Hermosan Tom Gruzo was longtime fixture in the jazz world
by Garrick Rawlings Tom Gruzo was a great friend for over 30 years. During the first 13 years we were across-the-street neighbors. I moved into an apartment on Loma drive, next to Clark Stadium right after my divorce in ’96. Tom and his young daughter Niki moved across the street from me a few months […]
1 square Mile back on the road, and in the studio
by Garrick Rawlings The resurrected Hermosa Beach band One Square Mile [1SM] reformed with two new members about a year ago, with lead singer Vanessa Kaylor Phillips, and drummer Terry Davidson. 1SM hit it hard last year, pounding stages all over SoCal, approaching 50 shows. Their final show of the year was with Agent Orange […]
Jim ‘Kimo’ West returns to Redondo Slack Key Festival
by Garrick Rawlings Redondo Beach will once again host the biggest Hawaiian music concert event on mainland USA this Sunday, January 14 at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. Celebrating their 17\year, the Southern California Slack Key Festival, presented by Kala Koa Entertainment, brings the most respected slack-key guitarists in the world from Hawaii and […]
Saturday with the Doobie Brothers, Marc Ford, Tyler Bryant
by Garrick Rawlings The crowd was still buzzing about the set earlier in the day by 2021 BeachLife veterans Larkin Poe, led by Georgia sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell, when fellow Georgians Blackberry Smoke took the stage Saturday afternoon. They proudly take their musical and visual cues from Southern rock originators like the Allman Brothers, […]
Music review: James McMurtry at Saint Rocke last of the originals
by Garrick Rawlings James McMurtry returned to Saint Rocke last Thursday (July 20), continuing his COVID-interrupted tour in support of his latest, very positively reviewed album, The Horses and the Hounds (2021 on New West), his 10th studio release. During the lockdown, he continued to entertain with much-appreciated live streams from his Lockhart, Texas home. […]
Stock hits high notes on sax, ‘Finally’
After deciding as a Redondo High junior to pursue a career in music, Carly Stock earns a jazz studies degree and releases her debut single by Garrick Rawlings This past May, Carly Stock received her degree in Jazz Studies at the University of North Texas (UNT), which launched the first college jazz program in the […]
Punk meets country in One Square Mile, at Tower 12
by Garrick Rawlings When lead vocalist/guitarist Nick Oreskovich’s previous punk band (Part of the Problem) was breaking up, he formed Hard Rooster with bassist/vocalist Bryan Stone and some country began seeping into their repertoire, which they punked up a bit. The inaugural Punks & Hillbillies show concept, coming to Tower 12 in Hermosa Beach on […]
Sousa concert, album to come
by Garrick Rawlings Following the memorial paddle out for Kevin Sousa Saturday, an afternoon concert in his memory was held on Pier Plaza featuring musicians from the Kevin Sousa Band (KSB), along with some very special guests. Acoustic duo Mike Longacre and Jeff Baker, aka Mike & Jeff, kicked off the show with a set […]
Saint Rocke hosts inaugural original songwriter showcase
by Garrick Rawlings The inaugural Mic Drop Media’s Songwriter Showcase at Saint Rocke two Wednesdays ago was a heartwarming success, according to producer Michelle Crispin. “The feedback has been amazing, I already have a ton of submissions for the next one,” she said. The evening, which I emceed, began with a moment of silence, and […]
Friendship forged on Cypress Avenue
As told to Garrick Rawlings Kevin Sousa and Mike Collins are two of the people responsible for Hermosa’s light industrial district on Cypress Avenue becoming a center for artists and musicians. Following Sousa’s death last week, Collins reflected on their work together. “He and I were partners in my psychotherapy practice, in the ocean, and […]
Saint Rocke resurrection
by Garrick Rawlings Saint Rocke, Hermosa’s venerable live music club, which closed at the start of COVID in early 2020, celebrated its reopening last Monday, May 15. Following a Chamber ribbon cutting, by general manager Michele Gutierrez, Hermosa Beach Mayor Raymond Jackson introduced the club’s new owners, Dani Grant and her business partner, Larry Little. […]
Saint Rocke to host music showcase
by Garrick Rawlings The newly reopened Saint Rocke will host a monthly songwriter showcase featuring local musicians performing original songs. The opening showcase is Wednesday, May 31. Musicians wishing to perform may submit samples of their music at MicDropMedia.me. Michele Crispin, the showcase creator, and curator, said she was motivated to produce the showcase by […]
Dylanfest 33, no symbolism intended
60 songs, 40 musicians, 8 hours, no repeats by Garrick Rawlings From humble backyard beginnings Andy Hill and Renee Safier’s annual Dylanfest has reached its 33rd edition, to be held Saturday, May 27 at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center, from noon to 8 p.m. Dylanfest was founded in 1991 to celebrate Bob Dylan’s 50th birthday. […]
BeachLife Sunday a show of force
Mavis Staples, and the Black Crows deliver memory-making performances by Garrick Rawlings In a truly righteous world Mavis Staples would have headlined Sunday night in Redondo, the final night of this year’s highly successful Beachlife Festival. Righteous in the sense of accomplishment, talent and ongoing relevance, rather than nostalgia. Staples began singing in her family’s […]
New Lighthouse All stars draws new jazz audience
La La Land fans and a new house band lead local jazz resurgence by Garrick Rawlings In the early 1950s, the Lighthouse All Stars helped the downtown Hermosa Beach night club establish its reputation as the center of West Coast jazz. The Lighthouse All Stars were led by club manager and bassist Howard Rumsey. Its […]
Small room, giant sounds at Collage, San Pedro
by Garrick Rawlings “We opened in 2020 with Victor Krummenacher (co-founder of Camper Van Beethoven) and (composer/multi instrumentalist) Eugene Chadbourne. It was utterly fantastic. We were really off to a running start. Two days later the pandemic shut down everything,” Richard Foss said of Collage: A Place For Arts and Culture, an imaginative performance venue […]