Born and raised in the mecca of hip hop, Brooklyn, NY, identical twin brothers Amiri and Rahiem Taylor had more exposure in their house to pop, funk and soul music from the 60's, 70's and 80's. While attending a democratic-free high school they taught themselves how to play guitar and write songs based on The Beatles. They later formed Blac Rabbit, bringing in former metal and church drummer Patrick Jones, and most recently adding multi-instrumentalist Justin Jagbir on keyboard to play their original psychedelic rock tunes. Tired of working boring grocery store jobs, Amiri and Rah started performing Beatles covers on the NYC subway, earning some pocket change and slowly building a reputation around the city while also performing their original material with the full band in New York's best venues for up and coming acts. On December 23rd, 2017, the band released their debut self-titled EP, which was also self recorded and self mixed. The Taylor twins wrote all of the songs, and recorded every instrument on the EP, except for a few songs on which Jones played drums. On January 26th, 2018, Rah and Amiri were filmed performing Beatles songs on the train by New York Nico, the "Unofficial talent scout of New York City," who posted the video to his 120K+ followers on Instagram. One of the videos went viral generating over 25M streams, leading to numerous TV and radio appearances, including The Ellen Degeneres Show. The band also recorded a cover of “Michelle” by the The Beatles for a Gucci ad campaign featuring Harry Styles. Meanwhile Blac Rabbit’s fan base has soared while the band is touring globally and recording their debut full length album titled “Interstella”, set for release in 2019. The first single from the album, "Seize the Day" was released on November 19th, 2018 eventually landing on Spotify’s esteemed “Modern Psychedelia” playlist. The second single “Windy Cities” was released May 10, 2019.
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For more than a decade The Bajabugs, a unique Beatles cover band has been entertaining audiences in San Diego and throughout Southern California.
Founded by bassist and singer Hector Penalosa of the Zeros (also a recipient of ' The Lifetime Achievement Award ' given to him by the San Diego Music Foundation in 2010), the band currently includes David Fleminger on lead guitar and vocals, Ron Silva on rhythm guitar and vocals, and Nick ' Nico ' Peters on drums and vocals. Past and present performances : Beatles' conventions at The Scottish Rite Center in San Diego and the Pasadena Convention Center, The Olympic Training Center, Welcoming To Arms at the San Diego Naval Hospital, Bonita High School Special Education X-mas and Halloween events, annual Adams St. Fair, 2 Mariposa Ice Cream Parlor rooftop gigs, Riviera Supper Club ( monthly gig ), Humphries Backstage Lounge, The Queen Bee, Town and Country Hotel,The Park Manor, The Imperial House, Bar Pink, the Ken Club, The Casbah, bar Eleven, Soda Bar, Tin Can Ale House, The Ruby Room, Moose Lodge, numerous weddings, graduations ,birthdays, high school reunions, fund raisers. Also the Rainbow and Michelli's Resaturant in Hollywood, clubs in Tijuana, Tecate, and Mexicali. |
True Stories debuted on June 13, 2012, featuring Bart Mendoza (Manual Scan, The Shambles, The Riot Act etc), David Fleminger (Manual Scan, Alvino & The Dwells, The Baja Bugs, The Amandas, The Answers etc), Danny Cress (The Coyote Problem, Citizen Band, The Rarities etc).. The band specializes in pop driven rock and folk originals, but also has a lot of fun with a wide range of classic tunes.
The band has released music in the U.S., England, Spain and Australia, including two E.P.'s, "Comets Tomorrow" and "Pop" and an album with guitarist Wendy Bailey,, "String Theory", as well as numerous compilation albums, including tribute albums to Dwight Twilley, Cheap Trick and Elvis Costello. |
Music journalist, Mark Brickley’s new PowerPoint presentation,“The Beatles Road To Stardom,” traces the Beatles musical legacy from their 1956 Liverpool Skiffle band roots thru the group’s 1964 televised performances on the Ed Sullivan Show. It also remembers Beatles film, A Hard Day’s Night, and the band’s first tour of the USA. Mark provides live narration for the forty-five-minute show. It includes the author’s original photos Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr & members of the band’s milieu, rare Beatles photography, in-concert video clips and the band’s early recordings. The presentation is followed by an open Q/A session, an optional book signing and discussion on how the Beatles influenced contemporary pop music.
Postcards From Liverpool: Beatles Moments & Memories. The new May 2019 edition has two dozen additional photos and four new chapters including my meet-up with Pete Best at the 2018 San Diego Fair. That chapter was excerpted and appeared in 2018's British Beatles Fan Club Magazine. |