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October 29, 2007
DIABLO PLAY HOUSE OF BLUES CHARITY SHOW
Circus Diablo will be playing at the Los Angeles House Of Blues on November 12th at a charity show to benefit the victims of the Southern California fires. The rock show, which is being put together by Anthony D'Amato will also feature performances by his band D'Amato, Warner Drive, Epokah and more to be announced. METAL SANAZ is hosting the evening and will be auctioning off an ESP guitar and other goodies on the night. Donations will be accepted at the venue. For more information, check out the following links: WWW.BLANKETAHUMAN.ORG and MYSPACE.COM/BLANKETAHUMAN. The charity helps the homeless and will be donating blankets and supplies to the victims of the fires. More details to follow.
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Posted by vivelerock at 09:04 AM | Comments (5)
October 26, 2007
UNFUCKINBELIEVABLE
When a band leave the stage for a few minutes so that the singer can take a piss, and the audience just stand there patiently waiting for their return, you know that something special is going on ......and the Sex Pistols at The Roxy Theater in Los Angeles last night was that gig. It was the ONLY place to be, and a veritable who's who of Hollywood showed up, along with a bunch of Indie 103.1FM winners, to witness a truly powerful force - The Sex Pistols sounding stronger, tighter and more together than they have probably ever sounded in their 30 year career. One album and an original life span of about 16 months!! THATS what makes the band so special. Its hard to think of any other band that existed for just over a year, made one record, and STILL changed music and can come back 30 years later and literally BLOW most of the new music out of the water! The set was exactly what you would imagine - Opened with Holidays, closed with Anarchy and played just about every song they knew (with the exception of Bodies) along with covers Stepping Stone, No Fun and the best B Side in the history of 7" vinyl, Did You Know Wrong. Anyone who was at the gig will testify that watching a packed-to-the-rafters Roxy screaming the lyrics to Anarchy In The UK was an amazing sight, and Steve Jones STILL makes his guitars sound exactly like no one else in the business. The police presence after the show and the hordes of onlookers and "Sunset Strip Party People" will ensure that, much like the 100 Club shows in the UK thirty years previously, and even the Shepherds Bush Empire show in 96, last nights show will be the one that people say "I was there". In fact if the amount of people who SAY they were at the 100 Club shows, really WERE at those gigs, the band would have been playing to tens of thousands of people!! The 100 Club holds 400!! So lets see how many people say they were at The Roxy in 2007 ..........oh yeah, I was there!!!!
Billy
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Posted by vivelerock at 09:07 AM | Comments (8)
October 25, 2007
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.....THE SEX PISTOLS
STOP PRESS: As you have probably all seen already, tomorrows Irvine show at the Verizon Amphitheater with Velvet Revolver and Alice In Chains has been postponed due to the Southern California fires. The date has been rescheduled for Wednesday December 12th at the Gibson Amphitheater in Los Angeles and Circus Diablo will be opening the evening. We will also be scheduling some regional club shows for this period so keep your eyes on the site for further details. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Malibu and San Diego.
I haven't had time to breath this week. It has been so full of work, and this is just a 'drive-by' to let you all know I'm still here!! The Circus Diablo rehearsals could not be going better. The band are tight, strong and ready to play (thats what a break will do for you!!) Plans are being made to do a few regional shows in December to close out the year (we still gotta talk to our agent so dont ask me when and where just yet!) and talk this week during the rehearsals has been of 2008, gigs, writing songs together, a new album....... all positive stuff.
I have also been DEEP into Serato (Scratch Live) - the DJ software - as I have really been enjoying the DJ stuff and as always, don't want to do anything by half. So I took the plunge and have been taking it seriously. That means extensive MP3 management, hours of tweaking on a computer (nothing new there, then!) and a whole lot of fun. I have a thing on Saturday night to DJ at and I'll seen then just how all this hard work and preparation pays off.
The Wildhearts at The Key Club was pretty much one of the best shows I have ever seen Bar none. I mean, the band blew my mind when they first came out in the UK (what's that, 15 years ago??) and the show I saw them do on Sunday was better than I have ever seen them. It reaffirmed my belief in rock and roll, made me want to play (which never happens to me when I watch a band!) and had me transfixed for nearly two hours. If you don't know anything about The Wildhearts, go online RIGHT NOW and buy these albums ....."Earth Vs The Wildhearts" and "PHUQ". Then play them back to back for about three days. Vive Le Wildhearts.
Finally, its that time, ladies and gentlemen. Its Thursday 25th October, 2007 and its time to go and see THE SEX PISTOLS at The Roxy. Un fuckin believable!! I don't really care about being 'too cool for school' or trying to underplay the whole thing with lines like ....'yeah, but they're old now, aren't they?' ......the significance of that band is WAY beyond anything out there right now, and I want to leave you with this fact. A lot of bands have shaped and changed the course of music as we know it. Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Beatles, The Stones etc etc. But The Sex Pistols changed the course of music just as much as any of these bands........with just ONE ALBUM. They only made one record - and that record was strong enough to have them back with us 30 years later selling out five nights at Brixton Academy in London. I'll see you at The Roxy tonight.
Peace
Billy
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Posted by vivelerock at 09:00 AM | Comments (6)
October 20, 2007
FASHION WEEK AGAIN!
Yeah - again. Its been Fashion Week here in Los Angeles. And it ended for me last night with a killer party in the penthouse of the Chateau Marmont, held by Rock N Republic jeans. I DJ'd for about an hour and a half and had a great vibe going - plenty of rock classics and a good crowd. Its a beautiful view from there of the whole of LA at night and I finally caught up with Matt Sorum as well! Haven't seen him since VR left to go on this tour, so it was good to see him. Those guys have a week off and then we will all be meeting up at the Irvine show which Circus Diablo will be opening. That means rehearsals for me next week!!
I also dropped down to Smashbox a day or so ago to check out the new Bird Of Prey line, by my old friends Peter and Rene at Grail. This is going to be the high end 'couture' line for those guys and its gonna rock. Crazy, bold designs and as always, killer prints and fabrics. Congratulations guys - and thanks for having me at your show. The week also included a great T-Mobile Sidekick party and a private screening of Withnail And I by clothing designer. Paul Smith. Todays pics have been blatently stolen from Getty and WireImage. Because I ran out of time and wanted to throw a pic or two up!! Sorry guys - dont be hatin'.
I also wanted to link to a great interview with me that just went up over at www.bandweblogs.com. Jenny has been a staunch supporter of all things Morrison for a while, and the piece is a great read. CLICK HERE TO READ THE BANDWEBLOGS BILLY MORRISON INTERVIEW. And just before I get outta here for today, let me see about a few questions.....
Peebs - The underwater camera work was a girl from the dive shop. My wife actually drew the line when I told her I was going to feed sharks without a cage. I believe ...."Fuck Off, you're crazy" was the precise wording.
Beth - A shark bite tattoo?? I think you're right - tempting a little too much fate, seeing as I still have the 'Caged Great White Shark Dive' on my To Do list.
Paula - Although I have been to the limits of recreational diving (130 ft), I dont really enjoy deep diving because the water is colder, darker and the colors are not as bright. My ideal dives are the 60 - 80ft reef and wall dives. I like to see a lot of fish, and want as much color and diversity as I can get while I am submerged.
Niki - Well......I dont really think there is a 'standard' for throwing up while using drugs! I mean, most people do at some point. But some do it EVERY time. Me, I wasn't a puker. I can't believe I'm answering that one! But you did ask.....
Alec - Thanks man. Have a great time in Trinidad. Some killer diving there!!
And I have nipped back in here this fine Sunday morning to throw up last nights Podcast (finely recorded for your delectation and delight by our very own UK Paul) with Dave and myself. Always great to work with Dave, it felt so good to get the team on the air again. So either visit the Podcasts page on this site, or click the 'Subscribe To I-Tunes' button and have the Podcasts delivered directly to your virtual door every week. How modern. How fabulous. How absolutely divine. See ya'll soon.
Peace
Billy
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Posted by vivelerock at 09:23 AM | Comments (16)
October 17, 2007
MORRISON GOES TO DINNER
Please note that this is a large file size. A high speed connection is preferred.
Of all the things that I get to do in my life, diving has to be the one thing that shuts the voices in my head up completely. In all other parts of my day, there is always some planning, arranging, writing, singing, questioning .....some shit in my head that makes it a noisy place to live. Thats probably why I did drugs for so long - after a while the noise gets louder and louder until I have to do something to turn it off. It used to be smack. Now its diving. Along with a few other things. Granted, the drugs were a daily noise suppressor, and diving is only a few times a year. But it stays with me for weeks afterwards and gives me a sense of peace that no drug ever supplied me with ......plus the smack was killing me, and unless one of these sharks takes a bite outta me, I'm not dying from this!! So I want to let this blog do the talking for me. Enjoy it - its about 7 and a half minutes long, so I hope yer on a high speed connection!! If not, don't worry cos I'll throw it up on the Morrison TV YouTube page as well in a day or so. Oh, and to answer the question - the DJ gig was a little strange because I spin out and out Rock music and the club at Atlantis is basically corporate types and tourists. The song before I went up was a Michael Jackson song. The song after I spun was The Bangles. Nothing wrong with either of those two, unless you're in the middle playing Prodigy, NIN and some ACDC!! So enjoy, kick back, and I'll be back at the weekend. Next week is some Diablo activity with a couple of rehearsals and the Irvine show. Until then - I'll see you on the other side.
Billy
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Posted by vivelerock at 04:09 PM | Comments (13)
October 14, 2007
LOVE BITES IN THE BAHAMAS
STOP PRESS: Just got these photos in, and although I am running around crazy today, I had to get them up here before the day starts. You can see just how close and how many there were, and they give you an idea of just what it was I did!! I GOTTA be crazy!! See ya tomorrow with (hopefully) a V-Blog for your delectation and delight!
A quick one before I nip down to the dive shop to go and feed the sharks. Yep - FEED the things! No cage, no chain mail suit, and a waiver signature in case on of em bites me!! Jump off a boat in the middle of the ocean, sink to the bottom and stay still while the divemaster chums the water and invites a bunch of 10ft sharks to dinner. My love affair with sharks reaches a new high today. I'll give you a detailed blog of the whole weekend when I get back, but the DJ thing was last night (very strange!!) and I have been filming a bunch, so the V-Blog is coming your way. Have to give a Big Blog Birthday shout out to our girl Lisa - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! And also - in answer to your question, Claire UK......we don't know what Koch's UK release plans are for the UK. The UK fans should write and call the label and ask!! So thats it from me. Time to go risk life and limb for a good photograph and a great story!!
Peace
Billy
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Posted by vivelerock at 07:02 AM | Comments (18)
October 10, 2007
CIRCUS DIABLO ON BUY.COM
Just a quick one before I hop down to Nassau for this crazy DJ thing and a few days with the cuddly sharks of the Bahamas! I HAVE to direct you all to this piece on Circus Diablo from BUY.COM - it came out really well, and I want to thank everyone at Buy.Com for representing the band so well. Check it out - CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE BUY.COM EXCLUSIVE CIRCUS DIABLO INTERVIEW. And it was also the day that I got my Banksy art back from the framers, so the artwork is propped up lovingly in the background!! Also wanted to let you all know that last weeks CFR is up on the Podcasts page - Donovan is threatening to hold down the fort this coming week while I swim with the fishes. So tune in, turn on, drop out.......and I'll be back with a killer V-Blog next week.
Peace
Billy
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Posted by vivelerock at 05:46 PM | Comments (6)
October 07, 2007
DIABLO PLAY WITH ALICE/REVOLVER
The good news is that I finished Halo 3. The bad news is that its now all about the Online games!! Yep, I run around online, killing and being killed (its not hard to know that its me if you run across me – my screen name is obvious!) and creating video game carnage whenever I can. But work and real life have a tendency to creep back in, so I have been playing less and less – probably a good thing! Camp Freddy Radio was great this weekend…..I was on my own, but had tons of callers and a lot to talk about and discuss. Plus I felt the songs I chose worked well. Its kinda like doing a gig – some shows are good, and some are bad. Its just the way it goes. I felt this weeks show was a winner – hope the ones of you who listened felt the same.
So, I am off to Miami and Nassau this week to do some Djing and some shark feeding!! I intend to take an underwater camera guy with me to try and video that dive, cos I’ll be wanting to share that shit with you lot in a V-Blog. No promises but I’ll see what I can do. Either way, expect more Morrison TV from me after this trip, for sure!! Also, I think its safe to tell you that Circus Diablo will be opening the Velvet Revolver/Alice In Chains show on October 26th at the Verizon Amphitheater in Irvine, CA. We are very excited by that one – the line up will be Ricky, Charles, Rob and our friend Patrick Cornell who has been playing bass guitar with us when Brett has been unavailable. Matt called and invited us to do the show and who wouldn’t wanna open THAT gig? So there you have it – a quickie Diablo outing. We’ll probably do a local LA club as well. And we are setting up some West Coast clubs for late November and early December. Fun stuff.
And now to the questions:
Peebs – The Bahamas thing is a wonderful invite from some of the people involved with Atlantis on Nassau. They have invited me down to take a look around, asked me to DJ in Miami while I am in the area, and generally are being amazing hosts. I have no idea what Dave’s thing was, but I do know that Atlantis is attracting a lot of people down there – great clubs, easy vacation…..whats not to like! The movies (Evilution and Basement Jack) are now in the hands of others (ie – not mine!) – so I don’t really know. They now sort out distribution, marketing etc …same as the music business. Who knows what happens. When I find out, I’ll let you know!
Marku – The Pistols are playing a special show at The Roxy on Sunset on October 25th and yes Beth and October, I will of course be attending! How could I not??
Simon – See the Halo 3 synopsis above! Campaign is done….multiplayer online in process. NOT hard to find me!
BKSlice – New York is 3000 miles away. When someone wants to pay us enough to get to the East Coast, we will be there in a heartbeat!
Paula – Yes indeed. The last time I was in London was, I believe, when The Cult PLAYED at Brixton Academy!! So it will indeed be strange to return. The good news is that it’s a fleeting visit! As much a I love Londoners, the city itself has gone to shit, and I’ll take the sunshine over grey skies any day, thank you very much.
Kelly – Merch is always on my mind. But it’s a case of getting around to it. Maybe 2008 will see a Billy Morrison solo album, the second Diablo album, the Camp Freddy album, and tee shirts for ALL!!!
Danni – George Carlin ROCKED. At 70 years old, he still comes out swinging and doesn’t stop for an hour. I call him the Punk Rock Comedian cos all he does is piss people off and I LOVE it. Nothing like offending whole sections of society while simply stating the TRUTH!!!
OzMerica – Quite frankly, I have no idea who programs the playlists at Indie. I know they put us on for a week or so, but I don’t know (or really care) how all that works. I have enough on my plate actually writing and recording the songs. I certainly cant worry about who’s playing them and who’s not!
Mary – Two cars. The all purpose SUV and the flashy weekend toy. Trouble is, I drive the flashy weekend toy EVERY DAY!! Not clever having stupidly expensive rims and tires and curbing them once a month!! Dream car? Aston Martin Vanquish.
That’s all the questions answered. PS - HAD to come back on and post this pic!! Clint Eastwood got NUTHIN on me!! Jen and I popped over to see Sharon and Ozzy at the weekend for a birthday party, and part of the proceedings involved a small pony, tons of cream cake and an amazing sunset. Needless to say we had a blast. Not sure about the pony though - I think he knew I wasn't exactly sure of what I was doing!! Thats it. Gonna go. See ya.
Billy
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Posted by vivelerock at 09:26 PM | Comments (10)
October 03, 2007
HALO 3
Not a lot to tell right now - because life pretty much revolves around Halo 3! Can't stop playing. The Podcast from last weeks CFR is up now on the Podcast page, and should also download from I-Tunes if you subscribe to Billy Morrison. And thats about all I got for you today! Going to see George Carlin on Friday. Got a trip to the Bahamas next week. The Wildhearts and The Sex Pistols are both playing the Strip in the same week very soon (how cool is THAT?!!) and I am hard at work trying to get Master Chief through the belly of the beast. Work? Well, this week is pretty much a rest week for me - a couple of meetings but thats it. And thats fine by me. The whole 'reissuing' of the LOADED video proved to me that people really do like Rock music and a good song. 330,000 views second time around and another day at the Number One spot on YouTube. But it begs the question - what does a band have to do these days to get support from the people that control it all? Maybe I will delve deeper into this one next week.
I almost forgot - another online piece about the band: CLICK HERE TO READ CIRCUS DIABLO INTERVIEW.
For now, why don't you hit me with some questions to keep me occupied - if I can possibly tear myself away from gaming for ten minutes!! Hope you are all having fun out there. Peace.
Billy
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Posted by vivelerock at 08:28 AM | Comments (17)