Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Led Zeppelin: John Bonham’s Gong Up For Auction


Bonzo’s gong.

THE FREAKING GONG.

Bonhams & Butterfields has it and will auction it off in Los Angeles on June 14. Current estimate has it in the $100K range.

http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.sh/pubweb/publicSite.r?sContinent=EUR&screen=lotdetailsNoFlash&iSaleItemNo=4294392&iSaleNo=17108&iSaleSectionNo=1

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Music Memorabilia Giant Passes Away


Don Bernstine, longtime music industry veteran with the self professed “coolest job in the world” passed away April 19 at the age of 53.

You may not know the name – but you know his work. He was the head of Memorabilia Acquisitions for Hard Rock International.

Don began his career as Director of Marketing and Promotion for Deep Purple where he worked closely with the band and oversaw several world tours and record launches, resulting in their platinum and gold status.

But he was best known for wheeling and dealing with artists to add to the vault of the world’s biggest music memorabilia collector.

Hard Rock will create a limited-edition pin in memory of Don, which will be available on http://www.hardrock.com/, with proceeds benefitting the Best Friends Animal Society, a nonprofit, membership organization building no-kill programs and partnerships that will bring about a day when there are no more homeless pets.

Donations may also be sent to the Donald K. Bernstine Memorial Fund https://www.bestfriends.org/donate/give.cfm to support the mission of Best Friends Animal Society. (Please indicate that the gift is in memory of Don Bernstine.)

Green Day & The Ramones: Stage Used Mic From CBGB Up For Auction


When the club closed in 2006, the bathrooms, stage, bar, walls, and sound system were hauled away and hidden under lock and key. Some of those artifacts are now on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex in NYC.

But one item has been donated by the caretakers to benefit The Joey Ramone Foundation: a Shure SM57 Microphone that was used for more than a decade by numerous bands including Green Day and The Ramones.

The auction, being run by CBGB, is part of several events celebrating Joey Ramone’s Birthday.

Check it out and bid here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260411252315&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Celebrates 5th Anniversary With New Guitar Display


The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida is celebrating its fifth anniversary by opening a new display featuring five guitars that belonged to legendary musicians Eric Clapton, Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Elvis Presley, and Bruce Springsteen. The Hard Rock Cafe will also have a Jimi Hendrix guitar on display for the next month. Tribe officials have planned a cake-cutting ceremony with the Seminole Hard Rock Calendar Girls – nothing says rock & roll like cake and calendar girls…

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

What’s Your Man Cave Look Like??


Great article on the growing trend of “Man Caves” (or “Man Rooms,” “Mantuaries,” etc.) to display all that memorabilia and have an adult beverage or two.

Check it out: http://www.dailybreeze.com/lifeandculture/ci_12330049

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Farrah Fawcett: The Poster That Made Her An Icon


If you posses both a Y and X chromosome, and you were breathing in the 70’s, you’ve seen it.

And if you were single at the time – you probably had one on your wall.

In all it sold 12 million copies.

Yeah, 12 freakin’ million.

As the world prepares to say goodbye to one of the most famous faces of a generation (and the woman who made the one piece red swimsuit legendary long before Pamela Anderson ever wore one), THE POSTER is back in vogue. eBay is flooded with at the moment – so finding one to replace your long lost original shouldn’t be too difficult.

And how it all came to be is pretty interesting.


Mike and Ted Trikilis, the college drop-outs turned 1970’s poster titans, got a tip from a buddy: all his male friends were buying women's magazines to get pictures of Farrah’s Wella Balsam shampoo ads. If I were you, the buddy said, I'd make a poster of her.

The brothers didn't know who Farrah was – this was before "Charlie's Angels" – but they figured if guys were buying women’s magazines just to get her picture, they'd surely buy her poster.

They contacted Farrah’s agent Rick Hersh, who didn't seem to grasp the concept.

"What type of product is Farrah to be selling on the poster?" he asked.

"We want to sell Farrah on the Farrah poster," they explained.

It was an odd request, but Hersh pitched it to her, who found the idea “cute” and agreed to the deal.

They shot the now iconic photo by the pool at the Bel Air home she shared with actor Lee Majors, TV's "The Six Million Dollar Man."

She did her own hair.

And that strange background? It’s an old Indian blanket the photographer was using to cover the seat of his beat-up Chevy.

In the end, she chose which pose was to be used.

And history was made.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Rock Stars' Cars & Guitars at the Henry Ford Museum


It’s been said “If the hot rod is the electric guitar of cars, then the electric guitar must be the hot rod of musical instruments” – and nowhere is that truth more evident than at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Once both derided as juvenile delinquent fads, hot rods and rock 'n' roll are being celebrated together in a unique exhibit on display May 16 to September 7, 2009.

The exhibit features more than 20 cars, more than 50 guitars, and a wide array of rock memorabilia from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the Experience Music Project, and the stars' personal collections.

Remember the “Eliminator” from the ZZ Top videos in the 80’s? That thing single handedly pushed Hot Rodding into the mainstream. It’s there. And so is the '36 Ford custom owned by Metallica’s Kirk Hammett; a '56 Lincoln Continental owned by The Who’s Pete Townshend; the '32 roadster driven by Ricky Nelson on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet; Jimmie Vaughan's '63 Buick Riv custom; and a whole lot more.

Check out
www.TheHenryFord.org for more info.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

The Peace Song Challenge


If there’s a song burning somewhere in your soul about some much needed peace, love, and understanding, the good people at “Bring Peace Not Pain” want to hear it.

They’ve issued a “peace song challenge” in the form of a contest that will result in some major league exposure and a nice package from Gibson Guitars for the winner.

The contest is open to professional and amateur musicians who want to share their feelings, hopes, and dreams about peace through an original song, soundtrack, or music score. The winning entry may become the official song of the organization and be used for their promotional campaigns.

Judges for the contest include Legendary producer Bob Ezrin (KISS, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel), Singer/songwriter Yusuf (best known for his former stage name Cat Stevens), and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame President and CEO Terry Stewart.

All entries for the Peace Song Challenge are due by July 25, 2009. The top entries will be judged and a winner announced on or before November 25 2009.

Visit
http://www.bringpeacenotpain.com/events_peace_challenges for details.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

John Lennon Exhibit Opens At The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex NYC


The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex NYC is set to open an exhibition based on John Lennon's years in New York City that celebrates his passion for music, art, politics, and film.

Entitled "John Lennon: The New York City Years", the exhibit will open May 11 and include many artifacts from his life in New York, from photographs to musical instruments, handwritten lyrics, and artwork.

Favorites are Lennon's actual "New York City" t-shirt from Bob Gruen’s iconic photo, as well as the Tele he used during his last public performance at Madison Square Garden in 1974 when he performed with Elton John.

(If you’ve never heard THAT story… Elton made a bet with Lennon that their duet "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night" would make it to #1. Lennon wasn’t convinced. If it did, Lennon agreed to emerge from his self-imposed retirement and play it live with his piano playing co-writer. After the song indeed reached the top of the Billboard chart’s, Lennon made a surprise guest appearance at Elton’s Thanksgiving concert at Madison Square Garden and performed "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night" and "I Saw Her Standing There".)

Friday, May 1, 2009

Les Paul's House of Sound Exhibit at Discovery World in Milwaukee


The idea for the solid body electric guitar AND multi-track recording came from one man’s brain (and garage) – and his name is on the headstock of the most iconic guitar ever made: the Gibson Les Paul.

Now through December 31, 2009, music fans of all stripes have a rare opportunity to see the beginnings of both innovations in an exhibit designed around the creative spirit of the 93 year old inventor.

There you’ll find the famous section of railroad tie with a string attached (which constituted his earliest experiment at creating a solid-body guitar), the cobbled together telephone, speaker, and broomstick that made up one of his earliest attempts at amplification, and the workshop with his now antique lathes that were used to make history.

Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen was just there – along with his favorite 12 vintage Les Paul’s – for a fantastic guitar show.

If you go, be sure to take advantage of the studio portion where guests can jam virtually with the master.

http://www.discoveryworld.org/lespaul.php