{"id":889,"date":"2011-12-16T21:00:35","date_gmt":"2011-12-16T21:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/216.71.127.204\/wordpress\/?p=889"},"modified":"2015-10-13T18:53:54","modified_gmt":"2015-10-13T18:53:54","slug":"kozmic-pearl-w-zigg-zagg-the-old-quarter-galveston-tx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/2011\/12\/16\/kozmic-pearl-w-zigg-zagg-the-old-quarter-galveston-tx\/","title":{"rendered":"Kozmic Pearl w\/ Zigg Zagg – The Old Quarter – Galveston, TX"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Written by Traci Rogers <\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dec 16, 2011 at 09:00 PM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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\"Image\"Houston\u2019s Kozmic Pearl, a Janis Joplin tribute band, proved that they are not your grandmother\u2019s pearls during a two-for-one performance with their alter ego band Zigg Zagg at Galveston\u2019s Old Quarter Acoustic Caf\u00e9 Friday night.<\/div>\n
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Zigg Zagg first supercharged the audience with Woodstock\/psychedelic anthem tunes from rock god greats like CCR, Crazy Horse, Cream, CSN, Jefferson Airplane, The Stones and more.<\/div>\n
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Not only can leading lady Myrna Sanders sing from a long ranging, vocal spectrum (she\u2019s not always in Joplin voice), she also can play rhythm guitar on a personality-fitting, chartreuse Gretsch. Depending on the current tune, she might swap the rhythm for a bass.<\/div>\n
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The multi-talented firecracker leads a band that is just as talented. With Canadian native Greg Barr on bass\/vocals, he led the eclectically mixed audience into an Animals\u2019 \u201cIt\u2019s My Life\u201d sing-along. Dave Thomas enduringly beat the hell out of his drums while coordinating his playing with back-up harmony. NOTE: Never challenge this man in a boxing match. You\u2019ll tire long before he does. The quiet one, lead guitarist Paul Nussbaum, might fool you with his soft-spoken and gentle demeanor should you ever meet up with him during a smoke break. But get a load of his meaty guitar action during CCR\u2019s \u201cFortunate Son,\u201d and see for yourself that he is a walking contradiction. Tickling the ivory on her newly acquired Nord Electro 3 is Laura Alexander- Magers, the latest member to the Zigg Zagg\/Kozmic Pearl ensemble. Magers\u2019 exceptional keyboarding talents will knock a listener off of her chair later in the Joplin segment.<\/div>\n
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As Zigg Zagg dismissed for a costume\/persona change, Old Quarter owners Rex \u201c Wrecks\u201d and Janet Bell entertained the audience with some sing-along Christmas caroling, but no one was knocking on neighboring doors and singing for candy or coinage. Considering the audience\u2019s resulting buzz from the Zigg Zagg performance, Mr. Bell was generous enough to display Twelve Days of Christmas <\/em>cue cards while Mrs. Bell, a music teacher by trade, led the singing. The couples\u2019 half-time, Vaudeville act caused many a belly laugh!<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s not your Mother of Pearl,\u201d Wrecks announced as the tribute band took the stage with \u201cJanis\u201d sporting her trademark head boas and violet sun glasses. They blasted off with \u201cMove Over,\u201d and I did just that. . .well, I moved closer to make sure that the real Joplin had not returned after living in a remote, tropical island for the past 40 years with Morrison and Hendrix. Sanders is a dead ringer with the same vocal emotion and intensity as The Queen of Rock.<\/div>\n
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Between tunes, the barefoot \u201cJanis\u201d would often saturate her vocal chords with something out of a flask. Might its contents have been something of a southern and comforting nature?<\/div>\n
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\"Image\"Even with the microphone skipping in and out for a spell, Sanders belted out \u201cWomen is the Loser\u201d.I was only expecting to hear the most popular Joplin songs from the tribute band, so watching Sanders perform a less popular one with a strong feminist viewpoint revealed to me that the impersonator is more than just a voice.Sanders confidently conveyed the frustration of what many women in Joplin\u2019s generation had come to know as the glass ceiling in most major institutions like government, family, religion, education and corporate America. Similarly, she held her own in the a cappella \u201cMercedes Benz,\u201d social protest song while the audience provided the hand-clapping beat and eventually sang along with her.<\/div>\n
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When she launched into \u201cCry Baby\u201d with the uninhibited right to liberation heard in a tigress\u2019 protest, I felt compelled to back away from her, as if she was too hot to touch. The audience seemed quietly in awe as the singer with the behemoth lungs began, perhaps showing reverence to the late Joplin she invoked.<\/div>\n
The minute the crowd recognized the melody to \u201cMe and Bobby McGee,\u201d few remain seated. The band\u2019s magnetic charisma spread like last summer\u2019s Texas wildfires. As the Joplin signature song gained the locomotive momentum, Magers took the lead on keyboards. With myself being partial to ebony and ivory, I could hear the southern gospel, Gregg Allman influence in her playing. Although Sanders lit this firework of a tune, Magers threw it at the audience!<\/div>\n
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Sanders plans to release a solo album in February 2012 on the Sugar Hill label. She told me that she has been saving notebooks full of lyrics since releasing her last solo work in 2004. When I inquired about her writing style, she responded in true Joplinesque form: \u201cI\u2019m not surreal or poetic. What comes out is what you get. I can\u2019t write when I\u2019m happy, only when I\u2019m pissed.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Folks, don\u2019t miss an opportunity to see this two-for-one act! If legendary Texas musician and owner of the Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe Wrecks Bell allows anyone to play at his venue, they have to be good\u2014exceptional for that matter! After the New Year, help Zigg Zagg\/Kozmic Pearl raise funds for Texas Children\u2019s Hospital at Houston\u2019s House of Blues January 19, 2012. Tickets are on sale now at the House of Blues web site.<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Traci Rogers Dec 16, 2011 at 09:00 PM Houston\u2019s Kozmic Pearl, a Janis Joplin tribute band, proved that they are not your grandmother\u2019s pearls during a two-for-one performance with their alter ego band Zigg Zagg at Galveston\u2019s Old Quarter Acoustic Caf\u00e9 Friday night. Zigg Zagg first supercharged the audience with Woodstock\/psychedelic anthem tunes… <\/p>\n

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