Exciting news for diehard Motley Crue fans! The self-proclaimed “Bad Boys of Hollywood” are ready to deliver on an amazing new project that was reportedly a year in the making.
Although the iconic metal band is keeping things hush-hush for now, fans can sign up to be the first in line for all the juicy details about the upcoming Crueseum.
Lately, the ever-evolving Sunset Strip scene seems to be changing as rapidly as Machine Gun Kelly shifts musical genres. The iconic Tower Records Sunset building, though closed since 2006, recently underwent a controversial exterior alteration that affected the look of the structure, but at least Tower’s famous front facade was preserved as a testament to the magical musical palace it once housed.
Across the street, the Tower Records Video and Classical Music Annex was the go-to spot for concert tickets, where fans lined up on Sunset and Larrabee, sometimes stretching east all the way past Book Soup for events like Ozzfest. Those were the golden days, spanning from the ’80s through the 2000s. The space eventually housed a longstanding Chase Bank, which recently closed its doors, leaving the building vacant.
On November 3, the illustrious Hollywood Bowl bore witness to yet another historic musical milestone, playing host to legendary rock band KISS‘ first Bowl show as well as its final Los Angeles performance.
The Hollywood Bowl gig marked the 26th occasion of KISS gracing Greater L.A. stages, which is something the band acknowledged during the electrifying two-hour set that delivered a barrage of timeless hits that inspired the sold-out crowd to rock and roll all night!
From their humble beginnings at the Santa Monica Civic as a supporting act to now headlining the iconic Hollywood Bowl for the first and final time, KISS’ journey has been nothing short of remarkable. And they certainly delivered in Hollywood.
A giant black curtain with KISS’ logo in silver fell as the band kicked off the evening with the iconic “Detroit Rock City” setting the stage for an electric performance that would only intensify.
Continue reading KISS ALIVE AT HOLLYWOOD BOWL
About two dozen music devotees braved the torrential downpour of L.A. rain on Tuesday night to hear some cool cover tunes by the Ultimate Jam Night Hollywood band of revolving musicians. The rockin’ two-hour show at the Whisky A Go-Go featured timeless hits from every iconic band from The Beatles to Blondie.
A big bright yellow part of L.A.’s music history has been whitewashed. The location of the former Tower Records Sunset is now a Supreme store, which opened last week. Sure, it’s cool to see a halfpipe skate ramp inside of what was formerly the famous record shop, but we already miss seeing the L.A. music landmark.
Legendary KISS guitarist Ace Frehley headline The Whisky A Go-Go for the first time ever on February 27 and he did not leave without tearing the roof off of the joint. The 71-year-old rock icon looked great and was in High spirits as he continually tossed guitar picks to the fans and shared stories about his life in music.
“The Spaceman” may have been unmasked but he definitely brought back the same raw energy and ferocious hard-rockin’ energy that helped make KISS one of the biggest bands in the world. Frehley started the show at around 9:45 p.m. and immediately had the crowd fist-pumping when he opened the show with “Rip it Out,” the killer opening track to his 1978 KISS-related solo album. The second the opening chords of “Rip It Out” started to echo throughout the room, the suddenly ubiquitous devil’s horns salutes let you know the crowd of diehard rock soldiers from the KISS Army were pleased.
Continue reading ROCK AND ROLL ALL NITE
If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to catch Fast Times‘ totally awesome Monday night shows at the Whisky A Go-Go, then you know what it feels like to be zapped back into the awesome ’80s as if you were sitting in a DeLorean with a flux capacitor pushing it past 88 mph.
The L.A. band is one of the coolest live acts to hit the Whisky in a long time, and their infectious grooves never fail to get the crowd moving whether they’re moshing, pogoing, or doing any incarnation of the timeless Axl Rose serpentine dance, the Belinda Carlisle arm sway shimmy, or the Courtney Cox “Dancing in the Dark” awkward Mambo (which inspired the “Carlton Dance”).
The L.A. always sticks with the theme and rocks their set while donned as various iconic ’80s characters, both real and celluloid, from Jeff Spicoli to Motley Crue‘s Nikki Sixx. But it’s their music that really makes Fast Times stand out as a legitimate band of phenomenal musicians who seem to enjoy rocking their set as much as the audience enjoys hearing it.
And these guys skillfully cover every iconic bit of music from Eddie Van Halen‘s guitar solo on “Jump” to Rick Allen‘s anthemic beats of “Pour Some Sugar On Me.”
Continue reading STRAIGHT OUTTA HOLLYWOOD
Get set to rock and roll all night when iconic former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley gets back in the West Hollywood groove with a headlining gig at the Whisky A Go-Go on February 27.
As we said back in 2017 when he headlined the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, the founding KISS member is really in his element when he’s commanding the stage as a frontman. He puts on an exciting two-hour set of non-stop rockers that include his own classic KISS, Frehley’s Comet, and solo hits.
During his set, Frehley covers many KISS classics, like “Rocket Ride,” “Cold Gin” and “Shock Me” as well as solo hits like “Rock Soldiers” and his cover of “New York Groove” from his 1978 KISS solo album.
Frehley’s equally famous smokin’ Gibson guitar will also make a guest appearance along with a few guest artists to be announced soon.
The Whisky A Go-Go is located 8901 Sunset Boulevard at Clark Street. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $65.
If you weren’t fortunate enough to have lived through at least part of the ’70s, you’re in luck because the Whisky A Go-Go is going to take rock fans back in time to the good old days when Zeppelin ruled and nobody even knew what twerking was yet.
On January 17, actor, rocker, and Nerd Halen frontman Hal Sparks is once again hosting Ultimate Jam Night Hollywood, which is themed “That ’70s Jam.” The set will include two hours of stellar rock covers of Me Decade masterpieces delivered by world-class working musicians that you probably have seen before performing in some of your favorite classic and modern rock bands, from Quiet Riot to Duran Duran.
Plus, Sparks is a very entertaining and funny emcee that makes the segway between numbers go very smoothly, so the entire evening just feels like one big party.
Continue reading SUCKING IN THE ’70s
Of course, there are a million reasons why Los Angeles rocks, but here are five that literally rock!
Dodger Stadium is the only place where you’re ever gonna experience Axl Rose rocking your face off during a surprise appearance at a Billy Joel concert.
Imagine our surprise when we were sitting at the Piano Man’s killer show at Dodger Stadium in May 2017, when one of our other favorite artists, Pink, randomly pops up to perform two numbers: Joel’s classic “New York State of Mind” and her recent hit “Try.” And then the show got even better.
A few songs after Pink appeared, Sunset Strip refugee Axl Rose also showed up and shook the stadium hard with AC/DC‘s “Highway to Hell” and later, Joel’s “Big Shot.” That unique and unexpected performance made us immediately appreciate the consistent unpredictability of Los Angeles.
The Whisky A Go-Go‘s Monday night house band, Fast Times, is a totally awesome and completely tubular ’80s tribute band that never fails to knock your neon lime green socks off and get your checkerboard Vans moshing.
Bored on a random Monday night, we cruised over to Sunset and Clark to catch yet another set by Fast Times, which has been the Whisky’s Monday night house band for the past two years. And they always give one of the coolest, most faithful sets of ’80s covers that are spot-on and have an awesome added edge that comes from the high-energy live show that includes plenty of audience participation.
Continue reading HEY, I KNOW THAT DUDE!
Fleetwood Mac‘s legendary singer-keyboardist Christine McVie died November 30 at the age of 79 following a short illness.
“A few hours ago I was told that my best friend in the whole world since the first day of 1975 had passed away,” wrote bandmate Stevie Nicks in an online tribute to McVie. “See you on the other side, my love,” she added. “Don’t forget me.”
The Sunset Strip also paid homage to McVie via the marquis of the world-famous Viper Room music club.
R.I.P., Christine McVie. 😢
Since the Whisky A Go-Go set up business at the corner of Sunset and Clark back in 1064, the two-story club has famously sported a number of shades and exterior looks, from the groovy purple and yellow scheme in the ‘70s to the more recent red and black design.
And of course, the billboard above the club has been advertising new album releases since the 60s. At one time or another everyone from Alice Cooper to Motley Crue has been featured on billboards above the club.
Now, the world-famous club and the Sunset Strip are about to get a modern makeover.
Earlier this week, the West Hollywood City Council approved the conversion of the club’s static billboard into a double-sided digital billboard.
The mammoth billboard’s origami-inspired 500- and 1,000-square-foot screens are designed to evolve as motorists and pedestrians pass the billboard. Either way, it’s certainly going to get the attention of crosstown traffic at Sunset and San Vicente.
The billboard is part of a new agreement between the Whisky and the city, which expects the digital billboard to bring in over $60 million in revenue over the next 30 years.
The best part is that the billboard is going to lead to a rock ‘n’ roll tribute on the Sunset Strip. The contract stipulates that the city will use nearly $350,000 to add a commemorative “Rock Walk” honoring the music legacy of the Sunset Strip.
Living in SoCal, it’s easy to get jaded when it comes to being starstruck. After all, when you randomly spot Smokey Robinson at the supermarket and Steven Tyler at Coffee Bean—which I have—you tend to get used to seeing superstars as much as you get used to smog and palm trees.
However, a recent tour of Warner Bros. studios had us feeling excited about the magic of Hollywood once again. And that reinvigorated awe had everything to do with the rock and roll history that lies within the eclectic tour that covers every iconic entertainment offering from Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden to Friends and the DC universe’s current crop of superhero hits like Batman and Wonder Woman.
Along with all of the movie history, the studio’s backlot has a rich music history, too, including as the location of the iconic cover photo of Pink Floyd‘s 1975 album, Wish You Were Here.
Equally cool was spotting one of the rockin’ motor scooters from The Who’s 1979 classic film Quadraphonia.
The Lambretta and Vespa Italian motor scooters make a memorable appearance in the British drama as the ride of choice for Sting and his Mods as well as their rivals the Rockers.
Many classic Hollywood musicals and music-oriented movies have also been filmed on the lot, from The Music Man and A Star Is Born (two of them, the 1976 and 2018 versions) to Elvis and Selena.
The other king, the King of Pop also has an unforgettable attachment to W/B’s history. Michael Jackson and The Jacksons filmed one of their famous Eighties-era Pepsi commercials on the Warner Bros. backlot. This one was filmed on the backlot’s all-American “Hennessy Street” and co-starred a very young Alfonso Ribeiro.
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s guitar picks and guitar strap are on display alongside costumes and rock paraphernalia from 2018’s A Star Is Born.
Some of the other rockin’ relics that we came across include the original piano from the 1943 classic film Casablanca. The piano is the one Humphrey Bogart was referring to when he famously said, “Play it again, Sam.”
The studio’s rock and roll holy grail may be the old jukebox used in the 1957 Elvis Presley film Loving You, which featured The King using this jukebox to supply the music as he sang “Loving You” in the technicolor movie musical.
Phoebe Buffay’s (Lisa Kudrow) acoustic Gibson guitar has a place amongst pop culture and entertainment history, too, and is behind glass as part of the W/B tour. It’s virtually impossible to walk past the six-string without “Smelly Cat” popping into your cabeza.
Another, ahem, thrilling moment was seeing legendary record producer Quincy Jones represented for his work with Steven Spielberg on the two-time Oscar nominated soundtrack to the 1975 film The Color Purple.
Warner Bros. Studios’ Props Department houses enough cool music instruments to rival any branch of Guitar Center.
Random acoustic and electric guitars, violins, cellos, bajos, congas, and dozens of other instruments line the walls of the airplane hanger-sized prop room.
The instruments have been used and reused in countless W/B movies and TV shows.
Let’s see, Pink Floyd…Elvis Presley…The Who…Michael Jackson…James Dean…when a studio’s history includes this much badass talent, we can almost forgive the W/B for The Gilmore Girls.
Use Your Illusion I and II, the Nineties-era hard rock masterpieces by Sunset Strip-launched legends Guns n’ Roses, have resurfaced on Rock Row in the guise of some rockin’ huge posters plastered on random construction site walls located between the Whisky and the Rainbow.
So, what gives with the rockin’ retro rewind?
Turns out, the GN’R posters are hyping the release of a new deluxe box set of the two albums that somehow expanded to eight discs of related material in a set that costs over $200.
Coinciding with the launch of the box set is the unveiling of a new Use Your Illusion II mural located on the Roxy‘s sidewall and overlooking the Rainbow’s outdoor patio.
Guns n’ Roses diehards will recognize the location of the mural as the area where Axl Rose stared down Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1991 video for Use Your Illusion II‘s smash hit “You Could Be Mine.”
Mark Kostabi‘s iconic cover artwork–a manipulation of part of Rafael‘s “School of Athens” mural–takes up a large section of the wall and is a welcome dose of rock and roll spirit that has been missing from the Sunset Strip for a while now. Let’s hope the new GN’R mural is a permanent part of the Strip.
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