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Patria jacobs silver lining recording session with brian whelan

Recording “Silver Lining”: The Small-Town Magic of L.A.’s Music Scene (and How Mike Stinson Led Me to Brian Whelan)

“I could imagine a Charlie Daniels / ‘Devil Went Down’ thing — so having J’Anna Jacoby and Brian Whelan both on the song got it where I wanted it.” Singer/songwriter Mike Stinson is an undiscovered legend. If we were living in the late ’70s, Stinson would be signed to a major record label, flying a private jet to and from appearances and sharing the stage with the likes of George Jones, Merle Haggard and Charlie Rich. Years ago, I saw Stinson play when I was opening for him at Taix in Los Angeles. Stinson commanded the stage and held the crowd’s attention while the club booker handed him whiskeys, effortlessly plowing through one tragic hurtin’ song after another. He’d played Taix many times, sitting in on drums with I See Hawks in L.A. and other Los Angeles bands, before he left for Texas. Because I kept track of Stinson’s whereabouts

Silverlake, Spaceland, Sunset Junction – a Silver Lining.

Early one morning after a long night, I slipped out of my ex’s Silverlake flat and meandered back to my Highland Park bungalow. As I wound around the reservoir, a flood of memories of debauched evenings and street festivals mashed together. At a light, I pulled out a scrap of paper and scribbled down the phrases that came streaming out. Back in the day, almost every time you’d drive down Sunset Blvd, you’d see a bizarre local doing their thing. The Sunset Junction (where Santa Monica Blvd. meets Sunset) you might see The Walking Man (a slender shirtless guy who was out on the street 7-8 hours a day, and who walked and read at the same time) or the neon-roller skating guy with spandex and boombox, who may have time traveled from 1980. Silverlake is a hilly, older neighborhood east of Hollywood, perfectly situated between Hollywood and

Taix

Mason’s “Six Pack” nights where I would share the bill with six songwriters that I’d never heard of (sans Robbie Rist). Other times, Mason booked me with notable acts such as Mike Stinson, Juliette Lewis, Danny Harvey, Quazar and the Bamboozled, Dallas Don, and others.

Bolinas

Landing in Bolinas felt like a welcoming quicksand, that I may never get to leave. That night we drank massive amounts of alcohol, smoked pot and did god knows what and drove a few blocks to downtown Bolinas, walked along the pier and ended up at the local tavern, Smiley’s.

Ten in Twenty

Classical Guitar Virtuoso Pepe Romero the iconic Carole Channing The Silver Fox, Charlie Rich Electric Light Orchestra “Out of the Blue” It’s popular to list one’s favorite CDs or the “first band” you saw, but while making a list I wanted to include the many other musicians and artists that my Mother exposed me to during my early years. Here are ten artists (musicians, singers, groups, bands, and performers) that I feel fortunate to have seen in the first twenty years of life: 10 Performances before Age 20 Houston Symphony Orchestra (Jones Hall, Houston) Carol Channing (Hello Dolly, Houston) Pepe Romero, classical guitarist (University of St. Thomas, Houston) Joaquin Rodrigo, classical guitarist (Houston) Manuel Barrueco, classical guitarist (Houston) Starland Vocal Band (Astroworld, Houston) Rod Stewart (LSU, Baton Rouge) Charlie Rich, aka the Silver Fox (Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo) KISS (The Summit, Houston) ELO (The Summit, Houston)

The Derrick Anderson

We were so fortunate that he decided to move out and play with us. In addition to many years of Rubyfish, we were roommates for a hot minute, experienced the ’94 Northridge quake, and endured a dramatic and bizarre record deal – and not necessarily in that order

Los Angeles & Palm Desert, California songs, Texas roots