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Peeples Place at KHTS Aug. 12, 2011

Back to the Peeples Place at KHTS portal.

You’ve landed on Peeples Place at KHTS!

It’s the second edition of a new local music blog I’m producing in collaboration with AM 1220 KHTS and the Santa Clarita Valley’s number one website, www.Hometownstation.com. We’ll be online every Friday morning with hot SCV music news and reviews right here at www.peeplesplace.com, with a preview on KHTS-AM 1220 each Thursday morning at 8:10.

PeeplesheadshotIn this post, we’ll feature Smile Empty Soul, John Stratton, The McGrath Project, the After School Rock program at Hubbadaddy’s Rehearsal Studio, and local jams hosted by the SCV Blues Society and the Western Music Association.

We’ll take a look at new local music releases, what’s hot, and check out the live music lineup for the weekend, with a spotlight on Tizer and Karen Briggs, who’ll headline Central Park on Saturday evening. We’ll check out local music on the tube, and even throw out an SCV music trivia question.

And later, Peeples Place at KHTS will have more of my world exclusive interview with Beatles historian and author Mark Lewisohn about his in-progress three-volume biography of the Fabs, the first volume of which is now due sometime in 2012, he revealed last week.

So what’s the first volume of “The Beatles: The Complete Story” (working title) going to cover when it’s finally published? Read on and get an exlcusive preview.

First, Peeples Place at KHTS rocks the SCV music news.

KEEP SMILE-ING: ‘IT’S A VICIOUS BUSINESS’ — Spoke this week with Jake Kilmer (on the right in the pic), drummer and backing vocalist with Smile Empty Soul, the veteran SCV-based band formed in 1998, and whose 2003 debut album for Lava/Atlantic scored gold.

0812_Th_1269975236_sesblue-optFounding members Sean Danielson (vocals, guitars, in center) and Ryan Martin (bass, at left) plus Kilmer, who joined in 2006, are getting ready to make another run for the gold. And, they hope, platinum. They’re recording the band’s fifth album (Kilmer’s third) right now, tracking with producer Eddie Wohl (Jesse Malin/Anthrax/Ill Nino) at Wohl’s studio in the San Fernando Valley.

“We finished up the drum tracks and started on guitars this week,” Kilmer said. “It’s kind of the same direction as our last album, ‘Consciousness,’ but heavier. Sean is writing really good lyrics and has good concepts, so it’s still the classic Smile Empty Soul sound, but a little juicier as far as our musicianship goes.”

While the band’s initial deal with Lava resulted in a gold album, the relationship didn’t last for myriad reasons. Now, Kilmer said, “We have new management, and we’re taking the time to finish four of the best new songs to shop for a label. We want to pick the right team, and hit it hard again.

“It’s a vicious, awesome business,” he noted.

We’ll check in with Smile Empty Soul later in the sessions for an update; meanwhile, visit the band’s site at www.smileemptysoul.com.

OUT OF THE JAWS OF SHARKS: McGRATH PROJECT UN-SCORES LABEL DEAL Speaking of vicious business, as we reported last week, there was a snafu in The McGrath Project’s three-album deal with a small label affiliated with the giant Universal Music Group combine.

The label stiffed the SCV-based 0812_mcgrath_command_052611_8-optband for studio costs, which was part of the deal, and refused to release the now-completed “Boom!” album until the Project ponied up about $5,000 to cover publishing and distribution fees, according to bandleader and Grammy-winning producer Gary McGrath (pictured overdubbing guitar on a “Boom!” track at Command Studios in Valencia, where much of the album was recorded).

Now, the Project’s legal team has managed to not only get the band freed from the contract, but also secure rights to all its recordings, McGrath told me this week. The band paid its own studio costs and is now free to shop for a new deal. With UMG’s blessings. Nice recovery.

“[Universal] is very embarrassed about how Brooklyn West was treating an artist under their title, especially with the recommendations that we got, and said we are free to be shopped even to any of the subsidiaries underneath Universal Music Group,” McGrath said.

The Project already has serious interest from a few other major labels. “We’re actually waiting to see which one’s going to be the best option, because what we don’t want is to have something promised to us and delivered, but that we’d be paying for forever,” he said.

McGrath added that regardless of what label they choose, he has a commitment from fellow Grammy-winning rock producer Jack Douglas (Aerosmith, Patti Smith, New York Dolls, John Lennon/Yoko Ono, and scores more heavyweight rock credits) to produce the band’s next sessions, which is huge.

Every musician, or producer has a hero, McGrath said. “For me, it’s Quincy Jones, Scott Litt and Jack Douglas.”

How McGrath and Douglas connected is a cool story we’ll save for a future post.

STRATTON AT HOUSE OF BLUES Singer, songwriter and guitarist John Stratton from Santa Clarita has been on my radar since he entered and won the SCV Rock Star competition’s amateur division three years ago. He’s now in college at Azusa Pacific and fronting a group of excellent young musicians who “get” his material and really bring them to life (they’re pictured after taping a full half-hour segment of “House Blend with Stephen K. Peeples” at the SCVTV Media Center in Newhall in February).

The Johnny Strat Band (nickname of obvious origin) is set to play the House of Blues on Sunset on Sunday night starting at 9. “It’s the full band, with backup singers as well. We’re gonna have all guns slingin,’ and then my friend Jake McMullen is playing right after us.”0812_johnnystrat-opt

It’s a homecoming gig, of sorts: Stratton and the band just returned from a mini-tour of Texas during their summer break from school.

“We drove to Texas, we drove back, we drove the whole thing. It was crazy!” Stratton said, referring to the distance and the heat. Otherwise, though, “It was awesome. We made a lot of great new fans, played some good venues.

“Probably the biggest thing for us was just meeting other bands that want to set up shows with us, so in the future we can just go there and know that we have dates ready, rather than having to go in there cold,” he added. “I spent about 12 hours putting together emails for each of the venues, so now we can just email a band and say, ‘Hey, let’s do a show!’ and set it up.”

Stratton said he and the band have been working on more songs for an album with Kevin Penner at the producer’s Green Bean Recording. “The recent songs you’ve heard like ‘Lose to Win’ and ‘My Heart In Motion’ have all be with him, so we’re looking to do a full album there and see what will come from it. I really enjoy his style of recording and how he controls his recording as well.

“My goal is to have it finished by my 21st birthday on March 19,” Stratton said.

SCV BLUES SOCIETY JAMS VINCENZO’S The next Santa Clarita Valley Blues Society Pro Blues Jam will be hosted by Andy Roth & Stunt Road at Vincenzo’s Pizza on Lyons in Newhall on Sunday starting at 5 p.m. It’s free and open to blues lovers of all ages.

Card-carrying Blues Society members (like T.J. Sullivan, left, and harmonica ace Greger Walnum, pictured during their taping of “House Blend” 0812_hb_tj_sullivan_071611_21-optat the SCVTV Media Center a couple months back) can upgrade from a medium to large pizza free of charge. Players sign up at the door. Roth and Stunt Road will perform first, then invite the “guests” onstage to join the jam.

The gig is part of the SCVBS’s prep for the upcoming 9th annual Battle of the Blues Bands. The deadline to enter is Aug. 30, but slots fill up fast, so don’t wait. Email info@scvblues.org for entry details.

The semi-finals are Saturday, Sept. 17 with finals on Saturday, Oct. 1, both at Harper’s Bar & Grille, 5545 Reseda Blvd., Tarzana 91356.

The winner will represent the SCV in the 2012 International Blues Challenge in Memphis Jan. 21-Feb. 4. SCVBS is affiliated with the Memphis-based Blues Foundation.

KICKERS, PICKERS & GRINNERS JAM EL TROC The California chapter of the Western Music Association hosts a jam twice a month, on the first and third Wednesdays, at El Trocadero on Main Street in Old Town Newhall.

The next jam is set for Wednesday, Aug. 17 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. There’s no cover. Call 661-284-6615 or email WMA wrangler John Bergstrom at WSOMmusic@aol.com for more info.

Right now, you can check out the 2011 WMA Awards nominees on the org’s website at www.westernmusic.com. Members are voting and winners will be revealed at the WMA Showcase and Awards Show in Albuquerque Nov. 16-20, celebrating the 100th anniversary of Roy Rogers’ birth. Details and registration forms are available on the site as well.

Coming up Saturday, Aug. 20, the WMA hosts a workshop, “Hands-on Songwriting: Copyrights and Copywrongs,” presented by Hal Spencer of song publisher Manna Music, also head of the WMA’s advisory board, at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles. The day-long (9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.) confab is designed to benefit anyone who writes, performs and/or records music. See the WMA website or contact Bergstrom for more info.

EVERYWHERE I GO, KIDS WANNA ROCK There are a several “School of Rock”-styled programs for young local musicians in the Santa Clarita Valley. We’ll take a look at all of them in the weeks ahead. Right now, the spotlight’s on the program established by professional drummer and producer Kevin Cloud when he opened Hubbadaddy’s Rehearsal Studios in Centre Pointe in 2007.

0812_hubbadaddy_asrThe studio’s “After School Rock” program is a “hands-on experience where musicians and vocalists of similar ages and styles get the chance to play together, learn together, and rock out in front of a live audience as part of a real band and rock show,” as the website notes.

Each band learns three songs over the six-week course, then performs a final concert that’s free to the public. ASR is open to musicians ages 10-18 who have a minimum of two years’ experience on their instruments (or can pass an audition). Once enrolled, students get together to form groups, choose the material they’ll perform, and practice, practice, practice. The six 90-minute sessions cost $250.

“We do about six After School Rock sessions a year,” Cloud said. “We had about 21 kids in the last one, nine bands. That’s been the most since we started. The next session starts Saturday, Aug. 20 and runs six weeks. The final concert fore that session will be Sunday, Sept. 25, at Vincenzo’s on Lyons.”

What do young musicians get out of Hubbadaddy’s After School Rock program? “The whole idea is for them to get the experience of playing in a band, taking the knowledge they’ve learned from private lessons and applying it in a band format,” Cloud said.

“I didn’t start to play all those years ago just to play by myself — it’s all about playing in a band,” he said. “So [ASR} is designed to teach them what it’s like to be part of a band, about camaraderie, the democratic process, and working as a unit. They learn to respect the other musicians, respect the other instruments.

“And at the end of the day, the goal is for them to become a real band,” Cloud added. “The hope is not just that they’ll come in and pay their $250 and do the six weeks and that’s it. No, we want them to repeat it, and ultimately grow out of it. Then they’ll come here and rehearse as a band for real.”

On Saturday, Aug. 27, two top-performing ASR bands will play a song apiece during Jack Mack & The Heart Attack’s Concert in the Park at Central Park. Cloud played drums with the Heart Attack for several years and now fills in when the regular drummer can’t make it — or when the band plays in Kevin’s backyard. More on this special show in the next edition of Peeples Place at KHTS.

Call Hubbadaddy’s Studios at 661-287-4480 or visit www.hubbadaddys.com to get additional information or sign up for the next After School Rock session.

SCV MUSIC ROUNDUP
To dial in the newest and hottest local music, we called our friends at Rock Candy Music & More, the SCV’s only retail record store, at Bouquet and Plum in Saugus.

Staffer Ryan Corbett tells us local artist Nathaniel Dobies’ new EP, “The Long Hugs,” is new in the store this week. And coming up in a couple weeks is a new 7″ vinyl EP by Corbett’s band, Tidemouth. “It’s titled ‘What I Meant to Say,’ and it’s gonna be five songs at 33 rpm,” he said. “They’re all originals.”

0812_localmusicWhat’s hot right now at Rock Candy? “A local label called Melotov Records, run by a lady named Melanie Zoltue,” Corbett said. “She has a couple of vinyl releases that have been selling very well here — The Cathedrals and Bleeding Kansas’ split 12″ album, which is clear vinyl and a very cool album. I actually own it myself.

“There’s also Deadhead’s 10″ album, black-on-black vinyl, black-on-black cover,” Corbett continued. “It’s a side project from the band Touche Amore, who are very big, and it’s a very dark, heavy album.

“Melotov also has a full-length album by Calculator out on a 12″ clear vinyl disc, and it’s an excellent album — clean guitars and loud, raspy vocals. And the vinyl is really neat, too. (Zoltue) goes all-out with the pressings because she’s into collecting vinyl, too.”

Rock Candy Music & More owners Billy and Melissa Yergensen have been boosters of Santa Clarita Valley music since they opened a year ago and they present free all-ages shows in the front corner of the store.

Tonight at 8:30, catch Dylan Breen; Saturday night at 8, Kim Sloan, Perigee and Condemn Us As Saviors are on the bill. And Monday night from 8 to 10, you can see a free show featuring David Zimmer, Kaia and The Sounding Sea.

For more info, call 661-263-9800 or visit www.rockcandymusicstore.com.

TIZER GROOVES CENTRAL PARK
Led by and named after multi-talented contemporary world-jazz fusion-funk keyboardist, composer and recording artist Lao Tizer, tomorrow night’s Concerts in the Park headliner is not a tribute band. Based in Los Angeles, Tizer features full-time working, touring and recording musicians, and Lao writes some hot original stuff. His music and their sound is bright, melodic and uplifting, and you can dance to it. If Tizer doesn’t get you moving, you’d better check your pulse.

Lao’s in his 30s but a seasoned pro, with 0812_tizer_pbj_warner_060610-optseven solo and band albums including a live one in his catalog that have sold more than 90,000 copies. He’s working on his eighth now between gigs, shooting for release early next year.

Tizer and his band have also graced the stage at events worldwide alongside Wayne Shorter, Boney James, Isaac Hayes, George Benson, The Commodores, The Rippingtons and Spyro Gyra, among many others.

My first encounter with Tizer was at a Playboy Jazz Festival-hosted outdoor gig at Warner Center in Woodland Hills last summer, a free concert for a few thousand people who loved it (from left: Steve Nieves, Jeff Kollman, Lao Tizer, Andre Manga and Jeff Marshall). It was a very similar scene to our Central Park, with people picnicing and dancing in the warmth of the late afternoon/early evening.

We also caught Tizer and the band plus special guest and frequent collaborator Chieli Minnucci at the Baked Potato jazz club in Studio City, along with maybe 75 other lucky souls. The music was impressive in both situations: expansive enough to fill an outdoor festival, and intimate enough for a tiny club.

At Central Park, Tizer welcomes another special guest to the band, jazz-rock-classical violinist Karen Briggs, who’s also appeared often with the group onstage and in the studio. Briggs, also a noted composer and arranger, has fronted her own band performing for sold-out audiences at the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and music festivals in America, Barbados and Mexico.

Briggs has worked with many other stellar musicians as well, among them Wynton Marsalis, Dave 0812_tizer_piano_court_smGrusin, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White, and had a cameo in the 1999 film “Music of the Heart” starring Meryl Streep about an exceptional, but struggling inner city string program for young people.

When I spoke this week with Lao, the first thing I wanted to know was how Tizer got booked in the first place. Most of the other Concerts in the Park acts are tribute bands, that’s been the long-standing policy of the city of Santa Clarita, which stages the shows, and Mike Fleming, the city A&E chief (and former working musician and songwriter) who books them.

“I actually guested at [Concerts in the Park] last summer with my friends, a band called Incendio,” he said. “They’re like a nouveau flamenco group. Latin guitar world fusion, I think, is how they classify themselves. And I’ve been talking to Mike for a long time about different events, and just kept encouraging him.

“Then he contacted me [last] fall and said, ‘Yeah, we want to give it a whirl.’ So I’m glad he did. I’m proud of him and those guys for doing something out of the ordinary. I’m really looking forward to playing there, because I know it’s a big crowd and a very nice series, and we’re bringing a little diversity to it.”

The band’s lineup for Saturday night?

“The same drummer and guitarist you saw last year — Raul Pineda and Jeff Kollman,” Tizer said. “Jeff and Chieli are the two guitarists who work with the band the most. They’re my oldest [bandmates]. Jeff’s the only original member. Steve Nieves on sax, percussion and vocals has been with us a long time. Last year, it was Rufus Philpot on bass — he’s also great. Rufus is also the musical director for Down to the Bone, and I’ve worked in that group as well. They have shows on the East Coast this weekend, so we have Cheikh N’Doye joining us. He’s an amazing bass player from D.C., by way of Senegal. And then we have Karen Briggs on violin.”

What does Briggs bring to the Tizer sound? 0812_tizer_briggs_081211_sm

“First of all, I think violin, just sonically as a color, is very fresh in this kind of music,” Lao said. “It’s not something most people are used to hearing a lot in a ‘jazz medium’ today. And Karen plays with us a lot. She’s an amazing improviser and soloist, and has a great stage presence as a performer. It’s a pleasure and a blessing to be able to work with her. She brings a whole ‘nother level of energy — just like everybody in the band brings their thing. She’s just stepping up another notch, and we’re all kind of pushing each other, and that’s great.”

As a musician — OK, a drummer — since age 12, I’ve always been fascinated by the interplay between musicians, the communication via musical cues or a raised eyebrow, whatever; how playing together can in time become intuitive and free. When I’m jamming, I’m paying close attention to what all the other players are doing, keeping the beat solid, sure, but still playing off of others’ accents and riffs. (This was all OJT for me, no Hubbadaddy’s in my old neighborhood.)

I mention this because of the exceptional nonverbal communication skills I saw between the members of Tizer from our seats maybe three feet from the stage. They’re musician’s musicians, simply put, but they still rocked the house.

“It’s a great group, and we’re having definitely our best year yet,” he said. “I expect next year to be awesome. Obviously a new record will be a big boost, it always is, but meanwhile we’re continuing to spread the word.”

Find out more about Tizer at www.laotizer.com.

MORE SCV MUSIC LIVE Who else is playing in the SCV this weekend, or spreading the musical love outside the valley?

Tonight at 6, the group Imagine plays the songs of The Beatles in the final show of the Summer Sunset Concert Series at the Valencia Marketplace on The Old Road. At 7 p.m., The Source performs at Keyboard Galleria Music Center on Soledad.

Award-winning bluesman Reno Jones takes the Lexus of Valencia Jazz & Blues Concert stage at McBean and Town Center Drive at 7 p.m. as well, and Salt Creek Grill on Town Center Drive features Rick Whitfield from 9 p.m. to midnight. At Valencia Wine Co. just down the street, Blue Baron starts playing at 9.

On Saturday night, in addition to Tizer with Briggs at Central Park, you can catch Galo Pacheco at Salt Creek from 9 to midnight, and/or Flavia Watson & The Red Tempt at Valencia Wine starting at 8:30.

Watson, from Florence, Italy, landed at CalArts by way of Ireland to study music, and plays piano and guitar. Members of the Red Tempt are guys she studied with at CalArts — Chris Pucher, Rich Brown, Nicholas Schuyler Baker and Isaac Watts.

Continuing this weekend at the Canyon Theater Guild is “Always…Patsy Cline” starring Marie Wise-Hawkins (who celebrated her birthday Wednesday) in the title role and Dawn Shelden as Patsy’s biggest fan. Call the CTG at 661-799-2702 for showtimes.

There’s still plenty of trouble in Awesometown, AKA River City, as the Santa Clarita Regional Theatre presents “The Music Man” at the Performing Arts Center at College of the Canyons two last times this weekend Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

And the SCV Actors Group’s musical comedy “Assassins” — telling the stories of the assassinations of U.S. presidents from the assassin’s point of view continues its run at the SCV Space, 27600 Bouquet Canyon Road, Saugus 91350. Performances are set for Aug. 18, 19 and 20 starting at 8 p.m. nightly. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students. Seating is extremely limited, so the Group suggests you reserve tickets early. For more info, email scvactorsgroup@gmail.com.

If you want your musical gig listed, email event, artist or band name, venue, date and price of admission to me at stephen@hometownstation.com.

0812_052111_040-optSCV MUSIC ON THE TUBE & ONLINE “House Blend with Stephen K. Peeples” on SCVTV Saturday night at 10 features the premiere of “The Best of House Blend #6,” a half-hour packed with (mostly) local music featuring Phil “Mr. Squeeze” Parlapiano & The Medicine Men, Lori Andrews, Joel Simpson, Drew Tretick, Herb Pedersen solo, and Herb with Chris Hillman (the duo is pictured on “House Blend” set during the taping).

“Best of #6” premieres Saturday night at 10 on SCVTV Channel 20 on Time Warner in the SCV. You can also see it throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties on AT&T U-Verse 99, and everywhere else in the known universe streaming live at www.SCVTV.com and or on-demand at www.scvhouseblend.com. Visit the channel’s website for a complete schedule of local music on SCVTV.

SCV MUSIC TRVIA: MYSTERY OZZY AXEMAN Can’t believe no one knew the answer to last week’s question! So we’re going to let this question ride: What local guitarist used to play with Ozzy Osbourne? If you know the answer, email stephen@hometownstation.com. We’ll toss all the correct entries into a hat and randomly choose a winner who’ll receive a free Restaurant Row certificate to a great local eatery. This week’s answer and winner will be announced next week.

PEEPLES PLACE WORLD EXCLUSIVE LEWISOHN INTERVIEW, PARTS 2, 3 and 4 Last week in the first edition of Peeples Place at KHTS, we also premiered the first question and answer from my world exclusive interview with Mark Lewisohn, the world’s most respected Beatles historian, in which he updated us on the progress of what he calls the definitive three-volume biography of the Fab Four. Working title: “The Beatles: The Complete Story.”

Based in London, Lewisohn’s been working on the book project since 2003, and has done zero press since then except with Peeples Place. Last week, he told us he and his publishers Little Brown in the U.K., Crown in New York and Kawade Shobo Shincho in Japan are now shooting for next year to release the first volume. It was originally was due in 2008, but has taken Lewisohn this much longer to complete the research and writing.

Since we posted it on my YouTube channel last Friday, the clip of our opening question and answer has picked up more than 1,000 views. Next, I asked him what the first volume will cover.

“I’m telling the story in three volumes, so there has to be a division between each one, and I thought very, very long and hard about that,” Lewisohn said.

0804_lewisohn-opt“The first volume ends New Year’s Eve 1962, with The Beatles on the very cusp of their breakthrough. But with everything falling right into place all the people, the personalities, the situation, the arrangements the question was, always, when does [the story] actually begin?

“The Beatles were born during the second World War, and they formed a band in 1957, but the story actually is a deeper and broader one from that, so I’m writing it [as] a contextual history, in which I really do try to explain every single element of The Beatles,” he said. “And that includes the family background. So, that answers your short question. [Volume 1] actually begins about 1845. [laughs.] It doesn’t linger there for very long, but there is a very good reason why it does begin there.

“Pretty soon, however, we’re in the 20th century and through the Second World War, and then we’re into The Beatles’ childhoods, and their families and the circumstances of their education, their influences. Of course it very quickly gets to the point where [music from] America is having a huge impact on them, and from about the mid-1950s, the book is very solid in there.”

Lewisohn went on to provide a preview of Volumes 2 and 3 as well.

“Volume 2 begins at the very start of 1963, and that goes on until I’m not exactly certain yet 1966 or ’67,” he said. “Volume 3 will pick up from there and go to probably the early 1970s, I would think.

“The plans were changed since the book was first proposed, but I’ve actually been doing a fair bit of research for Volumes 2 and 3 while writing the first one, and so they won’t take as long to write,” he said. “And I’m pretty optimistic that they are going to be fairly [close] behind the first volume at regular intervals. But the first volume…I’m glad to say, we’re shooting for August 2012.”

Lewisohn has no doubt dug up — and is still digging up — lots of fresh information and discovering many pieces to the puzzle. I asked him what has surprised him most along the way.

“I’m not going to answer that one, not yet we’re a little too ahead of publication for that,” he said. “But, believe me, I’ve found so much. I’ve been surprised literally every day about just how many things I didn’t [know], and I’ve been researching this story since the 1970s…very few [biographers] have spent that long writing their books or dedicating particular amounts of long time to them.

“And th0812_Beatles_in_America_UPI_pd_020764_sme moment you start digging, the more that you start finding gold, and you keep finding gold,” Lewisohn said. “The Beatles’ story is remarkable, because no matter how deep you dig, you still find gold. And even since I started writing and I kind of shut down the research element, I’m still finding people who are telling me amazing things. A couple of girls, for example, that I tracked down — they managed them for a while. That was quiet a nice discovery. And all sorts of things.

“A few people have read the  manuscript, people who know the subject well, and they tell me on every single page, bar none, they are finding things that make them go ‘wow,'” Lewisohn continued. “And I genuinely can’t believe that, because I can see it myself when I’m writing. And I’m not adding things. There’s no embroidery in it…The Beatles’ story is so rich, you don’t need to add anything to it. It’ll already be the best story it’ll ever be. And, you know, my contention that it had never been told properly is so true, because really when you spend proper time on it and you dig deeper and deeper and deeper and you find gold. It’s fantastic. So there’s something on every page.

“And it’s going to be told in a way that really makes sense,” he added. “[It’s] a combination of thousands of new discoveries that are really interesting, a couple with a fresh way of looking at what we do already know. So even…’The Ed Sullivan Show’ OK, that’s not going to be a surprise to anybody. But how ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ happened and really what went on on that stage, for example, is going to be completely fresh to the reader…So imagine that all the way through, and you’ve got it.”

Watch Part 1, Part 2Part 3 and Part 4 of my exclusive interview with Mark Lewisohn about “The Beatles: The Complete Story,” and check back next Friday for the rest.

THE WRAP Hope you liked the second blog. You can always visit us right here at www.peeplesplace.com, and our under-construction Peeples Place Facebook page. Please share the blog and the page and help us build our online community of SCV music-makers and music-lovers.

If you have a new album to review or music news you’d like us to include in an upcoming edition, shoot an email to stephen@hometownstation.com.

Special thanks this week to all the artists and their families, managers and friends (you know who you are far too many to mention) and again to Mark Lewisohn. Extra special thanks to Imelda Pati for her invaluable production assistance, and to Nadine A. Peeples for her invaluable encouragement and support.

With a face perfect for radio, I’ll see you on AM 1220 in the Santa Clarita Valley Thursday morning at 8:10 when I preview the NEXT edition of…Peeples Place at KHTS.

All photos in this post are (c) 2011 Stephen K. Peeples except Smile Empty Soul (courtesy), local music (Imelda Pati), The Beatles (UPI, Feb. 7, 1964, public domain), and Lao Tizer and Tizer with Karen Briggs (courtesy Nina Gordon Public Relations).

Stephen K. Peeples is a Grammy-nominated record producer (“Monterey International Pop Festival,” MIPF/Rhino, 1992), an award-winning radio producer (The Lost Lennon Tapes, Westwood One, 1988-1990), an award-winning online editor of The Signal website (2007-2011) and former music and entertainment columnist for The Signal (2004-2011). He is host and co-producer of the “House Blend with Stephen K. Peeples” music and interview show on SCVTV (www.scvhouseblend.com), and is drummer with SCV jazz group RainTree (www.raintreejazz.com). For more information, visit www.stephenkpeeples.com.

Peeples Place at KHTS Aug. 12, 2011

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About KHTS FM 98.1 & AM 1220

As Santa Clarita’s only local radio station, KHTS FM 98.1 & AM 1220 mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, along with your favorite adult contemporary hits by artists such as Rob Thomas, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Maroon 5. We are vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community. Our broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. We stream our talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience.