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The Misunderstood: The Californian Garage Band Interviewed About Their Time As Rock 'N' Roll Stars.

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They started as just three kids from California, who all shared a mutual respect for Surf music. First formed as the ‘Blue Notes’ in 1964 with Greg Treadway and George Phelps on guitar and Rick Moe on drums, the trio was short-lived. While the group were still just as enthralled by the waves of that sunny-state sound, the ‘Blue Notes’ never got to any gigs and their musical tide had gone out. With most of the members spending more time with their surfboard than their band equipment, the former outfit had taken a back seat, but when Treadway met Rick Brown at a surf club, they became great friends and Brown was asked to be lead singer when the band regrouped in 1965, now as ‘Treadway & Company’. When I spoke to Brown, he remembered the meeting well. “I met Greg in first year of High school and we were best friends since. We were surfing and started hanging out in Encinitas and Swamis. We were founders and members of Swamis Surfing Association together. Here is a pic of our first eve
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Behind The Lens: Tom Gundelfinger O’Neal on Photographing Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and the experience that started it all, at Monterey Pop Festival.

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As a nineteen year old, nostalgia is not a word that I use often. Especially not in my own life. You hear your parents talk about the old days, you watch documentaries and you become invested in a world that once was. The only way you can come close to feeling it, is through music. For me, nothing feels more blissful than listening to those Laurel Canyon musicians of the Sixties and Seventies. Neil Young, CSN, Joni Mitchell and James Taylor to name a few. Although the music remains timeless and creates this sense of serenity for the listener, a candid photograph captured while throwing song ideas around in the studio or just chilling on the sofa with some friends, is what truly captivates a moment in time that was just destined to become iconic.  As a big Neil Young fan, naturally, Tom Gundelfinger O'Neal is one of my favourite photographers. His ability to capture those perfect moments in time is a great gift that he has, and one that allows people of my generation to be able to i
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Celebrating 50 Years Since Neil Young Played Live At Massey Hall 1971

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  Quick blog post today as I'm mid assignments at the minute but I couldn't not mark this occasion. With the time I've had not posting on here, I've been thinking of what I could write about as I've been lacking inspiration with everything that's going on right now. I thought about writing a piece on an artist that inspired me. Where to begin. Naturally, my all time hero Neil Young came to mind and just out of pure chance I thought I would see if there was any anniversaries of albums, concerts or milestones of his for 2021. Before I did my search it dawned on me that my favourite live performance was fifty years ago today and had to write some words about it.  Neil Young live at Massey Hall in 1971 is the place I'd teleport to if I had one chance to go back in time. The amount of times I've gone back to watching videos of this concert is endless. It's such a comfort to hear Neil's voice and the lyrics just speak for themselves. One of the reasons
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BLUES MAESTRO ROCKY ATHAS TALKS WORKING WITH JOHN MAYALL, TOURING WITH THE KINKS AND WHAT GIVES HIM THE MOTIVATION TO WRITE MUSIC.

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(photo credits; Arnie Goodman) For this week's blog post, I got the pleasure to speak with the legendary Rocky Athas. Rocky Athas is a phenomenal Blues guitarist who's worked with the likes of Joe Walsh, Buddy Miles and Glenn Hughes. Not to mention that he was apart of the renowned Bluesbreakers band with John Mayall and even worked with him on his albums 'Tough' and 'A Special Life'. Athas is a huge inspiration to any musician, he has dedicated his entire life to creating some pretty electrifying records. I simply had to ask if Rocky would do an interview with me and when he agreed, I didn't know where to start with the questions, there's just so much to know! He truly has had an incredible career and shared some fascinating stories with me ... You put so much raw emotion into your guitar playing, that it can really be felt. Has it always been a form of escapism for you? Thank you for the compliment, Holly. Your visceral reaction is the ultimate goal o
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SHADE INTERVIEW: MANCHESTER MUSIC SCENE, MMFEST AND EXCITING NEW PROJECTS

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For this week's interview, I spoke to Manchester based Indie band SHADE, who were more than happy to chat to me all about their life so far as musicians, the idea behind their hot dog in a banana peel EP cover and what music they've been listening to.  Firstly, thanks for agreeing to do this interview with me, it's a pleasure to have you featured on here. For all the readers who don't know who SHADE are, can you tell us a bit about who you are and what the band is all about?  We're just 4 lads who have some pretty cool songs and want to play them everywhere we can, it was more for having a laugh with your mates playing music but then we've realised we can take it further than that. I hope I'm right in believing 'Neverdie' is your first single, as you've only recently started releasing music. Have any of you been involved in any other musical projects before SHADE or is this your first time putting out songs? Luke (the singer) and Olive
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DAVE SIRUS TALKS SNL, UPCOMING PROJECTS AND WORKING WITH PETE DAVIDSON ON THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND

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Dave Sirus, also known by his character Brick Stone, spoke with me all about his remarkable career as a comedian and a writer. Dave's most recent project is 'The King Of Staten Island', the superb, comedy-drama which was loosely based on the life of Pete Davidson. In this interview with me, he covers everything TKOSI, who he'd love to roast and teases some new projects... The King Of Staten Island is amazing and is definitely now one of my favourite movies. What was it like working with a director as great as Judd Apatow? It was great because I got to see someone who was completely comfortable in his role and had so much experience so that nothing was ever going to surprise or rattle him. Knowing that he had so much under his belt really makes it easier to feel comfortable and trust the process. What surprised you the most about working on The King Of Staten Island?  The sheer quality and quantity of available food throughout the shooting day. What eleme
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HOLLYWOOD OR BUST REVIEW

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"Well, Mr Bascomb can’t drive. He doesn't have a license!" Land of stardust and land of glamour, Vistavision and cinerama. I would consider it a must to watch Hollywood or Bust! All puns aside, the pure joy this film gave me was like no other. I have never laughed so much in a seriously long time and I owe it all to the fabulous duo known as Martin and Lewis (Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis). I’ll have to confess my ignorance in saying I’d never seen a Martin & Lewis film up until this point. I must say, it’s not something I’m proud of. Hollywood or Bust was sadly the last film that Dean and Jerry collaborated on, where the partnership of the two performers went their separate ways five months later. So unfortunately, this was almost a farewell film between the comedy duo. Nevertheless, definitely one of the most amusing of the filmography. The whole synopsis is based around a road trip between Malcolm and Steve who believe it or not, are both head
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