Music Tonight: The countdown of final shows at the Southgate House continues tonight (only four more left!) with local Folk heroes The Tillers performing in the Ballroom with special guests the Blue Rock Boys. The show is being recorded for future release by the Tiller fellas. Like with a lot of local bands, the Southgate has been important in the growth and success of The Tillers throughout their career, from some of their earliest shows in the venue's Juney's Lounge (where Tiller Mike Oberst also served as one of the rotating hosts of the popular Monday open mic showcases) to their huge sold-out show in the Ballroom just last month (part of a benefit/album release concert organized by Oberst). Showtime is 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door, while they last. —-
Momentous Happenings in Music History for December 28
On this day in 1983, Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson — famously the only Beach Boy who surfed — died while swimming in the ocean in Marina Del Rey, Calif. A film about the wild-child drummer (who battled alcoholism and unwittingly befriended cult leader Charles Manson, cutting ties just prior to the notorious Tate/LaBianca murders) is currently in the works, with Aaron Eckhart attached to star and produce. Reports in October said Eckhart was recording his own versions of songs from Wilson's cult fave solo album, Pacific Ocean Blue.
Born This Day: Musical movers and shakers born Dec. 28 include: Patriarch of legendary Gospel/Blues family The Staple Singers, Roebuck "Pops" Staples (1914); classic rocker Edgar Winter (1946); Classical music rebel Nigel Kennedy (1956); and late singer/songwriter Alex Chilton (1950).
Chilton, who died unexpectedly in 2010 at the age of 59, was a teenage star in the ’60s as singer for Soul Pop band The Box Tops ("The Letter") and became an influential Power Pop legend with Big Star, the band he formed in 1970.
