We have two live appearances coming up in the next few weeks at completely different types of events, although both are at churches here in the South Bay:

Mike V & Robert K @ the King’s Harbor Cafe

Saturday, October 10 @ 7:30 pm

We are appearing as part of the King’s Harbor Cafe 2009 Concert Series. Join us for a rockin’ night of original music. Mike and I will be joined by Jerry Wood (bass) & Randy Harris (drums) to make this a first for us – a full band show!

Facebook event

Driftwood @ American Martyrs Parish Fair

Saturday, October 17 @ 1:30 pm

This is the first official appearance of Driftwood! The band formerly known as the Knights of Columbus House Band – or the Rockin’ (k)Nights – finally escapes the Manhattan Beach Knights of Columbus hall where it started over a year ago to entertain thousands at the Parish Fair! We’ll be playing 2 hours of your favorite 70’s and 80’s covers – only in the light of day with our shades on! Join us, won’t you?

It’s Confirmed! Mike V and I finally got this one rescheduled.  Better yet, we’ll be joined for this show by our friends Jerry Wood (bass) & Randy Harris (drums)

 Hope you’ll come down for a rockin’ night of uplifting, original music. 

Mike V and Robert K

Hi! Just an update on some things I’ll be working on in the next few months:

Plans are in the works for another King’s Harbor Church concert in the Hidden Door Cafe with my friend Mike V on October 10th. This was originally scheduled for earlier in September, but now we’re adding drums and bass, so stay tuned. You can follow both Mike and myself on Twitter for up-to-the-minute details.

Also, the group I’ve always fondly refered to as the Rockin (k)nights are soon to be formerly known as the Knights of Columbus House Band. Yes, we will be announcing our new name soon, as well as a probable appearance at a certain church fair in October. Again, stay tuned…

And for all of you FX’ers: be sure to mark your calendars for September 12 – you are not going to want to miss this one. Details will be posted soon on the blog.

Okay, enough teasers…now get back to work!!

Saturday, August 29: K of C House Band Party

Another rockin (k)night of covers with the House Band at the Manhattan Beach Knights of Columbus Hall.  I really enjoy doing these gigs with my friends from American Martyrs because my buddies let me play lead guitar!  We’ll be playing hits from the 70’s and 80’s such as “867-5309″, “Should I Stay or Should I Go?”, “Summer of ‘69″, and “My Sharona”.  There’s also a few Rolling Stones, John Mellencamp and Tom Petty tunes in the mix. 

We’re also celebrating some special birthdays so be sure to join us.

Saturday, August 29
Knights of Columbus House Band
7:00pm – 11:30pm
Knights of Columbus Hall
224 1/2 Sepulveda Blvd (2nd Floor)
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=224+1%2F2+Sepulveda+Blvd%2C+Manhattan+Beach%2C+CA

Band Members:
Kevin Baxter – vocals/guitar
John Haberstroh – bass
Robert “Bob” Kuhlmann – lead guitar/backing vocals
Tommy Moreno – drums
E.J. Wells – guitar/backing vocals

My next acoustic set will be this Wednesday night in downtown Manhattan Beach. I’ll be performing at the Surfrider Foundation’s South Bay Chapters mixer.  Jon Wegener of Wegener Surfboards will be there, too.  For more information, click here: http://bit.ly/2SBncc

Also, The NoVanGogh web site is finally finished! http://www.novangoghmusic.com   It’s my friend and co-writer Doug Sparks web site in support of his NoVanGogh release My Own Gallery, which includes our 3 collaorations: One Wish, Romance is Dead and Never Fell So Hard.  (I’ll probably include one of those Wednesday night in honor of the site). 

Definitely check out the cool collage that features everyone who was involved in the production.

Saturday, June 13: K of C House Band Party

Another rockin (k)night of covers with the House Band at the Manhattan Beach Knights of Columbus Hall. $10 cover will go towards the Knight’s Scholarship Fund. I really enjoy doing these gigs with my friends from American Martyrs because my buddies let me play lead guitar!

Saturday, June 13
Knights of Columbus House Band
7:00pm – 11:30pm
Knights of Columbus Hall
224 1/2 Sepulveda Blvd (2nd Floor)
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=224+1%2F2+Sepulveda+Blvd%2C+Manhattan+Beach%2C+CA
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/editevent.php?info&eid=80133517897

(FYI, this will be a really busy day since I’ll be heading to the K of C Hall immediately after leading worship at Faith UMC)

The next two Saturday nights will be filled with music.

Saturday, June 6: Music in the Key of Life

This is going to be an awesome evening of vocal music at California Heights UMC in Long Beach.  Personally, I’ve only got a small part singing in the chorus on a few songs, but for fans of good vocal performances – there is going to be some amazing singing happening!  If you enjoy vocal music, be there.  Plus, it’s a charity event supporting Mary McLeod Bethune Transitional Center for Homeless Students and California Heights UMC’s Children’s Center.

More info: http://www.musicinthekeyoflife.com

Saturday, June 13: K of C House Band Party

Another rockin (k)night of covers with the House Band at the Manhattan Beach Knights of Columbus Hall. $10 cover will go towards the Knight’s Scholarship Fund. I really enjoy doing these gigs with my friends from American Martyrs because my buddies let me play lead guitar!

Saturday, June 13
Knights of Columbus House Band
7:00pm – 11:30pm
Knights of Columbus Hall
224 1/2 Sepulveda Blvd (2nd Floor)
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=224+1%2F2+Sepulveda+Blvd%2C+Manhattan+Beach%2C+CA
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/editevent.php?info&eid=80133517897

(FYI, this will be a really busy day since I’ll be heading to the K of C Hall immediately after leading worship at Faith UMC)

Recordings:

I’m heading into the studio to lay down some bass (yes, bass!) tracks for a new Doug Sparks / Melanie Bomar song called Whether Together or Apart.

Speaking of Doug, he just released a really strong collection of tunes under the NoVanGogh moniker. It’s a digital-only release called My Own Gallery and it’s available at most online places, including iTunes and Amazon. Doug and I have been collaborating on songs for years, and this collection includes three of the songs we’ve written together: One Wish, Never Fell So Hard, and Romance Is Dead.

Also, a while back I recorded three original songs for use in an upcoming Faith UMC Music Ministry CD.  One of the songs will be my personal contribution to the benefit recording, the other two will feature other artists from church.

So, lots of things are happening, and even more things are in the works!! It’s an exciting time!

Brett Favre is considering unretiring. Really? Give it a rest, Brett…

And now for some music news:

Be sure to keep checking Doug Spark’s MySpace page for updates on the NoVanGogh project’s new digital-only release called “My Own Gallery”.   It is an awesome collection, and Doug definitely took the time to sequence the songs just right.  NoVanGogh is really an art collection of it’s own – an assemblage of vocalists and musicians that Doug has worked with over the last few years to give voice to songs he has written with a variety of songwriting partners (the release includes three of the songs he wrote with yours truly.)  Fans of female vocalists should definitely check it out, since only two of the tracks are sung by guys.

As for me, I did a mini-set of 5 songs at last month’s Coffee House showcase event at Faith UMC and at various times was joined by Alex Smith on the cajon drum, Rick Izumi on soprano sax and Rev. Ken Suhr on piano. Some of those songs are planned to be recorded for Faith’s upcoming Music Ministry CD.

PS: yes, there will be another Rockin Knights gig. Keep June 6th open.

I got an unexpected email earlier tonight from Larry Wilke, an old friend who was the drummer in our former band Dear John.  Included in the email was this link to an eBay auction.

Yes, someone is selling a copy of Dear John’s debut 7″ Frustrated Conversation/I Don’t Want Her to Know (including the picture sleeve) for a whopping $25 plus shipping and handling.  I wasn’t aware there was so much interest in that record!  Apparently, the seller got it when he bought out the stock of a local St. Louis record store.  I wish him luck in his endeavors.

I don’t want to compete with my new favorite eBay seller, but for what it’s worth I still have a few copies of that 7″ if anyone’s interested.  These come in a plain white sleeve, though, since there are no more picture sleeves left.  The entire Dear John catalog is also available digitally – for specifics, check out the discography here.

For the record, (pun intended) it was great hearing from Larry, and we’re hoping to get together when he travels to LA next time.

Yes, another Facebook meme had crossed my path a few weeks ago (courtesy of fellow rock fanatic Will Betheboy) and in true obsessive/compulsive fashion, I was diligently attempting to track down the exact dates of some key concerts I had been to, attempting to identify the 10 most important/memorable rock n roll shows in my life.

Of course, #1 is Friday, December 17, 1971 – my first concert: Alice Cooper, Pacific Gas and Electric, and Dust at the St. Louis Arena Annex. This show probably demands a write up of its own since it’s memorable for many things, including, well…I will save that for that post.

What I did stumble upon (no pun intended) was this: an article published last January in the Memphis Commercial Appeal celebrating the 3oth anniversary of the Sex Pistols appearance in Memphis. Of course, that show would probably rank #2 or #3 on my all-time list.  Again, not just for the show, but for the various incidents and encounters that happen when 3 21-22 year old punks decide to go on a road trip through the Ozarks.

The central cast of characters in my story, Jim R and Jim S both recently resurfaced in my life thanks to (of course) Facebook. Not long after I posted a link to that news article, I received an email with this attachment.  So I have always remembered that headline, and was immediately transported back to that Friday in Memphis.

First, there was the car ride from St. Louis to Memphis, with the obligatory stop for gas in the middle of BFE. While Jim S filled the tank, Jim R visited the bathroom, and exited having changed into his evening clothes – a white dress shirt ripped to shreds with his Kansas U school ID safety pinned above the pocket.  This of course led to us scrambling out of the parking lot (ala a certain Charlie Daniels song) as the locals got a good look at us.  Saved by a Duster with slant-6, baby!

We arrived in Memphis around dinner time and were scheduled to meet up with our other friends from Saint Louis that had made the pilgrimage.  We somehow found our way entering into TGIFridays through the rear door.  This is when we found out that The Scruffs, a great Memphis based powerpop band (and our group’s connection to the tickets) had been unceremoniously dumped from the bill.

We got to the Taliesyn Ballroom very early.  With the lights in the hall still on, the crowd seemed like a casting call for a wanna-be Fellini film. This was 1978, really really early 1978, and not many folks in Memphis had figured out just what you wear to a punk rock concert – there were even some folks in KISS makeup!!

31 years later, when people find out that I saw the Sex Pistols, they always ask “So, how were they?” (Or ooh and aah like friends of my young pal William, who, when told I had seen that tour seemed in awe that someone old enough to see them still lived! – thanks, Bill).

But in a word, they were good. Not great, not awesome, but definitely better than I expected. Outside of Sid, they were a solid rocknroll band and Johnny Rotten was definitely the showman and had a knack for tossing off memorable lines.  I’ve repeated one of them many times over the years: “I’m not here for your entertainment — you’re here for mine.”

After the show, we gravitated to a bar where we finished off the evening while Memphis legend Alex Chilton held court at one of the back tables.

Maybe some of my friends will fill in some of the blanks or post comments about their memories of the show.

If you’ve read the above articles, you are aware that this was the same weekend Memphis was swollen with mourning Elvis Presley fans celebrating what would’ve been his 43rd birthday. The Saturday after the show, we ventured out…

and encountered the woman who had no face…

(to be continued…)