Hollywood Vampires

One of the unseen benefits of focusing my artistic attention on music, or more specifically rock n’ roll, is the research I find myself doing. The start of most of my pieces begin by watching or reading a documentary and/or biography of some sort. When you read and see enough of these, you start to notice the same stories overlapping from different points of view–legendary moments or venues in rock lore that find their way into various memoirs.

One of my favorite examples of this also happens to be one of my favorite watering holes in the world. I never visit Los Angeles without at least one trip to famous Rainbow Bar and Grill. I could probably write a hundred-page essay about this legendary bar on the Sunset Strip. It’s where I’ve had milestone birthdays, spent Christmas eve, and mingled with various celebrities. It also served as home base for one of the baddest men on the planet, Mr. Lemmy Kilmister.

Seems every band from the 60’s to the 90’s has stories about the Rainbow. Bands such as Zeppelin, Sabbath and Motley Crue were fixtures there at one time or another.

Years prior to visiting the Rainbow for the first time, I had heard numerous stories about the loft/attic upstairs over the stage and its connection with a group of rock stars calling themselves the Hollywood Vampires. The upstairs loft became a thing of rock lore and was known as the Lair of the Hollywood Vampires. The Hollywood Vampires was basically a drinking club formed by Alice Cooper. Other members included Keith Moon, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Harry Nilsson and Micky Dolenz, among others.

These rock biographies often talk about the sordid events that have happened in that small crawl space, and every time I take someone new to the Rainbow, I never miss a chance to take them up there, put on my tour guide hat and share some of these legendary stories about legendary people in this legendary bar.

And All That Jazz

From the second I stepped off the plane in New Orleans a few years back, I knew I would be returning. Both Mireille and I are massive live music fans, often searching for new acts or music venues in our hometown. When I walked into the French Quarter for the first time and literally heard live music bouncing off the walls, I immediately started planning a trip back, so we could experience it together.

When that plan was actualized this last May, the Big Easy revealed itself to us in far more detail than I could have asked for. With a crew of like minded individuals in tow and no official business to worry about, we were able to enjoy every aspect of the city, from the food scene to the cocktail scene, and of course, every genre of music imaginable as we hit seemingly every dive bar and lounge from Bourbon to Frenchmen. Even the street musicians busking in this town were so accomplished and talented they could probably sell out an amphitheatre given the chance.

Of course, no trip would be complete without stopping by a legendary music venue. This time it would be Preservation Hall. Admittedly I had never heard of the establishment until I saw it on Sonic Highways, the Foo Fighters miniseries in which they recorded at famous studios throughout the United States. After the docuseries explained its historical importance it seemed to pop up on every show that featured the city. Its purpose was to preserve, perpetuate and protect traditional New Orleans Jazz – and they continue that mission as a cornerstone of music and culture.

As a group, we decided the Saturday evening show would be our indoctrination to the legendary venue and its accompanying band Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Unfortunately, when we arrived we were informed that the evening's performance was cancelled. Although slightly disappointed, I knew it was a great excuse to return to the city.

Addendum: A week ago I picked up a biography of one of my all time favorite bands – The Never-Ending Present, The story of Gord Downie and The Tragically Hip. Although I am a huge fan of the band, I knew very little about their rise to Canadian fame, as they preferred to keep some anonymity. As I read the book, I was blown away by their connection to New Orleans (aside from their hit song “New Orleans is Sinking”). A renovated and repurposed mansion in the city’s French Quarter was the studio where various early Tragically Hip albums were recorded and/or mixed. It is one more musical landmark that I must pay homage to next time I’m fortunate enough to be in the Big Easy.

Honky Tonk Woman

A few years ago, I started noticing a trend in the rock community. It seemed every month or so, another rock idol was picking up and moving to Nashville. The first that I can recall was Jack White when he opened the incredible Third Man Records, followed by members of Aerosmith, Motley Crue, and soon it became a noticeable trend. Obviously, I was intrigued and had to check it out. I wasn’t sure what to expect but growing up the son of a cattleman I was inundated with country music growing up and I even learned to love the music and the folklore surrounding legendary musicians from this genre. I wasn’t, however, a huge fan of contemporary country music, so there was a level of trepidation on visiting the city.

I was blown away.

The city has an energy surrounding live music like few others. Many of the establishments on the Broadway strip had a different band on every floor – it was everywhere. My kind of city. I was also pleasantly surprised to find most bands avoiding the contemporary stuff and really focussing on the material I heard blasting from my parents’ old cabinet style turntable, mixing in some heartland style rock and roll such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steve Earl, Bob Seger and Springsteen.

As always, I made a pilgrimage to some of the legendary venues. The Ryman Auditorium (Grand Ole Opry) was every bit the cathedral of music I thought it would be. The tour and accompanying media presentation was astonishing and did an exemplary job in explaining the pivotal role this historic landmark had on music of all genres.

The strip itself unveiled some, but definitely not all, its secrets over the next few days. Stumbling into an innocuous store would often lead to a discovery that, at some point, the joint was once a venue that housed the biggest stars of country music. Others like Tootsies Orchid Lounge are not so innocuous as they have grown to be pillars of the Nashville tourist destinations. This legendary club would often welcome performers from the neighbouring Ryman Auditorium through the backdoor to have drinks between sets. The rich history, coupled with a different band on every level, make it a destination every music lover should add to their list.

Ladies and Gentlemen

Back in April 2016, I heard that The Stones had opened a retrospective in London called Exhibitionism. I immediately checked my schedule and started trying to find my way to London, but unfortunately, I couldn’t make it happen. Once I heard that they were planning on taking the show on the road I once again tried to cross paths with the 17 trucks containing over 500 artifacts documenting my favorite band – once again it was in vain.

 The stars finally aligned for me in October 2017 when enroute to Las Vegas for a show of my own, I learned that the exhibit tour was making a stop at The Palazzo in fabulous Las Vegas (it previously wasn’t shown on the tour schedule).

I had extremely lofty expectations for this exhibit, as I am somewhat of a historian on the Stones. It did not disappoint, this was my mecca. I could write an entire essay on the guitars, recording equipment, stage costumes, the back-stage area mock up and of course the 3D stage experience. It was all mesmerizing. The highlight for me, however, was the mock up of the small Chelsey flat that a young Mick and Keith shared with Brian Jones. Having read every Stones biography ever written, I’ve often had a picture in my mind of what that flat might have looked like, and the incredible detail put in to this was magnificent (right down to the dirty dishes in the sink). It was like being transported back in time and given exclusive access to the start of rock and roll lore.

Bataclan

Unfortunately, some of the legendary music venues I visit become even more historical for the wrong reasons. The Bataclan in Paris, needed no help in this regard, as it was already a legendary venue that had held countless historic performances since its opening in 1865. It will, however, probably forever be known going forward as the venue that 89-innocent rock n’ roll fans died at the hands of senseless terrorism.

On November 13, 2015, during an Eagles of Death Metal concert, three men wielding guns and suicide belts stormed the Bataclan and fired randomly at people. When the smoke cleared nearly 1.5 hours later, there was 89 dead and over 200 wounded.

The details of this story are incredibly horrific, and I don’t feel its my place to get too deep into the details, however, I strongly urge you to check out the documentary Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis. This heart wrenching documentary recounts the band’s experience before, during and after the attack. You don’t need to be a fan or even have any knowledge of the band to be mesmerized by this film – although I’m quite certain you will emerge as one after.

Being a fan of EoDM, and having watched this film more than a few times, I knew I had to make a point of visiting it in my travels.

Late to The Party

For most people on vacation, the traditional tourist attractions such as museums and amusement parks are generally on the agenda. For me, however, these vacations are usually pilgrimages to various historical rock n’ roll venues, studios or legendary concert sites. When the South of France was planned for the summer (2017) the first thing that crossed my mind was visiting Nellcôte.

For those who don’t know me, I am a huge Stones fan and one of my all time favorite albums is Exile on Main St. After the Stones were exiled from the U.K. due to extreme tax laws, the band fled to Villefranche-sur-Mer in the South of France to embark on writing and recording their masterpiece.

The sixteen-room mansion named Nellcôte, or sometimes Villa Nellcôte, was rented by Keith Richards and much of the recording of Exile was done in the basement. The stories of opulence, decadence and excess are legendary, but one anecdote pretty much sums up the six-month long house party of sex, drugs and certainly rock n’ roll; Dominque Tarlé was tasked with photographing the Stones at Nellcôte for an afternoon. With his duties complete, as he was being escorted to the door by Keith, Keith mentioned that he was welcome to stay if he wished. So he did…for six months.

American Poet in Paris

Back in 1990 (well before the Oliver Stone Movie) I was properly introduced to The Doors. We played it constantly in our high school art class. I never had music speak to me in that way, it inspired me and opened up the flood gates of creativity. The Doors were paramount in the direction I took with art in every way.

Long before we all called it a "bucket list", I made a pact to myself that I would someday make a pilgrimage to Paris and visit the final resting place of the man that inspired me and opened my "Doors of Perception"...today was that day!