Sunday, December 31, 2006

Resolute

My New Year's post is over at .

But right here, right now, I want to thank each and every one of you who stop by to check out my pictures and incessant blathering.

I hope you'll stick around for 2007. I'm shooting to finish Everybody I Shot Is Dead finished this year. Reader encouragement is most appreciated.

Saturday, December 30, 2006

This is dedicated...

Everybody I Shot Is Dead will be dedicated to four people. Although not musicians per se, all four are rock stars in their own right. And each of them played an important part in helping me realize my rock'n'roll dreams.

Today is the 12th anniversary of the death of one of my dedicatees. She was the coolest of the cool. She was also kind enough to save my ass on more than one occasion.

Maureen Starkey
8/4/46 - 12/30/94

I took this photo in 1977 by the lake at Friar Park. Yeah, that would be George Harrison's house in Henley-on-the-Thames. Of course, I'm saving the full story and more pictures for the book.

If you want to pay tribute to Maureen, pull out your Beatles White Album and listen to The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill. She sings back-up.

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Dennis Wilson

He died 23 years ago today.

12/4/44 - 12/28/83

Listen to Good Vibrations and keep him in your thoughts.

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Friday, December 22, 2006

Converting Sucks!

Last night I wrote a scathing post about the suckiness of Blogger because I've been having a shitload of trouble since I converted this blog over to the new version. I saved the scathing post as a draft to upload later today because I didn't want to take any focus away from Maurice Gibb's birthday post. Happy Birthday, Maurice!

But today, I finally solved the second biggest problem I was having...it had to do with editing my links, since my first huge problem was the disappearance of my access to my MY FIRST KISS blog (as in, I had no access to post...and still don't) and having recreated that blog over at Wordpress I needed to edit the link from here to there instead of the now dormant and inaccessable Blogger version. (nice grammatically structured sentence, Chesher) (thank you for noticing)

What did I learn today? There was another step to upgrading this blog that they neglected to point out. And their Help Center is not structured for people who think logically. But I am such a genius, I finally cracked their secret code and fixed the links on the sidebar. Yeah technically challenged me.

If you're too lazy to find the link over there, just click this one:



If you are one of my awesome readers that has linked to My First Kiss on your blog, please edit the link. And my apologies for the trouble. I'd post the move on the Blogger version of My Firsst Kiss, but I can't access it. Can't even delete the damn thing. I now know what it feels like to be tied up and ______ (fill in the blank). I hate Blogger.

Sorry for the rant and thanks for reading. I now return you to our regular broadcast.

Another Birthday

Happy 57th Birthday, Maurice!

12/22/49 - 1/12/03

We miss you.


Thursday, December 21, 2006

Two Birthdays

Happy 60th Birthday, Carl!

Carl Wilson
12/21/46 - 2/6/98


Happy 66th Birthday, Frank!

Frank Zappa
12/21/40 - 12/4/93

Odd fact: Frank was born on Carl Wilson's birthday and died on Dennis Wilson's birthday.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

HELP!!!

I'm going insane. Can someone help me? Please?

Several people contacted me saying they were having trouble posting comments on this blog. So, yesterday, I finally decided to switch the blog to the new version. Now Blogger requires me to sign in with my gmail account. No biggie. Except for some reason, I can't access my new blog. This blog is the only one that shows up on the Blogger Dashboard. When I try to sign in with my username for My First Kiss it sends me to window and signs me in under the gmail username and then opens up Everybody I Shot Is Dead.

If you are reading this and have any technical knowledge (read that as: if you happen to be a closet hacker), I am begging for your help. Pretty please. Don't want to out yourself in the comments section? Email me.

Hank Snow

May 5, 1914 - December 20, 1999

He's singing in heaven but his legacy on Earth is alive and well .

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Paul Butterfield

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAUL

He would have been 64 today, December 17th.

Four things Paul Butterfield wants you to do to celebrate his birthday:

1. Crank up a Butterfield CD. Currently playing on my itunes: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, East-West and Paul Butterfield's Better Days.

2. Visit his My Space site : (you can hear Born In Chicago there).

3. Join the yahoo group, run by Paul's son Gabe Butterfield and the lovely Salli Squitieri. They have lots of info for blues fanatics and do great work in the blues community.

4. Sign the to get Paul in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Ahmet Ertegun

Who knows where music would have been without him?


1923-2006

Classroom In A Book

I just finished Lesson 1 of 13 in my Adobe GoLive Classroom in a Book. The book said Lesson 1 would take 2 hours. I think it took me 4. But that includes driving to Starbucks for a refill, checking email and watching TV. Focus problems here?

What made it even worse was that I should already know this program. After all, I built my company site for . Using GoLive. So, why am I finally going through the 13 lessons now? Well, first off, I haven't updated my site in so long I've pretty much forgotten how to do it. And secondly, I have internet plans that requires extensive web building knowledge. Like putting up video clips. And interactive secure purchasing features.

I was initially planning to hire someone to help out with my retail site but I didn't find anyone. As usual, I'm on my own. My once-a-week (now once-every-other-week since he got a job at the DGA) assistant has just about finished inventory on my stash. The idea is to build a virtual Starart store and sell what's left of the stash. Lots of art prints. A few of the original books that were for sale in bookstores. And some of the Limited Edition leatherbound books that were numbered and signed by the artists. I also have someone digitizing my video and audio tapes from way back then - including my interviews with the artists I did for the text part of the book, my appearance on Merv Griffin (with Jay Leno sitting next to me) and a bunch of video with the artists from the gallery shows. These files will be edited into clips and posted on the Starart store site for your viewing and aural pleasure.

There will also be a virtual store for the Limited Edition series of my rock'n'roll photography (Tom Waits will be the initial offering). I'm still figuring out the best way to structure the releases - number of prints, sizes, etc. And, I'm doing the 13 lessons which will hopefully teach me how to set up the credit card deal and shipping info and all that other important technical stuff that I have no clue about. As it stands now, the Chesher Cat site is simple, simple, simple. Nothing moves. No bells and whistles. Just point and click. Quick and easy. And unaccommodating for my future endeavors. The rest of the lessons are supposed to take an hour each. Maybe I'll be done and building by Christmas.

Wish me luck. Or if you have any experience with retail sites and want to give me advice, I'm all ears. Really. Any and all input is appreciated.

Monday, December 11, 2006

Huh?

Can anybody explain this email I got today?

Dear blog author:

We recently came across your site, everybodyishotisdead.blogspot.com , while searching for bloggers who blog about the NBA.

A small group of us have started a new site called NBA Bloggers . Our intent is to bring basketball bloggers closer together, and make a positive contribution to the Internet community.

Would you be interested in joining NBA Bloggers ? Please take a few minutes to have a look at what we are trying to do, and if you are interested, there is a sign up page to get the ball rolling. We would greatly appreciate your support in this endeavour.

If you do not feel that your blog would be a good fit for NBA Bloggers but like to read about your favorite sports team, come visit us for some great content from our growing list of blog authors. You can also check our FAQ Section to learn more about NBA Bloggers

We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you on NBA Bloggers .


Craig Cantin

NBA Bloggers


Have I ever mentioned the NBA or basketball?

Um....no.

Oops. Until now.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Blue Oyster Cult - Backstage

These are the formerly lost but newly found BOC backstage photos as requested by new reader, Chris Baker. I could not deny him (I hope you are a guy, Chris). He's seen Blue Oyster Cult 70 times. Since I misidentified or could not identify the members of the band in the live shots, I'm counting on Chris to pick me up on these shots. Of course, then I'll edit the post so I don't look like such an idiot.

Okay...that's Eric Bloom on the right and Frank Gigliotti from CBS Records
on his left. Don't know who's on the far left.

Help me here, Chris.

Ummm...

...and...

Ha...I know this one...Eric Bloom being interviewed by Tom Harrison.
Can't remember who Tom was writing for then, but I hear he's still going
strong with the Vancouver Province. Check out that reel-to-reel he used.

Anybody know what Eric is showing Tom?

Sadly, crappy eats on the table.

I'm guessing he doesn't know who he is either.

Chris: If you can ID the girls you get bonus points.

And if you talk to Albert, I'd be interested to know if he remembers coming to my house. Hopefully, his memory is better than mine and he can fill me in on what really happened. Whoever was recording was also really happy we were on the final approach path of the airport. I wonder if any of his audio tapes still exist?

The previously posted live BOC shots are

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

A Scanner Demon

Going wild on scanning. It's really fun, especially with the black and whites. I keep finding wonderful surprises. It's like Christmas every day. And today was no different.

I scanned my Papa John Creach negs (tell me you know who he is). I surprised myself with a couple of very cool backstage shots of him. I need to figure out where I shot him. Looks like a club.

Then I did my Marc Bolan black and whites to add to the color slides I scanned previously. I have some great shots of him. I'm guessing T-Rex headlined with Blue Oyster Cult opening because...surprise...the negs had backstage shots of BOC, then live shots of Bolan, then more backstage of BOC. Let me know if you want to see the BOC backstage stuff and I'll post some. I have live BOC photos posted , in case you missed them back in April. Is it true that nobody reads blog archives?

I wish I'd been more organized with logging who I shot, when I shot them and where. I have this three-page list that I hand-printed way back when, but it's nowhere near complete...even within the list. And my memory? Well, we can forget about that.

Monday, December 04, 2006

When It Snows

I'm scanning my Hank Snow black and white negs today and at the bottom there's a neg strip with two images on it. In glancing at it I thought it was a couple of backstage shots of Hank Snow. So, I scanned it.

Not Hank Snow. Nothing to do with Hank Snow. Not the same job, not even the same record company.

Here's the best of the two pics:


Shot in Vancouver at the C-FUN radio station. Are they still around? Totally did not remember doing this until I saw the picture. That cool shot of Chuck Berry is also mine. One I'm planning for my Limited Edition Print Series.

The girl on the right is/was my client, Monica Netupsky. She worked really hard for a record distributor that handled a lot of the independent labels. She's also in a backstage photo of the Al Stewart band that I posted a while back. I really liked Monica. We became good friends. She had the biggest record collection I have ever seen. Walls and walls of vinyl in the basement of her parents' house in North Vancouver.

Monica gave me the one contact I had when I moved to Los Angeles. I owe her. I'm really sorry I lost touch with Monica. If any of you know who she is and where I can find her, please let me know.

Now, back to scanning Mr. Snow. Appropriate for the season.

Let it Snow
Let it Snow
Let it Snow...

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Stepping Out

Yes, I'm stepping out on Everybody I Shot Is Dead.

Every time I post something on here about the movie biz or my screenwriting, I feel guilty. This blog is about the book and that's how it's going to stay. No more tangents. Only the book and anything rock'n'roll.

So, I've gone and started another blog. On the other blog I am chronicling the making of a movie that I wrote and am producing. As well as anything else movie biz oriented.

I'd be very happy if those of you who are specifically interested in the book want to stop by and read about the movie. I'm sure some of it will interest you, since the movie is very music-oriented.

And those of you who have been reading this blog because you are interested in the movie stuff, I hope you'll still read this blog and follow my progress on the book.

The new blog is if you want to check it out.


Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Back To The Book

I've been a little lax lately on all things that are my book and rock'n'roll. Which doesn't mean it hasn't been on my mind.

I've been mulling layout ideas in my head and am now ready to take a crack at actually putting these ideas to paper. Get them out of my head. Of course, this requires a modicum of effort...something I've been adverse to of late. But that is all going to change. Now. Right this minute. No more thinking...just doing. As some long lost relative used to say, "It's time to shit, or get off the pot."

Up to now, I've been using a traditional book proposal to show around. It consists of a Synopsis, About the Author, Market and Promotion, Competition, Sample Writing and four or five Sample Photographs. It's thirteen typed pages plus the photos, and fits neatly into a three-hole report folder. Ugh! Not exactly what I want for this book. It's a bunch of words on white bond paper and a few glossy pictures. It doesn't speak to what's special about the book.

And that just reminds me to go back to my roots. When I came up with the concept of Starart (my coffee table book of artwork by six rock stars), I put together mock-ups. Fortunately, I met George "Commander Cody" Frayne who agreed to be my guinea pig. I took photographs of all his work, did an audio interview and took photos of him. Then I put his whole chapter together - typing the text and pasting up prints from the photos - so he could see my vision.

This is a spread from the interview portion of the mock-up.

This is a spread from the art portion of the mock-up.

This is from the actual book.

And this is how that above art spread looks in the book.

I also used Commander Cody's chapter mock-up to attract other artists. First, John Mayall and then Klaus Voormann. I used those three to get Cat Stevens. Then, Ron Wood.

This was an interview spread in Ron Wood's chapter mock-up.

This is an art spread from Ronnie's chapter mock-up.
And that's his hand-written comment that he added
for his John Baldry album cover.

And here's how the mock-up spreads look in the finished book.


Finally, after Ron Wood, I met Joni Mitchell. She immediately agreed to be in the book. I did the same with her -- took photos of her art, did interviews and then put together her mock-up. But for Joni I did something completely different. I didn't use the photographs of her art. I did color-pencil drawings of her work. Either I was nuts or out of money to get all the prints made. Maybe a little bit of both. Here's what I did:

Yup. These are my drawings of Joni Mitchell's drawings.

As are these.

Here are the finished spreads of the above mock-ups.
Joni's drawings, not mine.

I remember when I showed her the mock-up. I was nervous. Considering the gall I had to reproduce her work with my own hand. At first, with the pen & inks, she didn't realize they were frauds. When she finished looking at it, she complimented my work and said I should reprint my drawings in the book...they were better.

Anyway, the point is, I need to do the same thing with Everybody I Shot Is Dead. I need to excite people with my vision. So, it's time to put together mock-ups of a couple of my dead rock stars. I'm thinking Michael Bloomfield and John Bonham.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

I Love This Time Of Year

It's Fall. In Los Angeles that means all the big potential-to-get-nominated-for-awards movies come out. For me, that means lots of free screenings. I am getting several emails a week inviting me to this or that movie. I can't make all of them, but with the price of movies at the theaters, I'm seeing as many as possible. Most of the screenings are for people who work in the film industry (through Below-the-Line or Women In Film, etc.) or for writers (Creative Screenwriting has lots of screenings this time of year). And generally the screenings have pretty interesting Q&As after the show.

Recently, I received this email:

WOMEN IN FILM AND UNIVERSAL PICTURES INVITES WIF MEMBERS AND A GUEST TO A SCREENING OF:

CHILDREN OF MEN
Q&A follows with Director Alfonso Cuaron and star, Actor Clive Owen.
Thursday, November 16th
7:30 PM (you must be at theatre at 7pm)
The Village Theatre
961 Broxton Ave.
Los Angeles, CA

RSVP: ONLY 50 SEATS AVAILABLE. You MUST call the WIF RSVP line, 310.362.xxxx, and state that you're reserving for the Children of Men Screening. Please be sure to leave your name and phone number.
At the screening, if asked, let them know you are with Women In Film.
CHILDREN OF MEN
Children of Men envisages a world one generation from now that has fallen into anarchy on the heels of an infertility defect in the population. The world's youngest citizen has just died at 18, and humankind is facing the likelihood of its own extinction. Set against a backdrop of London torn apart by violence and warring nationalistic sects, Children of Men follows disillusioned bureaucrat Theo (Clive Owen) as he becomes an unlikely champion of Earth's survival. When the planet's last remaining hope - a lone pregnant woman named Kee - is threatened, this reluctant activist is forced to face his own demons and protect her from certain peril.
Directed and co-written by acclaimed filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron, Children of Men also stars Julianne Moore as Julian, the leader of an underground opposition group, and Michael Caine as Jasper.

PLEASE ARRIVE EARLY. Limited seats available. THIS TICKET DOES NOT GUARANTEE YOU A SEAT. THEATRE IS OVERBOOKED TO ENSURE A FULL HOUSE. THEATRE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR OVERBOOKING. NO ADMITTANCE ONCE SCREENING HAS BEGUN. We reserve the right to admit or refuse access to the theatre at the discretion of an authorized representative.
NO RECORDING This screening will be monitored for unauthorized recording. By attending, you agree not to bring any recording device into the theatre and you consent to physical search of your belongings and person for recording devices. If you attempt to enter with a recording device, you will be denied admission. If you attempt to use a recording device, you consent to your immediate removal from the theatre and forfeiture of the device and its contents. Unauthorized recording will be reported to law enforcement and may subject you to criminal and civil liability.


Clive Owen? Who could say no to that?

I called the RSVP number and later received an email confirming I had two seats for the screening. Cool. So, after a hard day's work, I hop in the car with a screenwriter friend and make the drive over the hill to deal with the potential parking nightmare known as Westwood. No time to change. I'm wearing a pair of faded (because they're old) black jeans with ragged fraying cuffs and a white pull-over hoody sweatshirt. My friend is dressed similarly. We arrive at the closet parking lot and the usual $5 parking fee has been jacked up to $10. Crap. Oh well, the movie's free.

We trek down the street toward the theater and the sidewalk is blocked. Huh? It's just a friggin' screening. What's the big deal?

Then I see it. Aack! The Red Carpet. And the Lights. A premiere? Can't be for Children of Men. Could it? Thanks for the heads up, WIF. (See above for what I was wearing.)

I walked up to Mr. Security and said, "I'm on the list for the screening." He told us we had to cross the street to get around to the other side of the theater and half-way down was the will-call. Okay. I'm not good with being told what to do. I tried to save six steps by walking down the middle of the street. I was quickly yelled at by another security and warned that there were police present.

We get to the will-call table set up on the sidewalk half a block down and I am presented with this (+ one for my friend):

I look back toward the theater and see the Bright Lights and the Red Carpet flanked with tons of photographers. Then noticed a line of regular-type people wrapping around the the corner. Okay, that's where we're going...into the regular people line and we'll be let in after all the Red Carpet stuff is done. Phew.



We walk across the street and show our tickets to another security guy. Expecting him to direct us to the back of the line. He doesn't. He waves us onto the Red Carpet. To be honest, at this point, I was cracking up. I knew I looked like crap. But I figured that was better than looking mediocre. At least if you look like total crap, and you're on the Red Carpet, it looks like you dressed down intentionally. As if to say, "Fuck you, Hollywood. I'm too cool for you."

So, my friend and I walked the carpet like we owned it. Sadly, we didn't pull one over on the paparrazzi. Maybe one flash went off. Maybe.

We hit the lobby and were immediately offered free popcorn and sodas. Perks. And then found our front and center (heavy on the 'front') seats. After a really long wait, the film was introduced by director, Alfonso Cuaron. The movie was great. And so was Clive.

There was no Q&A with Clive Owen. Duh. It was a studio premiere. My friend saw Clive in the lobby. I only saw him in the movie. But we breathed the same air. Aaaahh.

Tonight, I'm going to see Notes on a Scandal, starring Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett. It's on the Paramount lot. I'm not dressing up.

Tomorrow night, it's Stranger Than Fiction on the Sony lot. I'm not dressing up for that one either.


Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Awestin - The Final Chapter

Yes, it was a film festival...with a screenwriter's conference, but it felt a little bit like rock'n'roll to me. Like a tour, where you get very close to people very fast. A family is formed, memories are shared, and parting is such sweet sorrow.

And somewhere in there is THE PARTY. Not the party after the show that takes place at a club - although Austin had plenty of those...two per night, all open bars hosted by Bombay Sapphire and Dos Equis. Not the party in the hotel bar - although that was rocking every night 'til 2AM...um, including one night when a pack of clowns passed through. Clowns? Is she kidding? No, there were clowns...and not just the ones I was already hanging out with. Here's the proof:



What is THE PARTY? It's not the party after the show, not the club party and not the hotel bar party. THE PARTY doesn't start until around 2:30AM. After the last call drinks are consumed. Think about it...anybody can go to a show - you just have to buy a ticket...it's a little more difficult to get backstage but not much - you just have to look good or know how to sneak in...it's more difficult to get into the club party - you have to be on the list or know somebody on the list...it's even more difficult to go to the hotel bar party - there's security at the hotels so you have to know somebody with the band or already a guest at the hotel.

But even more difficult to get into is THE PARTY. If you don't know somebody in the band you better be ready to sleep (no sleeping involved) with somebody in the band because THE PARTY is the one that takes place in the hotel room, with a bathtub full of ice and beer. It's by invitation only. Just because you know about THE PARTY and know what room THE PARTY is in, doesn't guarantee entry. You gotta be somebody to be at THE PARTY.

And, yes, I've been to more than my share of THE PARTY parties. Probably more than I remember...aah, oops, not going there...okay, where was I?

THE PARTY in Austin...it took place at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel and these were the hosts:

Brett and Murray aka Drunk and Drunker

And since a picture's worth a thousand words, I'll shut up:

Julie, Jamie, Reece (only time without a hat) and Me in the middle.

Caroline came all the way from England to put her foot behind her head.

Ann and Jill (winner of the Teleplay Drama Award).

Jamie and Shawna...Reece and Julie
Can someone explain where Julie's left hand is and why Reece has that 'look' on his face?

THE PARTY always has a room service call.

Mr. Room Service breaks out in song & dance.

"Why the fuck do you keep taking pictures of me eating?"

After dinner...dessert.

Jill and the very married Murray.

I was looking for a Barry Pepper pose from Reece.

Shawna sings Etta James. Reece's foot as her microphone.

Much time was spent discussing Jamie's claim of an extra bone in his foot.

Julie's version of 'bust'a cap'.

Jamie and Reece partake in a little man-love.

"It was good for me. Was it good for you?"

The real Brett we know and love.

Jamie gives tongue. Ann licks it.

Shawna has a point.

"It's 6:30 in the Goddamn morning. Get out of our room!"

There was one other major rock'n'roll incident that happened at THE PARTY. And I have pictures. But I promised not to post them. And I promised not to tell. There's always a secret that comes out of THE PARTY. A secret only those on the inside know. And so it shall remain.

See y'all next year.