In an era just before the rise of cable tv, my family was watching what must have been one of the first pay-per-view tv events in history. It was 1981 and my dad was cool enough to pay an extra fee so we could watch the opening night of The Rolling Stones 1981 American Tour – all from the comfort of our home. As a young kid eagerly watching this special music event, the opening act immediately grabs my attention. This unfamiliar young dude with a raspy voice, loud snarling guitar, swagger and attitude, is running all over the massive stage in front of 100,000 people kicking ass with a familiar but heavier sounding Chuck Berry early 50’s blues rock style. Pleased at what I was witnessing I shouted, “Who the hell is this guy?” It was George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers (GT&D), and I was all in!
The following year Thorogood made his breakthrough with the release of his fifth studio album, Bad to the Bone, and the rest is history. Thorogood’s music became a widely popular staple of 80’s rock radio and remains popular today on classic rock stations and is frequently blasted over the PA to fire up crowds at sporting events. With 15 million albums sold, including two platinum and six gold albums, and four decades of relentless touring, the legendary GT&D aren’t slowing down anytime soon. They rock and rolled their way into San Diego this week on their 2021 “Good to Be Bad” tour. In one of those surreal life moments, 40 years after I first saw Thorogood on pay-per-view and instantly became a fan, I now found myself just a few feet away taking photographs as George and the boys launched into their high-energy show at Humphreys by the Bay.
With a sold-out crowd likely warmed up with help of friends Jack Daniels and partner Jim Beam, Thorogood took the stage and declared, “How sweet it is!” and got the night started with the appropriate tune “Rock Party” – and it sure was! A smiling upbeat Thorogood enjoyed bantering throughout the night with his familiar bad boy humor; “We’re gonna do some nasty things tonight, some very bad things!”, he proclaimed laughing. The GT&D show is just non-stop fun rock n’ roll at its best - “Who Do You Love”, “I Drink Alone”, “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer”, “Gear Jammer” (my fav), “Move it on Over” and of course “Bad to the Bone”. Go see this show! Thorogood’s delivers a hit after hit foot tapping boogie-woogie blues rock dancing in the aisle good time!
Rock on and be well!
Greg Vitalich
Moshpit XR LLC, a Los Angeles based 3D concert entertainment company releases a new hyper-realistic, daytime virtual festival concert with Sean The Star Emperor
Moshpit reveals an entirely new approach in virtual concerts by presenting a daytime virtual concert Festival with huge intelligent AI fans and the ability for human avatars to join in as well. The show features popular Los Angeles based music artist Sean The Star Emperor.
We sat down with Sean for a Q&A regarding his artistry, performance in this virtual festival, and his outlook on virtual concerts:
Q: Sean, How was the experience shooting this show?
A: Filming the show was great. It was so easy and it was actually more comfortable to have just a crew and a green screen. Sometimes the audience gives me anxiety, and shooting this way made me feel like I was free to perform freely. So yes; I enjoyed the uniqueness of this new medium.
Q: What motivated you to choose to participate in this with the Moshpit team?
A: The virtual/VR/AR world is so cutting edge, who wouldn't want to break new earth with such an endeavor. Also the potential reach of viewers is far more than I could get at a concert of my own at this stage of my career, or during a pandemic.
Q: Has the company been pleasant to work with?
A: The courteous nature and full transparency of the Moshpit team are such valued traits in the Music Business and rare. I never felt abused, or disregarded , and I was always informed of updates. It is pleasing to have entertainment professionals making you feel treasured and valued and that's what Mosphit does. I feel like a valued asset around them, like a Picasso.
Q: What are your thoughts on the future of Virtual concerts and music experiences?
A: Yes, this is the future. We already have online concerts as seen through Fortnite and other examples. Also, organizations like "School Night" have partnered with Twitch and are doing great 'digicasts' like "School Night At Home." Society, culture, and technology, and social habits are forcing us even more toward this realm. The aforementioned shows us that companies are redefining themselves. One would be a fool to not follow suit. As an independent artist, I am highly invested in seeking ways to contend with artists signed to major labels with huge support. I can't compete with their dollars and their nexus. However, if I find the right platform to invest in, accompanied by a new technology, then I have hope. This is the beauty of Moshpit.
Moshpit will be showcasing its innovative virtual concert technology in coming months. If you're an artist and want to collaborate with Moshpit. You can reach out to them: info@moshpit.live - Darryl Swann
Hunnypot Live #450 was such an NFTeam effort
Co-Host Jonathan Lane block chained our attention with a ledger of his music supervision history.
Jalaina turned us bored apes in to pop music lovers.
Honest Family Outlaws put us in a quantum realm of trap and country music simultaneously.
Ellee Duke pumped our stock with unique crypto pop hits.
And Hot Tub Johnnie dripped hits like a drum and coinBass hero all night long.
Recap: J. Gray 11/8/2021
Jonathan Lane is a music licensing executive and Music Supervisor with over 10 years of experience in the industry. Providing Music Supervision services to many top film marketing and advertising agencies since 2015, Jon is the founder of Clearly Music – A full scope Music Supervision company with a focus on film marketing, advertising content and podcasts. In addition to Clearly Music, Jon is the Senior Director of Synch & Licensing at 5 Alarm Music (an Anthem Entertainment company) where he is instrumental in developing and overseeing their overall licensing strategy, key partnerships, music supervisor relationships, and more.
Jon currently serves on the Board of Directors for the California Copyright Conference (CCC) and is a Friend of the Guild of Music Supervisors.
FACEBOOK TWITTER INSTAGRAM Clearly Music Services
JELAINA (Justina Shandler + Elaine Ryan) is a pop duo based in LA and SF. From roll-the-windows-down upbeat bangers to heartfelt acoustic vibes, JELAINA celebrates the girliness in all humans. Both Elaine and Justina are solo singer-songwriters, as well as activists and business partners. They co-founded Sync Music For a Change (syncmusicforachange.com), an initiative that hosts listening sessions with music supervisors in exchange for musician activism.
They also run up and coming boutique sync agency, Unicorn Sync (www.unicornsync.com). A singular intention fuels all three projects: the vision of a kinder, more inclusive world, beginning with a fierce devotion to self discovery and healing. JELAINA’s music reflects a commitment to community, connection and joy as part and parcel of dismantling oppressive systems. And best of all- it’s delivered to a tasty indie pop groove.
Formed in the Spring of 2021, Honest Family Outlaws is a trap country family band from Tujunga, California. Veterans of the stage, studio and music business, each member brings their own unique personality and skill set to the table forming a super-group with great crossover multi genre potential.
WEBSITE FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM SPOTIFY
Ellee Duke is an American Artist/Songwriter. Born in Utah, she began writing songs at age 5. By the time she was 17, she had written hundreds of songs and began making trips to Nashville with big dreams of breaking into the music industry .During these Nashville trips, she came in contact with Big Machine Music and signed an artist/publishing deal. She graduated high school early, moved to Nashville shortly after, and began writing and recording with different writers and producers.
Shortly after Ellee moved to Nashville, she realized how much she loved pop music. In 2015, Ellee opened 11 west coast shows for LeAnn Rimes. During this tour, Ellee wrote in LA with some pop writers and producers and made some of her favorite music. She felt a strong sense that LA was where she wanted to be and moved there six months later. Later that year Ellee signed a new publishing deal with Big Yellow Dog Music. Then in 2018, after a long struggle of fighting to stay true to her self, she decided to step away and become an independent artist.
Since then, Ellee got her first Billboard #1 with a song she co-wrote called “Craving” that she collaborated on with Arty and Audien. She’s gotten cuts with J Lo, Charlotte Lawrence, Walk the Earth, Alexander Stewart, Ali Simpson, and has a lot more in the works.
Ellee opened for Rachel Platten in 2016 and has played shows all around the US since a very young age. She’s currently working on her next roll out of original music, and telling her story in a vulnerable and profound way.
Boy was I in for a wild ride knowing I was attending Knotfest Roadshow 2021. Back in 2020, I had every intention of going to Knotfest here in Dallas, but Covid decided it wanted to ruin that opportunity for me. I wasn’t sure when it was going to return and thankfully, I was able to catch the Roadshow when it rolled through. We had a stacked lineup for this show with obviously Slipknot headlining and Killswitch Engage, Fever 333, and Code Orange getting the stage warmed up. I was excited to finally get to experience these legends.
Starting things out was Code Orange. The pro to going to all these shows is seeing bands that I’ve never heard before. It opens my ears to new music and Code Orange was one of them They opened their 8-song set with “Swallowing the Rabbit Whole” and they did not hold back. I was super impressed with the female vocalist they had. She was insanely talented! They played some more of their top hits like “Bleeding in the Blur”, “Forever”, and then closed out their performance with “Underneath”. The most interesting part for me was noticing that their lead singer, Jami Morgan, resembled Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots. I couldn’t unsee it!
Next act was a band that I was told to get mentally prepared for, Fever 333. I was told they put on one hell of a performance, and they were right. Their lead singer Jason Aalon was absolutely wild on stage. He did not hold back, and I was there for it. They started out the set with “BITE BACK” and the crowd went wild for it. I had listened to some of their songs prior to the show so I could prepare, and I heard some of my favorite tracks. “Made An America” being one of them, went so hard. Jason’s stage presence was one that you couldn’t forget. They went on to play some other top hits like “One Of Us” and their most streamed song, “Burn It”. Definitely an unforgettable performance.
Killswitch Engage was up and it was almost like nostalgia seeing them for the first time. I remember being a kid playing their songs on Guitar Hero and now I’m finally getting to experience them in real life. I was stoked. They opened their set with “Unleashed”, and it couldn’t have been a better start. Throughout the entire 14-songs, they had the crowd yelling and singing the songs the whole time. I knew it was only a matter of time before they played “My Curse”, and the moment I head the first note of the song, I knew it was happening. I felt alive in that moment. It took me back to some of my fondest memories with my friends in high school jamming this song in the car on our way to the local Sonic. Pure bliss. The moved into playing some more great songs like “This Fire”, “In Due Time”, and their infamous cover of “Holy Diver” by Dio. I loved everything about their performance.
And finally, the kings in Slipknot were about to go on. What I found interesting was the hour-long break between the two sets. I wasn’t sure why they needed so much time to get ready. I couldn’t have imagined what was happening behind the curtain until the lights go dim, and you hear a huge POP, then the screen covering the stage flies up. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was one of the most immaculate stage setups that I had ever seen. I’m talking multiple levels and like 9 members on stage all contributing to the sound. They made it look like they were in a warehouse/sewer with fans spinning on the screens and fog in these tunnels. It was the wildest thing I’ve ever seen at a concert. Also, the bassist had a flame thrower on his guitar which was crazy to see. And lest we not forget to mention their stage presence, geez. It was all over the place and there was so much to pay attention to. All that being said, lets jump into the set.
They opened it up with “Unsainted” and it really didn’t take much at this point to get the crowd moving. Corey Taylor is one hell of a singer as well. Unmatched in my opinion. Some of my favorite songs from the set were “Before I Forget”, “Psychosocial”, “Wait and Bleed”, and “Duality” to just name a few. It was super intense the entire time, but Corey made time to slow down and talk to the crowd in between songs about being good to each other because we are all we got. They ended up encoring with “People = Shit”, “(sic)”, and lastly “Surfacing”. I was completely blown away by what I had just witnessed. This was an 11 out of 10 performance, and in my opinion one for the ages that I soon won't forget. Can’t wait to see Slipknot again - they are truly the new kings of metal!
(Photos Credit: Jamie Ford)
Jadakiss, Styles P, & Sheek Louch. Back in 1994, these three high school kids from Yonkers, NY came together to form the trio now known as The LOX. Since then, they’ve consistently dropped a variety of projects from compilations to full length studio albums, been featured on a flurry of tracks from Jennifer Lopez’s Jenny From The Block (2002) to Kanye West’s 11 minute long Jesus Lord Part 2 (2021), and have all launched solo careers that are arguably bigger than The LOX itself. When I saw that the hardcore rap group turned super group decided to bless the west coast with a show at The Novo DTLA, I knew it wasn’t one to miss.
The LOX held nothing back. Coming off their Verzuz’s battle against Dipset, they rocked this show in similar form. Hit after hit after hit after hit. Since all three of them have individual solo careers, they had a ton of content to perform with no filler. They hit the stage with high energy, flashy gold chains, and took us back to the heyday of raw hip hop in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Before the era of melodies, autotune, and over-the-top instrumentals, it was all about the lyricism – lyricism that took you on a journey of struggle, ambition, and success. For example – they didn’t rap about doing drugs. They rapped about selling them and hustling so they could make it out of the hood. It was a different mindset back then and The LOX has stayed true to that lane over the years.
My favorite stretch of the night was when they played their 1998 smash hit, “Money, Power, Respect” featuring their longtime friend DMX. Following DMX’s untimely and unexpected passing earlier this year in April 2021, I was expecting to see some ode to their Ruff Ryders comrade. We got exactly that. Following “Money Power Respect”, The LOX did covers of a slew of DMX’s singles – “Ruff Ryder’s Anthem”, “Get At Me Dog”, and “N**** Done Started Something”, just to name a few. In tradition, they followed up that portion of the set with a lighters/cells-in-the-air moment which brought a sense of calm/mourning over the crowd who had been pretty crowdy for most of the night. Some other great points throughout the night were when Jadakiss performed his rendition of Biggie’s “Who Shot Ya,” and when Styles P dropped his verses off of both Rick Ross’s “BMF” and Akon’s “Locked Up”.
All in all, 20+ years and The LOX hasn’t lost their touch. If anything, they’ve refined it. The amount of content they have amassed from the years of group efforts, solo careers, and features gives them so much ammo to put together a great show. I personally wasn’t too familiar with their music they released under The Lox moniker but found myself singing along with a large amount of their set. Go check them out when they’re in a city near you. Yonkers!
Zeus Rebel Waters is an American hip hop artist/songwriter, entrepreneur, single-dad, community leader and philanthropist. The St. Louis native brings a distinct sound and style to hip hop known simply as Gumbo - a gritty blend of all genres mixed with melodic cadence and eclectic rhymes.
The indie rapper brings raw energy to the stage and unleashes it to all his fellow "Rebels" making his live show an experience of high-intensity and positive vibes.
From humble beginnings to Hoo Bangin’ Records, Waters has become a major player throughout the bi-state region. Now, the deity rapper is setting his sights on the global market. With business ventures in fashion, film, and community development, Zeus’ imprint goes far beyond bars and tracks. Make no mistake, Zeus Rebel Waters is here!
Zeus has a hit with his latest single/video "LUV". Check it out here...
Hunnypot is proud to be Zeus Rebel Waters official sync representative, both Master & Publishing, ask us about LICENSING!
On the home stretch of a 28-city tour to support their latest album, Horizons/East, Thrice brought their innovative rock act to San Diego Wednesday night at Observatory North Park. Unlike many bands where I lean with a preference to earlier works (e.g., Aerosmith, Def Leppard, U2), Thrice is the exact opposite. They have aged like a fine wine into one of the better post millennium rock bands around.
Debuting 20 years ago with a raw post hardcore punk screamo style (think Rise Against or Thursday), Thrice eventually gained critical acclaim (and more of my attention) by evolving into a refined mature deeply creative experimental alt/hard rock band. Their uniqueness now is their strength but perhaps a weakness as far as achieving breakthrough commercial success.
Thrice chose to open the show with “The Color of the Sky”, the first song off their new album. It’s an interesting choice, beginning quietly stripped down with only a mellow electronic loop and lead singer/guitarist Dustin Kensrue’s emotional vocals. As the second verse began, the powerful rhythm section of brothers Eddie (bass) and Riley Breckenridge (drums) bust in loudly to immediately raise the energy level. Kensrue, the heart and soul of the band, croons with an immediately identifiable raspy clean voice:
“And as I made my plans, My head would spin and swiftly dance between the whys, Like why the roads were all dead ends, Why we'd no word to name the color of the sky”
Finally, guitarist Teppei Teranishi adds the final climatic sonic touches to move the song to peak momentum. The second song was “Scavengers”, my favorite track off the new album, draws on the core band’s strength and “sound”. It’s a slick atmospheric mid-tempo rock jam with layers of great guitar work while Kensrue’s soulful vocals are complimented nicely with harmonies by Teranishi.
The band understandably played six songs off their new album. Thankfully they played perhaps their strongest song, the eerily dark, dynamic and mesmerizing “Black Honey” (51 million streams on Spotify) off of their 2016 album, To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere. Hearing this song delivered so musically tight and with such emotional power was my personal highlight of the night.
Thrice’s live performance is simple – they just play and rely on their musicianship and strong catalog of songs to win over and connect with the audience. There are no radio hits, not much band interaction with crowd, no charismatic egotistic front man antics, no band members jumping around all over the place. That just isn’t the Thrice style. However, the packed Observatory North Park crowd, average age around 30 years old, was clearly and completely tuned in to the music digging what they were hearing. Check out Thrice’s new album, Horizons/East, and check your own horizon for a potential Thrice tour stop in your area.
Rock on and be well!
Greg Vitalich
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.
Website Twitter Instagram AppleMusic Spotify
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.