Shooter Jennings Live At The Fine Line!

I went to my first live indoor show since the Covid pandemic began last night, and it was only because it was to see my good friend, Shooter Jennings play - at The Fine Line in Minneapolis, which is a proof of vaccination venue, so I took the risk. And it was well worth it (so far!).

Shooter and I have been friends since the days of his first band, Stargunn - and what days those were! I've rooted for him ever since, and am so happy to see him enjoying so much success of late. Grammys for producing Brandi Carlile and Tanya Tucker's albums have made Jennings a hot commodity in the studio, and he's been so busy producing for others that he's not had as much time for his own music, so last night was even more special to get to hear him strut his own - and awesome - stuff. 

The night opened with a set from Lillie Mae, a talented singer/songwriter who came up as Jack White's fiddle player. I was in the dressing room catching up with Shooter for much of her set, but did get to see her perform the title track for her most recent album, Other Girls - and it made me want to hear and know more. Dave Cobb had his mitts on her album, so that's the Jennings connection for this show. Excellent.

The crowd was packed in, and though they were presumably vaccinated, they were definitely not masked. I chose to head up top to the side stage balcony to try to keep away from the aspiration of others - in both senses of the word. Shooter and his longtime band took to the stage to huge cheers from fans that had been pressed up against the stage waiting in anticipation. Clad in a Brandi Carlile shirt and Jordans, Jennings yelled, "How you doin', Minneapolis?" - and it sounded like they were doing very well. Jennings sat down at the keys, and the band kicked of the show with "Bound Ta Git Down" from his Shooter album. The honkeytonk autobiographical banger got things off to a great start, and had me reminiscing about "Moving to California where the sun shines all day long"! Sigh ...

"Denim & Diamonds" showed off the great lyrical storytelling talent that Jennings has in abundance, and it had the crowd banging their heads in time and in appreciation for the outlaw stylings that they also loved from his legendary dad, Waylon. I has asked Shooter pre-show if he was going to play any from his outstanding concept album, Black Ribbons - in particular my very favorite song of his, "All Of This Could Have Been Yours", and that's the one that he played next - and said, 'This is for Carol." That was so special, because I love it, but also because it felt so absolutely great to be listening to a song I adore played live right in front of me by a friend that I deeply revere. Thank you, Amigo! 

Switching to guitar for the rocker "Steady At The Wheel" from his awesomely titled album Put The O Back In Country, Jennings first introduced his great and super-tight band. John Sheffler on lead guitar. Ted Russell Kamp on bass. Jamie Douglass on drums. Aubrey Richmond on fiddle and background vocals. Each of them are so good individually, but together they are something else, as the showed on "The Outsider" that featured just enough twang to keep the o in the country sound. Jennings again thanked the crowd, and said that Minneapolis has been good to him since Day One, playing places like The Turf Club and The Cabooze (Thank you, Mpls!). 

"Rhinestone Eyes" was a beautiful ballad written for Jennings' wife, Misty, from the Shooter album. She wasn't there, but it was very sweet because you could feel the love he has for her, even when she's not around. I love that. "Living In A Minor Key" was intended for a George Jones tribute album that never happened, but Jennings had taken it very seriously and still wanted to record it. It also found a home on the Shooter album, and when he introduced it by saying, "Just imagine a way better singer singing it, and it's like a George Jones song." Well, HE sang it perfectly, and it WAS like a Shooter Jennings song - as I believe he belongs in that same pantheon. And deserves to be playing way bigger venues like Target Center up the street. My two cents.

Everyone loves the 4th of July and everyone loved Jennings song of the same name. He threw out a "Those good old boys in Minneapolis", always a crowd pleaser, but he didn't need to do anything more to please this crowd. They were true fans, wearing the t-shirts, and knowing the words to sing along with. That made me so happy for him, because he's had a long career, been through a lot, and it's a joy to see him getting the reverence he should. "Loving County" was a Charlie Robison cover that Jennings has been playing for years, "Since my first band, Stargunn - Carol knows about that, she was there." I do, and I was. Very happily. Sheffler ripped off a guitar solo on that one that might have left blisters on faces. Wow.

"Don't Feed The Animals" (also from Black Ribbons) was a heavy rocker that showed shades of the Shooter that almost replaced Axl Rose in Guns N' Roses - and produced Marilyn Manson's most recent album. The crowd was loving it, as I think his fans are finally ready to let Shooter be Shooter, and play whatever the hell kind of music he feels like playing. Like "I'm Left You're Right She's Gone" from his Giorgio Moroder tribute album, Countach (For Giorgio). A kid growing up in the 80's has a TON of musical influences, and Jennings is open to it all. There aren't many people that can talk music like Shooter Jennings. For real. 

"Shades and Hues" was Jennings' personal tribute to Hank Williams Jr. and it had Jennings back on the keys playing this song that sounds as timeless as all the best country ones do. Aubrey Richmond really shone on this one, harmonizing with Jennings and completely wailing on her fiddle. "Leave Those Memories Alone" was dedicated to his late, great friend, Colonel Jon Hensley, who he wrote it for and with. A bluesy number ... you could tangibly feel Jennings missing his friend. 

Another one that sounds like you've always known it as a real classic was "Fast Horses and Good Hideouts". Extra gorgeous, with really pretty fiddle playing, if they didn't have the room in the palm of their hands before - they did now. "White Trash" got Jennings back on guitar, and got the people dancing! Here came the "I love you, Shooters!" and "Shooter, You're the shit!s" - and they were right. 

"I wrote this one about Nashville a long time ago," said Jennings by way of introducing "Outlaw You" - a perfect kiss-off to the baseball hat wearing wannabe country douchebags littering Nashville these days. They lyrics tell the story about how Waylon came to Nashville as an outlaw, changed everything, and now the suits are trying to package that kind of Outlaw - which, of course, you can't. So they should OUTLAW YOU! Yeah. There was a blistering jam between Russell Kamp on bass and Richmond on fiddle that foreshadowed the all-out band jam that came next, "Gunslinger". Big, epic, passionate ... clearly establishing the entire band as "motherfucking Gunslingers!" SO good. 

"Silver Springs" was the gorgeous ballad that would have people slow dancing in a different setting. I love watching Jennings on the keys, because he just BEATS on them and makes the most beautiful music. I feel like I'm kind of gushing about it all, but it just felt SO good to be listening to really great music LIVE again, that I can't say enough good about it ... especially as it's a friend who I think is vastly underrated for his own music, and I want to help blow it up even bigger for him. Because he truly deserves it. So there. 

That loveliness was the last tune of the regular set, and the band left the stage to chants of "Shooter! Shooter!" They didn't make the people wait like some lame bands, and came right back out to play "The Door', a George Jones cover that most likely never rocked as hard as it did last night with this band. It was awesome, and it was very clear that the whole venue agreed with me. We might all have been just happy to see live music again, but I think it was more just that good. "Thank you, Minneapolis!"

The band was sweaty, tired, and happy afterwards, all the hallmarks of a job well done. Shooter is off to Iowa to play tonight, and then off to Seattle to finish the next Brandi Carlile album. Lives are busy and scattered and very uncertain these days, but I think the power of friendship and music just might be enough to carry us all a little bit easier through these crazy times. At least it gives me hope. 

Thank you for that, Shooter. YOU are a class act. 

 

Shooter Jennings And Duff McKagan In Conversation At The Grammy Museum - Tenderness

Longtime friends Shooter Jennings and Duff McKagan have teamed up on the forthcoming (May 31st!) solo album from McKagan, Tenderness, and they spoke about their collaboration last Thursday night at The Grammy Museum's Clive Davis Theater. Grammy Director, Scott Goldman, introduced Jennings by saying that he's collaborated with everyone from George Jones to Marilyn Manson (and recently won his first Grammy for producing Brandi Carlile's By The Way, I Forgive You!), and that tells you the huge range that you're dealing with, and that makes sense of how a member of Outlaw Country royalty would come together to work with McKagan, one of the founding members of the monsters of hard rock, Guns N' Roses.

Jennings and McKagan took the stage to much applause, and settled in for a chat about the new album, and their process in making it. These partners met back in 2001, when Jennings was in his band Stargunn (which is also around when I became friends with Jennings!). Jennings was much more metal back then, and said that he came to L.A. because of GNR, and the first CD's he ever bought were GNR. "That 'Welcome To The Jungle' video with Axl getting off the bus in L.A. - that was me!" It was rumored around town back then that he might even take over for Axl Rose in GNR at one point - he had the good hair AND the pants. Though that never happened, a friendship was born between Jennings and McKagan, because as McKagan put it, "I saw in his eyes that he was a truth teller."

As both musicians struck out on their own, McKagan was particularly struck by Jennings' Black Ribbons album (my favorite too - a conceptual masterpiece in my opinion), and had him in mind to work with when coming up with the songs that would become Tenderness. McKagan is also a writer, with books and columns, and refers to himself as an "Armchair Historian". He likes to visit tourist spots, like Monticello, and World War I museums, and is constantly out there meeting and talking with people, and said that when you turn off the news and really talk to people, there just isn't that divide that all of the media talks about. Like after 9/11 - everyone came together to help, it didn't matter what "side" you were on. We were in it together - as we are now and always have been. "Like, I've seen women in full head coverings rocking the fuck out!" Rad.

Inspiration for the new album came to McKagan from artists like Mark Lanegan ("The River Rise") and Greg Dulli ("Deepest Shade" - "that romances the shit out of my musical mind!" - D.M.), and Jennings understood that vibe immediately, and cited Failure's "Stuck On You" as his own touchpoint. Goldman blew smoke at Jennings by asking McKagan, "Was it intimidating to be working with such a dauntingly talented multi-instrumentalist as Shooter?" to which Jennings said, "I'm gonna leave." People talk about humble musicians, but Jennings is the REAL deal - and an awesome dude to boot (which makes sense why these two get along. McKagan seems super thoughtful and aware and kind too). To answer the question, McKagan said he addresses it in the booklet he wrote included with the album ... saying, "Shooter was a few steps ahead always, but didn't make you feel that way." He echoed Brandi Carlile's sentiment, that working with Shooter is "like being two kids in the basement making a rocketship!" After juggling touring and kid schedules, these true partners got down to it. McKagan also used Jennings' band for the project, and told about seeing them play The Troubadour last fall, and hanging over the balcony going, "That's my band!" all excited, because they're THAT good.

Several of the songs from Tenderness touch on issues we're all dealing with these days: addiction, gun control, suicide ... though McKagan is reluctant to pontificate on these things, and doesn't want to be yet another political voice, saying, "Oh, you should think this way .. Fuck me." Using the track "Parkland" as an example, he said it came to him as a B flat/D funeral dirge sound, and he name-checks sites of these mass shooting tragedies ... "And if that's political, you can fuck off." That got rousing applause - because Duh.

McKagan also addressed the issue of addiction, having lost many friends to it over the years. He credited his wife, Susan, several times with saving his own life, and it was refreshing to hear a dude gush over his longtime marriage, calling it "badass and cool". "Being strung out isn't a 'them', it's a "we", McKagan stated, and went on to talk about how losing so many inspired his song, "You're Still Here". Scott Weiland had died, whom McKagan tried to help many times. Then Prince. "My thing is Prince. 1999 saved my life, and got me out of heroin-infested Seattle to L.A." (I knew I liked him). He heard about that tragic death while on tour in Mexico City and was gutted. Then Chris Cornell (whose daughter Lily is two weeks apart from McKagan's daughter). The night Cornell died, Axl Rose had come to GNR and said, "Let's try 'Black Hole Sun' tonight" - which they had never played. McKagan got a text after the show that Cornell had died. Heavy. Then Chester Bennington. It's all so sad, but McKagan made it a little better, saying, "We're gonna remember you. You're still here." Having come out the other side himself, McKagan said, "The celebration is that I get to work with Shooter now, and do something also badass and cool."

Jennings and McKagan are readers, and talked about authors and their lyrical influence. McKagan is big on Cormac McCarthy and Hemingway, and their scarcity of words. "They can make me cry over a single sentence. I tried to write to standards of authors that I read. Like, do NOT rhyme 'fire' with 'desire'. Do not fucking do that!" Jennings added about making the album, "We were just chasing a sound. We had a center - which was us - and no boundaries." McKagan was about to add to that, then stopped himself, saying, "You realize this is the most we've ever talked about this. Now we're just making stuff up!"

Goldman publicly thanked McKagan for all of his work on behalf of MusiCares, helping other musicians because he's been there himself. "Being an alcoholic junkie is not part of the rock star dream, and now I have sobriety and a lust for life." He also talked about doing a book of "all the shit I don't remember, like interviewing friends saying, 'What did I do in Louisville?", which cracked people up. Listening to these guys talk together, you realize they're both just regular cool dudes, who also happen to be insanely talented legends that we were lucky to see in such an intimate setting ... and then it was time for them to play!

Joined by violinist, Aubrey Richmond, Jennings sat down at the piano, and McKagan strapped on a guitar. They opened with the title track "Tenderness" and its beautiful piano intro. It's really a song about empathy, and how badly needed that trait is today. Up next was "Chip Away" (which reminded me that McKagan was briefly in Jane's Addiction too!), an upbeat number that featured a fiddle solo and the notion of hanging in there until all of this mess in our country is through - or that's how I took it, anyway.

The short set ended with the one about all of the lost souls, "You're Still Here". It is slow, and there is a funeral air about it, but it's beautiful. The line, "You're still here ... when the lights go down, you are still here ... all you hold dear remains" proved that McKagan attained what he was aiming for. I cried over one sentence. The last notes rung out and McKagan shouted, "We'll see you on the road!" and they sure will. Because their show will be the one where you feel no division in this country, at least for a few hours.  Shooter and Duff ... Thank you for the Tenderness!

Tenderness is out May 31, 2019
Shooter Jennings & Duff McKagan play The Wiltern on June 13, 2019.
Tickets now available.

*Photos by Paul Gronner Photography

Brandi Carlile In Conversation At The Grammy Museum

I first heard Brandi Carlile about a decade ago on KCRW, and immediately looked her up after hearing her gorgeous, career-making song, "The Story". I was obsessed with that album in 2007, and then life got all busy and I lost track of what she was up to pretty much since. The Grammy Museum invited me to come to an evening of conversation with Carlile last night, and now I'm all back to being a super fan.

Slicked up in a black and red suit, Carlile took the stage to have a sit down chat with The Grammy Museum's artistic director, Scott Goldman for what turned out to be an extra insightful conversation that they allowed us all to listen in on. The audience was stocked with absolutely dedicated fans, who responded ultra-enthusiastically for everything Carlile said and played. With good reason. When Goldman introduced the Grammy nominated Carlile as "One of our very favorite people in the world", an audience member yelled "Ours too!" The admiration in the room was palpable.

By The Way, I Forgive You was the latest album (and her 7th) being promoted by Carlile, and though I've not yet heard it in its entirety, after what I heard last night, it's a must-own. Produced by my old pal, Shooter Jennings, and his old friend, Dave Cobb, the songs I heard simply soar. Carlile and her identical twin partners, Tim and Phil Hanseroth, have created something very special yet again.

Goldman kicked things off by asking Carlile about the genesis of the new album, and she shared that it all started with a memory that had haunted her since she was a teenager. She had attended a Baptist church and really wanted to be baptized. She did all the studies, invited all her family, wore her bathing suit under her clothes, and on the Sunday she was to be dunked, with all her family waiting in the pews to observe, the Pastor told her he couldn't perform the rite due to the fact that she was out as gay. Her wife told her she should forgive him for that pain he had caused her so she could let it go. So she did, via this beautiful new piece of work. She spoke to how the concept of forgiveness should be more than just a White America hashtag like "#blessed" as it's really "An emotionally radical concept ... I think it cures cancer." I think she's right.

"I had a lump in my throat the whole time I was writing this album, but now that I'm a mom, everything makes me cry." I'm not a mom, and everything makes me cry too, so I get it. Life is especially emotional these days, every time you hear the news, so this talk and music is also very timely.

About working with Jennings and Cobb, Carlile said, "They were like two kids in the basement building a spaceship - with my stuff." She added, "There was a lot of drinking." They allowed her to expand her notions of what is possible when recording, and she very seriously said, "I'll never be the same ... and we'll do it again." (That garnered a whole bunch of happy shouts).

Goldman dug into some individual tracks on the album, and asked about "Fulton County Jane Doe", which is the true story of an unidentified body in Fulton County, Georgia that was found in a field and never i.d'.d in 30 years. She had a tattoo of Jesus on her hand, and it haunted Phil Hanseroth until he had to write her a song. And it's a beauty.

"Sugartooth" is about the opioid crisis, and another true story about a friend the band lost to addiction. As a mother, Carlile now looks at everyone as someone's baby, and this man that didn't make it also needed a song. It's lovely that people who probably thought they'd be forgotten are actually now remembered through song for always. And they were someone's child.

Carlile is also an activist - thank you - and is very involved in depoliticizing children, and wants to "Bring compassion to the free movement of displaced people. I want to humanize people ... I want to make a mark and have my kids be proud of me." Mission - accomplished. She cracked people up when she added, "And I know how to make things rhyme."

Joni Mitchell was on constant rotation while Carlile and the Hanseroths were making this album, and Carlile put all her songs to the "Joni Mitchell Test" that referred to a quote from Mitchell who had said that if you hear her songs and wonder about her life, she wasn't doing her job. If you heard them and thought about your own life, that's the goal (I paraphrase). Well, another mission accomplished.

"Mother" is about becoming a mother to her daughter, Evangeline, and the feelings that went along with not carrying her own child, and also not having any real "Gay Parent Template" from which to work from or glean advice. She didn't feel worthy of the word "Mother", then embraced those feelings and wrote about them ... resulting in a song that for sure passed her Joni Mitchell Test.

"The Joke" was inspired by Freddy Mercury, and "We Are The Champions". She said that Mercury was shameless in being a drama queen, and though every sports team has co-opted that Queen anthem for themselves, Carlile always saw it as a song of triumph for the LBGTQ community - and now I see that classic in a whole new light.

In talking about her partnership/friendship with the Hanseroths, Carlile said that "We even live on the same property now, so it's gotten weirder and weirder." Though they all three take a different approach to song writing, she said the relationship is a very fulfilling one ... and the results are clearly awesome. Goldman asked about Carlile working with the legendary string composer/arranger, Paul Buckmaster, and found out that a young Carlile even had a poster of the dude on her teenage bedroom wall! She got obsessed with him while doing a book report at 11 on Ryan White, the young AIDS activist who was close friends with Elton John ... whose music turned her on to Buckmaster. When they finally met when she was 16, she played him a song and he cried (and he also cried about Bach ... about olive oil ... he was apparently a very emotional cat. I get it.). He told her he'd arrange her songs when she grew up, and he held true to that promise ... and By The Way, I Forgive You was the last album he live-conducted before he passed away last year. "The song 'Party Of One' is all him." Chills. And a lump in the throat for good measure.

When asked about the album's cover art, Carlile admitted to having a massive crush on its artist, Scott Avett (of the Avett Brothers, who is also an excellent painter, judging by this cover). "Have you seen his face?! He's BEAUTIFUL!" swooned Carlile, adding that "He paints earnestness." She also admitted that flying to North Carolina to be painted found her renting a car for the first time in her 37 years, as the Twins have always taken care of hauling her around the country. But she did it!

The conversation then veered from her admiration for Joan Baez, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams and Patti Smith on to her Cover Stories project where artists as diverse as Kris Kristofferson (!) to Pearl Jam, Jim James, and Dolly Parton covered songs from The Story in a career-affirming achievement. That album alone shows the respect that Carlile has earned since bursting on to the scene in the Aughts.

Goldman opened things up for questions, which ranged from how does she find the time to write ("Songwriting just happens to me, usually at really inconvenient times.") to when she knows a song is done ("I get my affirmation from an audience ... they tell me when it's done. The songs don't come alive until I perform them.") to how drummers change the meter of things - from a drummer in the audience who hinted that she was available. Questions asked and answered, Goldman invited Carlile and The Twins to play some songs for us, and the room hooted and hollered its excitement.

"By The Way, I Forgive You", the title track from the album was first up, and truly beautiful with its harmonies and acoustic guitar picking - as well as its sentiment. "I'm doing just fine, except any time I hear that song" ... instantly relatable (passing that Ms. Mitchell test again).

"Cool, Man.", was Carlile's response to the thunderous applause they got for that one, then intoduced the next one by saying, "Here's a Freddy Mercury song", as they launched into "The Joke". Carlile just BELTED this one out, and I found myself with the lump in my throat that Carlile alluded to when writing it. SO good ... especially when the last lyric rewards the whole song, with the line, "The joke's on them." Awesome.

"Mother" was preceded by an anecdote about Carlile's young daughter, Evangeline, having a current obsession with death. After a dog and some chickens died, and being explained about death to, the little girl said to her baby brother, "Elijah, I love you, but you'll die too." Out of the mouths of babes! The song was tender and touching, and full of throat lumps, and great lines like, "When we chose your name, we knew you'd Fight The Power too." C'mon. That's great stuff.

The band closed the evening with "Whatever You Do" ... and its hard truth about life and love, singing, "I love you, whatever you do, but I've got a life to live too." We've all been there, and as Carlile's voice soared to the Heavens to finish it, the room collectively rose to our feet, almost involuntarily. It was just that good.

They took their bows, waved, and were off to catch a plane. I've slept on Carlile's career for a while, but I'm back, and grateful to know that there are still really good musicians that are also really good people. A rare combination, which Carlile embodies in thought, song, and deed. Treat yourself to her new album (and listen to it as an album, how it was meant to be listened to), and do go see this super talent any chance you get. Prepare for lumps in your throat.

By The Way, I Forgive You is available everywhere.


*Photos Courtesy of Rebecca Sapp/Wireimage.com for The Grammy Museum

Pixie Ink Tattoos - Created In Venice

I always get excited when my friend Ali Jenkins tells me about her new endeavors, because they're always real cool. Like the time she had a vintage store (Wayward Debutante) in a hippie bus on Lincoln Boulevard. Or the time she had her own p.r. company. Or styling gorgeous people gorgeously for photo shoots or special events. Or launching a brand new temporary tattoo company called Pixie Ink, conceived of and created in Venice.

Jenkins and her brother, Joe, were hanging out after he joined her on the West coast last year, brainstorming about ideas for a company together. Both siblings are very creative, and wanted to do something that would pass that creativity along.

Something that would allow people to be their own designers, and express themselves in their own - and fun - way. With flash tattoos flying off the shelves, and their own backgrounds to draw inspiration from, the Jenkins family created Pixie Ink Tattoos.

There are four collections in their debut line, each a tribute to influences and loves of Ali and Joe's lives. There's the "Shooter" collection (named for my old pal Shooter Jennings!), with symbols of the West, a more bohemian, Americana rock group of tattoos, like guns, cacti, and Johnny Cash.

Then there's the "Notorious" group, born out of Joe's (DJ "Dust Juice Joey") love of hip hop and rap, featuring things like chains, boom boxes, gold teardrops, 40's and "Thug Life" knuckle tats.

I said, "Oh, like when Run DMC met Aerosmith!" They were more thinking Gucci Mane when coming up with this batch, and that's just what you get. Plus, as Pixie Ink says, "Temporary Tattoos - Permanent Cool". Word.

The "Vicious" collection contains all things punk or glam rock. Named for Sid, and his Nancy, this pack is all about safety pins, guitars, David Bowie, and general anarchy. My favorite is the chains and padlock that allow you to make a great version of the necklace Chanel hasn't been able to keep in stock. Super extra cute.

"Wonderland" is for the whimsical people of all ages, but this is also the one geared toward kids. Sparkling mushrooms, sprinkled doughnuts, flamingos, and friendship bracelets all give the kids (or you) that cool edge that they can't get for real until they roll past 18. I brought packs of the Pixie Ink to the tweens in my life back in Minnesota, and they are all over it.

But it's not at all just for kids. I wore a steer skull tattoo next to my cleavage for New Year's Eve, and that was pretty much all any of the ladies at the party wanted to talk about, after their resolutions. A big hit.

When coming up with ideas for a company, Ali and Joe wanted it to have to do with high fashion and street style. Both have their own great personal style. They wanted to capitalize on that, and love what they were going to do. Fashion changes so quickly, and often high fashion is prohibitively expensive, so why not make something affordable for the masses, that is temporary (like changing fashion trends), travel-friendly (so you can pack narrow sheets in a bag and not a whole jewelry box when you travel!) and allows people to be creative and expressive? Bam - temporary tattoos!

The Jenkins brother-sister act did years of research, considering their lives have been all about music and fashion, and came up with a great product that celebrates the various scenes they've been involved in. It's a great collaboration between them, but also between them and the scenes. They're in talks to do band merch tattoos, VIP pass tattoos, tattoos included in CDs, tattoos with fashion labels, tattoos for fashion and video shoots ... all that good stuff that goes on in music and fashion.

The packets are $25, and come with four sheets of different tattoos that you can cut out and put together in your own style. They feature black, silver, gold and turquoise metallics, and are so eye-catching, I can't tell you how many times I was stopped and complimented when wearing them. Ok, I can. A lot.

Pixie Ink is named for Ali's Pomeranian, Pixie, who is also the C.E.O. of the company. The tattoos are available on their website - Pixieinktattoos.com -  and at Principessa in Venice, with more retail outlets coming soon. These are hot off the presses, so you'll be among the first to sport this ink, which I can tell you are already out in front of the pack with their much cooler, much more real street fashion collection than any others on the market.

Pixie Ink ... Permanently cool.

*Photos by Alexa Miller Gallo

Instagram: @Pixieinktattoos
                  @Alexaphoto

Dan Coakley - Enjoy Responsively.

It takes a lot to get Venice people to the Valley ... and Dan Coakley and his band are a LOT. Dan has a brand new and excellent Ep out - EP 1 - and we were all excited to hear its tracks live with a full band ... excited enough to head over the hills, even.


Dan's EP was produced by Dave Cobb, who also took over the reins on Shooter Jennings & Hierophant's EPIC new album, Black Ribbons (which if you haven't listened to it yet, don't talk to me until you do. Crucial listening, especially if you're an American that gives a damn about anything anymore). While Dan and Dave were a huge part of Black Ribbons, so too are Dave and Shooter an integral part of EP 1 ... you can hear them all in there on both albums, and the resulting music demands the same respect, and beer bottles clanking together in a "Hell YEAH!"

I've seen Dan in a bunch of bands: The Hell City Rockers, Fistfight, High Or Hellwater, and now as straight up Dan Coakley, I get that he is right where he should be - rocking it, and meaning it. It's not easy in the music industry these days, but I admire people who go their own way and do their very own thing. As Dan told me, "If you want to be a working the fields, Farmer Musician, it's there for you." Meaning, you can get your music out there your own way these days, if you're up for the work. And he is. (P.s. - Farmer Musicians is a sweet band name, someone.)

EP 1 is a collection of four deeply personal songs, full of darkness and hell, but even fuller of redemption and light. Like all the best music is, and as real as it gets.

Which is why it was so great to finally get to see and hear it all live. Dan has surrounded himself with ridiculously talented musicians in his band, while he himself gets so wrapped up in performing his songs, he might not even know you're there.


Dan's cousin, Paige Gullivan, opened the musical evening, with some solo acoustic songs from his New York based band, Russian Vogue. His voice sounds like John Doe, and my favorite number of his was "Des Colores", the one that he introduced as, "This is a Spanish song. I don't know what the words mean, but I like it." Me too, Paige. So, so pretty, it was. When Dan took the stage next, he said, "God Bless America, I love that guy!" Again, me too.


Dan and his band wasted no time getting the rock started, as he yelled, "Are we gonna go for it?!" Yes, we sure are. They kicked it off with a new track off the EP called "Black", a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll. Dan hails from Baltimore, MD, and told me that Baltimore (Charm City!) is in fact South of the Mason-Dixon line, so he's fully qualified to execute some twang when he wants to. He also told me that the music he hears in his head generally has the beat of a railroad train, and I hear that in there as well, coming right at you.

That's what I like so much about Dan's music ... the emotions and truth come right at you, tough as nails, but remind you also to hang in there, and get through whatever is being thrown at you. Because you can. Like on the beautifully painful track, also on the new EP, "The Bird and the Boy" ... Watching Dan sing, fully immersed in it, "I lost myself somewhere ... I'm dying and I just don't care ...", it was dark stuff, but the music swoops in and carries you past it all. As it should.


Some older ones from earlier recordings, "135", the bluesy "Colorado", and "P" were thrown down, and sounded as fresh as they ever did. "It Ain't Me" is my favorite of the older bunch. "She grabbed my hand, and turned to me, and said, 'Let's leave, this ain't my scene' ..." It just sticks with you, running through your head for days. Ask my shower. "For You" was a song by Dan's friend Dave Sparrow, who was in the house to see it get the people out on the dance floor. Warren Zevon fans got a treat with Dan's cover of "Carmelita", that featured a dope Hammond organ solo by Mike Mangan (Of Mike Mangan's Big Organ Trio), prompting Dan to quip, "Check out Mike's big organ!" Ba-dum-bum.


"Been Down" is the opening track on the EP, and played live, it was as kickass as it is on the recording, which is not always the case, but when you have this kind of talent in the room, it definitely is. Mike Mangan on that organ of his, Ben White on bass, Brian Keeling on drums, and Mike Blumberg shredding his guitar apart made it almost hard to know where to look during each song, but as Shooter and I discussed after the show, Dan has the ability to be the equilibrium up on that stage, and be the kind of North Star of the group that draws your focus to him. No small feat when you're talking about players of such extra high caliber as this.


All of that was most evident on my favorite Dan Coakley track of all time - so far - "Blow By Blow" (Written by Dan, Dave Cobb, and Shooter). If you ask Dan what kind of music he likes the most, he'll answer you, "Anything that has balls." That is "Blow By Blow", if anything is. I feel like it's the track that is most him, and mayhaps that's because it pretty much tells his whole life story up until now, in the most rock your face off song I've heard in a long time - by anyone. I love it so much. It's the good old-fashioned kind of ROCK that makes you want to go out and break guitars on your own head, and then slug whiskey straight from the bottle. Yet, like I said before, as dark and heavy as it gets ... "Blow BYYYYY Blow, the hits just keep coming, and I just keep ROLLING!" ... that's about the best advice you can get. The hits WILL keep coming in life, and you HAVE to just keep rolling on. It just makes it a whole lot easier to do when you've got that whiskey, guitar, and rock shows with true friends to see you through.


Check out Dan Coakley live as soon as humanly possible (East Coast shows in July, back Left Coast in August), and get to know his rock before you roll, via EP 1 at ITunes.

And as Dan says, "Enjoy Responsively."




*Photo awesomeness by Paul Gronner.

The Activist's Gang

After all the goings on in the world last week (upping the war in Afghanistan, the on-going health care debate, "Capitalism: A Love Story" not being on the Oscar short list, etc ..) I really needed a Nightwatchman show, mainly to be assured that some people still care - and still fight - for what's right. Well, just in time, I get word that Tom Morello and Shooter Jennings are going to do a benefit show for the WTF?! Festival at The Actor's Gang on Saturday. Perfect.

The Actor's Gang was founded by actor/artistic director, Tim Robbins, who is also a friend and fellow activist of Tom's. Basically, guys who walk the walk. The WTF Festival was thought up when told they shouldn't produce theater as it was too expensive in this economy ... hence WTF?!?! So they gathered together a whole bunch of talented friends and artists to do shows to raise money so they COULD produce theater in months to come ... and Tom Morello/The Nightwatchman signed up for the cause.

The Ivy Substation on Venice Boulevard in Culver City is the Actor's Gang home, and what a great space it is! All brick and cool, with a big patio out back to celebrate before and after performances. It's on the National Register of Historic Places, and it's so good to be in a building like this, and see it being put to great use. I'd never been to a Nightwatchman show where there was stadium (or any, really) seating, so wondered how this would be.


It would be great! A lot of Tom's songs are actually pretty dark and spooky acoustic, so a theater environment lends a certain gravitas to what's already there. If you ignored a few over-served patrons, that is. I heard a clearly drunk girl behind me say, "Oh, look! There's Bob Roberts!" Yep. There he was, Bob Roberts himself, all involved with helping people get seated, very hands on. Then he took the stage and did the standard, turn off your cell phones speech, then stopped himself, and said, "Who really needs to take a phone call during Tom Morello?" Exactly. With that, he introduced, "An amazing musician and activist, Tom Morello!"

The Nightwatchman simply said, "Good Evening", and launched right into "Flesh Shapes The Day". He seemed more aggro than normal, extra fired up. And it's catchy. People cheered for the "Si Se Puede!" part, which warmed my heart. We're all one, right? Then, still no talking, and he went right into a new one, "Headlights On The Mountain", which was very story-telling style. You could picture the whole situation, "Headlights on the mountain, ghosts in the night ... something ain't right ..." It kind of reminded me of (Grammy nominated!) Steve Earle (but then I just saw Tom play with Steve a month ago, so ...). It's been a while since The Nightwatchman's first album, so I'm not sure if "One Man Revolution" is entirely accurate anymore. With all the shows he's done, he's recruited a whole lot more to his revolution. Everyone in this place, for sure. When he sang, "On the streets of Culver City, they know my name ... maybe Brothers and Sisters, we're one and the same", he, in that one sentence, got the crowd fired up for the rest of the night. It was almost strange ... from polite listening to fully riled up, like that {Snap!}. To which he replied, "Fuck yeah!"

Perhaps feeling that new spark, Tom ordered up a Jameson, "or this Holiday Gala is going to stop prematurely." The Jameson soon arrived, and got its own applause. It only fired him up more, just in time for "Maximum Firepower". This has always been one of my favorites, as nearly every line bites you with truth. "The skin you're in makes choices for you." "You don't gotta be loud, Son, to be heavy as shit." Showing his Guthrie side with, "This machine here, well, it kills fascists too." And my favorite - and the crowd's - "If you take a step towards freedom, it'll take two steps towards you." See what I mean? Badass truths.

Tom next spoke about his time spent in New Orleans, and the feeling of irredeemable loss that permeates the air there - still. "Midnight In The City Of Destruction" is his somber requiem for all that was lost in the absolute crime of Katrina's handling. It's downright eerie - and should be.

Tom's "day job" is melting peoples' faces off with his guitar and Rage Against The Machine. He regaled the crowd with a story about them playing the first Lalapalooza, and they were really angry about the PMRC, and their attempts to censor their music. So the guys decided to stage a protest - an entirely nude protest. They each painted a P-M-R-C on themselves and put black duct tape over their mouths, took the stage in front of 40,000 people and simply stood there (except for the least endowed member of the band - no names - who, as Tom put it, "bust a nut" during the protest, but could not finish, probably due to lack of concentration). The crowd went wild for the first five minutes or so, but then started to wonder where their rock was, and soon the Rage guys started getting pelted with quarters. Ouch. To avoid arrest, they all finally took off running, and Tom wound up, naked but for the "P" on his chest, on Fishbone's bus. They all found it completely normal, and they watched the entire "Star Wars" movie like that. Then the papers heard about it, and Rage blew up to become the behemoth you know today. And you don't really hear about the PMRC at all anymore, do you? Sometimes there IS justice.

Tom brought out his stompbox for "The Fabled City". Which started the audience stomping, right on through that one, "St. Isabelle" (with Tom on his big Irish War drum, and dedicated to Liam Clancy, who died the day before), and "House Gone Up In Flames". It's always amazing to me that Tom can get a room so rowdy, and then get them to zip it one moment later. Like he did for his Mother Mary's (in the house!) favorite Nightwatchman tune. He introduced it as such, and said, "All the good parts of me come from her. And Mary just became a Grandmother." Yes, there is a baby boy Morello, folks! Rhoads! This was met with HUGE applause, which Tom gave thanks for, and then laid his gorgeous "The Garden Of Gethsemane" on everyone. It was so quiet, he didn't even use his mic at the end. So, so hauntingly pretty.

Then it was time for what Tom said will likely be the title track of the next Nightwatchman album, "Dogs Of Tijuana". There was a definite Mexican sound to the guitar on this one, that seemed to be a straight up warning. "The world will not end in fire, it will not end in ice, it'll end when we arrive." Passionate and heavy, once again, you will want this album in your holster. About to start a new jam, Tom put on his harmonica rack, blew on it, and then said, "OK, I'm not afraid to admit I picked up the wrong harmonica. Aside from the people on my guest list, you people paid good money and deserve the right harmonica. Carol Gronner, put that in your review." (So there you go. But it was no big deal).

But "Whatever It Takes" WAS a big deal, because Tom (and his Whatever It Takes acoustic) was super into it, and blew the (correct) harmonica like a madman. The place erupted after that, and Tom told them there was some "new Union-made merch in the front, as well as Nightwatchman songbooks for the holidays, so kids can strum along to all these songs of bitterness and revenge." Ha! Jason Snyder and Bruce Springsteen share a favorite Nightwatchman song, and it was dedicated to them, and will most likely be on the next album at their urging - "Branding Iron". That was up next - and it means business. The crowd LOVED it. Tom smiled and said, "I'm the Nightwatchman, it's been a pleasure to serve you. I'd like to bring up my good friend, Shooter Jennings."

Shooter took the stage, Tom left, and Shooter went right into an Outlaw Country medley of Willie Nelson's "Walkin'", Kris Kristofferson's "Year 2003 Minus 25", and his Dad's "I've Always Been Crazy". Shooter has the perfect whiskey and cigarettes voice for those classics, but makes them all his own, and modern, while he's at it. I've known Shooter a long time, since his L.A. Rock band, Stargunn, days, and he just seems more comfortable in his skin playing this more modern country vibe. It's great to hear. "I'm gonna play a couple of misogynistic songs, by accident, but it's these guys' lives", was the way he introduced "Loving Country" by Charlie Robison, and "Isis" by Bob Dylan. Again, classics made new.


Shooter has a darling baby girl, Alabama, and he sat down at the piano and said, "The things I've learned since she was born are more important than anything ever in my life. I play this one for her." And he played "The Rainbow Connection", so sweet and touchingly, that he really should record it. Outlaw Country Kids! I love it. And I love Shooter's piano playing ... he's really very good, and it was showcased beautifully on a song off his upcoming new album (Black Ribbons! March, 2010!) called, "All Of This Could Have Been Yours". It's so good. Shooter was going for it, pounding the keys and screaming the lyrics so hard that spontaneous cheers broke out, like people just had to get emotion out as the song built to its crescendo. Phew.

David Crosby's "Almost Cut My Hair" was next, and was so Shooter that at first I thought it was his song. He was banging on the piano and wailing (Waylon?), when suddenly - dramatically - Tom came back on stage, picked up his electric ("ohhHHH, Shit!" murmured the gent behind me) guitar ... and stood there waiting. Until finally Shooter looked up, Tom said, "It's time?" and time it was. Time for RIPPING apart a guitar/piano duet with Shooter that left the room breathless. ( Really. I heard actual gasping). Tom told a quick story about sitting around at his house with Shooter, and laughing that, "Now days the only half naked underage people running around are our children ... we've come a long way." Then another epic duet, on Audioslave's, "I Am The Highway". I have to say, I prefer Shooter's version to the original, because you can actually picture him on the road, meaning it. And Tom's twangy guitar solo part is always epic. One more duet, that Shooter sings on Tom's The Fabled City album too, "Iron Wheel". Those two songs back to back are a great one, two punch.


But the KNOCKOUT punch was "The Ghost Of Tom Joad". Tom's guitar solo backing up Springsteen on this one blew apart the recent Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Anniversary Concert (Youtube it - Egads!), and did the same here in this little theater. Shooter and Tom took turns on verses, and harmonized the chorus beautifully, until it was time for the BLISTERING guitar mania. It's hard to put a Morello guitar solo in words - they're eye-popping and usually render you mute. When the teeth playing began, people found their voices to scream, jumped to their feet, and stayed there long after the last chord died out. A loooong Standing O! It truly was that exciting.

But not quite all. The Nightwatchman always ends his shows with "This Land Is Your Land", and tonight was no different. He dedicated it to the soldiers of IVAW, soldiers who stand UP against war, and who fight for This land, our land. Tom and Shooter had to quick sort out who was taking what verse ("Not only do you see the music played, you see it get MADE."), and then they lit up the entire room, with all censored lyrics restored. Tom always gets everyone to sing along, jump along, FEEL along with him ... "From Nightwatchmothers to Oscar winners, from the sound guy to all my friends on the list, JUMP FOR PEACE!!!" So we did.


"Because if you want to end wars, or get a universal health care plan, or make the gap between rich and poor disappear, you've gotta do something about it!" That's what Tom said before the entire stadium-seated theater goers jumped up into the rafters and back. And he's right.

'Tis the season ... not just for holiday merriment, but also for end of the year reflection, new beginnings, and new goals. Not just for ourselves, but for the world. Whatever you want changed, it starts with you. It's great to go to a show and yell for peace and justice, but that's pretty easy. Think about what you can DO. And then do it. Or as Tom (and Studs Terkel before him) puts it, "Take it easy, but take it!"

Have a HAPPY Holiday ... but as Einstein said, "Remember your humanity and forget the rest."