In recent weeks I’ve seen many artists on social media whining for the millionth time about how to sell their wares/songs/nubile posteriors up the music industry food chain in the guise of a record deal or publishing deal or both. It’s not unexpected given the recent wholesale destruction of the live music scene globally due to the pandemic. Artists are finally starting to look under the couch cushions or Mom’s purse for loose change as a means of survival.
Archive for The Monkees
LEARN TO WEAR THE SUIT by Jaimie Vernon
Posted in music, Opinion, Review with tags Arista, Beach Boys, Beatles, Beyonce, Bob Segarini, Bowie, Bro Country, BTS, Colonel Tom Parker, David Bowie, DBAWIS, Demi Lovato, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Elvis, Jackson 5, Jaimie Vernon, Lou Pearlman, Michael Buble, Osmonds, Paul Anka, Pink Adele, Rollermania, Selena Gomez, Shania, Tam Paton, The Bay City Rollers, The Guess Who, The Monkees, The Rubettes, The Shaggs, The Sweet, The Sylvers on October 26, 2020 by segariniCHICKEN ON A HOT PLATE by JAIMIE VERNON
Posted in music, Opinion, Review with tags #MeToo, Bob Segarini, Boy Bands, Brittany Sheets, Colonel Tom Parker, DBAWIS, Don Henley, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Elan Musk, Elvis Presley, George Michael, Grimes, J-Pop, Jaimie Vernon, K-Pop, Kesha, Mars Argo, music, P.T. Barnum, Poppy, Prince, Taylor Swift, The Bay City Rollers, The Monkees, Titanic Sinclair on February 24, 2020 by segarini
For as long as there have been people with talent to share, there have been people waiting impatiently to exploit it. P.T. Barnum was the first to realize that a) you could make people pay a nickel to see a woman who couldn’t afford a Lady Bic razor on her face and b) you could pay the woman herself a penny if she would just stop shaving her beard off. Barnum was shameless in using any perceived talent (sword swallowing, knife throwing, anvil lifting) or any physical infirmity to sell tickets. He became massively rich and his ‘performers’ became slaves to the grind. Some were smart enough to negotiate riches in partnership with Barnum, others were just glad to have a few square meals a week and a place to sleep every night. It beat the alternatives.
Gary Pig Gold – My Jimi Hendrix Experience
Posted in music, Opinion, Review with tags 1969, DBAWIS, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Electric Ladyland, Gary Pig Gold, Headquarters, Jimi Hendrix, music, radio, Records, Robert Segarini, The Monkees on May 13, 2019 by segarini
If I can just get my mind together, the first “real” concert I ever attended as a wee young Canucklehead was The Jimi Hendrix Experience at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens, May 3, 1969.
I’d already been a fervent fan for a couple of years, having spent most of my Grade 8 art class making swirly sketches of Jimi in charcoal. Plus the Are You Experienced album was right up there – almost – with Monkees Headquarters on my 1967 Most-Played List.
Roxanne Tellier – Mid August
Posted in Opinion, Review with tags Alpine Way, Alpino Lodge, Andre Perry, April Wine, Bob Segarini, bread and circuses, Burton Cummings, Cat Stevens, Charlottesville, Civil War Part Deux?, CNE, Confederacy, David Bowie, DBAWIS, fried chicken feet, GoFundMe, Gorilla Girl, Keith Richards, Le Studio, Lee Park, Louvre, Mid August, Morin Heights Montreal, Richard Baxter, Robert E. Lee Park, Roberta Flack, Roxanne Tellier, Rush, slavery, Sting, summer of love, The Bee Gees, The EX, The Monkees, The Police, The Ramones on August 21, 2017 by segarini
Mid August, and most days I feel like, this year, summer never really got started. Maybe it’s the weather, or the political climate, but something feels off-kilter. My potted veg and herbs are in shock; it’s been either torrential rain or temps in the 90s – sometimes in the same 24 hours – every day since they were planted. Sodden pots sit cheek by jowl with containers so arid they threaten to burst into flame. There won’t be much of a harvest this year.
Pat Blythe – Friends, Frolic, Food and Fun
Posted in Opinion with tags ABBA, Alba Electronics, B.C, Beach Boys, Billy Joel, Bob Segarini, Bombay Sapphire, Bon Jovi, cognitive neuroscientist, Cyndi Lauper, DBAWIS, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Dr. Jacob Jolij, Frank Gutch, Gloria Gaynor, Greg Simpson, Jain McMillian, Katrina & The Waves, Michael Tomasek, Molly Guinness, Netherlands, Pat Blythe, Peter Kashur, Queen, Roxanne Tellier, spurtle, Survivor, The Golden Spurtle Award, The Monkees, Thom Blythe, University of Groningen on October 7, 2015 by segarini
Sunday, October 4 there was a gathering of 27 people in my backyard, on my back deck and in my kitchen (much to Peter Kashur’s chagrin). A belated birthday BBQ for Bob Segarini with some of his DBAWIS writers, and a sort of “welcome home/back” to friend, Greg Simpson, who really doesn’t get “back east” too often after returning to B.C. almost five years ago to live near his family. This gave him the opportunity to get together with people he doesn’t often get to spend time with.
GARY PIG GOLD Celebrates MOTHERS DAY
Posted in Opinion with tags Are You Hung Up?, DBAWIS, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Eaton Centre, Frank Zappa, Gary Pig Gold, Mother's Day, music, Records, segarini, The Monkees, The Mothers of Invention on March 16, 2015 by segarini
I may be a couple of months early, but it came to me that one of my all-time favourite recordings celebrated a birthday just short of 2 weeks ago. And in the midst of this sonic revelry I was reminded that during the first Friday of most every month throughout 1967 and into ‘68, I was formally excused from school so that my mother could take me all the way to Toronto for special orthodontic appointments.
Pat Blythe: K-Pop and other stories
Posted in Opinion with tags 2014 KPop Girl Group Ranking (Top 22), 2NE1, A Pink, Baby One More Time, Barry Gibb, Billboard, Billboard Current Box Score, Blondie, Bobby Sherman, Boney M, Britney Spears, BSB, Bubble Pop, Captain Beyond, Christina Aguilera, Club 120, Come Back Home, cream, Crush, dance, Danny DiVito, Dave Clarke Five, David Cassidy, DBAWIS, Deep Purple, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Donna Summer, electronic, Gangnam Style, Gee, Girls Generation, hanteo, Herman's Hermits, Hip Hop, Hyuna, I Don't Need A Man, K-Pop, KC and the Sunshine Band, KPop, KPop Canada, Little Woman, metal, music, No No No, NSync, One Direction, Pop, Pop! Goes theWorld!, Psy, Pussycat Dolls, Queen, Rap, Risk, Rock, Sailor Moon, Santana, segarini, Simon Cowell, South Korea, Spirit, Sports Chosun, Stayin' Alive, Steal My Girl, The Beatles, The Bee Gees, The Monkees, TIGER beat, Time Magazine, Top 25 KPop Boy Groups of 2014, Yes, YouTube, YouTube Music Awards, Zappa on March 4, 2015 by segarini
During a recent conversation on writing and music I was asked if I had ever heard of K-Pop. My answer was “no” although I was tempted to say “of course” me being a music junky and all. I’ve been told I don’t get out enough so I’m working on that. In the meantime…
Doug Thompson: DON’T MESS WITH THE WRECKING CREW!
Posted in Opinion with tags Al Casey, Al De Lory, Al Vescovo, America, Barney Kessel, Bill Aken, Bill Pitman, Billy Strange, Bobby Vee, Brian Wilson, Buffalo Springfield, Buffy Sainte Marie, Carol Kaye, Chuck Berghofer, Crazy Horse, Darlene Love, David Goggin, DBAWIS, Dean Martin, Denny Tedesco, Don Peake, Don Randi, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Doug Bartenfeld, Doug Thompson, Duane Eddy, Earl Palmer, Elvis Presley, First Edition, Frank Capp, Frank Sinatra, Gary Coleman, Gary Lewis & The Playboys, Gene Cipriano, Gene Estes, George Harrison, Glen Campbell, Hal Blaine, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Howard Roberts, Irv Rubins, Jack Nitzsche, Jackie DeShannon, James Burton, Jan & Dean, Jay Migliori, Jeff Porcaro, Jennifer Warnes, Jerry Cole, Jim Gordon, Jim Horn, Jim Keltner, Jimmy Bond, Jimmy Page, Joe Cocker, Joe Osborn, Joe Porcaro, Joe Saraceno, John Denver, John Goldthwaite, John Lennon, Johnny Rivers, Julius Wechter, Kenny Rogers, Kent Hartman., Kickstarter, Larry Knechtel, Larry Levine, Leon Russell, Leonard Cohen, Louis Shelton, Lyle Ritz, Mac Rebennack (Dr. John), Max Bennett, Mike Deasy, Mike Melvoin, Mike Porcaro, Mike Rubini, Movies, music, music videos, Nancy Sinatra, Neil Diamond, Neil Young, Nilsson, Nino Tempo, P.F. Sloan, Paul Revere & The Raiders, Petula Clark, Phil Spector, Plas Johnson, radio, Ray Pohlman, Records, Red Callender, Rene Hall, segarini, Simon & Garfunkel, Sonny & Cher, Sonny Bono, Steve Douglas, Steve Porcaro, The 5th Dimension, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, The Captain & Tennille, The Carpenters, The Crystals, The Funk Brothers, The Grassroots, The Mamas & The Papas, The Marketts, The Monkees, The Partridge Family, The Righteous Brothers, The Rolling Stones, The Ronettes, The Routers, The Searchers, The T-Bones, The Wrecking Crew, Tommy Roe, Tommy Tedesco, Toto, Will Jennings on January 26, 2015 by segarini
So, what project in your life has taken you the longest to complete? Has anything you’ve really wanted to do ever taken you 18 years? Most likely not, but that’s how long it took director Denny Tedesco to complete his documentary on a small group of musicians in Los Angeles who, from the late 1950’s through to the 1970’s, supplied the rhythm section (drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion, saxophone) for hundreds, if not thousands of hit records.
Roxanne Tellier – Popping the Top off Covers
Posted in Opinion with tags 2 Live Crew, Al Green, Big Mama Thornton, Bob Marley, Bob Segarini, Brill Building, Bryan Ferry, Canadian, Carly Simon, Carole King, Charles Bradley, David Byrne, DBAWIS, Dirty Loops, Dolly Parton, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, Foghat, Gerry Goffin, Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes, Howlin’ Wolf, Jake Holmes, Jason Mraz, Jay and the Americans, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, Johnny Cash, Jose Feliciano, Justin Bieber, Kate Davis, Latin, Led Zeppelin, Levon Helm, Mambo Jimi, Meghan Trainor, Menahan Street Band, Mick Hucknall, Monkees, Neil Diamond, Neil Young, New Wave, Nine Inch Nails, NME, Patti Smith, Paul Simon, PostModern Jukebox, Punk, Radiohead, reggae, Robert Johnson, Roxanne Tellier Muddy Waters, Roxy Music, Roy Orbison's, Simply Red, ska, Smashing Pumpkins, Taj Mahal, Taylor Swift, Teddy Pendergrass, The Beatles, The Cars, The Corrs, The Cyrkle, The Diodes, The Doors, The Monkees, The Talking Heads, Thom York, UB40, Urge Overkill, Whitney Houston, Ziggy Marley on January 25, 2015 by segarini
Music’s a funny thing; sometimes a song will hide in the grooves of an album, unloved and unwanted, until someone uncovers the gem and makes it their own. A struggling songwriter may dream of the day that a megastar covers their work; in the right hands, a number one hit can make the writer a fortune in publishing.
Roxanne Tellier – Zombie Christmas
Posted in Opinion with tags Army and Navy Store, Black Friday, Bob Segarini, Bronze Age, Christmas, Coca Cola, DBAWIS, Doctor Who, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Festivus, Grinch, Hanukah, Kwanza, Man of La Mancha, Max Factor, Roxanne Tellier, Santa, Santa Claus, Saturnalia, Sophisticat, Stonehenge, The Monkees, The Rolling Stones, Whos, Whoville, Zombie Christmas on December 14, 2014 by segarini
It’s lurching toward you … the days are ticking by, and you are simultaneously anticipating and dreading the upcoming holiday season. You’re looking forward to seeing friends and family, but wonder how you’ll juggle all you will have to do to get ready for the big day.
Segarini: Don't Believe a Word I Say 