The Muse Patrol

Some people carry the stink of desperation on them. Rivers was one of those people. Rivers was a Hollywood character first and a musician/artist second and third. He was a stocky, kinky haired Jewish day-laborer. A rare species of human who subsisted exclusively on pizza and junk food. He came from a well to do family, yet cultivated a boorish street persona. He sang the blues and played awful…

OK, OK! Now I get it… By Dale Nickey Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 3/1/26 – Elvis was just barely before my time. So, my view of the man and his muse was through the foggy lens of corporate media, tabloid culture and poorly curated interview excerpts.  Hence, I pledged my allegiance to The Beatles. I bore witness to their birth. While the Fabs rolled out an endless stream of…

Novi Novog – Studio and stage virtuoso Recording Credits: Prince/Michael Jackson/Ronnie Montrose/Frank Zappa/Carly Simon/Bonnie Raitt/ Jennifer Warnes/Spinal Tap/Terrance Trent D’arby/James Taylor…..(too many others to list) Yes, she plays Viola not Violin. Her work is part of the soundtrack of our lives. The peppy string work on Prince’s “Raspberry Beret” is Novi; as is the down-homey fiddle…

Not Just a Singer in a R&R band… By Dale Nickey Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 10/12/25 – John Lodge, bassist/vocalist/songwriter for the Moody Blues passed on October 10, 2025. He was one of my heroes. He was 82. However, he was still active as a musician with pending 2025 tour dates. His family characterized his passing as “sudden” and “unexpected”. In his final hours he was…

Bob” Band Does Singer-Songwriter Justice By Gordon Durich L-R (Dale Nickey, Ann Vannoy, Lindsay Vannoy, Eric Dosch) Westlake Village, CA (The Hollywood Times) 9/25/25 – In the intimate setting of the Blueprint Studios in the village of Westlake, nudging Los Angeles County, a band of seasoned musicians dubbed Dylan’s Door staged a memorable get-together.  “We were going to call ourselves the…

By  Dale Nickey  –   May 6, 2025  L-R: Heathor Kulber, Ann Vannoy, Dani-O Eslin and Holly Weisbuch Let’s do the Time Warp Today By Dale Nickey San Fernando Valley, CA (The Hollywood Times) 05/06/2025 At a private enclave hidden in the SFV, The Grateful Dames held court for 2 hours; transporting an adoring, tie-dyed throng in their way-back machine to Woodstock Nation in miniature. Spring…

By Dale Nickey: I answered an ad for a Bass Player. Something about spoken word, freeform music and the Grateful Dead. I was 41 years old and thought I had seen it all. I had had decided to reinvent myself as a fretless bass player. I was ready for something different. I called the ad. An impossibly gentle, fey voice with a strong Texas accent answered. It was Jimmy. He invited me over with the…

Will will always remember his name. David Crosby (1941-2023) Authored by Dale Nickey: David Crosby has passed at the age of 81. Music insiders were neither shocked nor surprised. However, all were amazed he kept himself alive and productive as long as he did. His body absorbed a lot of abuse during the 60’s 70’s and 80’s; mostly self-imposed. The man himself was amazed that he still stood when…

“I Believe In Yesterday…” Authored by Dale Nickey: The Beatles drop their final chart topper (Now and Then) So, there we have it. The final Beatles track. Now and Then. A fitting title, a merger of the ‘here and now’ with the ghosts of Beatles past. Says so right in the title. However, even diehard Beatle acolytes will debate the wisdom of the surviving Fab’s decision to not ‘let it be’. One…

THE Guitar God to Guitar Gods Sometimes you see it coming. Not this time. 60’s icons are becoming fewer and farther between. However, this loss stings a little bit harder. You see, I just saw him perform a scant two months before his death at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Center on November 4, 2023. Beck was on my must-see bucket list along with a host of others. The show was hyped as a Jeff Beck…

Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 3/13/16 – Through the years, I’ve failed to see many of my musical heroes in concert. But, I got to see Keith Emerson and ELP at their peak for the princely sum of $7.50. The year was 1977. In addition to his own formidable compositions, Keith Emerson made his name by burning classical music beyond recognition, then feeding it back to the culture starved…

Wet Picnic (Balls Up) 1982 I was alerted to this band by friends who saw them play in the clubs. “A must see”, they said. “Hippest band in town”, they said.  This was no lie.  Every musician who saw this group wanted to be in it or form a group just like it.  Led by South American guitarist/singer Gus Samtaolalla, their pan-cultural approach to pop music was sweaty, authentic and sophisticated.…

Reviewed by Dale Nickey:  Recorded live at Fundacao de Serralves, Porto Portugal (1/10/2009) Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 8/6/21 – The Representative of Corwood Industries has released yet another album of solo piano excursions. This one a double CD live set recorded in Porto, Portugal. One common thread that runs through the ‘piano albums’ (The Song of Morgan, Ghost Passing, New…

HWOODTIMES BOOK REVIEWS By  Dale Nickey  –   May 15, 2024  JANDEK drops a new book of poems By Dale Nickey Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 5/15/24 – I started my Jandek journey a decade ago. I’ve written twenty articles and reviews of his recorded works (including two live concert reviews). For the most part I tried to do what most music writers failed to do. Focus on the music more…

1961 Revisited By Dale Nickey Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 1/20/25 – Yes, I know, timelines were smudged, plotlines were conflated, names were changed to protect the innocent. This is standard music-bio procedure, and it should not adversely impact your enjoyment of A Complete Unknown; a run and gun profile of Bob Dylan’s formative years (1961-1965) in the Greenwich Village folk scene.…

Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 3/13/16 – Through the years, I’ve failed to see many of my musical heroes in concert. But, I got to see Keith Emerson and ELP at their peak for the princely sum of $7.50. The year was 1977. In addition to his own formidable compositions, Keith Emerson made his name by burning classical music beyond recognition, then feeding it back to the culture starved…