With in a few hour of our LA opening and Samsung hang after the screening director John Chester and I with too few hours sleep got on the 7AM Southwest flight to Providence Rhode Island with one hour to spare before the screening of Rock Prophecies at the Rhode Island Film Fest. The next day we picked up another major award for Rock Prophecies!!

Rhode Island was great and new friend Michael Bucci drove me all over the place showing off all the cool Italian Restaurants and Newport, where the likes of Jeff Beck and Stevie Ray played the yearly Jazz Festival, which actually was in full swing when we were hanging out in the harbor area.

John and I flew on to New York, where I stayed at the wonderful new Bowery Hotel, which is actually next door to famous artists, and psychic Ingo Swann. Ingo is the subject of a documentary I am doing about his interesting life as a psychic that developed Remote Viewing for the CIA and yet became a major artist with paintings of cosmic art, some of which hang in the Smithsonian! Kind of like a psychic Salvador Dali.

I got a call from my friend Graham Whitford, the son of Aerosmith guitar player Brad Whitford and we got together to do a photo shoot of Graham for the Guitar Center Wall Art Program that I do. Graham is the most amazing young guitar player, who I saw at 15 play with Kenny Wayne, Eric Gales, Doyle Bramhall and Eric Johnson on the Jimi Hendrix tribute tour. Graham and his friends were very supportive and came to all of our events and interviews in NYC.

The super rush for me was seeing the trailer of Rock Prophecies on the jumbotron in Times Sq, many movies have wanted to be able to do this but think we might be one of the first. Thanks Samsung!! We also did a book signing and mini concert with all the kids from School of Rock and the Samsung Experience in Columbus Circle, the whole thing was magic!

The big screening and after parties at Top of The Rock were a huge success and Tyler and the Puppies rocked their hearts out for us,  thanks guys.

Flying back to Las Vegas I actually have 7 days off before we leave for Aspen and the film festival where we will be screening Rock Prophecies on the 27th, Seattle and Bumbershoot are also coming up next which will really be a gas with parties, film screenings and concerts in the Sky Church with Tyler and Sick Puppies. Samsung really knows how to rock out!!

I am going to see Depeche Mode here in Vegas on the 22nd, I am looking forward to meeting the band as I never got to see them play back in the day.

Cheers and see you in Seattle!

Robert

After only spending two days actually home in Las Vegas in the last month, we back into Maryanne’s Red TT and returned to the Sunset Marquis and Los Angeles for our opening of Rock Prophecies at the IDA Arclight theaters in Hollywood This is first public showing of the film outside of film festivals. We were very lucky, as our film has been chosen by the IDA for the process of getting a possible nomination for the Academy Awards!

The 7:30 PM show was the big launch with after Samsung hosted after party and we were totally sold out. Steve Lukather from Toto, John 5 from Mansion and Zombie , and Orianthi Panagaris the fantastic young female guitar player who landed the coveted gig as Michael Jackson’s new guitar player for the 50 show run of concerts he was about to start in London, all showed up and many other friends and family rocked out to the very cool state of the art sound systems of the Arclight.

Tyler Bryant made a surprised visit at the end of the film and played a great solo number for everyone before we all went over to the very cool after party Samsung had for us.

When I got back to the Sunset Marquis Hotel Pino Pallideno and Ian Mclagan were hanging out. They both are working on the new John Mayer album and have been staying in LA for a while. Pino is the most amazing fretless guitar player, working with such great bands as Jeff Beck, The Who, Paul Jones, and John Mayer. Ian McLagan was in the Face’s with Rod Stewart and now playing with John Mayer.

We had a great time remembering all the trouble they got up to in Hawaii in 1975 when I photographed them. It all ended when Ian was being attacked by the then popular Helen Ready’s husband for destroying Helen’s hotel suit before she could check in, Ian pulled a very big painting off the wall and smashed it over the head of the man, then check out!

The Party ended about 12 Midnight and John Chester and I had a 7AM flight to Providence Rhode Island where the film was screening at 7PM, we made it with 1 hour to spare. Great showing and we hung with friends until the wee hours eating the great seafood from the region.

Off to New York for a week of press and concerts with Tyler Bryant and The Sick Puppies and our big opening of Rock Prophecies on the East Coast. I am sure we will have some really cool stories to report in the next few days

Cheers!

Robert

I have been Fray’d

It’s been a really cool couple of days. I got the call to come to LA to do a major interview for “Behind The Hype” for Rock Prophecies. I called my good friend Rod, the manager of the Sunset Marquis Hotel and asked it if would be ok for us to film around the hotel as many of my photographs of long time rock and roll guests are hanging around the wall ways and walk ways, including Tyler Bryant, who at age 16 was the youngest artists to be asked to have his photo go up.

I was going to drive out from Las Vegas on Sat. early morning for the midday interview but the night before Rod called and said why not come out Friday and enjoy all that the hotel has to offer. A few hours later Rod called again me and said actually can you be here by 10:30 AM as The Fray want to be photographed by you so they can be on the wall. There are about 4 major photographer who’s work is on the walls, Bob Guren, Ross Halfiin, Maryanne Bilham and myself and it a very great honor to be part of the history of the hotel. So I left Las Vegas at 5:30 AM and had a wonderful sunrise drive to LA LA Land.

The Fray were running a bit late so Rod said go eat breakfast and he will bring the band over. Walking into the wonderful out door restaurant I noticed John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin dining alone and when he saw me invite me to join him!!

John asked me how our film was doing and I told him that we won three film fests and that we are now in the running for Academy Award nomination. I asked him if he was going to be in LA next week as we are having the big night opening with a cool party that Samsung is helping us with. He told me that he was leaving the day of the screening.

John Paul is very excited about his secret project and now band that he and Dave Grohl are doing. He gave me some of the details of who is singing who is playing. The good news is it’s a rock and roll album and band!

I told John Paul that the Fray where coming along in a few minutes and sure enough they all came over and where very knocked out to meet John Paul Jones, asking him for photos etc.

It’s been 40 years since I first photographed Led Zeppelin, before most people in America ever heard of them and I have stayed friends with the band and see them from time to time in various parts of the world. Even some of the children of the band members have become close friends of mine like Zoe and Jason Bonham and fellow photographer Scarlet Page, Jimmy’s daughter and I shared a photo shoot together once of The Darkness.

The Fray where really cool, they do really cool music and were leaving in one hour for their gig in Santa Barbara but after the shoot Rod gave them a tour of the hotel including the famous underground recording studio where Jeff Beck, Slash, Aerosmith, The Cult, and Tyler Bryant have recorded.

Paul the manager of Sick Puppies joined me later in the day and we enjoyed haning in the restaurant watching all the rock stars come and go. Journey and all their crew were getting ready to check out, LT the famous football player was coming in from golf somewhere, and most interesting was Latoya Jackson who as staying near my hotel room with 5 camera crews filming away as she smiled in her bright red dress and big red hat, kind of looking like Little Red Riding Hood….But at the Sunset Marquis it ‘s just another day.

Tomorrow I am off to Phoenix with Paul from the Puppies to meet up with my dear friend Danny Zelisko, the chairman of Live Nation. Danny is promising to show me all his cool guitars and stuff all the rock stars have given him over the years. I will do a further report soon!

I also get tons of email and facebook messages about new artists and young photographers, check this young lady out, I am sure we all will be hearing about her

Hey Robert,
Hope you are well. I wanted to introduce you to another incredible guitarist coming through the ranks. She is a female lefty player and being hailed a young Hendrix, or Female Prince. Malina’s guitar prowess earned her an invite at the Robert Johnson Festival playing alongside David Honey Boy Edwards,  and  the only female slinger in the Uk Stratmaster Documentary with Robert Cray, Jeff Beck and more.She was personally invited to perform at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tribute concert to Michael Jackson, and caught the eye of Uber producer Glen Ballard(Alanis Moresete, Dave Mathews, No doubt) on you tube upon which caught the eye of  Mark Cheatham at CAA (NYC). Malina also independently landed on the Billboard hot 100 charts at number 27 all before debuting an Album. Please keep her in mind for any upcoming projects you may have, I will also keep you in the loop on performance dates.Perhaps one day you may want to include her in your amazing collection of Artists.
~Sara

http://www.malinamoye.com/mm-promo09.html

Cheers!

Robert