Suffering Halos Show Flyer
enlarge, you have to see this one!

The night was kicked off by Dillon Campbell
A great singer/songwriter just like his dad.

Then one of the most dynamic singers I've ever heard, plus all around cool guy, Chris Paul Overall played a set of favorites.

the only thing that could make CPO's set better was drummer extraordinaire Mark Romans adding his own special beat to the performance.

The thing I've always loved about Chris is his range. He'll blow you away with a full on rocker and mesmerize you with an emotional lament. Definitely one of the most talented guys making music at the moment. 

Chris Paul Overall

Then Bird flew in for a quick set. Despite nursing a cold Bird sang his heart out.

Bird is another favorite. this guy can sing! And also writes some pretty amazing stuff.

Bird

The guys from Ours came down to check out the show.

with Happenin Harry

Then the "Long Beach Devil Boys" Johnny Jones and the Suffering Halos stormed in for some serious rock n roll!

Johnny is all about the rock and he couldn't do it the way he does without Billy pounding the beat into your skull!

Bryan is a guitar god. 

I didn't get a usuable picture of him but Greg is probably the most gifted bass player I have ever heard. No BS. 

We command you to ROCK! The Halos ripped up the Cat Club and deafened people in three counties. 

I absolutely love the Halos. These guys know how to rock and some of the coolest cats in the business. Their shows are an experience, you'll never forget. 

Johnny Jones and the Suffering Halos

Long Beach music was setting the Cat Club on Fire!  But you can't showcase LBC music without Twelvehourmary, a band that proves you can have intelligent music that still rocks! 

Brett, Mark and Stu in full on rock mode! Check Mark out pounding those drums!

Once Bill joined, his bass parts made the picture complete. Stu rocked on despite a recent hand injury. And of course Brett delivered his lyrics in a powerful way. These guys give 100% everytime they take the stage.

12 delivered in their natural captivating way and reminded Hollywood why LBC is the real center of music these days. 

I've written a lot about this band on antiMusic because they really deserve to be heard. The very first time I saw them I was instant fan and the thing love most about them is they are totally unique but very accessable. Brett has an amazing talent lyrics too. 

Twelvehourmary

Now a little story about the next band. Originally Donnie Vie of Enuff Z'nuff, my favorite singer and songwriter of all time, was supposed to play. His set time came and went and there was no sign of him. We're good friends so I was surprised that he wouldn't show up for this of all shows.  I learned the next day that Donnie was in the hospital after coming down with a nasty infection. He's recovering now and we sure missed him on this night.

So while we waited for Donnie to show up, none other than the current Enuff Z'nuff guys ( Johnny, Chip and Eric) came strolling across Sunset. They rushed over from their gig in Malibu to come hang out for my birthday bash and well you know how it is at the Cat Club, the guys put in a little extra overtime and rocked the house! 

I first saw John on his first tour with Enuff Z'nuff in 1996 and was blown away by his lead playing. He brought his own style to the very distinct guitar parts of Derek Frigo and Geno. A couple years ago when he was called on to take over vocal duties he did the same thing, he honors the original but gives them his own flavor.  You have to check out John's band Johnny Monaco to see a whole other side to his musical personality. 

Eric came into the fold after Ricky had to stop touring because of his cancer treatment (get well soon man) and is doing a great job. 

"Is it ok to smoke pot in here?" Chip Z'nuff as he sparked one up.

What can you say about Chip Z'nuff except "I hail you brother". Through it all he's stuck to his guns. 

I don't know how he did it but John managed to pick two of my all time favorite songs to include in their set (Enuff Z'nuff's "We're All Alright" and The Beatles "Day In Life"). 

Anyone that knows me, knows that Enuff Z'nuff are my favorite band second only to the Beatles. So to have the guys make a special trip down to play my birthday party is beyond words. 

Enuff Z'nuff

And no Sunday night at the Cat Club would be complete without 
Happenin Harry and the Haptones All Star Jam. Harry and boys kicked things off with some ZZ Top and were joined by Chip Z'nuff.

If you like classic heavy rock then you gotta see the Haptones. On this night they kicked things off with Harry belted out the vocals, Chip rocking the bass, Haptones regular Kenny pounding the drums and Beautiful Creatures guitarist Anthony Focx with some screaming leads!

"Hey Anthony? Did you give Chip that joint?"

Harry is a major bro. Most people think of him as a promoter but I'm glad to know him as friend. He doesn't talk about it but I've seen him at the drop of a dime and at a personal expense step up to help friends that are in need. Hollywood music would not be the same without him. If you're ever in Hollywood on a Sunday night you have to stop by the Cat Club to see the Haptones. I could rattle off a list of people who stop by to jam but it would be far to long to list here. You never know who will come down to rock some classics with Harry.  Also keep an ear out for Harry's new project The Sex Devils. 

HappeninHarry.com

It was pretty amazing to have almost of all my favorite bands playing for my birthday party. (The Beatles obviously couldn't make it). Seriously, the amount of talent on the Cat Club stage that night boggles the mind. And it's not very cool to play anyone but Hugh Hefner's birthday party but these guys all did it and it meant a lot to me. 

I got into the journalism side of music because I have a deep love for it, but to be honest I don't have the talent to make my own (that's worth listening to). But the thing that inspired me to walk down this road was that fact that there were the few exceptional artists that were not getting exposure. Rocknworld.com and later antiMusic were created to showcase these exceptional artists (and slagg the crap) and I would place all the artists that played on this night in my personal top 20 of all time. No bullshit! I'm honored to call them friends and every last one of them still amaze me when I see them play or hear their music. And trust me that doesn't happen that often. So that's part of my personal crusade, to turn people on to quality music in this age of MTV feed mediocrity. So you will continue to hear a lot about all of the artists shown above over at antiMusic (and from me personally if you know me), not because they were cool enough to come play a birthday party for me (something that still blows my mind) but because these are the artists that are keeping music alive and real. If you're not familiar with any of the artists listed here, check out the links at the end because your CD collection has a big hole in it! 

It was an amazing night of music and I want to thank all of the bands and artists that came down for the night, everyone that came for the show, Kenny for being the man, and last but not least, thanks to Harry for putting it all together. 

It was a birthday I'll never forget. 

Keep an eye on antiMusic for a full report on the night. I'll write it up once I recover. =) 

Mandatory Listening
Check out the band's pages and buy their CDs! You won't regret it.
Bird
Chris Paul Overall
Enuff Z'nuff
Johnny Jones and the Suffering Halos
Twelvehourmary

related links:
The Dibs (features CPO and Brett & Mark from 12)
Lowfive (Greg from the Halos)
Johnny Monaco
Ours (they didn't play but are amazing too)
Silver (Stu from 12s band, amazing stuff!)
 

Don't forget! For the coolest shows in LA, head over to HappeninHarry.com to see who is playing next! 

ok self plug, check out antiMusic.com (but only after you purchased cds from the bands above!)