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Ralph Heibutzki
Jesse Valenzuela
Revisits the Gin Blossoms
(Calling All) Angels Tonight: Gin Blossoms guitarist Jesse Valenzuela and his reunited colleagues learned some intriguing lessons on tour in 2003. “Move it or lose it” is one of rock and roll’s most ruthless truisms; bands ignore it at their peril. But bassist Bill Leen, guitarist Scott Johnson and lead singer/guitarist Robin Wilson also realize…
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Ralph Heibutzki
Danny Gatton
Ten years past, and still dropping jaws
Photo: Ebet Roberts. Ten years have passed since Danny Gatton killed himself at his rural Maryland home. The reasons remain shrouded in mystery, yet his legacy is more visible than ever. Holly Gatton has no trouble believing her father’s dazzling chops and restless eclecticism left their mark. She receives regular correspondence reinforcing that fact. “The…
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Ralph Heibutzki
Danny Gatton
Finishing the Business
For most musicians, the road to success is like skipping stones: often arbitrary and elusive, just as the prize beckons within reach. However, when the subject being scrutinized avoids the fray by choice, the quest only grows ever more fascinating to outsiders.
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Ralph Heibutzki
Evan Johns and The Hillbilly Soul Surfers – Moontan
Moontan
Roots rock wild man Evan Johns returns with a taut but tasty trick bag that should fire the faithful, and make a few new friends, too. The sensibility that infused “Ugly Man” is proudly evident on the slide guitar-greased title track, and the hilarious take on staying sober amid temptation, “Dear Doc.” Anyone who got…
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Ralph Heibutzki
Larry Reinhardt
Waxes Sufficiently
Larry Reinhardt’s world nearly collapsed in 1991, when a car accident mangled his left hand. The former guitarist for Captain Beyond and Iron Butterfly hadn’t known anything else since the 1960s, when he’d barnstormed his native Florida with the Thunderbeats, backing “…everybody who didn’t have a band,” he recalls. Suddenly, however, the man recently endorsed…
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Ralph Heibutzki
Ron Asheton
Revisits the fun house
what more must be said about the Stooges and guitarist Ron Asheton’s role in crafting the molten landscapes of their albums, The Stooges (1969), Funhouse (1970), and Raw Power (1973)?
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Ralph Heibutzki
Danny Gatton
Unfinished Business
The reality is obvious to any aspiring musi-cian, especially when another gig’s not guaranteed: compromise adds zeroes to paychecks. But anyone who saw Danny Gatton on his Washington, D.C./rural Maryland stomping grounds knew that wouldn’t happen. In a music business long buffered against surprise, the late guitarist swam stubbornly upstream, roaming nightly across the musical…
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Ralph Heibutzki
Sylvain Sylvain
Finds his Subway Rhythm
Subway Rhythm is an apt name for Sylvain Sylvain’s music publishing company. The former New York Doll’s train of thought makes all the stops, a tendency he often acknowledges in mid sentence, “I’m trying to hit you with everything, a little bit. Sometimes, I kind of float around, but it’s only a natural thing.” Sylvain…
