Tag archives: rock

Montessori Center School “Rocks” Annual Gala
By Joanne A Calitri   |   March 19, 2024

The Montessori Center School held its annual soirée fundraiser on March 9 at the Santa Barbara Women’s Club. This year’s theme was ‘90s Rock ’n’ Roll, and they rocked that ballroom! The top costume was sported by Primary teacher Kacy Cristofani and her husband Chris Burke as Wayne & Garth of Wayne’s World.  The cocktail […]

Kings and Strings Meditate on Morrison
By Steven Libowitz   |   November 14, 2023

When the home-grown classic rock band Doublewide Kings plays the Granada Theatre on November 11, it will mark a lot of firsts for the group. It will be the debut at Santa Barbara’s grandest venue for the band founded by Montecito’s Palmer Jackson, Jr., who also happens to be the Executive Chairman and Chairman of […]

The River City Rocker Around the World
By Steven Libowitz   |   March 28, 2023

Jason Libs didn’t migrate to Los Angeles and Santa Barbara from the Midwest via Miami, Nashville, and Barbados to play six nights a week in a piano bar. It just kind of worked out that way. “I came out here to be a songwriter and to sell my songs to, and produce for, other artists,” […]

Ambrosia Salad 
By Steven Libowitz   |   September 20, 2022

Ken Stacey followed David Pack as lead singer/guitarist of Ambrosia, joining the soft-rock band in 2005, a few years after Pack departed for the second time in 2000. This weekend he’ll be an even closer follower of the Pack, this time while performing in other guises in Santa Barbara.  Pack, of course, was there since […]

Special News Edition: Laura B. Whitmore and Annual NAMM Report
By Joanne A Calitri   |   June 28, 2022

Launching the Women’s International Music Network (WiMN) 12 years ago to create a support system for women in the Music Industry (MI), and the She Rocks Awards in 2012, Laura B. Whitmore believes we have a lot more to do to level the playing field. “We are making progress by asking the difficult questions and […]

Buck Up for the Cadillac Angels
By Steven Libowitz   |   March 10, 2022

With apologies to all of the other rock groups, solo travelers, and dedicated duos who might lay claim to being “The Hardest Working Band in Rock,” Tony Rock and the Cadillac Angels take a backseat to nobody. Rock – who recently changed his last name from Balbinot for personal reasons – no biggie, since the […]

Kansas’ ‘Driving’ Force Ronnie Platt: From Big Rigs to Big Gigs
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 4, 2019

Rock singer Ronnie Platt had been making most of his money as a truck driver in Chicago for the better part of 25 years – singing along to Kansas’ “Dust in the Wind” and “Carry On Wayward Son” on classic rock radio in the cab – when someone forwarded him the press release indicating that […]

Classic Rock is All in the (Immediate) Family
By Steven Libowitz   |   March 28, 2019

The Wikipedia page on Danny Kortchmar suggests that his work as a session musician and more going back four decades and longer “helped define the signature sound of the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s.” The online people-powered encyclopedia is known for hyperbole, but in this case there can be little argument. After all Kortchmar worked […]

Rustling Through Rock: 3Qs with Pete Sears
By Steven Libowitz   |   March 21, 2019

The list of bands, records, and concerts that bassist-keyboardist Pete Sears has played with or on over a half-century-plus career contains some very well-known names and songs. He recorded the Rod Stewart albums Gasoline Alley, Every Picture Tells A Story, and Never a Dull Moment, including the hit singles “Maggie May” (Sears played the celeste) […]