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September 30, 2004

ANOTHER STUDIO POST

Guess what? I’m in a recording studio!! Now THERE’s something different. I am in with Mike Clink, working on the Camp Freddy record. We have another guest in today – I’m going to keep it all under wraps from now on, so that the record is a nice surprise when it comes out (whenever that is!!). Suffice to say that I have, yet again, got the greatest job in the world. Sitting on a couch watching another genius guitar player work their magic on a Camp Freddy track.
And tonight, the New York Dolls play at The Avalon in Los Angeles. A much anticipated show, even though there are only two remaining original members left. They are one of the few bands that it was impossible for me to see back then, so I kinda have to go. Fingers crossed that they don’t let us all down.

Now then – you guys have made me so happy with all the posts that I am going to attempt to answer and respond to everything. So here goes…….

Lisa – Yeah. I love touring. No responsibilities, lots of different cities, different things to see and do. But I always miss home when I am out there. Karen and FlamingHeart – I have to say that the comforts on the road are pretty cool. Always an X-Box or a Playstation, TV, DVD player – plus I take all my toys with me. The laptop, DV camera, plus on the Cult tour I had a remote control car, a BB gun…all manner of things to keep me amused. On the other hand, when Doheny hit the road, I somehow doubt it will be as luxurious!! But there will always be a Starbucks in every town to give me a personality.

Ylais – I actually formed Camp Freddy with Dave and Donovan nearly three years ago. I had the idea years ago in the UK, and when my time in the Cult was up, I figured it would be fun to do. Donovan, Matt and Dave were friends and it seemed a fun thing to do. And my stint in the Cult was thanks to Billy Duffy putting me up for the job when the band went out on the road for the Beyond Good And Evil world tour. Finally – I live in LA because ……ITS SUNNY HERE!!!

The whole sad song thing is hilarious…..believe it or not, I have many!! The Quireboys “I don’t love you anymore” is always good for a sad moment, - David Bowie’s “Rock N Roll Suicide” is a biggie for me. And you know what….Fall To Pieces strikes a few chords with me too. Great song.

Tina – I am an open book when it comes to my favourite song of all time. It is, without doubt, God Save The Queen, by the Sex Pistols. The most powerful and poigniant 3 minute pop song of all time.

Julia – You know – it might have been the Clash, until Joe died. Personally, I think the newer bands need more of a shot these days……although a full G’n’R reunion line up would be pretty cool.

That’s it from me – (and by the way…The Two Billys Tour would be great – I’ll tell Billy we should get it going!!)
Take care and I’ll be back soon.

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 04:16 PM | Comments (19)

September 28, 2004

STUDIO FEVER

I LOVE the imagination that you all have. It's funny to dream up a question and watch you all run with it!! Your Surreal Life suggestions had me in stitches. So I'm gonna pick the six best from everyones choices and make that the definitive "Doheny Blog Surreal Life Line Up"! Maybe I'll email it to VH-1 as a suggestion for the next series! My selection from all your ideas would be - Quentin Tarantino (Jay's choice) - the surreal intellectual of the house. Ali G - (from Ylais) - guaranteed to keep the whole house cracking up with laughter. Martha Stewart - (Abby's shout) - Gotta have a good home cooked meal when you're locked in a house with a bunch of freaks. Courtney Love - (a few of you picked Courtney) - having worked with her last weekend, she would be amazing in the house. Sharon Osbourne - (Julia's pick) - I love Sharon, and her and Courtney would be a riot together. And finally Mr Manson - (Mayhems choice) - I would pay good money to see him in this house with Martha Stewart!! The idea of these six faces locked up under one roof is genius.

Today I am working with Tommy Lee on some tracks in Scott Humphrey's studio, The Chop Shop. I'm typing this from Scotts studio in the hills, listening to Chris Chaney's bass tracks being put together. Its a great song and I am flattered to have been asked to do the guitars on this. Tommy is a rock legend and its very cool to be working with him. We started last night, and once all the guitars are done, Nick Carter (yes....THAT Nick Carter, from the Backstreet Boys!!) will be doing the vocals with Tommy. Then this afternoon, the singer from Something Corporate, Andrew McMahon will be in to do another song with us. It looks like Tommy's next record will have a bunch of friends on it, and the tracks are sounding great.

Doheny are definately on a roll in rehearsal. The band sounds as tight as ever and the new songs have come together nicely. We need a bridge on one of them, and then we are ready for Jon's lyrics. Its a good feeling to be writing and rehearsing new songs.......just wanna get out there and play!! Patience was never my strong point. I seem to have been in various studios for ages now - what with the Camp Freddy album, writing with Jon in my studio, rehearsing in the studio, and now doing the Tommy stuff, its just been studios for ever!! I love it - dont get me wrong - but I also live for being on the road. Put me on a bus and send me off for a year or two.....YES!!!

It looks like the edits are done, so I'm gonna sign off and go listen to the vocals being done. Let me think of another question for later on in the week - or maybe you guys have some ideas for silly Blog games that we can all play!! I am just happy that its building - be patient - Doheny are working their asses off and we will be out there next year playing every city we possibly can. Thats a promise.

Till tomorrow

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 02:54 PM | Comments (23)

September 27, 2004

BACK TO BUSINESS

Wow. That was a crazy weekend. Friday was the rehearsal – everything went smoothly and the set sounded great. Saturday was completely off the hook – a lot of fun. To have all of those people on the same stage, AND to be able to play with them just amazes me every time. I am so blessed to be able to share the stage with so many talented and creative artists. Like I said, more details will be up on the Camp Freddy site in the next day or so. Staying in the hotel in Disneyland, however, was a BIG mistake. Finally got to sleep around 3.00am and at 7.00am in the morning, there were armies of young kids running up and down the hallways, obviously very excited to have breakfast with Mickey and Donald. That was my cue to get out of there, and we got back to LA as fast as we could!!

Yesterday was a GOOD day!! Oakland HAMMERED Tampa Bay 30-20. We played well until the 4th quarter, and I was screaming at the TV by the end of the game!! Congrats to Tim Brown (now in a TB uniform) for 100 TD’s. Next week we play the Texans. And as Jon is going away to the UK for the ‘Shifter dates, I made him an instrumental CD of one of the new Doheny tracks that needs lyrics. Kinda handy really – he goes away, slaves over some deep and meaningful poetry, and the next time we see him, he’ll walk in, sing the song and it’ll be great. (Well, that’s the plan, anyway!!)

I cannot wait to move into October – Doheny have the two Orgy dates, and the LA Roxy show at the end of the month (not to mention the CF shows). I love playing our songs live, and it seems like forever since we did a show. I’m hoping we can get a few more gigs booked before the end of the year. I think there might be a rather ‘special’ Xmas show happening – more details very soon.

Holly – I’m sorry the VF show isn’t on a Saturday. We had no say in the date. But I’m glad you’re coming. You wont be disappointed!
Sandy B – Bromley, huh? Its probably changed since I was last there!! The name Doheny comes from the street I live on in LA. Jon and I wrote and demoed all the songs in my studio there.
Angelina – I give you my word that these feet are always firmly planted, no matter what happens. I will always do my best to remain interactive with everyone.
Linda – I don’t have the details yet, but I believe CF will be in another city on your birthday…..Sorry! BUT – remind me nearer the time and we can have a celebration on the Blog. That’s a good idea – a Birthdays List for all you guys on this Blog, so we can be continually celebrating!!!!
Flaming Heart/Kim/Acacia/Mayhem/Tina - Thank you for your continued support and encouragement. Everyone on this blog gives me the energy to keep it all going. You are all part of the Doheny Family.

And finally (Ylais-this one’s just for you!)…… another game. I love the responses!!
So…..I’ve had one eye on the new series of The Surreal Life because I spent a lot of 2003 writing and recording songs for Ryan Starr (check out I-Tunes – the new song from Ryan called My Religion is one of mine. I actually play all the guitars on it as well). What would be your ultimate cast for The Surreal Life? Six people – 3 guys, three girls. Get your thinking caps on and give me a laugh!!

That’s it from me –

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 08:29 AM | Comments (25)

September 26, 2004

BIRTHDAY PARTY

So first of all, you can blame AT+T for the lack of a post last night from our dressing room! There was no cell reception at all, so despite wanting to say hi to everyone, we were unable to. But the show was a lot of fun. Everyone had a blast, and judging by the drunken dance moves the birthday boy and family were pulling when Courtney pulled them all up onstage during Iggy's Search And Destroy, they all had a good night too! I'll have pics and a set list put up on the Camp Freddy website, but highlights for me were Scott Weiland and Steve Jones on the Sex Pistols song, Bodies......Billy Duffy windmilling on Jailbreak......and me being assaulted during I Wanna Be Your Dog by Courtney Love and Mark McGrath!!! All in all - a great Saturday night out. By the way, thats Ms Love singing. Look carefully and you can see Dave behind her...and I have no idea who the dancing blonde is!!

I am posting this from my hotel room in Anaheim (from my phone) and while I have read all your great comments from yesterdays post, it has taken me twenty minutes to type this much!! (The keys on my phone are TINY!) So please bear with me. I will type a full post tomorrow morning when I am back in LA and hopefully I will have some pics from the show as well. For now, my thumbs are killing me, so have a great Sunday and I'll be back tomorrow.
Peace

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 01:00 PM | Comments (10)

September 24, 2004

CF REHEARSALS

I wanted to get a post in tonight, as I will be up and outta here early tomorrow. The Camp Freddy experience takes a trip to Anaheim tomorrow for a private birthday party (private - so unfortunately, no general admission on this one) and I just got in from our usual, one-day, cram-it-in style rehearsal. I have to say that I am excited by this show. The line up is rocking. Courtney Love is doing a couple of songs with us, and she was great today - killed Iggy's Search And Destroy! And Scott Weiland is also making his CF debut with us tomorrow - and it was so much fun running through the songs with him today. I'll post all about the show on Sunday. Maybe I should try and be techno-boy with my phone and post a quickie from the dressing room before we go on! Get Dave, Matt, Chris and Dono to type a quick hi to you all. Whaddya think?)

Wow! I love that more people are posting responses on the blog now. I feel a sense of community happening and I love it. And I also feel a lot better about my collection fetish!! Holly has her antique maps (by the way, Holly - I do know that band Stimulator. The singer asked me if I was going to take em to court for using the name!! I said "Take it - I'm not using it!!). Julia, Flaming Heart and Jay have The Cult collections (Jay - NOW is the time to start the Doheny one!!), Karen has her vinyl AND the Garfield thing going on!! D-Wez has the Pitchshifter collection to END all 'shifter collections!! And Abby is rockin' the house with Eeyore.....you all sound just as OCD/Pack Rat as me. Glad to know I'm not alone!

Sandy B (welcome to the site...and enjoy!) and Kim...the whole coming to the UK thing is something I would LOVE to do. I can't wait to get Doheny over there. We must all be patient, cos once we have everything in place, and actually made a record, we will be there like a shot. I would love to pop over and do a few 'shifter shows and hang with you guys and I know Jon would like that too - but during the time that Jon is away in the UK being Mr Shifter, the rest of Doheny will be in the rehearsal studio, beavering away on our songs, and fine-tuning stuff for when Jon gets back. He arrives back in LA two days before the Orgy shows, so we will make sure we are tight and rocking by that time. Plus I believe that CF have to go to NYC for a day to do Carson Daley again, but I'm not sure.

I am completely wasted - so tired. So I am going to say goodnight to all. It really makes my day to read all your posts. Have a great weekend, and a huge thank you to everyone who is paying this blog a regular visit. We welcome you ALL!!!

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 10:01 PM | Comments (17)

September 23, 2004

COLLECTIONS

I have to start off by telling you that Dave's new band, The Panic Channel, are fantastic! I was lucky enough to go to their secret show at The Dragonfly this week (nice turn out from the 6767 crew!) and they sounded great. The songs are killer, Steve is a perfect frontman, and Dave, as usual, is a genius on guitar. Chaney and Perkins have to be one of the best rhythm sections out there. Big up to the guys, and I look forward to great things from them. (hmmmm.......what about a show with Doheny and TPC? That seems like a cool bill.)

Yesterday, I spent the day in the studio working on the Camp Freddy record. Another guest came in and recorded a solo on one of the songs. Its getting exciting to see it slowly coming together. I cant wait for the thing to be finished (but its going to take a while - everyone is so busy with other stuff, that we have to work on it when we have a day free). And last night, I attended an event in Hollywood that had The B52's as the band - wow!! Haven't seen that band for years. They looked and sounded just like they did in the 80's. Tonight, I think I'm going to go see Siouxie at the House Of Blues. As I missed her at the Inland Invasion, I really want to try and make the show today.

Julia - Mr Idol's set at the Inland Invasion was just hit after hit. White Wedding, Eyes Without A Face, Rebel Yell, all the singles. And three songs from his new album (which I liked). And yes, he did play Sweet Sixteen.

Jay - I dont feel qualified to have a view on Ian and his activities. He was in The Cult for 20 years - I was in it for 2!! So I wish Ian happiness, I am thankful to have shared a stage with him (he is one of Rocks greatest frontmen) and hope that we get to do it again sometime.

Tina - Where did you see the Reading performance? I would LOVE to get a copy of that gig. It was a special one for me. And yes - we all had a lot of fun.

Karen and Abby - Have you ever noticed how newer albums are just 'louder' than older ones? When you play an old Pink Floyd album, for example, and then without touching the volume, you play (again, for example) Hoobastanks new record, it is MUCH louder and crisper? That is the new mastering process. It makes records sound crisper, louder and clearer. Re-Mastered albums are usually classic, seminal records that were made before they had the new techniques in mastering, and they Re-Master them using modern technology to make it 'feel' and sound better. Some of David Bowies remastered albums sound WAY better than the originals. Its very much a 'collectors' thing, or an audiophile thing.

Which leads me to Collections. Do you guys collect anything? What is it about collections that can make us so obsessed? Not everyone does it.....but I would be interested to hear about any collections that you guys have. I started thinking last night about how I collect things - I (obviously) collect guitars, mainly Les Pauls, but I have other weird obsessions too. Some of you will be aware that I collect a certain type of sneaker - the Nike Dunk High Top. It comes in hundreds of colorways (just have a look on Ebay - it'll blow your mind!!) And I also collect old Vivienne Westwood clothing (just the Seditionaries and Pirate stuff) Not to mention the DVD movie collection. What is it that makes me want to collect stuff? I didnt set out to gather a ton of shit together? It just happened! Am I weird? Am I strange? What do other people collect? Not life-changing stuff, but very interesting to me.

I may be in need of more coffee, judging by the last paragraph, so I will shut up and start my day. Have a good one folks and see you soon.

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 08:02 AM | Comments (19)

September 21, 2004

DOHENYMUSIC.COM

I go away for two days, and the blog is overrun by garters, socks and Kenny Rodgers!!! You guys are hilarious.....some of those links are just WRONG!!! And yes - I would imagine that the guys playing golf at the weekend were all wearing those things.....no danger of me ever taking that up!!

So Billy Idol rocked the house at the Inland Invasion. Steve Stevens (apart from being a good friend) is one of the best guitar players I've ever watched. And those guys have written hit after hit. We didn't stay for Siouxie, as she is playing in LA this week, so I'll go see her play there. Instead, we hit the road and went down to Palm Springs to have a couple of days R+R. Saw the most amazing lightning storm on the way too - it lasted about two hours. No thunder, just constant flashing - the sky was completely clear except for the one heavy storm cloud over the desert that was just lit up with this mad electrical energy. I kept expecting to see a huge alien mothership rise out of the cloud!!
Sunday was all good times - The Raiders won their game, I posted here from my cellphone (that still blows me away that I can do that!) and I pissed some golfers off. A very satisfactory day.

Yesterday was a long one - drove in from P.S. and went straight to Doheny rehearsals. We continued to work on new stuff - started messing about with Does It Really Matter again - another fast song, kinda like Helmet meets Foo Fighters. I'm looking forward to that one coming together. After rehearsals, I went to play cards with some friends, and finally got to bed around 1.00pm.

The main Doheny website has had a great overhaul - check it out at www.dohenymusic.com. The pages look really good, the video is now up on the media page....the whole thing looks great.

Buddy - One of the most memorable show has to be playing the main stage at Reading Festival in the UK with The Cult. Looking out and not being able to see where the people ended was an amazing feeling. Although the first Doheny show at the Viper Room in LA (FINALLY getting the band onto a stage and playing the songs live) felt pretty fucking cool too.

So thats it from me - glad to be back and doing my morning post thing. I missed it over the weekend. Keep smiling, and I'll be back tomorrow. Check out the 'Your Artwork' page - you guys have really been busy, and I love it all (big shout out to Dave - the Rubiks cube is genius). What about the Chuch pic Ive used as todays picture?.....Absolutely hilarious!!! Well done girls. Hope you all have a great day.
Peace

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 07:47 AM | Comments (8)

September 19, 2004

PALM SPRINGS

The marvels of modern technology. I am sitting here at 9.00am on a sunny Sunday morning in Palm Springs, typing this entry on my cellphone and dodging golfballs! The back yard of the house here is on the PGA Golf course, and as we speak, three old guys wearing shorts are frantically searching the backyard for the ball that I just hid!! If you are going to play golf, STOP hitting the ball towards us!!

Went to the Inland Invasion last night to see Billy Idol, who absolutely rocked the house. Hope you are all enjoying the weekend. I'm back tomorrow - a full post then. For now, just wanted to give you all a shout out.
Outta here
Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 08:51 AM | Comments (17)

September 18, 2004

80's INVASION

Good morning. The weekend is here again, and I am not really sure whats happening to Camp Freddy Radio this week. I am off to the Inland Invasion show at the Hyundai Pavillion (Wanna go see Billy Idol and Siouxie And The Banshees) The whole line up is from the 80's - Tears For Fears, Devo etc, but I'm just going to check out Idol and Siouxie (both from Bromley in South London, where I'm from!!). I know Dave is busy today as well so I figure that Donovan will do the show - I'll call in from the concert, and I know that Matt is back in the US, so maybe he'll call in as well.

I think that our Desert Island would be the most dysfunctional place on the planet!! I was cracking up, reading who we were sharing our 'Isle of Paradise' with......
A few of you had the whole Cult thing going on, with Astbury, Duffy and Sorum all joining us. Then we had the 'rugged' types - Viggo Mortensen, Benicio Del Toro, Ted Nugent and Mel Gibson. Jay was all about Paris Hilton!! And then we started throwing in George Michael, Josh Homme, Tom Hanks, MacGyver, Zach Braff and the Monty Python crew!!! Finally, Holly threw in the best one.....my old mate Robbie Williams!!! With that lot on the island, we would be either going insane or we'd never want to leave!! And Julia would be feeding us all those "special mushrooms" so we wouldn't even see the rescue party!

Check out how Karen's been spending her time - no wonder she's had Watching It All Burn in her head the last few weeks!! -
http://www.rocknrollaccess.net/dohenymusic/flash.htm
It's great, Karen. Thank you.

California came together yesterday in rehearsal for the first time. Its different to the recorded version (there are so many guitar parts on that, it was hard to know what to play and what to leave out!) but we are really happy with how it sounds. I'm looking forward to getting a couple of different songs in the set when we play in October. If I can figure out how to post small video clips on this blog, we will video some rehearsals and let you guys in on the process. White Pony reported that we exceeded his 100Gig bandwidth with the Drive Me video. Thats A LOT of people looking at the video!! Encouraging - but now he has to get us more space. When its done, we'll link the video to the main site. For now, Karen is hosting it for us -
http://www.rocknrollaccess.net/dohenymusic/
but if the same thing happens there, I'll have to think of a solution. For now, check it out while you can.

I'm having a lot of fun with this Blog - and I think you guys are too. Thank you for participating. Sometimes, in the world that we live in, a sense of community, a sense of spirit, great music, laughter, and some goodwill towards another human being, is all that it takes to rise above the mundane, to ignore the voices in our heads, and to feel good about being alive. And here endeth the sermon....!!

Have a great weekend people

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 08:34 AM | Comments (6)

September 17, 2004

HAVING FUN

Now THAT was funny! The whole Desert Island Discs thing made me crack up this morning!! It shows that you guys are clever, funny, resourceful, eclectic and diverse - just the sort of qualities you would need on an island. The solution is obviously to all be marooned on the island together - then the CD collection would be perfect! Check out this selection from the comments and emails -

The Cult - Beyond Good And Evil
311 - Grassroots
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Soundgarden - Superunknown
Grateful Dead
Substance - Joy Division
Led Zepp 2
Queen - Live Killers
The Who - Quadrophenia
Coloursound
Coltrane - Interstellar
Pitchshifter
Doheny
The Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks (this is, of course, my selection)
Sarah Brightman - (this is when I start swimming out to sea and never turn back!!)

Then, of course, we have the coconut radio, tuned to Indie 103.1, made for us all by Electric Mayhem - we have Linda running up and down the beach, signaling for help with her Grateful Dead CD - and Abby searching for a CD player to actually PLAY the CD's!! I think we have an episode of Survivor right here!!

Today is more rehearsals for Doheny - we rehearse as much as we can - and we are still on our 'new songs' vibe. Once we have the riffs (thats the easy bit) we spend all our time trying different grooves, different styles of playing those riffs, different arrangements etc until we think we have a song. Then Sean and I play about with sounds and FX and try and make the two guitars work with each other. We dont just want both of us playing the same thing - thats the whole point of Doheny is to try and layer and texture the guitars to maximum effect. That way, the song has more dynamics (ie - When the chorus kicks in, it REALLY kicks in.) I'm excited to pick up where we left off last time, and cant wait for Jon to finish the lyrics to "If I Could..." - (Not sure of that title though...what do you think?)

I have to comment on D_Wez's post that Alice Cooper is doing commercials with Ronnie Corbett in the UK. You would have to know about Ronnie Corbett to get the insanity of this. He is a UK comedian that isn't funny and the thought of Alice and him in a commercial is mind-blowing!! I'm so glad I am not there to witness it. I suppose even the God Of Shock Rock needs to pay the bills.

And Heidi - The event at The Mondrian was something that could ONLY happen in LA!! It was a "Beauty Buffet" - an event held on the top floor of the hotel, where 'celebrities' are invited to wander around and be given free things (sunglasses, clothes, massages, facial products etc)!! I always feel ridiculous when I attend these things but I needed some new shampoo, so I figured I would go along!!

Todays picture was from the photoshoot we did with acclaimed photographer, Michael Muller. We never used it because Tony is hidden. But I love the way the picture looks and feels. So here it is.

Alright - before I go, lets do it again. So we are now all on a desert island, with some cool CD's. A plane flies overhead, and we see someone parachute out of it, and float down towards us. Which actor/actress/singer/musician/comedian would you like it to be? (Bear in mind that we are all going to have to live on the island with this person.

I'm having fun with this - even the two birds staring at me from the trees outside my window seem to be smiling!! Have a great day people - only seven weeks until Gingerbread syrup becomes a staple at Starbucks - and only four weeks until Doheny start to play live again. Seems like I will get through another day!!
Peace

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 07:49 AM | Comments (15)

September 16, 2004

FIXED.

Just to let everyone know - Karen has kindly put the video up on her site as well.

http://www.rocknrollaccess.net/dohenymusic/

We will get WP's back up soon, and one of them will get linked to the main site. Either way - enjoy.

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 06:26 PM | Comments (1)

BROKEN!

Oh well - it lasted a day!!! The video isnt working right now - but I know that WP was away and feel sure that he will sort it out on his return. Appears that the download bandwidth was exceeded - which means lots of people wanted to see it - thats cool. Karen has already asked me if she can put it up on her site, and of course I welcome that. If WP's site has download limitations, we might move it elsewhere. If we do that, I can change the URL's and it'll still be viewable here, and on the main site, so just bear with us while we figure it out.
But a huge THANK YOU to everyone who posted yesterday, and who sent me emails. The movie review thing was great - I now know that I will DEFINATELY go and see Shaun Of The Dead this weekend. And it seems that everyone is enjoying Hero, so thats on the list as well.

I am in the studio all day today, working on the new Doheny songs. Jon is working on lyrics and melody, and I am going to rough out the music that we have been working on in the rehearsal room. We'll post a clip once we have demo's done. Oh, and by the way, today's picture is from about three years ago - a seminal moment for me. In case you were born under a rock, or dont understand your music history 101, that is Alice Cooper. Go and google him, download everything you can find, and learn about rock music!

Kim - good suggestion. I'll link the blog to the message board and vice versa. But it seems most people are happy with how it all works, and just told me to be patient and keep doing what we do!! Patience was never one of my stronger assets!!

Julia - LOVE Benicio movies!! Just watched The Hunted last night.

Suzanne - I think Garden State is on my list as well.

Jay - Dude, where do you find this stuff out!! I'm impressed!! Into A Circle was a band I was in when I was a lot younger - with a guy from Dance Society, and the bass player from Southern Death Cult (which later became The Cult - weird, huh?). We took a lot of drugs, toured the UK, and made a couple of records. I left (to take even more drugs!) and the rest of them made one album. I have no idea what Bee and Barry are doing now.

Everyone else - a big Thank You for your support and encouragement. It means a lot to Doheny.

So todays game is this - If you could ONLY take one CD onto a desert island, what would it be? No tapes, no mix CD's - you have one record that you can listen to until you are rescued!! Let me think about mine (as if I need to think about it!) and let me hear what you would take.
Have a great day and see y'all tomorrow

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 08:51 AM | Comments (17)

September 15, 2004

WEB VOODOO

Well it seems that people like the video. I have had a bunch of emails since yesterday - thank you all very much. It was my first real project with Final Cut Pro - I enjoy editing and I will definately get involved when Doheny make a 'real' video. Big Up to White Pony who didn't seem to sleep for a week while he compressed the file!! If you haven't seen it yet, cut and paste this into a browser window -

www.whitepony.net/dohenyvid.php

I have been thinking about this blog and how I can build the community here. Any and all suggestions welcome. I started it without thinking too much - just wanted to see how it all worked. And I love it now - its part of my morning ritual (along with drinking chickens blood and dancing naked around a pile of bones!) So I was wondering if it is accessible enough? I know we have it linked to the main sites' Community page, along with the message board and the My Space link. How else can we spread the word? Oh, and by the way - check out the pic I found of Sean, defying gravity! Looks like he's about to fall over.

And finally, I need some movie reviews.........what movie do I need to go and see this weekend? As an extension of what Dave and I were talking about on the radio last week, give me some ideas. What have you seen recently that excited you - Hero? Open Water? Without A Paddle?

Thats it from me - too much typing, not enough caffeine. I am outta here....

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 08:32 AM | Comments (14)

September 14, 2004

DOHENY VIDEO

A quick update - it seems as if White Pony has cracked the video thing. Try cutting and pasting this link into your browser to see the home movie that we cut for Drive Me. Thanks WP - fingers crossed the link works.

www.whitepony.net/dohenyvid.php

Peace

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 02:19 PM | Comments (7)

RAMONES

Rehearsals yesterday were great - we worked really hard on "If I Could.." and its pretty much ready for vocals now - sounds rockin. "California" is still causing problems, but we are trying all different ways to translate the killer recorded version into the live arena. We'll get it in the end. And the other new song we have been working on is called "Does It Really Matter?" - we just started getting that together yesterday. The band sounds tight and I cant wait to play live soon.

Karen has done a killer wallpaper - check it out. Looks like we were photographed in New York, when the city was under six feet of water!!! Keep em coming.

ZenTam - I know what you mean about the Raiders Black Hole!! I have been to Oakland to see them play and its a great experience. Pity about their performance against the Steelers on Sunday. One day, we'll have a defence that defends!!

Acacia and Jay - The Ramones show was a lot of fun - The Chili Peppers played a set of Ramones songs, and the All-Star band at the end had appearances by Eddie Veddor, Tim Armstrong, Henry Rollins, John Doe....the list goes on. A great night and a great tribute to an amazing band.

Postscript - The whole music industry is now mourning the passing of Johnny Ramone who passed away in his sleep yesterday. I thank God for The Ramones - they changed music forever, wrote some of the most amazing Punk anthems, and believed in the real ethos of the three chord pop song. Johnny will be sorely missed, and his musical legend will live on in his abscence. May he Rest In Peace. (Sept 16th 2004)

Finally, I think that WhitePony has done the Drive Me video - he sent me a link and it looks great. Once he posts it, I will link it to the Doheny site - www.dohenymusic.com, and also to this blog. I hope you like it. Thank you Pony for doing it. You rock.
Gotta go - a day of meetings (yawn!) Have a good one

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 08:58 AM | Comments (6)

September 12, 2004

GO RAIDERS!

Today is the first day of the season!! I'm talking about football. Now I know that I don't look like a sports fan, and its fair to say that most sports bore me to tears. But back when I used to...er... partake in a little substance abuse, I spent MANY nights staring at British television at 4.00am, unable to sleep. And they used to show NFL games live. So I became a Raiders fan (the black shirts, the bad-boy image...you know the vibe!) And today is the first game of the regular season - playing the Steelers at Heinz Field. Very exciting stuff - so give it up for Oakland today.

I have to say that you guys are all blowing my mind. I have had so many emails about the Chiefs Of Relief....it really is amazing, thank you. The problem I was having is that it is available on vinyl only, and I dont have a turntable (or any vinyl at all) - but I think Karen is going to help me get it onto a CD. And thank you for all your positive emails about Evergreen. I love that song and I am happy so many of you liked it too. The radio show was a blast yesterday - Dave and I felt it was smooth and funny. I had a lot of fun last night.

Tina - I love the Doheny wallpaper (check it out in the Your Artwork section) - isn't Photoshop fun?!

Karen - Thank you for the Chiefs solution. I look forward to hearing what you think of the song.

Jay - Most of my Les Pauls are sans Pick Guard (a la Duffy - check out my French here!!) but I think I will leave it on the Gold Top - just want that guitar to look a little different.

Freak - The 6767 MP3 sounds great - so many cool ideas going on over at the PC site - its so exciting.

The game is going to be on TV in about an hour, so I wanna go get my Starbucks before it starts. One day, I am going to have to do a Tommy Lee - and get a Starbucks put in my house! A HUGE thank you to everyone - have a great Sunday and dont do anything I wouldnt do (which leaves it WIDE open!!!)

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 08:53 AM | Comments (7)

September 11, 2004

CHIEFS OF RELIEF

Has anyone out there got a track called Weekend, by a band called Chiefs Of Relief? I have been looking for this track for ages now - the band was around in the early 80's and featured Mathew Ashman from Bow Wow Wow and Paul Cook from the Sex Pistols. They were a great band, I saw them live a number of times. Mathew is dead now (RIP) but I would love to play the song on the radio. They had one album released, which I have, but they also released a 12" vinyl single of the song Weekend, and its these tracks I need. If you know what I'm talking about, drop me an email - it would be most appreciated.
We spent all afternoon working on one song yesterday - and it sounds killer. The working title is "If I Could..." but I am sure that will change by the time its done. Its just refreshing to be bringing new tracks into the set.
Today is CF Radio day - Dave and I will be doing it together, and I think its about time I played the third track we did with Scott Humphrey - Evergreen....So listen in and press record!

D-Wez - I remember Thunder!! Great band....although I was kinda joking about us actually PLAYING an 80's metal song!! We'll leave that to Metal Skool.
Karen - Unbelievable that you actually found Burn. That was the first Stimulator single!! Probably sold about 10 copies!! Hope you like it.
Last Wave - Thank you for your artwork. I love that you take the time to mess about with that stuff. The more art, the better.

Thanks everyone for hanging out here and bothering to post. Its cathartic for me just to type stuff up every morning! And seeing people respond, do artwork, and want to be a part of the Doheny family is a great thing - I hope it builds and becomes a cool place for a lot of people. Me.....I'll just keep ranting on each day - makes me feel better!!
Have a great weekend
Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 08:38 AM | Comments (9)

September 09, 2004

METAL SKOOL?

I heard rumors yesterday of a Doheny show at The Roxy in November - one of the Metal Skool nights. Have any of you guys seen that band? They are amazing! Full 80's metal tribute band with the clothes, the comedy....and they have a huge local following. Every monday night, they pack the place out and do their thing. I think they are genius, and I hope the show comes off, because it would be funny as hell to play with them. We'll have to learn a Winger song or something!! Anyway, I'll let you know when I get confirmation.
We are waiting for more dates to be confirmed in late October and November - we are taking September off to write and rehearse new songs - and as much as I like writing with Jon and rehearsing the stuff with everybody, I cant wait to play. Thats where I have the most fun. So hopefully, we will have shows to look forward to soon.

LastWave - Great artwork, thank you!

Jay - It was VERY cool to do that song with Jonsey. I feel he is definately one of the most under-rated guitar players out there. He might not 'solo like Satriani', but the guy played a huge part in changing the face of pop/rock music and recorded one of the most important albums ever. So it was an honor to play Queen with him.

Suzanne - Palm Springs is a convenient getaway for people that live in Los Angeles. 2 hours drive, and I can be lying around in the Spa, getting massages, facials, whatever....It's just a quiet place to spend a few days (and after Saturdays CF show, we were halfway there already.)

Abby - Working hard in the studio? Yes. Genius work? Well, I dunno about that!! We write, we try it out, we scrap it, we start again. Jon and I are pretty hard on ourselves and it takes a while to be fully happy with a song. Its early days yet, but 'Does It Really Matter?' and 'I would..' seem to be the favourites right now. We'll try them again in rehearsals tomorrow.

Alright then, gotta go.....Thanks to everyone (and thanks to White Pony for persevering with the Drive Me video thing - its coming soon.) See ya

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 07:34 AM | Comments (5)

September 07, 2004

THE LONG WEEKEND

That was a long, hot weekend! The Camp Freddy show went down really well, and everyone had a lot of fun. The pic is of me and Steve Jones (Sex Pistols) doing God Save The Queen. I think the Camp Freddy site will have a decent update with some more pics soon. When the day was over, instead of driving back to LA, I went down to Palm Springs for a couple of days to get some R+R. It was 107 degrees in the desert, so most of the time was spent hanging out watching movies, in the spa getting a massage.....or sleeping!!
Now I'm back in LA, and back to Doheny - rehearsing again today. Hopefully, we will nail California today as I really want to try it out live at the next show. And we will continue to work on the new tracks that we have going on. I also hope that we will be able to announce some more shows this week - we want to get out and play as much as we can.
Thats it from me - keep spreading the word.
Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 07:29 AM | Comments (6)

September 04, 2004

NASCAR

Today is the Camp Freddy show at the Nascar race in Fontana. We are playing at around 6.30pm on the infield at the California Speedway. By all accounts, the event is huge - 200,000 people attend the race (although I am sure our show will be in a little fenced off portion of the infield!!) so it should be a great day out. I know that we will be broadcasting an extra hour of Camp Freddy Radio tonight from 5.00pm to 6.00pm (if the technology works!) so tune in early tonight. We'll play some songs, interview our guests, and try and talk to some of the race car drivers if we can. Its going to be a long day, but if yesterdays rehearsal is anything to go by, the band will be great - Steven Perkins was fantastic behind the kit, and all the guests rocked out - we sounded loud!! Unfortunately, Jon will not be singing with us today - he is unable to make it. I'm bummed, as I love being onstage in Doheny with him, and when he has done CF shows in the past, he has nailed every note. But this time, we have to do it without him.
The good news is that the three new tracks that Jon and I have been working on for Doheny are all coming together nicely. There is one called "Does It Really Matter?" that particularly rocks - I'd like to try and get a small clip of us rehearsing it to give you all a taste. I'll see if we can figure that out.

Julia - Just keep writing music and dont think about being paid. Let your passion and emotion speak in the song and keep doing it every day. And by the way - All of David Bowies early Ziggy stuff was written solely on a piano.

Abby - Yes, it was me on Dave's site! And YES!! Ebay works on the phone as well. So you are right - now I am in serious trouble as I can buy more Nike's as I sit outside Starbucks getting more and more loaded on coffee!!!

Caine - I dont know anyone from the current G'n'R line up, but funnily enough, someone called me a few weeks back to ask me if I was interested in auditioning for the band as a guitarist! I politely turned it down!! To start with, my heart and soul is in Doheny, and secondly, I just cant play like I am sure they would want me to......Billy Morrison attempting a Slash solo is pretty funny!!! I've always said that I am 100% Steve Jones, NOT Steve Vai!! (For the non-players reading this, that means that I am primarily a rhythm player, not a lead player)

I have to stop typing and get in the shower - we leave soon, so have a great holiday weekend, and I will see you soon.
Peace
Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 07:56 AM | Comments (5)

September 02, 2004

ITS FUNNY HOW THINGS....

Its funny how things just come together when you least expect it! The week started out crazy busy, my cellphone stopped working, three of my main guitars were needing major work done, and the whole Nascar show was looking like a complete logistical nightmare. Yesterday, it all came together nicely. After about two hours of standing in the AT+T store, I walked out with a shiny new, working cellphone. I picked up all my Les Pauls from a guy named Brett Allen (who by all accounts is the wizard, when it comes to setting up Gibsons - the ones he has done for me now feel exactly as I want them.) and all the details for Saturdays Nascar show just fell into place! So I am a lot less stressed this morning.....(but those damn birds are still sitting there - just staring at me!!) I think I agree with you guys.....I'd rather be a cat!!
Tina and Heidi - LOVE the artwork!! The Dunk thing is just brilliant....Thank You.

Julia - Good question. Most of the time, the music comes first. I will sketch a rough version of the song out, and then Jon will work on the melody and meter first with me. Then he takes the song away, and lives with it. He normally wakes up at two in the morning, writes the words down, and then sings it in his studio the next day! Occasionally the words come first. The words to our ballad, DUST, came first and we wrote the music around them. Joining all those bits of music together is the art of songwriting and just takes practise. Keep doing it, and it will happen.

Regarding Saturdays Camp Freddy Radio - we wont be broadcasting the gig I'm afraid. But we will be doing the radio show live from the event. We will be interviewing some of our guests, and hopefully one of the Nascar drivers as well. I believe we will be on air an hour earlier than normal (5.00pm West Coast Time) for one hour. Then Indie will run a previous show during our normal hours of 6-8pm. So tune in an hour earlier to hear the live portion of the show.

Jon and I are working on the new tunes again today - so I better go visit Starbucks soon. Thank you all for participating here. White Pony - The DVD is on its way to you, so watch out for a full length Drive Me home movie soon. Take care and see ya soon.

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 06:58 AM | Comments (7)

September 01, 2004

FOR THE BIRDS

When I sit here in the morning and type up my posts, I look out of my living room window and every day, there are always a pair of birds sitting in one of the trees outside my window. Now I am not big on Ornithology - in fact I'm not even sure how to spell it!! But I find myself wondering a few things - "Are they the same two birds every day?" (its hard to tell!) "Are they dating?" "I wonder if they're bored?" It seems like a very simple existance - stress free. Eat, sleep and make more birds!! Do you ever want to just be a bird, and sit around all day, staring into space? Not sure why I'm writing this - maybe I havent had enough coffee yet........
ANYWAY - Music!!! Jon and I spent all day yesterday putting three new ideas down. I love them all. I have to tidy them up and make them rockin' and then I will bounce the ideas down and see what lyrics and melody he comes up with. Doheny are not playing any shows in September, so that we can get more songs worked out, and these three will be part of that process. I love that we are continually coming up with more material - Sean has some riffs in these new ones, and Colin and Tony have both threatened to come to rehearsals with ideas. Its definately becoming a creative force now - very exciting.

Tina and F.H. - I am a little confused about Saturday. I have been told that we are doing the Radio Show live from the NASCAR race, but if our onstage time is 6.00pm. then I dont see how that will work. I will ask today and try and let you guys know.

Stacy - ....er,.... The Cardboard Vampyres are nothing to do with Camp Freddy. We have been inviting Jerry and Billy to play with CF for a long while, and whatever they do with the Vampyres is their own thing. The show on Staurday is a Camp Freddy Show. This means that they will get up with us, and do one or two songs. I wont be jumping up with them - I'll be onstage already!! And by the way - I am not sure if Jon is doing a song with CF or not. We have been so busy, I havent talked to him about it. I'll call him today.

Thats all from me - have a good day and see ya tomorrow.

Billy

Posted by vivelerock at 07:54 AM | Comments (7)