Saturday, March 3, 2012

The Rock Bottom Remainders

Something a little different tonight.

No anger. No frustration. Only a little bit of absurdity. And an unsolicited plug for a rare treat that actually makes The Blog happy.

In the last 35 years, The Blog has attended his share of great rock concerts. Oh, yes, he has! The Stones at Dodger Stadium. The Who at The Hollywood Bowl. Alice Cooper. KISS (too many times to count.) Front row center at The Monkees (including the reclusive Michael Nesmith) at The Greek and front row for Brother Ray Charles, just to name a few.

But, in the spring of 2006, The Blog attended a show by band that is both sublime and ridiculous at the same time.
The Rock Bottom Remainders are a band that does not tour. They don't record albums and their public appearances are sporadic. They are a band that consists, mostly, of best selling authors. They like to call themselves "the wealthiest garage band in the world."

The band's members vary from show to show, but the original, core band consists of the likes of Dave Barry, Amy Tan, Ridley Pearson, Scott Turow, Mitch Albom and Matt Groening, and yes, "Big Steve" Stephen King. The band has also featured professional ringers musical directors Al Kooper and Roger McGuinn.

The accompanying link is a mini-doc about the band from it's early days. YouTube has dozens of clips of the band's performances and TV appearances. If you have some time to waste to indulge in some great entertainment, go to YouTube and explore. Keep your eyes peeled if you watch clips from their 2006 LA Times Festival of Books performance. That bald head in the front row is your ole Uncle Blog!

In recent years, The Blog has become a casual friend of RBR keyboardist Mitch (Tuesdays With Morey) Albom. Every time that I see him, I ask when they will be coming back to L.A. He always answers to the effect of, "You know that once we have played a city, we are usually not asked back. Sometimes we are even banned."

Don't believe him! If The Rock Bottom Remainders ever comes to your town, DO NOT MISS THEM! Trust your friendly neighborhood Blog on this! Their show is the most fun that you will ever have with your clothes on! And all proceeds go to a great cause. A children's literacy charity.

Uncle PC says, "Check them out!"


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