Safari Sam's, Hollywood, CA
Safari Sam's, located in Hollywood, is a somewhat better than typical club. There is a ground level, as well as a much smaller upper level where people can either sit around or stand around and watch the show. The club is a big box, with a relatively large stage, high off the ground. It has a good sound system, so it is not critical to be directly in front of the stage for the music to be enjoyable.
When I spoke with the sound man before the show, he didn't mind that I was setting up microphones on stage, or that I was recording.
This was not another typical surf show. This evening was a special event. David Arnson, was celebrating his 50th birthday. He was celebrating by performing on stage with three of the bands he current performs with. The bill was filled out with a band who are also his friends that don't perform much any more.
http://www.barbarellatones.com/ The first band, the Barbarellatones, 3 guitars, 1 bass, 1 drum, 1 dancer, everyone sings (except the dancer). Of all the performers, only David Arnson was in costume, the rest were dressed relativly normal. Check out the Barbarellatones photo section to see what the band normally looks like. As far as I could tell, all the music was original. They have a number of CDs for sale on their web site. Since David Arnson is in this band, and he likes me to audio record all his performances, I had no problem when I started setting up to record. And of course it doesn't hurt that the leader of the band recognized me as a MySpace friend.
http://www.insectsurfers.com/ Next up, was the Insect Surfers. Their lineup was 1 drummer, 1 bassist, 3 guitarists, and no singer (which is fairly standard for an instrumental band). There were no substitutions for missing members this night. (The Insect Surfers have a policy of having backup musicians for everyone except the leader.) However, there was a special addition this night. Paul Johnson, original writer and performer of Mr. Moto (one of the first ever surf instrumental tunes) played most of the night. Aside from playing Mr. Moto, they played original songs from all three of the Insect Surfers studio CDs. I again handled merchandise sales while I was also keeping an eye on my audio recording.
And for those who don't know (and for anyone who reads more than a couple of my show reviews, it is near impossible to not know), I am the official audio recorder and sound archivist for Insect Surfers. I have recorded most of their shows since 1996. My recording of a live performance in June 2004 has become their Lyve In The Valley Of The Sun CD which was released in time for the bands 20th anniversary. These days, I also manage and host their web site, I manage their live show announcements (via a YahooGroup and on their MySpace account) as well as helping with merchandise sales.
http://www.thirdgradeteacher.com/ Next up, was Third Grade Teacher. 1 singer, 1 guitar, 1 bass and 1 drum. Like the name implies, the leader of the band is a third grade teacher. They all dress as if they are students in a private school. Sabrina (the singer) is very animated and was moving around on stage, and through the audience during their performance. Their set was entirely original tunes, and they have CDs for sale on their web site. I have recorded this band before, so when I spoke with Laura I had no problem with getting permission to record them again.
http://www.rawpowerrangers.com/ The fourth and final band for the evening was the Raw Power Rangers. To quote from their website (which I also created and maintain): David Arnson (of the Insect Surfers) on vocals as Iggy Pop, Dan Valentie (of the Insect Surfers and Boardwalkers) on guitar as James Williamson, Mark Hoeschler on bass as Ron Asheton and Don Bolles (of the Germs, 45 Grave and Celebrity Skin) on drums as Rock Action. The Raw Power Rangers is a tribute band for the Iggy and the Stooges album Raw Power, which Iggy Pop is evideently not performing (either with the reformed Stooges, or as a solo performer). If you have not seen David Arnson channeling Iggy Pop as he runs around the stage and / or audience and writhes around on the floor and interacts with audience members then you are missing an incredible performance. As you may have already guessed, David Arnson has no problem with me recording the band. The only problem I have ever had recording the Raw Power Rangers, is when David accidentally knocks over one of my microphone stands during his performance. The is not a problem this night, as the stage is relatively large, and high off the ground, so David / Iggy spent a lot of time on the floor with the audience.
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Last updated by Chrome Oxide on 09/18/2008
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