Legendary artist Graham Nash is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee - with Crosby, Stills, and Nash and with the Hollies. He was also inducted twice into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, as a solo artist and with CSN, and he is a GRAMMY Award winner.

Towering above virtually everything that Graham Nash has accomplished in his first seventy-five years on this planet, stands the litany of songs that he has written and introduced to the soundtrack of the past half-century. His remarkable body of work, beginning with his contributions to the Hollies opus from 1964 to ’68, including “Stop Stop Stop,” “Pay You Back With Interest,” “On A Carousel,” “Carrie Anne,” “King Midas In Reverse,” and “Jennifer Eccles,” continues all the way to This Path Tonight (2016), his most recent solo album.

The original classic union of Crosby, Stills & Nash (& Young) lasted but twenty months.  Yet their songs are lightning rods embedded in our DNA, starting with Nash’s “Marrakesh Express,” “Pre-Road Downs” (written for then-girlfriend Joni Mitchell), and “Lady Of the Island,” from the first Crosby, Stills & Nash LP (1969).  On CSNY’s Déjà Vu (1970), Nash’s “Teach Your Children” and “Our House” beseeched us to hold love tightly, to fend off the madness that was on its way. 

Overlapping CSNY, Nash’s solo career debuted with Songs For Beginners (1971), whose “Chicago/We Can Change the World” and “Military Madness” were fueled by the Long Hot Summer, the trial of the Chicago Eight, and the ongoing Vietnam war.  Songs from that LP stayed in Nash’s concert sets for years including “I Used To Be A King” and “Simple Man”.  His next album, Wild Tales (1974), addressed (among other issues) unfair jail terms for minor drug offenses (“Prison Song”), unfair treatment of Vietnam vets (“Oh! Camil”), the unfairness of fame (“You’ll Never Be the Same”), and his muse, Joni (“Another Sleep Song”).

The most resilient, long-lived and productive partnership to emerge from the CSNY camp launched with the eponymously titled Graham Nash/David Crosby (1972), bookended by Nash’s “Southbound Train” as the opening track and “Immigration Man” as the closer.  The duo contributed further to the soundtrack of the ’70s on their back-to-back albums, Wind On the Water (1975) and Whistling Down the Wire (1976).

On the CSN reunion studio LP (1977), Nash took top honors with “Just A Song Before I Go” (written in the space of one hour, and a Top 10 hit single).  Lightning struck once more on CSN’s Daylight Again (1982), on which Nash penned their second (and final) Top 10 hit, “Wasted On the Way,” lamenting the energy, time and love lost by the group due to years of internecine quarrels. 

Nash’s passionate voice continues to be heard in support of peace, and social and environmental justice. The No Nukes/Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE) concerts he organized with Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt in 1979 remain seminal benefit events.  In 2011, Nash was instrumental in bringing MUSE back to the forefront with a concert to benefit Japan disaster relief and groups promoting non-nuclear energy worldwide. That same year, he and Crosby were among the many musicians who made their way to the Occupy Wall Street actions in lower Manhattan.

In September 2013, Nash released his long-awaited autobiography Wild Tales, which delivers an engrossing, no-holds-barred look back at his remarkable career and the music that defined a generation. The book landed him on the New York Times Best Sellers list, and was released in paperback in late 2014.

In recognition for his contributions as a musician and philanthropist, Nash was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth. While continually building his musical legacy, Nash is also an internationally renowned photographer and visual artist. With his photography, Nash has drawn honors including the New York Institute of Technology’s Arts & Technology Medal and Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters and the Hollywood Film Festival’s inaugural Hollywood Visionary Cyber Award.  His work is collected in the book Eye to Eye: Photographs by Graham Nash; he curated others’ work in the volume Taking Aim: Unforgettable Rock ‘n’ Roll Photographs Selected by Graham Nash (2009).

Nash’s work has been shown in galleries and museums worldwide. His company Nash Editions’ original IRIS 3047 digital printer and one of its first published works—Nash’s 1969 portrait of David Crosby— is now housed in the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution in recognition of his revolutionary accomplishments in the fine arts and digital printing world.

http://www.grahamnash.com 

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Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jon Anderson is one of the most recognizable voices in progressive rock as the lead vocalist of Yes, which he co-founded in 1968. He was a major creative force behind some of the band’s most artistically ambitious ideas that yielded such groundbreaking and enormously popular albums as Fragile, Close to the Edge and Takes from Topographic Oceans. Anderson either wrote or co-wrote many of Yes’ timeless hits, including “I’ve Seen All Good People,” “Roundabout,” “Long Distance Runaround,” “Awaken” and “The Gates of Delirium.”

Anderson’s tenures with Yes spanned multiple eras. In 1983, he rejoined the reconfigured group, and the result was the multi-million-selling album, 90215, which featured the number one smash “Owner of a Lonely Heart” (co-written by Anderson and guitarist Trevor Rabin). In 2016, he reteamed with Rabin and keyboardist Rick Wakeman as Yes featuring ARW for a series of highly successful tours. In 2017, Anderson was inducted with Yes into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In addition to his work with Yes, Anderson has distinguished himself as a relentlessly creative artist in his own right, releasing over a dozen solo albums, including the highly popular Olias of Sunhillow, Animation, Songs of Seven, City of Angels and Survival and Other Stories. He has also enjoyed numerous collaborations with artists such as Kitaro, Jean-Luc Ponty and Roine Stolt. His longtime partnership with the composer Vangelis resulted in a number of critically and commercially successful albums, including the 1981 ode to movie music, The Friends of Mr. Cairo, which went gold and platinum in numerous countries.

www.jonanderson1000hands.com

Legendary singer-songwriter Albert Hammond has penned songs that have found their way into people’s bloodstreams. Whether sung by himself or artists as diverse as Whitney Houston, Johnny Cash, the Hollies, Diana Ross, Leo Sayer, Neil Diamond, Julio Iglesias, Ace of Base, Simply Red and ASWAD, among hundreds more, his musical Midas touch has made him one of the most popular and influential composers of the past half century, with over 40 chart toppers to his credit and sales in excess of 360 million.

A multiple award winner – among his honors are Ivor Novello and Emmy Awards, an OBE (Order of the British Empire), induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, along with Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy nominations – Hammond is planning to make 2019 one of the busiest and most exciting years of his remarkable career.

www.alberthammond.com

Pianist-singer-songwriter Judith Owen is known for her love of musical variety and melding it into a great stylistic gumbo all her own. ‘Somebody’s Child’ is the culmination of this mix: voice and piano front and centre, songs that are vignettes of life crafted from the perspective that we ARE all “somebody’s child” – parental as well as planetary. An album about us.

“By nature, I am a diverse musician. It’s who I am because of all the music I grew up being exposed to, from opera to Sinatra, Joni to Stevie Wonder, and everything in between,” says Judith.

Whereas 2014’s critically-acclaimed ‘Ebb & Flow’ was personal and very much a love letter to Laurel Canyon, ‘Somebody’s Child’ takes a leap from the confessional to the observational, whilst recruiting the same crème de la crème of Los Angeles session musicians – bassist Leland Sklar, guitarist Waddy Wachteland drummer Russell Kunkel – and incorporating them with her British-based musicians – master percussionist Pedro Segundo and sublime cellist Gabriella Swallow – to create a fresh new dynamic.

“It’s a very British thing where you love mixing all those styles. It’s classical. It’s pop. There’s jazz. There’s rhythm and blues. Then there’s rock thrown in there too,” Judith emphasizes, as evident in the jewel-like, pastoral and melancholic ‘No More Goodbyes’ and the staccato, jazzy rocker ‘We Give In’.

The opening song, and title track, is intimately framed with a string quartet and “is the heart of the record. It sets the tone – a mission statement. I was in New York, in the middle of winter, and I saw this beautiful young woman, about nine months pregnant, barefoot in the snow, wearing a trash bag, that was all she had, stomach out and in a state. I was crossing the street, with everybody else, trying to avoid her, when I thought, “That’s somebody’s child, and if my life had been different, that could have been me.  Or any of us! We’re all so dehumanized, and this whole record is about reconnecting with our humanity, really seeing what’s around us, discarding, even if it is just for a moment, our constant state of denial.”

Until recently, her pinpoint sense of observation was often turned inwards as she concentrated on her own feelings. “I made ‘Ebb & Flow’ right after my father passed away,” she explains, referring to her opera singer father who loomed large over her life. “Much later I wrote ‘No More Goodbyes’ about the hardest thing that any of us have to admit—that there’s a relief in letting go, that there’s a desire for pain to end.” Even though that sounds serious, Judith emphasizes that “this is a much more life-affirming, joyful record.”

“’Mystery’ is probably the most honest love song I’ve ever written. How any of us ever find love in the first place is hard enough; how any of us stay together is the true mystery” she gleefully admits. “There’s no planning to it. The last verse, which is the most important – ‘It takes patience, it takes time, today we might quarrel, tomorrow we’ll be fine’ – is the point of it all. It’s the rough with the smooth.”

“I’m with someone who doesn’t go by the rules romantically,” she says of partner Harry Shearer (Spinal Tap, the Simpsons) “However, I’m with somebody who makes me laugh, who adores me, who I have the best time with”. Judith turns these personal observations into the universal truths of ‘Mystery’ and ‘That’s Why I Love My Baby’. The latter features Harry on upright bass. “I get it now. It’s the things he doesn’t do that make me love him. Not doing the expected stuff. These are bookends,” she reflects about one of her favourite songwriting tricks, composing two sets of lyrics around the same topic.

Another pair of bookends ‘Tell All Your Children’ – all retro R&B cool with just a touch of Gaye – and ‘I Know Why The Sun Shines’ – which borrows from one of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s best-loved piano phrases – are both sending a message about what we’re doing to the planet (oil exploitation, fracking). “Sometimes I just have to put on a big, floppy hat, put a candelabra on the piano, and vent!”

Developing first name character songs like the wonderfully-sketched ‘Arianne’(inspired by a trip to the Berlin Wall), ‘Josephine’ and the “buddy” of first single ‘Send Me A Line‘—a social commentary on people, including herself, “not being present but preoccupied by technology”— came easy to her. “They’re like tiny soap operas,” she says about the compositions that are adorned so sympathetically by the stellar musicians.

A Judith signature is also to turn the most unlikely song inside out. She’s done it before with her tongue-in-cheek adaptation of the Deep Purple rock anthem ‘Smoke On The Water’ and Mungo Jerry’s irresistible, irresponsible and politically incorrect ‘In The Summertime’. This time, it’s her languid interpretation of Roxy Music’s ‘More Than This’, endorsed by none other than its creator Bryan Ferry whom she opened for last year, that lingers long in the memory. In fact it was recorded at Bryan’s London studio on his piano. Not to mention her playful adaptation of ‘Aquarius’ from the rock musical ‘Hair’. “I love playing with overtly earnest lyrics like these, and putting them in a totally different musical context. I’m a serious person who likes to laugh a lot. I need to.”

The album ends on the beautifully uplifting orchestral ‘The Rain Is Gonna Fall’ whose intentions are opposite to what one might think. Yes, it will rain but that is life and all will be ok. Let it rain.

‘Ebb & Flow’ was when many discovered Judith’s highly seductive sound and was hailed as one of the releases of 2014 by The Independent newspaper in the UK, receiving further praise from Le Figaro in France, La Repubblica in Italy, Rolling Stone in Germany and the Wall Street Journal in the US. It also enjoyed sterling support at British radio, particularly from Jamie Cullum, Bob Harris and the late Sir Terry Wogan, stalwarts and tastemakers of the BBC Radio 2 network. All three hosted sessions featuring the Welsh-born songstress and demonstrated her commercial potential and wide-ranging appeal. In addition, ‘Ebb and Flow’ earned passionate support from Irish RTE Radio 1, Spanish RTNE Radio 3, German ARD Network, and Nordic National Radio and led to several key radio and television appearances on both sides of the Atlantic.

Recording with Kunkel, Sklar and Wachtel, studio stalwarts behind Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Laura Nyro among others, and touring with them “served as this incredible calling card for me. I waited a long time to be able to work with some of my musical idols. I’m a late bloomer,” she admits.

With ‘Somebody’s Child’, and its many moods and shades and a contemporary twist, Judith Owen seems well on her way into the Premier League of contemporary singer-songwriters and interpreters. Which is where she belongs . . .

by Pierre Perrone (2016)

www.judithowen.net

“Every song I create is the result of a personal journey,” says Sangeeta Kaur. “That adventure is at times different because each song is unique, but I feel as if the destination is always one of positivity and love. And that’s what I hope to bring my listeners. It’s my goal to lead them to a place of hope, light and joy.”

Throughout her body of work, Sangeeta – an incandescent performer and multimedia artist whose dramatic vocal range renders listeners in a state of blissful awe – has brought disparate worlds together and has transformed them into something astonishingly unique. Often called a “classical crossover” star, she fuses her background in opera, sacred mantra and yoga with a taste for contemporary pop and a keen narrative sense, resulting in a sound experience that is thrillingly unique and profoundly inspirational.

On her latest album, Illuminance, Sangeeta once again takes us on a deeply moving trip, one that feels both timeless and timely. Serving as co-producer along with multiple Grammy winner and pianist Peter Kater, she seized upon her collaborator’s strength in improvisational music as the perfect vehicle for her vocal style. “With Peter’s talents and my pop/classical mantra side, we were able to let the music we wrote guide us to certain themes,” Sangeeta says. “I started to see elements of darkness and light, but there ultimately there was illuminance – and that’s where the tile came from.”

In this way, Illuminance is a work that speaks to the current global climate and serves as a healing balm. “These are troubled times,” Sangeeta says.” It was my intention for these songs to remind us of our strength and of our pure bright light within. It is this light that can help us overcome anything.”

Jameson® Irish Whiskey is celebrating and shining a light on the unique tastes, sounds and characters found within the neighborhood bar with the debut of Jameson's Love Thy Neighborhood Block Party Tour.

With a nod to the classic neighborhood block party, Jameson is celebrating the aspects and features that make each local neighborhood its own special place.

Kicking off in San Diego, California, on Sunday, April 8, the inaugural Jameson Love Thy Neighborhood Block Party in Support of Keep America Beautiful will give a first-hand look at Jameson's commitment to local neighborhoods. The block party will feature great food and drinks along with live music from Jameson Music's artists and craft brewers from Jameson's established Drinking Buddies program.

As a brand born in a local Dublin neighborhood, Jameson has grown up in neighborhood bars across the country with the support of the community – the breweries, the bartenders, the people.

To ensure local neighborhoods remain beautiful, safe and fun, Jameson is teaming up with Keep America Beautiful for the Jameson Love Thy Neighborhood Block Party. 100 percent of the proceeds from ticket sales will be used to improve and beautify community environments. Like Jameson, Keep America Beautiful is passionate about the support of local communities.

Tickets for the Jameson Love Thy Neighborhood Block Party in support of Keep America Beautiful in San Diego are officially on sale for $35 and available for purchase at JamesonBlockParty.com. (You must be over 21 to enter this site.) One purchased ticket covers admission into the festival, and includes food and tasting experiences.

www.jamesonblockparty.com

American Civics is the first-ever collaboration between acclaimed contemporary artist Shepard Fairey and the estate of legendary photographer Jim Marshall. In it, Fairey interprets Marshall’s iconic photography from the 1960’s, including images of Johnny Cash, Cesar Chavez, and Fanny Lee Chaney, with five new works, vividly depicting the humanity behind some of our country’s enduring social justice issues: Voting Rights, Mass Incarceration, Workers’ Rights, Gun Culture, and Two Americas. 

Social issues that have underscored the divisiveness of recent past decades, especially the ’60s, have characterized our time. 
•    Racism and bigotry, deeply rooted in America’s history, are visible in places like Ferguson, Mo., Baltimore, Md., and Charleston, S.C.
•    Over 46 million people live in poverty in present-day America, including an estimated 15 million children.
•    In the first three months of 2016, more than 3,000 deaths in the U.S. were gun-related.
•    America continues to struggle with the problem of mass incarceration. In fact, though having only 5% of the world’s population, the U.S. now has more than 25% of the incarcerated population.

The art of American Civics gives a face to these issues to cultivate dialogue and encourage vigorous solutions to problems that have divided the country and eroded the core of the American ideals.

www.americancivics.com

www.jimmarshallphotographyllc.com

www.OBEYGIANT.com

Stephen Bishop is a world-class guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter with a celebrated career of over four decades of live performance, song craftsmanship, recording, and entertainment.  A San Diego native, Stephen Bishop’s introduction to the music industry was after seeing the Beatles perform on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” at 13 years old. Shortly after seeing their performance, his brother Denny bought him an electric guitar. He began creating his own unique chords, melodies and writing original songs. The first song he ever wrote was called, “Surf’s Turf,” an instrumental. Less than a year after picking up the guitar, Stephen formed a band called, “The Weeds.” Soon after, they began performing at local venues, playing a mixture of original songs and popular hits on the radio at the time. As a band, the Weeds placed second at the Claremont Battle of the Bands in 1966. 

After the Weeds disbanded, Stephen ventured to Los Angeles in the hopes of landing a songwriting contract. Stephen walked the streets of LA in the early 1970’s with nothing more than a $12 guitar. He began playing songs for different publishers in the area and landed a deal with Edwin H. Morris Publishing in Hollywood. Stephen was paid $50 per week. During his first few years at the publishing company, only one of his songs was recorded. At one point, Stephen considered leaving Los Angeles to work for his father's insurance company in San Diego. However, his friend Leah Kunkel connected him with Art Garfunkel. Art recorded two of Stephen's songs on his album, “Breakaway.”

Shortly thereafter, Stephen was signed to ABC Records. He released his first album, “Careless,” which had two popular hits, “On and On,” and “Save It For a Rainy Day.” It became gold certified, as well as his second album, “Bish.” Stephen Bishop has released 17 albums and has played his songs personally for Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross,  Bette Midler, Melissa Manchester,  and Katy Perry. His newest album, "Blueprint" was released in 2016. In Eric Clapton's autobiography, he mentions Stephen Bishop as one of his favorite songwriters.

Stephen Bishop’s hit song, “It Might Be You,” was the theme to the film “Tootsie.” Stephen has written the themes to several films, including “Animal House,” "The Money Pit," and “White Nights.” His songs have been performed by Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Barbra Streisand, Art Garfunkel, Steve Perry, Stephanie Mills, Kenny Loggins, Johnny Mathis, Phoebe Snow, David Crosby, The Four Tops, Aswad, Beyonce, and Pavarotti. Stephen was nominated for two Grammy'sand awarded an Oscar nomination for his song, “Separate Lives.”

www.stephenbishop.com

Travis Lee is a solo rock artist based out of Northeast Wisconsin, best known for his raw vocals and his work with his former band Red Light Saints. He was voted best male vocalist by the Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) Awards in 2017, and Red Light Saints were voted Best Hard Rock Band the same year. Over the course of his career has shared the stage with Seether, Halestorm Theory of a Deadman, Saliva, Faster Pussycast, John Corabi of Motley Crue, Trapt, Buckcherry, Puddle of Mudd, Three Days Grace, and many more.

Together with Michael Tuller (Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Eminem, Jane's Addiction, Madonna, Kid Rock), Travis Lee co-wrote a song titled "Bad Ass" which was a featured placement in the 2018 film Animal World, starring Michael Douglas. In its Chinese debut, the film was Number 1 in the box office knocking Jurassic World out of the top spot. The film has grossed nearly $75 million in the box office (worldwide) and is available exclusively on Netflix. The duo, with the guidance of composer Neal Acree (World of Warcraft, Overwatch, StarCraft II, Diablo III, Stargate SG-1) and music supervisor Fei Yu, also had numerous sub-scores.

Travis Lee released his debut EP on September 1. All songs were co-written with Marc Golde, and co-produced by Golde and Michael Tuller.

Please visit: www.facebook.com/travisleeofficial

Rita Coolidge’s soulful voice contributed unforgettably to the soundtrack of a generation. Her talent, beauty, and authenticity inspired many of her contemporaries and some even immortalized her in songs. With her then-husband Kris Kristofferson, she formed one of pop culture’s hottest supercouples on and off the stage. Now this Grammy Award winner opens up about her path from Tennessee to stardom in DELTA LADY: A Memoir, a candid chronicle of her life and career in and out of the spotlight written with bestselling author Michael Walker.
Although she has spent decades in the public eye, at last this consummate entertainer tells her own story, one blessed with fame and fortune but also touched by pain and loss. Best known for “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher”—her anthem which she closes her shows with to this day—and “We’re All Alone,” Coolidge got her start singing backup on everything from Stephen Stills’ “Love the One You’re With” to Eric Clapton’s “After Midnight” to Ray Charles’s “Busted.” After landing a solo deal, she recorded several albums before Anytime … Anywhere skyrocketed up the charts in 1977 and cemented her celebrity and status as one of pop and rock’s most distinctive female singers.
Coolidge, who could sing before she could talk, credits her success to the values instilled in her early on by her preacher father and her teacher mother, and the rich heritage of their Cherokee lineage. Along with her siblings she was raised to believe that with her faith to guide her, anything was possible. A brush with death when she was a teen only solidified her strength and resolve. These qualities would serve her well when after graduating from college she immersed herself in the heady Memphis music scene of the late ‘60s before heading to California, where she became one of Los Angeles’ most sought- after background singers.
A vital presence at the epicenter of L.A.’s music scene in the 1970s, Coolidge socialized and collaborated with a who’s who of the industry’s elite. DELTA LADY reveals riveting behind-the-scenes details including: Coolidge’s relationships with producer Leon Russell, who penned “Delta Lady” in her honor; with Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, which David Crosby claimed led to the band’s demise; and with top session drummer Jim Gordon, a golden boy later convicted of murder; her two months on the road with the Mad Dogs & Englishmen, the now legendary rock-and-roll circus starring Joe Cocker and a cast of fellow up-and-comers; and her uncredited but essential contribution to the classic “Layla.” 
At the heart of her intimate account is her intensely passionate, all-consuming romance with Kris Kristofferson, with whom she shared a great if tempestuous love for eight years. When they met, she knew they were destined to be a couple. With him, Coolidge experienced the highest of highs and suffered the lowest of lows. They wrote together, toured together, won awards together, and had a daughter together, but ultimately their marriage did not survive.
“As you get older you gather layers and layers and layers of life,” Coolidge reflects in DELTA LADY, “And you learn to wear them and carry them proudly, or you let them take you down. And I choose to wear mine.” Hitting grace notes every step of the way, Rita Coolidge looks back with hard-earned equanimity, having survived adversity and persevered in a notoriously fickle business with her faith and integrity intact. Its honesty, eloquence, and insight make DELTA LADY essential reading not only for Coolidge’s admirers but for anyone interested in an insider’s take on an enduring chapter in rock history—and the inspiring story of an uncompromising woman’s pursuit of her dream. 

www.ritacoolidge.net

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Joel Rafael has been writing and performing since 1974 and over the past decades has released a stunning collection of eight Americana albums, including a 2CD Woody Guthrie collection with five Guthrie/Rafael co-writes. As a solo performer and with his band, he opened shows throughout the southwestern United States for artists including Crosby, Stills and Nash, Sheryl Crow, Laura Nyro, Joan Baez, Taj Mahal, Iris DeMent, Emmylou Harris, and John Lee Hooker.

http://www.joelrafael.com/

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Author Bram Stoker wrote his masterpiece, Dracula, when he was 50. Previous to that, he managed a theater and was an actor’s personal assistant. Frank McCourt had his first book, Angela’s Ashes, published when he was 66. McCourt’s debut skyrocketed him into the public eye, with him winning prestigious awards such as the Pulitzer, National Book Critics Circle Award, and the L.A. Times Book Award. Prior to authoring his milestone, he was a retired teacher.

Singer-songwriter Roger Street Freidman is 54, a husband and a father of two, and about to release his masterwork, Shoot The Moon. It’s a full-emotional spectrum collection of vivacious and reflective vignettes from real life that recalls the pop-rock singer-songwriter tradition of Jackson Browne, Marc Cohn, Randy Newman, Colin Hay, Bruce Hornsby, and Mark Knopfler. Few artists make albums like this today. In an age of irony, few songwriters are this brave in their vulnerability, and possess Friedman’s gift for penning hook-laden, emotionally resonant, pop-rock.

“When my dad passed away in 2004 it really hit me that this was not a dress rehearsal. When you turn 50, you start to hear about or lose people that are your own age. It gives me the sense that I’ve got a lot of work to do,” shares the Sea Cliff, New York-based artist.

Friedman has garnered acclaim for his debut, The Waiting Sky. Champions for the album include No Depression, American Songwriter, Relix Magazine, MSN, The Alternate Route, Elmore Magazine and the New York Daily News. Friedman supported the effort with local gigs and regional touring, interspersed with opening slots for such venerated artists as Los Lobos and The Blind Boys of Alabama.

Up until 2014, Friedman led a quaint life as a professional and a family man. As a kid he played music and even was a budding recording engineer. It was only after the loss of his father and mother in 2004 and 2006 respectively, and the birth of his daughter in 2006, that he was struck by the realization that his passion and talent for writing, performing and recording songs had not diminished.

After his issuing his debut, Friedman made the bold decision to pursue music fulltime. “It was scary, but I had gotten to a point where, to be myself, I had to give music everything I had,” Friedman says. “You only get one shot in this life, you have to go for broke, no matter what it takes.”

Shoot The Moon’s 13 masterfully crafted tracks snapshot the ephemeralness of life through revealing the poetry in the humble moments. Be it relationship struggles, pining for the innocent times of childhood, and self-growth after loss, Friedman crystalizes these feelings through deeply personal lyrics that resonate broadly in content and messaging.

The tracks on Shoot The Moon boast sharp hooks, imaginative arrangements, telepathic real-time musical interplay, and vocals that hit a magical emotive spot through being sage, soulful, and sweet. The Shoot The Moon sessions were captured on vibey analog equipment with Friedman and longtime Felix McTeigue (the co-writer of Florida Georgia Line’s chart-topping “Anything Goes” and Lori McKenna’s Grammy nominated single “Wreck You”) in joint producer and engineer roles. The album boasts cameos by Ari Hest, The Masterson’s, Jason Crosby, and Amy Helm (Levon Helm Band, the Dirt Farmer Band, the Midnight Ramble Band, Ollabelle, and Amy Helm & The Handsome Strangers). It was mixed by Grammy Award winner Paul Q. Kolderie (Radiohead, Pixies, Dinosaur Jr.).

Shoot The Moon exudes an album-oriented cohesion which is to say there is a broad spectrum of feelings and genres threaded together by Friedman’s well-developed aesthetic sense. His stylistic calling card is both earthy and urbane, spanning pastoral folk, euphoric New Orleans-style horn driven pop-rock, alt-country, blues and R&B.

Album standouts include “Puffs Of Smoke,” “Everyday,” Shoot The Moon,” “Tomorrow”, and “Tidal Wave.” The slinky “Puffs Of Smoke” opens the album, and is a tango gumbo of horn-driven Crescent City funk and swampy roots rock. Friedman waxes autobiographical on the bluegrass-tinged “Everyday” and the infectious “Shoot The Moon” which brims with punchy horns and Friedman’s twangy vocals wonderfully complimented by Amy Helm’s soaring gospel-inflected singing. “‘Everyday’ is about me getting out my own way to let myself open up, and ‘Shoot The Moon’ is one of those ‘life is short, go for broke’ songs,’” shares Friedman. The bittersweet “Tomorrow,” about a relationship going through hard times, features a stunning duet between Helm and Friedman. The redemptive “Tidal Wave,” tinged with Hammond organ and a powerful Gospel Choir, promises a new day filled with unflinching optimism.

Up next, Friedman will be sharing Shoot The Moon with audiences regionally, and through appearances at select festivals. He also currently has over an album’s worth of new material in the works. Reflecting on this era of fevered creativity and late-in-life self discovery, Friedman says: “You can’t rush the process. You can polish and chip away at the sculpture, but the evolution of the art takes the time it takes. For me, it feels fabulous to be where I’m at. I just have to stay open to the inspiration, and pour my heart and soul into the work. The rest is up to the universe.”

www.rogerstreetfriedman.com

Upcoming Photo Exhibit Offers Intimate Look at President Obama’s Historic Journey to Power

The “people’s president” as you’ve never seen him – Barack Obama, 2004 to the White House by Time photographer Callie Shell

San Francisco, CA, July 12, 2017: San Francisco Art Exchange LLC (SFAE) is pleased and proud to announce the opening of "Barack Obama, 2004 to the White House by Time photographer Callie Shell" on Friday, July 14, at its downtown gallery.

The exhibit will feature 30 prints of historic and stunningly candid pictures famed photographer Callie Shell took of President Barack Obama and his family over the past 12 years, beginning in 2004, when Mr. Obama was just entering national politics and continuing on through his remarkable two terms as the nation’s 44th president. "Barack Obama, 2004 to the White House by Time photographer Callie Shell" will run from July 14 through August at the SFAE, and all prints on display will be available for sale. The artist will appear at an opening reception at the SFAE on July 14, from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.

Callie Shell has worked for CNN since 2015 and Time magazine since 2001. With President Barack Obama, she produced a book with Time – Obama: Path to the White House. She is a veteran of seven presidential campaigns, and she served eight years as the official photographer for Vice President Al Gore under the Clinton/Gore White House. 

“We’re so thrilled to present Callie’s work at our gallery,” says Theron Kabrich, who along with Jim Hartley founded and serves as director of the SFAE. “The first time I saw her photos of President Obama and his family, I was struck by the warmth and humanity that just leapt out at me. She knows the truth about who these people are, what they’ve accomplished and what they care about.”  

Shell first met Obama in 2004 when she was covering Senator John Kerry’s campaign for Time magazine. At the time, Obama was a popular local figure and a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Illinois, but he was barely a blip on the national radar. “Barack Obama was going to introduce Kerry at the Union Hall in Chicago,” Shell remembers. “He and I hung out and talked backstage, and I was immediately struck by down to earth he was. We talked about our kids and the fact that we both have big ears. I thought he was genuinely funny and kind.”

There was something else Shell noticed about Obama: He talked to everybody backstage. “It didn’t matter who you were – the cleaning lady, the guy sweeping the floors, stage hands. He sought everybody out. That really impressed me. I ended up sending Time way more photos of Obama than I did of Kerry. They were like, ‘Who is this guy?’ And I said, ‘You’re going to be hearing about him.’”

A few months later, Shell photographed Obama when he gave his electrifying speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention. “You could tell he was destined for big things at that moment,” she says.

Once Obama became a freshman senator in 2005, Shell spent considerable time covering him, particularly during 2006 when he campaigned for other state senators. “I could tell he was really connecting with people,” Shell says. “Sometimes 2,000 and 3,000 people would show up – you don’t get crowds like that for local races.”

One of the opening photos in the collection is from this time, showing Obama at a rest stop, with trucks and open roads in the background. “He was so amazed that people were coming out to see him,” says Shell. “There was no ego about him at all.”

In these early days, sometimes it was just Shell, Obama and a driver in a van going from rally to rally. “We talked about kids and life,” Shell says. “I was missing my family, and he could relate. And I saw something else that struck me about him: Whenever he saw people who opposed him, he would approach them and hear them out. He would say, ‘I don’t need to talk to all the people who like me. I need to hear from the people who don’t like me.’ Bill Clinton was the same way.”

Asked to recall when she realized that she had Obama’s trust, Shell mentions a photo she took on the campaign bus during the senator’s first presidential run in 2008. Obama is reading a newspaper, and his wife Michelle is sound asleep with her head on his shoulder. “I looked at Barack and asked, ‘Can I take a picture?’ He said, ‘Sure, why not?’ A lot of other politicians would have said no to me capturing such a private moment.”

All of the photos in the exhibit are in color with the exception of four shots Shell took of the Obama family at home in Chicago in 2006 – the photographer ranks them among her favorites. “The kids are young and Barack isn’t running for anything. They had a gate outside but no security. It’s a time that they can’t go back to. There’s a picture of him making breakfast for the kids. He’s kissing them goodbye for school. When you see people as parents, you see them as they really are.”

Shell also singles out a picture of Barack and Michelle Obama – now the First Couple, dancing in the East Room of the White House – as being especially significant: “You can see the president’s face and Michelle from the back. There’s all of these people around them – Arnold Schwarzenegger is in the background – but Barack and Michelle look like they’re alone in the room. The expression on the president’s face is one of pure joy. He’s with his wife and he’s at peace. That photo really sums up their relationship.”

During the 12 years Shell spent with Obama, she was afforded a rare, if not unprecedented, front row seat to history. Asked how she saw him change as he transitioned from state senator to the leader of the free world, Shell says that he always remained the same person she knew during their long van drives in 2006.

“His core principles and values were unshakable,” she notes. “I think what the presidency did was allow Obama to reveal himself as a person to the world. His empathy grew the longer he served in office. I think that’s just one of the things, and maybe one of the most important things, people loved about him.”

“These photos will be viewed and loved 100 years from now,” says Kabrich, who first presented Shell’s work at the SFAE with the exhibit “Rosa Sat, Martin Walked & Barack Ran” in 2010. “Callie’s photos of Obama offer you insights into the man’s personality and the depth of his character. What was it like to be this person named Barack Obama who also happened to be the president of the United States? That’s what historians will really be thirsting for in years to come, and Callie provides it.”

Founded in 1983 by Theron Kabrich and Jim Hartley, San Francisco Art Exchange LLC (SFAE) has represented historic works created by over 200 of the world’s most accomplished and significant photographers and artists. Recognized as market pioneers and premier purveyors of original pop iconography, SFAE has held over 100 major curated exhibitions highlighting music, film, cultural movements, historic figures and social issues.

SFAE has concluded landmark sales of the original artwork of iconic album covers by the Beatles, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, among many others. The gallery has also concluded important sales of rare photographs of Martin Luther King, Jr., Marilyn Monroe, Johnny Cash and Muhammad Ali, just to name a few.

At its downtown San Francisco gallery, SFAE has hosted live events by such music superstars as Brian Wilson and Graham Nash as well as civil rights legend Clarence Jones and Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm. The gallery’s most recent projects include a collaboration with famed artist Shepard Fairey and a special portfolio of photographs of President John F. Kennedy to commemorate his centennial.

For sales and inquiries, please contact San Francisco Art Exchange sales@sfae.com or call 415-441-8840.

For more information:

http://www.sfae.com/

Media contact:

Michael Jensen and Erin Cook

Jensen Communications

626-585-9575

erin@jensencom.com

Singer-songwriter, legendary vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist, mandolin player, producer, Grammy winner and BMI Icon Steve Winwood has sold over 50 million records in the course of his five-decade career. His compositions include “Gimme Some Lovin’”, “Back In The High Life Again”, “Can’t Find My Way Home”, “Arc Of A Diver”, “Higher Love”, “Roll With It”, “While You See A Chance”, “Dear Mr. Fantasy”, “Split Decision”, “The Finer Things”, “Valerie”, and “The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys”, among many others. 

For more than five decades, Steve Winwood has remained a primary figure in Rock ‘n’ Roll, a respected innovator who has helped to create some of the genre’s most celebrated achievements. His skills as a composer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist have developed an impressive catalog of popular music.

Winwood burst into prominence in 1963 at the age of 15 with the Spencer Davis Group. The band enjoyed a string of chart-topping hits by way of such enduring classics as“Gimme Some Lovin’”, “I’m A Man”, and “Keep On Running”. The international success of these singles bolstered Winwood’s confidence and strengthened his resolve to seek out new rhythmic possibilities.

In 1967, Winwood left the Spencer Davis Group and co-founded Traffic.  Beloved for their eclectic style and superbly crafted songs, Traffic routinely defied convention to celebrate a host of diverse sounds and influences. Landmark albums such as ‘Mr. Fantasy’, ‘The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys’, and ‘John Barleycorn Must Die’ confirmed their position as one of the most important British groups of the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Eager to try his hand with other creative partnerships, Winwood left Traffic in 1969 to form a new group called Blind Faith with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker. The pairing of Winwood with Cream’s Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and later, former Family bassist Rick Grech, created what many critics dubbed Rock’s first supergroup.  The international popularity of ‘Blind Faith’, the group’s sole #1 album, confirmed their special chemistry. Blind Faith staples written by Winwood such as “Can’t Find My Way Home” and “Had To Cry Today” continue to rank among his finest achievements.

In 1970, Winwood reformed Traffic with Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood and guided a highly successful run with the innovative albums 'The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys’, ‘John Barleycorn Must Die’, and 'Shoot Out At The Fantasy Factory'.  By 1975, Traffic splintered as the allure of solo projects and new creative partnerships proved too tempting to resist.  

1977’s solo debut ’Steve Winwood’ signaled a bold new artistic direction, including writing partnerships with Viv Shanshall and Will Jennings. This shift kickstarted the creation of Steve’s landmark solo albums including ‘Arc Of A Diver’, the three-time Grammy-Award-Winning ‘Back In The High Life’, and the Grammy-award-winning ’Roll With It’. Winwood has always nurtured a restless creative spirit, mining rich musical traditions such as Delta Blues, English Folk, Plainsong, R&B, Afro-and Caribbean & Brazilian rhythms; merging these diverse influences within his own unmistakable sound. 

Winwood’s solo career has yielded a rich catalog of popular songs including “Back In The High Life,” “While You See A Chance,” “Roll With It”, “Valerie,” and “Higher Love”. The latter was nominated for seven Grammy Awards, winning three: ‘Record Of The Year’, ‘Best Engineered Non-Classical Album’, and ‘Best Male Pop Vocal Performance’. ’Roll With It’ received four Grammy nominations in 1989 and won ‘Best Engineered Album’. Steve’s most recent solo albums, ‘About Time’ and ‘Nine Lives’ have received critical acclaim, earning Winwood one of his highest Billboard chart entries. 

Winwood has since renewed his creative partnership with Eric Clapton. Their expansive CD and DVD ‘Live At Madison Square Garden’ was nominated for two Grammys and rewarded their many fans with some of the most exciting performances of their careers. Subsequent tours of the United States and Japan make clear the lasting appreciation fans have for their unique talents.

In addition to his many achievements as a solo artist, Winwood has remained an in-demand session player throughout his career, contributing to landmark recordings by Jimi Hendrix (Voodoo Chile), The Who (Tommy), James Brown (Gravity), Leon Russell (1970 self-titled solo debut album), George Harrison (Dark Horse, George Harrison), Tina Turner (Break Every Rule), Eric Clapton (The Rainbow Concert, Powerhouse), Billy Joel (The Bridge), Joe Cocker (With A Little Help From My Friends, Joe Cocker), Lou Reed (Berlin), Toots & The Maytals (Reggae Got Soul), Jimmy Buffett (Hot Water), Phil Collins (But Seriously), Van Morrison (Duets), Marianne Faithfull (Broken English, Dangerous Acquaintances), David Gilmour (About Face), B.B. King (In London), John Martyn (Inside Out, One World), Robert Palmer (Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley), Talk Talk (The Colour Of Spring), Shawn Phillips (Contribution, Faces), Muddy Waters (The London Muddy Waters Sessions), Howlin’ Wolf (London Revisited), Christina Aguilera (Back To Basics), Paul Weller (Stanley Road), Miranda Lambert (Four The Record), Christine McVie (Christine McVie), and Etta James (The Right Time). He has toured with Joe Cocker, Tom Petty, Carlos Santana, The Allman Brothers, Eric Clapton, Steely Dan, and The Grateful Dead, among others. 

Steve Winwood is a recipient of the Ivor Novello Outstanding Song Collection, the BMI Icon Award, the Musicians Union Classic Rock Award, and has been nominated for 11 Grammys, winning two. Steve has received Honorary Doctorate degrees in Music from Berklee College Of Music, Aston University in his hometown of Birmingham, England; and from The University of Gloucestershire. In 2004, Traffic was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and the following year, Steve was honored for his “enduring influence on generations of music makers” by BMI. Rolling Stone Magazine named Steve Winwood one of the ‘Greatest Singers Of All Time’ in 2010, and Steve performed for President Obama at the 2013 Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C.. On June 5th 2014, he was inducted into the Walk Of Fame in Nashville, TN.

www.stevewinwood.com

More than four decades since CSN first harmonized in Laurel Canyon, and played their first-ever concert as a trio at the legendary Woodstock festival, its members continue a creative partnership that is one of the most influential and enduring in music. David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash have each been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame two times-once with Crosby, Stills & Nash, and a second time with The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and The Hollies, respectively. They have also been inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, with the honor recognizing both CSN as a group, and each member as individual solo artists.

CSN's music first became a cornerstone of rock 'n roll with the self-titled 1969 debut LP, one of Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time." Ever since-through changing times, various configurations, and acclaimed solo careers-Crosby, Stills & Nash have continued to tour and record as "three together."

http://www.crosbystillsnash.com

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Photo Credit: Eleanor Stills

Original Paintings from Pink Floyd’s The Wall on Sale for the First Time

Multimillion-Dollar Collection of Masterworks Created for the Album, Concerts and Film, From the Private Collection of Gerald Scarfe

San Francisco, CA, March 7, 2017: San Francisco Art Exchange LLC (SFAE) has been selected to exclusively represent the most valuable collection of rock and roll artwork ever to be offered for sale: eleven original paintings created and hand-selected by famed English artist Gerald Scarfe, from Pink Floyd’s 1982 masterpiece The Wall. A major exhibition will be held in July with Scarfe in attendance at the invitation-only premier to be held at SFAE’s gallery (458 Geary St, San Francisco, CA).  Details to be announced.

The paintings being offered have been carefully selected by Scarfe as his most important works, and include several of the most famous images in rock history due to their association with The Wall. Among the paintings are the true definitive originals for iconic artworks such as The Scream, Wife With Flaming Hair, Giant Judge and Hammers, The Mother, Education For What? No Jobs!, The Wife's Shadow, One of The Frightened Ones, The Gross Inflatable Pig, Comfortably Numb, and The Teacher, as well as the massive original storyboard created for the film which incorporates 50 original renderings.

To view available artworks, including in-depth descriptions and histories, please CLICK HERE.

Epic in scale and steeped in rock history, these original works of art are marquis collectibles for major individual, corporate, and institutional collectors. Due to the extensive distribution of the imagery via album, live-performances, music-videos, and the film (along with the accompanying publicity), the artwork offered is among the most instantly recognizable and significant in pop culture.

One of the paintings available for purchase, Giant Judge and Hammers, will be prominently on display in London beginning May 13, 2017 as part of the Victoria & Albert Museum’s eagerly anticipated The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains, the first international retrospective of one of the worlds’ most ground-breaking and influential bands.  This exhibition is expected to become one of the most successful on record. 

The Wall album topped Billboard charts for 15 weeks, and in 1999 was certified 23 x Platinum. It remains one of the best-selling albums of all time, selling over 19 million copies between 1979 and 1990 in the US alone. The film was critically acclaimed when it was released in 1982 and won BAFTAs for Best Original Song and Best Sound. Scarfe developed the film's entire visual environment before the project began and his characters became a mixture of live-action and animated imagery, all of which played an integral role in the surreal narrative.

Gerald Scarfe is one of the world's most famous political cartoonists and caricaturists whose work has been seen in The Sunday Times and The New Yorker for decades.  His artworks reside in the following permanent collections, among others: Tate Gallery, National Portrait Gallery and The Parliamentary Art Collection in London, as well as the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C.

San Francisco Art Exchange is the sole gallery authorized to sell these paintings. San Francisco Art Exchange is known worldwide for record-breaking sales of album cover related artwork, and has represented such revered artworks as the originals for Abbey Road, Meet The Beatles, Rubber Soul, Imagine, Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Ummagumma, Animals, Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, The Best of The Doors, Candy-O, and many, many more.

For sales and inquiries, please contact San Francisco Art Exchange sales@sfae.com or call 415-441-8840.

For more information:

http://www.sfae.com/

Media Contact:                                               

Michael Jensen and Erin Cook                                                          

Jensen Communications                                                       

626.585.9575                                                                                     

mj@jensencom.com / erin@jensencom.com         

He’s starting his ninth year as an offensive lineman in the National Football League, but while proud of his ability on the gridiron, Joe Barksdale is less inclined to cite Pro Football Hall of Famers like Art Shell or Anthony Muñoz as inspirations as he would a star from a completely different Hall of Fame.

“I saw Jimi Hendrix and his Monterey Pop performance pretty early in my development as a musician and ever since then I wanted to play live like that,” says Joe Barksdale, offensive tackle for the Los Angeles Chargers and aspiring musician. “My goal is to be the premiere guitar player of my generation before it’s all said and done.”

He takes a step toward that lofty goal with the arrival of his first album, Butterflies, Rainbows & Moonbeams, released independently in January on his Hear My Music label.

Barksdale’s admiration for Hendrix is obvious not only in his respectful cover of the guitar god’s “The Wind Cries Mary” but his playing style throughout the album.

Butterflies, Rainbows & Moonbeams ranges from hues of blues and neo soul to contemporary jazz and alternative rock. It’s an especially confident album considering Barksdale only started learning his second job less than five years ago, a quest that began at the suggestion of his football coach.

“I experienced a pretty significant death in my life when the 2013 season ended, Charleston Fobbs, a guy who was like my Dad,” Barksdale recalls. “Jeff Fisher, who was the head coach of the Rams at the time, asked me what I was doing for the offseason, because he knew I was still hurting. He told me I should pick up the guitar because he saw a lot of similarities between his son and me. He said his son really enjoyed the guitar and he suggested I try it, too, so that’s what I did.“

He took the challenge seriously, opting for professional lessons, rather than the self-taught
route. “At first I was going to try to teach myself on YouTube, but then I thought about it: I didn’t teach myself to play football watching YouTube. If I was going to pick up guitar as a hobby, than I would just been okay to take some YouTube lessons, teach myself a couple chords and be done with it.”

Seeing footage of Hendrix’s Monterey performance made guitar more than a flirtation. “I wanted to be everything that Jimi Hendrix was, as a musician and as a guitar player for sure. It’s funny, my current guitar teacher, Mark Shapiro, just swears that if Jimi Hendrix had been 6’5”, 300-plus pounds, he’d be me and vice versa.”

Although the guitar started his musical quest, Barksdale eventually became a cozy singer, too, and has added vocal lessons to his non-football schedule. “When you look at where you want to be and you look around at guys who are there, you see what they’re doing that you’re not. Everybody from Hendrix to John Mayer, Freddie King, all these guitar players I’m trying to emulate, they’re not classically trained singers or ‘take it on home every time’ singers, but they all sing effectively and with emotion. I felt like if I wanted to be taken seriously as a musician I had to be the whole package.”

While music might seem a surprising sideline for an offensive tackle, a football career seemed even more unlikely to a young Barksdale. At age 13, his passion was engineering, which led him to enroll in the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program. Mischief instigated by a friend got Barksdale dismissed early from the DAPCEP; still in need of a summer activity, a football program was one of the few options that remained available.

What started as a means to keep out of trouble became a fruitful path when Barksdale’s size and ability on the football field led to scholarship offers. After an early graduation from high school, he was courted by Michigan State, Ohio State and Notre Dame, but chose Louisiana State University, in part for its engineering program.

“One of the main reasons I went to LSU was because they told me I could get an engineering degree, but when I got there, I ended up getting on the field earlier than anticipated. Engineering classes ain’t gonna’ fly during football practice so I had to switch majors to pre-law.”

Barksdale was a starter for the LSU team that won the NCAA’s football championship in 2008 and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 2011. After two years there, he next played for the two NFL teams that now reside in Los Angeles, joining the Rams in St. Louis in 2012, the Chargers in San Diego in 2015.

“I am extremely competitive, extremely, and I apply that to my music career. That’s why I’ve been telling everyone who interviews me that I am going to be one of the greatest guitar players of my generation before it’s all said and done.”

The scope of genres on Barksdale’s debut reflect his broad tastes, a path that began with “Gospel, rap, soul and R&B: those are the four major food groups for black, inner-city Detroit.” Attending plays and concerts with his mother during high school years opened his ears to classical, swing and jazz, while college introduced him to alternative rock and neo soul. Shortly after college, he immersed himself in the blues, a passion of his grandfather.

“I don’t think my music is definable,” says Barksdale. “You know, it hits you in the soul and it feels good.” Aside from the Hendrix song, Barksdale also covers blues greats Elmore James and Freddy King and alternative band MGMT, but the bulk of his album are originals, six by Barksdale and three co-writes, one with wife Brionna.

Barksdale eagerly shares credit with his collaborators, including long-time San Diego singer Rebecca Jade and Prince protégé Natalya Phillips. “I think some of that comes from me being an offensive lineman and never getting credit for anything,” says Barksdale. “You don’t want people to feel like linemen do at the end of the day; you want them to know they did a good job and that you appreciate them. That’s not just important to me as a musician but in life in general.”

Just as Barksdale is serious about music, his new career and has been taken seriously, earning ink in the Los Angeles Times, San Diego Tribune, outlets in his hometown Detroit and elsewhere. He scored an endorsement deal with Fender, and the instruments giant helped promote his album’s launch at the annual National Assn. of Music Merchants (NAMM) convention in Anaheim.

“I have a lot of admiration for Fender and I’m so thankful for the people there because they were the first major corporation who believed in me as an artist,” says Barksdale. “It makes you feel good when you get to NAMM and see Fender has the biggest booth in the world. It motivates you to keep working. “

 https://www.josephbarksdale.com

We are proud to present the world's ultimate period-correct collection of rare vintage instruments exactly like the ones The Beatles used.

Vintage gear, with the same manufacture year and exact specifications like the Beatles own, is highly sought after and prized for a good reason - very few exist!

All the instruments you see belong to one collection. Bringing them together has been a lifetime labor of love. It is the only collection of its kind, there is none other like it.

We are very pleased with the results of our on-line efforts and continue to pursue our goal to establish a permanent physical location. We hope one-day soon, visitors will be able to come and experience these historical instruments in-person.

In the meantime, since our launch on August 16, 2012, we have released the majority of the guitars in our collection and will soon be releasing the drum kits. We will continue to showcase the remaining instruments as time permits. We hope you enjoy learning about them!

Disclaimer: TheBeatlesGear is not endorsed by or affiliated with Apple Corps Limited or The Beatles

www.TheBeatlesGear.com

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“What better way is there to express yourself than through music?” asks singer-songwriter Chelsea Williams. Her question is almost rhetorical, as Williams, in full obedience to her heart’s most urgent commands, documents her emotions in song in ways that can feel astonishing. Sometimes those feelings are carefree and luminous; other times they’re troubled and turbulent. But when channeled through her captivating voice and intoxicating melodies, they work their way into the thicket of your senses before coming to rest in your soul.

Whether Williams is the music industry’s best- or worst-kept-secret is open to debate. Sure, she’s performed on The Today Show and has opened for big names such as the Avett Brothers and Dwight Yoakam, and she’s even had a high-profile guest shot on a Maroon 5 video, dueting with Adam Levine on the group’s No. 1 smash “Daylight (Playing For Change).”

But the truly incredible part of the golden-voiced chanteuse’s story has taken place at Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade, where she’s performed acoustically for the past few years. During these appearances, Williams has managed to move an unprecedented 100,000 copies of her three indie records – Chelsea Williams, Decoration Aisle and The Earth & the Sea. Her customer base has even included the likes of Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard, who was so impressed by what he heard that he bought a CD. Even one of Williams’ biggest influences, singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, walked away with an album.

“The Promenade is huge part of my life,” says Williams. “It’s one of the only spots that I know of in Los Angeles that has such a high volume of foot traffic. People are out and about enjoying themselves, and they know that they’re going to hear musicians. It’s incredible when I get comments like, ‘I was having a really bad day, but your music totally brought me out of it.’ That’s what I love about music myself – the ability to take somebody on a journey that they weren’t planning on.”

Kirk Pasich, President of Blue Élan Records, might not have been anticipating such a journey when he first caught one of Williams’ outdoor gigs, but he quickly knew it was one he wanted to take over and over. And so now we have Williams’ debut on Blue Élan, Boomerang, a thoroughly winning and transcendent mix of Americana, indie-folk and lush pop that places the young artist front and center among the preeminent performers of the day. “My aim with this record was to maintain integrity, creatively and musically,” she states. “I wanted to let creativity rule the process and not be afraid to step outside of what was expected of me.”

Williams musical journey began early. Born in Columbus, Ohio, she was still an infant when her mother picked her up for a move to Glendale, California. “My mom had dreams of being a songwriter herself,” she explains. “She was always writing and playing guitar and singing around the house. I used to fall asleep in the living room while listening to her playing music with her friends. I think it all sort of seeped into my head and stayed with me.”

It wasn’t long before Williams joined in on her mother’s living room jams. “It just seemed very natural to me,” she says. “Music always pulled me in. We would go to Disneyland, and I would always run toward the stage whenever a band was playing. I just wanted to be a part of it.” Her mother’s CD collection – Carole King, Todd Rundgren and James Taylor were favorites – made the first impression on Williams, but she soon discovered Bob Dylan. “We didn’t agree on Dylan,” Williams laughs. “I think my mother didn’t like his voice, but it seemed so beautiful to me.”

By the age of 13, Williams took up the guitar and started writing her own first songs. “It seemed so normal to me because that’s what my mom and her friends were doing,” she remembers. “I didn’t even worry about whether what I was writing was good or bad. I just enjoyed doing it.” In high school, her listening habits included solo artists such as Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan and Elliott Smith, but she eventually discovered bands like Radiohead and the Pixies. Williams recalls how hanging out with the “indie rock kids” at school led to an interesting musical exchange: “I introduced them to Dylan, and they hipped me to Death Cab for Cutie. It was pretty cool.”

Even before graduation, Williams hit the local clubs and coffee houses, and once she had her diploma in hand she made her way onto the stages of Hollywood, performing at the Knitting Factory, Hotel Café, Room 5, and On the Rocks. “They were great learning experiences, but in truth, I didn’t like to play those gigs,” she explains. “They didn’t pay very well, and you oftentimes had to go out of pocket just for the chance to be seen and heard.” Williams discovered that busking on the streets of Glendale offered a better opportunity to get her music across. “There were people walking around with Starbucks cups, and you had little kids trying to break dance,” she says. “The people really listened.” From there, she decided to take her act to the burgeoning outdoor scene of the Third Street Promenade.

With the Santa Monica Pier and the Pacific Ocean as her backdrop, Williams truly found her voice. Recording her music on her own (“I did a lot on my computer with GarageBand”), she found enthusiastic buyers willing to lay down $5 and $10 a CD. Connections were made – people gave her business cards and asked her to sing on sessions – one of them being producer Toby Gad, famous for his work with Beyonce and Natasha Bedingfield. The two worked on a collection of songs that yielded a full album, which strangely enough, resulted in Williams’ first taste of heartbreak.

“Toby pitched me to Interscope, and they bit,” she explains. “They said, ‘We love you and we love the album, and we want to release it as soon as possible.’ I was thrilled.” And then, a perplexing thing happened… as in nothing happened. “The label wanted me to do more writing, which I did, but then it became obvious that they weren’t going to release the album,” she says. “I couldn’t understand it.”

At first, Williams was crushed and even briefly considered quitting music (“I considered becoming a geologist”), but after extricating herself from the deal she realized it was all for the best. “After I got some distance from the album I’d recorded, I felt like it didn’t represent me anymore,” she says. “So I dusted myself off and hit the streets again, and after a while things came back around.”

By the time Williams met up with Kirk Pasich at the Promenade, she had a batch of new songs that would fully reflect her commitment to processing emotions with honesty, courage, hope and humor. Working with producer and multi-instrumentalist Ross Garren (Kesha, Ben Folds, Benmont Tench), she turned those songs into Boomerang, an album that grows in depth and meaning with each listen.

On the wistful pop symphony opener “Angeles Crest,” Williams paints a vivid picture of her childhood, envisioning the mountains she and her mother once drove by. With clear-eyed perception she looks back at the road once traveled and stares down the future on “Fool’s Gold” (“I wrote it right when I parted ways with my prior label. It’s me processing the situation”). Opening her throat with the bracing line “I was frozen by a mighty cold wind,” Williams further recounts that painful label experience on the aching country ballad “Dreamcatcher.”“Out of Sight” is a striking, chilling piece of torch-song blues, on which she casts off a previous personal entanglement with the mantra “out of sight, out of mind.” But on the buoyant, aptly titled “Rush” she finds herself caught up in the dizzying first flush of a new love. “It’s all about being in that moment,” she says, “all the crazy fears and hopes that come with the possibilities of a relationship.”

A stronger, wiser but no less hopeful Williams looks back on the recording of Boomerang thusly: “For me, this record has been an exercise in taking the reins and forging my own path in music and in life. I had never been given a record budget that came with so much creative control before. With that kind of freedom came a greater sense of responsibility and a greater pride in the work we were creating. I am so proud of the record Ross and I created.”

And with a characteristic note of levity, she adds, “I’m so happy that I didn’t give up music to become a geologist.”

Colt.22's Debut Album 'Freedom/Freewill' is an exploration of the blues, rock, and electronic music; out August 4th via Elite Frequency Group

(Los Angeles, CA) – Los Angeles indie-rock band Colt.22 has released their first lead single accompanied with a music video off their debut album Freedom/Freewill. Premiering on Ghettoblaster Magazine, the video for the song “Call To Action” follows Los Angeles parkour stunt group Substance Over Hype, showcasing car-chasing, gun fighting, and martial arts through the streets of LA. This video is a tribute to cult classic movies Kill Bill and Sin City. Colt.22 is best known for placing a major sync with Showtime for the promo of the hit series “Billions” with their song “Find Your Pride”. Freedom/Freewill will be released in August on indie label Elite Frequency Group with distribution by The Orchard.

Pre-order Freedom/Freewill - http://apple.co/2t32elP

Colt.22 is a collaboration between two experienced music producers and writers, John “Fingazz” Stary and Travis Pavur. Fingazz, a platinum award certified hip-hop producer, is best known around the globe as one of the few masters of the "talkbox," which has been featured on records by Snoop Dogg, Mike Posner, Far East Movement, Flo Rida, Tyga, Bryson Tiller, Just Blaze, and many more.  His sound can be described as "Future Funk" and his song “Winning” won on So You Think You Can Dance. In contrast, the New Orleans-born Pavur is a rocker through and through. He has recorded and produced countless up and coming rock acts from his own Los Angeles studio, Golden Beat Recording. Currently he is an engineer at the historic Valentine Recording Studios as well, working with acts like Lana Del Rey and Eagles of Death Metal.

Colt .22’s mission is to draw directly upon influences from the past, fusing them with the sound of now. The power of the music is a reaction, like the recoil of a gun exploding with solid guitar riffs and driving beats. The gritty and emotional vocals of Stary, fire out lyrical content like bullets of self-awareness and knowledge. Their intent is to use heavy anthemic chants and layer it with harmonies that complement the power of the music.

The night before Con Brio headed into the studio to record their first full-length album,

23-year-old Ziek McCarter had a dream. In it, the singer received a visit from his father, an Army veteran who died at the hands of East Texas police in 2011. His father delivered an invitation: Come with me to paradise.

McCarter woke up with a song in his bones. “It was one of the most spiritual moments of my life,” he recalls. It was up to him, he knew, to rise above injustice, and to perform in a way that lifted up those around him as well. To make Con Brio’s music a place of serenity, compassion -- even euphoria -- right here on earth. 

Paradise, which saw the San Francisco band teaming with legendary producer Mario Caldato Jr. (Beastie Boys, Beck, Seu Jorge), is the result: a declaration of independence you can dance to; an assertion of what can happen when the human spirit is truly free.

Formed in 2013, Con Brio is the offspring of seven musicians with diverse backgrounds but a shared love for the vibrant Bay Area funk and psychedelic-soul sound pioneered by groups like Sly & the Family Stone.

By 2015, when the band self-produced their debut EP, Kiss the Sun, Con Brio had already become a West Coast institution on the strength of their magnetic live show, with McCarter’s swiveling hips, splits and backflips earning him frequent comparisons to a young Michael Jackson or James Brown.

After a busy 2015 spent touring the U.S. and Europe, playing alongside veterans Galactic and Fishbone, and racking up critical acclaim on proving grounds like Austin City Limits -- where PopMatters declared Con Brio “the best new live band in America” -- they headed home to parlay their momentum, chemistry and tight live sound into a full-length record.

In an era when much has been made of the “death of the album,” there’s no question that Paradise; released July 15th, is a fully-formed journey -- a trip made all the more immersive by Caldato’s raw, live style of production. “We tried to create a narrative in the studio, in the same way that we segue between songs live,” explains McCarter of the record’s arc.

From the first primal wail of Benjamin Andrews’ electric guitar on the title track -- Paradise is bookended by intro and outro versions -- the album tells a story about modern life through its contradictions: “Liftoff” speaks of an urge to fly, to transcend the day-to-day with a starry, bird’s-eye view. “Hard Times” brings us crashing back to earth with the struggles of city life, inequality, and a fractured society desperate for healing. “Money” is a revolution, a rejection of societal pressure to equate success with a paycheck and abandon one’s dreams in the process.

“Free & Brave,” the band’s most overtly political anthem, is also arguably its most infectious. Over a driving R&B groove courtesy of veteran rhythm section Jonathan Kirchner and Andrew Laubacher (bass and drums), McCarter name-checks Trayvon Martin and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Clearly inspired by his own personal relationship with police brutality, the song is equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful.

“‘Free & Brave’ is in part a response to the Black Lives Matter movement, but it was also created to serve as a reminder -- to myself and to whoever finds joy in that song -- that there is a light there. We don’t have to get bogged down, we don’t have to feel helpless,” says McCarter. “We might not see it on a daily basis, but we are still ‘the land of the free and home of the brave’...I still take pride in that, in what pieces of joy and happiness we can create here with our actions.”

Of course, songs about love and passion remain Con Brio’s native tongue. (At a recent Australian festival in which the band shared a bill with D’Angelo, one journalist told McCarter his sex appeal had eclipsed that of his longtime idol. McCarter continues to have no comment.) So it’s a refreshing surprise that the strongest love song on Paradise, in fact, is “Honey,” a sweet, spacious and vulnerable tune that allows the band’s horn section, Brendan Liu and Marcus Stephens, to shine. Though the band’s built a reputation on sonic bravado, it’s choices like these -- moments in which the music’s power flows from its subtlety -- that truly highlight where Con Brio is going.

In the second half of 2016, Con Brio embarked on an ambitious international touring schedule, including stops at the lion’s share of major American music festivals (Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Summerfest and San Francisco’s own Outside Lands); Fuji Rock, Japan’s largest annual music event; Montreal Jazz Fest, the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, the Netherlands; London; Paris; with many more international dates to come throughout the year.

Which is not to say they’re intimidated. After performing most of these songs live throughout the past year, the team is running on adrenaline, and they’re thrilled to finally put this record in people’s hands. To bring old fans along for the journey, to help new fans lose themselves in a beat or a message. To spread music that, hopefully, shakes away the daily grind -- and nurtures listeners’ dreams about what their version of paradise on earth might look like, even for the duration of a song.

Ziek McCarter already knows what his looks like, because Con Brio’s building it. And from where he’s sitting, they’re well past ready for liftoff.

“We don’t want to walk, we don’t want to drive,” he says with a laugh. “We want to fly. We want to levitate.”

Jazz and Latin fusion pioneer, composer and guitar legend Al Di Meola is a pioneer of blending world music and jazz. Over the past four decades, the bona fide guitar hero has explored the rich influence of flamenco, tango, Middle Eastern, Brazilian, and African music.

He released his new solo album Elysium on June 9.

While currently juggling acoustic tours in Europe and electric tours in the United States, Di Meola arrives at the perfect marriage of the two aesthetics on his latest album, Elysium, which finds the guitar great blending the lush tones of his nylon string Conde Hermanos acoustic prototype model and a ’71 Les Paul electric (his Return to Forever and Elegant Gypsy axe) in a collection of songs that are at once invigorating and alluring.

“It represents a new composition phase for me, whereby the writing became, in a sense, my therapy during a challenging personal transition in my life" says Di Meola.  

Di Meola fans and guitar aficionados will be awestruck by the combination of peerless chops and rare romanticism that he conjures up from his various axes on Elysium, which stands as one of his most compelling six-string manifestos in a long and illustrious career.

This summer, the Montréal Jazz Festival awarded him the 2015 Miles Davis Award, which honors a great international jazz musician for the entire body of his or her work and for that musician’s influence in regenerating the jazz idiom.

http://www.aldimeola.com/ 

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Brie Darling remembers vividly the first time she met June and Jean Millington. It was 1966, and Darling had traveled from California to Nevada to audition for the Millington’s high school band, the Svelts, as their newest hot drummer during a performance at The Lemon Tree in the town of Sparks. Just 16 years old, Darling approached the sisters – whose music she already knew well – in the parking lot.

“I still see that picture,” says Darling now. “They were just like goddesses to me. They looked bigger than life. And we just immediately bonded.”

What eventually followed was the groundbreaking formation of Fanny, the California-based band that would pave the way for women musicians for decades to come. After formally coming together to form the group and relocating to Los Angeles, Fanny landed a deal in 1969 with Reprise Records, becoming the first-ever all-female rock band to sign a record deal for a full-length album. Now, nearly 50 years since that parking lot meeting, Fanny has reunited as Fanny Walked the Earth — a name that reflects all that they’ve accomplished in their lives; all they’ve seen, done and lived through — for their first album in decades.

“There is something about us playing together,” says June. “It’s incredibly special; it’s beyond words.”

Drawing influence from Motown bands to the Beach Boys to Jimi Hendrix, Fanny released their first five albums between 1970 and 1974 with various iterations of members. Working with producers including Richard Perry, Todd Rundgren and Vini Poncia, their sound was a mix of full-throttle, rockin’-funk vocals; unapologetically heavy rock guitars; and hard, punchy beats.

“We were exploding with our own creativity and musicality,” says June. “We were in sync.”

The band was also shattering expectations. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, to say that rock was male-dominated would be a gross understatement; rock was almost completely male. But the girls of Fanny never backed down from the challenge. “I just wanted to have fun, and I wanted to show off, and I wanted to do what I loved doing,” says Darling. “If anyone was ever a little snide, I thought, ‘You just wait.’”

Adds Jean, “We were just involved with our band and our mission. We weren’t focused on being women trying to make it in a man’s world; we were focused on the challenge of it and having a lot of fun.”

In 1975, the band had a breakout hit with “Butter Boy,” which hit number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song, written by Jean, was about her then-lover, David Bowie. “It was tongue-in-cheek,” she says. “He was the inspiration.”

Over the years, Fanny became major influences for bands like The Runaways, The Bangles and the Go-Go’s, and have been recognized as the trailblazers for decades since. NPR described the band as “the most masterful all-female band of the classic rock era,” and Pitchfork recently labeled June a “rock n’ roll pioneer.”

“The women in Fanny are like queens to me,” says Cherie Currie of The Runaways. “They started all of it. They cracked that door and made it possible for us to believe that we could do it too.”

Fanny broke up soon after “Butter Boy” hit the charts, but stayed in touch as they went their separate ways, always keeping their music and their experiences close to their hearts. And so, when Laudable Productions and the Massachusetts-based Northampton Arts Council decided to host a tribute to June in February of 2016, Jean and Brie didn’t hesitate to participate. From the moment they played together at their first rehearsal, it was as if no time had gone by at all.

“It came right back,” says June. “The minute we hit the stage, it was right back to that thing that was fresh and exciting and an adventure.”

It didn’t take long before they decided to get back together in the studio, too. Their new self-titled album is an 11-track, all-original LP that’s shot through with the same raucous courage and fearlessness as their original works. “Lured Away” tells the story of rock n’ roll lives that are still going strong – “I’m coming to, time to fully wake up / I gotta burn, don’t wanna give it up” – while “Storm Crossed” is an homage to Jimi Hendrix. “When You Need Her” features appearances by rock legends Currie, Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go’s, and Susanna Hoffs, Vicki Peterson and Debbi Peterson of The Bangles.

“I feel like Fanny Walked the Earth has an encoding of what we’ve experienced over the years,” says June. “This is an important stand we’re taking. Who gets to be 69 and still playing? Back then, it was just proving that girls can play like guys. Now, it’s like, ‘Ha!’ Women can break another glass ceiling.”

Fanny Walk the Earth is set for release on Blue Élan records in early 2018.

The Future Is Now: Harry Lange’s Daring Original Artwork Created for Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey on Sale for the First Time     

A Multi-Million Dollar Museum Quality Archive of More than 1,500 Works

Historic design drawings, illustrations and photos from the personal archive of award-winning film production designer Harry Lange

San Francisco, CA, June 1, 2017: San Francisco Art Exchange LLC (SFAE) is pleased and proud to announce that it has been selected to exclusively represent the sale of The 2001 File: Film production designer and art director Harry Lange’s personal archive of over 1,500 items including preliminary sketches, drawings, designs, paintings, concepts and photographs created for Stanley Kubrick’s classic 1968 science fiction motion picture, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Born in Germany, Lange, an art director with an extensive background in aviation design, moved to America in the 1950s and started working for US military illustrating flying manuals. He then went to the US Army Ballistic Missile Agency (AMBA) before heading the Future Projects Section at NASA, where he worked on spacecraft designs.

While preparing to leave NASA, Lange met science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, who in 1965 introduced him to film director Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick, who insisted on complete realism for the sets, spacesuits and spaceships needed for a project he and Clarke were collaborating on called Journey to the Stars, enlisted Lange for his design team. The eventual film would soon be renamed 2001: A Space Odyssey, and its design team, including Lange, received Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction.

“There are many reasons why 2001: A Space Odyssey is such a classic, but in many ways it all starts with Lange’s work,” says Theron Kabrich, who along with Jim Hartley founded and serves as director of the SFAE. “One of most important aspects of 2001 and Lange’s artwork is that it represented blueprints for the future, and a lot of what was predicted became real. The fact that Lange was a draftsman who could draw these inventions that could seem tangible gave them an integrity you don’t get with most science fiction.

Lange’s mission, set forth by Kubrick, was to create scientifically based concepts and designs that would render to the viewer that the idea of space travel wasn’t some far-flung fantasy – it was an entirely plausible possibility. Lange started work on the project in New York in 1965, and having sketched the film’s spacecrafts within a period of six months, moved with his family to England where he continued work on the film for the next two years. So realistic were Lange’s designs that when US astronauts paid a visit to the film’s production studio in Borehamwood, England, they dubbed the enterprise “NASA East.”

“Lange’s illustrations were very detailed, and so were the finished works,” says Kabrich. “You might not notice every aspect of the spaceship when you watch the film, but Kubrick and Lange made sure all the minute details, every button that could be pushed, were in there. It was important to them that every little element was specific, functional and real.”

The 2001 File is a fascinating guided tour of Lange’s thought and design process that led to the realization of the iconic film. Among its hundreds of sketches, drawings and illustrations, from early concepts to the final designs, are many of the central elements that figured in 2001: A Space Odyssey, including:

The Orion III Spaceplane – the craft that took commercial passengers from Earth to orbit.

Space Station 5 – this gigantic wheel-spaced craft rotated to create artificial gravity in order to acclimate passengers to space. Among its earthly conveniences were a Hilton Hotel, Howard Johnson's restaurant, lounge areas, photo booths and department store shopping.

Aries 1B Lunar Landing Shuttle – this is the craft that took officials from Space Station 5 to the Moonbase in Clavius Crater on the Moon (where a Monolith had been discovered).

Clavius Moonbase – ground plans, landing platforms, Lunar Docking Vehicles, the Tycho Cave Site and research base and other Lunar vehicles.

The Monolith – the key element in the film’s narrative. Lange’s designs for the Monoliths began as different geometric shapes that developed into a pyramid design, which was built to scale on the set. Ultimately, it was replaced by the final concept – a simple yet imposing 12-foot high flat black rectangle.

The Discovery Interplanetary Spaceship – the ship that housed the team of astronauts (along with the infamous HAL 9000 computer) on their secret mission to Jupiter. The craft featured a gravity-simulator centrifuge, a pod bay with several pods, a control deck and the computer’s memory center.

Space Suits with Helmets – integral to the authenticity of all astronaut scenes, these designs drew heavily on Lange’s time at NASA.

“Lange’s illustrations are stunning to look at, and as you take them in you realize that they represent a kind of guided dreaming,” says Kabrich. “2001 came at a very important period of time – America was working on going to the moon, and the film made space exploration seem imminent. Kubrick, Clarke and Lange didn’t put it so far out into the future that we couldn’t feel it. It’s pretty remarkable to look at Lange’s work from 50 years ago and see that so much of what he predicted is now part of our everyday life.”

The first edition of the book, “The 2001 File: Harry Lange and the Design of the Landmark Science Fiction Film”, sold out in less than three months to stellar reviews.

San Francisco Art Exchange is the sole gallery authorized to sell The 2001 File. Founded in 1983 by Theron Kabrich and Jim Hartley, San Francisco Art Exchange LLC (AE) has represented historic pop culture artworks created by over 200 of the world’s most accomplished and significant artists and photographers. Recognized as market pioneers and premier purveyors of original pop iconography, SFAE has held over 100 major curated exhibitions highlighting music, film, cultural movements, historic figures and social issues.

SFAE has sold original artwork of iconic album covers by the Beatles, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, among many others. The gallery has also concluded landmark sales of rare photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Martin Luther King, Jr., Johnny Cash and Muhammad Ali, just to name a few. In addition, SFAE has represented treasured music and movie-related artifacts from private and celebrity archives such as the Playboy Collection and the Brown Derby Collection, among others. 

At its downtown San Francisco gallery, SFAE has hosted live events by everyone from music superstars Brian Wilson and Graham Nash to civil rights legend Clarence Jones and Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm. The gallery’s most recent project was the sale of a rare portfolio of photographs of President John F. Kennedy celebrating the centennial of his birth in cooperation with the Kennedy Foundation, with a percentage of the proceeds benefitting the foundation.

For sales and inquiries, please contact San Francisco Art Exchange sales@sfae.com or call 415-441-8840.

For more information:

http://www.sfae.com/

Media Contact:
Michael Jensen and Erin Cook

Jensen Communications

626-585-9575

erin@jensencom.com

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Announce The Release Of 'CSNY 1974', The Long Awaited Boxed Set With 40 Live Tracks, All Previously Unreleased, From Their Historic 1974 Summer Tour 40 Years Ago. Several Versions Will Be Available July 7/8 From CSNY & Rhino, Including Previously Unreleased Concert Footage, And A Limited Edition Set Presented In A Custom Wood Box.

http://www.csny.com/ 

Photo Credit: Joel Bernstein

Versatile guitarist Guthrie Trapp taps Vince Gill to lead all-star lineup on new album

NASHVILLE — Nashville-based touring guitar player and in-demand studio cat Guthrie Trapp will roll-out Life After Dark, his star-studded second album, in early 2018.

Trapp brought together heavy-hitters from blues (Jimmy Hall), soul (McCrary Sisters), jazz (Jeff Coffin), and bluegrass (Sam Bush), along with some country-music royalty (Vince Gill, Paul Franklin) to perform on his high-energy new record, Life After Dark.

“I’m super fortunate to be able to make music with people of this caliber and even more grateful to call them my friends. I know it will always be a fun hang as well as great music,” Trapp says. “That energy translates directly to the music. If you put on ‘Mojo Workin’ while in the car, you’re probably going to start driving faster.”

Country Music Hall of Famer and winner of 21 Grammy awards Vince Gill lent his soprano sweetness to Trapp’s Tele-driven version of George Jones’ “You’re Still on My Mind.” While legendary vocalist Jimmy Hall joins Trapp on the blues classic “Got My Mojo Workin,” one of six cover tunes on the 12-song album.

“I play by feel and by ear and I believe the music on Life After Dark reflects that. My playing has always been shoot from the hip and cliffhanging,” the acclaimed guitarist says. “Music is meant to be taken extremely seriously without being overthought — I think good music has a life to it that you can feel and be truly moved by. We’ve recorded an album that sounds spontaneous because we recorded it in the studio like a live performance — everybody was in there playing all at once.”

Life After Dark also features six original songs, including “Commodity,” an instrumental jam piece that showcases why Trapp is called to play guitar on A-list studio sessions.

Other notable performers on Life After Dark include Stuart Duncan, Bekka Bramlett and Danny Flowers. Trapp even brought in his friend and country chart-topper Charlie Worsham to sing on the Don Gibson classic, “Oh Lonesome Me,” an update that offers toe-tapping zydeco influence.

“I cut this record at my favorite studio, Nashville’s Sound Emporium A — Cowboy Jack Clement’s old studio,” Trapp says. “Man, those sessions were such a blast and special to me. I feel like it really shows on this record.”

Trapp earned his Music City stripes in his early 20s performing guitar nightly at Robert’s Western World on Nashville’s neon-lined Lower Broadway. Robert’s, a legendary honky tonk located in the shadow of the Ryman Auditorium, has for years served as a launching pad for the careers of singers and musicians alike.

“Don Kelley hired me to join the band at Roberts,” Trapp says, referring to the famed bandleader regarded as the godfather of the Broadway honky tonks. “Playing guitar in that legendary place is a gunslinger position. As soon as Don hires you, you become Billy the Kid on the streets of Nashville. That was an honor.”

Over the four years Trapp played with Kelley, he simultaneously toured with country artist Patty Loveless. Trapp played on three of her albums including Mountain Soul II, which won a Grammy award for Best Bluegrass Album in 2011.

Since arriving in Nashville in 2002, Trapp has worked with top artists from myriad genres that Nashville has grown to comprise, including country music’s Garth Brooks and George Jones, pop-turned-Americana artist John Oates, blues’ Delbert McClinton, R&B’s Steve Cropper, bluegrass’ Alison Krauss and Earl Scruggs, Mike Gordon and JoJo Hermann from Phish and Widespread Panic, respectively, and dobro master Jerry Douglas, who he toured and recorded with for seven years, to name just a few. Trapp feels Life After Dark pays homage to his many influences up to this point in his life.

Jim Marshall has been called the most celebrated and prolific photographer of the 20th century and is widely known for his iconic music photography. In death, Jim holds the distinction of being the first and only photographer to be presented with the Recording Academy's TRUSTEE AWARD, an honorary GRAMMY presented to individuals for nonperformance contributions to the music industry. The award was bestowed on the Jim Marshall estate in 2014 in recognition of Jim's unprecedented chronicling of music history from the 1950s through the early 2000s.

Jim willed his entire estate of more than one million black-and-white and color negatives—which he referred to as his “children”—to his trusted, longtime assistant Amelia Davis. In her own right, Davis is an accomplished and award-winning photographer. She has published three photographic books of her own work and has been included in numerous gallery and juried exhibitions.

Jim Marshall Photography LLC was established with the primary goal to preserve and protect Marshall’s extraordinary legacy as a discerning photojournalist and a pioneer of rock-and-roll photography. The estate is continuing the legacy of Jim Marshall through sales and licensing, exhibitions, publishing and the development of a comprehensive catalog as a reference for the totality of his life's work. The estate is also developing partnerships with a select number of brands to extend the tail of Jim’s work and iconic images for generations to come.

www.jimmarshallphotographyllc.com

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John Batdorf Channels Paul McCartney in New Solo Album ‘Next Stop, Willoughby’ 

Batdorf’s smash hit "Wham Bam Shang-A-Lang,” with band Silver is featured in Guardians of the Galaxy II

Portland, OR, June 6: John Batdorf, the legendary singer-songwriter solo artist and one half of Las Vegas Rock and Roll Hall of Famers folk-rock duo Batdorf & Rodney, has released a brand new album Next Stop, Willoughby, a collection of ten original songs all written, produced, arranged, mixed, sung, and performed entirely by John. He will be touring this summer with select dates across the U.S.

Batdorf recorded Next Stop, Willoughby in his Central Oregon-based home studio over the course of the last six months. The project was inspired by Paul McCartney’s first one-man-band solo record in 1970. “Normally I recruit other musicians/singers to be a part of the album but this time I decided to do it all myself. I loved Paul McCartney's first solo record in 1970 where he pretty much did the same. So as I approach age 65, I figured now was the time.”

In his four-decade career, Batdorf has worked with many of the cornerstone figures of the music business as an artist, including Ahmet Ertegun, David

Geffen, Clive Davis, Adele, Rod Stewart, Donna Summer, Dwight Yoakum, David Lee Roth, and Mötley Crüe; garnered cult status as a classic folk-rock singer-songwriter of the bands Batdorf & Rodney and Silver; and reinvented himself as a successful film and TV composer, session vocalist, and inspirational musician in the substance recovery community. 

In the last decade, he has returned to being an artist: reinvigorated not only by revisiting his canon classics, but by writing fresh, broadly resonate music on par with his beloved back catalog.

“Music is just what I do, I don’t know anything else,” he says with a good-natured laugh. “There have been so many powerful moments for me. I remember one time performing my contemporary song ‘All for You’ which is about a soldier who in battle realizes he couldn’t win and just asks that his country remembers him. After that show, an older couple hung around to say hello. Their son had died in December of 1970, in Laos during the Vietnam War, and they wanted me to have his government issued commemorative bracelet. That moment reminded me: I’m never done with music because you never know who needs to hear the next song you’re going to write.”

John’s breakthrough moment came as a part of the folk-rock duo, Batdorf & Rodney, alongside acoustic guitar whiz and harmony partner Mark Rodney. John was the pair’s primary songwriter and singer, and his balmy musicality and tenderly uplifting lyrics fit right in alongside 1970s Laurel Canyon scene artists such as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Jackson Brown, the Eagles, and Joni Mitchell. Batdorf & Rodney had the distinction of being recorded by visionaries such as Ahmet Ertegun, David Geffen, and Clive Davis. The twosome played Carnegie Hall and toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Canada, sharing the stages with such esteemed artists as America, Seals and Crofts, Dan Fogelberg, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Fleetwood Mac, The Doobie Brothers, Bread, The Youngbloods, Hall and Oats, Cheech and Chong, John Prine, Dave Mason, Kris Kristofferson, and many others. In its four year run, Batdorf & Rodney released three albums. The group’s debut, Off The Shelf (Atlantic), was released when Batdorf was barely 19 years old.

In late 1975, Batdorf & Rodney broke up and John formed the band Silver, composed of Brent Mydland (later a member of the Grateful Dead), Harry Stinson, Tom Leadon and Greg Collier. The band released one album on Arista Records which included the smash hit "Wham Bam Shang-A-Lang,” which this summer, after some 40 years, has been enjoying a renaissance as part of the 70s mixtape in the new movie and soundtrack, Guardians Of The Galaxy ll.

In the realm of film and TV incidental music, he’s lent his voice and compositional skills to beloved shows such as Tom and Jerry Kids, Garfield and Friends, Touched By An Angel, Promised Land, and Doctor, Doctor, and Book of Days. In 2013, he joined Adele’s select group of backup singers to perform her smash “Let The Sky Fall” at the Oscars.

In recent years, John has been prolific as an artist, reconvening Batdorf & Rodney for a pair of releases; releasing an epiphanic album of acoustic Rolling Stones music with James Lee Stanley titled All Wood and Stones; and releasing six solo albums of new music since 2004 on his own imprint, BATMAC MUSIC. One powerful entry in John’s modern era work is his four releases with legendary Utah-based singer, composer, and filmmaker, Michael McLean. The two first started working together in 1991, and officially formed Batdorf & McLean in 1997. The duo launched a unique substance abuse survival platform, and released the CD Soundtrax2Recovery. Batdorf & McLean have crafted an empowering body of music to inspire and enlighten individuals making the profound journey back from dependency. Their appearances combine heartfelt real life storytelling sprinkled in between their impactful catalog of tunes.

Through his many successful reinventions and working with the industry’s finest within each context, John surveys his legacy: “My whole life I’ve strived to do the best I possibly could and help people along the way with the talent I was blessed to be born with. That's all we can really ever ask of ourselves.”

Summer Tour Dates:

Sat Jun 24     Sparks House Concerts                  Medford, OR

Sat Jul 22      Words and Music Series                 Vaughn, WA

Fri Sep 22      Traditions Café                                 Olympia, WA

Sat Sep 23    Peninsula Arts Center                     Long Beach, WA

Sat Sep 30    Parrot Delaney Tavern                     New Hartford, CT

Sun Oct 1      Orangeburg Library                         Orangeburg, NY

Fri Oct 6         Our House Concert Series             Manhattan, KS

Sat Oct 7       Wildwood Springs Lodge               Steelville, MO

Mon Oct 16   COD                                                   Yakima, WA

Sat Oct 21     Living Tradition                                Anaheim, CA

www.johnbatdorfmusic.com

www.2recovery.org

Media contact:

Michael Jensen, Erin Cook and Nichole Peters

Jensen Communications

626-585-9575

erin@jensencom.com

nichole@jensencom.com

After winning a GRAMMY for his soulful ballad “Walking in Memphis,” Marc Cohn solidified his place as one of this generation’s most compelling singer/songwriters, combining the precision of a brilliant tunesmith with the passion of a great soul man. He’s a natural storyteller, balancing the exuberant with the poignant, and able to distill universal truth out of his often romantic, drawn-from-life tales.

Cohn followed up his platinum-selling debut with two more releases in the 1990s, at which point TIME magazine called him "one of the honest, emotional voices we need in this decade" and Bonnie Raitt declared, "Marc is one of the most soulful, talented artists I know. I love his songs, he's an incredible singer, and I marvel at his ability to mesmerize every audience he plays for."

Raitt, James Taylor, David Crosby, Graham Nash and Patty Griffin all made guest appearances on Cohn’s early records for Atlanta, as his reputation as an artist and performer continued to grow. In 1998, Cohn took a decade-long sabbatical from recording, ending in 2007 with Join the Parade. Inspired by the horrific events following Hurricane Katrina and his own near fatal shooting just weeks before, Parade is his most moving and critically acclaimed record to date. 

On March 25, 2016, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of his platinum-selling debut album, Marc proudly released Careful What you Dream: Lost Songs and Rarities and the bonus album, Evolution of a Record, featuring never-before-heard songs and demos dating back to years before his debut album and the Grammy Award that followed. 

www.marccohnmusic.com

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Singer-songwriter Marty Balin is the founding member of Jefferson Airplane, hit song maker of Jefferson Starship, gold status solo artist, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame icon.

Balin’s distinctive voice, style and memorable songs include Billboard top chart hits; Miracles, Hearts, Atlanta Lady, Count On Me, Runaway, and album, radio, film and television soundtrack classics, Comin’ Back to Me, Today, and Volunteers.
 

A variety of Marty's musical styles are represented in his concert performances; From his classic hits with Jefferson Airplane & Jefferson Starship to new songs from recent albums and current studio sessions.
 

MyBillOfRights.org's mission is to promote an enduring awareness of and respect for the freedoms and the principles guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, through the installation of Bill of Rights monuments and permanent displays in civic spaces across America.

http://www.mybillofrights.org

Historic Landmark Collection Celebrating 100 Years of African-American Cinema Goes On Sale

Multi-Million Dollar Museum Quality Archive of Extraordinary Scope Includes 35,000 Vintage Film Posters and Related Material

San Francisco, CA, May 25, 2017: San Francisco Art Exchange LLC (SFAE) is pleased and proud to announce that it has been selected to exclusively represent the sale of the Separate Cinema Archive: a comprehensive collection of such singular unprecedented importance that there is no other remotely like it in world.  The archive is comprised of 35,000 items, including rare vintage posters, lobby cards and photographs originating from 30 countries, that chronicles the historic and often turbulent story of African-American cinema, from the beginning of the silent era right on through to the present day.

Beginning with the gift of a single movie poster in 1972, archive founder John Kisch, a renowned photographer and author, made it his mission to weave the narrative of the African-American film industry – black actors, writers and directors – and over the next four decades he amassed a collection that is a true one of a kind, representing the single largest archive of black-related movie posters and photos anywhere in the world.

The Separate Cinema Archive is a rich tableaux, epic in scale, one that holds significant importance not only in cinema history, but also for social, political and cultural historians as it tells both the story of the black filmmaking industry of the 20th Century as well as that of the global black experience. Each poster and photograph brings forth a new chapter in the struggle for equality, and with every movie depicted iconic heroes emerge – writers, directors, actors and characters who fought against stereotyping and marginalization from both Hollywood and society as a whole.

“History relies on evidence, and the Separate Cinema Archive provides that,” says Theron Kabrich, who along with Jim Hartley founded and serves as director of the SFAE. “This collection pays respect to the contributions of the filmmakers and artists who literally changed history through their work.”

One of the first films represented in the Separate Cinema Archive is D.W. Griffith’s 1915 three-hour drama The Birth of a Nation. Although revolutionary for its time for its editing and camera techniques, the picture outraged many (including the NAACP) for its glorification of the Ku Klux Klan and its negative depiction of blacks. Widespread protests against the picture failed to result in a ban, but what emerged was the first generation of black independent filmmakers who would seize the moment to tell the full humanity of African Americans.

Starting just 50 years after the Civil War, there were visionaries like Noble Johnson, who with middle-class melodramas like The Realization of a Negro’s Ambition for his own Lincoln Motion Picture Company launched the “race film” business, along with Oscar Michaeux (“the first black film auteur”), who wrote, produced and directed dozens of pictures, including 1931’s The Exile, the first all-black-cast independently produced talkie.

Other indelible figures advance the story: Josephine Baker, Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horn, and Hattie McDaniel, who became the first African-American to win an Academy Award (Best Supporting Actress for Gone With the Wind). And, of course, there’s Sidney Poitier, whose significance cannot be overstated. Becoming the first African-American to win Best Actor (for 1963’s Lilies of the Field), his unprecedented string of 1960s civil rights-themed box-office smashes – along with his own behind-the-scenes work for equality – opened the floodgates for enterprising and ambitious black filmmakers like Melvin Van Peebles (Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song) and Gordon Parks (Shaft), who ushered in the enormously popular – and controversial – era of blaxploitation.

There are music films (Wattstax, The Harder They Come) and comedies (Blazing Saddles, Uptown Saturday Night), dramas (Sounder, Nothing But a Man) and documentaries (Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee), and starting in the ‘80s the evolution gains serious speed with groundbreaking works of directors such as Gordon Parks Jr., Charles Burnett, Darnell Martin, Michael Schultz, Spike Lee, John Singleton, Antoine Fuqua, Kasi Lemmons, F. Gary Gray, the Hughes Brothers, Ava DuVernay and Steve McQueen. And with them came bankable black stars – Denzel Washington, Eddie Murphy, Halle Barry, Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg – whose box-office receipts rivaled that of their white counterparts. The recent Oscar wins for films like 12 Years a Slave and Moonlight stand as living repudiations of D.W. Griffith’s shameful plantation fantasy.

“It’s important to note that the greatest stories in American history take place in a country that was built on slavery and involuntary servitude,” says Kabrich. “A lot of people, certainly in Hollywood, made a lot of money based on the back of that history. You see that in rich detail throughout the narrative of this collection in that it pays homage to a significant part of the population that was involved with entertainment and storytelling. And that part of the population was either marginalized or forgotten completely, ridiculously.”

Adds Hartley: “I had two reactions when I first saw the collection. The first was how significant it is and the gravity that it represents. It was so beautiful in ways I hadn’t imagined. And the other thought was how grateful and honored Theron and I feel to be able to be the fiduciary custodians of it for a brief time. We want to make sure that it receives its rightful home and that people are able to witness it in the appropriate manner.”

Parts of the archive have been featured as traveling exhibits at film festivals, corporate galleries, and art institutions, but for the first time the archive is available for sale as a complete property.

The book “Separate Cinema: The First 100 Years of Black Poster Art” poignantly illustrates the collection. Published by Reel Art Press, the volume was released in 2014 to stellar reviews.

San Francisco Art Exchange is the sole gallery authorized to sell the Separate Cinema Archive. Founded in 1983 by Theron Kabrich and Jim Hartley, San Francisco Art Exchange LLC (SFAE) has represented historic pop culture artworks created by over 200 of the world’s most accomplished and significant artists and photographers. Recognized as market pioneers and premier purveyors of original pop iconography, SFAE has held over 100 major curated exhibitions highlighting music, film, cultural movements, historic figures and social issues.

SFAE has sold original artwork of iconic album covers by the Beatles, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, among many others. The gallery has also concluded landmark sales of rare photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Martin Luther King, Jr., Johnny Cash and Muhammad Ali, just to name a few. In addition, SFAE has represented treasured music and movie-related artifacts from private and celebrity archives such as the Playboy Collection and the Brown Derby Collection, among others. 

At its downtown San Francisco gallery, SFAE has hosted live events by everyone from music superstars Brian Wilson and Graham Nash to civil rights legend Clarence Jones and Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm. The gallery’s most recent project was the sale of a rare portfolio of photographs of President John F. Kennedy celebrating the centennial of his birth in cooperation with the Kennedy Foundation, with a percentage of the proceeds benefitting the foundation.

For sales and inquiries, please contact San Francisco Art Exchange sales@sfae.com or call 415-441-8840.

For more information:

http://www.sfae.com/

Media Contact:

Michael Jensen and Erin Cook

Jensen Communications

626-585-9575

erin@jensencom.com