redd granite

Seems that music is having a real tough go of it lately. Starting with the multiple illnesses of Poison frontman and 40 year type 1 diabetic, Brett Michaels to the deaths of Ronnie James Dio of Black Sabbath fame, and Paul Gray of the ever dark band Slipknot.

Brett Michaels

Michaels is a story all to himself. No one has done a better branding job than Michaels which has left him solidly in the spotlight for years after his initial popularity with ‘hair band’ Poison in the 80’s.  Of course a constant schedule of touring with Poison and his individual act has help keep him in front of the image curve.  But nothing has done more than to continue the image trend of the 80’s into this era…that of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, 2010 style.  In reality, I believe most of this  is just image.  Michaels is resilient, and my hats are off to him.  Even with his latest ‘hole in the heart’ medical issue discovered when entering the hospital for a mini stroke (now doesn’t that make a great title of a song he should write about), despite this was the final (hopefully) in the trifecta of medical issues for Michaels, he plows on with an attitude that just does not stall for any reason.  Again, I respect this one, it is his attitude, I am convinced, that completely transcends him beyond the many issues he has faced recently as well as being a diabetic for 40 years. I look forward to seeing him once again when Poison tours this summer.

Ronnie James Dio

Good god, the elf has left the house! Known primarily for his time in Black Sabbath following the departure way back when of Ozzy, I knew him more as a solo artist with some great material.  I have seen him in concert 7 times, enjoying each.  This guy stood about 5’1”, about 110 lbs, wiry hair that made him look like a mini-troll under the bridge.  But when he opened his mouth to sing, the pipes on this guy were amazing.  Truly one of the top 10 voices in music, ever, period. His passing from Stomach cancer set off a round of well wishers to the family that impressed. All stated that he was truly a kind and caring person, void of all that rock music bullshit that so many performers think they must be or deserve, somehow. Every concert I witnessed of him, he seemed truly appreciative of the fans.  Of course, not knowing personally, you never, know, and people tend to say the nice things when you croak…but on this one, I believe every kind thing that was said of him.  I will miss him and his performances; and that soaring voice that came from the little elf looking guy with a heart as big as his body

Paul Gray

Fresh on the death list, the cause of his death is still under investigation.  Gray was founding member of dark metal band Slipknot. Known for wearing hockey masks on stage and carrying simulated pig heads on stage, these guys try to portray the evil image.  Their true fans refer to themselves as “maggots” .  It will be interesting to see what took this one from this world. The band started in Iowa, and this is where he passed, as well. I have seen slipknot 4 times.  I must say, not a big fan  of the masks and think their image thing is a bunch of bullshit.  What I can say, is over the last several years, their music has gotten more mainstream, and in my opinion, quite likeable. Their last song “snuff”, I absolutely think is great stuff, although, one could argue that this songs format and type merely follow the successful songs from Corey Taylor (lead singer of Slipknot) with his side project that is now two CDs old, Stone Sour. I must say, I like them even more that Slipknot, and have seen them  3 times. Whatever the cause of death of Gray, yet another band must look for replacements.  Lets hope we see slipknot back out on tour again soon…

Peace

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One of these days I will actually click some pics at these concerts I go to. So Friday belonged to Dave Mason.  He was playing in the DFW, Texas, area at the Granada theater.  Mason is best known for his years in Traffic at a very young age.  He is also author of very recognizable songs…namely, “Feeling Allright” the Joe Cocker staple. I was not in to this concert much, rather, choosing to go to hang out with some good friends, since it had been awhile.  What I found was a quite a good time.

A local group, Tim Shuler and Monkey Beat opened.  Based on a lot of blues rifts, their music was driving and enjoyable.  They were known locally around here for doing covers, but alas, I did not recognize much more than straight up, good ole blues. Well, at one point, I was hearing a rift right out of the Doors “Roadhouse Blues” when they are singin “passionate lady, give up your charms” in the middle of the song.  Spot on copy of the rift…but did not care.  I like these guys.  Stong voice from the lead guy, although they were more blues rock jam than having to depend on any vocals. See them if you have a chance.

Dave Mason surprised me. Looming in his presence with a large frame and shining bald head…looking a  bit old, but man, when he opened his mouth, this dude had a voice.  I cling to good vocals, and he had them. The band was extremely tight, well orchestrated. This was a enjoyable concert.  He ran through a series of songs, most of which I did  not recognize. Then he included the few I did recognize.  No matter.  It was all enjoyable, listen able music.  A variety of guitars added to the show, as well as a black bassist who was clearly the electric personality to the rather dry but unpretentious Mason.  Glad I forced myself to go out for this one. Several beers did not hurt either.

The Granada is a venue that used to be a movie theater, one of those where you get served food with the movie.  They change many years ago to this smaller venue.  Always pleasurable to go there… there is the concerts, then the people watching on Greenville avenue, a sort of entertainment district in Dallas, much to the chagrin of local residents tired of having drunk people piss and have sex in their yards….never a dull time. I will mention on the venue, the lower floor used to be all GA.  Now it is mainly assigned seating.  Shitty. This is one of the reasons people like me come to venues like this, to get as close (or not) to the stage as I dare spear my way through.  To the management of the Granada, loose the floor seats….leave that for the balcony and the VIP….I will visit you more if you do.

Peace hippies

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My peeps tell me that the NYE event at Don Carlos Restaurant in Waco went very well. I would not know, as I wussed out due to weather conditions in my area.  OK. Slam me for this one, its OK. A Northerner like myself should not be concerned about rain at freezing conditions.  But in the end, the Southerners are concerned, and we Northerners end up being co-dependent (psych term, look it up) on their concern. Really, I got a late start, and as I returned from work, all southward outlets were jammed in traffic. I could have made it there, and in time, but would have been in horrible mood. Audiences or the DWF do not need soured redd…and thats it. Stayed home with a fire.

Looking ahead on the site, we will get back to top 10′s.  This time it will be of your top 10 favorite groups.  This time, however, we will put them in order from bottom to top.  Once again, there will be some explanations throughout, and this time, I plan to put 5 on each day covering two days.  Once again, comments or separate mails are welcome, you can post yours in comment section or mail me at jay@reddgranite.com. I will assure it get posted.

Later

Taking a few minutes before heading out to hit the road for NYE festivities at Don Carlos Mexican Restaurant, I 35 South in Waco, Texas. Will join the Dazzling Weasel Faces www.dazzlingweaselfaces.com for a long night of sets and music and laughter. Any of you local peeps to Waco, come on out, we will  have you up in front of a microphone singing “Having My Baby” or some other whacked music. Anything for a quick laugh. Again, I will bring my sets….we will only have the Tak 12′er with me tonight.  Just feel like being laid back, so the full  array of guitars will not make the trip with me tonight. We play from 8-12 tonight….but my guess there is no way we knock off at 12, who is the stoner who set that schedule up? Again, we will have a few new things tonight, and I will mingle with the local peeps in the crowd tonight as well….forgot the  beads, anyone have beads?

I will be joining the Dazzling Weasel Faces www.dazzlingweaselfaces.com at Don Carlos Mexican restaurant, 4651 Interstate 35 South, Waco, Texas. This will be a show on New Year Eve, Thursday, December 31 from 8-12p. Yeah, like right, as if we will knock off at 12 on NYE.  Check out Don Carlos at http://www.doncarlosrestaurants.com. We will be in the mood to cut loose, and given the amount of time for this show, I will likely have an extended set to play from so Marty can rest…..he will need it, far past his bed time! With this set, we will perform more than the usual original music from redd and DWF, and we look forward to play them.

We look to see you there.  Even if you have a party elsewhere that evening, begin the evening with us.  Good food and drinks with our performance to warm you up for the New Year Festivities.  See you there.

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I am so over due in wiriting up a review for this concert.  This bill was offered at the Nokia Theatre, Grand Prairie, Texas, on October 23, billed as “Freakers Ball” by the local hard rock radio station. Halloween costumes were to be the theme, but it was just a bit too early for most, being over a week away from Halloween. So here is a quick review of this concert: 

Venue. The Nokia Theatre seats around 6,000 people overall in three primary levels. This is a good venue to see concerts.  The accoustics are great, and most seats in the house are good ones. Only the top level are the seats a bit strained from the stage. We were in the pit, as usual, right up close. This concert had around 4,000 in attendence by my guess, decent for a Friday night, but could have been better attended, but I believe the market is a bit saturated with events given the state of the economy.

Saving Abel. This is the second time seeing these guys, the first time up close, however.  These are a tight group of straight forward rock music.  Nothing too flashy, just good, solid music with energetic performance without getting too nutty.  Well received by the audience, estimated to be about 1/2 of what it woudl be for the headliner.  I await the second cd from these guys, the first was terrific.  If you have a chance, go see these guys.  We were a bit bummed as their set was short due to the multi-band bill, and these days, rock concerts are corporate events, done by 11:00 at most nationally managed venues like this one

Chevelle. Fourth time to see these guys, and each time, I have been underwhelmed.  The problem is their rather unique sound that got them air time  just does not translate too well into live conert setting.  This time out was the best that I have heard them, but in the end, they still struggle to make theri songs more energetic becuase the natural song structure of there music is driving rock with a more calculated beat that is somewhat blues laced. Decent outing, about the best I will ever like these guys live.

Puddle Of Mudd. I am sorry, I just like these guys. Lead singer Wesley is about as unpretentious as they get, kind of a happy rocker who drinks a bit and plays his songs getting energy from the audience. This is the 5th time seeing them, and every time I have enjoyed.  It is interesting to note, every time I see them, they are on a multi-bill, so I have never seen an extended set with them as healiner.  Wonder if they are better in these short doses?  If so, it has worked.  I will conitnue to see these again and again. They just really look like they are enjoying them selves, and if you are familiar with their music, much of it is rather lgith hearted and mostly sarcastic.  Their performance comes across this way as well.

Alice In Chains. Never have been a big fan.  This is the first time seeing them, and it is good to say I have.  Of course, with the loss of former lead singer Lane Staley, A.I.C. had to go out and look for replacement singer that could pull off the rather unique voice, and what really is a unique sound that Cantrell has designed for the group.  The new singer gets a thumbs up…..did not try to do too much, and yes, he sounds very similar and carries the sound along.  So if you are a A.I.C. fan, you can see them and not miss the former lead (died of drug overdose, I believe, correct me if I am wrong A.I.C. fans), as they were sounding like they always have. I am not certain of the awe of Jerry Cantrell, he is a good guitarist, decent stage presence, but nothing much more.  musically, they are bery tight, purest of the purest. I do enjoy a band that sounds together like this. The crowd recieved them well, the pit got a bit more challenging to manage due to the acceptance. Will not look to go see them again, but again, for true fans, I am certain they do a good show.

The audience was mostly younger in lower 20′s, and fairly tame for an event like this.  Of course at one point, I believe I had one of these blokes calling out to me as “old man” to get my attention for something…..I decided to let that go, he likely had nothing intelligent to say anyway, and well, I am a bit older than your average cliet at an event like this, I just do not care.

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Well, I love Halloween. What can I say. No, I do not collect candy, and most of my experiences are “trick”, but at the end of the day, it is always a party waiting to happen. The Dazzling Weasel Faces, (really now check them out at www.dazzlingweaselfaces.com, as Marty finally started to figure out how to use this software despite bagging me the entire night.  For those geekheads in the crowd, we use wordpress software, open source web developement.  www.wordpress.org.  Way to go Marty, I knew you could figure it out.

A great time was had by all, and I must say, we were on. Selena’s is a higher end bistro in Waco….I discussed a few menu items with owner Spencer, and man, I am ready to go during regular hours. This is a BYOB place, and according to Spencer, always will be.  Never fear, it is right next to a yet another wine bar in Waco called the Grape.  Spencer keeps a menu for there wines at the front desk, and over you go, just a few feet away and bring it back to Selena’s.  Cool.  For this event, Spencer put out a killer spread. 40 or so tix were pre-sold, and we were expecting a good walk up crowd.  Great cause, and the little canine friends in costume were great. Unfortunately, the show was a little light, leaving much food left over.  But the crowd who did show, were wonderful, fun loving people, and we really enjoyed playing for them. We had guest singer appearances all evening! Even to a point were I just took my guitar and played from the audience view.

redd has not joined DWF in about 6 months. Just to confirm long standing time playing together from the college days, we really did not miss a beat.  The harmonies were rich, Dave was particular on in his rather unique lead guitar style he has done for 35 years. We were a little loose at the end of the evening, but overall, it was great.  Originals played was “Banshee”. OK. What did you expect for Halloween? I had intended to debut “Learning To Breathe”, but it was not the right night as that is too serious of a song.  We also had intended to perform “Living On A Broken Promise”, afterall, Waco is a country crowd, but again, the requests came in droves, so, the audience wins, as always.   Thats the way we like it.

Catch DWF with redd granite when you hear of the announcement here or at www.dazzlingweaselfaces.com. We have a light hearted show that pleases all……and we love doing this stuff, even if noone listens…..music is us!  Now theres good English!

Please check out the pics on the party pics page…thanks to all who attended and joined us on stage. Excel, my friends.

Coming soon, a review of the Halloween fundraiser for the Waco Humane Society party. Good time had by all. Looks like Selena’s Table, a new higher end resturaunt in Waco is  keeper…..support you Wacoans.  Thanks Spencer for the party and the review of your menu.  We will visit when we come down for basketball games

A full review on a separate post. Going through the pictures as we speak. Later.

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I am a rocker. I may have said it before earlier, in spite of the softer side of our original music, I am rock all the way through. And while I do not mean to derail the upcoming redd appearance with the Dazzling Weasel Faces (when you get the website right, Marty?), the irony of Styx coming to town here in Dallas in mid-November, and me sitting on the back porch listening to Dennis DeYoungs greatest hits cd….well, somehow it just seemed a bit ironic. Some say the parting of the ways from him in Styx (he truly being the founder with the Panozzo bro’s, not JY like the current lineup likes to say in concert) was a rift of musical styles.  Some say it was his big ego. Some say he became an emotional wreck difficult to deal with. I do not know or care.  While I adore the current line-up, including Lawrence Gowen (why do Canadians like the voices of DeYoung and Gowen ((who is Canadian)) so much?), I do miss DeYoung.  OK. Could not take “Babe” in concert.  But I sit here listening to his greatest hits, and this is music that flows, is insightful, jazz influenced, man, it is good shit…..So I thought I would do a shout out. And if any of you have not picked up his latest cd…100 Years From Now….do it.  Get on the website and look for info on it www.dennisdeyoung.com , see if you can get a copy. The title song is one of my top 20 of all time, and, if you can believe this, a number 1 hit in Quebec….remember the Canadian reference?  Well, there you go.  Not sure how up to date the website is, the last post from his wife was June of 2009.

A Bit Older Now

And to sure folks, right now as I finish this post, “Black Wall” is playing on the CD, and this is one of my top 10 of all time, as is Styx’s “Show Me The Way”, another DeYoung penned song.  I do not think even my beloved Doors have 2 songs in my top 10….there you go.  Hats off to you Dennis.  I understand the tiff, the lawsuits, the current guys bagging on you on occasion, but you know, really, Styx was the best, and I mean the best, when all of you were together…Shaw, Young, Panozzo x two, DeYoung….the chemistry, talent for song writing, voices, performance was second to none.  I still remember growing up in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Styx was a local icon before the market ever knew of them…..and I miss you guys

And Dennis, if you do come through Dallas playing music of Styx with DSO….well, I think it is cheesy, but I will be there, in the front row

It is confirmed! redd granite will join the infamous Dazzling Weasel Faces at Selena’s Table, 2004 W. Valley Mills drive, Waco Texas. This will be a full halloween get up with costume contests for clients, staff, and pets. Pets? This is a fund raiser for the Waco Humane Society so there is a cover charge that benefits this great cause. Never have been to this establishment, so if the stage is small, look for a redd granite set squeezed into the middle of the normal DWF set. Rumor also has it that Carlos, the r.g. house pet may make an appearance as “Mutt Mail” hmmm

Could not find a website for Selena’s (shame on you, I will have to sell them web development service from Penland Corner Consultants www.penlandcorner.com while I am there).  HOwever, judging by some other information I found on the web, this place is up and coming and good.  Check out www.jimramonasrestaurantjourney.blogspot.com for a write up on this spot