Chuck Berry Remembered

Chuck Berry performing at Hootenanny Festival in July 2010.
Photo: Robert Kinsler

Chuck Berry performing at Hootenanny Festival in July 2010.
Photo: Robert Kinsler

Sadly, rock 'n' roll has lost one of its truly great founding fathers. Chuck Berry died at his home outside of St. Louis, Missouri on Saturday, March 18, 2017. He was 90.

I saw Berry perform a number of times between 1980 and 2010. His influence as a singer, songwriter and guitar player was profound. Here are a number of photos I took when Berry, then 83, performed at the Hootenanny festival in Orange County, CA over the 4th of July weekend in 2010.

Here is a link to my review of his appearance at that festival posted on The Orange County Register website. Although I was disappointed with Berry's performance that day, I did praise his large and significant legacy in the review. I still recall the first time I saw him in 1980; that show was a wonder with Berry unleashing rapid fire guitar work while doing his famous "duck walk" across the stage!

Those wanting to catch Berry in his prime should seek out the Shout! Factory release of the T.A.M.I. Show, a 1964 concert film that was captured at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in October of that year; it features Berry performing a number of his original classics including "Johnny B. Goode," "Maybellene,"  "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "Nadine (Is It You?)."

The good news for fans of the artist is that they can look forward to new music from Berry, who used his 90th birthday celebration in October 2016 to announce the release of a new album (titled Chuck), which will mark his first new studio album release since 1979's Rock It. Read all the details here. Additionally, Billboard has an article with thoughts from someone who has heard tracks off the highly-anticipated forthcoming album.

Here is the statement from The Recording Academy regarding Berry:

Chuck Berry was arguably the founding father of rock 'n' roll. Not just because he was one of its greatest songwriters and established some of the electric guitar's earliest and most memorable riffs, but also because he was one of music's most palpably exciting entertainers and biggest personalities. His influence on the giants that followed him, such as the Beatles,  Beach Boys and many others, is well documented. Chuck received a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Recording Academy in 1984, our formal acknowledgment of his immeasurable contributions to American culture. He will be greatly missed, but the gift of his music will live on forever.
Neil Portnow
President/CEO

Chuck Berry shared the joy of music making with fans of all ages at his performances, including
at the Hootenanny Festival in July 2010.
Photo: Robert Kinsler

Post and photos by Robert Kinsler

Inbox update: Nirvana & Joan Jett, Dave Clark Five, Arcade Fire, Hootenanny

Happy Friday everybody! Here is a fast roundup of what's happening and making headlines...

Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last night, and then performed in a small club for just over 200 lucky invited guests. I would have loved to have seen the performance of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" with Nirvana teaming up with Joan Jett. Check out the amazing video here. In addition to Jett, Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth) Annie Clark (better known as St. Vincent), J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.) and Deer Tick's John McCauley took turns singing lead. Beyond cool!

Wondering why the Dave Clark Five was so influential in the early 1960s? Read George A. Paul's informative post on his Music Minded blog here.

Want to hear Arcade Fire cover Blondie's "Heart of Glass"? Click here.

Lee Rocker at 2007 Hootenanny.
Photo: Kelly A. Swift

Finally, in case you didn't get word, the 2014 Hootenanny Festival held annually over the Fourth of July weekend at Oak Canyon Ranch in Silverado Canyon is being canceled. Word came from the concert promoter via Twitter on Tuesday (April 8).

The good news is the event will reportedly return in 2015.

Click here to read my review of the 2007 Hootenanny, one of the more memorable fests I have covered over the years.

Sights and Sounds: The Hootenanny, Ray Manzarek's last album celebrated

Don't think because Coachella, Stagecoach and Doheny Blues fests have passed that the Southern California festival season is over. Indeed, Hootenanny is just around the corner! I have news on that and other stuff in this weighty post...

THE HOOTENANNY KICKS OFF JULY 6TH WITH SOCIAL DISTORTION, OLD 97'S FACE TO FACE AND MORE!

 

Old 97's singer Rhett Miller at Hootenanny in 2010.  

Southern California’s most anticipated music and kustom car festival The Hootenanny will return to Oak Canyon Ranch in Orange County on Saturday, July 6, 2013 for its 19th annual festival with some of the Southland’s coolest kustom cars and performances by Social Distortion, Face to Face, Murder By Death, Old 97’s, Nashville Pussy, and more!  

 

The annual festival will feature hundreds of local vendors, food & drink, classic cars and The Hootenanny Pinup Contest.  Fun for the whole family!  Tickets will be available to the public on May 23 at 10 a.m. via Front Gate Tickets.

 

Topping this year’s lineup is the much anticipated return of SoCal’s favorite rock ‘n’ roll band Social Distortion, who are currently touring in support of their latest, critically acclaimed album Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes.  The band has performed at the Fest several times over the years including a memorable performance in 1996 at the 2nd annual show alongside Jerry Lee Lewis.  

 

Attendees at The Hootenanny will also be able to check out hundreds of kustom cars, kustom kulture artists, pinstripers and painters and a live “chop top” demo at the Car Show, as well as catch the revealing of the next “Sullen Angel Miss Hootenanny,” winner of the annual Pinup Contest, while enjoying tasty food and refreshing beverages.  

 

Don’t miss out on SoCal’s most anticipated music and kustom car festival!

 

The Hootenanny Location:

Oak Canyon Ranch

4700 Santiago Canyon Road (at Blue Diamond)

Silverado Canyon, CA 92676

 

The Hootenanny Stage Schedules:

MAIN STAGE A

1:00 – 1:30 Gamblers Mark

2:00 – 2:30 Lindi Ortega

3:00 – 3:30 Wheeler Brothers

4:00 – 4:30 Nashville Pussy

5:00 – 5:30 Old 97’s

6:15 – 6:16 Gretsch Giveaway

6:16 – 7:30 Social Distortion

MAIN STAGE B

12:30 – 1:00 The 454’s

1:30 – 2:00 Bloodshot Bill

2:30 – 3:00 Roger Alan Wade

3:30 – 4:00 Phil Alvin & Exene Cervenka

4:30 – 5:00 Murder By Death

5:30 – 5:35 Miss Hootenanny Contest

5:35 – 5:36 Gretsch Giveaway

5:35 – 6:15 Face To Face

SIDE STAGE

1:00 - 1:30 Seven Year War

2:00 - 2:30 Red Devil Squadron

3:00 – 3:30 Vinnie & The Hooligans

4:00 – 4:30 Not In The Face

5:00 – 5:30 Custom Made Scare

6:00 – 6:30 Battle For Hootenanny Winner

 

For More Information:

http://thehootenanny.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Official-Hootenanny/218666250547?fref=ts

https://twitter.com/hootenannyfest

RAY MANZAREK'S LAST RELEASE CELEBRATED

photo: Bob Hakins

Ray Manzarek, keyboardist and founding member of the one of the most popular American rock groups of all time, The Doors, passed away today (MAY 20, 2013) at the age of 74.   He was at a clinic in Rosenheim, Germany undergoing alternative medical treatments for cancer.

Manzarek formed The Doors in 1965 after a chance encounter on Venice Beach with poet Jim Morrison. The band went on to become one of the most successful rock 'n' roll acts to emerge from the 1960's, selling more than 100 million albums worldwide, and receiving nineteen Gold, fourteen Platinum and five multi-Platinum albums in the U.S. alone.   In 1993, The Doors were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

It is Manzarek's keyboard work that serves as the iconic opening to one of the group's biggest hits, "Light My Fire."   And his keyboard-as-lead-instrument stylings were prominent on their other ground-breaking hits such as "L.A. Woman," "Break On Through to the Other Side," "The End," and "Hello, I Love You."  

Manzarek, one of the most influential keyboard players in the history of rock music, went on to become a best-selling author, and a Grammy-nominated recording artist in his own right following Morrison's death in 1971.

Manzarek's last release, Translucent Blues on Blind Pig Records, was a 2011 collaboration with slide guitar master Roy Rogers.  It is a hard driving record with influences from blues, rock and jazz and lyrics that include tinges of poetry and literature.  Minneapolis City Pages called it "very nearly a masterpiece that emphasizes Doors-like driving roadhouse blues-rock tinged with noirish overtones."

Manzarek, a Chicago native, said of the album, "This is a head-first dive into American contemporary Blues.  Roy and I take the unique art form of the Blues and add a 21st century twist to the genre."  

Rogers issued a statment saying, "I am very saddened that my great friend and collaborator Ray Manzarek passed away today at the age of 74.  Always stretching the boundaries in music, art and poetry - this is one of the true rock icons that had heart, intellect and talent - and a terrific sense of humor.  He was a great friend and will be missed."

To watch Ray performing "Blues In My Shoes" with the Manzarek-Rogers band, please click HERE.  To hear Ray and Roy discussing another collaboration, "Hurricane," please click HERE

Fans like it hot at Hootenanny 2011

Eddie Spaghetti, lead vocalist of Seattle, Washington's Supersuckers, performed at Hootenanny 2011 on Saturday, July 2, 2011.

This review was originally posted on The Orange County Register Web site's Soundcheck blog on Sunday, July 3, 2011. My photos are published here for the first time and are exclusive to Rock 'n' Roll Truth.

Dropkick Murphys help heat up Hootenanny

It was a hot, hot Hootenanny this year: With the temperature seemingly positioned around the 100 mark for most of the afternoon, the annual festival welcomed a strong lineup of rockabilly, psychobilly, alt-country, Americana and roots-rock artists to Irvine on Saturday.

Now in its 17th year, the Oak Canyon Ranch bash still proved to have a few new cards to play over the course of eight full hours of music. Indeed, headliner Dropkick Murphys made their first-ever appearance at the event, the hard-rocking troupe bringing its blend of traditional Celtic folk, punk and East Coast rock ‘n’ roll to a gathering best known for classic hot rods, tattoos aplenty and vintage ’50s clothing.

Compared to Chuck Berry’s dull stint here last year, Dropkick Murphys’ late-afternoon set was the perfect celebration as the canyon finally began to cool. The long-running band from Quincy, Mass., charged through more than a dozen originals and threw in some crowd-pleasing covers to boot.

The group’s new album Going Out in Style provided some of its best original material: blue-collar workers rights were the focus of the propulsive folk-rocker “Take ‘Em Down”; the band offered up an emotive version of “Cruel.” Other highlights included the energetic “Peg o’ My Heart” and the bagpipes-anchored title track, with its punk attack and infectious chorus.

Well-placed covers included a super-fast version of the traditional tune “The Irish Rover” and, later in the set, a rowdy take on AC/DC‘s “T.N.T.” For that one, lead singer Al Barr (seen here with several members of the Parkington Sisters) conjured Bon Scott as the Hootenanny faithful were suddenly transformed into a mass of fist-pumping headbangers.

Yet, though more than a dozen acts performed on two adjacent main stages, only a handful turned in the kind of memorable performance that set Dropkick Murphys apart.

The first solid entry of the day was Luis & the Wildfires. The quartet’s songs hew too closely to Chuck Berry songcraft, but there was a youthful energy and spirit about the band that made it fun to watch. The speedy “Heart-Shaped Noose” and “No More Days” were highlights of the group’s 25-minute turn. Rosie Flores was even better, though her set was one of the shortest of the day (just a mere 15 minutes or so). Still, the Austin-based Tex-Mex singer mixed up rockabilly, Western swing and honky-tonk in five winning songs.

Anaheim-based Big Sandy is a frequent Hootenanny attraction who never disappoints. With his trusty trio the Fly-Rite Boys behind him (they also backed Flores earlier), Sandy brought his infectious mix of rockabilly, Western swing and traditional country to the party. His wonderful tenor and strengths as a frontman had him quickly connecting with the crowd during favorites like “The Power of the 45″ and “Jumping from 6 to 6.”

Undoubtedly one of the best sets of the day belonged to John Doe (pictured on the left), whose far-too-brief appearance featured his wonderful songs front-and-center. Opening with a reworked version of “Burning House of Love” (a minor hit for X in 1985), Doe and his excellent three-man band brought an honesty of emotion throughout their half-hour. Other selections that totally hit their mark were the aptly-timed “4th of July” (another outstanding reworking of an X classic) and the anthemic rocker “Mama Don’t.”

What happens when musicians perform a sonic brew that is equal parts country, classic rock, old school punk and heavy metal? Supersuckers answered that challenge mightily for 30 wonderful minutes. Led by singer-bassist Eddie Spaghetti, the foursome performed one great song after another: the rollicking "Rock 'n' Roll Records," the infectious "Go!" and the newly-penned "Pushing Through" all allowed time for the band to unleash a characteristically rewarding pedal-to-the-metal rock show.

Returning favorite Reverend Horton Heat (the moniker for singer-guitarist Jim Heath) is celebrating his 25th anniversary as a performer, so he dusted off tracks from each of his albums during a set stretching more than an hour. One of the fest’s most popular constants, he’s also one of the most predictable: once you’ve taken in a bit of the psychobilly sound unleashed by this Dallas group, it does become somewhat tired. That said, Heath’s strong guitar playing and the thrill of seeing him jam while standing on Jimbo Wallace‘s large upright bass without missing a note was impressive.

The rest of the day’s acts turned in sets that were alternately loud (in the case of Murder City Devils and Swingin’ Utters) or packed with in-your-face insults (Mojo Nixon and Roger Alan Wade) or just generally hit-and-miss (Royal Crown Revue, Powerflex 5).