Flashback: ROBERT CRAY 2016 interview:

Rhythm n’ Blues is alive and well, just take it from Robert Cray, who will be playing at The Coach House June 11.

Since the 70’s, Cray has been pumpin’ out album after album writing about anything he pleases and has no plans on stopping. From unfriendly radio in the ‘70’s to the Blues Hall of Fame a few years ago, hurtles have been leaped over to get him where he is today.

Concert Guide Live caught up with the guitarist/singer to take a trip down memory lane and to get to know a little more about his musical journey.

CONCERT GUIDE LIVE: Did you ever struggle making music?

ROBERT CRAY: Yeah, it’s a struggle all the time [laughs]. If you didn’t struggle it wouldn’t be any fun.

CGL: You’ve had the opportunity to play with people like Eric Clapton. How was it playing with him?

CRAY: Oh, it was tremendous because I got a chance to talk to him before we got a chance to play together, and I’m a big fan of his. He had listened to our first record, or not our first record but our second album, the album called Bad Influence. He had just recorded a version of it (the title track, “Bad Influence”) when we met for the first time. We started playing together and it was great being on stage with, you know, one of my heroes. It was fantastic.

CGL: Were you nervous the first time?

CRAY: Of course [laughs].

CGL: Do you still get nervous?

CRAY: Yeah, still do.

CGL: What do you do before [a show]?

CRAY: Well the thing is, we like to get together as a band and chat before going on stage until I figure out what I have to work with for the night, to see what my voice is, to get my footing.

CGL: How did you find out you won your first Grammy?

CRAY: Well you don’t know until you’re at the show because you’re nominated. And, um, the first Grammy I won was with Albert Collins as a matter of fact, and a guy named Jonny Coplin. Both were great blues musicians and I had the opportunity to make a record with them called Showdown.

CGL: How’d that feel to win [your first Grammy]?

CRAY: It was great! But I was happier for Albert Collins and Jonny Coplin. Both of whom were another generation ahead of me and have been working for the longest time and they won an award. It was fantastic.

CGL: Did you have a speech prepared?

CRAY: No [laughs]. We just went up on stage and said thank you. And it wasn’t on the main ceremony, but they have a pre-televised ceremony.

CGL: Are you doing anything special with your Grammys? I heard some people drink beer out of them.

CRAY: Do they [laughs]? No, nothing special. It’s upstairs in the office.

CGL: How do you come up with new stuff?

CRAY: Just look at what’s going on around. It can be from politics to what’s happening to the next-door neighbor or pages from my past, that kind of thing.

CGL: All true stories or made up sometimes?

CRAY: Both.

CGL: Did your influence seem to come quick or gradual?

CRAY: It all depends on who you speak to. We started the band to play rhythm and blues when that stuff wasn’t popular on radio and never really has been. We’ve seen fans that have been fans for 20 or 30 years and they’re bringing their kids to the shows and it’s great.

CGL: Have you had any other opportunities like movies or anything?

CRAY: Yeah, I’ve been in movies. I’ve been in “Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll” with Chuck Berry and l and was in the movie “Animal House”.

CGL: You sing a lot about girls and relationships. Do you have your own family now?

CRAY: Yes. It’s great. It’s a wonderful thing.

CGL: Did you meet your wife through music? Was she a fan?

CRAY: Yeah, I met my wife in Tokyo with Eric Clapton. And no, she wasn’t a fan [laughs].

BLACK STAR RIDERS 2018 interview, looking back…

Black Star Riders are charging in to SoCal with heapings of hard rock, taking a night off from the Judas Priest Firepower tour to perform Apr. 20 at the Grove of Anaheim, with Saxon. Both bands rejoin the tour at Microsoft Theater Apr. 22.

Robbie Crane (bass), proclaims that he and his co-musicians are very excited to play at the venue, claiming that it shall be very special for any hard rock loving concertgoers who attend.

“We’re excited to play that gig,” Crane said. “That’s a show that we’re doing with Saxon, which is very cool, and we will be playing a longer set list as opposed to the 40 min set list that we play with Judas Priest.”

Crane says he is excited for the event as it marks something of a jovial homecoming to the Orange County area.

“That’s my hometown. I was born in Orange County so I have a ton of family there. It’ll be very cool.”

Formed in 2012, Black Star Riders are a spin-off of the iconic hard rock group Thin Lizzy, initially founded by guitarist, Scott Gorman and drummer, Brian Downey. The five-man group has managed to achieve its own unique style and sound to differentiate it from the original band it evolved from.

Crane officially joined the lineup in 2014 replacing the group’s very first bass player Marco Mendoza. Though he has played with six other bands, namely the Vince Neil Band and Ratt, playing with Black Star Riders has been very rewarding for the music veteran.
“I think everything has just been a great experience for me,” Crane said. “Culturally and musically it’s different from anything I’ve ever done before.”

Crane admits that one of the things that isn’t different for him is playing the Thin Lizzy songs, something he grew up doing while a young, aspiring musician.

“I played so many Lizzy songs in a cover band as a kid,” Crane revealed. “Scott would laugh at me ‘cause I knew all these Lizzy songs when I came in to play for them. He actually said to me ‘wow, you really make these songs swing.’ I tried to explain to him that I played these songs a hundred times before, just never with the real guys.”

Crane has quickly found himself in good company, both with the band and with music lovers. Already in his fourth year with the group, Crane’s graced many live concerts hosting the loud, boisterous jams of Black Star Riders to concert attendees. He has even aided in the creation of their second and third records – The Killer Instinct and Heavy Fire.

Though comfortable recording music in a studio, Crane admits that playing live is to him the group’s true reward for each new album they successfully produce.

“We’re musicians at the end of the day and that’s what we like to do,” Crane explained. “That’s what we loved to do as kids, that’s what we aspired to do and we’re doing it on a professional level. Not a lot of people can say that they’ve done as we all have, individually and collectively, under the Black Star Riders brand.”

No matter where the group plays, whether the United States or Europe, Crane says it is always a great experience to play live and introduce people to their solid, high-volume brand of hard rock that has made the group its niche in the music industry.

“It’s just great to share that gift of music,” Crane says. “You touch people and they get excited about it and we’re excited. We’re up there, happy as heck, just to be playing. What better life do we have?”

Black Star Riders are slated to continue playing alongside Saxon and Judas Priest until next month. Once that collaboration is over, Crane says he and his bandmates plan to take it easy and focus on playing at local music festivals.

However, Crane says this is a soft prologue to two much more daunting musical treks that they have planned for the near future.

“Our hope is in the fall that we do another smaller tour of the U.K. and then we’re going to start on our fourth record in January or February.”

Initial writing for the album has already started, Crane reveals. That process shall continue indefinitely even though the group continues playing live with no foreseeable end in sight.

“The whole time we’ll be writing, as we always are,” Crane remarks.” Every day it’s like, ‘I’ve got this idea!’ It’s a good thing. We’re always perpetuating and moving forward, which is great.”

Flashback: PATRICK CODENYS / FRONT 242 interview from 2015…

Front 242 is playing a handful of dates in the U.S. this September, including one at Avalon Hollywood on Sep. 27.

“Los Angeles is a particular place which has always had a strong ‘dark’ community,” said long-time member, Patrick Codenys. “To me, it is such a contradiction to the image most people have of the city: cinema, plastic body culture, glam and fake, etc.

“As a matter of fact, there is a real creative underground scene far from those stereotypes. You just need to know where to look to enjoy it.”

Although the band no longer tours, they enjoy working with people who are willing to bring them to the U.S. under good conditions.

“This allows us a more relaxing time and even a chance to meet fans and friends,” Codenys said. “Besides, I like Avalon, it is a beautiful venue.”

Their live performance will consist of playing a sort of “best of” set with the classics. While some versions of the songs have been changed and modernized, each will be represented graphically.

“Sound-wise we are back to analogue sounds, close to our early albums,” Codenys said. “The new technology allows us to be more sharp and precise with our sound without betraying the spirit of the time. The show remains purely physical with projections and clips for each song. Bringing back the aesthetic of the 242 album covers and imaginary world. We worked close with people to design the graphics and stage costumes.”

Front 242 began creating their brand of pre-computer electronic music in Belgium in the mid-80’s. This meant finding creative ways to recreate music live that sometimes lead to unexpected mishaps while performing.

“In the very early 80’s, sequencers were not stable and any variation in the electric stream could make you lose your programming,” Codenys said.

“Also, clubs in the U.S. have a tradition of rock/jazz/country/blues bands and were not ready for electronic music. People working in a club would say, ‘Place your drum on the riser.’ We would answer, ‘We have no drums.’ Then they would show us where we could place our guitar stack and we would say, ‘We have no guitar.’ Finally they would say, ‘You are not a band.’ It was very difficult to change the mentalities at the time.”

When Front 242 first started to use samples, soundtracks, speeches, etc. they weren’t copyright-protected like they are now. They would use tape recorders to align the voices onto a track.

“Around the 90’s we needed to ‘mask’ the origin of our vocal samples by using effects, cuts, plugs, etc.,” Codenys said. “As for the sound samples, we always designed our own sounds – sometimes sampling synth sounds to restructure, filter and reshape into a sampler.”

For example, the track “Welcome To Paradise” includes lines of sampled lyrics such as, “Hey poor, you don’t need to be poor anymore. Jesus is here (don’t tell the devil).”

“‘Welcome to Paradise’ is an ambiguous track as some people took it first degree and others found it cynical,” Codenys said. “Of course, it is more of a joke if you listen to the message; but what is the real interest of that song is the way words are singing. We started from that preacher’s speech/singing and built the track around it. Generally, it goes the other way around, first music then lyrics.”

Today, as in times past, a live Front 242 performance is a way for them to experiment with all the facets of their music through mixing different technologies.

“But what remains the most important is the emotional communion that we experience with our audience during the show,” Codenys said.

Flashback: VINNIE MOORE with UFO 2016 interview:

UFO will be greeted with a sold out show at The Coach House Mar. 20 as they return to the local venue they’ve played numerous times over the years.

“We love the antique shops and also some of the bars and restaurants in the area. Ha!” guitarist Vinnie Moore quipped. “We always seem to have a packed house full of energetic fans which makes it a pleasure. And it’s a great sounding room.”

Following the release of their 21st album last year, A Conspiracy Of Stars, the English hard rock band is adding a few of the newer tracks to their set list of greatly-anticipated songs.

“Of course we try to keep in as many of the classics as possible, and also play a couple from the 80’s era of the band,” Moore said.

“As far as new stuff, I love playing ‘Messiah of Love’ and ‘Rollin’ Rollin’. ‘Venus’ (from the album Covenant) is always a blast to play, but really I enjoy everything.”

Moore became the permanent lead guitarist with UFO in 2003, began touring with the band and first appeared on You Are Here as well as each of the following albums.

“When I was a teenager learning to play guitar I was a UFO fan,” Moore acknowledged. “I never would have dreamed that someday I would be in the band.

“I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s so I was into all the classic stuff like The Beatles, Led Zep, Deep Purple, Queen, Rainbow, etc.”

Some of the classic UFO songs and fan favorites were during the Michael Schenker era in the 70’s. Songs such as “Doctor, Doctor,” “Lights Out,” “Too Hot To Handle” and “Rock Bottom” have been performed untold times by the group but may vary slightly depending on the audience and the venue.

“A lot of my soloing is improvised so it is different from night to night,” Moore said. “This keeps it fresh and exciting for me and keeps me on my toes and in the moment.

“It’s a little like a pro sports game. There are certain guidelines that you know about in advance, but everyone watches because no one knows what the outcome is going to be on that particular day. And this is why it’s exciting.”

While there have been numerous personnel changes over years, vocalist Phil Mogg and drummer Andy Parker have worked together since the inception of the group. What’s the secret?

“Probably copious amounts of booze,” Moore teased.

If you’re in a band starting out today, Moore suggests doing it “Because you love it and have a passion for it.” To, “Follow your love and become great at what you do.

“At that point, try to create and seize any opportunities that already exist or that you can dream up. Then let me know.”

As the California leg of their U.S. tour approaches, Moore added, “We look forward to seeing the fans at The Coach House.

“Thanks for your continued support.”

TINSLEY ELLIS 2018 interview, looking back…

Blues rock legend Tinsley Ellis makes his return to SoCal playing at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano Feb. 28 and the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills Mar. 1.

Ellis and his bandmates look forward to the return, especially to The Coach House.

“We have played there several times, we like it very much,” says Ellis. “Concert goers will expect to hear us do songs off the brand new Winning Hand CD as well as some of the older CDs that I’ve put out over the last 35 years.”

Since entering the music industry back in 1975, Ellis has remained a steadfast and active performer in the blues rock circuit whose innovative musical stylings have made him a favorite among concertgoers and music lovers in general.

Ellis owes his continuing musical journey to the blues and rock bands he listened to growing up in Southern California. Ellis also cites bands like The Yardbirds, The Animals, Cream, The Rolling Stones, The Allman Brothers as his favorites growing up and are some of his main inspirations.

But Ellis says one particular performance stands out to him along with going to see B.B. King live. It’s a performance that pushed him to finally get an instrument and become an active musician.

“I saw The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964,” Ellis relates. “I begged my parents for a guitar. I started playing in bands in high school and college. When I graduated from college I just kept going with it and I’ve doing it about 50 years now.”

Ellis has honed his musical style that has earned him a sterling reputation along with the title of “a bona fide worldwide guitar hero” from The Chicago Sun-Times. He also has numerous live appearances on record along with 17 albums to date with the latest being Winning Hand which saw release in January.

Ask him what kind of music he plays that’s helped him achieve such accomplishments and you’ll get a four word summation.

“Guitar driven blues rock,” Ellis says. “There’s a lot of guitar playing going on and there’s a lot of blues music mixed with rock music.”

It’s an amalgamation that results in superbly composed notes of both Southern-style rock and blues. These compositions are often accompanied by moody, rugged vocals from Ellis that is an iconic trademark of blues musicians like him
.
Ellis continues to actively make new music whenever possible. He has little trouble doing so as he remains consistently inspired.

“The songs kind of come to me at any particular time,” Ellis relates. “I may be driving down the road or sitting in my hotel room or I may actually be in the studio when I’m writing it.”

Ellis says he’s especially thankful to today’s technology which makes it even easier for him to create his music.

“Thanks to the cell phone with its recording feature I can just hit record and sing my ideas into my phones. The ideas are never lost so I can write songs wherever I am.”

The biggest reward for Ellis is being able to play his music. Not only do music goers get to enjoy it but so does Ellis. For him, the music he plays is a safe and wonderful means of escaping reality for a while.

“The music carries me away and I hope that it carries the listener away and delivers the listener back safely to the real world.”

Though Ellis has played many performances with just himself and his band mates he has shared the stage with other notable musicians. Ellis says he always looks forward to these performances.

“My favorite performances are the ones where we open for someone I really like a lot musically and then they call me on the stage to jam with them at the end.”

The list Ellis gives is impressive to say the least.

“Albert Collins, Coco Taylor, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy. I’ve opened for all of them and performed with them during their set. There’s been rock bands as well like The Allman Brothers Band, Government Mule, Tedeschi Trucks Band and Widespread Panic.”

In the meantime, Ellis says he intends on focusing on doing solo performances and his current tour. Once it’s over, he intends to go right back to work.

“At the end of the long tour, I’ll get back in the studio and begin writing songs for another album,” Ellis reveals.

Ellis encourages people to come see him live during his current tour and to enjoy his music live.

“People can see where we’re playing at tinsleyellis.com. I look forward to heading your way soon.”

Flashback: PAUL STANLEY / KISS 2016 interview…

Following a private show last summer, Paul Stanley’s R&B cover band Soul Station figured it was only a matter of time before they expanded their audience.

“We all looked at each other and wondered when we were going to do it publicly. It’s not just because we want people to hear it, but because we love doing it,” Stanley said. “To be able to faithfully reproduce and recreate those songs is not a science project–it’s a passion project. There’s nothing sterile about it.”

Just a few months later, the 13-piece band found itself doing just that, performing classics like “My Girl,” “O-o-h Child,” and “Let’s Stay Together” onstage at The Roxy in Hollywood. Despite receiving positive reviews, Soul Station haven’t had another show since–until now.

If the first show was any indication of what’s to come, then it seems likely that there won’t be issues with any overzealous fans from Stanley’s other band. For the longtime KISS frontman, it’s a matter of being honest, and somewhat blunt, about what to expect at a Soul Station concert.

“I made sure well in advance that people understood I wouldn’t be playing guitar and that if you were expecting to hear ‘Love Gun’ then you went to the wrong venue,” Stanley said. “Everybody knew what they were going to come and see. It was up to them to decide whether or not they wanted to.”

In other words, don’t expect a modern makeover of soul music’s most memorable hits. There’s no guitar solo added to “Get Ready” by The Temptations or an electronic beat added to The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back.” And for Stanley, it’s the only way to do it.

“We don’t believe in rearranging these songs or adding too much that veers away from what it is. I’m always terribly disappointed when I hear songs that aren’t done as I know them,” Stanley said. “We try to keep the songs a cohesive set and not be all over the map. Since I’m very secure in my place in the band, I’m happy to turn the spotlight over to our other singers as well which only makes the show that much better.”

Gracing the stage alongside Stanley are a number of different top flight musicians, each of whom bring an extensive musical pedigree to the band. One of the group’s keyboard players, Alex Alessandroni, served as Whitney Houston’s musical director while Sean Hurley, the band’s bassist, has toured with artists such as John Mayer and Ringo Starr.

Surprisingly, forming the band proved to be a rather simple task. It only took a few phone calls.

“Everybody I called said, ‘yes’,” Stanley joked. “It was a very short process. I just called the best people I could think of and everybody said, ‘I’m in.'”

Although the formation of the band took place a little more than a year ago, in many ways, Soul Station can trace its roots even further back–to a young working class Jewish kid from Queens.

Despite suffering from a deformity in his right ear, which left him struggling to hear on that side, Stanley relished in the music of artists across all genres.

“I was not somebody who wanted to be fed one kind of music anymore than I wanted to be given one kind of food. There’s two kinds of music to me–good and bad,” Stanley said. “I love rock music and choose to sing it, but on the other hand, I’ve also starred in Phantom of the Opera and here I am doing Soul Station. There’s just so much great music to be made and I’m too passionate to wear just one hat.”

Soul Station will play three consecutive shows in the SoCal region beginning at The Coach House Feb. 26.

DREAM WIFE / ALICE GO 2018 interview, looking back…

Listening to Dream Wife’s self-titled debut album, it sounds like they’re having a ton of fun, which guitarist Alice Go enthusiastically confirmed. Looking at their tour schedule, it seems there’s no rest for the wicked!

“It’s true, it’s true,” Go declared. “It was like straight after we released our album in January this year we went straight out to play Laneway Festival in Australia. And kind of since then pretty much this year has been nonstop. So, yea, it’s going to be great to come out and do a headline tour to the U.S.”

And playing live is what it’s all about, the live show being the truest part of their whole project, one that started a few years back when they all met at art school in England.

“It’s where the energy, where the soul comes from, it’s basically jamming in the practice room, it’s the way we interact with our friends and family, it’s a crazy chemistry in Dream Wife, it’s always such a great energy on stage, and we hope that translates to the crowd and I think actually as a band we try to break the ice… it’s the way we play…and have a good time ourselves,” Go explained.

It’s interesting how Dream Wife has both playful and serious songs that make you stop and think one moment, then let loose and be silly the next.

“It’s always a really special part of the set when we play our song “Somebody”,” Go mused. “I think it’s when everyone actually is respecting everyone else around them and it brings the focal of attention to that.

“Then coming from that song later in the set to “F.U.U” where it’s everyone screaming “bitch” together as a crowd … I think it’s the major extremes in the set that hopefully everyone can enjoy themselves and everyone can take something from it.”

Vocalist Rakel Mjöll, writes the lyrics, weaving together stories from conversations between the band members or their friends, keeping it true to heart, with the possible exception of “F.U.U” which may or may not have evolved from jamming the theme song from the Fresh Prince.

“There’s a couple of original stories at this point,” Go laughed. “I think we were just jamming around with the theme tune for the Fresh Prince and it just escalated… I think that playful nature comes across in the way we like to write. At this point I’m not even sure what the origin story is!”

Bella Podpadec plays bass and while they used to work with a drum machine, they currently play with a live drummer, Alex Paveley.

“He’s amazing,” Go said. “I think having live percussion brings a lot of energy. That backbeat is really important to this band and the sound.”

But, back when the three women started this project, they wanted to figure out amongst themselves what their terms were, what they wanted from the band and how they wanted to navigate the music industry.

“You want to figure out what your project is on your own terms before someone else comes along and tells you how it is, so we were very wary of that sort of stuff,” Go explained.

“At the moment I think we have an amazing indie label – Lucky Number – based in London, they’re very supportive, and we really trust them to enable us to take this project in a way that we see fit…we can do some things we were never able to do before… but it still feels like a project that is in our control in terms of vision, content, message, where we want to go musically… I feel very lucky about the position we’re in.”

While Go feels a lot has changed in the male dominated music industry, she also feels women need to band together, in a sense, too.

“I think yes, a lot has changed in that it’s a conversation in a more open way with diversity and equality in the music business,” Go said. “I have a sense that ultimately it’s still a conversation that needs to be pushed and we can’t lax on that otherwise things stay stagnant and don’t change. It’s about continuing the conversation.”

For decades women in music have often been viewed as a novelty or a manufactured thing. One or the other. There weren’t many women in rock that were role models.

“Yea, yea, totally, totally, totally,” Go enthused. “It’s either a unicorn in the traditional sense or it’s a kind of no control situation… a manufactured situation or a fake situation.

“It’s like the Spice Girls were so exciting as a kid and girl power … I think there’s something empowering about that feeling now and reclaiming that as well as reclaiming the place in music where we’re more serious as musicians…yea, yea, it’s kind of complicated, isn’t it?

Be a part of the wild energy and catch Dream Wife Oct. 13 at Constellation Room.

Flashback DEVON ALLMAN interview from 2015:

Devon Allman will bring his blues-rock fusion to SoCal, playing The Mint in LA on Sep. 8, and The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano on Sep. 9.

He’s got the family name, he’s got the guitar chops, but Devon Allman is doing his own thing. A talented blues musician, songwriter and producer, the fact that he happens to be Gregg Allman’s son is almost an afterthought. Almost.

He’s played with his groups Honeytribe and Royal Southern Brotherhood for over a decade, and has been headlining solo tours since 2012. But if you think he grew up in the back of an Allman Brothers Band bus, think again. Allman didn’t even meet his famous father until he was 16.

“I knew who he was, and I had heard the music and everything, but I was just a normal kid growing up in the 80’s listening to Iron Maiden and playing soccer, so I didn’t grow up in the eye of the hurricane with the famous dad,” he said. “I didn’t grow up backstage or on tour buses and all that, so my path to music was really organic and I’m really grateful that I had a normal kid obsession with rock-n-roll.”

However, when the limelight of the family business came knocking, his father’s legacy did give him a nudge.

“I ended up going on tour with the Allman Brothers instead of going and finishing high school, and that definitely inspired me. I figured out right then and there that, ‘Ok, I definitely want to do this.’ That was the final push I needed.”

That push has led to him finding his own way. For Ragged and Dirty, Allman left the southern sound of his family name behind, and headed north to Chicago, the home of the electric blues. The album is packed with original songs and covers that show off his blues chops as well as his versatility. Working with legendary Buddy Guy producer Tom Hambridge gave Allman that “Chicago, electric, nighttime, kind of mojo” he was looking for.

As far as writing the songs for the album, it seems inspiration can strike at any time for Allman.

“I’ve never been the cat that can write every day,” Allman said. “What I typically do is I’ll keep my iPhone by me and if I’m playing guitar and I have a little riff come up, or if I have a vocal melody idea, I just put it on a voice memo. Right now in my phone there’s probably about 300 entries. Now these are like, the most idiotic, bullshit, drum beats hummed in the parking lot of the grocery store in my home town, to a soundcheck in Little Rock with the whole band. I just catalogue ‘em. And then when I get to that deadline and I go, ‘Shit, I’ve got three months’, I go through this process, and I give myself a week or so off, and I fashion those things into songs. I pick the best 12, and hope for the best.”

Fans can expect plenty of songs from Ragged and Dirty at Allman’s live shows, which span his career.

“There’s some songs from the Honytribe era. There’s some stuff from Royal Southern Brotherhood, and I’ve got two solo records out so there’s definitely plenty of stuff from there, there’s a couple cool cover songs. I always throw in a song of my Dad’s. It’s a really high-energy show, there’s crowd participation, there’s some sit-down, mellow acoustic stuff. There’s a lot going on.”

When discussing Ragged and Dirty and the tour, the conversation strayed to Buddy Guy, with blues-loving admiration filling Allman’s voice as he talked about Guy’s latest album, Born to Play Guitar.

“I bought it the day it came out. I think it’s badass,” Allman said. “I think anything Buddy Guy does is badass because it’s so damn pure. I saw Buddy Guy play, in his club. Out comes the polka-dot Stratocaster, and he went onstage and he sliced everyone’s ass in half in thirty seconds. I have never seen anyone command 1000 percent of your attention. He brought it down to a whisper. You could hear a pin drop. And then, he just kicked it in and just knocked people in the teeth. Now that B.B. King is gone I think we can all rightfully say that he is the living godfather of the blues. That dude’s amazing. I’ve met all kinds of people, but two people have made me say, ‘I’m literally eight feet away from you, and I cannot approach you,’ and that is Buddy Guy and Neil Young. And I could have easily gone up and said, ‘Hey, I’m Gregg’s son, I’m a big fan, I love your work, pleasure to meet you,’ and yeah, I just couldn’t.”

As far as being in awe of his father, it seems more than anything, Allman is impressed with his Dad’s durability.

“The thing that a lot of people tend to forget is guys like the Stones, they have hundreds of millions of dollars. They don’t need another five million from another tour. Those cats that are out there over 70 that are still doing it, they’re still addicted to that buzz, man, and they want to got out there, and they want to turn people on, and make people feel good. That’s inspiring to me because that’s what it’s all about, you know? It’s a selfless act. You go out there and you’re rockin’ out for them.”

When asked if he sees himself out on the road at 70, Allman is adamant.

“Oh man, until they have to put me in a box, yeah. I’ve always said, and I stand by this, it’s a crazy world out there. You can read the news and see the evil going on and the greed and the corruption and the war mongering, and not to get too heavy, but music, and paintings, and films, and poetry and all of the arts, we act as a counterbalance to that darkness. That’s why art is so important to me because it balances out this crazy world.”

Indeed, Allman shows no signs of slowing down, having just produced an album for Australia’s No. 1 selling blues artist, Owen Campbell which he can’t help but gush about.

“We just cut his record in Memphis and it’s awesome. He’s a real good one. It will come out early spring, and I’m stoked for him.”

Allman will continue touring North America into the next year and has plans to record another solo album in November.

It would seem that the legacy continues.

Flashback: BUZZCOCKS 2016 interview…

Buzzcocks, Mancunian heroes of the 1976 British punk explosion, commemorate their 40th year with a world tour, Buzzcocks40, that stops in SoCal at The Mayan May 26 and The Observatory Santa Ana May 28.

Not content to shrivel away as a nostalgia act by cashing in on early hits like “Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve?),” “Why Can’t I Touch It?,” “What Do I Get?,” and “Fast Cars,” the band has been active since their reunion in 1989, hitting the road and making new music.

Of the original members, the creative core, Pete Shelley (lead vocals and guitar) and Steve Diggle (lead guitar and vocals) have been the yin-yang energy driving the band since its inception.

Concert Guide Live caught up with Diggle to talk about the band’s legacy, not being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and what it actually means to be punk.

Diggle speaks in a warm, northern brogue, the kind of accent Americans imagine all Brits have, like a character in Peaky Blinders or a rakish villain from a Sherlock Holmes story. He’s charming, quick to laugh, and well-read, ever-ready with a Dickens quote or George Orwell reference. He was there when it all began, one of the few punk figureheads left, a fact that surprises him as much as anyone.

“I mean, we kind of thought we’d last four days. We just thought, if we get a few shows, and make a little bit of an impact, that’s as far as we’d go. But here we are, 40 years later, it seems to have flown by, to me. In a way it still feels like we’re starting [laughs].”

Diggle’s relationship with Shelley is also 40 years old, an impressive feat he doesn’t take for granted.

“We’ve been together longer than the partners we’ve had,” Diggle laughs.

“To be honest, if I was at school, and he was in the class, I wouldn’t have hung around with him. He was a geek, ‘I’m not hanging around with him!’

“But there’s an amazing chemistry there that you couldn’t bargain for. It has been a long journey, we’ve had lots of wonderful times, lots of heavy arguments. We’ve run out of things to argue about. It’s just a powerful, mystical thing. It’s hard to explain, but it works.”

For Buzzcocks40 shows, fans can expect a career-spanning set, with new favorites, the band’s standards, plus early, hidden gems like “Time’s Up.” Forming the set-list from such a beloved catalogue was a harrowing task, one in which Diggle approached with his typically self-deprecating attitude.

“Before we started the tour, we brought a lot of songs forward, then we had to cut it down. Sometimes it can go on too long [laughs]. It’s like, ‘Ok, we get the idea, you got to stop with this’.’’

The generational span of Buzzcocks fans serves as a testament to the timelessness of their songs. Unbelievably, the special place the Buzzcocks hold in rock history has been largely ignored. They still aren’t in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which Diggle contemplates with detached bemusement.

“You’d think when they look at rock’s rich tapestry as they’re supposed to do, that we’d be in it,” Diggle said.

“There are people who have done lesser things that are in there. Maybe we’re still outsiders to the game. I went around there when I was in Cleveland a few years back, and I noticed there wasn’t even a Buzzcocks poster in there [laughs].

“In some ways, we’ve never really been awarded for anything. Send them something that says ‘Why aren’t the Buzzcocks in there?’ they’ll probably go ‘Who? [laughs].’ Maybe it’s cool that everybody else is in. Even Christ had to carry his own cross. He’s not in the Hall of Fame either, so we’re in good company.”

Pressed further, some mild bitterness breaks through.

“There’s a few bands that are in that I go, ‘Hold on, they’ve told us they were inspired by the Buzzcocks, and they’re in there?’

“It’s really nice, and a great honor, but we’ve never been like, the teacher’s pet or anything like that. I do think, ‘Why not, what’s wrong with us that we can’t go in there? What the fuck, man?’

“But you’re better off being alive without an award, than being poor old David Bowie or Prince. They’re in there, but it’s no good to them now. As Charles Dickens said, ‘It’s no good being the richest man in the cemetery’.”

Regardless of the Hall of Fame’s recognition of such, Diggle is a key piece in the punk puzzle. So what about the state of punk, today? Who better to ask than one of its originators?

“Back in the day, it was The Clash, Pistols, and The Jam, along with the Ramones in New York,” Diggle recalled.

“We wrote the play, and all those after are acting out the script. It was about the attitude, and about excitement, inspiration, questioning stuff. When you listened to those early records, you had to rethink your whole consciousness about what music was doing to you. Those kinds of records are an assault on your senses. They make you feel alive. You think, ‘Wow, I can go out and do things myself.’ Even street sweepers were sweeping the street differently.”

More than a strict blueprint, Diggle considers what bands like the Buzzcocks and The Clash did was an invitation for people to do their own thing.

“Over the years, you start getting the stereotypical thing, ‘Oh a punk should be this and that’,” Diggle said.

“Well that’s the opposite of what it was about. It was about there not being any rules, and that’s what gets lost in a way. Punk is more misinterpreted than the Bible [laughs].”

Forty years on, Diggle is happy inspiration is still coming, happy that people still come to hear the Buzzcocks play, and happy with his place in rock history, hall of fame induction be damned.

“Maybe there are some little things I would change here and there, but I couldn’t do that without it changing everything else. I wouldn’t be where I am now, so I wouldn’t want to change much.”

Flashback RIVAL SONS 2016 interview…

Long Beach rock-n-roll band, Rival Sons, on tour with Black Sabbath, will make a stop in Santa Ana to headline their own show on Feb. 12.

“I hope to see everybody there, it’s going to be a big show,” drummer Michael Miley said. “And, listen to local rock radio, call KLOS tell them you want the Long Beach band, Rival Sons played on their station.”

The opportunity to travel the world and play music may be many musicians’ ultimate goal, but having your local rock radio station embrace you is icing on the cake.

“Our roots are strong so it’s going to be a packed show, a beautiful show, and it’s going to be sponsored by KLOS, a station I grew up listening to,” Miley confirmed. “It’s pretty much a dream.”

Rival Sons success in Europe is light years ahead of their success in the U.S. Although they have toured with many well-known, classic bands such as Aerosmith, AC/DC, and Alice Cooper people in the U.S. have been slower to catch on.

“The music business here does not embrace rock-n-roll or support it or give money to it. And rock radio is an uphill battle for what we do,” Miley explained. “Most Americans need to be spoon fed what to like, unless you’re a person who likes to seek out new music.

“We’re basically an R & B band just like The Who or Zeppelin. All the British Invasion bands were white boys who tried to play black music and turned it up real loud. That’s originally what rock-n-roll was, right?

“People think Foo Fighters are rock-n-roll. I love the Foo Fighters but that’s not rock-n-roll. Rock-n-roll is music that has blues in it. When the blues left rock-n-roll it became rock.

“We’re definitely lone wolves in a densely packed forest of nothing.”

Currently on tour with Black Sabbath in the US and Canada, Rival Sons will have the opportunity to reach many new fans.

“We have this crazy opportunity to be personally invited by Ozzy to be on this tour,” Miley said. “It’s pretty nostalgic and I can’t really put it into words.

“When (Tony) Iommi walks out and plays “Iron Man” I get shivers thinking back to when I was a kid and my older brother used to scare me playing Black Sabbath. It was the scariest thing. Ozzy was like a monster. My earliest memories of Sabbath, not that they’re bad, Sabbath were doing their job, was scaring the shit out of me! So, it’s pretty nostalgic.”

It’s been a few years since the last album Great Western Valkyrie but their fifth album is due sometime around May, also on Earache and distributed through Warner Bros. Like their previous album, it was recorded in Nashville with producer, Dave Cobb.

“Yep, we have a new record coming out in 2016, baby! Not sure I can say the name of it, yet,” Miley teased. “We’re really excited. It took us 3 weeks like all of our other records.

“We like to go in and over three weeks force ourselves to write songs in the studio. Nothing is pre-rehearsed or anything. I’ve never heard the songs. It’s a good way to get a human element into your recording. Forced, non-rehearsed music.”

Whether you catch them opening for Black Sabbath at The Forum, or headlining The Observatory, the Rival Sons always play hard, treating every concert as if it was their last show on earth.

“When I talk about rock I mean rock-n-roll.”