Browsing Category

Music

Rock and roll, rap, and the heavy stuff.

Art, Fashion, Film, Miscellaneous, Music

R.I.P. Bobby Carlton

Heartbreaking and devastating words to write for the “Motivator of Millions”. It’s just completely surreal to write an obituary on this blog that was ultimately one of the many creative visions of the iconic Bobby Carlton.

I had first met Bobby through my brother, Jarrad, who was assisting Bobby with the opening of his rock and roll photography gallery, The Shooting Gallery, on Sunset, back in the late 2000s. One night, Jarrad was kind enough to let me tag along as we went to meet Bobby at the Sunset Marquis to hang out near the pool (or maybe it was the Standard Hotel?). Following that first meeting, there was a series of various art exhibitions throughout L.A. that Jarrad, Bobby and I would attend, mixed in with a handful of fantastic concerts. Seriously fun times and Bobby always knew every single person at every show, with stories for every acquaintance. I was an awe to befriend someone who knew every cool person worth knowing, but his charisma made a lot of sense, Bobby has long been a beacon of sobriety in getting countless folks clean. However, that is barely scratching the surface of the many lives Bobby has lived.

Around this time, I had been finishing my Design | Media Arts program at UCLA, which led to being part of a collective that created live music visuals and video art installations. Bobby was very keen on checking out some of these events and I was ecstatic that he was so enthusiastically supportive, especially as hanging out, I’d get to hear stories he’d tell from his days in the music business, or from Club Lingerie, or from the rough East Coast streets of the 70s/80s, etc. Accordingly, we found ourselves keeping up with the arts and counter-culture, especially as “street art” was becoming even more mainstream. Years and many art shows later, Bobby chatted with me about helping launch a blog so that we could interview influential figures in art, fashion, music, film, etc. I had some intermediate experience in web design and documentation, so we were quickly off to the races. We had some great momentum immediately upon launch and through Bobby, I was honored to interview Danny Fields, Alison Mosshart, Stormie Mills, Shepard Fairey, RISK, and many more interesting characters. When Bowie passed away, Bobby rallied to get some monumental heartfelt tributes on this website from an A-list roster of musicians and friends of “Carlton”.

The Chelsea Tribe has been in a state of dormancy the past few years. Reasons being, I moved to Orange County and between full-time work, plus a city council run, it was just hard to keep up with content, especially living outside of L.A. It was also these past few years, where Bobby unfortunately started to deal head-on with some significant health issues.

Even amidst health set-backs, Bobby found many moments to head down to San Clemente (thank you to Jeremy for always hosting him), where we’d hang at the beach or go to one of his favorite spots in Dana Point, R.J.’s. With the lack of art openings and concerts during the pandemic, Bobby certainly enjoyed the laid-back life in O.C. I’m so grateful that he was a regular visitor to San Clemente and I’m so indebted for the unofficial street-cred mentorships over the many years.

I’ve been able to drop the “Carlton” name-card many times to profound effects. Bobby has left me with an abundance of memories and an appreciation of all things “creative”. The Chelsea Tribe was Bobby’s brain-child, so the archive of content here is definitely a tribute to him, but on a personal level, I’m just deeply sad for this loss, but will cherish all the good times, in which there were plenty.

I send my deepest condolences to Bobby’s family and friends. Heartfelt wishes for 2025.

– Shane

Film, Music

Creem: America’s only Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine – Trailer

Here is something to watch at home during the age of COVID, an upcoming documentary on the notorious rock music magazine, CREEM. Featuring a “who’s who” cast of musicians, including Alice Cooper, Joan Jett, Cameron Crowe, Kirk Hammett, Michael Stipe, Chad Smith, and Thurston Moore, the film is sure to dive into some legendary stories since its first publication over 50 years ago. Check out the trailer in this post and be sure to catch CREEM: America’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine when it premieres on August 7th. Get tickets, which are available now.

Music

The Chelsea Tribe – 2019 Playlist

Ranking songs each year is a subjective, arduous task that, in our case, is best summarized as a simple playlist. So, in lieu of some arbitrary review of songs that’ll just get lost in the year-end shuffle, I’ve put together a condensed list of songs released in 2019 that’ll hopefully be on repeat into 2020 and beyond. At the end of this post, be sure to check out the embedded Apple Music playlist to get the party started.

Continue Reading

Pages: 1 2

Art, Music

Alison Mosshart and Danny Zovatto – Interview

The origins of the the current Los Trachas exhibition at FF-1051 Gallery is a spontaneous, ingenious pairing between Alison Mosshart (The Kills) and fellow artist, Danny Zovatto. The two naturally let their creativity run wild when they first connected by painting together for a few nights in New York City. Impressed with the organic collaboration and to keep the momentum going, Alison and Danny took up shop at FF-1051 in Los Angeles and prolifically created stunning pieces, across many mediums, in a short span of time for a colorful display of their respective, crazy lives.

We took a visit down to the gallery / make-shift studio before the opening to discuss their motivations amidst the busy demands of music (Alison) and acting (Danny).

Take a look at the behind the scenes video interview. Also, be sure to visit FF-1051 Gallery on Fairfax Ave. for the must-see exhibition, running through December 15.

Continue Reading

Music

Desert Daze 2017 – Announcement

Desert Daze has added even more bands and artists for their already stacked line-up for 2017. Iggy Pop is now headlining, but it is interesting to note that John Cale is also playing the festival. Crossing fingers that Iggy and John Cale will reconnect out in Joshua Tree and relive the glory of “1969”.

Full line-up poster below:

Music

The Black Angels – “Currency”

The official music video for The Black Angel’s single, “Currency”, has just been released. The video was directed by Bob Mustachio, who often handles the visuals and oil projections for the band’s live concerts.

Be sure to also give their latest album, Death Song, a full listen.

Film, Music

SHOT! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra Of Rock – Official Trailer

Iconic photographer, Mick Rock, is the subject of a new rock n’ roll documentary coming out, SHOT! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra Of Rock.

The film is likely to feature the stories behind some renown photo shoots with David Bowie, Lou Reed, Queen, Iggy Pop, and countless others. Check it out.

Mick Rock in SHOT! THE PSYCHO-SPIRITUAL MANTRA OF ROCK, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed in SHOT! THE PSYCHO-SPIRITUAL MANTRA OF ROCK, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. PHOTO © MICK ROCK 2017.