KC and the Sunshine Band will be honored with a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Fame and with disco menu items at Ruby’s (Contributed Image)
Put this in the “I can’t make this stuff up” file”:
KC and the Sunshine Band will receive a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars on Saturday, July 6. (That’s not the strange part. Cheeta the Chimp from the Tarzan movies, who actually turned out not to be the real Cheeta, has one, as does his handler Dan Westfall. So does Chevy Chase. And Randy Sparks & The New Christy Minstrels.)
The disco gods will be honored with their star at a public ceremony in Palm Springs at 3 p.m. on Saturday at 144 S. Palm Canyon Drive, where everyone is likely to melt on the sidewalk in the 108-degree heat.
Then, KC and the Sunshine Band will perform at 8 p.m. in the Special Events Center at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio. That’s still not the strange part.
To honor KC and the Sunshine Band, the Ruby’s Diner location at 155 S. Palm Canyon Drive, will offer two limited-time items from Friday, July 5 through Sunday, July 7. (This is where it starts to get strange.)
What are the menu items, you ask? The “Boogie Burger” and the “Shake, Shake, Shake” Shake.
And since the star will be in front of See’s Candies, the candy shop is creating a special wrapper for their Butterscotch Chews.
What will the wrapper say? “Boogie Chews.” As in “my my my my my Boogie Shoes.”
Apparently the store will also highlight KC’s other favorite item, Sugar Free Peanut Brittle. Apparently there’s no good way to play on the words with that one. I guess “(Sugar Free’s) the Way I Like It” and “Get Brittle Tonight” didn’t have the right ring to it.
Aaron Lee and the Love Vigilantes released “The Lightyear EP” on Tuesday, July 2. (Adrian Rodriguez/Contributed Image)
It’s been a few months since Aaron Lee and the Love Vigilantes said goodbye to Riverside to head to Nashville, Tenn., but things are already taking off for the rootsy band.
Today, Tuesday, July 2, is the digital release of the band’s new EP, “The Lightyear EP.” Even though the band is in Nashville now, there’s still a piece of Riverside featured prominently. The album cover features Lee in a Riverside institution–The Sire.
Aaron Lee and the Love Vigilantes just released “The Lightyear EP.” The cover was shot at Riverside bar The Sire.(Contributed Image)
Before the band left, I talked with Lee about how he went from rock (after he moved to California he was playing with Alien Ant Farm guitarist Terry Corso in Ghost in the Flesh) to more of a country sound. That interview, from back in February, is up over at the iGuide.
Congratulations to the band on the new EP. Even though you’re in Nashville, we’re proud to claim you as Inland Empire. Visit www.aaronleeandthelove.com for more information on the band.
Check out a live performance of “A New Life,” which leads off the EP.
Skee-Lo’s “Fresh Ideas” album will be released in stores on July 9. (Contributed Image)
One of the things that has come out of 2013 so far is what I like to think of as the Skee-Lo Renaissance.
Skee-Lo, who hails from Moreno Valley, has seen his 1995 rap hit “I Wish” get new life with a number of Toyota commercials featuring Kaley Cuoco “The Big Bang Theory” as a genie, which debuted during the Super Bowl and have been on TV regularly since. (My wish was for my beloved Baltimore Ravens to win the Super Bowl. Skee-Lo, if you had anything to do with that, thank you.)
Even though he was nominated for a Grammy, Skee-Lo disappeared out of the music scene for years. In late 2012, he released his new album, “Fresh Ideas,” digitally. The album will now be released in brick-and-mortar stores on Tuesday, July 9.
We have had more than a dozen artists contribute more than 50 videos of interviews and exclusive performances since re-launching PE Live. Watch all of the PE Live performances.
From the pyrotechnics of Rob Zombie to Amon Amarth’s Viking ship stage set, the show was nothing short of epic. Read more about the Mayhem Festival at the Audio File.
Five Finger Death Punch performs during The Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival at San Manuel Amphitheater Saturday in Devore, CA. June 29, 2013. (Terry Pierson/Staff Photographer)
Amon Amarth performs on their Viking ship set at the 2013 Mayhem Festival at San Manuel Amphitheater in Devore on June 29, 2013. (Terry Pierson/Staff Photographer)
The Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival is not for the weak. Mayhem Fest at San Manuel Amphitheater in the bright sunshine of Devore is something that only the strong survive.*
You see the casualties along the way–the sunburned; the people stretched out on the lawn who might be napping or might be passed out; the young woman who gets sick on the stairs that she’s trying to climb to get another beer. But the survivors are rallying in the pit, throwing rock horns in the air to the pulsating double bass drums. They’re up in the lawn, dancing around the bonfires, demon sprites of the heavy metal hollow.
The festival kicked off its sixth tour at ground zero for metal–the birthplace of Ozzfest, where metal ruled the Us Festival for a day, in the sweltering hills of Glen Helen–on Saturday, June 29, with main stage performances from Amon Amarth, Mastodon, Five Finger Death Punch and Rob Zombie.
The side stages, where the action happened during the hottest part of the day, hosted up-and-comers as well as heavy hitters Machine Head and Children of Bodom.
Even Johan Hegg, vocalist for Amon Amarth, encouraged people to drink a water for every two beers they had because of the heat, noting that he doesn’t usually recommend that, but it was too hot.
The fans filled the pit, but the orchestra and loge sections had swaths of open seats (loge more so than orchestra) and the lawn seemed to have people packed in at the front, but the crowds didn’t stretch far back onto the hillside.
Amon Amarth showed a lot of promise opening the main stage, even with a minor delay of a song due to guitar troubles. The Swedish group brought out a Viking ship as part of their stage setup. Seriously, forget fire and costumes, what is more metal than a Viking ship set for a band that sings about Vikings? It would be so very Spinal Tap if not done well, but it was awesome.
Following them, Mastodon was a little more subdued. There wasn’t any flashy show, just a banner behind the band depicting the cover of “The Hunter,” the band’s most recent album. The band’s music held up, but it seemed like there were vocal problems at times during the set.
Then, Five Finger Death Punch came out, metal blazing, with their biggest stage production to date. The band is on its third tour of Mayhem. They brought gargoyles for their stage. Gargoyles make everything better. I think the band’s forthcoming double album “The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell” is going to take them to the next level. Volume 1 is due out on July 30. I talked with bassist Chris Kael about the band’s ties to Mayhem and the new music.
Rob Zombie and his flying fringe at the 2013 Mayhem Festival at San Manuel Amphitheater in Devore. (Terry Pierson/Staff Photo)
A curtain hiding the stage dropped at the beginning of his set to reveal Zombie atop a tall set piece that had “Zombie” written on the front and was almost like his version of the Superman S. There were video screens everywhere–behind the band, above the band, below the band–showing a mix of Zombie’s style of artwork as well as more film-like clips.
And of course there was pyro. I counted 10 plumes of flames at one point (about five times the number of bonfires going on in the lawn by then). On the hottest day of the year, I was puzzled as to why Zombie was running around in what appeared to be a full leather coat with fringe. Even at night it was still hot at San Manuel Amphitheater. But props to him for hopping and almost skipping around the stage in it before he ditched it a few songs in.
I’d love to share some of his stage banter, but I’m not sure there was anything I could print without getting fired. He’s still surly and entertaining at the same time. Let’s leave it at that.
Josh Alas, of Los Angeles, gets refreshed after having a bucket of water poured on him during the Mayhem Festival at the San Manuel Amphitheater in Devore at the 2011 Mayhem Fest. (2011/File Photo)
The Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival kicks off at San Manuel Amphitheater in Devore on Saturday, June 29. The National Weather Service has forecast the temperature hitting 104 degrees for the day.
With the extreme heat wave, I reached out to Live Nation, which operates San Manuel Amphitheater’s concerts, about any precautions for Mayhem. Greg Terlizzi, public relations director for Live Nation’s SoCal office sent me some info about what’s allowed for the event. Thanks, Greg!
Concert attendees are allowed to bring in multiple 20-ounce bottles of water. They must be factory sealed.
Empty reusable water bottles and empty Camelbacks are allowed. There will be additional water filling stations on site.
Sunscreen is allowed. Bring it in.
San Manuel Amphitheater is known for being a big wide open space, but there will be additional shade structures brought in for it.
“We are monitoring the heat – as well as the weather conditions, overall – and are taking it into consideration when staffing medical personnel for this event,” Terlizzi wrote via email.
Tickets are still on sale for the event. Gates open at 1 p.m. Saturday. San Manuel Amphitheater is located at 2575 Glen Helen Parkway in Devore. Tickets are still available for the show and range from $35.50-$75, including the fees. You can pick them up at LiveNation.com.
