The Toledo Show : In The L.A. Weekly!!

The LA Weekly came to The Toledo Show on Sunday night, and wrote this excellent review.

photo : Nick Faigin

[LA Weekly link]

Harlow Gold : Underground Burlesque in SM

Harlow Gold.

Full of hot chicks dancing to alternative music, the Harlow Gold show is a tribute to a simpler world, when men were brutish sweaty warriors and women were beautiful bouncy objects; teasing, touching, and tantalizing us broken boy soldiers, on some kind of mind-fuck hiatus, or more likely, clandestine awol meetings late at night not far from the water's edge. [Reservations are HIGHLY recommended : TICKETS]

House Of Vibe : A Great Day In Harvelles(after Art Kane)

One day in 1958 at 10 am, freelance photographer Art Kane shot a photo of 57 notable jazz musicians* in front of a brownstone on 126th Street, between Fifth and Madison Avenues in Harlem. Esquire published the photo in its January 1959 issue. There is a documentary about the taking of this photo - A Great Day In Harlem - which is well worth checking out.

Every Wednesday, The House Of Vibe All Stars, get together and throw down some of the funkiest, most vibrant music one can hear. It's a party, who's leader - Anthony Brewster - keeps it fresh and alive - a mid-week massive for all. On the wheels of steel, DJ Vicious Lee keeps it jumping all night long.

The gathering of this group, is no less significant. 

Come down and check it out. Every Wednesday at Harvelle's in Santa Monica.

*
Red Allen
Buster Bailey
Count Basie
Emmett Berry
Art Blakey
Lawrence Brown
Scoville Browne
Buck Clayton
Bill Crump[1]
Vic Dickenson
Roy Eldridge
Art Farmer
Bud Freeman
Dizzy Gillespie
Tyree Glenn
Benny Golson
Sonny Greer
Johnny Griffin
Gigi Gryce
Coleman Hawkins
J.C. Heard
Jay C. Higginbotham
Milt Hinton
Chubby Jackson
Hilton Jefferson
Osie Johnson
Hank Jones
Jo Jones
Jimmy Jones
Taft Jordan
Max Kaminsky
Gene Krupa
Eddie Locke
Marian McPartland
Charles Mingus
Miff Mole
Thelonious Monk
Gerry Mulligan
Oscar Pettiford
Rudy Powell
Luckey Roberts
Sonny Rollins
Jimmy Rushing
Pee Wee Russell
Sahib Shihab
Horace Silver
Zutty Singleton
Stuff Smith
Rex Stewart
Maxine Sullivan
Joe Thomas
Wilbur Ware
Dickie Wells
George Wettling
Ernie Wilkins
Mary Lou Williams
Lester Young

original photo
thanks Art Kane

Sista Monica in Santa Monica : Danger Zone

Bringing church to Harvelle's, Sista Monica Parker and her band had the whole joint testifyin'!! Coming from Gary Indiana, via Chicago, Sista Monica has been on the left coast for a spell now, bringing her gospel flavored blues to those lucky enough to hear it.

The incredible band kept it heavy and explosive all night, a powerhouse quintet equalling in musical force what Sista Monica does with her voice!

When Sista Monica says "Take Me Higher", you believe the rapture is imminent and only hope that she takes you with her on the journey!!

The band is Danny Sandoval - Tenor sax, Bill Vallaire - Guitar, AJ Joyce - Bass, Leon Joyce Jr - drums and Danny Beconcini - Keys

Sista Monica's latest CD 

"Living In The Danger Zone" 

is available now!

Amazon + 

CD Baby +

 Sista Monica Dot Com +

Cash'd Out : Men In Black

[Cash'd Out Website]

Cash'd Out is
Doug (v),
Kevin (g),
Ryan (b) and
George (d)

Doug is a really cool cat. He doesn't do an impression of Cash, he puts out a very realistic attitude similar in nature to the great American singer/songwriter. Doug told me that Cash wrote over 500 songs and probably more like 1000!

Here's the backstory:

In 1954 Johnny Cash met Luther Perkins and Marshall Grant in Memphis.

By 1955, The band presesented themselves as Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two with Grant on upright bass, and Perkins on electric guitar.

In 1960, drummer W.S. Holland joined the group, which was then renamed The Tennessee Three.*

Cut to 2012, Santa Monica, California - With a steady rockin', hard drinkin' crew of authentic guitar  pickers downing shots of whiskey and many bottles of beer, Cash'd Out kept the dance floor filled and the bartenders busy.

Kevin played an authentic vintage Fender Esquire - which is a beautiful thing - employing dazzling displays of peg twisting while soloing for that ultimate twang. The band even brought along their own "June Carter" who joined in on a handful of duets including "Jackson" which is my all-time faves, due in large part to it's opening line "We got married in a fever / Hotter than a pepper sprout".**
A simple yet genius metaphor.

 George on drums. Not camera shy.

Ryan, the upright dude mounting the double bass. 
Always a cool move.

Kevin picked out those beautiful minimalist solos just like Luther Perkins. The bassist - Ryan - played his upright beauty with steady aplomb. Tighter than a sea anemone when provoked by a jabbing ginger, George, the drummer and Ryan sync-ed up from start to finish.

The album The Real... Johnny Cash (Columbia)... a 3 cd set subtitled "The Ultimate Johnny Cash Collection", recently found it's way into my car stereo.  Love him or hate him, Johnny Cash is a national treasure and this collection makes it abundantly clear.

Special thanks to Mindy for getting me on the dance floor


*source : wikipedia.org
**as the story goes, in the early eighties, Scottish singer/songwriter Paddy Macaloon named his band Prefab Sprout, claiming he "misheard" this line. Paddy's a cheeky one, though so I don't believe it 100%.

The Toledo Show : Thirsty!!

Hungry for love, but thirsty for water - that was tonight's un-official theme, and evidently both Toledo and dancer Molly D'amour were parched as hell. Crystal Geyser is the official water of The Toledo Show and Harvelle's. Come have a bottle or a beer or one of the specialty cocktails.
____________________________________
The Toledo Show goes off every Sunday night for the last 10 years at Harvelle's in Santa Monica - 1432 4th St. between Broadway and Santa Monica Blvd. They also play at the Harvelle's in Long Beach every Thursday.

Harvelles Long Beach : Chumbuckets Are Go!!

Capt Jeffs' Musical Chumbuckets play every Sunday night at Harvelle's in downtown Long Beach. Their eclectic approach and bluegrass-y line-up allow for some fun; a good-time musical evening. Shrouded in Harvelle's speakeasy atmosphere, the club is below street level, just under a fine ale house called The Congregation and provides the right atmosphere for such a unique group.

The club itself [official website] is located at 201 E. Broadway, LB, CA 90802. Subscribe to our [Facebook page] and our [Twitter feed], and of course keep reading this blog!!

2012 will be a big year for Harvelle's!!