NOFX had some difficulty getting started at the Fillmore SF on Friday January 20, 2012 due to a malfunctioning guitar. Poor Eric Melvin. They recovered pretty well though with “Straight Edge,” “60%,” and “We Call It America.” It was a great night.

Lagwagon finish off their show with “Bye For Now.” It was a great night filled with lots of energy due to it was their CD release party for their new box set. Towards the end, Joey lets the crowd sing some of the lyrics and they finish the show by stating that they will be at Oki-Dog. Too bad we weren’t in LA!

Lagwagon finishing up their set at Slim’s SF with “May 16” on 12/17/11. They were really on point with this tune, getting the crowd moving in true Lagwagon style. An awesome night for their CD release party for their box set. Good times!

Berklee Rock History

Berkleemusic.com, the online school of Boston’s renowned Berklee College of Music, is launching Rock History, an online course that chronicles the evolution of one of the greatest periods of music. Rock History takes an in-depth look at the highs and lows of rock over the past 60 years; the key heroes and villains, the movers and shakers from the studio and the concert stage, and a behind-the-scenes look at the managers, industry executives, promoters, and cultural trends that shaped it. The course launches tomorrow, April 2nd, 2012.

Berkleemusic has tapped Steve Morse to author and teach Rock History. Morse brings a lifetime of real-world experience to the material. Steve was the senior rock writer at the Boston Globe for over three decades, and has contributed to other top-tier press outlets such as Billboard and Rolling Stone. He has also served on the nominating committee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Steve has a rich background in Rock History, having interviewed and developed strong, decades-long ties with dozens of the most important artists and bands in rock, including the Rolling Stones (first seeing them in 1966), U2, Paul McCartney, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley, Metallica, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, Pearl Jam, Stevie Wonder, Coldplay, Tom Petty, and many more.

CEO of Berkleemusic.com, Dave Kusek says,

“The new Rock History online course from Berklee is a comprehensive, interactive, and immersive way to experience the most important and interesting time ever in the music industry. Steve Morse has such a wealth of knowledge and insight into what actually happened behind the scenes and the way the course is crafted, it is simply the most unique and exciting way to learn about this incredible time in the history of music. You will not find a better way to learn about and appreciate the classic albums and live shows that were created by the true legends of rock and roll, as the music industry ignited.”

Throughout the course, students will view exclusive, never before seen Berkleemusic video interviews with rock luminaries including: Joe Perry of Aerosmith; Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead; Mike Mills of R.E.M.; Ernie Isley of the Isley Brothers; George Clinton of P-Funk; producer Jack Douglas (who has worked with Aerosmith, Patti Smith, and John Lennon); promoter Don Law; Amanda Palmer; Hugo Burnham of Gang of Four; Duke Levine (who has played with the J. Geils Band and Aimee Mann); and English super-session drummer Dave Mattacks. Berkleemusic has also partnered with Wolfgang’s Vault to provide additional rare audio, video, and other forms of historical rock media presented in an educational context for the very first time.

Aerosmith’s Joe Perry concludes,

“I have known Steve Morse for over twenty years. Steve is a musicologist and his love of music makes him a very enthusiastic teacher. Steve has an undying love of music and a proven ability to be one of music’s finest critics and writers.”

Berkleemusic hosted a free live Rock History event in Berkleemusic’s studio Thursday, March 8th: an exclusive conversation between Rock History’s Morse, and Boston DJ, John Laurenti. Laurenti joins Morse in the Pantheon of the Boston music scene. John is a DJ at Boston’s #1 classic rock station in Boston, WZLX is the music director at University of Massachusetts’ radio station, WUMB. Laurenti has also hosted a number of historical music documentaries shown on WGBH in Boston. You can see that converstation, here:

To learn more about the Rock History online course, visit: http://www.berkleemusic.com/rockhistory

Spring Term begins tomorrow, April 2nd, 2012.

Winding down the night of their CD release party at Slim’s in SF, Lagwagon play their title track, “Lagwagon.”

Lagwagon rock through their set at Slim’s in San Francisco on 12/17/11 with “To All My Friends.” Good times that night with a packed house and a lot of energy since it was a CD release party.

Unfortunately, it is a little cut off at the beginning, but here is Lagwagon playing, “Making Friends” at Slim’s in San Francisco, CA on 12/17/11.

It’s probably no secret that one of my favorite bands is NOFX. I try to get to their shows whenever they are playing in the San Francisco Bay Area. Back in January, I got to go see them for their two night run at the Fillmore with Old Man Markley, No Use For A Name, and Lagwagon. It was a great two nights, but the second night was probably the crazier of the two. On the second night, there was an incident now known as “Melvingate.”

Halfway thorough “I’m Telling TimEric Melvin was tackled by a drunk fan who made a very quick retreat into the crowd. Melvin soon followed with a jump after the guy. The greatest thing was that I just happened to catch it all on video. In fact, I caught the whole show on video. Instead of telling you all about it, why don’t you just come with me in my time machine back to the show!

You can check out the whole show at the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsg5oMlpk_c&list=PLF6A473207F2BCFC8&feature=plpp_play_all
or you can check out any of the individual videos from the show below.

Now, let’s go to Punk Rock show, kids!!

Of course, the show starts off with regular banter, but Hefe also gets a demo CD from a guy in the crowd who was there both nights. A guy they named, Gallagher, because he looked similar to the comedian.
Right into “60%,” Fat Mike is hit directly in the fact with a drink. Not cool, and the band asks for the crowd to turn in the culprit for $100. The show had a lot of energy and it was hard to stand still so the shot is pretty shaky.

Running through their set with “Murder The Government,” “I’m Telling Tim,” and “It’s My Job To Keep Punk Rock Elite.” Everything seemed to be going well until Eric Melvin gets tackled on stage at the beginning of “I’m Telling Tim.” He gets up and stage dives after the guy into the crowd where he is joined by Fat Mike and some of the Fat crew.

“Leaving Jesusland.”

“Totally Fucked.”

Playing “black music played by whites and Mexicans,” or “Eat The Meek.”

“Seeing Double At The Triple Rock.”

About 1/3 done with their set. Although they state that this show is definitely in their top 800 played, they do screw up the start to “Mattersville.”

“Fuck The Kids Revisited” and “Linoleum,” and you get to find out what snowballing is if you did not already know!

A guy gets up on stage and tries to take pictures, but is very quickly rushed off during “Wore Out The Soles Of My Party Boots.”

“The Moron Brothers.” Appropriately enough, the guy in front decides to be an ass and give people the bird.

Here, they change the name of the song a little from “Arming The Proletariat With Potato Guns” to “Arming Puerto Ricans With Potato Guns.”

“Reeko.”

“Blasphemy (The Victimless Crime).” They also call out a guy in the crowd, calling him Dave Mustaine.

Here, they screw up the start of “The Malachi Crunch,” but then they nail it in true NOFX style.

Finishing up their set with “The Separation Of Church And Skate.”

Starting their encore with “Doornails.” They also unveil their second night banner!

“Stickin’ In My Eye.”

“Don’t Call Me White.”

Continuing through their encore with “I Wanna Be An Alcoholic” and “Fuck The Kids.”

And, finishing up with show with “Kill All The White Man.”

Hope you enjoyed the show!!

A few nights ago The Muppets’ funk band, Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem, stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote their new DVD. They were not alone though. Along with them was drummer, Travis Barker from Blink-182 and the Transplants. Together they performed “Can You Picture That?” and in the middle of it, Barker and Animal had a drum-off. Pretty awesome stuff.

I kept seeing this video posted around Facebook and finally got curious enough to click on it. Glad I did! Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers are on tour right now and it seems they have come up with a pretty simple, but innovative idea to promote themselves while on the road. They have periodically been recording covers of tunes from other artists while they are driving in their van and they have been posting them around the internet as their “Van Sessions.” Check out this video of them covering Hall & Oates‘, “I Can’t Go For That.” For this and other videos by Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers check out their YouTube channel, here. Good stuff!