heidicuda's Blog

While kicking it with Rick Thorne at the Vans Warped Tour's opening day on Friday, my son's friend Karim pulled me aside and said: "I've never been on a tour bus." So we bid adieu to the BMX-legend, who was living his dream by debuting his first-ever band, Good Guys In Black,

on the Skate-Punk stage that day (and by the by, GGIB is straight up, no chaser, positive old school hardcore, just like Thorne himself), and off we went in search of a big blue bus rumored to be stashing those punk rock pirates, Pennywise, from Hermosa Beach, California. Sho' nuff, we bobiddled our way onto the motorhome and while not quite a den of inequity, it was enuf to tickle the fancy of a tween. In a few short minutes, Pennywise frontman Jim Lindberg taught 11-year-old Karim how to pick up hot chicks on a bus with a proper "What up?" nod, and guitarist Fletcher offered us what limited alcohol-free libations he had on deck. When it was time to hit the main stage--tour founder Kevin Lyman saved the best band for last--the pied pipers of punk made their way through the crowd, and when we landed backstage, there was a massive sea of South Bay locals ready to yodle the chorus to Brohymn. I took my usual place, to the right of Jimmy, and entered nirvana.... xoxo hsc

(below left, Karim and my kid on stage with PDub, Warped 08)

  

If life comes with only one guarentee, it is this: When a cop chooses the restaurant, it's gonna be hellu good. I've had the pleasure of hanging out with the boys in blue for the past few weeks, and Southwest Division officer Erwin Rocha (below, left/his partner, Sunny Sasajima, right) hipped me to the Creole Chef in South L.A. Let's just put it this way: Each day I'm down that way, a magnetic force comes over me and I can't stay away from chef Norman Theard's mega-tasty Jumbalya, Gumbo, smoked salmon salad (that's not on the menu, you gotta know somebody!), bread puddin' and perfectly seasoned Shrimp Yvonne (named after Theard's New Orleans-raised mom). And word to the wizza, the last Tuesday of every month is crabcake night. Oo la la.... more Warped World musings coming up next.... xoxo hsc

Been kicking it with McEwing in South L.A. all week so almost forgot to give you the skinny on tonght's innaugral Sunset Strip Music Festival. The festivus continues through Saturday at such venues as my pal Slim Jim Phantom's Cat Club, House of Blues, Key Club, The Roxy Theatre, Viper Room and the Whisky A-Go-Go. Each juke joint is uniting to promote, preserve and perpetuate the Sunset Strip Music experience and amazingly rich rock 'n' roll history. Among the acts: Hot Hot Heat, B-Real featuring Slash, Juliette & The Licks, LA Guns and mucho mucho more (below, Hot Hot Heat)....

 

 

 

 

And while you're there please take a moment to kiss the ring of the Don of the Strip, Mario Maglieri. Born in 1924, the owner of the Whisky and the Rainbow got his start in the biz by driving a liquor truck for Al Capone in Chi-Town, and he can usually be found sitting on the patio of the Rainbow holding court (Maglieri, below).... Next up: How to corrupt 11-year-old boys on Pennwyise's tour bus, as I continue with more Warped Tour musings.... xoxo, hsc

 

Kevin Lyman is a punk rock hippy. The founder of the Vans Warped Tour, who started the festival 14 years ago, made it acceptable for punks to wear Birkenstocks. Consider the fax: Over the years, he's loaded up his tour buses with bio-diesel, uses cornstarch cutlery to feed his crew, encourages the traveling carnies he rolls with to use a singular coffee mug in the ayem rather than create new trash. He even fuels some of his sound stages with solar-powered energy and mandates his crew clean up beaches and build homes in New Orleans and their days off.

This year, he's beating off a recession and ginormous fuel costs by urging bands to double and triple up on buses. And rather than raise ticket prices ($30 bucks gets you 90 bands), he simply told his wife Fran, "We're not gonna make as much money this year."

I got to know the legendary promoter by writing a book with him about the tour ("Warped Book: Tales of Freedom and Psychotic Ambition") and if you're looking to take a crash course in Punk Rock Business 101, that's the tome.

Against all odds, the little tour that could is still America's longest-running music and alternative sports festival, and it's the most you'll have in 120 degree heat in Pomona ever... More from the Warped files momentarily... xoxo hsc

 (Below, Kevin Lyman on tour, photo credit: Lisa Johnson)

 

 

 

 

 

Dateline: Friday, June 20, 2008.

Warped Tour, Pomona. Temperature: Fahrenheit 911. First Stop: Backstage parking.

Flashed my Fox press card and parked with the tour buses. First 15 minutes: Ran into Bill Armstrong, co-owner of SideOneDummy, the bad-arse record label that's home to Flogging Molly, et al.

Bill and I have always loved the same music (Red 5 rulez!) so he slipped me a hot disc by the Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, which is technically three people but large on spirit nevertheless (photo credit Todd Fox). 

 

The family-based act is made up of fingerstyle guitarist Reverend Peyton, his wife and washboard player Breezy Peyton, and drummer/brother Jayme Peyton. For three years, the country-blues aficionados from rural Indiana have played more than 250 shows annually and logged more miles on their van than most acts who have been around for a decade. They're so DIY they play with punk bands, roots acts, bluegrass, alt-country, rockabilly and managed to sell 30,000 records out of their dang van.  

Word to the wiz-ize. Reverend Peyton's performing Thursday at Safari Sam's in Hollyweird so check it out. More Warped Tour Diaries TK.... luv, hsc

Been blazing on a hot new half-hour special with Tony McEwing (our last two are finalists for two national journalist awards)... Still managed to hit Pomona running for some Warped Tour mayhem.... will be slamming these figurative pages with my tour diary asap so please be on the lookout... xoxo hsc

L.A. Girl/L.A. World Am so freakin’ excited about the upcoming Scars on Broadway album (July 29/Interscope), I tracked down Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan to bring you the skinny. The power players have been rocking you hard for the past decade as the guitarist and drummer (respectively) for System of a Down, and all I can tell you about Scars is to expect the unexpected.

 

 

HSC: Dudes, am so super super in love with the Scars single, “They Say” can’t hear it enough. Is that an isolated incident or is the album all punked out?

John: That’s the only straightforward song like that on the album. We’re all over the place.

Daron: That’s just kind of how we flow. Diversity is something that just comes naturally, even with System, it was always hard to explain what we did. I have so many different things that happen to me every day and I just try to relay it in my music. (Below, Daron, photos Greg Watermann)

 

 

 

  

 

HSC: John says by the time you come into the studio, you’ve already done 95 percent of the work. How’s that?

Daron: Everything is singing in my head. It all flies out of me at the same time. Playing it, listening to it, it’s all second nature. So by the time I hit the studio, there are very few surprises.

John: One thing’s for sure, we’ve worked very hard on this album. It’s more rock oriented than our last two albums, less metal, but still aggressive.

 

 

HSC: Let’s talk about the title, Scars on Broadway. I heard it comes from lampposts in Glendale on Broadway Ave. from the 1920s that have a base in the shape of a swastika. That’s a hell of a visual.

Daron: That’s where it originated but it means a lot of different things. I like to look at it like all the world’s a stage, and we are just the scars.

 

 

HSC: Most bands are like bad marriages. Members can’t stand each other after a few years. How have you guys been able to sidestep that?

John: The funny thing is, me and Daron probably got along least of all. But the bottom line is, we always had respect for each other. It hasn’t been hard to put aside differences for the sake of good music.

 

 

HSC: You think about the Ramones, Johnny and Joey not talking to each other for two decades while still riding in a van.

John: I just figure, why spend the best years of your career wrapped up in petty bull**it? And then when you’re too old to play, you get back together. I wanna kick ass in my prime. I mean, I saw the Rolling Stones in the ‘80s and I saw them last year. Big difference. They still rock but I mean, c’mon…. It’s like watching a 55-year-old quarterback. (Below, John)

 

 

 

 

 

HSC: You both started pretty young. How did you find music?

Daron: Music found me. I’ve got pictures of myself at five or six, wearing band pins. When other kids were making their parents take them to Toys R Us, I was dragging my mom to record stores. It was what I lived for. Still is.

John: My dad was a musician, so it was no surprise. I grew up listening to jazz, I especially love jazz fusion. I love the aggressiveness of it. I probably have another good 15 years to play drums. It’s such a demanding instrument. Unless you play like a p*ssy.

 

 

HSC: You’ve played a few shows now. How are you feeling?

Daron: Good, the response has been amazing. People are responding to songs like, ‘World Long Gone,’ and ‘3005.’ Also getting a good vibe on ‘Whoring Streets.’ It’s a song about Hollywood and it’s probably the saddest song I’ve ever written.

 

 

 

HSC: Dang, can’t wait to hear more. How far you guys think you’re gonna take this?

 

Daron: All I know is it feels good to be working this hard.

John: I’m thinking, we’re gonna take it as far as we can.

Sweet.... Now here's something we hope you'll really like.... check out the latest hunkfest I wrote and produced, MySpace Hunks.... it's the cheese.... xoxo heidi siegmund cuda

L.A. Girl/L.A. World

It’s dark and hell is hot…. Coacheller’s hot hot heat left thousands panting until the sun went down and the stars came out…. L.A. Girl/L.A. World contributor Jared Milgrim, a 22-year-old photog phenom, shot this photo essay for you, dear reader…. I’ve been MIA working on investigations for Fox 11 (see “Texting While Driving”), but we wouldn’t miss bringing you Coachella’s highlights. See below, Jared’s handiwork of Prince, Roger Waters, M.I.A., Jack Johnson, Flogging Molly (yes, that Ireland’s pasty finest Dave King in direct sunlight mate) and Gogol Bordello, in that order….

Of his Coachella experience, Flogging Molly guitarist Dennis Casey says, “It was hot, sweet, and intoxicating with a touch of purple.” Purple rain, perhaps?…. And the gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello’s been touring the world non-stop since the release of its latest album, “Super Taranta!” And even more super is the fact that lead singer Eugene Hutz recently starred in Madonna’s directorial debut, "Filth and Wisdom," and joined the uber-vixen onstage at Live Earth…. L.A. promoter Steven Harlow is inviting y’all to “Wet Republic,” a poolside fete Memorial Weekend at the MGM Grand…. Calling all motorheads: Speed race it out to “Carnivora: The Dark Art of Automobiles” at the L’Imagerie Gallery in NoHo. The badass exhibit of cars gone wild is up through June 14…. Dunno about you but I can’t get enough of Scars on Broadway’s “They Say” single. It may just be Dead Kennedys redux but hell, soundz good to me (hear it for yo’self at this year’s KROQ Weenie Roast on May 17). The fact that it’s brought to you by members of System of A Down (below) splains why it’s so hardcoreilicious…. xoxo hsc

 

 

L.A. Girl/L.A. World

He’s got the babe, the bling, the bucks, looks like Jay-Z’s on top of the world. Those who made the trek to Irvine's Verizon Wireless Amphitheater on Friday caught the uber-mogul at his peak, with R & B vixen Mary J. Blige also on deck. With a clip from “Reservoir Dogs” playing in the background, the King o’ Rap proclaimed, “Everybody say hello to the bad guy. I’ve come from the bottom now I’m mad fly.” Who's gonna argue?…. (Photo Jay-Z & Mary J. Blige by Jared Milgrim).... If you luv to laugh, you’re in luck. “The Men’s Club” comedy tour hits the Improv in Hollywood on April 27. I checked these dudes out at Ye Olde King’s Head in SaMo on a recent Monday night, and they’re funny **!kers. Think, the opposite of the Blue Collar comedy blokes, more like, Valley guys in suits with a modern-day Rat Pack feel to ‘em (below).… Famed inkslinger Mark Mahoney, whose tattoo parlor the Shamrock Social Club is the gossip hub of the Sunset Strip, is now making kids look cool. The new kid clothing line, Baby Eggi, features some of Mahoney’s hot drawings of dragons and such. And unlike all the Ed Hardy crap by Christian-What’s-His-Name (can you say, overbling?), Mahoney’s work is pure art…. Save the Date: Crue Fest is coming our way on August 2 to the Hyundai Pavilion in San Berdoo. The loud and proud concert includes Motley Crue, Buckcherry, Papa Roach and more (Crue Fest revelers, below, photo Kevin Estrada)…. Party to crash: La Velvet Margarita’s celeb-studded “Cinco De May” bash on May 5 in Hollywood. The dishy Mexican bar and restaurant is hosting a poker tourney and we hear Vince Vaughn’s on the list…. In more party crashing news, Blanca opens in Newport Beach on Friday with a private soiree. The new Spanish-Italian themed venue is located on the waterfront in Newport Harbor…. And this week's ultimate party to crash: Fab photog David LaChapelle's Smashbox Studio gala in Culver City on Thursday, August 24, where the celebutante unveils the first-ever limited edition Remy Martin V.S.O.P. bottle he designed. Music muses Clinton Sparks and DJ Gomez Warren IV will be in the house, along with oodles of A-listers.... And speaking of Culver City shindiggery, your best bet for rockin' out on a Wednesday night is "The Devil's Whorehouse" at Saints & Sinners. The weekly affair has DJ Mike spinning what your evil heart desires, and that's usually loads of wicked '50s rockabilly, vicious '70s punk, and naughty New Wave from the '80s. Best part? Whisky shooters for three bucks....  Last time I got to kick it with Jakob Dylan (below) was when Pennywise played a Tony Hawk house party in Beverly Hills. Couldn’t be more stoked about my advance copy of Dylan’s solo album, “Seeing Things,” which comes out June 10 and was produced by the brilliant Rick Rubin (Chili Peps/Johnny Cash). Don’t let MTV's “Rock the Cradle” fool you. Talent does run in the family…. xoxo hsc

L.A. Girl/L.A. World

 

Dateline: April 11, 2008, Hollywood, CA. Location: Backstage at X at the Fonda.

 

It was a rock star cornucopia, a homecoming of sorts for X, 31 years and counting after the L.A. foursome emerged with pocketful of poetry at the inception of punk rock. Backstage at the Henry Fonda Theater, I had the chance to rub elbows with Chrissy Hynde, reminisce about Men’s Rooms we have known with Linda Cummings, the wife of the late Johnny Ramone, and caught up with Stray Cats drummer, Slim Jim Phantom, whose latest side project, Head Cat, (below) opened the show. The psychobilly band features Lemmy Kilmister from Motorhead on vocals and 13 Cats Danny B. Harvey on gee-tars, keys and bass. And just in case you were concerned, Lemmy can still fit into his skinny jeans. Before X took the stage, I chatted up X vocalist/bassist John Doe and it turns out we both have an affinity for the lean means streets of San Pedro. Doe says he even has a t-shirt that reads: “San Pedro: Where the Ghetto Meets the Sea.” Mos def. Gotta support your local punkers so I bought merch. Turns out Danny Masterson had the same compulsion. The actor dropped a couple of sawbucks on blazing X t-shirts…. Devolved into a total groupie when X launched into the iconic songs “Los Angeles” and “White Girl,” which the band saved for an encore…. And just when I thought the night couldn’t get any better I bumped into my other favorite drummer, Joe the Kid. Joe, who has a habit of turning me onto hot bands, tells me he’s back with the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and is particularly excited about his new side project, Jackson United, which was founded by my favorite Foo Fighter, guitarist Chris Shifflet, and my favorite member of Face to Face, Chris’ brother Scott Shifflet. Aussie’s should be stoked because Jackson United’s headed Down Under this month…. It’s time to start sucking up to the publicist for the Toyota Grand Prix in Long Beach. Pennywise performs at 6 p.m. on Saturday and I’m sooo there. Fletcher, the Hermosa Beach band’s guitarist, says anyone with a Pennywise tattoo gets into their shows for free. Well, I’ve got two. Should be good for me and a plus one…. Last word goes to Mike McColgan, singer of the Street Dogs (below, right), who gave me the skinny on the Irish punkers upcoming album, “State of Grace,” on Hellcat. It drops on July 8, was produced by Ted Hutt (Flogging Molly) and includes guest performances by Madonna’s drummer and bagpipe player. Although he’s relocated to Swe’L.A., his thick brogue is a dead giveaway to his Irish Boston roots, which he draws on a’plenty for “Grace,” an album he calls “mean, angry and questioning of authority." Say what?... xoxo hsc

 

So H-E-I-D-I-W-O-O-D it hurts.... Somewhere in my Top Ten musical moments of all time is the moment I first laid eyes on the Street Dogs of Boston Massachusetts. I was filming the 10th Anniversary show of the Warped Tour in Boston in '04 and while my photogs were shooting Rancid, I bopped over to the Ernie Ball stage to check out my pal Joe the Kid’s new band. Joe drummed with the Mighty Mighty Bosstones but earlier in the day, he told me he was drumming with this new band, the Street Dogs (photo, right). On that tiny stage, surrounded by rabid Boston fans, was a fierce singer named Mike McColgan, who put everything he had into each and every anthemic song. I discovered he’d been the original singer for the Dropkick Murphys before pursuing his dream of being a fire fighter. He lived that dream for a few years then went back to his first love, hardcore Boston, Irish, heartfelt punk. God bless him. Newly signed to Epitaph's Hellcat imprint, the Street Dogs are part of this weekend’s Bamboozle Left shows in Irvine at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. Fans of punk, emo and hardcore can check the likes of My Chemical Romance, Story of the Year, the Bouncing Souls, Hot Water Music, Escape the Fate and more. But do yourself a flavor, and don’t miss the Dogs on Sunday…. So my Super-X-Husband bumped into Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister at the Rainbow on the Strip on Tuesday night. He tells me Lemmy was minding his own beeswax playing video poker when his signature song, “Ace of Spades,” came on. (That’s kind of like when you’re thinking, “plate of shrimp” and someone says, “plate of shrimp.”) Reminds of the time I was standing behind Angelyne at the Beachwood Market in Hollywood buying cheesecake (true story)…. In more Super-X-Hubbie news, one of the Hollywood bars he built, Beauty Bar, celebrates its 8th anniversary this Sunday. The party’s sponsored by Grey Goose and Bud. Should be a fine fete…. So the world’s greatest DJ Joe Sib (of Indie 103’s “Complete Control Radio") says save the date: On April 28, at the Anaheim House of Blues, Sib’s record label SideOneDummy is sponsoring the “Beautiful Noise” benefit, which is raising money for the family of Mike Conley, a punk vet who was killed in a car accident in Chicago in late February. Such fab artistes as Social Distortion (playing acoustic) and the Cadillac Tramps are scheduled to perform (photo of Social D's Mike Ness, below, by Big Al Banks). Conley founded the Las Vegas band, M.I.A. and is survived by three daughters and a wife…. This just in: World music lovers should check out Debashish Bhattacharya’s performance at the Herrick Chapel at Occidental College on April 27. The slide-guitar virtuoso not only takes listeners on a journey through the ages of Indian music, he designs his own instruments. Lemme hear you say, “Ohm” (Ohm!)…. In SaMo news, look for some "desert blues" to hit Temple Bar on April 29, as Niger's Etran Finatawa hit the Left Coast for the first time, fully costumed, fully rockin'.... And Kanye West kicked it at Temple Bar on Sunday night…. In more see-leb newz, Emmy Rossum, Dita Von Teese, and Butch Walker thanked their lucky stars for being among the blessed few who got to catch Dolly Parton’s performance at the Roxy on the Strip on Friday night.… Here’s a little known fact: Famed guitarslinger, Billy Zoom, from the veteran L.A. band X, created his signature, wide-legged, low-slung stance because he was tired of having his head cut-off in photos. Turns out, when photogs snapped pix of X singer, Exene, Zoom’s dome wouldn’t make the cut. So he crouched down low and a rad style was born. And the smile he always has on his face when blazing on gee-tar? He says, at the time, it was to get back at the hippies, who grimaced when they played to make it look hard. Zoom, whose cranked up, rockabilly riffs really were complicated, smiled just to make it look easy (in yo’ face!). Check out Zoom and the gang when they perform next week at the Musicbox at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Hollywood on Thursday, April 10, and Friday, April 11. It’s been three decades and counting, and X (below, left) always marks the spot…. xxxo, hsc

 

 

 

Say hello to H-E-I-D-I-W-O-O-D…. Cuz that’s what you’re gonna get here each week. A delectable sampling of the finest highbrow, lowbrow and in-B-tween brow T-town has to offer…. Since being a writer for a living ain’t a get-rich quick scheme am super excited about bands giving us sumin for nothing. Radiohead did it, Pennywise did it (with the bands latest MySpace Records release, which you can still grab for free) and now Dave Matthews is giving us something we can feel: a free, live concert digital download on iTunes for anyone who buys tix to the band’s North American tour (tix go on sale manana).… The wunderbar band hits Staples Center on August 19 & 20…. Last time we saw producer Rob Cavallo (who is producing DM’s new album and has worked his magic with Green Day and My Chemical Romance), he was backstage with TSAR at a weensy Hollywood nightclub. In a business, where you throw a rock, hit a narcissist, Cavallo’s a humble God fo’ sho’….

Speaking of humble Gods, Pennywise blew the roof off the Key Club last night, Thursday, to celebrate the release of “Reason to Believe,” the Hermosa Beach punk icons latest album. And since the foursome is among the few, the proud, who always throw down for good causes, they couldn’t pass up the op to raise money last night for muscular dystrophy research. They gave what they made to www.cooperscure.org, a group helping out their pal’s son Cooper (Cooper below; photo credit Jared Milgrim), who suffers from the disease…. I remember a few years back when no “name” bands would step up to help out Steven “Crabby” Cabler, the only American to survive the Al Qaeda bombings in Bali nightclubs in '02. So natch PDub stepped up to help raise money to offset Cabler's medical costs.…

And how does Randy Jackson look so fly? He shops at the new Studio City hotspot, Royal Dutchess, which opened over the holidaze and is already being touted as the Kitson-of-the-Valley. Dutchess is the hard work of my pal Ivory O’Rourke, the daughter of rock star hair icon Michael O’Rourke. The Moroccan-themed Dutchess bows to such fashionistas as Frankie B, William Rast, Temptation and Stiches. While browsing its mondo jeans bar, shoppers can snack on free cupcakes and an array of DJs (on some Saturdays)…. Place to be seen on the scene in the ‘bu is Sunset Café in Zuma. Along with a bucketload of thespians, its happy hour is loaded with hotties….

On April 9, don’t miss young, black punks Whole Wheat Bread at the Knitting Factory (you butter not!). The Jacksonville, Florida, band is collaborating with Lil Jon and is a fave of Rancid’s…. And seasoned drummer alert: the band, Black President, is looking for a new skin slapper….

Following in the footsteps of fab local teen bands like Orange and the Diffs comes Drive A, which is showcasing its talents at the Key Club on the Strip every Tuesday in April. Drive A just knocked out an album with Cheap Trick producer Julian Raymond and among the sweet-16 band’s fans are Tommy Lee, Dave Navarro and Don Henley. Could be the new boyz of summer…. xoxo hsc

Feels so good to be back on the scene... Makes me wanna holla... Kicked it with the Vans Warped Tour crew last night, Thursday, at the Majestic Crest Theater in Westwood, where all the peeps came out to see an early screening of "Endless Bummer," a new dazed and confused-style film executive produced by Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman. The sweetheart coming-of-age flick, which centers around three young Ventura surfers searching for a custom board stolen by a Valley creep after savoring its first gnarly wave, features a soundtrack with such fabulous talent as Joan Jett, Pennywise, the Aggrolites, the Brigs (who performed at the premiere), and the Street Drum Corps, a hot young band that's marching to its own unique beat. Caught up with SDC's Bobby Alt, who says the band started out as bucket drummers before thrashing its way into Jimmy Iovine's heart. The Interscope Rex head is partnering with the trio to take them to the next level. You can catch Street Drum Corps on Linkin Park's "Project Revolution" tour this summer, where they'll be showing their evolution from street style, marching drums to fullblown Nine Inch Nails-inspired hardcore. And by the way, DJ Lethal (Limp Bizkit/House of Pain) co-produced SDC's upcoming "We Are Machines" record, which Lethal's releasing on his own Lethal Dose label. Not bad for some Jersey Boys, who cut their teeth performing at Magic Mountain every summer.... Also bumped into muy talented music photographer, Lisa Johnson, who invites all y'all to check out her latest gallery exhibit: Photo Pass: An Exhibition of Music Photography," at the Koos Art Center in the LBC (see Johnson's photo, below, of Rancid's Lars and Tim). Opening night brought out such revelers as Beat Union, British hearthrobs who perform at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood on April 9, and Civet, female rock 'n' roll vixens who Johnson tells me is the latest signing to Hellcat Records....Check out Billboard Magazine on Monday as it awards the Top Ten "Green" artists. Those who made the reduced-carbon cut are Jack Johnson, Willie Nelson, Serj Tankian and Pearl Jam.... And now for some Heidi Homework. I wrote and produced the following newsclips, expect a pop quiz later.... Kick up your boots to my favorite Malibu cowboy crooner Billy Gale at the coolest club you've never heard of.... and enjoy some acoustic Lenny Kravitz while watching men fly with wings... xoxo hsc

Oo la la it’s about time I rocked this town again with a weekly music column. Let’s start with something for blues lovers. Every Sunday, join doorman-turned-celebutante promoter Steven Harlow for a night of live blues—the sticky icky funky kind. The howling wolfish good time takes place at “86,” a venue located at 6533 Hollywood Blvd., about 15-feet below an apartment complex. And while you’re at it, be sure to snoop through DJ Kave In’s collection of vintage soul 45s. The last time I mosied on over to the deck’s by Kave In, aka drummer Kevin Fitzgerald from the Circle Jerks, he was spinning Ann Peebles at a private Red Hot Chili Peppers party on an H-town rooftop…. So much good newz it hurts: Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready loaned his axe skillz to the West Coast Dukes, a new group led by vocalist Jack Grisham (TSOL) and producer/composer/multi-instrumentalist Greg Kuehn (TSOL, Bob Dylan, Berlin). The band also includes drummer Dean Butterworth (Morrissey, Good Charlotte) and bassist John DiMambro (Agent Orange). McCready performs on multiple tracks and you can check out their sexy slowburn ballads at myspace/jackgrishamandthewestcoastdukes…. The Queen of the Sunset Strip, veteran promoter Dayle Gloria (who was instrumental in the early careers of Jane’s Addiction, Stone Temple Pilots, and Soundgarden) is now the Roxy’s house DJ and she’s performing under the name—fittingly enough—“The Queen.” Long live…. Save the date: The 14th annual Vans Warped Tour kick-off party takes place at the Key Club in WeHo on April 11 with the Aggrolites, Broadway Calls and more. You can find a book I wrote about the fab punk rock festival in the rock ‘n’ roll Hall of Fame, no joke (left, me and my kid onstage with Pennywise, Warped 07)….

 

 

 

 

And speaking of the Warped Tour, its house band, Pennywise (left, at Warped '07), is getting muy excited about its upcoming MySpace Records release, “Reason to Believe,” which the Hermosa Beach band is giving to fans for free for two weeks starting March 25. Free is good… Tonight’s hot tip: Rock ‘n’ roll goddess Corey Parks is sitting in with rock gods Camp Freddy at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood. She’ll be belting out Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation” and it’s all to benefit the Teen Project, an L.A. org that aids homeless and foster care teens. So suck it up and drop a dime…. xoxo hsc

 

(Photos Fox News photographer Ken Moore)