Win tickets to George Lopez September 21st at Hard Rock Live from Sacramento`s K-ZAP! We have several pairs of tickets to the see the star of comedy stages and television, and to win just send an email to free@k-zap.org by Sunday midnight. Put Lopez in the subject line. We’ll pick names Monday morning and let you know if you’ve won. Include your name and phone number, one entry per person, previous winners may be disqualified. George Lopez September 21st at Hard Rock Live. Tickets on sale Friday. Free laughs from K-ZAP! Tickets will be available Friday at 10AM at ticketmaster.com ...

@therollingstones’ Debut Album Turns 60.

The Rolling Stones’ self-titled debut album came out on April 16, 1964. It boasts one awesome collaboration.

Most of the album is composed of covers, including songs by rock ‘n’ roll icons like Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly, and Chuck Berry, although two tracks are credited to “Nanker Phelge,” a collective pseudonym for the track.

While Jagger and Richards only penned one track for the record what a track it is. “Tell Me (You’re Coming Back)” is an impressive ballad that shows The Rolling Stones’ sound was so expansive that they even drew inspiration from doo-wop.

Phil Spector wrote a song from the album

Few producers were ever on fire like Phil Sector was in the 1960s and 1970s.

“Little by Little” sounds nothing like Spector’s work for other groups. It’s far less polished and more bluesy.

Perhaps the most notable thing about the tune is the harmonica work.

Californians loved one song from the record

The Rolling Stones includes a cover of “Route 66” by Bobby Troup. According to the 2013 book 50 Licks: Myths and Stories from Half a Century of The Rolling Stones played that cover during their first concert in the United States. The concert took place in San Bernardino, California.

Richards explained why the Californian audience loved hearing “Route 66.” “It was a straight gas, man,” he said. “They all knew the songs, and they were all bopping. It was like being back home. ‘Ah, love these American gigs’ and ‘Route 66’ mentioned San Bernardino, so everybody was into it.”

Mick Jagger said ‘Tell Me (You’re Coming Back)’ was more pop than its contemporaries

During a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone, Jagger explained the sound of “Tell Me (You’re Coming Back).” “We recorded it in this tiny studio in the West End of London called Regent Sound.
 
“But it’s very different from doing those R&B covers or Marvin Gaye covers and all that,” he added. “There’s a definite feel about it. It’s a very pop song, as opposed to all the blues songs and the Motown covers, which everyone did at the time.”

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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‘Steppenwolf Live’: Rock Heroes Take One More Top Ten Album Trip.

In the spring of 1970, the band’s fans got a taste of their in-concert sound on disc.

Steppenwolf proved in 1970 that they weren’t just born to be wild, they were born to be live.

Two years after the Los Angeles band made their huge breakthrough with a self-titled first album, they made the US chart with the Steppenwolf Live set, on their way to what became their final American Top 10 appearance.

The live disc was mainly recorded at the Santa Monica Civic Center on the Steppenwolf tour to support their hit studio LP “Monster.”

The set included the band’s best-loved material, such as “Magic Carpet Ride,” “The Pusher,” and indeed “Born To Be Wild.”

Some studio elements were added to the track listing to expand it to double album length. Controversially, certain non-live songs were given a concert feel.

The band were out on the road again in the weeks and months after the live album appeared, including at various festival dates in the summer of 1970.

Not only did they play at the New York Pop Festival, and the Summer Festival For Peace at Shea Stadium in New York, but they crossed the Atlantic for the Bath Festival, in the English west country. Steppenwolf were one of the attractions on the opening day of the event, June 27, where they shared the bill with Pink Floyd, John Mayall, Canned Heat, Johnny Winter, Fairport Convention, Keef Hartley, and many others.

Steppenwolf Live entered Billboard’s Top LPs chart on April 18, 1970, rising to No.6 in May. It was a long runner, with a 53-week tally only bettered by the 87 weeks of their debut release.

But in the non-stop rock world of those days, within just seven months of the live album’s chart entry, they were back with their new studio album, “7.”

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
#kzaporg ...

@mrpeterframpton on why he keeps performing despite suffering with a degenerative disease.

In case you haven’t realised, saying goodbye to touring isn’t exactly guitar legend Peter Frampton’s strong suit.

In a new interview, Frampton shares why despite being diagnosed with inclusion body myositis (IBM) – a progressive muscle disease that leads to muscle weakness and wasting, he isn’t hanging up his guitar for good just yet.

Speaking to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Frampton, who now uses a cane and performs seated, explains why he isn’t calling it quits just yet and shares how the disease has transformed his relationship with the guitar.

“Every note I play now is so much more important to me because I know one of the notes I play will be the last I play within my lifetime,” says the musician, who’s recently been nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s class of 2024.

“But what I have to do now is create new ways (to play) because I’m a fighter and I’m not giving up. I have weakness in my fingers, yes, but I have created different paths to get to the end point of what I want to play.”

“And I am inspired by all the musicians I’ve read about that don’t have full use of their left hand on the guitar, or any instrument, and how they have altered their way of playing and fingering and stuff like that.”
Explaining that he ‘savours every note now’, Frampton says that “For the things I think of that I can’t play, I quickly work out what I can do at that point, and it’s different and I like it. So, there’s an upside and I’m always looking for an upside.”

“I think: ‘Wow, I wouldn’t have played it that way (before).’ And if the end result I want is not there, it’s very sad. But right now, I’m basically having the time of my life. I can’t believe the audiences and I can’t believe where I am at in my career at this point. I never thought I’d be back playing at this level. So, every day is a great day for me.”

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
#kzaporg ...

On this day April 19, 1969 The Youngbloods touring behind their recently released album “Elephant Mountain” headlined a concert with Strawberry Alarm Clock at UC Davis Freeborn Hall.

“Elephant Mountain” has been described as a folk-rock touchstone that bridged the gap between psychedelia and the beginning of country-rock. The album includes the hit single “Darkness, Darkness.”

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
#kzaporg ...

On this day April 19, 1971 @thedoors released “LA Woman.” It was the band’s sixth and final album with lead singer Jim Morrison released during his lifetime. Morrison would pass away a little more than two months after the album’s release.

The group and producer Bruce Botnick organized a makeshift recording studio at their private rehearsal space, the Doors’ Workshop, a two-story building on Santa Monica Boulevard.

To compensate for the lack of an isolated vocal booth, Morrison recorded in the bathroom doorway, singing into the same microphone used on the Doors’ final tour.

For recording, Elvis Presley’s bassist Jerry Scheff and rhythm guitarist Marc Benno were brought in to provide additional backing. By all accounts, Morrison – a huge Presley fan – was excited by Scheff’s participation.

Morrison was a blues enthusiast and proclaimed the final recording session as “blues day,” recording “Crawling King Snake,” “Cars Hiss by My Window,” and “L.A. Woman.” The album had a raw, live sound with overdubs mostly limited to additional keyboards.

“L.A. Woman” contains some of the Doors’ most critically acclaimed songs. Artistically, “L.A. Woman” saw the band mixing blues and rock, with some elements of psychedelic and jazz rock of their early career.

“L.A. Woman” closes its first side with the title track, the lengthiest song on the album. Thought of as Morrison’s final goodbye to Los Angeles, it communicated his mixed feelings of passion and disdain for “the city of night.”

The lyrics feature an anagram for Jim Morrison: “Mr. Mojo Risin’.”Krieger’s electric guitar effect at the introduction impersonates the sound of an accelerated automobile engine.

The first cover pressing had a burgundy-colored, curved-corner cardboard cutout sleeve, framing a clear embossed cellophane insert, glued in from behind.

The Doors’ faces were printed on clear film. The backing color of the inner sleeve could be changed and would affect the mood of the package. This is the first album in which Morrison is bearded on the front cover.

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
#kzaporg ...

@therollingstones US tour set to feature iconic popstar after setlist leak.

Avid Rolling Stones fans have spread the word that @ladygaga could be featuring on their US tour after finding the rehearsal location where they heard the band play “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” - a track featuring the iconic popstar.

Their army of diehard fans discovered the band’s rehearsal location and heard them play “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” a track featuring Lady Gaga.

This has fuelled rumours she will join them for a duet when they play two dates in Los Angeles in July.

Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood kick off their sold-out Hackney Diamonds Tour on April 28 at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. This week they were polishing songs at a venue in Burbank, LA.

The high-octane rehearsal included nine of the 12 tracks from the latest album, though sources say that only four or five will be performed per night. “Mess It Up,” “Depending on You,” “Bite My Head Off” and “Tell Me Straight” – with a blistering solo from Keith, 80 – will all feature during the tour.

The group have also been rehearsing rarely heard songs such as “Sad Sad Sad,” as well as ballads “Angie,” “She’s A Rainbow,” “Sweet Black Angel” and “Let It Bleed.”

Meanwhile, uptempo favourites “Start Me Up,” “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Honky Tonk Women,” “Street Fighting Man,” “Paint it Black” and “Gimme Shelter” are likely to be highlights during the 19-date tour.

But “Brown Sugar,” which the band ditched in 2021 after controversy over lyrics referring to slavery, remains off the list.

The tour – which takes in stadiums in cities such as Las Vegas, Seattle and Cleveland and winds up on July 17 – marks the 60th anniversary of the band’s first US tour in 1964.

Among other songs they have been rehearsing are “Get Off My Cloud,” “Like A Rolling Stone,” “Beast of Burden,” “Emo­­tional Rescue,” “Fool to Cry,” “Midnight Rambler,” “Tumbling Dice” and “Shattered.”

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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A tribute album to @littlefeat_official and Mothers of Invention guitarist Lowell George is on the way.

The double LP, “Long Distance Love - A Sweet Relief Tribute to Lowell George,” features 25 Lowell George tracks reinterpreted by Elvis Costello, Ben Harper, and Dave Alvin, among many other artists.

The tribute will be released May 17 in collaboration with Sweet Relief, an organization dedicated to providing financial support to career musicians and music industry workers struggling to make ends meet.

Lowell George began his music career as a member of Frank Zappa’s legendary Mothers of Invention. After leaving the band, he formed Little Feat with Bill Payne.

During his seven-year tenure with Little Feat, the band released eight albums through which he showcased his virtuosic lead and slide guitar skills – Jimmy Page once named Little Feat as his “favorite American group“.

During that time, George was also an in-demand slide guitar session player. You can hear his work in many seminal albums recorded during the ‘70s, including John Cale’s “Paris” 1919 (1973), Bonnie Raitt’s “Takin’ My Time” (1973), and Jackson Browne’s “The Pretender” (1976).

In a 1976 interview with Guitar Player, Lowell George recounted how he adopted the slide guitar style:

“Actually, I was in a session, and I used to play a lot of open D tuning, and a friend of mine said “Watch this.” He tuned the A string down to G, and in fact it was an open G tuning! Then he went, “see this!” and he picked up an old flower vase and went whee! I said to myself, “That’s it!” and that’s what started it about six years ago.”

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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Hey there, fellow K-ZAPers, we`ve got a rockin` photo of local legend Greg King from the Greg King & Friends band, strutting his stuff in a K-ZAP Spider Black tie dye (available at k-zap.org/product/kzap-tye-dye-long-sleeve/ for all you K-ZAP enthusiasts). 🎸🕷️
But wait, there`s more! We want to see your inner rock star too! Calling all Sacramento musicians – show us your favorite pic of you rocking a Sacramento`s K-ZAP shirt, and let`s make this a Sacramento symphony of style! 🎵🏙️
So, grab your instruments, strike a pose, and share your K-ZAP pride below with the world! 🌎🎶

#kzaporg #sacramentomusicians #rockstar #gregkingandfriends ...

Listeners to this week’s Rush Hour Blues are in for a treat as we dig into some rare radio broadcasts from one of the pillars of Blues and Blues Rock Nick Gravenites.

For more than sixty years from his tenure playing with Big Brother & The Holding Company, The Electric Flag, as well as a long solo career Gravenites has impacted all the music we listen to.

Join Sacramento’s K-ZAP and host Cale Wiggins this Friday, 5p for this special broadcast.

RHB sponsored by @blackrockauto, 1313 C Street, Sacramento. “They can do stuff.”

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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The @ledzeppelin artwork @jimmypage called a “disappointment”

For obscure artists, a good cover can make or break an album, but even when Led Zeppelin were in their prime, Jimmy Page had a few reservations about what happened to “Led Zeppelin III.”

For everyone who turned off the album on the first listen, this is one of the few Zeppelin projects that rewards you on every repeated listen.

Such an experimental album needed a cover to wrap everything together, but what they got was a bit of a hot mess. Considering how much Page oversaw most of Zeppelin’s productions, he admitted that the cover was one of his least favourite parts of the record.

When speaking to Guitar World, Page believed it was a shadow of what he wanted it to be, saying, “[It was] A disappointment. I will take responsibility for that one. I knew the artist and described what we wanted with this wheel that made things appear and change… I was not happy with the final result — I thought it looked teeny-bopperish. But we were on top of a deadline, so of course, there was no way to make any radical changes to it.”

If anything, the drastic departure from their previous output contained inside makes the cover look even worse. This album has softer songs like ‘That’s the Way’ and ‘Tangerine’ across the track listing, so why are we looking at a cover that promises the band will be making the kind of music that even Grandma would approve of?

If there’s one thing that the album taught Page, it was that he needed to have control over what the design would look like. By the time they got around to making their fourth record, the band had decided to shy away from the traditional promotion altogether, not putting their name on the album and letting most fans find it on their own.

It may not have gotten the same appreciation from fans at the time, but Led Zeppelin III is the ultimate example of never judging a book by its cover.

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
#kzaporg ...

📻 Hey K-ZAP Family! 📻

We`re on a quest to uncover the magic that brought you to K-ZAP and keeps you tuned in today! Share your stories, memories, and what makes Sacramento`s K-ZAP your go-to radio station! Let`s reminisce together and celebrate the K-ZAP spirit! 🎉 #KZAPFamily #SacramentoProud #RadioLove ...

When Eric Clapton And Mick Taylor Went Back To The Bluesbreakers

John Mayall’s 1971 album temporarily welcomed back two now world-famous former members of his band.

In 1971, John Mayall was already widely recognized as a British blues pioneer. He had won great respect for helping to put the music on the map in the UK, and of course for giving a national and international stage to a succession of Bluesbreakers band members who went on to further greatness.

On April 17 that year, Mayall charted in the US with “Back To The Roots,” on which Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor temporarily returned to the fold as guest guitarists.

Recorded in London and Los Angeles between November 15 and 25, 1970, the double album was conceived by Mayall as a nod to what he and his evolving band line-up had achieved thus far. “The initial idea,” he said when it was released, “was to gather all the major musicians who have played in the bands throughout my career.

But “Back To The Roots” was far more than an exercise in nostalgia. It featured no fewer than 18 Mayall compositions, with the bandleader also on lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica and keyboards as usual.

But it was certainly made more newsworthy by the presence of Clapton (during his Derek and the Dominos era) and Taylor, two years into his tenure with the Rolling Stones, still aged just 22 and with their new album “Sticky Fingers” just coming out.

“Back To The Roots” also featured Mayall’s former drummer Keef Hartley. Other guest guitarists included Jerry McGee and Canned Heat members Larry Taylor and Harvey Mandel, and there was an appearance on violin by Don “Sugarcane” Harris, from the rock‘n’roll duo Don & Dewey.

Mandel had Stones connections of his own, later playing lead guitar on both “Hot Stuff” and “Memory Motel” from their 1976 album “Black and Blue.”

#johnmayallandthebluesbreakers
#kzaporg ...

On this day April 17, 1970 @paulmccartney released his debut solo album “McCartney.”

Paul McCartney recorded it in secrecy, mostly using basic home-recording equipment at his house in St John’s Wood.

Mixing and some recording took place at professional London studios. In its loosely arranged performances, McCartney eschewed the polish of the Beatles’ past records in favour of a lo-fi style.

Apart from occasional contributions by his wife, Linda, McCartney performed the entire album alone by overdubbing on four-track tape.

McCartney received mostly negative reviews, while McCartney was vilified for seemingly ending the Beatles. The record was widely criticised for being under-produced and for its unfinished songs, although the ballad “Maybe I’m Amazed” was consistently singled out for praise.

In later years, the album was credited for influencing DIY musicians and lo-fi music styles. McCartney also recorded two successor albums: “McCartney II”
(1980) and “McCartney III” (2020).

#kzaporg ...

K-ZAP is thrilled to have the support of Black Rock Auto, a dedicated Tesla repair shop that keeps your electric dreams alive. If you need a tune-up or a repair, don`t hesitate to give them a call at 833-726-0753 or visit their website at blackrockauto.com/index.html for more information. Remember, they`re not just any auto shop, they`re Tesla fixers! 🚀🔧 #K-ZAP #BlackRockAuto #Tesla ...

A Stratocaster master and stompbox pioneer with an astonishing vibrato, @robintroweruk’s blues guitar style is up there with the best.

British blues-rock legend Robin Trower has an instantly recognisable sound, and is known for his displays of real fire and skill. Admired by fans around the globe for his artistic individuality. While not a household name as is arguably deserved, he is important in the evolution of blues guitar.

Trower was born in London in 1945 and grew up in Essex, where he developed a keen interest in his parents’ vinyl collection. Elvis Presley, and particularly Elvis’s guitarist, Scotty Moore, inspired Trower to pick up the instrument that he heard bursting from the speakers. 

Musical explorations led him to the blues, and he cites BB and Albert King as two of his biggest influences. The greatest inspiration for his style, though, is Jimi Hendrix, whom Trower (quite rightly) revered as a truly groundbreaking musician.

This appreciation encouraged Trower to switch from the Gibson guitars he had favoured early on in his career, particularly during his four-year stint with rock group Procol Harum, and become a Stratocaster devotee as he embarked on a solo career with his own power trio. 

He also adopted various effect pedals, namely, wah pedal, fuzz, and Uni-Vibe, which at the time were still novel and thrilling contraptions. These new devices, along with his talent for composition, allowed Robin to explore the psychedelic side of British blues-rock, and his music delivered a fresh sound that resonated with audiences in both Britain and the USA, where he enjoyed mainstream radio airplay and multiple stadium tours.

Part of the appeal was Trower’s emotive style, which is simultaneously both elegant and exciting. His fiery pentatonic-based lead is complemented by funk-inspired rhythm chops and soulful chord progressions, all delivered with a colossal tone achieved by a cranked Marshall amp or two. Throw in the Uni-Vibe for a swirling, throbbing, psychedelic sound, and you have a winning formula. ...

@jefflynneselo recalls how easy it was for ELO to take over the 70s.

Only the wildly optimistic would have predicted from listening to Electric Light Orchestra at the start of the 70s that by the end of the decade, they would be one of the biggest bands on the planet.

Electric Light Orchestra’s self-titled debut album was more progressive than pop.

Lynne does admit to loving @paulmccartney’s DIY job on McCartney (1970). Of course, The Beatles had always been one of Lynne’s primary influences. And he had first-hand experience of his idols when he met them during the making of The White Album.

One of the original aims of the Electric Light Orchestra was to take up “where The Beatles had left off, and to present it on stage,” so it must have come as a pleasant surprise when John Lennon himself rechristened the group “the sons of The Beatles.”

I would venture into all different types of worlds to make tunes,” he says. “You could do what the hell you liked. I did quite a few of those adventurous, ‘out there’-type things in those days.

There would be more praise as ELO’s music became progressively less progressive.

“Eldorado” (1974) may have had a loose concept about a daydreamer journeying to fantastical places to escape his boring reality, but it was ELO’s first bona fide pop album. It even contained a US Top 10 hit, “Can’t Get It Out Of My Head.”

ELO’s upward trajectory continued apace with 1975’s “Face The Music”and singles “Strange Magic” and “Evil Woman,” which Lynne professes to have written in minutes.

Really, it couldn’t get any better for ELO. By “Out Of The Blue” and the follow‑up, 1979’s “Discovery,” they were the biggest rock band on Earth, arguably rivalled only by fellow quasi-proggers Supertramp. Everything they released, everything they did, was a newsworthy event. Was Lynne aware of how mega ELO were?

“Not really,” he says. Perhaps he had learned by then to switch off – their commercial enormity was only matched by the critical enmity they faced as the punk and post-punk music press poured scorn on the band’s every lavish note. ...

Win tickets to George Lopez September 21st at Hard Rock Live from Sacramento`s K-ZAP! We have several pairs of tickets to the see the star of comedy stages and television, and to win just send an email to free@k-zap.org by Sunday midnight. Put Lopez in the subject line. We’ll pick names Monday morning and let you know if you’ve won. Include your name and phone number, one entry per person, previous winners may be disqualified. George Lopez September 21st at Hard Rock Live. Tickets on sale Friday. Free laughs from K-ZAP! Tickets will be available Friday at 10AM at ticketmaster.com ...