Berkeley Rep’s world premiere musical, which opened Thursday, Sept. 14, under the direction of Des McAnuff, makes songs resounding clarion calls from their opening beats — the teasing jazz piano riff of “I Can’t Get Next To You,” the ache-filled strings soaring over gentle guitar thrums in “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me).” Richly…
Read moreReview: New Temptations musical throbs to life at Berkeley Rep
A propulsive new musical driven by group founder Otis Williams’ life story, “Ain’t” is making its world premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre with its eyes on Broadway. Directed by a master of the genre, Des McAnuff, of “Jersey Boys” and “Tommy” fame, this ambitious Motown biography throbs with grit and groove. We learn the backstory…
Read moreRun- D.M.C. – The Ritz NYC 1985
What a time for rap music. It was the end of the “old school” and the beginning of the golden age of rap music. Run-D.M.C. were one of the pioneers of the “New School” with cuts like Sucker MCs. It was nothing but a beat and rhymes. They took out all of the music and…
Read moreChuck Berry
In 1994 I had the opportunity to work with Chuck Berry. I was young and barely knew what I was doing but it was a great learning experience. I had been playing with a pianist named Daryl Davis while I was in Washington D.C. and trying to move to New York City to be a…
Read moreUnderground Inc. Documentary
This looks interesting: It was the early 90’s – seemingly out of nowhere, a little grunge band called Nirvana began outselling massive commercial artists like Michael Jackson. This immediately caught the attention of the giant record companies. These small underground bands branded as ‘alternative’ or ‘post-punk’, went from being inconsequential to being potential behemoths in…
Read moreMariah Carey Talks About George Michael
I found this clip to be interesting:
Read moreOpen the Music Industry’s Black Box
By DAVID BYRNE – JULY 31, 2015 An excerpt from HERE: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/02/opinion/sunday/open-the-music-industrys-black-box.html?smid=fb-share Putting together a picture of where listeners’ money goes when we pay for a streaming service subscription is notoriously complicated. Here is some of what we do know: About 70 percent of the money a listener pays to Spotify (which, to its credit,…
Read more