redd granite

This in from Robert, one of our regulars who has his pulse firmly on the rock music scene.  For those of you who do not know, Rocklahoma is a 3-5 festival in Pryor Oklahoma that has gone the last three years with bands largely from the 80′s. I have attended the first two, loved them both.  However, attendance has melted in this difficult economic environment, and with this being managed by a local company based in Pryor, the issue was to close it down (they have permanent facility 4 miles north of Pryor) or figure new approach with new blood.  They chose the later. Read the announcement below.  I will not comment further but to take a wait and see approach. And my wait and see will also include the challenge to even attend next year, as it now falls over memorial day….a weekend I ususally spend with family.

OKLAHOMA MUSIC FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES NEW STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIP:
As suggested right here a couple of months back, the first signs of a “new look” Rocklahoma festival have begun to immerge. And it isn’t good news for melodic fans…

Pryor, OK – “The producers of Rocklahoma announced today that they will be teaming with the world’s largest producer of music festivals, AEG Live, to revamp the rock festival in 2010. The management team that created the critically-acclaimed rock festival in Northeast Oklahoma in 2007 has brought on board one of the most respected festival producers and promoters to serve as executive consultants of the festival in a multi-year deal.
“In keeping with the vision that we set out to realize three years ago, we have learned that we need the strength of a major player in the live entertainment business behind us if we want to continue to grow Rocklahoma,” said Mark Nuessle, President and Co-owner of the festival.
Nuessle added, “AEG Live brings an incredible amount of expertise and credibility to the table, and that is exactly what we must have to continue the process of making this festival one of the premier destination rock festivals in the U.S.”
As part of the multi-faceted deal, AEG Live will focus specialized attention on reworking and further developing Rocklahoma in several key areas including talent booking, marketing, sponsorship, ticketing and festival operations. The entertainment company will work hand-in-hand with the current Rocklahoma management team to grow and expand the festival to new levels of attendance and acclaim in the coming years.
“We’re really excited to be working closely with the entire Rocklahoma team to create an even more incredible festival for the rock fans in Oklahoma and surrounding areas. Mark and his partners have built something very special with this festival that more people need to see and experience,” commented Joe Litvag, Senior Vice President of AEG Live.
The first major changes come with this announcement that Rocklahoma will be a three-day festival in 2010, and it is moving from its past mid-summer dates to May 28-30, 2010, Memorial Day Weekend.
“One of the first things that we discussed with our team and AEG Live was the idea of eliminating a fourth festival day in an attempt to create more depth-of-talent on each of the remaining three days. We want to expand the reach of our audience to a greater distance by giving the fans who will attend from other parts of the country an extra day to return home on the long Holiday weekend,” commented Nuessle. Litvag added, “Additionally, we felt that by moving Rocklahoma into May, the festival could capitalize on more suitable weather for the fans as well as deeper artist availability by not directly competing with the U.S. summer touring season and European festival season.”
In keeping with the Rocklahoma tradition, next year’s festival will include booking the most formidable classic rock bands in the world. But in addition, festival producers and AEG Live will create a much more diverse roster of rock artists that will include a large confluence of new active artists, as well as the classic rock artists that Rocklahoma is known for.
Announcements of the 2010 Rocklahoma line-up, on sale information, new VIP packages and additional festival upgrades and improvements will come later this fall.”

 Again, lets see how this turns out….will be interesting to see the line up.  Hopefully AEG does not make this too “corporate”  One of the charms of this event was the local flavor, as well as the local people working this event, who overall, were some of the nicest people working a public eent I have seen…and given the clientele at this event, they are truly saints.

Later….J

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

Funny thing happened on the way to the dirt tracks to watch some sprint car races on Friday, 16 October…..after much rain during the week, and even though we had nearly two days of sunshine, I guess the track just didn’t dry out enough to run a show that night.  A friend and myself went tot he track only to see it dark.  Clearly we needed a quick Plan B….you don’t burn kitchen passes! He quickly suggested seeing the Black Crowes at the Palladium Ballroom, Dallas, Texas. I think he wanted to do this that night all along, but he was being flexible going to the dirts.  You see, I am a big fan.  See another post on this subject on www.hybriddebateblog.com. That post captures my interest. Well the Palladium is a general admission venue that holds about 1500.  Great place to see a concert.  Its dog eat dog in getting as close to the stage as you dare. We arrived in plenty of time. Not sure who the warm up band was, did not stick inside to listen.  Night was beautiful, and this venue overlooks down town Dallas sky line.  So we took our refreshments and hung out there. Black Crowes came on about 10p. This is a straight up jam band with commercial appeal.  Chris Robinson’s voice was in good form, and fine control. Without being too lengthy on the musical part, these guys seemed to focus on jamming, but staying commercial as most audience does not appreciate too much jamming.  they were fairly tight.  Unpretentious. Not much interaction with the audience, which for the most part is a good thing. The set lasted easily over 1.5 hours before the encore. I am not that into this group, I own no cd’s from them. I consider them a middle of the road group with decent song writing skills and rock appeal. I listen in concerts very closely to the music and how tight the group is.  These guys get a A for this, very tight. I wish I could remember individual songs and comment, but really, I just am not that familiar with the music outside of the normal hits.  They closed with “She Talks To Angels” which is by far my favorite song of theirs.  Great lyrics…..and I get into lyrics as I know that truly insightful ones are hard to come up with. ‘ The age of the crowd averaged about 35.  This is a result of the length of time this band has been around. Difficult to imagine they go back nearly 15 years. The crowd was decently enthusiastic, fairly controlled. But gauging by the less popular songs, which is always a true measure, the crowd was fairly into them, again, a signal of their musical tightness. With the celebrated relationships in the entertainment circle that Robinson has had, I found it interesting, as he looked no different than the grunge of Kurt Kobain, and truly his southern dirt upbringing was reflected. Again, unpretenious, and this is good Overall, very glad I went.  Final grade for the night: B. Go see them if you enjoy this kind of music and experience, but I would not knock myself out doing so if not. Next review: Alice In Chains, Chevelle, Puddle Of Mudd, Saving Abel, October 23.  Posting soon.