I just read a biography about one of my favorite singer-songwriters, James Taylor. I was disappointed. Not with Taylor, but with the author Ian Halperin, a self-styled “investigative journalist” who has received some positive attention, and has apparently worked as a musician from time-to-time. Pish. I scooted over to Amazon, where I read other reviews complaining of the poor writing. Mr. Taylor deserves better. The only way he and his colleagues are going to get it right is if they write autobiographies, or cooperate with a reputable biographer.

2.0 out of 5 stars
Fire and Rain Creates Mud, September 30, 2009

I so very much wanted to like this book. When reading biographies of contemporary persons, I try to remember to take what I find with a grain of salt and be generous of the author’s bias and context. For one, we most often have individuals writing bios who are trained as journalists. Stylistically there is a conflict.  Journalists opine, write tight paragraphs out of necessity, and do not have time or space to develop a narrative.

Biographies require a narrative treatment. It’s a form which needs to retell and recreate conversations and situations. Details are everything. When I see writer X of Such and Thus Magazine authoring a biography, I understand what I am getting myself into. That’s my bias.

My patience is waning.

“Fire and Rain” has some documentation.  There is some worthy content. We learn a few new details. All good. However, I cringe every few pages over grammatical sloppiness. The greater crime is a lack of fact-checking. It causes one to question the author and publisher’s motives. Do we get this thing written, ship product out, and accept the shortcomings for the cash?  Apparently. Don’t publishers employ editors anymore? Mean, picky editors who force accountability and some conformity to basic standards?  Apparently not. Is it too much to ask that information be cited, and some footnotes available?

I’ll offer an example of this miserable lack of fact-checking.

On page 124, the author is discussing the anticipation surrounding Taylor’s follow-up record to his first U.S. release on the Warner label, Sweet Baby James. ( Note that Taylor’s actual first record, James Taylor, was on the Apple label, but the zoo that was Apple and it’s messy demise, kept the record from being well promoted. There was nobody handling A&R at the time.)  Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon made a huge impression. Sophomore albums usually sell fewer units than first releases, and that is an accepted pattern in the record industry. I run into frustration in the following sentence from paragraph three.

“Solo artists like Jackson Browne and Cat Stevens were enjoying much-publicized revivals, so it wasn’t difficult to predict that Taylor’s new album would see massive media exposure.”

Here is the problem.  Although Cat Stephen’s 1971 release, Teaser and the Fire Cat was his fifth album, he had not yet taken off in the United States. The two singles from the first three albums reached chart positions of 118 and 115 (Billboard).  He did much better in the UK. In 1970, Wild World, from his fourth album, Tea For the Tillerman, made 11 on the chart (ibid).  Songs from this record were featured in the Harold & Maude soundtrack. This is a pattern of an artist riding up in a nice arc. Teaser was the evidence of Stevens arrival, certainly not, as the author states, a revival.

As for Jackson Browne, the author is egregiously wrong.  In 1971, Browne released his *first* album, the eponymous Jackson Browne, fondly referred, to his initial chagrin, as Saturate Before Using due to the cover art by Henry Diltz. It was a much anticipated release in the industry from the man who had composed hits for other artists.

Borrow the book from the library or go to BookMooch.com as I did, where folks trade books. But keep the laptop handy because you’ll find yourself wanting to confirm certain details.

(c)GoshGusMusic(ascap)2009

Comme vous le savez peut-être, Vitalic sortira son deuxième album intitulé “Flashmob” le 28 septembre. Avant ça, il a concocté un EP du nom de “Disco Terminateur”. Quatre tracks, “Your Disco Song”; “Terminateur Benelux”; “Terminateur Benelux (John Lord Remix)”; “Your Disco Song (Version Longue)”. C’est en écoutant je ne sais plus quelle mixtape avec “Terminateur Benelux” dans la tracklist que je me suis dit qu’il fallait la faire partager.

Vitalic – Terminateur Benelux (Extended)

Vitalic – Terminateur Benelux (John Lord Remix)

BONUS :

(je ne pouvais pas laisser un post sur Vitalic sans mettre cette tuerie de La Rock)

Vitalic – La Rock 01

Myspace Vitalic

Ex – Guns N’ Roses drummer, Steven Adler, has been enlisted to be the fall guy (serial killer victim this time) in a movie about Jeffrey Dahmer, the serial killing cannibal (Movie title: “Dahmer vs. Gacy”). Adler will play a guy who gets cruised by (an irresisitable?) Dahmer and later get a drill to the head (movie still above — obviously).

It would have been an excellent creative choice if they had Axl Rose portraying Dahmer. The film is said to be an action/comedy/horror, but so was the story of GNR.

Just a thought.

More pics at Adler’s MySpace: www.myspace.com/stevenadlersite

In an open letter, Axl goes off on the producers of Guitar Hero, and their use of “Welcome to the Jungle” (with Slash):

“Yes, Slash was in Guns and on ‘…Jungle’ and he has rights to perform it, but not to be represented in this context in association with Guns. And since they weren’t granted the license it’ll take some sorting.”

“[Slash] being [in] ‘Guitar Hero’’s fine but not when Activison is using ‘…Jungle’… unauthorized.”

“I wasn’t broadsided. I read about it as it moved along but Activision continually denied it right up to the release. That’s some low life chicanery on all their parts.

Welcome to the Jungle indeed!

Critics called the letter “garbled.”

Axl seems to be our new Amy Winehouse, here on the PAD blog.

Play it loud !

Going into the weekend, TGIF. It’s a Big Man’s Day.

Sing-a-long:

Well It’s a sammy hagar weekend
it’s a sammy hagar state of mind
it’s a sammy hagar weekend
it’s a sammy hagar way of life
we’re gonna drink some beer
smoke some pot snort
some coke and then drive
drive over 55 yeah
’cause it’s a sammy hagar weekend
it’s a big man’s day
we got a metallica t-shirt
got a little tiny baby mustache
got a jacked up camero
we’re sitting in the parking lot at anaheim stadium
drinking beer
smoking some pot
snorting coke
and then drive drive over 55 yeah
’cause it’s a sammy hagar weekend
it’s a big man’s day
we’re gonna drink some beer
smoke some pot
snort some coke
and then drive we drive over 55 yeah
’cause it’s a sammy hagar weekend
it’s a big man’s day
a sammy hagar weekend
a sammy hagar weekend yeah
just cruisin’ and boozin’ yeah
on a sammy hagar weekend yeah
a sammy hagar weekend
a big man’s day!

And some other takes on it:

Bob Forrest (more than just the guy on Celebrity Rehab):

RHCP:

The NY Post reports that in a new biography on Guns N’ Roses, “Watch You Bleed,” the band would have sex orgies at Axl Rose’s house. Axl boasted:

There was a lot of indoor and outdoor sex . . . People would show up at all hours and we’d talk the girls into climbing into our loft, and somebody would hit the light and go, ‘All right! . . . Get naked or leave!’ This one girl, she [bleep]ed almost the whole band, friends of the band, and the band next door. Two days later, she comes back and goes, ‘Axl, I’m having your child.’ ” Just kidding!

What a nice story. The kind of story you want to tell your grandkids.

You do have to take in account that this is the same biographer and author, Stephen Davis, of Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga, which was often discredited as being a lot of rumor and pomp. You have to ask yourself, is this new book authorized?

first off, we think the t-shirt is good enough to warrant an obsession. there is more substance to this post however, and to this incredibly innovative duo. el ten eleven are kristian dunn and tom fogarty, and have a penchant for making very danceable noize. you’ll hear some ‘explosions in the sky,’ some ‘justice’ and ‘daft punk’ influences, a dash of ‘cut copy’ but like any good recipe, el ten eleven are a delicious concoction all their own. they have a separate link on their website just for their EQUIPMENT. their catchy and pleasing blend will please electro heads and rockers alike. we can’t reiterate again how pleasing, catchy, and joyous they are. now if only we could get them booked on a tour with holy fuck & cut copy and we could die a sweaty, happy dance-a-thon death.

their new album ‘these promises are being videotaped‘ is out now and available on itunes amont other places. check their website and myspace for upcoming tour dates.

Late Night Entry:

OK music fans, Awesome here,  put Teddy Ruxpin down and take off that slap bracelet.  BIG NEWS.  Buckcherry announced today that their new album (Black Butterfly) will come out on Sept. 16th.  If you don’t know about Buckcherry you should.  That is if you like good Rock N’ Roll.  Buckcherry plays what I call L.A. Rock.  It’s Rock N’ Roll about Sex, Drugs, and well Rock N’ Roll, and their first single off the new album, Too Drunk, is not exception.  If you want to check out the song and video for it go to their myspace by clicking here.  Caution!!!! Do not listen to or watch the video at work.  You’ll understand when you get home.  Tell me what you think about it.

Awesome Out.

Does anyone remember the 80s Glam hard rockers Jetboy? I sure do. I always dug their mixture of glam and punk aesthetics (in the Kix/Wrathchild vein). Nowadays — a little older and a little less glam — the band still does their thing live. They still got it.

They are also releasing a Johnny Cash cover of Folsom Prison Blues to radio stations today thru a unique service called radiosubmit.com. The site is a good way for DJs to spread the word. It’s a hard song to cover and Jetboy does a good job of it. A sample of it live can be viewed below:

In the meantime, Jetboy’s latest release is a DVD/CD combo called The Glam Years. It’s a live 1986 L.A. Whisky a Go-Go concert on DVD and a 21 best of track selection of CD. You can get 25% off at the band’s MySpace page at www.myspace.com/jetboyrocks.

Still no mention of Rikki Rockett’s Mississippi “problem” from any of the members of Poison. No statements whatsoever — which is weird considering the fans are waiting to hear something, anything, from ANY members of the band.

All the band sites are silent:

Poison: www.poisonweb.com/main.html or profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=48339242

Rikki Rockett: www.rikkirockett.com/ or profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=3346218

CC: www.myspace.com/ccdevillesofficialmyspace

Bret: www.bretmichaels.com/news.shtm or profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=47901386 or Bret’s MySpace blog (registration required)

Um, no Bobby site.

Bret is busy promoting his solo tour and the other members are laying low. Understandably so for Rikki, who is hopefully getting some comfort from his fiancee, Melanie Martel.

Remember, every rose has its thorn.

Southern California’s newest artist-based booking and promotions company, Blond Moustache is off and running within a month of inception.

Garnering such acts as the bands Pleasure (formerly Bordertown Disco Cowboys), Free Falling Safe- Dj’s $5 Handjob Holding Co,  Middle English and Blessed as well as local comedians Ahren Boulanger and Chris Antonesse in short order has really given the project some momentum.

I believe that we’ve attracted theses various and talented acts in such short notice, because we are an artist-based network, emphasizing underground locations while keeping the business aspect fair, professional and transparent. As artists, all of us at one time or another have been screwed out of our fair share of money, stage time, etc. and it can really take the wind out of your sails.

As a concert goer, I’ve been disappointed as well- homogeneous scenes where bands and the audience seem more like clones than artists and individuals. I’ve endured turntable train wrecks that leave my ears bleeding, celebrity “DJ’s” playing the play list off their i-pods and cliche rock bands.

The answer to all of this is what Blond Moustache is all about: variety, originality and real talent in off-the-beaten-path venues that lend to the whole experience.

If you are in the L.A. area and are looking to perform with Blond Moustache- or if you’re in charge of booking for a venue, then please contact me. Thank you.