Hunnypot Live #449 was a post Halloween treat.
Spirits broke our camera so some cellphone photos are all we have.
Xhaania costumed the position in the interview chair and a short performance.
Nick and the Old Sport haunted Hunnypot for the 4th time.
Pacific Radio performed fun sized pop music, and Hot Tub Johnnie spilled a cauldron of party music all over the packed house. 11/1/2021
Xhaania (Pronounced ZA-NEE-AH) is a singer, song writer from Los Angeles, California with Jamaican heritage. Xhaania grew up listening, singing and dancing to raggea music throughout her childhood, one of the foundations of her unique sound. In addition to raggae music, much of Xhaania's inspiration comes from R&B, Gospel, Rap and hip-hop.
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Pacific Radio is a 4 piece sonic collision of energetic garage rock and LA heartbreak.
It’s been a year since Michete has blessed us with a jam and boy what a long, hard year it was without her. “Hard” brings us back to the Miss Shitty underground and it feels like coming home. The song explores the paradox of attraction and repulsion in wanting relationships, teasing the idea of rejecting oneself for the sake of satisfying the object of our desire.
Paired with production by Yufi, “Hard” solidifies Michete as the duchess of double entendre, able to spin any innuendo into a potent quotable. In typical Michete fashion, there is no shortage of salacious sauce and slay. While you might not have as many crucifixes hurled at you for singing along, “Hard” does not skimp on the action. Specifically halfway through the video when a rotational snogfest breaks out in the men's room. Hot. The moment transcends itself when the men break out mouthing “Stupid fucking man-child”. A mantra all too familiar for anyone who is not a hetro-normative penis owner.
The many moods of Michete come through in this video, all serving blue lips and dripping in a sexy, grimy darkness that we’ve all come to love from Michete. We last saw her alone in the back of a truck, but this time she’s brought friends. Doey deadeye drag darlings Kylie Mooncakes and Stassia Coup vogue and pump it up while Angel Baby Kill Kill Kill sleuths demonically - as one does when a man-child is on the mind. It's a freakishly fabulous video for a song that proves Michete’s propensity for bangers knows no bounds. “Hard” makes being a grime goddess sound easy.
--Robyn Dee
Steel Panther must have been lubing themselves with gallons of Rust-Oleum throughout the pandemic, because they showed absolutely no sign of crusty stuff when they hit the Anaheim House of Blues stage on Friday night.
It was billed as An Evening with Steel Panther (which is in layman's terms is code for no opening act). Steel Panther led with their classic, “Eyes of a Panther”, from Feel the Steel, which is arguably the best metal debut album of all time. They had the packed house, among other things, in their hands. Michael Starr, who is inarguably the finest voice in metal, strutted the stage like he owned it. Or at least rented it for the night.
It’s not a rock cliché to say that women want to be with Starr and men want to be him when it's true. A scientific survey conducted that evening by yours truly confirmed the later, but also found a few men wanted to be with him too. No surprise here as he’s the lead singer in Steel Panther. Dude is a living Adonis.
And what would Steel Panther be without Satchel, The God of Guitar. He was everywhere, with fingers flying up and down the fretboard like a school of attacking piranhas. When the rest of the band left the stage for what would have been any other guitarist’s obligatory solo, Satchel climbed the drum riser to hit the skins. That’s right. The guitarist did a drum solo. Why? Because he can. Simply the best in the business if you ask me.
Which brings us to the drummer. The driving force behind Steel Panther, the driving force of metal itself, Stix Zadinia. He has a softer side, showing his keyboard chops when a beautiful young woman was brought on stage for an impromptu ballad the band improvised out of thin air.
The only thing missing from the show was long time bass player Lexxi Foxx, who had recently left Steel Panther. Rumors have swirled as to the reason, but filling on Friday was Rikki Dazzle. Dazzle was a nice addition, but Lexxi’s talent, (and good looks), were missed.
It was a night of greatest hits, but really, every Steel Panther song is great.
Steel Panther isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Then again, their fans don’t drink tea. And they were raising their beers to every single inappropriate word of every inappropriate single song. Steel Panther plays metal music that feels right for all the wrong reasons. And everyone at the Anaheim House of Blues left with a smile on their face and a song in their heart. Or loins.
In a world where most bands with any longevity seem to fall significantly short of expectations when releasing new material, that is hardly the case with Dream Theater and their latest, A View From The Top Of The World. It picks up where 2019’s Distance Over Time left off and takes it to a whole new level for Dream Theater fans all around the world. In my opinion, it’s one of their best produced albums to date, and that saying a lot based on the incredible catalog they have released over a storied 30+ year career. A View From The Top Of The World checks off all the boxes and then some as one of 2021’s top progressive rock releases.
I’ve been following Dream Theater for the better part of 25 years and am always amazed at how this band seems to reimagine itself with each new release. While some of their albums have fallen short of my lofty expectations along the way, A View From The Top Of The World captured me from day one and continues to get better with each passing spin. It has everything I would want in a Dream Theater album including brilliant writing, incredible production value, and of course unparalled musicianship courtesy of John Petrucci, John Myung, James LaBrie, Jordan Rudess, and Mike Mangini.
Clocking in at 1 hour and 10 minutes, A View From The Top Of The World is not their longest release by any stretch and definitely not Dream Theater’s most remarkable. However, the seven songs that make up the album are all bangers and collectively may be one of the best produced releases they have dropped to date. There is a cohesion and energy that flows from “The Alien” through “Sleeping Giant” and crescendos into “A View From The Top Of The World”, a brilliant 20 minute masterpiece that elicits all the genius that we have come to know and love in Dream Theater.
Bottom line, I love A View From The Top Of The World and think you will as well. It’s definitely not an album you’ll listen to once and have an immediate “Amen” moment. It’ll take a few revolutions to warm up to, but guarantee you’ll be hooked when you finally lift the needle. It’s classic Dream Theater at its best, and has something for even the pickiest of fans. And as a true concert junkie, I cannot wait to catch them live in 2022. Dream Theater performances are one of a kind, and truly unparalleled in the industry regardless of genre. John Petrucci, John Myung, James LaBrie, Jordan Rudess, and Mike Mangini are everything that is right in the music industry today, and their amazing talent is an incredibly positive diversion in what still feels like a super chaotic world. So, sit back, grab a drink, and drop the needle on what is surely going to be one of 2021’s best progressive rock releases.
Be well and keep rocking! Hunnypot Approved! Overall Rating: 9.5 out of 10
Artist: Dream Theater, Album: A View From The Top Of The World, Release Date: October 22, 2021, Label: InsideOut Music
Widely regarded as one of the top 10 hard rock/metal bands in the 2000’s, System of a Down has not released an album since 2005 and only performed intermittently since 2011. Any opportunity to see SOAD live should always be considered special and indeed this night turned out to exceed expectations. On their second stop of a short four city west coast Fall tour, SOAD triumphantly returned to Fresno for the first time since 2005 and delivered a memorable performance to a loud enthusiastic capacity crowd at Save-Mart Center. The big takeaway throughout the 27-song set was that SOAD’s material stands the test of time. The four Armenian-Americans from L.A. have created such as unique and deep catalog of songs, infusing metal, funk, alternative, psychedelic and even folk, that the tracks sound as fresh as they did in their heyday.
Armed with passion and an arsenal of amazing songs, there was no need for SOAD to utilize a fancy stage show. The stage was simply amps, drum riser, and a few platforms to allow lead singer Serj Tankian and animated bassist Shavo Odadjian to utilize on occasion. A large rotating light platform providing pulsating strobes and standard lighting effects. The sound quality was noticeably impressive – guitars were dominant, but you could also hear the funky bass, John Dolmayan’s crisp cymbal strikes, and the vocals for both Serj and Daron Malakian (guitar/vocals) were spot on.
There was another special treat in store for concert goes. Last year the band, well known for their political activism, was inspired to record their first songs in 16 years in response to the Nagorno-Karabakh war, a conflict creating a humanitarian crisis in their ancestral homeland of Armenia. Proceeds from the songs “Protect the Land” and “Genocidal Humanoids” supported the Armenia Fund for humanitarian needs of displaced families from the war. Both these new songs were included in the set. It was amazing to hear two fresh SOAD tunes live!
Other highlights of the show included 12,000 fans waving their hands together in unison during the dark and foreboding “Lost in Hollywood” - inspired by the song’s prominent albeit sarcastic line to “put your hands in the air like you just don’t care”. The show closed with a trio of massive hits “Aerials”, “Toxicity” and “Sugar”, as the entire crowd passionately sang along. System of a Down gave appreciative Fresno music fans a memorable journey back to their triple platinum glory days and, although it’s now 2021, - this band proved that their music stands the test of time.
Rock on and be well!
Greg Vitalich
I can’t really put into words how excited I was when I got told that the We Came As Romans tour was approved for me to cover. I hadn’t seen WCAR since prior to Kyle Pavone’s passing and it was more a sentimental moment for me. The other bands on the ticket were also some solid acts that I was also very ecstatic to see.
First up was Hollow Front. Of the bands there, I was not as familiar with them, so I really wasn’t sure what I was in for. As the lights go black and music starts playing in the background, Hollow Front runs out on stage. They open with a song called “Affected” and whoa, I was immediately blown away. The 7-song set was intense breakdowns and banger tunes. Right after their performance, I looked them up and saved some songs to my Spotify library. Was super impressed by them.
Following their lead was Dayseeker. This was a performance that I was really looking forward to because in the last year, I have been getting really into them – to the point where I knew almost every song. The 7-song set was opened by “Embers Glow”, and we couldn’t have asked for a better start. The Moment Rory Rodriguez started singing the words to “Crooked Soul”, I knew we were getting to the hits. Following that song, they played “Burial Plot” and “Drunk” and I sat their singing every word with the crowd. They came to the end of their set and Rory tells us the story of him having his daughter and then 2 months later his dad passed away. They begin to play “Sleeptalk” and the crowd bursts into unison singing every word. It was a wonderful performance.
The Devil Wears Prada takes the stage soon after and this was a band that I haven’t seen since maybe Warped Tour In 2010 and it was just because I was walking by. I remember giving them the stank face as I walked by because it was super brutal. That really was my only memory of ever seeing TDWP and I was excited to see them again based on their most recent ZII EP that came out. They played some of the hits like “Chemical”, “Forlorn”, and “Sacrifice”. And then they surprised us all by ending the set with “Hey John, What's Your Name Again?” and the crowd went wild. Overall, a solid performance.
And at long last, the performance that we have all been waiting for, We Came as Romans. Lots of emotions leafing up to this point and I was ready. Out the gate, they played “To Plant A Seed” and I was living. They played the To Plant A Seed album in full with other songs sprinkled in the mix and it was the last time they would ever play any of those songs live after this tour. It was bittersweet but I truly understood where they were coming from. In between songs, they played video of them explaining why the record was so important to them. They played so many songs that I grew up listening to and it was an amazing experience. They ended the set with “An Ever-Growing Wonder” and then ensued the encore. The crowd chants and chants then, we see the lights go dim, and the monitors go on. A tribute to Kyle starts showing while “Promise Me” plays in the background. It was a beautiful thing. Towards the end of the song, the rest of the band comes out on stage and it’s like they are playing with Kyle again with his vocals coming through he speakers. The song ends and Dave Stephens talks to us about the experience of losing Kyle. It was truly a great message and summed up very well, get help if you need it. They close out the show with “Cold Like War” and “Darkbloom”.
I can say this was one of the best concert experiences I have ever experienced to date. Can’t wait to see all these amazing bands again one day.
4 out of 5 toothpaste users recommend Hunnypot Live for a balanced breakfast.
Hunnypot Live #448 tipped the scales.
Nicole Sanzio returned to update everyone on INDIGI Music happenings and her own new solo piano record!
The roar in the wild, Rora Wilde, belted out ballads and bangers. Fairhazel, thrilled with subdued, meaningful pop music.
Hot Tub Johnnie kept the hits flowing all night and in to the after party.
As the Owner of InDigi Music and Executive Producer, Nicole Sanzio has helped their Artists, Writers and Composers get music placed music in Film, TV & Video.
Her accomplishments as an independent contractor has made her a sought-after expert within the fast-changing industries of licensing/publishing. Her music placements read like a “what’s hot” list in Film & TV programming, among them: MGM’s RESPECT (Aretha Franklin biopic starring Jennifer Hudson), Universal Pictures “Despicable Me 2” and “Fast & Furious” (4, 5 and 6), STX Films “Hustlers”, Better Things (FX), All American (CW), Ginny & Georgia (Netflix), Last Chance U (Netflix), Showtime’s “Ray Donovan” and “Shameless”, Empire (Fox), NBC Olympic Games, NBC “Today Show” and “Meet The Press”, NCIS (CBS), The Hype (HBO Max), In The Dark (CW), Batwoman (CW), etc. Her company has also secured a hefty list of other music placements on AMC, CBS, NBC, TLC, PBS, USA Network, Lifetime, Nickelodeon, MTV, Animal Planet, Netflix, Hulu and Amazon.
Rora Wilde is a pop r&b singer/songwriter Los Angeles, CA. Originally from The Rio Grande Valley, she began singing at the young age of 6 and fell in love with music. She studied cello in school, and taught herself piano and guitar.
At 13, she discovered songwriting and has been performing live ever since. The singer played any stage she could get her hands on; coffee shops, bars, clubs, theaters, etc.
At 18, Rora moved to Austin and continued to play live shows and further developed her sound. The singer explored different genres like alternative rock, synth pop, indie folk and even country-chasing a sound that truly represents her as an artist.
Today, Wilde's powerhouse vocals soar over her new Pop/R&B sounds with moody & introspective lyrics.
Fairhazel is the moniker of 23 year old British/South African singer songwriter Hugh Macdonald. Born in Brighton but raised in London, Cape Town and Paris, Hugh left Berklee College of Music in Boston in 2018 returning to London to work with Communion Music under the name Fairhazel, releasing his first single 7x7 in February to great critical acclaim. Roisin O’Connor of The Independent described it as having "tender, whispering vocals that recall the likes of Villagers, Ben Howard and Sufjan Stevens”. ?
Inspired by artists France Gall, Harry Nilsson and Andy Shauf among others, Fairhazel has established himself as a musical storyteller blurring the lines between fiction and true stories. ?
At his Los Angeles studio, he works on creating all aspects of his music himself from songwriting, arrangement, production, playing and engineering. Although Fairhazel is a solo venture, a band often accompanies him (Louis Giannamore, Alexander Naim Noorani, Karim Saber, Elliot Deubel, Matt Zajac, @yourfriendjuniper, Nate Daviau) at shows and he has opened for Agnes Obel, Banfi and Astræa. Recently he played Whispering Bob Harris's Under the Apple Tree, and featured twice on the lineup of the Counting Crows Underwater Sunshine Festival. His debut album, I'm a Friend of Fairhazel came out in January 2020, and his follow-up, I Sold My Soul For Fairhazel is out now.
Emoni Mathews returned as our guest host. She told her story of competing against hundreds of other players in music industry children's games to win big CEO prizes.
Litvar played tug of war with our hearts with emotional "indie" rock/pop numbers.
Zeus Rebel Waters brought his own team (Kent Grant, Lil Bimmy, Kendo & Keefo (feat Uno Escobar), Yerrty G, Moter Mouth, Zay$tacks, Scumlife Shotty, The Indigo Kid, SlymBoi Rakks, Montega Rebel) to compete in a Squid Game battle royale that resulted in all winners.
Bringing with her a distinguished reputation in the music industry, Emoni serves as the Co- Founder and President of Music Supervision and Creative Licensing for Blaze Unlimited, A creative Music Agency.
Zeus is an American Hip hop artist/songwriter/performer with a unique musical identity. Zeus builds his fanbase, called “The Rebels”, 1 fan at a time. Zeus got in to music early by singing and dancing in youth talent shows. In middle school Zeus formed the rap group P.O.G (Pimped Out Gangsters). The group tasted success by winning talent shows and touring on their hit single “Wobble”. Formerly and casually known as Rukapuff, his first solo single, “Angry”, immediately went in to full rotation on Q95.5(Radio one) in St Louis.
Zeus signed with Mack 10's Hoo Bangin Records. Mack 10 promoted a Rukapuff track, “Like this” featuring Nate Dogg. The song was used in TV commercials, NFL football games movies like Waist Deep, and various TV shows including The Sopranos.
In addition to recording and touring under his O.G. name, Zeus has his own indie record label, Born Ready Records, a clothing line called the Rebel Waters Collection, a film company called Trinity Films, and helps run a non for profit organization for young inner city youth called Rock the Community. Zeus Rebel Waters has arrived.
When I thought things couldn’t get better after the Beartooth show, I was graced with the opportunity to shoot a band that I not only very much enjoy but have been listening to since I was in second grade – not even joking. Korn was a monumental catalyst for my jump into rock and nu-metal. Korn & Staind were both bands I grew up listening to and the moment I found out I was approved to shoot, I called my mom and told her the big news. It was truly a full circle moment for me, and I could not wait to for the day to come.
On the day of the show, I woke up and could barely focus on work, but I just knew it was going to be a killer night. Fast forward 8 hours and I am picking up my press pass for the show while waiting for the house photographer to come escort me to the photo lounge. Staind is about to go on, so we grab our things and head to the sound board area. It was my first time ever shooting from this far, so I got me a 600mm lens that did the trick! See the photos below!
While getting my gear ready, Staind took the stage, and the crowd goes wild. Out the gate they come in heavy. Aaron Lewis was super calm and collected on stage. It was a different vibe compared the words he was singing and screaming but I appreciated it. One of the things I didn’t realize when I was watching them perform was how much they screamed in their songs. I guess it just never dawned on me that they were a super heavy band. Of course, I was stoked to hear all of the hits like “It’s Been Awhile”, “So Far Away”, “Mudshovel”, and “Outside”. I felt like I was in my mom’s old jeep as a child jamming again. Mad respect to them being able to keep their sound so crisp all these years. Solid performance all around.
Next up, the main act, Korn. I purposely didn’t look up the setlist for this show just so I was surprised by the songs they were about to play. I had heard whims of them playing “Trash”, which is my favorite song by them, and I was getting super amped waiting for it. The curtain hanging up in front of the whole stage had the Korn logo planted and they were teasing the crowd. The moment the curtain drops, they open with “Insane” and we were off to the races. I was in awe. I had never seen Korn live before and I really had a hard time focusing on taking photos. Based on the setlist from the night I read that there were songs they never really played all that often which was cool to be part of. They performed songs from all over their discography. Jonathan Davis was still recovering from having Covid and had a breathing machine and throne on stage with him. At times he was sitting down singing because he didn’t have the energy. Such a trooper.
“Falling Away From Me”, “Shoots and Ladders”, “Coming Undone”, and “Freak on a Leash” were all played during the main set. As we all know, Korn wasn’t going to leave the stage without an encore and boy did they give us one. When they came back on stage, they played a mashup of “It’s On”, “Trash”, and “Did My Time” and let me tell you, to hear “Trash” live was pure bliss. They played a few more and closed with their first track from the self-titled album, Blind. The crowd went absolutely wild.
Overall, it was one hell of a show. If you can, catch them before the tour ends because it was a night to remember for sure!
If you’re called a troublemaker, it’s usually not a complementary term. Unless you’re a fan of the band Vintage Trouble. Then if you’re a Troublemaker, (Capital T), you know you’re part of something special.
Vintage Trouble has been called the best-kept secret in music. So the Thursday, September 16th show at the 1,200-seat Ford Theatre tucked in the Hollywood Hills seemed fitting. It almost felt like a secret concert just for a bunch of raucous Troublemakers. But at the same time it felt like the venue couldn’t contain the energy of this retro rhythm and blues powerhouse. It’s far too easy to call them a raw, retro band. They may be blues based, but they know how to the take their music to different places. After a decade together, they have this thing of theirs down and they are still willing to push it in new directions.
Vintage Trouble is fronted by the charismatic, energetic, and magnetic Ty Taylor. His is a strong, soulful voice that can either move you to tears or bring you to leaping to your feet. When the man says jump, you jump. Your eyes can’t help but follow him. There he is on one side of the stage. There he is on the other. Wait a minute, now he’s using his extra long mic-cord to jump rope? Of course he is.
Taylor’s never been afraid to interact with the audience and on this night he even brought one of his young relatives up on stage with him. Vintage Trouble is a Los Angeles-based band and this being their first home show since the pandemic began, they were obviously energized by the home crowd. At certain points in the evening, it felt a like a spiritual revival in more ways than one.
On lead guitar is Nalle Colt, a former Swedish skateboarder who now masters the fretboard. He’s a soulful player who can reach down and make a Gibson Les Paul howl when he needs to.
The rhythm section is muscular and active. Bass guitar is Rick Barrio Dill, tall, multi-talented and a presence on stage who also contributes backing vocals as do the others in the band. On drums is Richard Danielson. The man doesn’t play the drums. His physical style makes it seem like he’s working his kit, sometimes even standing for extra force and emphasis. It’s all part of the visual style that makes Vintage Trouble so interesting.
The look and the sound have been augmented over the years with keyboardist and backup singer, Brian London. Also singing backup was Tawny Dolley. She’s another physical presence on stage and her interplay with Taylor brings out the best in both. When you have all six members of Vintage Trouble moving and grooving with the entire audience in thrall, it’s a sight to behold.
VT slowed down for a mini set of two songs, “Lo and Behold” and “Never Mine” off their acoustic album, The Swing House Sessions. But immediately after that was Nalle Colt’s slide guitar signaling the start of “Run Like the River” and it was time for Taylor to get the audience on their feet again.
While it was an evening featuring a range of music from their four albums plus the debut of pandemic-penned new song, “Outside-In”, the bulk of the set came from their first album, The Bomb Shelter Sessions. Once Vintage Trouble got to their encore, “Blues Hand Me Down”, the combination of the band and The Troublemakers could have easily made Hollywood Hills residents wondering what was causing the ground to shake that evening.