Monthly Archives: December 2012

Soul Man: The Rev. Al Green

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Steve-O

By Steve Beard When British musician Elvis Costello was asked if he had ever had a religious experience, he responded, “No, but I have heard Al Green.” Not a bad compliment coming from Costello, a musical legend in his own … Continue reading →

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Sly goes one more round

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Steve-O

By Steve Beard I was 12 years old when I first saw Rocky. Thirty years ago, the film made such a deep impression on me that I actually arose early one morning and guzzled the raw egg concoction that Rocky … Continue reading →

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Giving Sinead a second listen

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Steve-O

By Steve Beard Some of my churchgoing friends were perplexed by my recent praise of Sinead O’Connor. They still have visceral memories of a brash young woman tearing up a picture of Pope John Paul II on national television fifteen … Continue reading →

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The Shadow of Graceland

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Steve-O

By Steve Beard It was an oddly surreal experience to be walking down one of the gold-record adorned hallways of Graceland and spotting Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and his then girlfriend Ashlee Simpson in front of me checking … Continue reading →

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Guitar Slinger: Brian Setzer

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Steve-O

By Troy M. Meier With his overwrought pompadour rocking and his signature Gretsch hollow-body guitar twanging away, Brian Setzer arrived on the U.S. pop music scene with a vengeance in the early 1980s. Up to that point, American audiences were … Continue reading →

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The fevered love of June and Johnny

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Steve-O

By Steve Beard On Thursday, May 15, 2003, June Carter Cash (1929-2003) died of complications from heart surgery. She was 73. It is strangely fitting that the last time the public saw the face of June Carter Cash was on … Continue reading →

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Leigh Nash: The Right Time

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Steve-O

By Steve Beard Six years ago, I was provocatively reminded of the pervasiveness of American culture while I was walking around an outdoor market in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia. Amongst the tables full of trinkets and indigenous crafts, I spotted a … Continue reading →

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Johnny Was a Punk Rocker: Johnny Ramone, R.I.P.

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Steve-O

By Steve Beard I found myself shoulder-to-shoulder with a bunch of sweaty rockers at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip while they were complaining about needing a cigarette. We were all crammed in to see Alice Cooper and … Continue reading →

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Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door with Bob Dylan

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Steve-O

By Steve Beard Shooting just began in Montreal for I’m Not There, the new biopic of Bob Dylan. In the wake of successful films about musicians, this one promises to definitely be different than Ray or Walk the Line. Six … Continue reading →

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Eric Clapton’s prayer for sobriety

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Steve-O

By Steve Beard Long considered one of rock ’n’ roll’s iconic guitarists, Eric Clapton had a problem. He was in the middle of a tour in Australia when he realized he couldn’t stop shaking. “For the second time, I’d reached … Continue reading →

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