Browsing all articles in Rock The Blues News
RTB News: Regional Faction
By Gary Draper
April was a rough month for our great country. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their family, and friends affected by the recent tragic events in Massachusetts and Texas.
On a lighter note, congrats to all the 2013 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Inductees. It was especially nice to see HEART inducted and finally recognized for their many contributions to Rock & Roll. So much musical talent has spawned from the Pacific Northwest. I feel very blessed to live here, and enjoy our world-class music scene.
RTB News: Leona X at Louie G’s
By Gary Draper, RockTheBlues.com
I caught a band at Louie G’s in Fife on Saturday, March 16, called “Leona X”. The band is fronted by lead guitarist/singer, Leona Marie (AKA Leo). She looks the part of a total rocker, and backs it up by shredding her guitar like crazy. I really enjoyed it! I shot a few photos and even recorded some video clips during their set.
RTB News: Louie G’s Pizzeria
By Gary Draper, RockTheBlues.com
Saturday, February 9th, Soulstice played a show at Louie G’s Pizzeria. It was a fun night, including great music and some damn good pizza. If you’re not familiar with Louie G’s, it’s an all-ages venue located just south of the iconic Poodle Dog Restaurant in Fife, Washington.
RTB NEWS: How I Spent My Vacation (Part 3)
By Gary Draper, RockTheBlues.com
Hey everybody, this is a recap of the final leg of my latest vacation.
I arrived in San Diego around noon on Tuesday, November 6, and the weather was nice – in the mid to upper-80s. I’ve gotta say, San Diego is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen. The trees are so green and healthy looking. They appear like they’ve all been manicured, and should be part of an arboretum. I stayed at the Travel Lodge Inn in La Mesa, a suburb of San Diego. My room window was about 20 feet from the pool. It looked inviting, but unfortunately I didn’t make it there for a swim during my stay.
RockTheBlues.com News: How I spent my vacation (Part 2)
By Gary Draper, RockTheBlues.com
Last month, I shared my experience gallivanting around Las Vegas. This month, let’s run around Los Angeles, Here’s some highlights of my time spent in L.A. during my latest vacation.
The weather was very warm, of course, borderline hot, but I wasn’t complaining. My good friend Brettina lives near Studio City. She was kind enough to show me some of the more interesting places in and around L.A.
How I spent my vacation (Part 1)
By Gary Draper
I decided it was time to take a 10-day whirlwind tour of Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Reno.
The first four days of my trip were spent in Las Vegas. When I got off the plane Thursday afternoon, the weather was perfect, and stayed beautiful the whole time I was there. This was my first time to the “Sin City”, so I was really excited to check it all out. My friend “Z”, who used to live in Seattle, but has lived in Vegas for the past ten years, showed me a lot of cool places, including Wayne Newton’s home (or ranch). It took up several city blocks and had tall walls surrounding the entire estate with big fancy iron gates. Quite impressive.
Rock The Blues News: Due Credit
By Gary Draper
I can’t believe the holidays are coming already and soon, another new year. My 2013 New Year’s resolution should be to not make resolutions that I probably won’t keep.
On October 12, I had the pleasure of seeing the Glenn Miller Orchestra at the Auburn Performing Arts Center. A far cry from Rock or Blues music, but a great concert nonetheless. I really enjoyed it. My late Father was a musician, performing several of Glenn Miller’s songs back in the day. This concert brought back some very fond memories for me.
RockTheBlues.com News
Happy Halloween, Support The Music
By Gary Draper
Other than half the state of Washington being on fire, September was not too bad. At least the weather was nice. I drove over to Eastern Washington and the smoke was thick as fog in places and smelled terrible. Sure wouldn’t want to be in the middle that for very long. I feel for the people who live there and had to breathe in that smoke for days.
Rock The Blues News
By Gary Draper
Looking back at August, I have some mixed feelings. I had great fun, but also a sad reminder of someone very special that we lost on August 18, 2008.
This year marked the fourth anniversary to the untimely death of local musician and friend, JOE SHIKANY.
RTB NEWS: Let’s Talk Music
By Gary Draper
Greetings! I’m going to get serious here for just a moment. For some time now, the live music scene around the great Pacific Northwest has been ailing. While we are blessed to have some of the best musical talent in the entire world living right here, our live music venues seem to be fading away. These clubs are having a hard time getting enough people in the door to pay for the bands.
