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December 23, 2009
MUSIC AND MOTORCYCLES
My passion for riding motorcycles has been deeply engrained in me, ever since I first watched my uncle racing for Kawasaki in the World Grand Prix (what is now known as MotoGP) when I was about 8 years old. Having a father who also raced motorcycles kinda sealed the deal I guess, and bikes have always sat side by side with music in my life. Now I fucked that up when I first met my wife and pulled a crazy long wheelie up Camden High Street in London on a 1000cc Yamaha R1 sports bike….. with her perched on the back. Not the greatest of moves, but how was I to know we’d end up married?! I was being young, dumb and full of….. well anyway….. earlier this year, a group of my friends began riding here in LA. All fans of Ducati motorcycles (and including Sex Pistols guitarist, Steve Jones), it has quickly ignited that passion again.
Steve was building a great relationship with the Italian marque and the idea for the DUCATI ALLSTARS show at the Roxy on January 2nd was born. A group of avid Ducatista, who also happen to play rock n roll. Seemed logical. Steve, along with existing riders Franky Perez, Mark McGrath, Jason Bonham and myself enlisted the help of guitar wizard Steve Stevens and The Cult’s bass player, Chris Wyse. Throw in the obvious MC stylings of Mr Donovan Leitch and there you have it. A one-off evening of motorcycles and music. There will be tee shirt giveaways (check out the design - I think Ducati will be giving a limited number of these away but only if you are actually at the show), 2010 Ducati motorcycles inside the Roxy, preferred Ducati parking…….. and if you enter the promotional code “Ducati” when you order tickets from either Ticketmaster or The Roxy, you get the friends and family rate of $25.
You can keep up to date over the holiday period with giveaways, promos and competitions in various locations. First of all, all So-Cal Ducati dealerships will have posters and information regarding the show. There were rumors that people buying a motorcycle in the month of December get in free, but I have no idea if that happened. Personally, I think if you just dropped fifteen grand on a Ducati and want to come to the show, you should just show up and walk in!!! Tell em Billy said it was ok!!! And then you can use the following links to stay informed. I’ll see you all, complete with New Years hangover, on Saturday January 2nd, at The Roxy. Peace.
DUCATI USA ON FACEBOOK.
FOLLOW DUCATI ON TWITTER.
THE OFFICIAL DUCATI USA WEBSITE.
STEVE JONES ON FACEBOOK.
FOLLOW BILLY MORRISON ON TWITTER.
Posted by vivelerock at 08:13 AM
December 19, 2009
THE DUCATI ALLSTARS
WIth work finally over for a couple of weeks, I can now crawl my sick, flu-ridden ass back into my bed and a haze of video games and Pinkberry's new Chocolate flavor. Time to rest, recouperate and get ready for 2010. Below are a bunch of links that are interesting, fun, related and informative. Enjoy.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BRENT BOLTHOUSE.
DONOVAN AND BILLY TALK NINETIES ON LAWEEKLY.COM.
THE DUCATI ALLSTARS PLAY LOS ANGELES.
A NICE BLOG REVIEW FOR CAMP FREDDY AT THE ROXY.
CHECK OUT THE H.F.C.C. ON ROCKMOTO.COM.
Posted by vivelerock at 10:35 AM
December 16, 2009
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
The video above is from last weeks Roxy show. "Paradise City" with Cypress Hill, Steve Vai and Jason Bonham guesting. Honestly, I love the shit we do..... so much fun. This friday is the last show of the residency and like the other two shows, completely sold out. Sorry if you didn't manage to get a ticket. Maybe we'll have to do a summer residency next year to make up for it - who knows. But Friday's 90's set is probably one of the best we've ever had. A ton of new songs, a line up that is just amazing, and a fabulous way to close the year for us. It's been a blast.
The Golden Ticket pics are available now by clicking on the banner to the left of this post. If you tried before today and couldn't understand why it didn't work..... it's because I got the code wrong! One of the perils of running everything myself! But I guess it proves that I really do keep this site all by myself. No assistants or team of web people..... just l'il ol' me. Anyway - you can go get your pic now.
So many new songs to learn, so little time. Already, 2010 is gearing up, but more of that in another post. Right now, I gotta go learn songs. By the 90's, people had started using alternate tunings, strange arrangements, odd timing ..... and they really could play too! So that makes this set a lot harder to get right!!! I'll see you at the Roxy on Friday.
Billy
Posted by vivelerock at 09:14 AM
December 09, 2009
SOLD OUT
All three Camp Freddy shows at The Roxy this year have sold out. It's amazing and we are having a blast with the 'Decades' concept - last weeks setlist was all 70's songs, and this weeks is all 80's. The final show next week is 90's tracks. I think we should expand the residency next time to include 60's and 00's. Five shows..... it makes my brain bleed just thinking about it!! We have been learning tons of new songs to mix it up and have all worked hard to make these shows happen. Huge thanks to The Roxy for putting up with all the extra gear, staging and sound (not to mention all of us, our guests and everyone that makes a Camp Freddy show!!), and of course, thank you to our sponsors, MONSTER ENERGY DRINK, ONITSUKA TIGER SNEAKERS, and ALPINESTARS MOTORCYCLE APPAREL. If you are wondering what you missed at last weeks show, you can CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTISTDIRECT REVIEW. If you have your ticket, I'll see you there on Friday. If you don't, well..... I guess we are gonna have to get this thing on the road at some point!! And finally, the LA Weekly has a nice piece that I did about the 70's online right now. Kinda like the top 10 cultural happenings list with a sprinkling of humor in places. I liked it. CLICK HERE TO READ THE LA WEEKLY/BILLY MORRISON FEATURE.
Posted by vivelerock at 09:40 AM
December 01, 2009
MAKING IT WORK
I wanted to take a moment to thank our three sponsors for the Roxy Residency - Onitsuka Tiger, Monster Energy and Alpinestars Motorcycle Apparel - without whom we would not be able to throw down our annual Xmas shows. The intricate workings of the finances are not that interesting really, but just think about this. We keep the ticket price low so that everyone can go - which means the venue can't really pay the band - they have their own costs associated with just opening the doors and running the evening. The wonderful people at the Roxy let us have the venue, providing we can cover our own costs. And thats where the sponsors come in. Our costs are covered with their help. These gigs are not about earning money..... they are about Camp Freddy being able to do what we originally wanted to do when we first got together 8 years ago. Simply play fantastic songs with a bunch of friends and not worry about earning a dollar. Some of the shows we do throughout the year pay well, for sure, but this Xmas Residency is all about bringing the rock back home - to the Sunset Strip - and having a great end-of-year party. So thank you again to our sponsors this year (and the Roxy Theater). You made it possible for us to do it again. FRIDAYS DECEMBER 4th, 11th and 18th. Prepare to have some fun.
Posted by vivelerock at 08:40 AM