At the beginning of this summer, this sign and building were coming down for redevelopment. Not an impressive sign, Even though rusted and neglected, it worked its whole lifetime. Nothing as vertical will be allowed and the new sign most likely will be a low profile corner piece. Probably less impressive.
loyalty beyond the call. The The Venture Brothers' professional bodyguard protects his chosen patrons, barely bothered by their idiotacy. So a world of Brock's, the equivalent of millions of the bestest big brothers who has and uses a license to kill. The just completed second season was a sensitive left turn.
This concert became a little adventure. The promoters were trying to mimic the El Dorado Natural Amplitheater celebrations that Bogus Slogan put on every few years in the barrens of Nevada. Only Bogus Slogan brings and pays for a small town to be set up to assist the concert goers. But in Poughkeepsie, the band arrived 18 hours into the event and nobody had any clothes on. Sure there was a lot of personal communication going on, but most were into the music.
Both the Men of Hearts and The Butter Flys, were "mTn Storm" bands. Band members would step in and out, but the sound would always be there. Songs did end and start, but their lengths could be in the hours. Any style, any combination could be played. We assumed Bogus Slogan's concert was meant to be a bathroom break. Instead, members of both "support" bands stepped in and out of the Bogus Slogan's songs
The boys in the band caught on pretty quick - started sharing - and a normal 3 hour concert became 15, before someone realized that Bogus Slogan should finish up and get to the next gig.
Continuing in the "Complete Waste of Fame" watercolor system, Unbalance Mess deconstructs a flight of fancy. Color bleeds, blur a mechanical background that tries to drive through a top coat overlay.
Airy elements hint at feathers, in motion and at rest. A dramatic centerpoint spins out a sputtering ribbon of speed.
There she is. Looky there..across the room; down the bar; dancing at the rave... Unabashed. Willing to take chances. Confident, self-possessed. Round happy curves.
However; that girl is no match for Doctor Girlfriend. No one has hair that black - knows unrestrained evil and can wear, convincingly, a bow-tie bra. And with her monotone basso profundo voice, she can reject your ego without direct comment. Maybe it is better we look for a new squeeze at tonight's Bogus Slogan concert.
Doctor Girlfriend, from the The Venture Brothers, sets the stage for this Bogus Slogan Concert at the famous Green Hotel in Pasadena, California. Support group, The Swinging Rustys, were a Buckingham's tribute band who dressed like Dr. Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture (including bald head and thick framed glasses).
Everybody, Stand Clear!
Sunday in the Park in New York, always time for a Bogus Slogan concert. For a few years, the Bryant Park Summer Festival Co-Operative produced a summer full of concerts. Each day brought forth, from the wealth of local talent and, like Bogus Slogan, the occassional group on tour, an unlimited range of musical styles for those coming to or passing by Bryant Park. In order to get city permits, no amplifier could exceed 40 watts and no more than 4 speakers could be used for the public address system. Even with these limitations, the music got out to the People.
The vibrant background image of the poster, "Henchman," is from the Venture Brothers, an homage strange of "Johnny Quest." 1960's television in free fall.
Original Prints of the poster (125 print run) now sell at auction for about $840.00. Also available are approximately 600 "handbills." The Co-Operative left these in coffe shops, restuarants and cafes through out the city. Cheaper paper, cheaper price.
Painting portraits is a tricky business. How much of the subject's soul do you wish to show. Maybe it is best to hide and obscure. The viewer may be to good in their interpertation - too honest, too effective.
From the artistry of Jean-Michel Basquiat; a dog, a man, feet on fire. Just the impetus to get out of the house and into the Chester Randolph Memorial Stage for a Bogus Slogan concert.
This is one of the most popular Bogus Slogan Concert posters. Not only did you get a copy of Basquiat's great art, but since the venue was only in existence nominally for a week, Bogus Slogan never played the "CRMS" again. The Band rented a movie production stage in the old Playtime studios and recorded the first of many similar multi-media events. From which, concert CD, concert DVD, music videos, promotional commercials, etc., were created. In the space of 72 hours, 18 unique revenue streams were invented for the public. When the last production light was faded to black, the entire set was struck, and unique fixtures and props were auctioned off as Band souvenirs.
A small production run of 375, insured the poster's value. Three days after the concert, a popular web site (pre eBay) had an impromptu bidding war. This particular poster had all the Band members signatures from the show. Some super fan parted with $2,100. Here's hoping he or she still has it hanging, because in recent years, auctions of the Basquiat BS poster fetch about $2,650. Profits for all!
A great risk in music is listening to a vinyl record through headphones at high volume. One click, one pop and your faith in the human race is ruined. With iPods and Compact Discs, this unprotectable activity has been subduded. Hopefully, none of your MP3s are not from a flawed vinyl recording.
Those who are unhappy with the digital revolution should get out their 1974 Todd vinyl album. Slip on side two - track the last song "Everybody's Going to Heaven/King Kong Reggae" - turn up your headphones and wait for the fade. Rundgren sings about Cadillacs and Chevrolets and the big monkey. It is the longest, smoothest pre-automation fade I have heard. It is so good, you might get caught by the needle pick-up groove at record center.
Caraways - named after the narrator in The Great Gatsby, was the New York, Long Island, dream night club operation of Barney "East Frisco" Gierkes. Gierkes was hoping to combine his passions for 1850's Western Plains design and 1930's art deco trim. His choice for the color background of the wallpaper was a light red.
Located in the famed "village" of Riverhead, Gierkes believed his night club was destined for success. Opening night was well advertised through out the boroughs. When only fifteen people walked through the door ( six left immediately), he was not discouraged. He thought that the business would soon pick up. Two months later, boarded up, Caraways began its dark time.
Eight years later, Janet Whalely, bought the remains, kept all the fixtures, put sawdust on the floor, advertised steak dinners, and closed in eleven months.
Current owner, Blade Ting, came along a dozen years later - moved all the offices and storage into a new second floor, made the ground floor one large dancing area serviced by three bars, including the famous central "Circle Bar" with its spiral staircase - kept the Western Art Deco motif and began to make money. Capacity is 1350, which is sometimes inadvertently exceeded during Bogus Slogan concerts.
Bring your best music attitude. Bogus Slogan closes their run through America this September 17th. Come to Chrome Valley, California to spend the beginning of Fall without sleep. Hear songs from the Band's beginning days. Unreleased bootleg favorites. And all of the latest hits.
Opening acts Gooey Chunks (of Love); Inside Decay; Part Time Rain will play extended sets. Bogus Slogan is scheduled for the stage at 10pm. Last year, the closing number, "I'm Not Impressed," clocked out at 4:08am. So get your nap in. 
The El Dorado Amplitheater is an historic relic of the California gold rush. A natural earth formation, Bogus Slogan will bring in the infrastructure of a small town and uses the open air setting to say farewell to the tour.
Bring your own foods and drinks - On site food services will close at midnight. Bring blankets and warm clothing as temperatures will lower to the 40's.
Normally, Bogus Slogan uses the Vertex World Crime League as their concert promoters. The VWCL rarely seeks public recognition - in fact, the harder it is to find them, the better.
When the Crime League is unavailable, the Band is not adverse to using local promoters who are willing to use bonds and escrow accounts to verify the flow of monies. They'll be glad to trust you after proper compensation and all the bills have been paid. Bogus Slogan wants even the little guy who stands the concession in the bathroom to get his minimum wage.
Incomplete and Understated Productions of Laguna Beach, California were two surfers who thought Bogus Slogan were the best band in the world. They were determined to get them to play their home town. The Canon Amplitheatre is at the back of the city. No ocean view, rather, the smell of native California sagebrush is predominant. This was the city's first rock and roll concert since the late 60's and the whole town wanted the event held in a neighboring town.
But with art grants, bonds and maybe some compromising pictures, the boys got their concert, with one proviso - Acoustic only - A warm winter night, a thousand good friends, and the coyotes as backup singers.
Here's to our music heroes, Charlie Parker (Bird Lives), Eric Clapton (Clapton is God), Jimi Hendrix (Hendrix Forever), Duke Ellington (Nothing but the Duke)... They make the prettiest graffiti.
MixTapes.
Every proliferation needs a niche.
If you need a distraction for about 30 minutes - walking the dog, catching up on the cardio, taking a nap, escaping the disappointment of an inept socio-political world; then Linear Style is for you, Baby!
Music sharing at its best. Click on the Poster Image and enter DJ MumbleHand's pre-programmed world of Music. Nothin' but the hits. Hit after hit after hit. No time to reflect on your soul.
Hear music you might have missed.™
In the early 1990's, I spent a few months photographing the final train movements on the ATSF Pasadena Subdivision. The route was a secondary line from San Bernadino into Los Angeles. Because it ran at grade level through fully developed land, running the line became more and more difficult. Speeds through Highland Park were down to 20 mph. It is now an electric line for passenger light rail (Pacific Electric revisited).
One of my favorite locations was the N. Broadway bridge which overlooked the LA river rail bridge. When no trains were coming, I looked around for other interesting shots. The above photo is of the Southern Pacific "Bull Ring" rail yard. The rail yard was the first to serve the incoming railroads. In the background is downtown LA. The building with the spire, all by itself on the left, is City Hall. Some day this area will be filled in. An NFL stadium has been suggested.
Since everyone has a dream of being rich and famous and popular and desired and... well, insert everbody's want list here. If you can make it in New York or Los Angeles, you can... well, now you can make it from anywhere, but keeping it... well...
But where else can you find the Whiskey-a-Go-Go? Only in beloved Hollywood(land). The home of all dreams. Most people have to come here to begin. Bogus Slogan started from the motherland. All five members grew up in between the oil wells, orange groves and bean fields; listening to the white interpretations of black R&B, backtracking to the originals and then succumbing to the inevitable Beatles.
Yet Southern California had surf and sand. All year long, every year. Add cars and girls, maybe that's why Cali is the home of all dreams.
From the poster, take Vine Street North, to the Hollywood foothills, turn left on Sunset Boulevard, cruise about 2 miles, park and pay the admission fee - Bogus Slogan is playing two shows nightly, Thursday June 20 thru Saturday the 22nd. Get there early, don't miss the opening act, The Topless Vixens. Oh yeah...
Since humans are independent souls with free will, how can you deny the desire of men to dress in drag. And with the new found popularity of body art, no tattoo is out of place. Makeup and glitter - sure, why not.
Our two "ladies" are from a photograph by Justin Lundgren's Greetings from New Orleans web site. GfNO is a postcard project that showcases the vibrancy of the city of New Orleans and Mardi Gras. "Queen for a Day," brings us a 'Laurel and Hardy' pair who are delighted to be out and about in the latest Spring fashions.*
Bogus Slogan looks forward to playing the 'Big Easy.' Nearly every American tour of the Band includes a stop in the greater New Orleans area. The 2006 concert tour played a small club bar, Pale's Cosmopolitan, in the downtown district.
The Original Music Hall concert was a SRO BYOB bruiser. 750 people in a 475 space. No one got out alive.
*Is not that white fan with peacock feathers to die for?
Putting texture onto a two dimentional canvas means the surface needs to be prepared with the peaks and valleys of a neutral base coat. Layer one shows this result.
Layer two brings the first groupings of color. Soft blues recall a morning sky or possibly the gingham dress of a young child. Layer three refines the color alignments, raising the composition toward its last level.
As completed, Homemade Crumble uses red as a defining marker - Letting the viewer sense the floating nature of color over color.
I'll keep the analysis short, but... I am mesmerized by Ringo Starr's performance on the drums. In the verses, he plays a fast tempo "surf" beat, but the ride cymbal stickwork is a latin jazz overlay. Incredible. The choruses are a straight 4 beat, which gives the song a schizophrenic propulsion. The song's apex is after the stop time middle solo where Starr starts up the song with a percussive flam using the snare over the bass drum. More incredible.
As much as the Beatles were feeling fine, the Animals are disappointed that their women can not remain faithful. Here in two songs, are the opposites of life, and the diversity that recorded sound provide us. The Animals continue with nearly a dozen more popular hits, but musical differences break the band apart in 1967. Reforming the Animals with new members, Eric Burdon, embraces the Psychedelic sound of the late 60's.