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Feb

The Livitation Acts in the Crystal Ballroom by Floater

Categories: Entertainment, Event, Music and Rock
Tags: 90's, Alternative, Alternative Rock, An apology, Celebration, Centennial, Concert, Crystal Ballroom, Danny Boy, David Amador, Five To One, Ghost In The Making, Helter Skelter, In transition, Light Ir Up, Live, Matadors, Music, Peter Cornett, Plastic Baby, Portland, Robert Wynia, Rock, Weightless

Floater at the Crystal Ballroom

On my way to Seattle and after leaving my friends in San Francisco I thought it would be novel and fabulous to spend a night in Portland to take in this magical city. There are similarities of Portland to Seattle but I find the topography a little more intense, more compressed, with the different bridges spanning the various water ways and the mountainous terrain set against the modern city’s architecture offer stunning views. On my frist drive through I found it to be dramatic and picturesque. This being my second visit to Portland I wanted to lock on to the for the night. I decided settled in a downtown motel for the evening with my sights on tuning in on the local night life.

After a few hours of reconstituting myself in the motel room I decided to make my way out and explore downtown Portland. Being famished and restless I had fine dinning and entertainment on my mind. I’m sure I spent the better part of an hour crisscrossing the grid of Portland trying to get a sense of the city by sniffing out where the action might be. My conclusion on my party skills was, “I still got it!” The meaning of this statement is I can still localize and suss out the cool stuff on a whim, like radar. I settled on neighborhood that an urban grid, that also included random diagonals that cross streets amidst old brick buildings. There were quaint cafes, hipstery shops and groovy dive bars shine and glow with burning neon that’s engulfing the active street life. I circled the area till I found the right parking situation and I began the defining hunt for coolness in earnest.

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The area was perched on a slops of the city and as I rounded the corner I saw the first evidences of alternative culture. People were hanging on the sidewalks, bundled up in thrift store chic and alternative gear. They were smoking cigarettes and weed in small clusters, while a line lingered near the of a rather historic looking old brick facade. At the time I was unaware of the Crystal Ballroom, which has been a local bastion of entertainment, surviving for nearly a hundred years with the venue celebrating its centennial. I drifted down near the door. I was a bit famished but more interested in what was going on with the people so dutifully waiting outside the door of this grand old establishment. I asked a young lady with her mother what was going on. Without hesitation she declared they were attending a Floater concert. We had a short chit chat and she and her mother recommended I should attend in the most enthusiastic manner. It so happened that the Crystal Ballroom was celebrating “100 Nights” as part of their centennial anniversary. Floater was playing the 82nd night that would lead up to the culmination of the hundredth show performance on January 21, 2014.

After clearing the Crystal Ballroom’s threshold I headed up 3 flights of stairs to the grand ballroom. It was truly grand! Smoochknob was delivery a rockus alternative blend of Punk and New Metal. They were working the scary tough look but seemed to be big ole sweethearts, as they delivered a fierce throbbing and pounding set drenched searing guitar riffs. The drummer was the singer and he held the center stage. He was big guy sporting a shaggy mohawk. He had a lot of presence for a drummer. They were a manic group, roaming the stage grouping and disbanding to incite the audience with classic guitar showmanship, while actively engaging the fans for a lively energized set. They powered through to the end, properly warming everyone up for the oncoming performance by Floater.

Floater, now being long in the tooth with a devoted fan base, enter the stage in a very professional focused low-key manner pulling on and messing with their gear. There was the shuffling and slow positioning of the band members to their spots after a number of fan outburst of roars and cheers. These flurries of anticipation peaked in pandemonium when lead singer Rob Wynia moved to the mic and fellow band mates, Pete Cornett and Dave Amador, broke into the beginning of their set, firing off with the song Cinema. Before all this mayhem broke loose I had befriended a gentleman named Doug Griffith. Doug was the ultimate Floater fan. He recounted, to me, seeing Floater over one hundred times. He filled me in on some details of Floater by enlightening me regarding the band’s musical style and history. What it didn’t prepare me for was the out of control antics of their fan base. I was close to the front and to my right of the stage, when all hell broke loose! There was wave after wave of human flesh struggling and flailing appendages coming in my direction. It was posing a problem for my photographing the band and receiving some potentially serious personal injury and camera damage in the process. I’m a veteran of the Hardcore Punk scene from the 80’s, so the violence wasn’t out of hand or malicious, just very physically enthusiastic! The band laid out solid alternative Rock that blew the Crystal Ballroom up from the first song. The new song called “Light It Up” rumbled and then softened to a flow that led the mid-tempo “In transition”. The first 3 songs kind of encapsulated Floater’s sound. Doug informed me that they were well known for drifting into etherial and moody slower placed breaks mid-song. This is clearly how Light It Up had moved in and out of different tempos. There was an ever so subtle homage to a Pink Floyd vibe in their instrumentals during these slower tempo breaks. Nothing you could put a finger on, but hinting to such an inspiration and an undertow. Unlike Smoochknob, Floater tends to be more aloof and mystical in an arty way. At the beginning of “An apology” the band engaged a mind blow laser light show that was occasionally bathed in smoke. The band continued through their set with fan favorites like: Ghost In The Making, Weightless, Plastic Baby, Matadors and Danny Boy. The crowd ate it up and savored every song to move like marionettes toFloater’s charged mayhem with the intense songs and hypnotically swayed to the ethereal moments. The band retired the stage amongst the howls and cheers. These howls and cheers grew louder daring Floater to return and lay out some more jams. The fans weren’t disappointed when Floater reentered the stage to bring things to a ferocious conclusion with a medley of Helter Skelter/Five To One bringing the house down!

It was an amazing night in a great city of the North West. I finished the evening off downstairs and a little further down the street and around the corner where I entered Ringlers Pub. I finished the night with a tasty post concert beer and a rather delicious burger. It was all low-key delivered with a North West Alternative no worries attitude that turned out to be a surprising joyous exclamation mark to a very cool entry to Portland’s night life. A great band and a vital city that hit it on all the right notes!

Floater Photo Gallery at the jump Continue reading ‘The Livitation Acts in the Crystal Ballroom by Floater’

Apr

J Devil Spins A Top The Cahuenga Corridor At Dim Mak Studios

By billybennight Leave a Comment

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Let ‘s saunter down memory lane for a little history of the Cahuenga corridor as I move to my story of J. Devil‘s DJ set and KoЯn’s The Path To Totality listening party. My mind glides to the dark part on Ivar where an old brick warehouse, now known at Space 15 Twenty, was used by Taime Downe of Faster Pussycat and Ricky Rachtman, both put together this badass party full of Rockers and Scensters of the period, that included Motley Crew and members of the Pandoras. In a secret room the members of the Crew were sticking to the Porn Stars while those on the outside sucked down booze from the bar. I remember stealing a bottle of Tequila, I was essentially caught, but I owned it and walked away with the spirit of giving bouncing around in my head. The Tequila proved a little strong for me after a recent incident where Tex of Tex and the Horseheads challenged or taunted me into downing a fifth of “Takillya” leading to me vomiting and passing out on the floor of my Hollywood apartment. In the course of the night’s events I ran into Melanie Vammen of the Pandoras and passed it on to her, much to her glee! You could say that’s my first blurry night in the Cahuenga corridor. At this time and for many years to come the Cahuenga corridor was a dangerous drug soaked area with potential crime at every corner. Making it perfect for an underground music scene to flourish!

Upon my return to Los Angeles in the nineties I found myself once more in this uneasy neighborhood on Cosmo, Ivar and Cahuenga. I believe at the time Josh and Solomon were calling their club Gas Light and then the Opium Den. Many a night had gone well but on this one occasion outside Gas Light these girls pissed off this trucker with some red neck comments. He then threatened to shoot us. He went to the cab of his Simi-truck to fetch his gun. In no time he was brandishing it with his own insult towards us. He was easily in our view, gun swinging, near the front of the truck. I advised all in attendance to move on. That was my last night there for some time to come. I didn’t visit the area for another 5 years. By this time Cosmo had expanded and the neighborhood generally safer. That night Perry Farrel was doing a solo performance in the grand room behind Cosmo or the front that was exposed to Ivar that is now known as The Ivar. This night the freaks were out! I had my Moroccan henna tatoo I had picked up in Venice Beach the day before still dwelling on my arm. A true sign of the times. As I stood in the crowd waiting for Perry to hit the stage this woman passed me. It was a tight squeeze. This woman made a point to run her hand firmly across my chest, cruising my nipples. When she was in direct contact with me, face to face, she made a number of lude sexually charged comments to me, while allowing me feel every inch of her body, as she slowly squeezed by. Funny, I was in love with a Texas girl, named Julie, who introduced me to KoЯn while I lived in Dallas. The KoЯn show was in late 94 in Deep Ellum. I called her this night in 97 after Perry’s show because she loved Jane’s Addiction. We used to hold hands and sing “Jane Says”, walking in the cool evenings on the streets of Deep Ellum. So this woman’s pass at me was more irritating than satisfying at the time. Although, it registered on my perv meter strongly as pretty pervy.

Other events that occurred at the Cosmo would have been the time this guy was hitting on Linda Perry, next to me, as we huddled close together in a conversation on the stair steps, ha! In the course of our conversation he offered to us both some lines in the bathroom from his bindle of coke. That was a high moment of hilarity! Linda is gay and sober. I was sober at the too. Another time I saw Bernie Taupin‘s Farm Dogs. This time Solomon Mansoor of Zen Cowboy opened for Bernie Taupin. That was a special night because I hadn’t seen Solly in tens years. It was such an amazing pleasure to have seen him after all those year from the old Shake Shack and Dirt Box days. It was like a family reunion. Zen Cowboy rocked the house too! I was in too much awe of Bernie Taupin to speak to him, a hero of my youth, but I so wanted to say something. It was a marvelous night. There was the time I saw Harry The Dog with Tequila Mockingbird and John X Volaitis (sound engineer for Marilyn Manson) with my friend Irene Liberatore of The Puppies. I was a big fan of the draggon ice sculpture slide that delivered shots of ice cold Jaggermeister sliding directly into my mouth. Then there was the time I was with my posse of Patrick Mata, Sherry, The Slutters of Retail Slut and Roz Williams of Christian Death celebrating Michael Stewart’s release party of a compilation of Bowie covers songs by local Goth Bands. Kommunity FK was one of the bands who covered Bowie‘s “Panic In Detroit“. The back story on the recording had Kommunity FK, Patrick, Sherry, Roy and then myself (I’m not in the band. I’m a band-aid) soaking up 40’s at The Sound Factory and putting on the finishing touches on KFK’s version of Panic In Detroit. I’m on the clap track. The only recording I’ve ever been on with international distribution. Michael Stewart through a slamming party for that CD release with the KFK cover. Nuttiness reigned throughout that night. Before it was all over at Cosmo, someone had been hit on the head with a full bottle of beer, while I ended up on my knees in front of a pay phone in the hall way surrendering to my temporary, yet very demanding, dominatrix. Snaps that was a crazy one at Cosmo that night. Sadly, with in the month Roz Williams of Christian Death committed suicide. Sometime there’s a cost to burning brightly.

The next move came to the Cahuenga corridor when Cinespace and Starshoes dominated the area. Kimberly Browning was Artist In Residence at Cinespace with her Hollywood Shorts program to Cinespace. Stepphen Hauptfuhr was revving up the heat at Star Shoes solidifying what is now known as the Hipster movement. Those were drunky days for me indeed. Lots of open bars and skirt chasen as the area became hipper and safer.

Rounding the corner to this new decade on the Cahuenga corridor, soon after my return from 2012 SXSW, I received a generous invite from Alexandra for a special event at Dim Mak Studios located pretty much where Cinaspace was in dominance in another time. The night was put together by Cornerstone Entertainment and Dim Mak, as listening party for KoЯn’s The Path To Totality. This brought back memories of seeing KoЯn from Deep Ellum many years before in Dallas. Julie was the one who connected me to this show. Julie was more into Metal than I, but I do love me some brunette bobs and quirky ex-Catholic bi girlies. I can’t helps myselfs! Julie filled that bill! It was around the time of KoЯn’s first release. I didn’t know it but I was witnessing the beginning of Nu Metal. There was a lot of buzz around KoЯn then.They were more raw than polished but their show had all the earmarks of a solid band that was on their way. Their fan base was motivated and dedicated as they shook the walls of this small Deep Ellum club and my hearing suffered because of it. I arrived late for the listening party but early for J Devil’s DJ set. I met the 2 Katherines from Cornerstone Entertainment who were generous and gave me The Path To Totality CD. The DJ was spinning in the back room if you entered from Cosmo or the back room if you entered from Hollywood Blvd. In attendance was Mickey Avalon and Randy Mathias of London After Midnight. I drifted after my orignal sizing up of the room to the back area leading to the area of red velvet lounging sofas. I had a brief chit-chat with Alexandra then rested in the mid area watching a young band play Juke Joint inspired Hipster tunes. Then the witching hour rumbled forth as the Dubstep pounded or exploded against the walls and formidably shook the floors of Dim Mak Studios. The introduction was made and J Devil was in the HOUSE! J Devil had a stage presence that appeared to be channeling Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon with his maniacal stance, arms splaid lifted above his head (as if he was in mid cackle) or that of Dr. Morbius studied glare of deep concentration when he was in DJ mode on the wheels of steel. J Devil was mercurial to say the least, as he drove the crowd to a frenzy hitting the mic invoking all to dance or when he was giving a shout out to Steve Aoki. He kept it live! When he wasn’t lighting the turntables (aka Mac Book Pro) on fire from behind, he would charge to the front with the mic in hand keeping the action going and engaging the fans. A pit broke out during a particularly heavy part of the set, endangering me and my camera. It was a hot and sweaty freak zone for all involved. For over an hour as J Devil delivered. You could hear the influences of Skrillex, Excision and Downlink as he worked the Dubstep synthesis of Rock, Hip Hop and Punk. Rolling into 1:30 J Devil was winding things down and sending out the love before he exited the stage. Soon J Devil was passing by me to the back area with the red velvet lounges. Of course, I drifted back to get a few more shots as the evening was ending. Everyone was cool from Dim Mak and his management. I waited while the man caught a breather after a rigorous set. He removed his J Devil contacts and then cleaned of his J Devil teeth. Taking him from dark musical force to Jonathan Davis singer of KoЯn. Soon we exchanged pleasantries and he gave me a few moments of his time to pose for photos invoking the Illuminati to keep it witchy after serving some pretty crunchy grooves at Dim Mak Studios. It was a night well spent.

Mar

Alejandro Escovedo and Friends at the Continental Club: Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

By billybennight Leave a Comment

I found myself for the first time in days able to take the morning on a slow start path. My host Mike was up and was kind enough to make coffee for us both. He had hooked me up with a great place to stay and inadvertently introduced me to new friends. We finally had time to get to know one another. Of course we related to one another how crazy Southby is and each of us recounted stories as it related to the previous weeks events. We stumbled upon the topics of Rhett Miller. Mike is a fan and a friend. We concurrently experienced The Old 97’s during the 90’s in Dallas. He remembered and recounted things I had long forgotten as he elaborated on Rhett’s career and talent to me. I could only endorse his sentiments with occasional flurries of my own observation of that time in Dallas. There was a part of me that wished we’d had this conversation 2 days earlier but it was such a good feeling to have this connection right then and there as we traded stories in his living room. It appears that Rhett played his last Austin-ish gig in Willie Nelson‘s cowboy town 40 miles outside Austin. That show would have been a sweet ride! Mike was totally cool and it was really nice to get to visit during the decompression part of SXSW.

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My next move was more exploration. I had Mexican food on my mind. It was the return to the taco theme I had earlier in the week. I cruised South Congress diverting to South 1st Street on a deeper level of exploration to happen upon El Tacorrido. The only Taco joint I know of that has 2 drive thrus. I was smitten! I wanted to use the drive thru but after a bit of a wait and a keen desire to hook up, I settled for the walk up solution. The menu was slightly different form most Tex-Mex feeds and that really drove my curiosity. I ordered a gordito and a breakfast taco. I explained it to my friend Jonas like this: “This taco stand is really different for Mexican food in Texas. I can’t say it’s truly Tex-Mex. I’m having difficulty pin pointing exactly the style but it’s more south and inland. Or in other words it’s not the kind of food you find on the border or made for American taste buds.” I was completely satisfied when I headed over to Bouldin Creek for my morning coffee. I spent a few hours organizing photos on my computer as a way to bide my time before the big send off show.

Soon the hour was upon us and I headed over to pick Karen up and to share a little pre-celebratory happy hour at her hotel. I have to say, I was a bit antsy now knowing how both Mike Mills and Peter Buck were showing for tonight’s performance at The Continental Club. I count myself extremely fortunate that the first year I attended SXSW I was made aware and got to experience Alejandro Escovedo and Friends at The Continental Club. I have Karen to thank for that! It’s a cozy environment and the place is ran well. Now it’s an irresistible tradition. It’s such a great way to say farewell to Austin and SXSW. As we rolled up Alejandro was outside visiting with folks. He’s very approachable and a nice guy. It was nice to be inside The Continental Club where Karen and I turned into fans. Miss Melvis was playing. We enjoyed the show but we considered another Happy Hour moment was in order out at my car. We scored the cups at Zen next door and we were on our way. You could hear the sound of clunking paper cups and a toast if you were close or maybe, just inside the red Ford Focus. It was a nice bottle of red wine. Usually, I’m not so inclined to drink red wine but this was pretty good stuff. We then joyfully returned to the club locked in for the rest of the night.

By the time we returned Jesse Malin of D Generation had taken the stage and was entertaining everyone. I continued my Happy Hour on a little longer by drifting to the back bar that I favor the most. I bumped in to Lenny Kaye as the star-studded event bubbled with a who who’s in the back. Again I moved up front I staked my place near the front when the young musical team called Ghost Wolves started a short and energetic set. Konya on drums/vox and Carley on guitar. They started out their set on each other’s instruments and then flipped after the first song. Karen wasn’t feeling it, but I was kind of feeling it. It was like Loretta Lynn singing for the White Strips. By this time Kimiko had join us. It was good to see her. She’s got a cool way about her. She was representing Rosie Flores who would play later that night. This was her reason to be at The Continental Club on this fine evening. She smartly drifted to the back to await for Rosie appearance. Karen and I were up front when Garland Jeffreys took the stage: I mean he took the stage hostage! This man knows what he’s doing! Photo op after photo-op. I’m not familiar with the man’s material but was I was surprised how much his music sound like early to mid Rolling Stones. He did a riveting version of “? and the Mysterian” 96 Tears. He was one of highlight of the evening: a ball of energy and passion. I drifted to the back as did Karen, eventually, where we sat near the threshold of the door. It was time to cool off from the hot and tightening room. Tommy Stinson was taking the stage, I guess, just fresh from the G&R’s tour. I was drinking beer in the back again. I managed to come up for Barfirld (The Tyrant Of Texas Funk). The brother was funky with ranch fresh Cowboy look. He kept it funky and showed us his James Brown dance, except no leg splits. It was good stuff: comedic and entertaining. Damn good drinking music. So I headed back and drank again. At this point Karen spotted David Fricke, I saw him too, from Rolling Stone at the back door. Before long Kid Congo Powers (The Gun Club and The Cramps) would attach himself to the stage and I was all over that! I’ve been wanting to see Kid Congo for years and tonight it would be consummated. How romantical! Kid Congo spread his freak flag far and wide in the Continental Club as I squeezed to the front to catch his much of anticipated act. The former Cramps alumni kept us all completely entertained. He refered to Lux Interior, no, not Nick Cave, at one point when he said there was visionary who told me, “One day Kid you will have your own band and you’ll call it Kid Congo and The Pink Monkey Birds”. I think his time in the Cramps were well spent because he kept us engaged in much of the same way the Cramps would have had they been there. After Kid Congo left the stage was about the time the lock down happened: no ins or outs! There was some speculation Bruce Springsteen would appear. I now believe it was for Mike Mills and Peter Buck. I headed to the back where I had to say hi to Kid Cango and take a few photos. I mentioned to him that Lux had jumped a couple of rows of people one time at the Spirit Club in San Diego and had tongued me. Then I told him that after that people thought I was pretty cool. That made him laugh. Then when I tweeted it, I found later, he had re-tweeted it on Twitter. I was honored he’d bother to do it and it made me laugh too. Then a little later I spotted Rosie and asked her for a photo or two. Once again I drifted to nostalgia. Rosie was at one time very much part of the LA Rock scene. She was one of the main forces in the Screamin’ Sirens. I know I’ve seen them perform. I think if was at Janice DeSoto’s club or maybe Cat House. But what was on my mind at that moment was the Hollywood Hillbillies. The band had a chicken in it. I loved it at the time. I mentioned Hollywood Hilllbillies to Rosie. Her response to me was she was in that band early on, for 3 weeks. I hadn’t remembered she was in the band. Then she qualified it by saying, “I was in the band before the chicken”. She knew about the chicken! That was a great moment. Only someone in the scene would know that! I chuckled. We finished and I decided to hang towards the back in stalker fashion. I was thinking when Mike and Peter enter I’d spot ’em. At this point we’d entered the home stretch where Alejandro and the Sensitive Boys played till they closed the place down. It’s always one of the best parts of the whole proceedings. I had seen Lenny Kaye learning the word to a song while leaning up against a car. I know because I ask him. I thought he’d gotten a ticket and he informed me other wise. It must have been one of Neil Young songs because he performed an engaging version “Like a Hurricane”. I found myself singing along to “Like a Hurricane”. Then Rosie Flores was announced and join the fun up on the stage. Rosie sang, “If I Could Only Be With You” and then followed it up with a duet with Alejandro with a her and Dave Alvin wrote together called, “Goodbye Again”. The crowd was enthusiastic and riveted. In this time some how, some way, both Mike and Peter got past me. Strangely, Mike Mills started doing this hula move during the cover of a The Troggs “Love Is All Around”. Peter Buck was channeling Michael Stipe hiding in the back corner when Mike Mills strapped on his bass to lead us in a sing-a-long of “Don’t Go Back to Rockville.” I had waited all night for this moment and was pleased I’d made it. As quickly as they had arrived they departed. I pushed through the crowd to catch them, but poof, they were gone, gone, gone! Sniff! Alejandro finished the set with Waco Brothers member Jon Langford for a rousing version of The Clash‘s “Rock The Casbah”. Karen found me and indicated it was a good to leave. I agreed. It was a long week followed by a long day capped off by many amazing performances. It was now time to take the gold home and prepare for long travel day before us both. Here’s to next year: a bigger better SXSW and going for more Hipster Olympic gold!

Nov

Eve To Adam: Taki Take Me with You!

By billybennight Leave a Comment

I was recently able to extract myself from a maelstrom of activities here on the “Eastside” of Los Angeles to meet and photograph East Coast Rock music phenomenons Eve To Adam. Taki Sassaris fronts this power driven Alternative Rock ensemble hailing from New York. The Eve To Adam party started in earnest at the Rainbow Bar & Grill on a Wednesday evening just before their very first gig at the historic Whisky A Go Go. I would tell Taki later that it’s quiet an accomplishment to book a gig at the Whisky and a milestone in any bands trajectory to the top of music entertainment. So as the energy built to the gig we were treated to 3 of The Rainbow’s 4 food groups: Pizza, Wings and Booze! I have to say The Rainbows pizza is really good and I’m not much of a pizza fan. So there was 3 of us photogs waiting in the wings and it was on for the photo ops, in that friendly competitive drive to catch the great shots, as we do. So we headed to the parking lot of the Rainbow to do group shots with the talent and the suits. I have to admit records execs aren’t as “Suity” as film execs. Eve To Adam were true pros when it came to photo ops. Taki is a natural for the camera and was always on it! Taki brought it much in the same way Moby had a few weeks back at Kopeckian Gallery for me. We all were standing there when Sebastian Bach strides up to the Rainbow, Rocking his Rock N’ Roll gear. He was about to enter the Rainbow and turns to blow the guys a kiss, only within seconds to find himself in the midst of paparazzi photog flash heat. Talk about another pro, Sebastian took control, much to eveyone’s joyous response, jumping right into the middle of our set-up, delivering all the Rock god poses and looks! I got some awesome shots of Eve To Adam with Sabastian. From there on I followed Sebastian to lock in a classic shot of him and Mike Weber at the entrance at the Rainbow. The party continued on the well known front patio. We photogs haunted the front entrance of the Rainbow for a bit talking of NYC fashion week and whatnots. Then I wanted to soak up a couple of cocktails and hang with my home girl, Karen. I guess that was a good idea because I was soon hearing stories from the guy that made the Ratt‘s (aka, Mickey Ratt) Round and Round video. Hearing the story of Ratt’s wrap party at the Rainbow for the Round and Round video that stared Milton Berle would have curled hairs. You know me, just a fly on the wall, sucking in the details. Soon after that I got together with Taki to shoot some specific shots. I brought up his new Romantic advice blog “Ask Taki” at The Comet. We shared some stories getting to know one another while having a few laughs and snagging some choice photos! I noticed that Stephanie Mata was running the door of On The Rox at the Roxy. I hadn’t seen her in forever. I had to drop by for a quick catch up and a few fun photos before we all headed to the Whisky. I first partied at On The Rox with “White Trash Wins Latto” by Andy Prieboy and Rita D’Albert of Lucha Vavoom in an after party after the White Trash performance and before the real after party up in the Hollywood hills at Dave Foley‘s house.

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The cornerstone of what Eve To Adam has to deliver is in their live performance. It was a big night at the Whisky with some 6 bands in the line up with ETA set for an 8;30pm show. The place had good attendance with a mix of young and old ready for the music. Being a veteran of the Whisky, I perched near the back stage door on the balcony. I wanted to get an overview of the action from there first. Besides, that part of the Whisky is nice and dark keeping it on the downlow for that room. I ate up the first 3 songs on top with ETA laying out the groove, guitars blazing and drums pounding with Taki commanding the stage with songs from the new CD, Banquet For A Starving Dog. It showcased Taki’s power driven vocals with ETA’s hit “Run Your Mouth” with its hooky course and “Fault line” with it’s Randy Rhoads influenced riffy guitar leads were shaking things up! Then I joined in on the Rockin’ on the floor. As they say, I was up above it and now I was down in it! Taki is a great front man and the band had tons of energy to spare to take charge of the stage. The crowd, some of which were already fans, and those who were being won over by such a solid and Rockin’ set; all pulled in closer and tighter. Taki took a moment to reach out to the audience, taking about the music and conversationally relating to everyone there how he was digging the LA scene. There’s one thing I know for sure about New Yorkers, they know how to party! ETA brought it! New Yorkers are brisk, big hearted and a hell of a lot of fun! I know because of my friend Pat Giordano bassist of Last Days and a New York “Club Kid”, Toni Koystyan, I dated for a while. Taki kept it “New York Real” and launched in the the last part of Eve To Adam’s set keeping it dynamic and energetic. Favoring us with every element of his vocal ability, bringing the power and beauty together with his voice in the songs like “Stay” and “Glasses High”, while proving he had grit and passion in songs like “Little Say” and “Reach”. “Reach” closed the set delivering a sucker punch that made the fan howl and cheer!

I was fortunately over to the right side finishing up the photo work when ETA closed where Chuck Zito of Oz and Charlie Sheen‘s ex-body guard was soaking the last drops of this hot set. Chuck was totally ready for his photo op too. I shot a fast one then headed out to shoot everybody vibing off of the Strip and the Whisky A Go Go! The band and Chuck locked arms to Rock the corner of the Whisky, rallying memories for me of all of those epic bands that have shaken the walls of the music institution for the last half century. Once the photographs were done Taki and crew spent time with their fans for autographs and photos. Chuck Zito broke down some DL on Charlie Sheen. So it was quite a star studded evening and event that burned bright on the Sunset Strip that night. I enjoyed getting to know this New York based band who has the chops to make it big and to catch them balls out Rock us with their song craft, towering stage presence and to take in Taki’s vocal prowess. A good time was had by one and all!