RENEE GOLD CHATS WITH SAMMY HAGAR~

Why Can't This be Love?

My boyfriend and I had driven an hour to go see Van Halen in the summer of 1986 for their 1986 Tour. When we reached a restaurant across from the concert hall, we stopped. My boyfriend parked his new Trans Am right out front and I waited while he went inside to check out the menu. The sun was strong that day and as I looked up in the glare, I thought I saw my boyfriend with a blonde woman. He had his arm around her and was waving to me from inside. Because my super macho boyfriend seemed so animated and wouldn’t stop waving, I had to take a closer look. I got out of the car and looked up again, and realized he was hugging Sammy Hagar, the lead singer for Van Halen! I leaped out of the car, left the door open, and ran up into the second story restaurant.

We hung out with Sammy for a while and he was just super cool. He asked us where we were from and what other bands we liked. And, since I had just moved back home from California, we talked about life on the West Coast. He seemed to really enjoy our company.

Later, smack dab in the middle of the show, Sammy noticed us. He pointed right to us and said hello as he stood center stage. I can’t even tell you how amazing that felt. I mean, for any of you rock and rollers out there, picture yourself in the second row at a sold out Van Halen concert in the 80’s… a summer night, and the lead singer stops the show to say hi, referring to you and your date as “his friends.” I honestly thought my tough guy boyfriend was going to faint. I almost did when Sammy kicked into “I Can’t Drive 55!” It was a pure adrenaline rush that I won’t ever forget.

If you haven’t listened to Sammy for a while please do. In 2008, he formed a "supergroup" named "Chickenfoot" with Michael Anthony, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, and guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani. Their self-titled debut album was released in June 2009 and debuted at #4 on the Billboard Music Chart. Sammy deserves mention on this blog because like rock and roll itself…he’s Ageless. Charitable too~

BACK IN THE HIGH LIFE...

Steve Winwood with Renee Gold and Entourage

My passion in this life, in addition to writing and taking care of my precious Aunty, is music. If it’s a good live concert, I am there. When I am driving in my car, I play the radio or listen to one of my thousand and one CD’s. At home, Aunty and I dance around to all kinds of great music.

Music moves me like nothing else. And, my answer to the question, “If you were on a desert island, and could only bring three things....  is, “My tapes, my CD’s and my I-Pod.”

Two of my (many) favorite rock songs are Low Spark of High Heel Boys, And Can’t Find My Way Home, both written and performed by Steve Winwood, while he was with Traffic and Blind Faith. The songs were a bit before my time, but, I found my way to them none-the-less. They remind me of a time in my life when I was a young girl and so many things were taboo…even songs like that because they were a bit mysterious and so alluring. I get a profound feeling of nostalgia when I hear them. Some of Rock and Roll’s finest moments…

You might be wondering how I met the legendary Steve Winwood. Well, my friends’ fiance was playing in Steve’s band, and placed me on the guest list. I brought my four sisters along. They were so gorgeous,  no one in the band minded at all. They even posed for pictures with us. At the end of the show when the group played an encore of Gimmie Some Loving, which Steve Winwood also wrote, I was dancing all over the aisles and on the seats. I thought I might get thrown own. But, that was in the eighties and things were a bit more lose. However, that high-voltage charge of fun I felt then, I still feel at most live concerts. That is why I keep going. I seem to de-age with every beat. They say Botox is addictive, but for me, it’s the music. And, aside from the fact that these days, I might have to take a hot bath the next morning if I am a little sore from dancing too much, when you use rock and roll to preserve your youth, there is usually no recovery time, or possible complications. Although, beware…concert tickets today probably cost more then Botox!

For more info go to http://www.stevewinwood.com/

THE AGELESS J. GEILS BAND...

"#1 fanny"

My afffinty for the J. Geils Band started back in the seventies! Yes, I may be Ageless, but, never-the-less, that was the decade my boyfriend Paul Sek, brought a J. Geils Album over to my house, and it blew my mind! There was this funky, bluesy song called Homework, and he would sing it to me. The way you love me, you love me so, I can’t do my homework, anymore….. I was hooked.

What followed was a lifetime love affair with their music. My sisters and I went wild for the J. Geils Band. We made it to every show in the area, and even got to meet the band on a few occasions. Till this day, anyone who knew me then, associates me with these guys from Boston. I still wear what was probably the first J. Geils Tee Shirt ever made. I have guitar picks from Jerome himself (he’s the “J” in J Geils). I caught a towel that lead singer Peter Wolf, threw into the audience, and for my sweet-sixteen birthday, my mother had a sterling silver guitar charm made, engraved with the bands name for my charm bracelet! But, my favorite association to these funky guys (who, by the way, had a hit-single with their song Angel is a Centerfold) is in my high-school year book. Someone took a picture of me when I was wearing black pants with the band’s name written across my butt in rhinestones. That photo (above) ended up in the yearbook. Underneath they wrote, “Number One Fanny.” That may have been a long time ago, but, the band is still playing, and I am still following… I saw the J. Geils Band last year, (I managed to get into their sold out show two minutes before it started) and I have to say, the band is still incredible. My friends and I stood and screamed for the entire gig.

As a die-hard music lover, I predict the concert event of the summer will be the J. Geils Band and Aerosmith playing together at Fenway Park, in Boston. Tickets sold out in fourteen minutes. I don’t have mine yet….but, by now most of you following this blog know> Where There’s’ a Will There’s Renee. I will get my hands on some tickets, somehow! There may not be any seats left, but what about the stage? Do you think the band would really mind me (one of their most loyal fans) dancing in the wings wearing that vintage tee-shirt and jingling my charm bracelet with their names on it, for old time sake. I will even dig up those rhinestone pants if it helps.

Follow this blog for more on how I had breakfast with front man Peter Wolf. This blog only gets better. And then there's my books. One of the stories in my second book is about how I got Peter Wolf to introduce me to Van Morrison (and what I did from there). The funny part is, I don’t really know Peter Wolf! But, here he is featured on the cover of Rolling Stone... back in the day.
For your listening pleasure…may I recommend some of my favorite J. Geil songs…. Diddyboppin, Homework, Cruising for a Love, and First I look at the Purse!
These songs are so upbeat it’s easy to get hooked! You’ll see…

Renee’s Ageless Tip of the Week:
Treat yourself to live concerts. ADDED BONUS: If it’s music you grew up on, you’ll de-age like a sterling silver guitar charm! Bon Jovi or Botox, you decide.

Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life...

That's What His New Book Says

Last week, when I told my mother I was going to see the J. Geils Band again, she asked me when I was going to outgrow rock and roll. I held up my high-school year book, with the picture of me with the words J. Geils written across my butt in rhinestones, and replied “Never!” My love for rock roll is as strong as ever. I just can’t get enough. My passion for that music carries over to my writing. I wrote a movie script that is essentially a valentine to Classic Rock and its fans (it is not produced yet, but I predict it will be). I still spend a lot of money on concert tickets, and I listen to that music every chance I get.

When I found out author, Steve Almond was on tour promoting his new book Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life, I put on my Jimi Hendrix tee-shirt, my black leather boots and worn out leather jacket. I held up a Bic lighter and made my way to Steve and his new book.

I have to give Steve a lot of credit. It’s hard to sell books these days. He spoke/performed, to a sold out audience. He even threw in a great live band by the name of Boris Mccutcheon & the salt licks, and a slide show. It was a clever idea and a great way to get people out, and interested.

The crowd roared. Everyone except Aunty was in a groove. Maybe because she is 86 years old, or, because she was about to meet Dean Martin the next night, Aunty was a bit preoccupied. But, I was front and center and, like the rest of the audience, I hung on Steve’s every word, grunt, and groan.

Here is a picture Aunty tried to take of me with Steve. Note: Neither Steve nor I are in the picture. Once again, Aunty had other things on her mind.

If you love rock, and like a funny read…listen to the music and check out Steve’s new book. Like it did for him, it might save your life. And, like the music does for me, it will help keep you Ageless… and that has always been my promise to you!

For more on this wild and crazy author go to http://www.stevenalmond.com/ and check out his book Candyfreak too! Last time I looked they were selling that one in museum gift shops.