The Graves | A Love Story 

One of my greatest achievements and memories doing this wonderful work that feeds my soul every day...in my 14th year now full-time and it NEVER gets old!

❤️🎸🎤🙏💯✅
 
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Remember me telling you about this story that I caught by accident one day, randomly turning on the TV after coming home from a gig? It was on the Garvin Thomas NBC Bay Area news program, about a couple married 72 years that never had a real wedding, because the husband had to rush off to war? And that the activity director of their retirement community decided to throw them an actual wedding, with all the bells and whistles, but there was no music?
I was so moved by their story that I moved heaven and earth to make that part happen for them, and on Wednesday, I got to devote an entire performance to their story in front of all their friends via songs and interaction with them. Since they didn't have a favorite love song, I declared " As Time Goes By" as their first dance, someone assisted them safely to get up, and they held each other and danced to their new official wedding song. They held hands and looked into each other's eyes, and sang to each other throughout the whole show. Even to my original song "When My Eyes Met You", which re-invented itself as if I wrote it just for them at that moment.
The whole experience was one of the greatest moments of my life. A moment I had to pay attention to when it arose, and do whatever it took to grab it. It was not handed to me tied up in a bow, I had to create it. Those moments you reach for are the greatest ones of all, because when they do happen, they are SO worth it.
You just can't begin to imagine what this felt like. They were both two of the sweetest, cutest folks I have ever met - 90 and 94 yrs old and still spry and totally in love. All I am waiting for are the pictures the activity director took, but I couldn't wait to share them with all of my FB peeps. I know some of you love this stuff, and it warms my heart to know that. I even got a call from Mira yesterday asking for my address so they could send me a thank-you note. A thank you note! All that and "Dear Abby" manners too?! Sometimes I have to pinch myself to remember this is my life. Seriously.

John Lennon - Happy Xmas (War Is Over) 

44 years ago, on December 8, 1980, I was driving home from a rehearsal, across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco back to Marin County, CA, when I heard the news on the radio that John Lennon had been murdered.

At first, I didn't believe it and was certain I must have heard it wrong. Double Fantasy was literally on my turntable when I left the house that day and the news shattered me. I was living alone at the time in a little studio apartment nestled in the hills of Corte Madera, and when I got home, I listened to the whole album and wept for hours. When I finally went to sleep that night, I had a dream. John appeared beside my bed and sat next to me. Yoko was across the room, near the fireplace, watching. It was so real, I thought I was awake and when I woke up, I couldn't shake the feeling that it actually happened. All I could listen to the next few days were Beatles records and Double Fantasy. To this day, the sadness I felt was palpable.

So much of why I began to play music and eventually became a songwriter was because of my love for The Beatles, especially John Lennon's extraordinary contribution. My guitar teacher William Brown taught me "Working Class Hero" when I was only 8 years old! Years later, when I reconnected with William through Facebook, I asked him why he gave me such a heavy, intense song at such a young age. Bill replied, "Because I knew you could handle it." I have always felt a strong connection to John Lennon. It felt like I was mourning a family member.

That Sunday, Yoko asked the world to honor John with 10 minutes of silence at noon, or something like that. I was working as a waitress at Carlos O'Brien's in Tiburon and in the middle of a busy Sunday brunch shift, I left the floor and went up into the attic and lit a candle for John and knelt and prayed for him and the world. It was a miracle I didn't get fired. I didn't care, it was something I had to do.

Fast forward to December 8, 2000. I had just moved back home to the San Francisco Bay Area from Nashville, to help take care of my dad and help my mom. My friend Rabbi Herbert Morris, the rabbi I grew up with at Beth Israel Judea Temple on Brotherhood Way, heard I was back in town after living in LA/NYC and Nashville for most of my adult life. Rabbi Morris called me that day and told me there was a member of our congregation he wanted to connect me with, someone in the music industry he felt would be helpful for me to know. Rabbi Morris was always so cool and hip, even in retirement. So I knew I better call this guy ASAP, there must be a good reason I was supposed to meet him.

That man was Dave Sholin aka "The Duke"- a renowned DJ from SF Bay Area AM radio station KFRC. Dave was the last DJ to interview John Lennon, just a few hours before John was shot in front of The Dakotas, his home in NYC. I spoke to Dave Sholin for the first time on December 8, 2000, the 20th anniversary of John Lennon's death. It began a friendship that I will always treasure.

It is always my greatest honor to perform John Lennon's Christmas song "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)". It has become an annual tradition to do it at the El Rio jam with the house band Los Train Wreck. This year, I was blessed to perform it with the house band Craig & MacGregor at Audrey Thaler DeChadenedes & Ken Owen's Holiday Party just last week on 12/1/24.

This clip is from my Kimberlye Gold Rock'n'Soul All-Star Holiday Revue at the Empress Theatre on December 21, 2018. That show remains one of the greatest nights of my life, particularly because we closed the 2 hr. night with John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)". It was a dream come true for me to honor John on a big stage with an incredible band like this, for which I am eternally grateful.

 

John Lennon lives on...Strawberry Fields Forever...

 

Happy Xmas 2024, blog peeps...LOVELOVELOVE each other!!!

Tribute to J.D. Souther 

Back in 1989 or so, at the tail end of the decade I lived in LA, I was an active member for several years of a great organization called the National Academy Of Songwriters (NAS). One of their most popular and prestigious events was an annual show called "Salute To The American Songwriter", where they would put together a spectacular line-up of hit songwriters and artists to perform their iconic chart toppers at a beautiful LA theater. One of my favorite memories was being seated next to Michael McDonald before he went onstage to do his own set.
But the year I will never forget and cherish the most was when they enlisted a bunch of us "up-and-coming songwriters" to help them run the show. I was one of the "artist liaisons" and was assigned 3 songwriters to take care of for the evening, get them to and from the stage from their green rooms/dressing rooms, and make sure they had everything they needed.
One was the songwriting team of Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg, who were the dream team hit machine behind such iconic chart toppers as "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper, "Alone" for Heart, "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles and on and on. Just churning out hit after hit all over '80s radio and MTV, they were on fire! I admired their work so much and was very excited to meet them, true songwriting heroes of mine at the time. Unfortunately, my recollection of my experience with them was that they were total divas who thought they were rock stars and treated me like "the help" and were extremely rude, arrogant, and dismissive. Oh well. Sometimes meeting your heroes is not all it's cracked up to be. I did my due diligence for them and kept my distance.
The 3rd songwriter I was assigned to assist was a true legend and one of my all-time heroes: none other than JD Souther.
J.D. Souther co-wrote some of the biggest hits for the Eagles, including "Best of My Love", "Victim of Love", "Heartache Tonight", and "New Kid in Town". "How Long", which appeared on Eagles' Long Road Out of Eden, was written by Souther and originally recorded on his first solo album in 1972. Souther recorded two major hit songs in his solo career: "You're Only Lonely" (1979) and "Her Town Too" (1981), a duet with his longtime friend James Taylor. J.D. also co-wrote one of my personal all-time favorite songs "Heart Of The Matter" with Don Henley and Mike Campbell, which was one of Henley's most successful solo hits. He also dated and wrote songs for/with Linda Ronstadt and Stevie Nicks. Great taste in everything!
When I arrived at J.D's dressing room to introduce myself and present my services to him, give him his call time, etc., I was braced for anything after dealing with the Kelly/Steinberg dual diva energy. J.D. stopped what he was doing, stood up, shook my hand, and said, "Kimberlye, so nice to meet you! Let me introduce you to everyone!", and proceeded to introduce me to his wife and everyone in the room, saying, "This is Kimberlye and she is going to be helping us tonight!" Then he turned back to me and said, "Would you care to join us?" He literally invited me to eat with them. Of course, I knew I wasn't supposed to do that, but that kind and inclusive gesture was something I can still hear echoing in my ears right now. Each time I had to interact with him, get him to and from the stage, etc., he was so gracious and appreciative, like I was doing him this huge favor. I can still feel his generosity of spirit and warmth.
At the end of the very long show, I was somewhere backstage, finishing my P.A. duties and preparing to leave, and suddenly, there was JD Souther, who tracked me down personally to thank me again for being such a big help to him and how lovely it was to meet me. This guy was a lifelong songwriting legend and he couldn't have been more humble or ingratiating to this awestruck newbie songwriter who was still learning the ropes. J.D. went out of his way to express his appreciation and acknowledge me. It was a lesson I still carry with me today.
It was SUCH a stark contrast between the diva dudes who were the "It Guys" at the time and the true songwriting gentleman legend who will never go out of style. The definition of a "mensch".
R.I.P. JD Souther. Thank you for setting the bar SO high on every level. The world is a better place because of you.

Tribute to Greg Kihn 

Another one of our own San Francisco Bay Area treasures has rocked his last note...
Back in the late '70s/early '80s, I used to go see hard-working SF Bay area rocker Greg Kihn and his kickass band every chance I got, at venues like The Last Day Saloon and The Old Waldorf...and after I moved to LA in '81, Greg finally achieved hit song pay dirt and MTV rotation on his ear candy songs "Jeopardy" and "The Break Up Song" and the Top 40 band I was in called The Bedrockers covered 'em...I was so proud of Greg and honored to represent one of our own Bay Area success stories! And when I came up north back to my city by the Bay to visit during the holidays, if Greg was playing, I made it out to see him and say hi, who always greeted me with that big smile and genuinely excited personality of his.
Greg became a renowned DJ and author as well. Apparently, he'd been quietly battling Alzheimer's for many years, and that cruel disease finally won and took our hometown hero at only 75. Thank you so much for ALL you brought to our table, Greg. What a life you totally ROCKED..now Rock In Peace, brother...

Galileo / Meeting Raúl Esparza 

Last night, June 4, 2024, I had the extraordinary experience of witnessing a brand new rock musical preview here at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, before it hopefully heads to Broadway NYC...the musical is GALILEO, based on the controversial life of famed historical Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, book by Danny Strong, songs by Michael Weiner and Zoe Sarnak, directed by Michael Mayer...starring one of my all-time favorite, four-time Tony Award nominated, critically acclaimed musical theatre actors, Raúl E. Esparza, who many of you might recognize as "Assistant District Attorney Rafael Barba" from one of my all-time fav TV series, LAW & ORDER SVU!!
The show is running through June 23 and I highly recommend it to both musical theatre fans and history/science buffs....beautiful theatre, staging/lighting design/production, great orchestra, entertaining, educational, and moving book, score, and songs, wonderful performances by the entire cast, and I must say, RAUL ESPARZA did not disappoint, NOBODY does it better and he is SPECTACULAR. This is an actor's actor and a singer's singer who lives for his craft and excels beyond measure at everything he does...watching him live from the 2nd row was a master class in everything I've ever loved about the stage since I was a child and inspired me to be on it myself...witnessing his process in action is a true revelation to behold...not a moment is wasted, every movement, breath, note, and syllable is delivered with unwavering, passionate precision and laser-sharp focus, working that entire stage, playing off the other actors like skyrockets in flight, making you laugh and cry and all points in between in equal measure, expressing the entire galaxy of the moon, sun, planets and stars that makes you feel he IS Galileo, SO exhilarating!! Almost superhuman in his ability to sustain all this at the highest level night after night, committing and surrendering to each moment like it's the first time...simply the BEST of the BEST!!
After the show, I went out to the courtyard where I was told some of the actors would be exiting, but I did not expect Raul Esparza to be one of them. There were only a few of us audience members out there, most of who knew some of the other cast members, and just as I was about to leave, Raul came out, dressed in flip-flops, jeans, a sweatshirt, and a baseball cap, and began taking pictures, signing programs and chatting with folks. His demeanor was so relaxed, personable, and friendly with everyone, and I realized this was an opportunity I did NOT anticipate...
When it was my turn, I extended my hand, introduced myself, and said, "Hi Raul, I'm Kimberlye, I'm a big fan. Please forgive me, I'm kind of speechless right now, I am so incredibly moved by the show and your performance". I'm sure I sounded like a total fangirl dork. Raul couldn't have been nicer and so I piped up, "I played 'Marta" in 2 different productions of COMPANY" (the Tony Award-winning Stephen Sondheim musical for which Raul was nominated for a Tony award in the 2006 revival, for his portrayal of the leading role "Bobby", which Raul nailed like no other before or after him!), and then suddenly I had his rapt attention.
"Really? Where did you perform it?" I told him "Here in Berkeley, at the Live Oak Theatre, many years ago, and in high school!" Raul looked at me incredulously and gasped, "In high school?? You did COMPANY in high school??" I laughed and said, "I know, right?! I was only 14! And I ended up moving to New York!" I neglected to add "And I never got married, probably because COMPANY traumatized me for life, lol!" (That groundbreaking show, set in New York, had some pretty controversial, racy subjects for impressionable teenagers to be tackling in the '70s.)
Raul asked me, "Are you still performing?" I nodded, and then I said this..."Yes, I am...as a matter of fact, I have a gift for you, Raul. Something to thank you for all the years of wonderful entertainment you've gifted me and so many others. I'd like to share some of my art with you."
I reached into my bag and pulled out my SOLILOQUY EP and business card and handed it to him. Raul accepted it, looked at the front and back cover of the EP, and said, "Wow, this is your work? Did you write these songs as well?" I nodded yes, and he said, "I am really looking forward to hearing this, thank you so much!"
We were two artists discussing our mutual history and sharing our work. It was one of the most unexpectedly rewarding and satisfying moments in time I have ever experienced. As much as I wished our conversation could have continued longer, I realized I needed to wrap it up, others were waiting, and so I said, "May I take a picture with you?" "Of course!" he said, and I waved at anyone in line and said, "I have many talents, but selfies are not one of them, can someone please help me?" 😂
A nice gal took this picture of us (he's still clutching my SOLILOQUY EP, awwww) and then it was time to take my leave and go back out into the real world. Raul made a point of putting the EP in his bag, thanking me again, and telling me again how much he was looking forward to listening to it. I asked him, "May I give you a hug?" I didn't plan to do that, it just came out. He smiled and opened his arms, and we embraced as real friends might do.
It is just so gratifying to meet an artist whose immense talents and dedication to his craft you have admired for so many years and to find out he's such a genuinely cool and authentic dude off stage as well. The definition of a class act. Thank you, Raul Esparza, for your entire body of work, last night's lightning rod performance, and that wonderful exchange. I hope you enjoy your stay in the SF Bay Area, and that the rest of the run is a HUGE success! The sky truly is NOT the limit! Soar ever higher and higher! And I sincerely hope you enjoy SOLILOQUY. Say hello to my beloved New York City for me, and to another hundred people that got off of the train, I miss it all SO much...it's still the center of the world!!
GO see GALLILEO while you can, FB peeps, before it hits The Great White Way!! https://www.berkeleyrep.org/shows/galileo/

Tale of Two Cities - Double Gig Day (June, 2 2024) 

This past Friday's Tale Of Two Cities double gig day was chock full of surprises and laced with supreme joy...every time I think I've seen and done it all, I am so happy to be proved wrong once again...
First stop was for a group of adorable gals (and a couple of gents here and there) I have been playing for over 12 years in Daly City, CA...their fashion plate Syrian activity director is such a lovebug and always brings me beautiful hand-me-down clothes and jewelry that look brand new, and even though the size of the group ebbs and flows as the years go by, their warmth and energy never wavers. Most are from the Philippines, some are from elsewhere around the world, they love music, and many still love to dance, all in their 80s-90s now. They all appear the same to me today as when I first began playing there!
It was one gal's 90th birthday named Angie and so I decided to pull up "Angie" by The Rolling Stones and wing it for the very first time and it was such a hit, with them singing "Annnnnn-gie!", I decided to let them call out whatever songs they wanted to hear, and if I could remotely pull it off, I would go for it. 91-year-old Anna called out "Hotel California"!! That was a total surprise! She got up and pretended she had a lighter in her hand and was at an Eagles concert for the whole song, 91, people!! Then this firecracker lil' gal named Inez, who never stops moving and plays my tambourine like a pro, called out, "Bee Gees"! Seriously?! Which song? "Stayin' Alive'!! You've gotta be kidding me, no way can I pull that off solo. But for YOU, I will try! And suddenly we were in that Saturday Night Fever disco and I was singing all the parts, even Barry Gibb's falsetto and everyone was singing "Ah ah ah ah, stayin' alive, stayin' alive", I was laughing so hard in between hitting all those crazy parts, it was HYSTERICAL!! But we did it!! These women are all in their late 80s/early 90s!! And they certainly still keep me on my toes!!
And then they insisted I eat from their beautiful lunch buffet after the show! "You must eat, Kimberlye, eat! We love you!!" Hugs from everyone!! Priceless.
Next stop was at San Mateo Medical Center Hospital for a group of patients with various mental/physical health challenges, and various ages/ethnicities, run by my extraordinary friend Frances Ancheta Becker, who is a talented singer/songwriter in her own right and gives 100% of herself for these folks ceaselessly. Whenever I come, I do my best to remember all their names and learn the new ones, and that includes the staff members and security guards, who I dedicated “She Works Hard For The Money” to, because these are tough, thankless jobs where I bet they mostly feel invisible, and they need acknowledgment too. One longtime patient named Charles loves Bob Dylan, so he got "To Make You Feel My Love", and a new gal named Zina from somewhere in the Middle East (she said it's complicated) asked for Shania Twain, another challenge I took on, and pulled off "Still The One" without ever having played it in my life and she loved it, I was on an all-day roll!! Another guy wanted Elvis and I told him only if he promised to dance, so several of them got "All Shook Up" and rocked out!
My favorite parts were when we celebrated my late music partner Rich Armstrong's 57th heavenly birthday because he played for this group with me many times, on Zoom during the pandemic and then live when restrictions lifted. They remember us playing together so fondly and Frances asked for "Home" by Phillip Phillips, which was one of Rich's signature songs that we always included. It's a tough song for me to sing w/o him now, but I did my best to oblige, and everyone kind of held me up through it, moving to the music, some singing along. Then Frances asked for my original song "Rope Of Faith", and even though my voice was pretty tired by then, I gave it my all, and I swear, it felt like the whole room became hushed and their collective energy gathered around me like a group hug and lifted me up.

Whatever any of you think about me, or wonder who I am, at the end of the day, this is where I do God's work and these folks save me every single time. No matter what else is or isn't happening outside of these rooms in my life, no matter how challenging it may be to navigate, when I walk through these doors, I know who I am and what I am supposed to do, and I endeavor to make it unique and special for each one of them so they feel seen and heard. It's what they deserve and it's why I was put on this earth. There is no separation. We save each other. It NEVER gets old. On my 13th year of this mission and my calling until my next nine lives...

🙏🎤🎸💓

From Yer Lil' Redheaded Guitar Gal Pal Kimmy G...be KIND and love each other, even when it's difficult...

💜☮️

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A Tribute to Richard Lewis 

Comedian/actor/author Richard Lewis died today. Heart attack at age 76. I knew he had Parkinson's Disease but just saw him on Curb Your Enthusiasm Sunday night, doing his crazy improv riffing with Larry David. Worked right up until the end. That's how I want to go. Giving my all until my next nine lives...that's how Richard rolled...
I first met Richard in January of 2001 at his book signing for "The Other Great Depression" at Booksmith on Haight Street in San Francisco. He signed it, "To Kimberlye, A beautiful name for a beautiful woman. Have a beautiful life. Love, RL"...It was, well, beautiful. I'll never forget that night because I lost my car and didn't find it till the next day. I blame Richard for that. No, nothing happened, I know what you're thinking. I left the bookstore and literally couldn't find my car. A friend had to come get me and we went back to the scene of the crime the next day and there it was right where I left it.
Here's what DID happen. And it was a spectacular run.
Richard was a HUGE part of my early professional journalism career from 2001-2005 or so. I think I interviewed him at least 4 times and had dozens of pieces published all over the country in daily and weekly papers and prominent magazines. We had this crazy connection from the first few words we spoke to each other on the 1st interview in 2001...like we'd known each other forever and bantered back and forth like clever banshees...of course, I did my research and had planned questions, but all that had to be thrown out the window and brought back and forth into the conversation when I could get a word in edgewise...it was like a wild chess game on steroids, not for the faint of heart!
ALL the phone interviews were hysterical and chaotic and brilliant, but almost unintelligible, his brain always fired a million different directions at 500 miles a minute, and I would yell at him, "Richard! Slow down! Stay on at least ONE topic! You have to at least finish ONE sentence!!" I would be jotting things down as the tape rolled because I knew he had just said something hilarious or profound that I would want to use, all the while laughing so hard I could barely catch my breath, and somehow, I learned how to decipher his ranting, off the cliff riff-fest and pick and pull it together to write coherent articles that got published. Richard had a lot to say, from the dark to the light and all points in between, and I was on a mission to help him share it from his unique perspective and heart. It began with local paper The San Francisco Herald for my "Almost Famous" column and took off like a lightning rod from there. I started to track his stand-up tour schedule and pitch my interviews to entertainment editors of the daily and weekly papers in each town he was appearing, competing with the staff writers of those papers and it eventually paid off! My 1st freelance piece I sold was an interview with Richard for the daily paper in St. Louis, MO. I will never forget that day. I ran around the house and jumped up and down off the couch like Tom Cruise on Oprah screaming, "I'm a PROFESSIONAL freelance writer now!"
I still have some of the transcriptions and the microcassettes are in storage somewhere. I swear they were even funnier than his stand-up act. Richard reserved a V.I.P. table for me at his sold-out Cobb's Comedy Club show in SF in 2005, comped everything, and had me brought backstage so he could hug me, crediting me with his sold out 3-night run because of the Dog Bites interview I got him in the SF Weekly, which he signed for me. We were both so emotional we were practically crying. An out-of-body experience. Why didn't I get pictures?? I gave him my Sycamore Street CD as a parting gift, hoping he would share it with his music publisher wife.
I got Richard in Time Out NY Magazine, which he had tried to get his whole career, right before he headlined for the first time in his hometown of Brooklyn, NY, and he credited me with that too. He was SO grateful. I got him on the cover of Recover Magazine with a 4-page color spread, so he could just talk about his sobriety and life in recovery, which meant so much to him. Richard made fun of my relentless pursuit to get him published everywhere, making up names of publications, like "I'm in 'Dry Cleaning Weekly', now, what?!!!" but he was thrilled , always yelling at me, "GOLD! It's all YOU! You're a brilliant writer!!" Richard never ended our interviews or conversations first. It was like we could just talk forever and never run out of topics. He trusted me to get it right every time. It was an AMAZING time in my life.
We lost touch over the years, and I turned my attention to my music career, but I am still in touch with his former publicist Michelle Mourges Marx ,who was the conduit to making all this happen for us. I am eternally grateful. Ditto to "Master Of All Media" and my journalism career mentor and dear friend Ben Fong-Torres for connecting me with her.
My heart goes out to all of Richard's family, colleagues, friends and fans, especially his wife Joyce Lapinsky, Michelle Mourges Marx, Larry David and all who loved him.
Here's my 1st interview with Richard Lewis from 2001 for my Almost Famous column in The San Francisco Herald that got edited several times by editors all over the country and landed me my first freelance piece, leading to all those interviews with Richard over all those years. I'd greatly appreciate you taking a few minutes to read it and enjoy his brilliance:

"The Greatest Night In Pop" | Review 

We watched it yesterday...the new documentary THE GREATEST NIGHT IN POP, about the making of the iconic "WE ARE THE WORLD" video event in 1985....Scott was kind enough to offer it up at his house (since I am the only human being on Earth or any other planet that doesn't have Netflix)...thanks so much, Scott, you're a mensch (Yiddish for "cool dude")!!!
Holy $#@!, did it live up to ALL the hype TIMES INFINITY!! I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVED every second of it!! Especially how they went into GREAT detail about the songwriting, planning, producing, and all it took to get to the finish line...my heart was pounding and I was in happy tears throughout the entire journey, what a RUSH!! A MUST-SEE for any and everyone but ESPECIALLY anyone who remembers the '80s and to whom all these iconic figures in music mean so much, and all of the SONGWRITERS, PRODUCERS, and people who work in the music industry!!
Of course, my favorite parts were any time my childhood chum Huey Lewis was on that screen, then and now...so humble and invested as he always was and always will be...he told me "It really was an incredible evening!" Prince totally missed out on a once-in-lifetime opportunity he was offered to participate in, but his loss was our gain because Huey Rose up and BROUGHT it!!
EVERYONE brought their A-Game and just KILLED IT...and it was just INCREDIBLE to have a front-row seat to the entire creative process of a true MIRACLE in music history!! All those LEGENDARY HUGE stars and BIG personalities and SO MUCH TALENT coming together for SUCH a good cause!! And some unexpected, funny things happened in between all the magic that you MUST witness yourself!
Hats off to Harry Belafonte, Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones and the "cast of thousands" of iconic artists who "left their egos at the door", per producer Quincy Jones instruction on the sign on the door, and to the tech crew and production staff who build this magic castle above and beyond anything anyone could have ever dreamed of!
Like Diana Ross, who cried at the finish line, "I didn't want it to end!"
I second that emotion, Ms. Ross. I could have stayed in that recording studio with all of them forever...

David Garibaldi Steps Down From His Drum Chair | Tower of Power 

I'm sure many of you have read or heard that one of the most respected, influential, and inspirational names in music history, David Garibaldi, original and founding member/drummer of the iconic 55-year-old SF Bay Area funk band Tower of Power, has made the difficult and most importantly, WELL-EARNED decision to step down from his drum chair, unpack his bags, and move onto the next great chapter of his extraordinary life. Please read his beautiful exit essay to all of us, which brought tears to my eyes. Even if you have no connection to DG's legacy, I hope you will be as moved beyond measure as I was.

 

On a personal level, I would like to add a bit about David's exemplary character and what an amazing friend he has been to me over many years. Despite his non-stop touring schedule on the "Million Gig March", as he likes to call his Tower Of Power journey, David took the time to help me through my own "what is hip" replacement journey back in 2018, becoming what I liked to call my "#1 Hip Whisperer" since he had been through two of his hip replacements and survived a near-death train experience subsequently. If ever there was a true miracle in human form, it is David Garibaldi. I'd only met DG a few times, through my work with one of his TOP bandmates, who so graciously connected us at the end of 2017, and I will never forget DG's kindness, willingness to advise and support me, giving me even tough love at times, guiding me through the whole experience and offering words of wisdom that resonate to this day. Even though we have only communicated occasionally after I got to the other side, his warmth has never faded. He always cheers me on. I am humbled beyond measure. 

 

And even though DG's time was so limited between his tour schedule and devoted family life, he still made the time to participate in my little testimonial video for my SOLILOQUY EP at the end of 2022, you can catch his beautiful words of encouragement, and support at 4:27: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8VRoDtXY0Y

 

David, I wish you every happiness with the bright future I know you are embarking upon. Much love to you, Maria, and your family. Unpack those bags and enjoy your new life! We will all miss you on that TOP drum throne, but your legacy will live on forever. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for always following yours and leading by example on how to live your best life and overcome every obstacle with grace, diligence, humility, and supreme talent. Godspeed, my friend!!

p.s. A shout out to my friend and another stellar, funky drummer Herman L. Matthews, who will once again be taking over the TOP drum chair until they find a permanent replacement...the band and legion of fans will be in great hands/sticks on the soul side of town!

Tribute to James Kottak  

Back in the mid/late '80s, when I lived in Los Angeles, CA, pursuing my creative dreams on and off the stage, I used to go hang out at the various Red Onion nightclubs to catch my pals playing in the Top 40 bands they booked there 5 nights a week, sometimes sitting in, eventually hiring many of the band members to play in my own bands and recording projects...The Team, Liquid Blue, and a few other great bands, always the cream of the crop, like the Las Vegas of the LA Top 40 circuit...and many of these musicians went on to play with world-famous bands and had very successful, lifelong careers of their own and still do...

 

One random night I wandered into the Red Onion in Marina Del Rey, CA, almost no one was there, and a brand new band from Kentucky called City Lights was playing...they were all very talented musicians but all I remember was the DRUMMER...I could not take my eyes off him, like the biggest fireworks display on the 4th of July and the ball dropping in Times Square on New Year's Eve and every major event in between, all wrapped up into THIS one exuberant, electrifying fireball of long blonde hair flying, huge, gleeful grin, sticks twirling, cymbals crashing, jumping out of his drum chair, hitting every snare and tom, dick and hairy like his life depended on it...who the hell WAS this guy and WHAT was he doing playing in a Top 40 band to an almost empty club on a weeknight?! 

It was James Kottak. 

 

I got to know James a bit after that, instinctively knowing his star was going to rise sooner than later, and his attention would be fleeting, but I was so game to be in his orbit, even for a short amount of time. Underneath all that "rock star to be" flash and flare, James was a sweet Southern boy at heart, and we had some fun, hanging out, writing songs, (including a great one called "Never Too Far Away" that we should have recorded, the work tape is on some cassette buried in a box 10,000 moves ago) and I was smitten for a hot minute, but like I said, I knew this wasn't going to go anywhere and hell, we were all in our 20s and living in the moment and he never knew how I felt about him...nothing serious or bad ever happened - he got back together with an old girlfriend and the torch I carried eventually dimmed and faded away...I even wrote a cute song for him simply titled "James", that documented this bittersweet moment in time...another one stuck on a work tape, probably in that same long, forgotten box...

 

BUT - in 1987, a song I wrote with Steve Siler called "A PLACE IN YOUR HEART" became the subject of a bidding war between Chrysalis Music Publishing and Almo Irving Music Publishing...the latter won and we were offered the chance of a lifetime: to record the demo they would shop to major artists and TV/Film projects at A&M Records in the same studio that everyone from The Carpenters to Al Green recorded in! They provided one of their best engineers (unfortunately, I don't recall his name), one of THE hottest session guitar players, Tim Pierce, and allowed us to bring in the rest of the musicians. I brought in an incredible male vocalist named David Burns (another musician I had discovered in another Red Onion band Midwest Coast, who sung on our original 8-track demo, and who would eventually join my band Kimberlye & The Band Of Gold and sing it with me as a duet), my co-writer Steve Siler confidently executed all the keyboard duties, and I included a bass player I had worked with in Tuesday Knight's band Louis Ruiz, and on drums....

I brought in James Kottak. 

 

It was supposed to be more of a Disney movie-esque, mellow track, and with a different drummer, it might have been...but I just wanted to be swept up into that orbit of barely contained, positively cataclysmic energy again and lift our song to reach it, and my co-writer allowed me to let James lead us there. And it was EPIC. He tore the roof off the joint! 

The story behind this song and all the twists and turns will be told another time. Maybe in the book I know I need to write. The Disney version we meant to record all those years ago is now on my new EP SOLILOQUY, produced by Jimmy Goings. 

But this tribute is for James. Who went on to play with Kingdom Come, Warrant, and The Scorpions for the rest of his life. Like I knew in the first 5 seconds, he was always destined for greatness. 

 

Another great musician I met in another one of the Red Onion bands named Teddy Andreadis , who played in The Team, and eventually Kimberlye & The Band Of Gold, and then went on to play with everyone from Guns & Roses to Carole King, posted an after show stage shot with James the other day and it came through my newsfeed. And I just knew. I googled his name...James Kottak, gone at only 61 years old on January 9, 2024...yes, he had his struggles and demons like so many of us...there is no judgment here...only sadness for the loss of yet another huge talent and bright light...

 

James is but a footnote in my long history on and off the stage in LA/NYC/Nashville and back here in at home the SF Bay Area...but sometimes it's the little stories that stay with you for a lifetime...that make you smile when you think of them...that represents a place in your heart you will always treasure...

And that will always be for James. My heart goes out to his family, friends, fans, and all who were blessed to know him. Rock In Peace, my friend.

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