The Big Huerta
The Early Bird: Top New Releases 6-28-19 – 7-4-19
all out banger after all out banger
Drummers: The Big Huerta And Charlie Watts: “Good Tonight Inn’t He?”
Give me the dude that makes your head nod
The Big Huerta Passes For Human And The Flesh Eaters
Let’s rock again!
The Big Huerta and The Challengers in Winter
Surfers are an extreme fearless bunch
The Big Huerta: State of the HeART 2016
I can hear the thousands of mouse clicks going off to the latest post of “How Adele saved the music world”).
The Big Huerta Pays Respects to Adam Roth
It seems to me that once we leave this bodily vessel, the next stop will be one of brilliance, colors and light.
The Big Huerta Feel Flows: Kent Crowley’s Carl Wilson Biography “Long Promised Road” Reviewed
Carl Wilson was a highly respected guitar player that was always positive and treated people with dignity and kudos to the author for treating his subject with the respect that he deserves
The Big Huerta Imagines
I took a picture of the screen with my camera and I tried to capture the still. I think I got his nose
The Big Huerta: J. Geils (Band) vs The Human League (Can Your Heart Stand It???)
this is about desperation…every now and then we do get desperate…it’s about L-O-V-E and if you abuse it you’re gonna lose it and if you lose it you’re gonna abuse it, if you abuse it you ain’t gonna be able to choose it cuz you ain’t gonna have it further on down the line and things ain’t gonna be so fine
The Big Huerta: *ARTicle Never Sent
What makes a man start fires The Minutemen asked. Well, what makes a man/person continue? I am NOT looking for pity and I could be waaaaay worse off than I am. It just at this juncture in time, my life feels like a perfect storm of loneliness, helplessness, of fighting the every day fight with both hands tied behind my back
The Big Huerta Hounds Elvis Presley
I am not dissing Leiber and Stoller (from whence the pic idea for painting of them came from), they wrote some tremendous, legendary songs. I am just representing the little people that lost Elvis when RCA prettied him up. His Sun Records output is some of the purest form of rock and roll to ever grace vinyl.
The Big Huerta Goes to Clear Lake, Iowa in his Mind
This painting was very minimalist. It is viewed through a snow drift…a faint wooden fence can be seen along with Buddy’s glasses….broken in two in the snow….along with the words “Oh Boy” written in the snow. Oh boy is not meant to be good…just a harbinger of things to come in the future.
The Big Huerta and Lenny Bruce, The King of Comedy
I did this painting on black canvas. Only special peeps get to the black canvas. I also used fluorescents to help dignify his intensity. I put his name in green like those old scary movies ads of the 50’s…as if he is “The Blob” and coming for your children. As Lenny once said, “I’m sorry I haven’t been funny. I am not a comedian. I am Lenny Bruce.”
The Big Huerta And Jelly Roll Morton
This painting has a metallic spray paint background. I think I was trying to give him one of those Polaroid SX70’s type of look but with a cartoonish vibe…much like if he had a weekly Saturday morning cartoon show that kids would enjoy…like if the producers of Fat Albert distributed this
The Big Huerta Takes Five
I painted the background with metallic spray paints, to give the portrait a shining golden look along with the sky blue to give it a nice positive feel. I used oil paints and the metallic still bled through that but I thought that gave it a cool look, so I left it like that, as if his spirit shined through the painting
The Big Huerta Bikes with Syd Barrett
During the week, I texted Iman, informing him I was emotionally drained and couldn’t bring myself to write anything. In fact, I started two other TBH articles and couldn’t finish them due to an absence of creativity and inspiration. I don’t want to go into my life right now, but I have had a terrible time of things in this past year. I believe this is what happened with Syd, too.
The Big Huerta on Elvis Presley’s Death Day
We sent out wedding invites that she designed with Elvis from “Blue Hawaii” surfing on the cover. We were even married in front of an Elvis statue and had the reception in an Elvis themed restaurant. We listened to Elvis every weekend.
The Big Huerta checks out LBJ & The King
CBS SPECIAL NEWS BULLETIN….CBS SPECIAL NEWS BULLETIN…We are sorry to interrupt this article but we have just had a report that Elvis Presley, the king of rock and roll has been seriously wounded. Our sources report that Elvis was in the process of arriving at a “meet and greet” for some of his top fans in Dealey Plaza in Dallas this afternoon.
Herb Alpert And The Big Huerta: The Eyes Have It
This painting was done on black canvas and the portrait was done in oil. I am slowly learning to blend the oils into a tri-color sheen that give the skin a more living, colorful feel. I sorta went with a 60’s or 70’s style font that recalled the colors on “Whipped Cream and Other Delights”…but who was looking at the colors on that LP?
Willy DeVille Helps The Big Huerta Walk That Girl Home
I will add a personal note to this article. Willy played a big role when I was courting my future wife even though she never knew. When we first started dating, I had “Le Chat Bleu” in my cassette player. I would listen to this, sort of like a good luck charm: “This Must be the Night” “That World Outside” and especially “Just to Walk that Little Girl Home”
The Big Huerta Suffers for His Art, Blakey
The first one was painted on a Remo 14” snare drum head using acrylics and metallic paints (This is Art in action; the second one is an EP cover that I dreamed up in the style of influential artist David Stone Martin, picture this as some sort of Jazz Messengers Live in Italy sort of thang.
The Big Huerta Chases the Bird, Charlie Parker
Charles Christopher Parker Jr., aka Yardbird, Yard, Bird, Sweet Cheeks (ok, I made that one up), the ultimate hipster that was never cartoonized by the media, in stereotype for the public with beret and horn rims, ala Diz. He was the martyr of the bebop era.
The Big Huerta Respects Miss Nina Simone
I took this portrait of Nina from a still photo in the Liz Garbus documentary. This was done in oil. I chose to put Nina on black canvas because she was such a strong voice in the black culture and will always be associated with such. Her portrait is done in an angelic white with a hint of blues illuminating her hair. I used shapes in the background (acrylic) from a stage show that was filmed later in her career. The font was my interpretation of a royal African style that is done in a gold and bronze in tribute to her regal ness
The Big Huerta Passes the Buck
The painting is pretty goofy looking. I don’t know why. Buck used to be pretty goofy onstage. I mean he threw out some great zingers at people that were dancing. He almost sounded like he had a few drinks in him, not sure, don’t need to know, but he was pretty dang funny. I also gave him some flowers just to gussy him up.
The Big Huerta Gives Dennis Wilson Sum
Folks, before we all get a little upset, let me do some ‘splainin’..This painting is not paying homage to Chuck Manson by any means. I was just trying to beat some get-rich-quick dude on a CD or LP cover….imagining if some lost tapes were unearthed between Dennis Wilson and the Manson, a what-if, if you will, of album art.
The Big Huerta and the Wall of Frankenstein or creating the perfect singer)
I drew this out in pencil before I attacked it on canvas. Weirdly enough, I got the hair, I got the eyes…but then a very strange thing happened when I got to the nose….from the nose down she turned into Tina Turner! I did not try to do this. I tell ya, I don’t have that much control of my painting!
The Big Huerta and the Voola
Back in the late 80’s, Don (Mr. Hollywood) Butler and I discovered the sounds of this wildman. I cannot remember who heard him first…me, him or Little Richard, but I do remember we were instantly hooked by the wild piano playing and insane vocal stylings and his crazy hair-do
The Big Huerta Flip, Flops and Flies with Big Joe Turner
His portrait is based in blue streaks and I gave Joe the spiritual fire that seems to be a constant aspect in a lot of my stuff. I reckon it signifies soul and life and a certain forever, eternal, greatness. I also picked the Kansas City era Joe because I like to think of him singing without a microphone coming out from behind the bar
The Big Huerta Watt’s Happening
I used Los Angeles Lakers colors because Watt is a huge homer for the local hoops squad. I dressed him in his customary flannel, he was wearing flannel before the Northwest peeps took that look over and claimed it as their own, and threw his outdoor jacket on him.
The Big Huerta serves up a double dose of Jimmy Rushing
I have a feeling that Mr. 5 x 5 and I will see each other again…for he is truly a remarkable singer and talent and one can really never know if he’s coming or going. Folks, get into some Rushing, y’all can thank me later, and you will… so try jumpin’ with the fat man
The Big Huerta Gets Punked (South Bay style)
Jack Brewer and Joe Baiza are members of South Bay punk rock band Saccharine Trust. This past week I have been going down memory lane and revisiting my “punk roots”, if you will. It all started with a book release of the San Pedro punk scene called “A Wailing of a Town, 1977-1985” an oral history written by Craig Ibarra.
The Big Huerta Meets The Big Hurt
It doesn’t go away. It never will. Death is a game changer. Death of a spouse changes one’s entire future, ones plans, ones goals; every waking minute is different these days. I see things in entirely different ways now. It doesn’t seem fair but at least I was blessed with the time and memories that we had together
The Big Huerta Meets Roy Orbinson In Dreams
In high school, my science teacher taught us to use a mnemonic device to remember the order of the colors of the rainbow, a name, ROY G. BIV. Red/orange/yellow/green etc…plus Roy always seemed to have a weary smile so I thought a fractured rainbow and the sky with a hint of sunshine reflecting in his shades
The Big Huerta Canvasses the Town With Brian Wilson (and brushes the backdrop)
It starts in the orange crate-ville of Southern California, home of Capitol Records, where water, sunshine and gorgeous girls means fun, fun, fun! I did not paint these images in any particular order but one can see a Santa Monica Civic era Brian already being carried away by the twister like forces of fame and fortune
The Big Huerta Hails a Cab Calloway
I painted a woe looking, dizzy Cab, sort of hoping that the jive *ss peeps stop the hepness and just power down the grape without all the posing fanfare. I figured Cab is short for Cabernet. The swirling world is painted in muted metallics because I wanted to and also I like shiny things and you all should like shiny things too!
The Big Huerta And Bobby Darin In Pink Hell
There is a lonely Bobby in the back of the limo. A Vegas Bobby on the hood of the car, leaving Pink’s with his booty in hand, and a funereal dressed Bobby dancing on the roof of the limo/hearse as if to say “Look out ol’ Bobby is back or I’ll be around forever folks, so enjoy your hot dogs.”
The Big Huerta Cries Wolf
Sometimes it is credited to his grandfather, sometimes to singer Jimmie Rodgers. Regardless, Howlin’ Wolf was a big man. He made electric guitars look like mandolins in his huge hands. Wolf is one dude that you would NOT want to run into down a dark alley
The Big Huerta Hunts Down The Big (studio) Cats, The Wrecking Crew
To the painting, this is for Denny Tedesco and is his property (sorry, not for sale), and I just took off on his “The Wrecking Crew” film logo and added my own colors and bits and pieces and highlights, all in acrylic. That is Denny’s father, Tommy Tedesco, in the corner,
The Big Huerta Rushes In Where Angels Fear To Tread
The painting is just a whirligig of pop art style. I did this one in oil and in black and white but made his lips and eyes in full Technicolor. These are his most striking features. When he sang, he always blinked his eyes for a bit too long and you always wondered if he was ever going to open them again.
The Big Huerta Met Blue Lou Reed
I painted it a couple days after his death. It was later used in a flyer and poster for a “Tribute to Lou Reed” night at Fingerprints Records that Rockford and several local Long Beach musicians played songs from his catalog in a tribute, held coincidentally, on the anniversary of JFK’s assassination
The Big Huerta Trumpets Miles Davis
Supposing a trumpet grew up being played by school kids and rank amateurs. What if the trumpet had dreams of one day being played by Miles Davis? Dig, relax your staid brain activity, go with the thought. So this lonely trumpet is put in the back of the closet for years but to get him through each lonely day, the trumpet dreams of Miles lovingly fingering his keys
The Big Huerta Meets Sweet Gene Vincent
But it appears that a saintly Gene is onstage, possibly in hell, rising up into the spotlight, in a purple egg-shaped hole (royalty rebirth?), blind to all of his troubles and memories, to deliver a set for the ages. The burning blue curtains in back, possibly representing the burning sounds of the Blue Caps, his backing band
The Big Huerta Meets The Lonely Surfer
I was born about a baseball throw (if you are hyped on steroids, goofballs and PCP) away from the wonderful land that we call Hawthorne, California, home of the Wilson and Jardine Families. If you grew up in Southern California, in that era, you were probably weaned on surf music
Bloody Holly Meets The Great Huerta
Dig, We all love Buddy Holly and think he’s a gentleman with his gentle songs i.e. “Crying, Waiting Hoping”, “Oh Boy”, “Everyday”, “True Love Ways” but what if Chas. T. had a dark side? Who’s to say that he didn’t sit alone in the dark of his Lubbock garage and peruse the Billboard charts wishing harm upon his competition?