Memories, Pick 3 with Danny Benair

We all have stories that we tell, and somewhere in a little pocket in your brain, you vividly remember these moments.

In the last two weeks, two came to life out of nowhere on Facebook.

My first gig.
Junior high schooler befriends better musicians on the westside with his red sparkle Crown Drun Set, and we play Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac songs like we are in the band.

Fronted by Ron Chambliss, our Peter green/Danny Kirwan rolled into one.

They had just had Huck Finn day at Douglas Park and filled the pond with trout for the kids to catch… we got the left overs! Our pay and is beer and trout!

We’re playing at a party for the Santa Monica Jay-Cees in a garage that belongs to Ron’s step-sister Sandy  and her husband.

A real garage band…

The late John Nudds, me, Mike Hurley, and Ron Chambliss.

Give us some blues!!! Photos by John Filous

My first recording gig.

The first version of The Quick stumble into a studio in their teenage fervor. Friend Ara Ashjian shoots a series of photos of me recording, probably the only time in my career I have a photo series of me playing. GREAT!

Also, check out “Tomorrow Happens Here – Pick Three with Danny Benair” on the SXSW 2010 blog here: http://sxsw.com/node/4376

Mini Eggs

Hey guys! How’s everyone doing out there in music land? Excited about SXSW? I will be living vicariously through pictures and stories, so feel free to share your experiences with me when you get back!

While you’re gone I’m planning on doing a lot of cupcake baking. ‘Tis the season, and Cadbury eggs are upon us. I feel like a badger or some other foraging creature that stocks up for the winter every time Easter rolls around. It is undeniably my favorite time of year for seasonal treats. Yes, even more so than Valentine’s Day, and dare I say it, Christmas. Primarily, if not solely for the abundance of my favorite brand of chocolate stocked in local stores in the form of mini eggs, crème eggs, orange eggs, caramel eggs, and chocolate bunnies – all of them Cadburys.

Cadbury chocolate is perhaps the thing I miss most about living in England (besides my family and friends of course). You just can’t beat it. You really can’t. So, every Easter, I stock up on my favorites and try and make it through the year. I usually make it a week. It’s tough. The hardest part is waiting for another Easter to roll around. Which is why I plan on making the most of Easter this year while all you bunnies are away at South By South West, I will be here, making cupcakes and hording chocolate eggs. Yup. That’s what I’ll be doing.

Till next month – happy hunting.

Studio Rats

Studio Rats

While Danny has been busy doing enough show hopping for the both of us, I’ve been busy in the studio making a record.   Listening to live music is one of life’s greatest pleasures, so I have a lot of catching up to do as soon as the album is finished!

There’s so much great stuff out there right now. Top 5 favorite albums at the moment are:

1. Spoon – Transference

2. Iron and Wine – Around the Well

3. The Swell Season – Strict Joy

4. Itchy Teeth – Let Me Scratch You

5. Turin Brakes – Dark On Fire

Loving this overcast weather right now – perfect for curling up on the couch with an iPod and some time to daydream…