Posts Tagged Los Angeles

MasterCard Priceless Presents Bon Jovi

MasterCard Priceless Los Angeles presents GRAMMY artist Bon Jovi live in concert on Saturday, December 1st at the Paramount Studios back lot in Los Angeles. Wednesday, November 21st is your last chance to win a pair of FREE tickets. Wouldn’t that make a great present to start off the Thanksgiving holiday weekend with?

Sign up now so you know when to log in for the chance to get your complimentary tickets! When you sign up you will also receive a code to watch a live stream of the concert if you don’t win tickets.

The New Jersey natives are playing a handful of shows before 2012 ends including the Concert for Sandy Relief benefit in NYC on 12.12.12 with Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Alicia Keys, Billy Joel and more.

In 2013 Bon Jovi will head out on a coast to coast Because We Can tour of the United States.

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John Taylor In the Pleasure Groove

Bass Player Live! 2012 hosted Duran Duran‘s John Taylor in an interview with journalist Tom Sykes followed by a reading, Q and A session and book signing in support of his just released autobiography, In the Pleasure Groove: Love, Death and Duran Duran at SIR Studios over the weekend in Hollywood, CA.

From Dutton, “With Duran Duran, John Taylor has created some of the greatest music of our time. From the disco dazzle of debut single ‘Planet Earth’ right up to their latest number one album, All You Need is Now, Duran Duran has always had the power to sweep the world onto its feet.

It’s been a ride – and for John in particular, the ride has been wild, thrilling… and dangerous. Now, for the first time, he tells his incredible story. A tale of dreams fulfilled, lessons learned and demons conquered.

A shy only child, Nigel John Taylor wasn’t an obvious candidate for pop stardom and frenzied girl panic. But when he ditched his first name and picked up a bass guitar, everything changed. John Formed Duran Duran with his friend Nick Rhodes in the summer of 1978, and they were soon joined by Roger Taylor, then Andy Taylor and finally Simon Le Bon. Together they were an immediate, massive global success story, their pictures on millions of walls, every single a worldwide hit.

In his frank, compelling autobiography, John recounts the highs –hanging out with icons like Bowie, Warhol and even James Bond; dating Vogue models and driving fast cars – all the while playing hard with the band he loved. But there were tough battles ahead – troubles that brought him to the brink of self-destruction – before turning his life around.

Told with humor, honesty and hard-won wisdom, and packed with exclusive pictures, In the Pleasure Groove is a fascinating, irresistible portrait of a man who danced into the fire… and came through the other side”

Below is a selection of images from the event.

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The book is available now via Amazon in hard cover, paperback and Kindle versions. Barnes & Noble also offers an e-book for Nook and of course Apple offers it for every “i” device known to Duran kind – iTunes, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch. Don’t forget the independent book sellers in your city either! I grabbed my copy from the historic Hollywood book seller, Book Soup. Why not pick a few copies for friends and start crossing items off the Christmas list?

John Taylor continues his promotional tour for the book this week in Los Angeles with additional stops listed below. Don’t miss your chance to have this tale of rock & roll signed by the author himself!

10/24- Los Angeles, CA @ Book Soup at Cinespace (Book Signing, Interview and Audience Q&A, with book co-author Tom Sykes)
10/25- San Francisco, CA @ San Francisco Art Institute (Book Signing, Interview and Audience Q&A)
10/26- Austin, TX @ The Scottish Rite Theater (Book Signing, Interview and Audience Q&A)
10/29- Toronto, ON, CAN @ Indigo Bookstore (Book Signing, Interview and Audience Q&A)
10/30- Chicago, IL @ City Winery Chicago (Book Signing, Interview and Audience Q&A)

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Bananarama Tour for PINKTOBER; Yasmin Le Bon in Avon’s Breast Cancer Crusade

Bananarama for Hard Rock Cafe’s PINKTOBER 2012

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The American Cancer Society reports the latest statistics for 2012 – “the chance of a woman having invasive breast cancer some time during her life is about 1 in 8. The chance of dying from breast cancer is about 1 in 36. Breast cancer death rates have been going down.”

Early detection by getting annual mammograms for women over the age of 40, along with self exams on a regular basis combined with better treatment regimens have led to higher survival rates over the last few years.

Cancer is a terrible disease and I don’t think I know anyone who hasn’t been affected by it. During October there are a plethora of events and ways to support breast cancer research and awareness across the country and around the globe. Whether you choose to volunteer, donate money or educate others on cancer awareness, it all adds up and helps save lives.

Supermodel Yasmin Le Bon and Laura Whitmore are Avon’s Breast Cancer Crusade Ambassadors. For every promise made on their website, Avon will donate £1 to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade. You can also enter to win a celebrity t-shirt on the site! Take a look at Avon’s behind the scenes video of Yasmin and Laura as they prepare for the photo shoot and discuss their experiences with cancer.

80’s British pop band, Bananarama, featuring Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward are currently touring the USA having joined forces with the Hard Rock Cafe to celebrate 30 years of music and the launch of the Hard Rock Cafe breast cancer charity PINKTOBER 2012. Remaining tour dates include stops in Los Angeles on October 11th, Seattle on October 13th and it wraps up in Las Vegas on October 15th where you can hear classic hits like Venus and Cruel Summer. 100% of the proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Noreen Fraser Foundation to raise funds for breast cancer research. For more information on the PINKTOBER events check out the Hard Rock Cafe events page.

Other Southern California breast cancer awareness events include the annual Bowling for Boobies event sponsored by the Busted Foundation who aids women that are suffering financial hardships due to medical expenses from breast cancer treatment. The Foundation also educates women on their options to help them attain the broadest possible support network during their treatment. Orange County native, Melissa Henry has been participating in and supporting this fun evening to raise money for breast cancer resources since 2005. Bowling For Boobies® Los Angeles Fundraising event takes place on October 21st at Jillian’s on Universal Citywalk and they are only half way to their fundraising goal with 11 days to go! You can make a difference when you donate to support these great causes by making a promise, buying a t-shirt, or dancing the night away to classic 80’s hits. Every $1 counts.

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2011 in Photos – A Look Back at Bruno Mars, Duran Duran, INXS and U2

by Cindy Robinson

Here we are at the end of the first week of 2012 and I wanted to do a post on my favorite photos of 2011 from the various rock & roll events I attended last year. While the list was small in comparison to years past, I still had the opportunity to see some great live bands.

I feel like I’ve conquered the technology mountain to get to this little post I want to share with the world. Laptop software issues continue to plague me as do the internet connectivity issues (do we hear a New Year’s resolution here?? Solve the tech issues in 2012!) and when I finally made it over these hurdles, I learned that WordPress blogs typically don’t support embedding slide shows from Picnik. Say what? I battled computer issues, stayed up until wee hours working on my slide show and my blog won’t host it?

Thankfully the information superhighway quickly led me to information that allowed me to solve this issue. I discovered Vodpod which allows you to embed your Picnik slide show into your WordPress blog. Shazam! It isn’t perfect, it’s much smaller in scale than the original so I feel some detail is lacking but I’m happy I was able to embed it and share with readers.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Let’s get down to the subject at hand – 2011 in photos. Wow, narrowing down a plethora of images shot over the past year turned out to be a daunting task. I intended to pull just one image from each event but soon found that impossible as image after image drew me in. So I grabbed my favorites and went from there.

For me, 2011  included live shows from the likes of  My Chemical Romance, Bruno Mars, Brian Setzer, Duran Duran, Honor Society (a band my daughter really enjoys who rose to fame as the opening band on the Jonas Brothers tour in 2009),   INXS , a book signing by Guns n’ Roses Duff McKagan and the long postponed U2 at Angels Stadium show finally came to fruition!

My Chemical Romance were incredible as their live show is always an intense throbbing mass of music loving people. This was our first time seeing Bruno Mars and it definitely won’t be our last. His live show was amazing, just non-stop energy from start to finish. The audience was also amazing – a complete mash-up of every type, size and age of concert goer imaginable. Brian Setzer always puts on a great live show too!

Duran Duran are my favorite band so my opinion of them will always be biased and I always enjoy seeing them live! Their Unstaged performance directed by David Lynch at the Mayan Theatre in Los Angeles in early 2011 really kicked it up a notch though when they added a list of special guests for their show that included Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance, Beth Ditto of the Gossip and super producer Mark Ronson.

INXS breezed through the USA for a short summer tour before singer J.D. Fortune departed the band for a second time. INXS look to be back on track for 2012 though with their new Irish singer, Ciaran Gribbin. Youtube footage shows his performances to be of a more mellow variety with awkward dance moves but I’ll wait to fully assess the new line up until I see it for myself. He’s got big shoes to fill and it takes time to grow into a role of that magnitude.

Then there was U2! I think there are few people who would dispute the awesome spectacle that is a live U2 show. This show seemed especially sweet to me as I had originally purchased my tickets in November 2009 and the show ended up being postponed due to Bono’s emergency back surgery and subsequent recovery. Finally, in June of 2011, they rolled back into town and blew us all away. U2 with Lenny Kravitz were worth the wait!

It’s always hard to narrow down the list of favorite shows, to choose just one for the top spot. Even though my list was much shorter than normal for 2011 (darn bad economy!) it didn’t make things any easier. I know I can cross My Chemical Romance off the contenders list because their record release show at the House of Blues in Hollywood in November of 2010 was their best to date that I have seen.

After thinking long and hard about it, I narrowed down my top choices to U2 and Bruno Mars. U2 live is so much more than just a rock & roll concert but ultimately I’d have to award the top slot to singer Bruno Mars. It was refreshing to see an artist I hadn’t seen before and to be thoroughly excited and energized by the set.

What were some of your favorite shows you saw in 2011? Who are you looking forward to seeing live in 2012? Are we all jazzed for the return of Van Halen in 2012? 80’s icon Adam Ant is due to tour the USA for the first time in 15 years! Preliminary tour buzz shows his fans are coming out of the woodwork like crazy. INXS are set to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their iconic Kick album. 2011 breakout band, Foster the People are scheduled to hit the road hard during 2012 moving up to larger venues as they trek across America. And it’s almost time for the big Coachella announcement! Who will they get for 2012?

2011 in Photos, posted with vodpod

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World Photography Day 2011

Simon Le Bon

Today is World Photography Day. The date of August 19th was chosen as the day to celebrate the birth of the fabulous art form that allows us to document our lives, our triumphs, our difficult times, our work and our world as it is the historic day in 1839 when Louis Daguerre developed the first permanent photographic image known as the Daguerreotype. It was a process which allowed him to print a positive image, which were then usually placed in glass fronted boxes for display. He developed the process in early 1839 but it wasn’t formalized by the French government until August 19, 1839.

Also in 1839, William Fox Talbot developed the calotype process, which created both a negative image, allowing prints to be made of the positive image. Talbot’s process took photogrphy a step further than Daguerre’s since it allowed for both a negative and a positive. His process wasn’t formalized until 1841 but since both were developed in 1839, it is the year recognized as the invention of photography.

What does a photograph mean to you? Why do you take them and what feeling does it evoke from you when you witness the result? Do you take photos of your kids first day at school, graduations and weddings? Are you inspired by sunsets and dramatic landscapes? How many photographers out there still dabble with film cameras? How has the digital age changed the art form?

Bonelli Park

Please leave some comments and post a favorite photo that is meaningful to you or share some links to great photography! Today I’ve chosen one of my shots of singer Simon Le Bon from the band Duran Duran from a performance in Los Angeles earlier in 2011.

I’ve also been inspired lately by Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas, California which offers stunning landscape views and here’s an image from a recent outing to the area.

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INXS Shine in Los Angeles

by Cindy Robinson

A review in photos of the INXS concert at the Wiltern in Los Angeles on July 22, 2011.

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Lyric Culture Presents its ‘Electro Sexual’ collection With Private INXS Performance

by Cindy Robinson

Lyric Culture recently presented its ‘Electro Sexual’ collection during a private fashion show and intimate performance in Beverly Hills, CA at the Gibson showroom from iconic Australian band INXS.
Hanna Rochelle, founder of Lyric Culture, met the band in 2005 when they working at a recording studio in Los Angeles on their hit album, “Switch” with Rockstar: INXS winner J.D. Fortune. Rochelle was inspired by the colorful imagery, gritty and wildly expressive, often controversial lyrics in the songs penned by Andrew Farriss and the late Michael Hutchence. The ‘Electro Sexual’ collection of women’s apparel and accessories were unveiled in a runway show inspired by the INXS songs “Suicide Blonde,”  “Devil Inside,”  “New Sensation,” and “Beautiful Girl.”
Lyric Culture’s designs also capture memorable lyrics from the Beatles, Madonna, Rod Stewart, the Beach Boys, Miley Cyrus, Carrie Underwood and more on their stylish t-shirts and accessories. Their designs are available nationally at stores such as Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Wal-Mart, and Claire’s Accessories.

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The fashion show culminated with a private performance by INXS as a preview to their concert at the Wiltern Theatre. The semi-acoustic set show cased the talents of INXS band members Kirk Pengilly, Jon Farriss, Garry Beers and Andrew Farriss (guitarist Tim Farriss had the night off) but lacked in the frontman department as the performance went off with a big surprise – singer J.D. Fortune wasn’t in the house as the band opted to have their back-up singers perform lead vocals for the short set. The event was attended by music and fashion industry guests. Panda Express and Monster Energy Drink  sponsored snacks & beverages for the guests. Please enjoy a semi-acoustic performance if the INXS classic, “Don’t Change”:

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INXS to Play the Wiltern this Friday

Garry Beers image courtesy of Esther Oliver

by Cindy Robinson

Legendary Australian band INXS are currently in the midst of their first North American tour in nearly four years which has them crisscrossing Canada and the United States this summer on “The Original Sin Tour.”

The coast to coast tour brings the band to the historic Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles this Friday July 22nd, the Pearl Concert Theater at the Palms in Las Vegas on July 23rd. It’s amazing to me that these shows aren’t sold out yet! INXS are one of the best live bands out there, churning out a powerful live set with Canadian frontman, J.D. Fortune who has been singing with them since he won the Rockstar: INXS competition in 2005.

Don’t delay, grab your ticket today! Here are some incentives and perks for the Los Angeles show. Social savings site Groupon had an amazing  deal of the day on tickets to the show, which were quickly snapped up. Don’t despair, another great option is still out there! INXS is running a competition on their site where you can win an upgrade to watch the entire show from the side of the stage (right next to the band as they walk on & off the stage!) along with a meet & greet with INXS at the show. Enter to win today before the competition closes!

80’s alternative new wave band, Malcolm McClaren proteges, Adam & the Ants cohorts, Bow Wow Wow fronted by the stunning Annabella Lwin will open the night. Who could forget their classic hit “I Want Candy”? INXS has been a hit machine for more than thirty years now so don’t miss out on what is sure to be a set chock full of hits like “New Sensation”, “Need You Tonight”, “Suicide Blonde” and more.

Remaining tour dates are listed below and tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster.

After thirty years, INXS still consists of original band members Tim, Jon and Andrew Farriss along with Kirk Pengilly and Garry Gary Beers (original front-man Michael Hutchence passed away in 1997). They are touring in support of their latest release, “Matchbox Twenty’s Rob Thomas on the album’s title track, “Original Sin”, a song which just reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Dance charts.

To see the latest on INXS, check in with them via their Facebook page, and you can also catch up with sax man, guitarist Kirk Pengilly on Twitter as well as singer J.D. Fortune

Date               Venue                                              Location            

July 22 2011    the Wiltern                                        Los Angeles,CA 

July 23 2011    the Pearl Concert Theater (The Palms Casino)               Las Vegas,NV

July 25 2011    Ogden Theatre                                   Denver, CO         

July 28 2011    Mystic Lake Casino Hotel                  Prior Lake,MN                        

July 29 2011    the Venue at Horseshoe Casino         Hammond,IN                          

July 30 2011    Fox Theatre                                      Detroit,MI                              

August 02 2011 the National                                    Richmond,VA     

August 03 2011 Wellmont Theatre                            Montclair,NJ       

August 04 2011 Beacon Theatre                               New York, NY     

August 06 2011 House of Blues                               Atlantic City,NJ  

August 07 2011 Mohegan Sun                                 Wilkes-Barre,PA

August 08 2011 Filene Center at Wolf Trap                Vienna, VA         

August 10 2011 Pier Six Concert Pavilion                  Baltimore,MD     

August 12 2011 nTelos Pavilion                                 Portsmouth, VA  

August 13 2011 House of Blues                               Myrtle Beach,SC

August 14 2011 Chastain Park Amphitheatre        Atlanta, GA

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Go-Go’s Vacation Sweepstakes

 

the Go-Go's, image courtesy of http://www.gogos.com/

The Go-Go’s are on tour this summer in the United States celebrating the 30th Anniversary of their classic album “Beauty and The Beat” and have teamed up with Cost Plus World Market to offer fans this exciting summer getaway to Los Angeles! You can enter the sweepstakes here to win a trip for you and 10 of your closest friends to see the Go-Go’s live at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on August 17th. You will also get a VIP party and meet the band at the show. The winner will receive a $2,000 Cost Plus World Market gift card. Being the frugal shopper that I am, I could do some damage with that! You can enter the contest once per day (for those who really need a “Vacation”) until July 23, 2011.

Who doesn’t listen to classic tracks from “Beauty and the Beat” like “Vacation” , “Our Lips Are Sealed” and “We Got the Beat” while enjoying those warm summer afternoon barbecues with friends? A classic, fun summer album and the 30th anniversary extended edition is out now. Grab your digital copy now via iTunes!

The Go-Go’s have already played to the Eastern half of the USA during May and June before taking a well deserved break during July. They will start up again for the second half of the tour on August 5th in St. Petersburg, FL. Don’t miss these 80’s legends! Tickets and VIP packages are on sale now via Ticketmaster.

Have you already been to see the Go-Go’s this summer? We’d love to see your photos & videos from the shows. Leave a comment with a link where we can check them out.

The remaining tour dates include stops in the following cities:

08/05/11 St. Petersburg, FL   Rays Summer concert series

08/07/11 Ft. Lauderdale, FL   Seminole Hard Rock

08/09/11 Atlanta, GA              ChastainPark

08/12/11 Vancouver, BC        Commodore Ballroom

08/13/11 Portland, OR           Oregon Zoo Amphitheater

08/14/11 Seattle, WA             Woodland Park Zoo

08/16/11 San Francisco, CA  The Fillmore

08/17/11 Los Angeles, CA     The Greek

08/20/11 Temecula, CA          Pechanga Theater

08/23/11 Aspen, CO                Belly Up

08/24/11 Denver, CO              Ogden Theater

08/26/11 Dallas, TX                 House of Blues

08/27/11 Houston, TX             House of Blues

08/28/11 Austin, TX                 Paramount Theater

 

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Fairfax Vying for Coveted Summerfest Slot

image courtesy of Fairfax

Los Angeles based Indie/Alt Rock duo Fairfax, consisting of California native Heavynn Gates (vocals) and Georgia born Blake English (guitar) blend strong, soulful vocals and riveting guitar riffs, on their latest single Battle. The band met while writing songs for R&B artist Brandy, and shared a common background in dance music and hip-hop.

Fairfax are among the top five finalists in Taylor Guitars Test Drive Electric contest for emerging artists (also sponsored by Elixir Strings and SonicBids.com). Nearly 1,000 acts entered, and after a preliminary round of voting, a panel of artist relations professionals narrowed it down to five finalists:  singer-songwriter Tyler Shea, and bands Crash Coordinates, Evaline, Fairfax, and Shot Heard Around the World

The final round of the contest is under way with voting open through March 31, 2011. Fairfax’s entry into the contest, the video for their latest single, Battle, is up for viewing & voting now on the Test Drive Electric contest site. Don’t forget to vote daily for your favorite artist.

The winner of the contest wins a slot in the World’s Largest Music Festival Summerfest taking place June 29 – July 3 and July 5 – 10, 2011 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin featuring everyone from Toby Keith, arena rockers Def Leppard, the Black Keys, Florence + the Machine to Cage the Elephant, everyone’s darling Katy Perry and Sugarland.

 The band will release their yet-to-be titled sophomore EP in 2011. The single, Battle, is available now as a FREE download. Don’t forget to visit Fairfax on Facebook to enter their drawing to win a FREE iPod shuffle!

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