Concrete Blonde: What Happened to The Band Behind 'Joey?'
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 3 июл 2024
- Concrete Blonde: What happened to the band behind 'Joey?'
0:00- Early Musical Beginnings
2:50 - Pre-Concrete Blonde Years
3:50 - Concrete Blonde's Beginnings
5:34 - Bankruptcy
6:34 - Second/Third Album
9:21 - Near Death Experience
Have a video request or a topic you'd like to see us cover? Fill out our google form!
bit.ly/3stnXlN
----CONNECT ON SOCIAL----
TIKOK: / rocknrolltruestory
Instagram: / rocknrolltruestories
Facebook: / rnrtruestories
Twitter: / rocktruestories
Blog: www.rockandrolltruestories.com
#concreteblonde #joey
I cite my sources and they may differ than other people's accounts, so I don't guarantee the actual accuracy of my videos.
These videos are for entertainment purposes only. READ OUR DISCLAIMER rockandrolltruestories.com/yo...
Dubbed as a band that played initially moody and a stormy brand of rock music, they were in their early days labeled as the heir to the Los Angeles punk band X as being the City’s official underground band. They would sometimes shed a light on the darker side of los angeles. Concrete Blonde would go from being underground darlings to having mainstream success in just a few short years,. But along the way the band went through a lot of turmoil, - bankruptcy, issues with management and their record label and of course internal problems
The story of the band begins in 1980 when frontwoman Johnette Nepalitano and guitarist James Mankey met while working at songwriter Leon Russell’s studio in Los Angeles. Nepalitano was working as what she calls a gofer secretary person doing errands for the producer. She got the gig after meeting somebody at a party who was doing woodworking at the producer’s studio. A lot of famous people came and went in the studio with Nepalitano admitingt to The Sacramento Bee that she once spent a whole night rolling joints for leon russell and willie nelson.
Nepalitano would be described by Spin as the girl who handed you eyeliner at a Germs show’ and the type of girl who every girl wants to confide in and guys respect. She would joke to the magazine that her bad relationships were made up of boyfriends which could stretch around the block and she should have had ‘lie to me’ tattooed on her.
Nepalitano would grow up in Hollywood .with her father being a poolcleaner for major celebrities including elvis and liberace.. Bella Legosi even babysat her when she was a kid. As she got older her family moved to the valley and at the age of 9 her dad once took a piano as a form of payment for a pool job he gave it to Johnette. In addition to learning piano she soon learned to play guitar and wrote her first song at age 12 for her baby sister. It was an aunt of hers who was working in hollywood as a dancer at the shindig and dating mickey dolenz that peaked her interest in showbusiness. Guitarist James Mankey would play in the 70’s era group Sparks with his brother Earle. He also spent some time as an engineering technician for radio DJ casey kasim on his America’s top 40 program.
After working for Leon Russell for a few years, he soon left LA and headed ot Nashville, but Nepalitano and Mankey didn’t follow him. Instead the pair opted to stay in LA and work on music together at a 16 track recording studio in Thousand Oaks. It would be a local fanzine named DIY that picked up one of their songs named Heart Attack for a compilation LP that was put out in 1982.. At that time the pair of musicians called themselves the Dreamers and they decided to find a bassist and drummer and start playing clubs around LA. They struggled to get much attention initially because they couldn’t be pigeon holed into a particular scene in LA.
Fast forward to 1984 and the pair now playing under the monicker Dream 6 were playing a lot of post punk clubs in LA. The band put out a self titled EP on a french label, which got critical praise and quickly attracted major label attention. The pair soon recorded what would be concrete blonde’s self titled record with their own money costing them about $15K.
But the pair’s friends told them they might want to act sooner rather than later on getting a record label deal, since the opportunity may not present itself again. Well, they did the complete opposite rejecting any label that forced them to compromise on their sound. The band nearly signed with Columbia Records and worked with bangles and fishbone producer David Kahne, but he insisted bringing in outside musicians and he wanted to co-write songs with them, which they said no to. Elektra wanted them to work with big shot producer Michael Wagener but they asked the band do a cover of the Creedance Clearwater Revival song so they said no to elektra. One record label according to the ottawa citizen tried to get the band to sound like motorhead,
The band soon decided to go the independent route 
Видеоклипы
hope you guys enjoyed this one. Lots of people recommended it so throw your suggestions for bands or topics you'd like to see me do below!
excellent vid, love this channel!
@@troyprice7407thanks
Barenaked ladies please.
Now I know I misinterpreted Tomorrow Wendy.
How about one on Gene Loves Jezebel?
Johnettes vocals are beyond words, and the criminally underrated as is James Mankey, his riffs are just phenomenal. So glad they were and have remained my own little secret band that never compromised in any way.
Exactly. They’re both legends in mine and many people I knows minds.
100% agree, he is awesome
💯
I’m still listening to my CD’s.
Could not agree more.
Bloodletting was all killer, no filler. Wore the shit out of that record!
I can listen to that album from beginning to end. Every song is great and powerful!
Joey
Most underrated band of the late 80s early 90s. Johnette is a one in a million talent, James too. Love Concrete Blonde and I listen to them just as much today. Those first two albums are masterpieces.
Saw them live in Sacramento around 2012. Totally killed it- my friends were blown away. I was just so happy to finally experience them live- Jonette played guitar and rocked it completely- vocals were excellent, too.
@@deniseclaeys8295 I saw them at the Warfield in SF on the, I want to say, Walking in London tour. Yeah, my friends and I were blown away, too. She’s a powerhouse live performer. I think we all teared up during Wendy.
@@jiffybox You'd have the have a heart of stone no to. "Song for Kim" is also a downer (for the best reasons !)
Under exposed for sure
Bloodletting is a masterpiece of an album. There’s not one bad song on it
Have to respect the fact that they never bent to appease the record executives.
F---=n RIGHTS. LOVE EM !
A band with many fabulous deep cuts. Caroline was pure 🔥
Omg no shit...pardon my French but that song when she sing about breaking chains and free is profound beyond words
Caroline is an excellent song.
@@AHB2112 But what a sad one ! (not that it's a bad thing, mind you…)
Absolutely underrated band, and Johnette has appeared on a lot of other people's albums too - my personal favorite is the bridge she sings on Bad Religion's "Struck a Nerve".
The Replacements "My Little Problem" is incredible, even though Johnette and Westerberg never met during the recording.
This is one of the core bands that changed the trajectory of my musical tastes and life.
Mine too.
Absolutely agree!
I'll never forget hearing "Still In Hollywood " for the first time. AMAZING. I had the pleasure of meeting Johnette once. Such a lovely woman.
Same. I was working in a record store and one day we got a promo of the album, so a co-worker played it. That song stopped me in my tracks, and I've been a fan ever since.
It’s in the movie ‘The Hidden’. My neighbors hate me! ☮️😆
I was driving down I-20 in my car on a move to Texas in '92, when I heard "Ghost of a Texas Lady's Man" on the radio. I became an instant fan, and saw them play on two separate occasions in Dallas during those early 90s. Raw, raw talent with some rough edges. Age takes its toll on all of us, but I hate to see her apparent struggles manifest physically. They were something special.
The Concrete Blonde self-titled album from 1986 has always been one of my favorite albums ever. Thank you for covering them.
You’re welcome
So many great songs on that one. Cold Part of Town, Song for Kim, Scene of a Perfect Crime. A masterpiece.
Such a great release! One of my favorites.
Bloodletting is one of the best albums ever and Johnette is still my absolute favorite female vocalist. Great rewind, thanks!
Thank you for covering Concrete Blonde! Bloodletting is one of my favorite albums to this day. There is a ton of material you could do on this great band and knowingly you only have a few minutes but maybe in the future, you can do a longer, more informative segment on them. Thank you.
My pleasure!
Yeah they deserve a thorough long form documentary.
Johnette Napolitano’s voice is amazing. I saw them open for the Pretenders right after their self-titled album came out. They were great. The first three albums are fantastic, with Free being my personal favorite.
Darn near criminally overlooked, imo
Concrete Blonde's self titled album and "Mexican Moon" are absolute masterpieces
Mexican moon gives me goosebumps
Heal It Up by Concrete Blonde is one my favorite songs of all time. So intense!
The list is long for amazing Concrete Blonde songs and I agree, “Heal It Up” is definitely up there!
They were an amazing band. Severely underrated.
SO much more than just “Joey”. The best band IRS Records ever signed.
Rem
@@TranceMasterJack I know what I said.
Much as I love Concrete Blonde, R.E.M. wins that title.
I'm a metalhead, but I always liked Concrete Blonde's approach. Dark, thought-provoking, and I'm always impressed with their creative basslines (a-la the Joy Division vein). "Jonestown" is still one of my favorite songs, ever ♥️
I'm a metalhead as well and you summed up my opinion of Concrete Blonde. Outside of metal, they are one of my favorite bands.I also like the song Jonestown. It's a shame they aren't still together.
My favorite band; full stop. They poured everything they had into every single album. Such highly refined musicianship and vocal abilities belied the bleeding raw emotion that jumped out of every song.
As an alcoholic, got it under control now. Joey hits hard
Its about Marc Mooreland(Wall of Voodoo), a long time boyfriend of Johnettes. He sadly lost his battle in 2002, in France
@@treysimmons7707 Marc had no insurance and went to France in hopes of getting a kidney ( I think it was a kidney. I could be wrong.) His later years were tragic. He worked at the Santa Anita racetrack before and after WoV. I adored his "spaghetti Western" style on "Call of the West" album. Stan called him "Chickenhead". Johnette hated Stan Ridgway. The whole ordeal was just sad.
@@michaelwolf6424 I read liver transplant but yeah that is the gist of the story I read too.
Fuck yeah it does brother! I went through some shit and this song always makes me cry and think back to those times and trials. One day the tears will be those of triumph, not just pain.
Got to see them live a couple times....on the last tour, 2012 maybe....they did a fabulous cover of Midnight Oil's "Beds Are Burning "🔥 Johnette's side project, Pretty & Twisted with Marc Moreland from Wall of Voodoo is totally worth digging into ❤
Some of Johnette’s best performances and writing is on “Pretty & Twisted”. While I love James Mankey’s fingerpicking guitar tone, the searing edge of Moreland’s playing really brought out a different feel from Johnette’s vocal delivery. I wish it were on vinyl!
@s.r.e3822 It would make a great vinyl release. I still have my promo CD from when I worked at Sam Goody like 100 years ago....
In the early 90s I was interning at Paramount studios in Hollywood when johnette came in to record. I had read an interview where she said something about back problems from playing bass so I brought it in for her. I had already heard Joey at the time and would have totally gushed but I tried to keep it professional. I find it funny that I later played bass in a band and now look back at that meeting as arguably when it began.
Coming up in the mid to late 90s goth and punk scenes Bloodletting was one of my favorite songs, still is one of my favorites to dance to.
Great, great band. So many amazing songs and she’s one of my favorite singers ever.
The writing and singing is unparalleled in this band so underrated .
Concrete Blonde one of my favorites. From 1st album to last. Jonestown....OMG!
I had a couple of encounters with the band, including photographing them backstage on the Group Therapy tour. I always loved their music, and they were as smart and funny as I had expected them to be. I'm sorry they broke up, but they left us with some amazing music.
This band is such a gem. I love their work.
It's a shame that they aren't still together.
Bloodletting is an awesome album! I love every song on it....
When the then-love-of-my-life left me for another in the 90's, I listened to "Tomorrow, Wendy" a few hundred times on repeat. I was and still am glad that song was there for me. My pain was a storm and that song let me stand with the door open and let the rain and wind right into the house of my broken heart. It's a hard, bitter, angry song and boy did I need it. The arts are a blessing.
I go back to their music from time to time. To me it has aged well and that is probably due in part to the band - Johnette in particular - not letting anyone change who and what they were. Most people who comment say this, and I do too; UNDERRATED - musically, artistically and just in general. Her voice and her singing is magic. James Mankey is/was a great guitar player who was also overlooked and underrated by the media. I have huge respect, admiration and appreciation for Concrete Blonde. If anyone in GenX doesn't know about them, do them a favor and trun them on to this band.
Thanks for giving concrete blonde some love
Very first alternative rock album I have ever got Bloodletting, the album is both dark and beautiful with subject matter relative to the times. As it turned out Bloodletting came out during a pivotal time in my life.
My Dad and I both loved this album, I was 14 when it came out.....
Well said. Same here. It will always be a special album and reminder.
Their cover of Jimi Hendrix classic Little Wing was phenomenal!
So phenomenal! I loved their version of "Castles Made of Sand" as well.
When they were at their best, they were a great band.
Johnette is one of the most under-appreciated female rock singers of the 80s.
Concrete Blonde was a good band live. Saw them w/ Sting in '91 in Chapel Hill, NC. Took my Mom & we had a great time. 💛
Awesome! Thank you! I have loved this band since the first time I listened to "Bloodletting". Her smoky, lusty voice, the guitar's pulsating rhythms and vicious solos that are wild and some that swirl around you like pink smoke.
I wish I could go back in time to that period of my life...
If you like the song “Joey”, listen to the acoustic version on their compilation album “Still in Hollywood”. After listening to her since 1987, Johnette’s voice will still raise the hair on my arm when she hits her power with her upper registers!
Right on I will, Thank you for the info.
Let’s not forget their killer cover of “Everybody Knows” from the “Pump Up the Volume” soundtrack.
Did you catch the 120 minutes live version?
Epic.
One of my all time favorites
Thank you! This band is criminally underrated. I miss them so as they were a big part of the soundtrack of my youth and still see heavy rotation in my adulthood.
You’re welcome!
Same here, KOODOO'S brother
Joey = one of the greatest recorded vocals. Chills every time
Same here, I wished I could have seen them. CONCRETE BLONDE come back PLEASEEEEEEEE !!!!!!!!!!!!!
One listen to the cover of Tomorrow Wendy on Bloodletting in comparison to the Andy Prieboy original and it's obvious what a talent she is.
Thank you for this..... so under=rated and almost forgotten or ignored by a lot of RUclips Re-Actionaries... Something i noticed a few years ago is Johnettes "shapeshifting" abilities in Concrete Blonde music videos.... From look to personality to perception of the viewer.... An incredible band that i always have spinning in my 5 disk CD player.... Plus, Johnettes solo work is incredible and painfully personal... Great music to experience.
You’re welcome
I was blown away by "Still in Hollywood" when they came to town to opwn for Dave Edmunds in '86. Mankey and Napalitano consitently released great records. So underrated as performers and writers.
Still one of my favorite bands. Johnette. James, and Harry were a solid trio. Seen them several times live back in the 90’s. They are phenomenal live. Johnettes vocals are iconic. She’s a master at her craft. And Mankey shreds…. I love JN other music collabs as well. Pretty and Twisted…The Heads… Vowel Movement….and her song Suicide Note is just untouchable.
Yes, that one is incredible, just a piano and those funereal percussions which sounds like a death toll… I use a quote from that song in my new novel !
That voice! Tomorrow Wendy....is probably my favorite from CB, but anything they touched was gold for me.
I bought Bloodletting because of “Joey” but I ended up liking “Tomorrow Wendy” better
Caroline is a masterpiece ! So haunting.
I LOVE Concrete Blonde!! I can sing like her and i use to sing in a band and we did covers of Concrete Blonde 😊
My favorite bands are the ones I have a similar vocal style with.
@@The_R-n-I_Guy Yup. I'm the same lol
Not me, I'm more on the Nick Cave side (so I've been told), but if you lower songs down…
I had a very nice invitation to hang out after a show in the early 90's - on the Bloodletting Tour - with and from Johnette herself. Unfortunately, I had work the next day, and had two buddies with me, but that I might have done over if I could go back. They are one of my favorite bands of all time, and Johnette is a vocal influence for me. Worth going back to check out is their appearance on MTV's 120 Minutes, when they did Heal it Up live, and she had a bad cold and still nailed it.
The MTV appearance was the acoustic cover of Everybody Knows. They did Heal It Up on the John Stewart show. Those 2 performances are the best videos of CB that I have seen. At the very beginning of Heal It Up James is taking a drag from his joint, you can see him drop the joint and step on it right before he starts playing. I watched that video many many times before I noticed that. Made an awesome performance even more so.
Caroline is absolutely one of my all time favorite songs, still.
Mine too, it was so haunting.
It's one of my favorites as well.
And the guitar solo in Caroline is so great! One of my fav songs ever
@@SD9xcp311x I can sing that solo in my head, note for note. Such a perfect song.
One of my fav solos ever! WXRT used to play Caroline on radio in the early 90s and that's where I found out about Concrete Blonde... @@DoubleDguitar
Since Bela Lugosi died in 1956 and Johnette Napolitano was born in 1957 I’m curious how the legendary star could have baby sat her? Regardless I’m glad you did something on this underrated band that I consider among the best from LA
One of the best bands ever. And Johnette is still putting out incredible music.
That first album is a masterpiece.
Saw them a couple of times. One of the shows was in Portland Maine. Most of that show is available on YT. In fact there's a clip from it on this video.
Man. Napolitano’s voice is one of the best ever in rock & roll. “Joey” still hits me in the feels every time I play it. And Mankey’s fingerstyle playing lends such a unique sound to his solos… CB forever!
One of the most criminally under-rated bands in freaking history.
Most indeedy…
Wow, great blast from the past. Fantastic music; powerful story telling.
A great band with a unique singer.I have some of their cds.
One of my favorite vocalists to sing along to, we share a very similar voice. Still listen to them regularly, their catalog is a trove of musical masterpieces.
Always loved them. Saw Johnette sing solo in Portland. She's incredible. Still listen to Concrete Blonde.
Bloodletting is indeed such a cool album along with the earlier song God is a Bullet. THanks for this one. I'll have to think on any suggestions.
Great band. Nepalitano's voice is superb.
I don’t give a fuck what anyone says, “Mexican Moon” is one of the best records they did, got me through some tough times! Johnette and the band poured their hearts out on that record.
And great video by the way @rocknrolltruestories keep it up!
Mexican Moon is an excellent album. I really got into them when it came out.
Heavy Metal fan here but the amount of talent that existed in the 80s and 90s is staggering. I love to listen to Concrete Blonde, 4 non-Blondes, Mazzy Star, etc. These were artists. To bad we are now dominated by the HipHop/Rap industry.
Ah man you are so RIGHT BROTHER I concure
I'm a metal fan as well. I would listen to Concrete Blonde and Mazzy Star as well. Johnette has an excellent voice. You are right, it's to bad that we are dominated by tap.
They were big here in my country back in the 80’s.. Johnette’s fantastic voice was easily recognizable.. They were good friends with another 80’s group, Wire Train..
Where are you from mate ? Here, they had good press and the support of one rock radio… but to no avail.
Heal it up is my favourite,,,still blasting it today.
As of last year the Drummer Harry was living on a sidewalk in an old tour bus, and addicted to Meth. He was streaming last year with a guy named Strokeoff or Strokeoff Mike. It didn't look like a good situation. 😢
It's sad they are gone and I wish they had more live albums, bootlegs or otherwise. One of the best of all music I listen to and I am so glad seeing them when they were really big. The Mexican Moon show was incredible, Cincinnati Ohio at Bogarts 1993-1994. A not well known band opened, but their last song was Teenage Wasteland and all 3 members came out on stage to play with the opening band, I think Johnette was playing a tambourine. Do I wish I had a cell phone camera back then.
Still listen to Concrete Blonde today. Vocals are scary great !
Not only a great band but very nice people..Johnette is a gem.
They had several good songs. Johnette had an amazing voice. My faves are God is a Bullet and Joey. Everybody Knows was a great cover.
Under rated band.
One of the best bands in rock ever.
Mexican Moon is my fav CB album.
Mexican Moon is my favorite CD from them.
loved them since the late 80's. still a great band
I’ve had all CB releases…
STILL IN HOLLYWOOD…is all time fave because it was the first one which I heard from them back in ‘86….
One of my favorite bands!
I love johnette. Miss this band.
My favorite band from my youth. Bloodletting, Walking in London and Mexican Moon are perfect albums. Thank you for giving some love and attention to this fantastic group.
They played a little club in Boston back in the day. I've seen 100's of concerts in my lifetime, Concrete Blonde is in my top 3
I love them!Johnette's latest album is brilliant!Joey dear and riding the moon are masterpieces.
One of my all time favourite bands. Not a bad song. And her voice. My stars. So incredibly powerful.
Heal It Up may be one of the most powerful vocal performances I have ever heard in my life. Very few singers could even attempt that, and it's a wonderful song as well.
Bloodletting is brilliant, but Mexican Moon does it for me!!! It was a joy to see her perform live several times. She’s perfection.
Johnette and company were my absolute favorite band during that phase of my life. I've seen them live a few times and traded emails with her, and she has always struck me as one of the more decent humans with whom I've ever crossed paths.
Criminally underrated band. REM and Sting saw their potential though. Great video!
Still vividly remember seeing Concrete Blonde opening for X at After the Gold Rush in tempe az on 4/27/87. Best birthday ever!!
I saw them several times, God is a Bullet was a killer track.. if you ever saw them do Bloodletting in a club, you wouldn’t forget it… the bass would go right through you. Good times.
Best live concert I ever saw. Perfect audience for this band at this time. I didn't know how lucky I was then to hear and see it.
Rain ~ Dream 6, was included in the soundtrack of The Party Animal 1985. It seems significant as it was my introduction to Napolitano's music.
Such. A. _Great._ Band.
Johnette is one of those rare female singers with an instantly recognizable voice.
What a voice. Johnette and I went to the same high school though she was a year behind me. Her then boyfriend was my arch enemy (for reasons unknown). That high school produced a few commercially successful bands and musicians ranging from Toto (not my thing) to sessions players for Steely Dan.
It's impossible to compare Johnette's voice to anyone I can think of. Decades later and it still sends shivers of excitement down my spine.
Thanks! Love these guys!
One of my favorite bands of all time. Concrete Blonde and Sinead where my whole childhood.
They are so good..I’ve seen them live at least 12 times..have about 12 cds. Joey was only one song out of tons..she’s phenomenal.❤❤
Their Mohave album is wonderful..from early 2000s
I am so jealous. you are a lucky one. ROCK ON GIRL 🌋
When I think of greatest female Rock singer, she always comes to mind first.
Joey is top 30 song of all time. No one can tell me differently
I had TOTALLY forgotten about Concrete Blonde.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Smell ya later! 👃😎
long time fan since the first lp - they were incredible and deserve way more recognition.
My sister went to see them at a local venue years ago. She was starting high school at the time.
I saw Johnette in Bose in the early 2000s. One of my top 3 shows ever. Her powerful vocals will peel the skin off of your face and make you glad for the experience.