If the post-holiday blues have set in like a marine layer, fear not – there is plenty to look forward to in the coming weeks to help lift that haze and put us in a better mood. With the anticipation of the holidays over and having a few extra days off from work, it’s always a shock to the system to go back to our routines that lull us into a blue funk that is sometimes difficult to crawl out from under.
One musical event that should help shake off those blues is the English Beat show on Friday at the Key Club in Hollywood. Even for people who weren’t around in the early 1980s, most have probably heard many of their hit singles, which are radio staples to this day, “Mirror in the Bathroom,” “Hands Off She’s Mine” and their cover of the Smokey Robinson and The Miracles classic, “Tears of a Clown.”
Original member Dave Wakeling still fronts the U.S.-version of the group, albeit without his original co-lead singer, Ranking Roger, who with Wakeling went on to form General Public. After the original lineup broke up in 1983, Andy Cox and David Steele formed Fine Young Cannibals with vocalist Roland Gift and went on to have huge singles in the U.S., as well. More information on the date can be found at keyclub.com/.
For those who missed the documentary “Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone,” another opportunity is coming and it’s just down the road. The Black Association of Documentary Filmmakers-West (BADWest) will screen the film on this influential and unique black rock band on Monday at the Mayme A. Clayton Library in Culver City.
The screening is part of St. Clair Bourne’s Fourth Monday Documentary Film Series, named after the late founder of BADWest. This free screening will begin at 7 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience and the film’s co-director/producer, Lev Anderson. The Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum is at 4130 Overland Ave., and additional info on the event can be found at claytonmuseum.org/.
This Friday, the funky and eclectic sounds of Wallpaper will be playing the El Rey Theater in an all-ages show, with Capitol Records electronic rap duo Speakers opening the show. Wallpaper is led by the excess-obsessed Ricky Reed, who is also a gifted producer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. With electro-steeped beats and tongue-in-cheek lyrics, this group owes its sound to the pioneers who came before them, like P-Funk, Afrobeat and Bay Area rap. Doors are at 8 p.m. and tickets are $15.
McCabes Guitar Shop in Santa Monica is offering a kids show on Sunday, featuring Debbie and Friends, beginning at 11 a.m. Debbie is Debbie Cavalier and has been making music with kids for more than 20 years. She has worked with some of the greatest icons of children’s music, such as Shari Lewis, Buffalo Bob Smith of Howdy Doody fame and Sesame Street music teacher Bob McGrath.
Cavalier is also an educator at her alma mater, the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston, Mass., where she is now the Dean of Continuing Education. This interactive concert experience is sure to please both kids and adults. Tickets are $8 and kids under 2 are free.
The folks at UCLA Live continue with their high-profile musical concerts, with a couple of shows in February. The ground-breaking South African trumpeter and composer Hugh Masakela will perform with his band on Feb. 10 at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus. This legendary performer is still going strong many years after having massive hits in the U.S. with “Up, Up and Away,” and “Grazin’ In The Grass” in the late 1960s.
On the following night, Feb. 11, UCLA Live will present a strong double bill featuring the Ravi Coltrane Quartet, along with the Christian McBride trio. Coltrane is the son of the legendary tenor saxophonist John Coltrane, and is a prolific and innovative player and composer himself. Jazz bassist McBride is one of the most recorded musicians of his generation, having appeared on close to 300 recordings as a sideman before the age of 40.
More info on this tremendous two-night booking can be found at uclalive.org/index.asp.
Jonathan Weiss is a Los Angeles-based music supervisor for film, TV and advertising and a radio journalist. Email him at jonjaz@aol.com.
