On this day September 15, 1985 Dire Straits played Sacramento’s Cal Expo Amphitheater.

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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@livingcolourofficial guitarist Vernon Reid names the ’70s guitar hero who is still overlooked – despite playing with Hendrix

Vernon Reid says he is astonished that Isley Brothers’ guitarist Ernie Isley doesn’t get more recognition for his playing, despite being what he calls a “near direct tonal descendant of Jimi Hendrix.”

Jimi Hendrix died in September 1970, but his influence lived on across the decade and beyond. Reid believes Isley was one such player who helped keep the Hendrixian flame burning.

“I’m compelled to say his name – amongst a host of incredible guitar luminaries who’ve influenced me greatly – because of his complete absence from any rock guitar-oriented media or rock music-oriented media of that time,” he says.

Reid also observes that Isley’s influence extended well beyond the 1970s, but asserts he has remained criminally underrated.
“Astonishingly, Isley’s continued non-acknowledgment as a near direct tonal descendant of Jimi Hendrix continues to this day,” he goes on. “It continues, despite the undisputed fact of Ernie’s direct contact with Hendrix, due to Jimi’s tenure with the Isley Brothers in the Sixties.

“It continues despite Ernie displaying his Hendrix-influenced skills on hit records of that time, on originals and covers like “That Lady,” “Summer Breeze,”
“Live It Up,” and others.”

Reid says the guitarist – despite the band’s success throughout the ’70s – received “almost never any listing with his contemporaneous colleagues in a decade of incendiary importance in the guitar’s ascendancy in every genre of music, and in the popular magination”.
Reid also singled out Isley’s wild space fuzz solo on the 1973 version of That Lady as one of his favorite ‘70s guitar solos.

It’s not the first time Reid has acted as a mouthpiece for unsung guitar heroes. Last year he launched a campaign on X to bolster the profiles of under-appreciated players. Robin Trower and Robert Cray were the first to shine under his spotlight.

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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Remember When: @thebeatles Advanced the Outdoor Concert with Their 1964 Hollywood Bowl Shows

On August 23, 1964, The Beatles performed for the first time at the Hollywood Bowl. With that legendary performance, they unwittingly advanced the now-familiar outdoor concert. A gig John Lennon called “marvelous.”

Martin Lewis, a renowned Beatles historian, told Variety the 1964 Hollywood Bowl show was the first of three concerts The Beatles performed at the venue. The following year, they played two more. “Obviously it not only was a big deal for The Beatles, but I think it really kicked off the outdoor rock concert. By the next year, it was stadiums and beyond,” he said.

Tickets for the first show went on sale in April 1964 and sold out in less than four hours. Because fans had to purchase tickets in person, hundreds camped on Highland Avenue in Los Angeles. The line of fans stretched nearly a mile, close to Hollywood Boulevard.

Like most concerts during Beatlemania, chaos ensued during the gig. The frenzied crowd of 18,700 screamed louder than the band’s amplifiers, making it hard to hear John, Paul, George, and Ringo perform.

The Beatles’ opening acts at the first show were The Righteous Brothers and Jackie DeShannon. But American fans wanted The Beatles.

In Mark Lewisohn’s The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Martin explained the complexities of recording the band live at the amphitheater: “We recorded it on three-track tape, which was standard U.S. format then. You would record the band in stereo on two tracks and keep the voice separated on the third so that you could bring it up or down in the mix. But at the Hollywood Bowl, they didn’t use three-track in quite the right way.”

There’s a moment following “Dizzy, Miss Lizzy” where Paul McCartney shouts, “Can you hear me?” The crowd response is deafening. When George Harrison begins playing “Ticket to Ride,” the audience nearly drowns out the opening guitar chords.

But the outdoor concert mania first went full throttle after The Beatles booked a gig inside a Hollywood shell.

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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Revisiting Billy Corgan’s tribute to late @thecars leader Ric Ocasek

New wave dynamos The Cars influenced a huge array of rock bands with their punchy, new-wave power-pop, mainly reminding them not to forget to plant a big melodious chorus in the middle of their songs. The band’s leader and chief songwriter Ric Ocasek died five years ago this weekend and proof of his significant legacy could be found in the vast array of tributes that poured in after his death, with Weezer, Jason Isbell, Courtney Love, Alice Cooper, The Killers and many more offering up their remembrances of the great man.

Billy Corgan also posted a lengthy tribute to The Cars leader, having been both inspired by Ocasek’s music and then collaborated with him as co-producer on The Cars man’s 1997 solo album “Troublizing.”

“Devastated to hear of the passing of Ric Ocasek,” Corgan said. “It has brightened my spirit to see how many have posted about Ric, praising his originality, flair, and brilliance. I was blessed to have known him, through friendship and work (his solo album “Troubilizing” was one I produced)… “It’s hard to share the measure of a man in so few words, because, despite his greatness, Ric was open and down to earth in a way that surprised me.”

Corgan reminisced about getting to play fanboy when he was working with Ocasek in the latter’s basement studio. “I wanted Ric to show me how to play “My Best Friend’s Girl,” he said. “He picked up a guitar, played it perfectly (he was an ace guitarist) and handed it over. The sound, I noted, was exact. It was the pink Fender pictured above, and I dutifully played the opening riff as he’d showed. So what was the guitar, I asked? Ric pointed at the flamingo in my hands. My jaw dropped. It was THE guitar! Love you Ric! Gonna miss you forever.”

It was recently announced that Ocasek’s hefty catalogue had been purchased by publishing company Primary Wave. “We are so eager to begin creating new opportunities to introduce Ric’s world to a whole new audience,” said the company’s Chief Marketing Officer Adam Lowenberg.

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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On this day September 15, 1979 Foghat, Foreigner, The Cars, Gamma and Bram Tchaikovsky played Day On The Green in Oakland, California.

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On this day September 15, 1968 the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Soft Machine, Eire Apparent, and Vanilla Fudge played Sacramento’s Memorial Auditorium.

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On this day September 15, 1978 Cheech & Chong released their first feature length movie Up in Smoke.

Cheech & Chong had been a counterculture comedy team for about ten years before they started reworking some of their material for their first film.

Most of the film was shot in Los Angeles, California, including scenes set in Tijuana, while scenes set on the Mexican border were actually filmed at the border in Yuma, Arizona.

As this was the comedy team’s first film, Paramount wanted the initial screenings to be filled with their most ardent fans. Cheech & Chong also came up with the novel (and ultimately successful) idea of advertising the film through comic strips, which they left on bus benches.

While negatively received upon its release, Up in Smoke grossed over $104 million, is credited with establishing the stoner film genre, and is now considered a cult classic.

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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Rumors Suggest @pinkfloyd in “Advanced” Talks To Sell Catalog for Crazy Amount to Sony Music

Stepping on stage during the 1960s, Pink Floyd wasted no time showcasing their star power and ability to command a crowd. Throughout the following decades, the band watched as their stardom helped them sell over 250 million albums.

And when looking at their accolades, the band received a spot in both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the UK Music Hall of Fame. Producing songs like “The Great Gig In The Sky” and “Wish You Were Here,” it appears that Sony Music might be in talks to purchase the band’s catalog for a massive amount of money.

While just speculation for now as no representative from Sony Music discussed the potential sale, Variety suggests the company is looking to pay anywhere between $400 and $500 million. For several years, Pink Floyd looked to sell their catalog for around $500 million. But the discussions fell through after Roger Waters made some unsavory comments about the ongoing conflict in Israel and Ukraine.

As for Sony Music, the company continues to expand its impressive catalog. Besides wanting to add Pink Floyd to its lineup, Sony Music spent billions of dollars on catalogs from stars like Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and even Queen.

Outside of Waters’s comments about the ongoing conflict overseas, he and David Gilmour continue to take shots at each other thanks to their decades-long feud. And with Sony Music apparently looking to buy, Waters’ comments might not be the best business move given the current climate around Israel and Ukraine.

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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A long-lost @tompettyofficial
documentary will be screened with new restoration

The film is notably the debut of director Cameron Crowe, who filmed and completed the project in 1983.

Heartbreakers Beach Party depicts the band recording and promoting their fifth album ‘Long After Dark,’ which will be reissued next month.

Heartbreakers Beach Party never made it to cinemas in the 1980s, as Crowe reveals in a press statement. “The fact that it was yanked from MTV after only one airing at 2:00 A.M. just shows that it was indeed an outlandish feast for fans in all the best ways,” he says. The film will be released in cinemas worldwide on two days only: October 17 and 20.

Heartbreakers Beach Party features behind the scenes footage of the apocalyptic western music video for ‘Long After Dark’ single ‘You Got Lucky.’ It also shows Petty and the band on the road to promote the album – one scene that showed the group getting lost backstage at a venue purportedly inspired a similar scene in 1984 film This Is Spinal Tap.

See the Heartbreakers Beach Party trailer below

bit.ly/4d9xq83

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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Jane’s Addiction Concert Ends Abruptly After Perry Farrell Throws a Punch at Dave Navarro, Is Forced Offstage by Crew

Fans posted dramatic video of the escalating confrontation and the enraged singer’s removal from the stage.

Been caught sparring: A concert by the reunited Jane’s Addiction in Boston came to a sudden end Friday night when a clearly enraged Perry Farrell threw a punch at guitarist Dave Navarro — and was restrained by crew members, still appearing physically agitated as he was hustled offstage.

Footage shared on the web shows the band deep into playing “Ocean Size,” the 11th number in a set that usually stretches out to 14 or 15 songs, when trouble erupts between the two most famous members of the veteran band. Some fans reported on social media that tension looked to have been brewing for several songs before it got to the point of fisticuffs.

Video of the lead-up to the scuffle shows Ferrell fiercely grunting in the direction of the audience, before he turns to his right and begins issuing those bellows at Navarro, face to face. He appears to aggressively bump shoulders with the guitarist during a solo, and Navarro eventually stops playing and puts a hand up to Farrell’s chest to establish distance. Then the singer appears to deliver a punch. At that point, as the stage lights are lowered, three men, including bassist Eric Avery, surround and grab hold of Farrell, who is finally forced offstage, still apparently struggling as he’s hustled into the wings.

Once Farrell was gone, the rest of the band — including Navarro — stepped to the front of the stage to give the crowd a gentler farewell, appearing calm as they hugged one another, applauded the audience, tapped their hearts and offered a peace sign.

Check out the video below:

bit.ly/4d8YiVs

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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The night @georgeharrisonofficial and @bobdylan saved @johnfogerty’s career

Fogerty had been avoiding singing his old songs following a serious breakdown of communications with his and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s label. Fantasy Records still had CCR contractually obliged to produce more albums when the band broke up. To avoid the enormous contract-breaking fee Fogerty gave the label the copyright royalties to all of his songs. Years passed without Fogerty singing his legendary discography. 

But, thankfully, things changed in 1987 when the Taj Mahal and the Graffiti Band, featuring none other than Jesse Ed Davis on guitar, were performing a set. As the curtain lifted, Harrison, Dylan, and Fogerty entered the little ol’ Palomino Club in North Hollywood with a view of the stage. The trio would end up on stage and make Fogerty return to some of his old tracks.

It’s a situation that left Fogerty avoiding the songs he wrote himself at all costs to avoid making Fantasy any richer than it already was off his back. That was until, during the performance, Dylan leaned over and said: “Hey, John, if you don’t do these tunes, the world’s going to remember ‘Proud Mary’ as Tina Turner’s song.”

Luckily, Fogerty is back out on the road and making music, but it all started one evening when George Harrison and Bob Dylan made him get up on stage and sing ‘Proud Mary’ for the feverish audience.

While it might seem like a comparatively small moment in Fogerty’s impressive career, the truth is that the push onto the stage gave him the extra impetus needed to once again kickstart his career as a musician. Without Harrison and Dylan, Fogerty’s songs would have remained cherished memories. Now, they are given the chance to live again every time he steps on stage to play them.

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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Get ready to rock and roll at the 10th annual Senior Health and Resource Fair! 🎸💃 This isn’t your grandma’s bingo night, folks! We’ve got a lineup that’ll make you feel like you’re back in the good ol’ days of poodle skirts and Elvis impersonators! 🕺👨‍🎤

The event is happening on Saturday, September 21st, at the Wyndham Sacramento Hotel off Hwy 80 at Madison. It’s like a one-stop-shop for all your senior needs! 🛍️ Dozens of exhibitors will be there to show you how to live your best life, whether it’s rocking out to the Spare Parts Band or getting financial advice from the pros. It’s like a buffet for your mind and body! 🎉 And speaking of rocking out, we’ve got Johnny Reno, the Elvis impersonator who’ll make you think you’ve been transported back to the 1950s!

🕶️💃 But wait, there’s more! Classic cars from the California Auto Museum will be on display in the hotel parking lot. It’s like a mini car show, but without the pesky admission fees! 🚗🎟️ The event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., so mark your calendars and get ready to party like it’s 1969! Admission and parking are free, so you can save your pennies for that new bingo dauber you’ve been eyeing! 💰🖍️ For more details, head over to www.seniorhealthfair.org or call (916) 910-9499 to attend or exhibit. Don’t be a square, come join us for a day of fun, music, and learning! 🎉📚
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This week’s Rush Hour Blues features @cedric.burnside recipient of a National Heritage Fellowship, the country’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts and who was recently recognized with the 2024 Mississippi Governor’s Art Award for Excellence in Music.

Join Sacramento’s K-ZAP this Friday, 5p as your host Cale Wiggins features songs from his new album “Hill Country Love.”

It’s an album rich in tradition of hill country blues and as authentic as you can get.

RHB is sponsored by
@blackrockauto, 1313 C Street, Sacramento. “They can do stuff.”

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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Live Album & Concert Video Documenting @ericclapton’s Star-Packed 2023 Crossroads Guitar Festival Due Out Soon

A live album and concert video capturing highlights from the 2023 edition of Eric Clapton’s star-studded Crossroads Guitar Festival will be released on November 29.

The two-day event took place on September 23 and 24 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

The lineup included Santana, ZZ Top, Stephen Stills, The Byrds’ Roger McGuinn, Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, Gary Clark Jr., Jimmie Vaughan, Los Lobos, The Wallflowers, Joe Bonamassa, Marcus King, Taj Mahal, H.E.R., Robert Randolph, John McLaughlin, The Del McCoury Band, Citizen Cope, Samantha Fish, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, and Eric Gales.

Legendary Saturday Night Live star and actor Bill Murray served as the festival’s master of ceremonies.

Among the many highlights from the festival featured on the album and concert video are McGuinn, Clapton, and The Wallflowers teaming up for a version of The Byrds’ “Eight Miles High,” and Stills collaborating with Clapton and The Wallflowers on a rendition of the Buffalo Springfield’s “Bluebird.”

Other cool collaborations include Crow and Mayer performing Shery’s hit “My Favorite Mistake,” and Santana teaming up with McLaughlin for a performance of jazz legend John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme.” Closing out the album is a rendition of Robert Johnson’s blues standard “Crossroads” featuring Clapton and the incomparable Stevie Wonder.

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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Alex Van Halen Announces ‘Brothers’ Book Signing Events

Alex Van Halen has announced a series of book signing and live conversation events to support the release of his upcoming memoir, Brothers.

The book, which hits shelves on Oct. 22, will dive into Alex’s relationship with his brother and late guitar hero @eddievanhalen

That same week, the drummer will host two book signings — Oct. 21 in New York City and Oct. 22 in Northvale, New Jersey — and a live conversation event in Los Angeles on Oct. 24.

Van Halen fans have incentive to pick up the audio version of Brothers, as it contains the final song Alex and Eddie Van Halen ever wrote together, titled “Unfinished.”

Brothers also promises a definitive account of the Van Halen brothers’ relationship and musical achievements. “I was with him from day one,” Alex writes of Eddie. “We shared the experience of coming to this country and figuring out how to fit in. We shared a record player, an 800-square-foot house, a mom and dad, and a work ethic. Later, we shared the back of a tour bus, alcoholism, the experience of becoming successful, of becoming fathers and uncles, and of spending more hours in the studio than I’ve spent doing anything else in this life. We shared a depth of understanding that most people can only hope to achieve in a lifetime.”

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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The @ledzeppelin song that dates back to 1927

Led Zeppelin didn’t just travel to different countries to find inspiration; they also traveled back in time. At least, this was the case with their track ‘In My Time of Dying,’ which no doubt has a classic Led Zeppelin spin but dates back to an artist from 1927.

The song stands out for a number of reasons. The first is that it’s the longest song that Led Zeppelin has ever made. Coming in at over 11 minutes, ‘In My Time of Dying’ is a barrage of droning guitar and groaned vocals, something equal parts melancholic and aggressive. It was clearly a tough song to record as at the end of the track, you can hear John Bonham cough and say, “That’s gotta be the one, hasn’t it?”

What’s most interesting about the song is how dated it is. Blind Willie Johnson made the original version of the track, and it was initially inspired by a verse from Psalms, which reads, “The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness; / You will sustain him on his sickbed.” 

The song has the ability to move people. Even though it was inspired by a religious text, it doesn’t seem to matter what the listener’s beliefs are. It’s hard to hear the lyrics in the track and the tone at which it’s performed and not feel something. This is evident not only in the original song’s success but also in the number of people who went on to provide their own renditions of it.

The saddest part about the song is the tragic end that befell Blind Willie Johnson. The mind behind a song that touched so many people was forced to live in the rubble of his house after it had burnt to the ground, sleeping in ruins and on damp newspaper. The conditions were so bad he contracted a fever and couldn’t be seen by any hospitals. His widow said that the hospital wouldn’t tend to him because he was blind, while others stated it was because he was black.

Without a doubt, Johnson was responsible for some of the sombre and profound lyrics ever committed to the page, and music would do well to remember his contribution.

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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Powerful moments that help make “Wish You Were Here” so unique

Released on September 12, 1975, @pinkfloyd’s ninth studio album, “Wish You Were Here,” was a difficult experience for the band members – indeed, it was the beginning of the end for the line-up led by Roger Waters.

Syd Barrett’s furtive visit to the studio

On June 5, 1975, the band were in their Abbey Road studio, struggling to agree on a direction for the record. As conversations continued, a man with a shaved head and eyebrows appeared among them – and it took them some time to realise it was Barrett, whose increasingly strange behaviour had led them to abandon him five years earlier.

The cover art

“As the image was created before the common use of computerised imagery, stuntman Ronnie Rondell was kitted out with fire-resistant underclothes beneath a business suit and a wig,” Prog explained in 2013. “Once set alight, the safety precautions worked – up to a point. They hadn’t taken into account the wind direction – it blew towards Rondell, burning his moustache, before he and fellow stuntman Danny Rogers changed positions.”

“Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Part II”

Gilmour’s defining four-note guitar phrase – which has colloquially become known as ‘Syd’s Theme’ – is arguably the most recognisable motif of the entire Pink Floyd catalogue.

“Wish You Were Here”

Arguably the greatest combination of the salt’n’sweet of Waters and Gilmour, it demonstrates, despite whatever animosity there may have been between them, just how mutually beneficial their partnership was.

“Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Part IX”

The sheer poignancy today of one departed Floyd member – Wright – paying tribute to the other – Barrett – in the album’s mournful sign-off, invoking a melody line from their Syd-penned Top 10 1967 hit, “See Emily Play.” As the sound drifts away, it marks the last time all four members contributed so evenly to a Floyd album.

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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