I got a text a few weeks back from one of my oldest and dearest friends, Stormin. Storm and I roomed together with GP and some other dudes back in college but those records are sealed until twenty-five years after my death. Storm’s text was in reference to Tom Petty’s side project, Mudcrutch and their…
“Time is a jet plane it moves so fast” – Bob Dylan, “You’re A Big Girl Now” I was texting with my drummer friend yesterday. He’d read my review of the RHCP’s new song, “Dark Necessities” and had reached out. Like me, he’s a huge fan of bands with strong rhythm sections like the Who, Rush,…
The thing I love about great rock bands is that you can NEVER count them out! The Red Hot Chili Peppers have had more than their share of setbacks, including the exit of the ultimate Pepper Guitar God John Frusciante. (Thank God I saw them in concert a couple of times w/ Frusciante). Many of…
I love to be pleasantly surprised. I have only seen the Who twice, once in ’89 and again at an exceptional show in 2000 in Denver with my buddy Stormin’. In ’89 they had a huge ensemble on stage with them and they were o.k. In 2000 it was just Daltrey/Townshend/Entwistle (RIP) with Zak Starkey…
I won’t lie, this one took some home work. There are some artists I just think you have to be “ready” for as a listener. Either it’s a maturation of your tastes, or a change in your thinking that causes the re-evaluation of the artist, or maybe something just “clicks.” For me, it’s often just…
“It was a pretty good year for fashion, a lousy year for rock and roll” – Don Henley, “The Garden of Allah” Wow, not again. It appears the music world has once again been turned upside down when Prince was found dead in his home earlier today. I had heard he was ill last week, but…
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve never been a huge fan of the J. Geils Band. I do love the song “I Musta Got Lost” because, as my theory says, every band has one good song. “Flamethrower” was kind of a funky, fun tune, but past that I never got into J. Geils. The lead vocalist…
Here at BourbonAndVinyl we have many theories about music. Unfortunately the excessive thinking we do about music could be classified as “obsessive compulsive.” I truly need to develop some hobbies that don’t involve pouring murky brown liquid into a tumbler and hitting “play” on the stereo. Anyway, I have always believed that if you’re going…
I must pause in the writing to acknowledge the passing of a legend… RIP Merle Haggard. I saw the Hag with Dylan about 10 years ago and frankly I enjoyed Merle more than Dylan. His voice was craggy velvet on whiskey. Haggard and Johnny Cash are all anybody needs to know about country music. Everything…
In the old days, I’d sneak out of school or better yet work and check out what was new at the local record store. I can almost smell the incense burning while the tattoo’d, stoned staff bustled around the store arranging stacks of records. I could spend hours going through the racks and racks of…