My Roots

Bass player Matt DiRito is jumping on the couch like an over-excited ten year old boy. It’s an hour before showtime and Pop Evil is chilling out before taking the stage at the Hard Rock in Biloxi, Mississippi. Vocalist Leigh Kakaty is stretched out on the other couch, his black hair hidden underneath a hat as he talks in a soft voice about growing up in Michigan. The band, formed in the Wolverine state in 2001, has had a very hot hit single (“Monster You Made”) from their latest CD, War Of Angels, and another popular single and video featuring Motley Crue’s Mick Mars (“Boss’s Daughter”) that recently hit the airwaves.

Best known as the drummer for Def Leppard, Rick Allen recently took an artistic swing in another creative direction. Instead of banging away with a pair of wooden drumsticks, he picked up some lightsticks and in place of sound he gave birth to colorful images, a process that invigorated his passion. With eleven of his pieces now on display at his website, Allen recently took MY ROOTS on a journey through his art-inspired beginnings just prior to the start of Def Leppard’s current tour with Poison and Lita Ford.

Earlier this month, Glide had a chance to talk with one of the founders of the legendary 60’s band, Big Brother & The Holding Company. Sam Andrew, who still tours in a version of the band to this day, shared memories of his time playing with Janis Joplin during the heyday of the Haight-Ashbury Summer of Love and the release of Live At The Carousel Ballroom 1968, a remarkably sharp and pristine recording that sat in perfect hibernation at soundman Owsley Stanley’s home for years. For music fans who have always focused their attention on the breathtakingly otherworld vocals of Joplin, this recording will be a surprise as it brings to the forefront the talent of Big Brother as a whole band.

Fronting the Roxy Gunn Project for only a little over a year now, the band is percolating just under the rock & roll radar. But things are really beginning to kick in. Late last year Roxy was picked to play the part of Michael Pare’ and Diane Lane’s musician daughter in the movie sequel to Street Of Fire, which should premier sometime later this year. The band also contributed both original songs and material written by Jim Steinman, who is most recognized for penning songs for Meatloaf and Bonnie Tyler. It was an exciting time for Roxy and her band, which consists of guitar player Jon Mills, bass player Chris Reject and drummer Ryan J.