Michael Des Barres: The Problem With Rock Bios? It's the Myth That Matters
October, 03, 2012 3:10 pm | Comments On #musicThe proliferation of rock idols confessing their sins and extolling the virtues of redemption, sharing near-death experiences, multiple OD's, addictions, escapades and inevitable sobriety and compassionate efforts with rescue animals, rain forests and baby seals has created a familiar milieu.
There is a definitive trajectory found on the shelves of book stores under "Rock Bios," in between "Rock Climbing" and "Raising Awkward Children."
Mythological and eternal stardom is based on secrets. The great stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood were created and fabricated by a former shoe salesman who now ran a star factory, their personas crafted to appeal to a naive and eager audience desperate for a royal family, a touchstone of glamorous,allegiance.someone to emulate,inhabit and become.
But most of all, it was someone to pay to go see...
Read MoreMichael Des Barres: The Blues Aren't Really Dead - They're Alive in Hip-Hop
September, 30, 2012 12:26 pm | Comments On #musicHowlin' Wolf wears a baseball cap now. Muddy Waters are the subject of a rabid environmentalist's grievous concern. Son House is a tanning booth in a San Fernando Valley mall. John Lee Hooker is now John Lee escort.
I could go on, you know I could, but you get the picture. The blues is essentially dead, but not really. It hangs on in the garages of baby boomers dreaming of Eric Clapton's slow hand, while seeking respite from an untidy world and an irksome domesticity.
Aficionados, obsessive collectors and graying bluesologists have all the blue vinyl they need. No new fix, it seems, to appease their addiction. They have downloaded the endless configurations of blues classics. They have been to the digital crossroads a 1,000 times. They are now indeed blue in the face.
I consider hip-hop the new blues. News from the streets. Emotional journalism. Still...
Read MoreMichael Des Barres: I'm Not the Only One Ready for the Second Coming of Led Zeppelin
September, 25, 2012 9:31 am | Comments On #Led Zeppelin, Michael Des Barres, musicI looked out at the smiling, fun-filled faces at the Coachella festival -- the dry-cleaned, sun-kissed version of the Woodstock mud-covered congregation -- and I noticed something very culturally critical in the rock ’n’ roll universe.
Out of the tens of thousands of fervid fans in their Kings of Leon/Vampire Weekend outfits, 8,923 of them were wearing Led Zeppelin T-shirts.
Sporting de rigeur facial hair and ironic shades, they had the world's most revered, magic band emblazoned on their chests.
Now, why would a 22-year-old AT&T technician who loves Skrillex or a teenage supermodel with three separate backstage passes who longs for John Mayer's gentle touch, be wearing...
Read MoreMichael Des Barres: Following the Dream of Rock Stardom Is Like Joining an Army Perpetually at War
September, 20, 2012 3:39 pm | Comments On #Michael Des Barres, musicAs middle age circumnavigates the midriff of yesterday's riff masters, I began to look into the untimely demise of our former heroes and heroines of rock and roll. Some deified, some forgotten.
"It's better to burn out than fade away," said Neil Young.
"I hope I die before I get old," wrote Pete Townshend. Well, not all his dreams came true. Thank God.
However, we do not mourn for everyone of the rock ‘n’ roll community who prematurely met their maker, then becoming label-mates of the heavenly record company in the sky. (The only one left, for the record)
All those bass players, keyboard players, drummers, guitar players,...
Read MoreMichael Des Barres: 50 Years of Jack Flashers, Midnight Ramblers, Devil Sympathizers
September, 18, 2012 9:28 am | Comments On #musicI remember the day that I realized Mick Jagger was older than the President of the United States, Bill Clinton. I marveled at this compact, Dionysian figure of lean, confident sexuality who without question was still the world's greatest rock ‘n’ roll frontman.
It was the night I saw 100 Keith Richardses at the Viper Room on Sunset Boulevard, wearing their girlfriends’ mascara on their Oxycontin eyes -- bandanas self-consciously buried in jet-black bangs, shuffling en masse to the bar in vintage high-heeled boots, squeezed into the tightest trousers ever made while nonchalantly knocking back another shot of Jack Daniels with skull rings flashing a beacon for all to see.
...
Read MoreRock 'n' Roll Isn't Dead, It Just Needs to Get Real
September, 10, 2012 11:42 am | Comments On #Elvis Presley, jethro tull, Kardashian, music, Robert JohnsonRock 'n' roll is not an energy drink. It is not a charismatic politician or an ice road trucker or an alligator killer or a Kardashian. It is not a car salesman or a carpenter from Nazareth.
So, what is it? What was Dave Grohl talking about at the Grammy’s last year as he tried to make sense of the “ROCK” categories? If you’re old enough, you’ll remember the groans of dismay at Jethro Tull’s win in the hard rock/metal performance category.
Jethro Tull?
Thus began a slide into the dinosaur abyss. A three-chord graveyard that suffered from an electric power outage from which we are yet to recover.
What is rock 'n' roll? Is it Lil Wayne or Little Richard? Justin Bieber or Muddy Waters? Led Zeppelin or Good Charlotte? Katy Perry or Chrissie Hynde?
The answer lies within the ears, souls and hips of the...
Read MoreSex, Drugs and Chick-Fil-A
August, 01, 2012 10:24 am | Comments On #music
The music business is dead, and like a phoenix from the ashes, passion-filled music is very much alive
It took me three months to get a drum sound in 1977. Those heady days of rock ‘n’ roll excess, when music was in the hands of rock stars with vast fortunes and very tight trousers.
I was on the mighty Led Zeppelin’s label Swan Song. My band was Detective, and we recorded our first album at the legendary Record Plant in Los Angeles -- as famous for its hot tubs and Jacuzzis, its private rooms and tales of depravity, as much as its magnificent roster of rockers. All at thousands of dollars per hour.
In those ravaged rooms of Babylon, occupied by cocaine-filled delirium where Brian Wilson sat in a sandbox and the Stones rambled way past midnight has been replaced by a Starbucks and God forbid, a Chick-Fil-A.
Making an album in...
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Description
Michael Des Barres is no stranger to a Fender Telecaster, or a Hollywood soundstage. Born in England, Des Barres is probably most famous in the annals of rock history as frontman for bands like Detective, Silverhead and Power Station. Today he may be known best to this generation as Murdoc, the sinister assassin of MacGyver fame. Returning to rock ‘n' roll seemed to be a natural, and successful, progression from playing the heavy to delivering heavy, hard-hitting music again. His latest album, "Carnaby Street," is a collection of unabashed, hip-shakin’, bluesy rock ‘n' roll, available from Amazon, iTunes, and his label, Gonzo Multimedia.
