Angeles in 2008 and was eventually signed to Stones Throw Records by label head Peanut Butter Wolf.  Originally, the Mayer Hawthorne tracks were meant to be just side projects for pleasure, but upon hearing them Peanut Butter Wolf insisted they be made into an album.

Mayer Hawthorne draws influence from the music of Curtis Mayfield, Isaac Hayes, Leroy Hutson, Mike Terry, Barry White, Smokey Robinson and the legendary songwriting and production trio of Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, and Edward Holland, Jr. (known collectively as Holland–Dozier–Holland).  His debut album, A Strange Arrangement was released on CD and Vinyl on the Stones Throw Records imprint on September 8, 2009.

Discussing How Do You Do, Hawthorne says, "I found my own unique sound on this album, which I'm excited about." The album has a vintage sound, which involves twelve '70s inspired tracks, filled with orchestral pop and funky bass lines—"I've taken what I can from the classic heroes of soul and updated it with the music I grew up listening to and loving like Public Enemy and Juan Atkins and Cybotron." Despite Hawthorne's jazz sound, he first found his musical voice in hip-hop and rap from his father, who plays in a band in Detroit, Michigan.

On July 15, 2011, Mayer Hawthorne was a guest, along with famed Memphis/Stax Records keyboardist Booker T. Jones, on Episode 43 of Daryl Hall's "Live from Daryl's House" Webcast. Hawthorne, Hall, and Jones combined with Hall's house band on "Strange Arrangement," "No Strings," "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out," and "Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin' Nothin'" as well as the Hall and Oates classics "You Make My Dreams Come True" and "Private Eyes." During Hall's dinner for the group, Hawthorne stated that, when working as a hip-hop DJ, he began recording his own Motown-style tracks to avoid paying fees for sampling other artists' work. He also played all the instruments on each of those tracks, in addition to recording all his own vocals.

Mayer Hawthorne and The County were musical guests on the Conan O'Brien Show on October 17, 2011, and the David Letterman Show on October 25, 2011. On both shows, the group performed their first single from How Do You Do entitled "The Walk."

Springsteen kicks off the Wrecking Ball tour and a 10year anniversary

Bruce Springsteen celebrated the 10 year anniversary of the satellite radio company Sirius on Friday night at the famous Apollo Theater. Preceding the show Sirius had great interviews with Max Weinberg and Jon Landau, Bruce's longtime friend and manager, while you could hear the sounds at The Apollo in the background.















Bruce Springsteen rocks out at The Apollo Theater
Saturday March 10, 2012 10:10 AM By Glenn Gamboa



Don't worry. It was still a party.

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band's show last night at the Apollo Theater had so much baggage attached – the high expectations for the first full concert since the death of Clarence “Big Man” Clemons last year, as well as the weight of being the first concert in support of the new album “Wrecking Ball” (Columbia) about struggles and celebration in a time of economic hardship. The stakes were even higher as the private two-hours-plus show was broadcast live on SiriusXM, as part of the satellite radio company's 10th anniversary celebration.
But Springsteen and the even mightier than usual E Street Band, now 15 members strong, delivered, dropping the stress as effortlessly as James Brown has shrugged off his cape so many times on the historic Apollo stage. Springsteen recreated the moment during “Hold On, I'm Coming” to end the show, with Steven Van Zandt draping a black t-shirt on his shoulders instead of a cape – the grandest of all the nods he made to playing the legendary venue.

“If you played in a bar on the central New Jersey shore in the ’60s and ’70s, you played soul music,” he explained, before launching in to an impressive version of “The Way You Do The Things You Do,” that opened a capella with lush harmonies from Springsteen and five of the E Street Band's singers. “We knew that way off in some never-never land of rhythm and blues there was a place called the Apollo... It was the home of the gods and the true temple of soul.”
However, as much as he paid tribute to the Apollo, there was even more love for his late saxophone player Clarence Clemons. During “My City of Ruins,” which became far more soulful thanks to the five-piece horn section now led by Clemons' nephew, Jake Clemons, Springsteen declared a roll call, with each member getting introduced and taking a solo. (When Jake Clemons nailed his first solo in “Badlands,” there was a noticeable sigh of relief followed by wild cheers.)
Then Springsteen asked, “Are we missing anybody?” repeating the question until the star-studded audience -- including Tom Hanks, Elvis Costello, and Ben Stiller -- understood he was referring to Clemons and longtime keyboard player Danny Federici, who died in 2008. He led the crowd in a rousing ovation before saying, “If you're here and we're here, they're here.”
During “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out,” Springsteen stopped the song entirely after singing, “The Big Man joined the band” to allow for another huge ovation.
The tributes added another level to the already-layered show. It puts the “Wrecking Ball” album mission statement, “We Take Care of Our Own” into a new context. It makes the epic title track's defiant taunt of “Bring on your wrecking ball” even more emotional and the payoff line, “Hard times come and hard times go” all the more soothing.
“On our new record, our motto is dancing and crying,” Springsteen said, introducing a stunningly spare version of his classic “Mansion on the Hill,” from the 1982 “Nebraska” album, accompanied only by the harmonies of his wife, Patti Scialfa, and Soozie Tyrell on violin. “This one is just crying.”
There was more dancing than crying in the eight songs he rolled out from the new album, though some offered both, especially in “Death to My Hometown” and the gospel-styled “Rocky Ground,” which featured Michelle Moore singing and rapping. Even “Land of Hope and Dreams,” which on previous tours had been cast as more of an emotional plea, has become tougher and more rocking, thanks again to the larger horn section.
The Springsteen classics chosen specifically to support the “Wrecking Ball” economic theme packed the most punch, though. “Promised Land” outlines the same “Wrecking Ball” desire for the American dream, as does “Thunder Road.”
“We've got some old friends and some new friends with us, but our mission remains the same,” Springsteen said early in the night. “We're here to bring the power, hour after hour. We're here to put a whoop-ass session on the recession. We're here to bring a smile to your face, an extra beat to your heart, and to raise your spirits high in these hard times.”
Mission accomplished.
(The "Wrecking Ball" tour hits the Izod Center April 3 and 4 and Madison Square Garden April 6 and 9.)
SET LIST: We Take Care of Our Own / Wrecking Ball / Badlands / Death to My Hometown / My City of Ruins / The E Street Shuffle / Jack of All Trades / Shackled and Drawn / Waiting on a Sunny Day / Promised Land / Mansion on the Hill / The Way You Do The Things You Do / 634-5789 / The Rising / We Are Alive / Thunder Road / Rocky Ground / Land of Hope and Dreams / Tenth Avenue Freeze Out / Hold On I'm Comin'