MusicFridayLive | Music Junkie Press

Athena returns to her American beginning, Hotel Café, a star.

February 6, 2017

Patrick O’Heffernan (Hollywood) Just about two and half years ago I wandered into Hollywood’s Hotel Café and joined a sparse early audience. A young woman in torn shorts, old t-shirt and flip flops came on stage, obviously nervous but occasionally able to flash an impressive high wattage smile as she introduced herself as part Greek, part British and newly arrived from London. Then she sang, and I knew this was no ordinary talent. This woman –Athena, after the Greek virgin Goddess of the arts – was far more than the underdressed waif grasping the micstand in front of me. Athena was a star in the making. This week she was back at the Hotel Café. The high powered smile was still there, but in place of the shorts and t-shirt and flip flops was a silver lamé sheath and knee-touching high-heeled fashion-forward boots. However, more than the costume change, it was the musical change that was most impressive. Athena rolled out the songs on her debut USA album, Ready for the Sun, [Read More]

A conversation with Natalie Gelman: picked up a guitar at 16 and never looked back.

January 10, 2017

(Los Angeles) Natalie Gelman is talented, courageous, beautiful, brainy, creative….and many more complementary adjectives. But after listening to her music and following her career for the past three years, it is something she said at a Ted talk in 2014 in Seattle that will always stay with me. “I live in the question”. Or, as she quoted Mike Tyson, “Everyone has a plan until they are punched in the face”. Her openness to the vagaries of life and the possibilities of the future is the energy that electrifies her songs. And her music is electric, not in the guitar sense – she plays acoustic – but in its high voltage lyrics and thrumming arrangements. Listening to her is living in the question, because you never know how they will affect you. I had an opportunity recently to ask about some of the questions she lives and questions in the songs on her new album, Streetlamp Musician. Patrick. A lot of things have happened to you since we last talked. You have released more [Read More]

Las Cafeteras at VPAC: a political movement disguised as a musical theater. By Patrick O’Heffernan

December 12, 2016

(Northridge, CA) Don’t call Las Cafeteras a band. Call them a constructive political movement disguised as a musical theater with a history lesson attached. That was very much evident in their spectacular performance Friday night at the beautiful Valley Performing Arts Center at California State University Northridge. The eight band members, guest singer Maria del Pilar, two dance groups, a choreographer, several costume changes a multi-media projector and a rapper/comedian, together put on a bilingual tour de force of music, dancing, history, film, photography, poetry, spoken word and advocacy centered around the concept of “Beyond La Bamba”. Regardless of what language you speak or where you were born, Las Cafeteras spoke to you Friday night with words of love, ancestry and community. Beyond la Bamba started with “La Bamba”. Standing alone, center stage in a spotlight with a muted beat emanating from the shadowed musicians behind him, Ritchie Valens spoke to us in the form of an actor dressed liked the Latin-American pop star who died with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper [Read More]

Gaby Moreno at the Roxy: love and joy with a guitar. By Patrick O’Heffernan

December 12, 2016

(Hollywood) Any concert with Grammy nominee and Latin Grammy winner Gaby Moreno is an inspiring experience, but to see her in an intimate setting with 400 of her closest friends makes it clear why people lover her so much. She is stunning, inspiring and completely authentic. With a voice that transcends octaves, a songwriting talent in English and Spanish that opens minds and hearts, and a sense of humor that is as engaging as it is humble, her music says “star” while her presence says “love”. Her concert at the Roxy – her first time there ever – was both intimate and expansive; her voice filled the room while her smile and her words – and yes, her tears – pulled each person close. Gaby Moreno gave us an unheard of 19-song set, interlaced with self-deprecating humor and stories, laughs a mention of her theme song and character in the Disney series Elana of Avalor , and then came back for an encore that blew the roof off of the newly remodeled Hollywood [Read More]

Doña Oxford: Live…and Loud! album rocks and rolls. Her best ever.

November 29, 2016

Patrick O’Heffernan (Los Angeles) Doña Oxford never gets older; she just gets better. Her new album, Live… and Loud is not only live and loud, it is her best album yet in a career full of passionate songs, great albums and stunning musical accomplishments. Live…and Loud! is 5-star, platinum-level pure boogie woogie soul-drenched rock and roll. Set for release November 30, the 13-song Live… And Loud! album was recorded during live performances in Europe this past spring and is timed to launch her next European tour, which kicks off with a gig at the famous 606 Club in London. Produced by Jim Williams, who cut his teeth with The Stooges, the album has the energy of live recordings and the acoustic perfection of the studio. The audio quality is remarkable, given the varied locations which included Matt and Phreds in Manchester, UK, Grand Ol’ Opry in Glasgow, UK and Liederbuch in Zwickau, Germany. Doña’s world-class piano/keyboard skills — which prompted none other than Keith Richards to shout “You’re a bitch!” as they jammed [Read More]

John Mayall brings cool blues to The Rose. By Patrick O’Heffernan

November 21, 2016

(Pasadena) Going to a John Mayall concert is like going to church – not to a religious ceremony, unless blues is your religion — but being inside a cathedral experiencing something divine. With 61 albums and over a half century of music behind him, British bluesman John Mayall’s current USA tour is cool, reflective, gentle on the mind and the ears and absolutely divine. At 83 it is no surprise that Mayall’s energy level is far more relaxed than it was in the days when Eric Clapton and John McVie blasted out hot blues with him on English stages. But, as anyone who has followed Mayall for the past half century knows, hot or cool, he loves the blues and that love was on full display Friday night at Pasadena’s The Rose music venue. Standing in the spotlight on the stage, Mayall and drummer Jay Davenport and bassist Greg Rzab pulled the audience in close with a warm smile and old familiars. Mayall started the concert easy, conserving his energy for the 12-song [Read More]

A conversation with Simit, the World Music rebel known around the world.

November 10, 2016

(Los Angeles) Simrit is a musician, a producer, and CEO of her own music label who is also a student, practitioner and a certified teacher of Kundalini Yoga and Naad Yoga. She records, composes, produces music and tours with her band giving concerts and workshops across the globe. Simrit is known for revolutionary innovation in hypnotic World and Chant Music and she has topped World Music Charts, including Billboard and iTunes at #1. We caught up with her for a quick conversation before her concert in Venice, CA. Patrick. What is Naad yoga, what does it have to do with music and what do we know about the healing power of music and of the human voice? Simrit. Great question. We all know that music has immerse healing benefits- there are studies being done of how music can stimulate the hypothalamus to command the endocrine system o release certain hormones. That is what Naad is about- it is about the tip of the tongue and the navel and the intention of the singer; [Read More]