Bellante comes from a long line of politically aware, socially relevant, musically adroit, and vocally unpredictable singer-songwriters like Neil Young, Harry Nilsson, Perry Farrell, Bruce Springsteen, and their deep-thought free-world-rockin’ brethren. Think Edwin McCain backed by the Cowboy Junkies.

“I was inspired by the way Tracy Chapman addresses social issues in her songs,” says Bellante, “with lyrics that are meaningful and relevant without being preachy.”

Raised in Cleveland, Bellante grew up in a musical family, studying both piano and guitar. “My grandmother was playing piano right into her 90s,” he says, “and that made her one of the coolest people I knew. My mother was a poet, and that has always influenced my lyrics.”

After graduating from college and arriving in San Diego with business degree in hand, Bellante says, “The only business I was interested in was the one called ‘show.’ Luckily, I found a musical partner right away in drummer Aaron Redfield [Switchfoot].”

 Bellante’s 2008 release EP2 was produced and recorded by J. Logan Stewart and Taylor Barefoot at Barefoot Studios. Videos for several songs were directed by Steve Woroniecki (Mariah Carey, Kid Rock).

“My lyrics and the overall direction of my music have come from my vast life experiences and observation of others,” says Bellante. “I have looked under the surface of things in life to try to understand the whys of life. My music simply leads people to places in their soul to help them see things clearly: that is the best way I can describe it.”

NEWS SHORTS

Rock Radio reports: Dave Mustaine says police were called to the set of a video shoot because Megadeth were using a tank in their promo film.

Checking in via his Live Line service, where he leaves phone messages for fans who can listen in, he explains that officers arrived to investigate the situation as the band worked with the war machine.

Mustaine says: "We're on location making the video for Right to go Insane. We've got an M68a tank. The cops are here – it can get pretty hairy with this video shoot." - more on this story

Adam Lambert follows the footsteps of Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta to return to "American Idol" stage. The show's eighth season alum himself has confirmed that he is going to sing in an upcoming episode of the popular reality singing competition. more

Patti Page sang about the 'sand dunes and salty air' of Cape Cod in a song recorded more than 50 years ago. Now she's being honored with her own road on the Massachusetts vacation haven. more

Carlos Santana plans a covers album. According to Billboard the effort will include Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love" with Thomas, the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" with India.Arie and Yo-Yo Ma, Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing" with Joe Cocker, the Rolling Stones' "Can't You Hear Me Knocking " with Scott Weiland, Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" and Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son." more

Stone Temple Pilots unveiled their first new album in nine years at a private listening party on Tuesday night (February 23) in New York City, according to HeadbangerNYC.com. The yet-to-be-titled album will be out June 1st. Classic Rock has a tracklisting here

WHY MACHINE HEAD HATES SAN DIEGO

Blabbermouth reports: MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn has revealed that his band has "fired" the city of San Diego, and will never play there again. He tells Rock Radio DJ David "The Captain" Grant, "A lot of crowds are awesome. But if we're playing San Diego, we're not going to go on the radio and say, 'San Diego crows are awesome' — because they're not. They're beat. That's MACHINE HEAD slang for 'We don't like them.' They don't come to a show and rage and go crazy. They come to a show and say, 'Okay... this is cool. Oh, I like this song.' We're not into that. I don't know why they come to a rock show with that kind of attitude. So we don't go to San Diego anymore. They're fired." http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=135780

 TRAVIS BARKER FIGHTS PHOTOGS

Jam! reports: A trash media photo-stalker (aka paparazzo) reportedly called the cops on blink-182's Travis Barker after a run-in on Saturday, February 20, at a Calabasas, Ca restaurant. Information about the incident is a "star said, stalker said" affair with Barker taking to his Twitter to give his side and the other side posting what Barker has labeled an "edited" video.

The tabloid reports vary, Jam! places the incident on "Sat night" and says that Barker was at the restaurant with "friends". However, Barker's account places the incident in the morning and hints that he was out to breakfast with his children when he had a run-in with a photo-stalker who threatened him.

Apparently there were 3 photographers, then an hour later Barker had evened the odds by calling in reinforcements. The cops were reportedly called because Barker allegedly took away the photo-stalker's cell phone and slashed his tires, according to the Jam! report. However, while police were called to the scene for a vandalism claim, no arrests were made.

Here is what Barker had to say about the incident: "When I'm out at breakfast at 8am in the morning the last thing i appreciate is some photographer threatening me 2 a fight while he's 3 deep. When i defend myself/my kids that don't make me a tough guy .I was outnumbered and threatened so i did what any man would.

"Paparazzi cried like young girls when it was no longer 3 of them against me and my kids. Didn't they remember threatening me an hr ago?? What happened to the tough guys with the cameras? It was gonna be a fair fight..3 against 3? I mean i weigh a buck 40, your 200lbs and 6′6. - more of Travis' comments

 TRAVIS BARKER FLYING SOLO (AGAIN)

Spinnermusic reports: While blink-182 fans patiently await a new album from the reunited band, it appears that solo projects are all the rage with the members of the group. Travis Barker has recruited some big names for his forthcoming solo album.

The original announced guests made it sound like a hip-hop heavy effort with the likes of Lil Wayne, RZA and The Game making appearances but Barker now says that fans can expect an ecletic mix of music and announced an additional guest singer.

"I'm not singing or being an MC or anything," the Blink-182 Drummer tells Spinner. He goes on to talk about the special guests for the album, "I'm rounding it out right now," he said.

"I just love music. The more I can be around it the better, so with my album it's no one genre. It goes from everything from punk rock to hip-hop to some electro stuff on there to a metal song with Corey Taylor from Slipknot. It's been really fun and interesting up till now." - Read the Spinner report here

 AS SEEN ON DVD - MiniReviews by JAS

 SHERLOCK HOLMES' SMARTER BROTHER: I'm not sure why this isn't ranked up there with Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles - much of the same cast is in place. I just watched it on Encore Channel, for the first time since it was new in theaters in 1975. Tho Mel Brooks didn't direct, I heard his voice doing two cameos, so he was at least hanging around the set - Gene Wilder wrote and directed.

It's a little bittersweet to be laughing and then realize that Dom Deluise, Madeline Khan, Leo McKern, and Marty Feldman have all passed away --- but there are a lot of great scenes, from the Bunny Hop musical number(s) to the GREAT battle scene atop three rolling horse carriages, with Holmes and his nemesis grabbing giant sign props as they pass the shops, to use as weapons, like a giant hand and a giant foot...

And Marty Feldman as the Watson-like sidekick with "photographic hearing" - what a treat! Now if only the Encore Channel would show Wilder's OTHER forgotten self-made, Brooks-inspired vanity gem, World's Greatest Lover ---

 AVATAR: I was prepared to not like Avatar, since most CGI characters leave me cold - but the pro-ecology POV and excellent blend of animations and live action won me over. Mr. Shepherd compares the story and execution to Pocahontas, but really it's more like an adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series. Guy goes to live in another world while asleep, falls for and mates with beautiful and kick-ass tough native lady, wins the respect of huge colored-skin alien dude (green on Mars, blue on Pandora), learns to lead the "savages" to victory over planetside military aggression - some to think of it, Cameron owes the Burroughs estate a bunch of money for this story ----

Now that I'm noting John Carter swipes, I see many more, right down to both main characters being formerly military men who have become privateers, just before finding themselves on another world, mixing with the alien natives.

There IS a Carter movie finally being made, I understand, tho the casting is a bit wonky – hard to picture Thomas Hayden Church as Hajus, let alone Willem “Green Goblin” DaFoe as Tars Tarkus, but I’ll checkitout anyway. The state of CGI tech would seem to give it a fair shot, with even the 15 foot tall Martians now fully possible to do. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Car...)

John Ratzenberger’s role hasn’t been specified yet, but I’m betting he’ll voice one of those ambulatory brain thingys….

 PLANET OF THE APES: A forest planet for apes DOES make more sense than a sandy desert world, tho this is one of the few tweaks to the original that qualifies as any sort of improvement. Putting the "origin" story in the hands of goth cartoonatic Tim Burton is almost as misplaced an idea as it was to have Rod “Twilight Zone” Serling script the original version (very few of Serling's ideas, words, and social commentary actually made it onto the screen, despite him usually being cited as "screenwriter").

Perhaps this franchise should instead be restarted with a do-over, as in the second Hulk movie that attempted to cleanse the public’s palate of Eric Bana(l) – how cool would it be to see Remake of the Apes by Terry Gilliam and the crew behind Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth? Ooooh, or now that Sam Raimi is off Spidey Four….

 NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

Top 5 Movies to Leave Playing While You Commit Suicide

5 - Pink Floyd, The Wall: Because its worldview is even more bleak than your own.

4 - Lisztomania: Since you're going to Hell anyway, why not Hollywood's own version of an Hieronymus Bosch painting.

3 - Chronicles of Narnia, UK TV show version: 'Cause nobody can survive thru to the ending.

2 - Natural Born Killers: It clearly has no respect for the sanctity life OR good film making, so why not?

1 - No Country For Old Men: 'Cause it sucks even worse than you.

THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE: A show well worth peeping. Starring the woman who played lady cop Annie in the U.S. version of the (woefully underrated) Life on Mars TV show, the Notorious Bettie Page is a pretty good movie. It goes into surprising depth RE the increasingly federalized attempts to legislate all aspects of the sex biz out of existence, as well as covering a lot of Miss Page's (very interesting) personal biographical history.

Star Gretchen Mol (who seems to specialize in period pieces - the '70s in Life on Mars, and now the '50s) does well with projecting both innocence and naughtiness. I've met part-time pornographer Bunny Yeager and can vouch that the movie's portrayal is fairly accurate, if a bit superficial - much more could have been done with the motivations behind choosing such an "outlaw" endeavor, in an social-status era when jail wasn't anywhere near the worst thing that could result.

All in all, tho, a well-done flick --

 ACROSS THE UNIVERSE: Named after one of the weakest Beatles tunes, of around three dozen Beatlecentric cuts covered or referenced in the film, Across the Universe wants to ride the musical comeback wave of High School Musical, Moulin Rouge, or even Hedwig and the Angry Inch - instead, it falls off the board into Sgt Bee Gee's Pepperland and Cop Rock-ville. Why did they bother? And, more annoyingly, why did I watch it expecting anything different? You'd think I would have learned after All This and World War II ----

Top 5 WORST Beatles tunes:

5) Maxwell’s Silver Hammer (until/unless performed by Steve Martin, whose rendition comprises the four most watchable minutes of Sgt Bee Gee’s…)

4) Across the Universe (“Lyrics flying out like golden rain into a paper cut, they slither as they pass like turds…”)

3) Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da (I mean, the only reason Molly got into Desmond’s band was because Desmond liked her face – WTF?! Is this actually The Ballad of Paul and Linda?)

2) Lovely Rita (Just call the meter maid a b-tch and get over it already)

1) Martha My Dear (Like Lovely Rita, the dog this was named for was a total b-tch.)

Top 5 Worst Beatles Lyrics:

5) "Goo Goo G'Joob" (Gesundheit -- Here's a handkerchief. No, you keep it...)

4) "No one will be watching us, why don't we do it in the road" (Uh, guys, I think the middle of the road is the one place on Earth where EVERYone will be watching you!)

3) "And he told us of his life in the land of submarines" (Right before we executed him for Nazi war crimes, seeing as how subs only exist due to escalation of military kill-capability)

2) “Well here’s another clue for you all, the Walrus was Paul” (Yeah, we noticed the Walrus was HOLDING A BASS GUITAR – big whoopin’ clue).

1) “Honey pie, honey pie, honey pie, honey pie” (Don’t know if they were hungry or horny when they did that, but you can bet they were reeking like Tommy Chong’s beard)

[WARNING - "YUCK" ALERT, read on at your own peril] So....While she was riding in my back seat, I kept looking in the, uh, rear view mirror, to see her (wearing a short dress) sliding back and forth across the vinyl bench seat every time I took the slightest turn or lane change. It was like I had a freakin' Slip-N-Slide back there or something. WTF?? After I dropped her off, I noticed my back seat was smeared with what I can only politely describe as, uh, leftover lubricant from her film shoot. Takes a lotta lube to accommodate 50 men.

Needless to say, that was the last time I gave Annabel a ride. I'm lucky her butt didn't stick to my back seat like a damp suction cup (although that WOULD have kept her more stationary, made less of a mess, and perhaps saved me the HUGE tip I had to give my car detailing guy later that day).

 SHERLOCK HOLMES: I've long been a fan of the Doyle books, and the movie references countless things from the Doyle canon in a way that hardcore fans like me find delightful, but in an action movie context geared surprisingly well for the 21st century crowd, most of whom wouldn't know Sherlock Holmes from the Rolling Stones, or Sherlock's smarter brother Mycroft....

The flick uses a lot of flashy high tech supergraphics similar to the CSI TV shows (which, after all, begin and end as baldfaced Doyle/Holmes ripoffs-slash-tributes), without being SO modern as to feel like anachronisms. Coupled with almost relentless action scene after action scene, it was so engaging, and so filled with twists, both physical and philosophical, that I didn't want leave the room long enuff for a quick bathroom break. Every bit of the movie seemed to vital to miss ---

Lots of witty and intelligent stuff going on - I look forward to at least a couple of repeat viewings! For a VERY long time, the only TV or movie Holmes I've found acceptable are Basil Rathbone (by virtue of his radio incarnation more than the films), and Jeremy Brett from the PBS show (which are among the best direct-from-Doyle adaptations) - well, and maybe a couple of those weird shows with Matt Frewer/Max Headroom as Sherlock.

Now, and for some time to come, Robert Downey Jr. IS the personification of Mr. Holmes for me! Been digging his movie groove since his wonderful Chaplin biopic -- I doubt anybody would have bothered making this new movie without him. I hope the sequel they seemed to set up happens ----

 SAN DIEGO'S REELIN' IN THE YEARS CHRONICLES THE BRITISH INVASION

Dusty Springfield - Once Upon A Time 1964-1969

Small Faces - All Or Nothing 1965-1968

Herman's Hermits - Listen People 1964-1969

Gerry & The Pacemakers - It's Gonna Be All Right 1963-1965

The Invasion Arrives March 23, 2010

Over forty-five years after the Beatles sparked the legendary 'British Invasion' that forever changed the face of popular music, Reelin' In The Years Productions, in association with Voyage Digital Media, is proud to announce the release of the initial four DVDs in the new British Invasion series. The four titles are Dusty Springfield - Once Upon A Time 1964-1969, Small Faces - All Or Nothing 1965-1968, Gerry & The Pacemakers - It's Gonna Be All Right 1963-1965 and Herman's Hermits - Listen People 1964-1969. Distributed by Naxos of America Inc., all four DVDs will be available separately and as a deluxe boxset featuring a bonus fifth disc with over 2 hours of additional content.

Produced by Reelin' In The Years Productions, each DVD features complete 1960's television performances filmed at the time the songs were hits and while the artists were at the height of their careers. Interspersed between the performances, original band members and others who helped create their classic music, talk about each song and recount special moments in the history of the group. In addition, all performances have been transferred from the original master tapes and include best-possible video and remastered audio. Each DVD also includes a 24-page booklet with insights and essays by noted rock historians as well as previously unseen photos and memorabilia. The series, originally released only in the UK in September of 2009, has received both commercial success and critical acclaim, with four-star reviews and inclusion in many year-end “Best Of 2009" lists in the British music press.

Reelin' In the Years is the San Diego-based company that has produced some of the most highly-regarded anthology DVD series including the four-volume, GRAMMY-nominated American Folk Blues Festival series, the multi-platinum selling Definitive Motown series (Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles) and the award winning Jazz Icons series. As in all of their projects, each DVD is produced with the full support and cooperation of the artists or their estates.

Notes about each of the four individual releases:

 DUSTY SPRINGFIELD - Once Upon A Time 1964 - 1969

Features 20 definitive complete television performances by Britain's greatest pop diva including “You Don't Have To Say You Love Me," “Son Of A Preacher Man," “Wishin' And Hopin'" and “I Only Want To Be With You." Dusty's story is told through new interviews with Burt Bacharach, Madeline Bell (who sang back-up for Dusty in the '60s), Simon Bell (Dusty's back-up singer from the '70s to the '90s), and a newly discovered interview from 1978 with Dusty herself. Bonus features include Dusty's complete 1965 and 1966 New Musical Express Poll Winners Concert appearances as well as a duet with Burt Bacharach on “A House Is Not A Home." Annie Randall, Dusty's biographer, wrote the accompanying essay.

SMALL FACES - All Or Nothing 1965 - 1968

In the mid-1960's the Small Faces challenged the Who, Kinks, Rolling Stones and even the Beatles for UK chart domination. This is the band's first official anthology and features 27 complete performances capturing every aspect of their brief but brilliant run including early Mod/R&B classics such as “What'cha Gonna Do About It", “Sha La La La Lee" and “All Or Nothing", timeless rockers like “Tin Soldier" and later psychedelic treasures including “Itchycoo Park", and “Green Circles." Nine songs are included from the band's masterwork Ogden's Nut Gone Flake including “Lazy Sunday", “Song Of A Baker", the title track and the six song “Happiness Stan" suite. Also included are interviews filmed exclusively for the DVD with original members Ian McLagan, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston as well as archival interviews with the late Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane. The 24-page booklet includes an informative essay by pop historian Ken Sharp as well as rare in-studio photographs by famed engineer Eddie Kramer.

 GERRY & THE PACEMAKERS - It's Gonna Be All Right 1963 - 1965

The first band ever to have their first three singles top the British charts, Gerry & The Pacemakers rivaled the Beatles in the early years of the British Invasion. Their first official anthology DVD features 17 classic complete performances including the smash hits “How Do You Do It?," “I Like It" and “You'll Never walk Alone" as well as the timeless classics “Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" and “Ferry Cross The Mersey." Also included is an interview with Garry Marsden that was conducted exclusively for the DVD at Liverpool's legendary Cavern Club. Bill Harry, founder/publisher of Mersey Beat, the music paper that originally chronicled the Liverpool scene, also tells the band's story both on screen and in his accompanying liner notes.

 HERMAN'S HERMITS - Listen People 1964-1969

The DVD is their first official anthology chronicling their meteoric rise melding a traditional British music hall influence with good time rock 'n roll. Among the 22 full-length performances are all of their biggest hits including “I'm Into Something Good," “Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter," “I'm Henry VIII, I Am" and their later evocative masterpieces “No Milk Today," and “Listen People." The Herman's Hermits' story is told by original members Peter Noone, Keith Hopwood, Karl Green and Barry Whitwam as well as in the accompanying essay by GRAMMY-winning music historian Rob Bowman. A complete concert filmed in 1966 for Australian television is included as a bonus feature.

(David Peck with Elvis Costello, courtesy Reelin' In the Years)

David Peck's Reelin' in the Years Productions maintains an archive of over 10,000 filmed musical performances, as well as representing others with footage to license for broadcast or video releases. VH1 probably couldn't make shows like I Love the '70s and Behind the Music without Peck's ever-growing database of footage.

Peck told staff writer Dave Good about how the Reader played a role in his Grammy-winning career as a music video archivist.

“I was in Off the Record one night. I was 18 at the time. The guy who worked there turned me on to all these great Stones videos. This was ’84, when video collectors were underground. There was no YouTube; there was nothing. Collecting videos was a swapping thing. So he turned me on to this great rare stuff — the Stones playing with Muddy Waters — and that’s when I got the bug and started collecting.”

“In ’86, John D’Agostino, who was then writing for the Reader, wrote an article about me as a collector, and it kinda went from there. I started doing research and consulting on projects. By ’98, I started representing video libraries, and now I have amassed the world’s largest library of music footage.”

Peck once told me a great story about locally-shot footage that includes longtime local DJ Jim McIness.

Reelin' holds a piece of historical footage featuring McInnes, which it has licensed for use to VH1. "I got ahold of a piece of film that was shot at a backyard party here in San Diego , around 1981," he says. "Weird Al Yankovic was there, before he really broke big, when he was still doing 'Another One Rides the Bus' on [syndicated radio show] Dr. Demento. Jim is playing with him, and he's playing Weird Al's accordion and somebody comes by and spills beer on the thing. Weird Al got really upset with him, because it was a brand new accordion! And Jim is just shrugging his shoulders, like, 'hey, it's just an accordion, not a Les Paul,' but Weird Al wasn't laughing. Shows which one of them actually had the sense of humor, huh?"

McInnes explained to me in a phone interview "What happened was that my friend tried to pour a beer in my mouth while my hands were occupied trying to play accordion for the first time, and it spilled into the [instrument's] bellows. [Weird] Al was a good sport about it - he'd just had the accordion cleaned!"

www.reelinintheyears.com

TOM DELONGE'S sd HOUSE JUST GOT A LOT CHEAPER - Mark Hoppus says the neighbors are a-holes

WSJ.com  reports: Tom DeLonge, frontman for blink-182, has cut the price on his Rancho Santa Fe home to just under $5 million, about 25% less than what he spent on the house, renovations and décor.

The single-story house, first listed for $6.25 million in 2007, sits on 1.1 acres in a gated golf community of Rancho Santa Fe, about 25 miles north of San Diego. The guitarist and vocalist paid $5.5 million for the house in 2005 with his wife, Jennifer, an interior designer who redecorated the home. The five-bedroom, five-bath house of 6,500 square feet was built in 2003 and comes with a pool. The DeLonges are looking for a bigger property for their family, according to their agent, Laura Barry of Barry Estates.

 I guess it makes sense that rockers as rich as the guys in blink 182 can afford to deep discount. "I guess this is growing up..." and all that, dontcha know.

So it's kind of a hoot to discover that in 2007, three years before Tom DeLonge opted out of homeownership in Rancho Santa Fe, the debut album by +44 with Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker included a track dissing Hoppus' former neighbors in oh-so-upscale neighborhood.

His rage against the Rancho is mainly directed at the neighborhood's homeowners association. Hoppus told newstimeslive.com “There's a song called ‘Lillian’ on the record that's about people that try to control other people's lives...And there's a place in San Diego called Rancho Santa Fe, which is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been in my life. It's country sides, rolling hills, there's trees everywhere. It's this gorgeous place, and it's filled with some of the most backstabbing, evil, just bitter, bitter people in the world."

"The homeowners association is very strict and it's strange because everybody who lives there is very wealthy…They're just bitter and it's a sour, sour community. The woman who started the homeowners association there is a woman named Lillian. So it's kind of about people trying to control one another.”

Hoppus seems pretty bitter and sour himself, judging from the tune's lyrics:

"The place I used to live, made me feel like a tourist - I couldn't coexist with the cold and suspicious - When the last remaining left was starting to filter - It seemed the perfect time to step into the future

Your heart is no grave to be perfectly honest - Your mouth's a smoking gun -And you smile while your twisting the knife in my stomach - Until everything is gone - Take all you can from me I've got weak constitution - I'm led so easily So easily

I left it all behind, in the dead of last winter - I left it all behind, but the question still lingers - So long forgotten friends, no, you don't know the difference - Between love and submission, and I'm not that obedient

 I expect the next +44 album will include a tirade against Hoppus' Porsche mechanic ("Fixed my air with faulty parts, now my leather interior smells like farts").

************************************************

 "TOO MANY TRAILS, MAN" - OR "WHY I STOPPED TAKING PSYCHEDELIC DRUGS....."

Because who can get any work done with all THIS going on????

************************************************

COMING IN 2010 - ROCK 'N' ROLL COMICS: JOAN JETT AND THE RUNAWAYS

Here's a sneak peek at the cover art for the full-color Runaways issue of Rock 'N' Roll Comics, which will be released to tie in to the Runaways movie --- www.myspace.com/rocknrollcomics

Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics: The Runaways with Joan Jett and Lita Ford

Writer: Spike Steffenhagen, Jay Allen Sanford

Artists: Joe Paradise, Larry Nadolsky

 

Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics presents the Runaways, the ‘70s jailbait rockers whose story is wild and crazy enough to merit both a feature film starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning and an even more revealing no-punches-pulled comic book bio! Three complete full-color stories chronicle the rise and fall of the Runaways themselves, as well as going far beyond the bio-pic to also cover the solo careers of band stars Joan Jett and Lita Ford. 

 

Scripted by rock ‘n’ roll historian Spike Steffenhagen (Kiss: Comic From the Elder) and San Diego Reader columnist Jay Allen Sanford, this lovingly illustrated edition features art by Joe Paradise (Overheard in San Diego) and Larry Nadolsky (Deposit Man). Unauthorized and proud of it!

 

Here's a sneak preview of the story and art -----

 

http://inlinethumb25.webshots.com/40472/2068009180
103947755S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb63.webshots.com/45758/2286475540
103947755S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb52.webshots.com/46451/2549638090
103947755S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb52.webshots.com/44915/2243644840
103947755S600x600Q85.jpg

************************************************

FREE TRILLION DOLLARS FROM OBAMA!!

The government is handing out Trillions.  Now you can too!  Help spread the wealth and holiday cheer by forwarding this Trillion Dollar gift to all of your friends! Print and pass it on!

 

Click here and scroll to the bottom of the page to print out Trillion Dollar Bills and share the wealth!

Want another Trillion Dollar gift for your friends?  Get the Trillion Dollar Bailout game!  The perfect stocking stuffer only $7.99.  Check it out!!!!

 www.obamanationcardgame.com!!! 

And HO HO HOBAMA!!!

************************************************

Shipping in Autumn 2010 from Bluewater Productions

ROCK 'N' ROLL COMICS - The Led Zeppelin Experience:

The Led Zeppelin saga is one of the wildest in rock history, and this graphic novel pulls no punches in dramatizing the backstage, behind-the-scenes story. From their early days as the New Yardbirds on through their rise to superstardom (and controversy), all five issues of the original Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics series are collected in one rockin’ volume, with art by Scott Pentzer (Razor), Marshall Ross (Deepest Dimension), David Neer (Sports Superstars), Francois Escalmel (Frank Zappa: Viva La Bizarre), and others. The collection also includes update material, bringing the saga up to 2010.

************************************************

SHIPPING SUMMER 2010: ROCK 'N' ROLL CARTOON HISTORY - THE SIXTIES

Here's the first look at the cover art for the 300 page graphic novel Rock 'N' Roll Cartoon History: The Sixties, shipping summer 2010 from Bluewater Productions. www.bluewaterprod.com  --  www.myspace.com/rocknrollcomics 

***********************************************

 THE RETURN OF ROCK 'N' ROLL COMICS!

Here's a sneak peek at the first promo art for the locally-produced Rock 'N' Roll Comics: Hard Rock Heroes, a 400 page graphic novel shipping from Bluewater Productions in early 2010, as well as the 240 page Beatles Experience comic, the Pink Floyd Experience, Led Zeppelin Experience, the Elvis Presley Experience,  and more -

JAS

 

First, here's the first look at the Elvis Presley Experience cover art:

And here's the scoop and a first look at the cover of the Pink Floyd Experience:

The Pink Floyd Experience: All five issues of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics series The Pink Floyd Experience have been out of print and in demand for over fifteen years. As showcased in Pink Floyd’s own official box CD set Shine On, the Floyd comics chronicle rock’s most enigmatic psychedelic warriors, from their early dayz with stoner icon Syd Barrett, through their split (and later reformation). With art by Marvel and DC star Ken Landgraf (Wolverine, Hawkman, Nightwing & Flamebird, etc.), the collection also includes update material, bringing the saga up to 2010.

 

 

 

Hard Rock Heroes: What goes together better than comics and rock music? With almost 300 pages of Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics, Hard Rock Heroes goes WAY beyond Behind the Music, to tell the real life, behind-the-scenes stories of rock’s most heavy hitters. Creators include Stuart Immonen (Superman: End of the Century), Ken Landgraf (Wolverine), Jay Allen Sanford (Overheard in San Diego..), Todd Loren (Beatles Experience), Scott Pentzer (Razor), Mike Sagara (Ninja High School), and many others.

 

Hard Rock Heroes is a book-length pictorial history, covering bands like Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Van Halen, Motley Crue, Poison, Megadeth, Pantera, Anthrax, Motorhead, Sammy Hagar, and more. The cinematic stories are realistically drawn, researched from countless photo and video archives, with an encyclopedic eye toward visual accuracy, dramatic flair, and journalistic depth.

 

 Also includes the never-before published “missing” Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics #8 from 1990, on Skid Row. The lack of an eighth issue has vexed collectors and catalogers for years – exactly 20 years later, the story can finally be told, and collectors can finally own ALL the Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics!

 

As a bonus treat, Hard Rock Heroes also features the Motley Crue comic story from their official box CD set Music To Crash Your Car To II, released in 2004 and written and drawn by original Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics creators Lyndal Ferguson and Larry Nadolsky. Shipping February 2010.

 

 (colors: Christie Maconnell)

 

 "Great ideas, like the marriage of rock 'n' roll and comics, have the half-life of Uranium and will always be popular," says series co-creator Jay Allen Sanford, who has worked on over 200 reality-based comic books and thousands of similar cartoon strips for the San Diego Reader, as well as for magazines like Rip, Spin, and Oui. "The folks at Bluewater clearly have their fingers on the same pop culture pulse that enabled the original Rock 'N' Roll Comics to become one of the top-selling indie comics of the '90s. Truth is often stranger than fiction...and certainly much more interesting!" 

 

 

The Beatles are bigger than ever, now available online for the first time digitally, on the Vegas stage in “Love,” and in the new Beatles: Rock Band video game. Now comes the most comprehensive and encyclopedic illustrated Beatles story ever, the Beatles Experience! Over 200 pages, dramatizing one of the most compelling tales in pop culture history, drawn from thousands of photos and interviews, meticulously researched and featuring stunning art by Mike Sagara (Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics) and Stuart Immonen (Legion of Super Heroes, Ultimate X-Men).

 

Covering the Beatles’ lives from birth and beyond their breakup, dramatized in dialogue and scene recreations more akin to a film bio than a mere documentary, the Beatles Experience also includes a Chronolog timeline going down each page, with encyclopedia background and footnotes detailing related events happening at the same time in the world, in music, and in the Beatles’ own tumultuous and extraordinary lives. 

 

  

 

 The Led Zeppelin Experience:

The Led Zeppelin saga is one of the wildest in rock history, and this graphic novel pulls no punches in dramatizing the backstage, behind-the-scenes story. From their early days as the New Yardbirds on through their rise to superstardom (and controversy), all five issues of the original Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics series are collected in one rockin’ volume, with art by Scott Pentzer (Razor), Marshall Ross (Deepest Dimension), David Neer (Sports Superstars), Francois Escalmel (Frank Zappa: Viva La Bizarre), and others. The collection also includes update material, bringing the saga up to 2010.

www.rocknrollcomics.com  ---  www.myspace.com/rocknrollcomics

************************************************

WHY AL KOOPER HATES LOCAL WRITERS (BUT LOVES SAN DIEGO)

Legendary keyboardist Al Kooper has played with Dylan, the Stones, George Harrison and countless others, but he still has time to beef about local music reporters like Buddy Blue and a certain Reader columnist... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/jan/29/the-return-of-black-heart-procession-plus-anya-mar

***************************************************

ANYA MARINA GETS STONED!

Rollingstone.com has added Anya Marina to their "breaking artist" profiles - http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/jan/29/the-return-of-black-heart-procession-plus-anya-mar

***********************************************

 THE BEATLES IN SAN DIEGO

 8-28-65 – the Beatles: For the Beatles' one and only local appearance, at Balboa Stadium, radio station KCBQ declared that Saturday "Beatle Day" and gave out pins saying so to attendees. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/jan/29/the-return-of-black-heart-procession-plus-anya-mar

***********************************************

 UNEXPECTED BEATLES ART - The Fab Four turn up in the oddest places... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/jan/29/the-return-of-black-heart-procession-plus-anya-mar

*********************************************

MAHARISH COMIX AND STORIES, OR "YOGI MAKES A BOO-BOO"

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/jan/29/the-return-of-black-heart-procession-plus-anya-mar

********************************************

       

WEIRD BEATLES MERCHANDISE - WTF were these licensors (and bootleggers) thinking... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/feb/06/my-brunch-with-yoko-plus-weird-beatles

---

   

MY BRUNCH WITH YOKO - Brunch with a Beatle bride... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/feb/06/my-brunch-with-yoko-plus-weird-beatles

YOKO ONO COMICS AND STORIES  - When Johnny Met Yoko, with dialogue and captions paraphrased from published Lennon interviews. Plus John Lennon: A Life in the Day

... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/feb/06/my-brunch-with-yoko-plus-weird-beatles

---

   

LENNON OR McCARTNEY??  --We asked 25 local performers about their fave Beatle (and why), and got some surprising (and frequently revealing) answers...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/dec/13/we-asked-25-local-musicos-lennon-or-mccartney

  CELEBRITY HOUSE HUNTING IN SAN DIEGO - Real estate broker Jeff Paiste has squired several famous musicians around San Diego in their search for decent digs to lease or rent, including Bread frontman David Gates and the late George Harrison.... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/13/celebrity-house-hunting-in-san-diego

*******************************************

 JOEY MOLLAND/BADFINGER INTERVIEW - Badfinger's last man standing, Joey Molland, reveals more about the tragic story of Badfinger, as well as meeting and working with John Lennon, George Harrison, and Todd Rundgren, plus the Concert for Bangladesh, and more.  http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/aug/21/x-jam-cancellation-controversy-plus-how-i-snuck-in/

---

THE DAY JOHN LENNON WAS SHOT - Local celebs share their recollections of December 8, 1980, plus guest essays from Al Kooper (who was recording with George Harrison that day) and others....  http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/jan/25/john-lennon-12-8-1980-we-ask-local-celebs-where-we/

---

LEGO ALBUM COVER RECREATIONS! Those wacky kidsters at toyzone.com put together this great tribute to OCD Legoholics everywhere... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/jan/29/the-return-of-black-heart-procession-plus-anya-mar

***********************************************

Exclusive preview and new interview with one of the creators/performers behind the new internet Trek series - click for more ---http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/oct/04/happy-rons-hormonal-harem---loving-san-diegos-musi/#

READER EXCLUSIVE - For the first time anywhere on the web, here's the promo trailer for Star Trek: The Continuing Mission, episode six: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/audioclips/66/

************************************************

The Twilight Zone made it's TV debut 50 years ago, on 10-2-59 - we asked local musicos to tell us their own favorite Zone episodes --- (more "What's Your Favorite Twilight Zone?" )

***********************************************

---

THE ROCKETEER AND OTHER FAMOUS '80S COMICS BEGAN RIGHT HERE IN SAN DIEGO - Here's a detailed history of local Pacific Comics, who recruited comic superstars like Jack Kirby to create one of the first successful indie comic book lines. Pioneers in the fight for comic creators' rights and royalties, former employees and operators reveal how they did it, and what went so terribly wrong...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/08/pacific-comics-the-inside-story-jay-allen-sanford

---

 

THE KOMPLETE KISS KOMIX KRONICLES - Comprehensive collection of stuff I’ve done about working with Kiss on a comic book series in San Diego, along with a bunch of never-before-seen artifacts from the Kiss Komix archives AND an article by Kiss comic author Spike Steffenhagen, offering his own very-different take, ala Rashomon, on the same events I describe in my essay...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/12/komplete-kiss-komix-kronicles

---

ROCK 'N' ROLL COMICS: THE INSIDE STORY - In 1989, San Diego's Revolutionary Comics ("Unauthorized And Proud Of It") launched Rock 'N' Roll Comics, featuring unlicensed biographies of rock stars, most of which I wrote. Some performers, like Frank Zappa and Kiss, were supportive, while others like New Kids On The Block considered our comics akin to bootlegs and sued. In June 1992, publisher Todd Loren was found dead in his San Diego condo, brutally murdered...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/12/rock-n-roll-comics-the-inside-story

---

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK VS REVOLUTIONARY COMICS - The inside story of how a hugely successful boy band tried to sue local-based Rock 'N' Roll Comics over an unauthorized biography of the group, sparking a court case that established, for the very first time, first amendment rights for comic books. Illustrated by comic superstar Stuart Immonen (Superman, etc.)...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/13/new-kids-on-the-block-versus-revolutionary-comics

---

OVER A MILLION CARNAL COMICS ARE IN PRINT - Here's how and why we made some of the top-selling erotic comics of all time, right here in San Diego, including what Gene Simmons has to do with it all, backstage tales of porn stars, and more confessions of a comic pornographer...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/08/carnal-comics-the-inside-story-jay-allen-sanfor

---

COMICS AND CENSORSHIP - DON'T BE AFRAID, IT'S ONLY A COMIC BOOK - A local-centric history of comic book censorship, and the fight for the rights of comic creators...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/06/comics-and-censorship-a-local-centric-illustrated

---

TWILIGHT ZONE AND STAR TREK WRITER GEORGE CLAYTON JOHNSON PRESENTS - The inside story of a local horror comic book series featuring Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, plus sci-fi king Larry Niven, Zap Comix co-founder Spain Rodriguez, Matthew Alice artist Rick Geary, Vampire Lestat painter Daerick Gross, yours truly JAS, and many more...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/05/deepest-dimension-terror-anthology-twilight-zone

---

THE BIRTH OF IMAGE COMICS: INSIDE STORY OF A LOCAL PUBLISHING POWERHOUSE - Illustrated tale revealing how Spawn creator Todd McFarlane and local comic artist Jim Lee (the Punisher, etc.) conspired to create the ultimate creator-owned comic books...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/03/the-birth-of-image-comics-an-illustrated-history

---

 Down the Slippery Slope - Arrested For the Crime of Viewing Manga

On March 30, 2004, when Dwight Whorley found the Japanese website of Fractal Underground Studio via Yahoo and clicked on a couple of the thumbnail images... ( http://comipress.com/special/miscellaneous/down-the-slippery-slope-the-crime-of-viewing-manga )

---

---

**********************************************

"Before It Was The Gaslamp: Balboa's Last Stand" - Cover story 6-21-07: In the late 70s/early 80s, I worked at downtown San Diego's grindhouse all-night movie theaters, for the owner of the Pussycat Theatre chain, Vince Miranda - this detailed feature recalls those dayz, the death of the Balboa Theatre, etc.

More Before It Was the Gaslamp

 

"Battle Of The Peeps" - feature article about a weird gig I had in the mid-'80s, running a strip club called Jolar, for the nation's second biggest pornographer, Harry Mohney (Deja Vu Showgirls founder).

More Battle of the Peeps - An Insider History of San Diego Porn Shops

"Field Of Screens" - Cover story 7-6-06: Complete theater-by-theater history of San Diego drive-ins thru the years, including a few which screened X-rated fare for awhile.

More Drive-In Theaters in San Diego: Complete Illustrated History 1947 thru 2008

  

"Pussycat Theaters - When 'Cathouses Ruled California" -- for the first time, the detailed inside story of the west coast Pussycat Theater chain of adult moviehouses, which peaked in the '70s but later died out. Told by those who actually ran the theaters!

More Pussycat Theater History: When Cathouses Ruled CA

****************************************************

  More Music on the Reader Website:

• As I Hear It
• Blurt
• Club Crawler
• Hometown CD Review
• Musician Interviews
• Of Note
• Overheard in San Diego
• Famous Former Neighbors
• Yo DJ!
• Musician Classified Ads
• Event Picks of the Week
• Rock Around the Town
• Submit an Event
• Events Home
• Today's Events
• Event Picks of the Week
• Events by Category
• Bands/Performers
• Create Your Band/Performer Page
• Music Downloads
• Radio Player
• Band Calendar
• Classical
• DJ/Dance
• Live Music
• Music Newsletter
• Submit a Music Listing
• Upload Your Music

Find a Band

• Select a Genre: Select... Acoustic Alternative Bluegrass / Roots Blues / Soul Cajun/Zydeco Classical Country Covers / Standards Electronic / DJ Experimental / Noise Funk Garage rock Gospel Hip-hop / Rap Jazz Klezmer Latin / Tejano / Mariachi Lounge Metal / Hardcore Pop Punk Reggae / Ska Rock Rockabilly Soundtrack Surf World
• Band Name:
• Search

Today's Top MP3 Downloads

• Bill Travis - 4 Hands
• (760) - (760)
• Causing Problems - A Box, and in it Your Picture
• View all MP3s

 

**************************************************** ***************************************************

Like this blog? Here are some related links:

OVERHEARD IN SAN DIEGO - Several years' worth of this comic strip, which debuted in the Reader in 1996: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/photos/galleries/overheard-san-diego/

FAMOUS FORMER NEIGHBORS - Over 100 comic strips online, with mini-bios of famous San Diegans: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/photos/galleries/famous-former-neighbors/

SAN DIEGO READER MUSIC MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/sandiegoreadermusic

JAY ALLEN SANFORD MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/jayallensanford