Gary Allegretto : Blow the Roof off the Sucka!

A Friday night is always a good reason to get out and hear some blues. Whether it's been a good week or a bad, a long week or a short one - the blues provides relief from all of the above. And you can't go hear blues on a Friday night at The House Of Blues or somewhere else in Hollywood... it's just not the same as hearing it in an a cool old bar like Harvelle's, where the lights are low and the beverages are heavy.

Tonight's blues explosion was courtesy of harmonica powerhouse Gary Allegretto. Gary's the big bad wolf of harmonica blues. Huffing, puffing, snarling, smirking, Gary's harp playing is as mind bending as it is note bending. Gary can play any kind of blues - slow, fast, Southern, Chicago, boogie-woogie, old, new - whatever. He's one of a kind and one of the best!!


Gary Allegretto is also the founder of Harmonikids - a non-profit dedicated to providing harmonicas to special needs children. Their involvement in Katrina and more recently Haiti is all documented on their website [Harmonikids website].

Vintage Trouble : Ty Taylor's Birthday Party

Looooooooook What The Wind Just Blew In.........

It was a celebration of Ty Taylor's birthday.

The TroubleMakers turned out in big numbers preparing to dance and drink and have a good time. "Good times" was the night's theme and we all rocked out til we were sweaty and the band ran out of encores.

The year is starting out big for Vintage Trouble with the announcement that Doc McGhee will be managing their career's direction; first stop - the UK.

Opening the night was blues-singer/r&b diva Gedina (pictured at the bottom of this post).

We'll do it again next Tuesday! See you then.

Thanks always to Vintage Trouble - Ty, Nalle, Rick, Richard and Charlie!

Shout-out to The Troublemakers!!

Vintage Trouble : It's Ty Taylor's Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Ty Taylor!!

Keep doing whatever it is you're doing!!

It's workin' for ya!!

Ty Taylor is the lead singer and front man for Vintage Trouble, who play at Harvelle's every Tuesday night. Their CD "The Bomb Shelter Sessions" is available now!! (check it out on iTunes or Amazon)

House Of Vibe : New Year's Rockin' Night

It's the new decade...

The first of the year...

The year of the rabbit...

The season of the witch...

The Lord of the Rings...

The Call Of The Wild...

The Naked Soul Of Iceberg Slim and

The House Of Vibe.

Brew sings and plays keys.

It's a Saturday night.

and I'm at a special session of The House Of Vibe All Stars.

I'm tired.

Here's the pix:

Shaunte Palmer is my favorite trombonist!!

T-Smidi on vocals, Kris on guitar, Shaunte on vocals

Sebastian on trumpet

Fish on drums, Colin on bass, Kris on guitar

Shaunte is also a flutist (flautist?)

Greg Raymond

Greg on the keys - Kris on guitar

Cheers to Brew, Deploi, Jon Swift, Shaunte Palmer, Sebastian, Dan, Colin, Corey, Fish, Kris, Greg, Amy Lou, Chali 2Na, LaidLaw, T-Smidi, Ijeoma, FreeWill, Tony Tarasco and Alfredo Rivera.

Harvelle's : Ultimate New Year's Eve Spot

Ringing in the new year at Harvelle's seemed like the right way to start off 2011. The music, the people, the patrons, the staff - everyone is there for a good drama-free time. And that's what they deliver. Yes, there's party favors and a champagne toast at midnight, but you can get that anywhere. What makes Harvelle's special is the live music.

This year Guitar Shorty, Jimmy Z (sax, harmonica, vocals), Kirk Fletcher (guitar/vocals) and Jeff Young (keys and vocals) formed a sort of blues supergroup with power to spare. They rocked the crowd until way past midnight with the crowd still cheering for one more song!

Well now, we've all got another 365 days ahead to make some changes, change some vices and maybe pick up a few new ones.

You never can tell.

Happy new year to all the readers of this blog.

Vintage Trouble : The Tale of Countre Black

Tonight's story is a good one.

In which the men of Vintage Trouble rock the party all night long - the room virtually filled with beautiful women (and a few dudes) - having nothin' but fun on a Tuesday night. This story includes a beautiful princess known by the name Countre Black - a rapper and singer who's been round these parts before - who added a fierce feminine tilt to the night. It's a fable! No! - a fairy tale! No! - a videogame... collect some cool coins and get your ass up to the club, that on Tuesday's becomes the Westside's best kept and most rockin' secret.

Vintage Trouble is the next great American rock band! Their first album "The Bomb Shelter Sessions" is available on iTunes and Amazon. Every Tuesday night they play at Harvelle's. See them in this intimate venue now!

The Toledo Show : Shamari's Having A Par-tay!!

The annual birthday celebration of Shamari of The Toledo Show took place this past Sunday. The revved up atmosphere was like an Xmas explosion. Tinsel and presents everywhere! There was rumors of Shamari descending from the ceiling - which were exaggerations - although she did have at least 3 clothing changes through out the night. Happy Birthday Shamari! Enjoy your next trip around the sun!

Shamari - seen here beaming in the rapture of a Spoonie bass solo.

The night was all about Shamari and her prescence ...errr presents.

That's Mindy. One of The Toledo Show Dames.

Shamari raises the roof!

Walter Davis on the saxophone.

Walter Davis is incomparable. That has been proven by Toledo Diamond. This post about The Toledo Show features no photos or mentions of Toledo himself. That doesn't seem right. It's The TOLEDO Show. He's Toledo. My apologies to Toledo.