Hollywood Rock Stars

I was on a business trip this week in Hollywood, California at a hotel attached to the Kodak Theater. The way back to the hotel cut across a balcony that overlooked an open air shopping complex called Hollywood and Highland. It was late after noon after two long days and I was looking forward to changing out of a suit and poking around Hollywood Boulevard with my camera. I heard live music in the mall's courtyard which wasn't a surprise because they had been setting up a stage as part of a promotional event for Indy car racing. I recognized the song as the Motorhead classic "Ace of Spades" and remarked to a co-worker that this sounded exactly like the real thing and was a good cover. When I reached the balcony railing, I realized why... it was Lemmy from Motorhead singing the song. Accompanied my Dave Navarro on guitar and Matt Sorum on Drums. These were real, big time rock stars.



Turns out the band is called Camp Freddy. They are the rock and roll equivalent of a bunch of NBA players who show up at public basketball courts and play pick-up games. Camp Freddy is a super group cover band with a nucleus of members and a cast of characters that comes and goes. Today's line-up included primary members Dave Navarro (Guitar in Jane's Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers), Matt Sorum (Drums in The Cult, Guns & Roses, Velvet Revolver), Chris Chaney (Bass in Janes Addiction, Alanis Morrisette) and Donovan Leitch Jr. (Actor and Son of folk singer icon Donovan). Guests joining the band on this day were Billy Duffy (Guitar in The Cult), Chester Bennington (Vocals in Linkin Park), Lemmy (Motorhead), Mark McGrath (Vocals in Sugar Ray and Access Hollywood host), Franky Perez (Slash and Friends), Dave Kuschner (Guitar in Velvet Revolver, Suicidal Tendancies) and Courtney Love.

Needless to say, I quickly changed out of that suit and made a big batch of images.







Click here for a slide show of more images

Something Happened at The Spider House

The Spider House sits on a quiet street in Grand Lake, Colorado. The intricate woodwork make The Spider House remarkable in form, although nothing hints at the notable history of the cottage.



The house was built by Warren Gregg in the 1890's and is a fine example of the mountain rustic style popular in what was then called Old Grand City.

Warren came west from Indiana in a covered wagon with his bride Mary O'Brien Gregg. The Gregg's lost their first and second sons during the trip and Mary never got over the grief. Other children were born to the Gregg family, but this did little to ease Mary's burden. Warren was frequently away from home and the isolation of the Colorado landscape and winter weather only intensified Mary's depression.



On a sunny day in 1904, when Mary decided she couldn't endure any longer. She used a gun to end her life and that of her children: 3 boys and 1 girl. The master craftsman Warren worked away in his woodshop, unaware of what was happening in The Spider House.



For more information on The Spider House and Mary Gregg, see these links:
http://www.kauffmanhouse.org/TheSpiderHouse.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahUN-ojRw6w

Colorado Fence Line

Aspen shadows on waning snowcover outside of Fraser, Colorado.