Keith Richards has lived long enough to talk some smack to Lee ZimmermanMusic vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman shares stories of memorable rock ‘n’ roll encounters that took place in our local environs. This week, a cutting remark from Keith Richards during a chance encounter with the Rolling…
John “Don’t Call Me Johnny” MellencampMusic vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman shares stories of memorable rock ‘n’ roll encounters that took place in our local environs. This week, quick snapshots in a book of memories.Sometimes even the briefest encounters can leave the most lingering impressions. While I’ve had…
Van Morrison kept personal interactions to a minimum at Hard Rock Live WednesdayVan MorrisonHard Rock Live, Hollywood Wednesday, May 5, 2010 Preceded by a reputation as one of contemporary music’s most distinctive voices – as well as one of its most curmudgeonly characters — Van Morrison’s first visit to South…
There’s a reason the typical cover band doesn’t include Pink Floyd in its repertoire. You can’t exactly dance to Pink Floyd music, and it’s a hell of a lot easier to toss out a piece of crap like “Play That Funky Music White Boy” than replicate something as precise and…
Lady Antebellum’s collision of country with pop and rock ‘n’ roll is one of the most exciting examples of the current musical climate. Sample the crowds swarming to see Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Emmylou Harris, and the Dixie Chicks and try to discern any narrow demographic, class, or…
RayDavies.info”Hey Lee, it’s Ray Davies calling again. You busy?”Music vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman shares stories of memorable rock ‘n’ roll encounters that took place in our local environs. This week, Lee meets a well respected man, Ray Davies. The ups and downs of trying to get backstage…
Despite an elusive persona often described as gruff, irascible, and, lately, maybe a wee bit randy, Van Morrison’s musical moves have always attracted notice. He initially seized the spotlight in the mid-’60s when he fronted the Irish band Them and sang/snarled its standard, “Gloria.” A prolific solo career birthed the…
Steve Winwood (front), joint not picturedMusic vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman shares stories of memorable rock ‘n’ roll encounters that took place in our local environs. This week: Candid conversations and the naked truth.I relish asking my musical heroes all the obscure questions that the fan in me…
Photo by Tom Craig/Seminole Hard RockJohn Fogerty at Hard Rock Live, April 22John FogertyHard Rock Live, HollywoodThursday, April 22, 2010When John Fogerty first initiated his roots rock ethos with Creedence Clearwater Revival some 42 years ago, the musical term Americana had yet to be used to describe the concept of…
John Fogerty was once reticent to exert his influence. His first album after breaking with Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1972 — the band that sealed his stamp on Americana — was, ironically, a set of classic covers under the name the Blue Ridge Rangers. Following his first collection of originals…
Music vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman shares stories of memorable rock ‘n’ roll encounters that took place in our local environs. This week, Jimmy gets a hit and Lee gets the nod.Prior to May 1977, Jimmy Buffett was just another wannabe singer/songwriter who did his time in Nashville…
Perfectly coifed hairdos aside, Bon Jovi always straddled that perilous divide between rock credibility and pure pop fluff. Still, there’s no doubt about the band’s commercial viability. With massive hits “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Wanted Dead or Alive,” and “Living on a Prayer,” among others, and album sales…
Chicago’s kitschy, horn-dominated sound and unabashed overtures to centrist audiences seemed an unlikely fit with the ultrahip rock denizens also reaping commercial success in the early ’70s. Chicago Transit Authority, which was later shortened, was something of a prog sensation when it began and opened shows for Jimi Hendrix. With…
Strike while the Iron is hot-headedMusic vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman shares stories of memorable rock ‘n’ roll encounters that took place in our local environs. This week, an uncomfortable encounter with Iron Maiden and a mad dash to get their singer to the show on time.Long before…
via livenation.comAfter three albums and nearly a decade of trying to attract some wider notice, you’d think David Gray would have been pleased when he finally landed in the Top Ten via his international smash “Babylon” and the best-selling album from whence it came, White Ladder. Yet, as the old adage…
Back in his early days, Tom Petty got a lot more sand kicked at himMusic vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman shares stories of memorable rock ‘n’ roll encounters that took place in our local environs. This week, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers play their first official gig and…
Paul McCartney’s “Coming Up” dates are rumored to mark his final world tour. Whether or not that’s the case, this latest jaunt does allow him to revisit some familiar terrain. Just before his South Florida stop, he’s scheduled to play two nights at the venerable Hollywood Bowl — site of…
Leon Russell and the Abominable Snowman appear to have a lot in common. Both are legendary, and sightings of each are relatively rare. Then too, there’s that physical similarity — Russell’s flowing white hair and massive beard find him a dead ringer for that reclusive creature. Russell’s low profile contrasts…
The fella on the far right is Lee ZimmermanMusic vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman shares stories of memorable rock ‘n’ roll encounters that took place in our local environs. This week, a daytripping tale about catching Paul McCartney and his band on the run at American Airlines Arena.It…
Pity the record-company honchos charged with marketing country singer Rodney Atkins. Image is everything in the music biz — look no further than Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, or Lady Gaga. Atkins is an artist whose image is eschewing any image at all. In fact, since the launch of his platinum-selling…
Photo by Tom Craig/Seminole Hard Rock Aretha FranklinHard Rock Live, HollywoodTuesday, March 16, 2010What doesn’t become a legend the most? Well, for starters, a certain behavior pattern that leads the public to wonder if an artist has dived face-first off a 12-story balcony without considering a safety net. Or acting…
The Moody BluesBayfront Park Amphitheater, MiamiMarch 5, 2010 It was be easy – and excusable to a degree – for a band like the Moody Blues, whose entire history is draped in nostalgia, to coast by simply on the haze of blissful memories. After all, the majority of the band’s devotees…
