John Rocky @ Helle's Angels Music - 18/9/21

A few weeks ago I went to a club to blog a gal I had heard before, and, as I arrived there, this guy was just wrapping up his set. I stood and listened for a while and thought, I need to remember this guy and blog him sometime because he's really good! I jotted down the name, John Rocky (erikkottzen) on a notecard and checked a few times in events but didn't happen to see him until today. So, after checking the time for his set and doing the math to figure out what time I needed to be here, I took a break to get suppah...(that's dinner for you folks that aren't east coast upta New England) and came back just as John Rocky was about to start his set. I settled in to a spot on the dance floor at Helle's Angels Music, a venue owned by Helle Braz (helle mensing). This is a really great club with sort of a biker flair, friendly people, and great set up for dancing or just enjoying the music.

John grabbed his guitar, hopped up on stage and began to warm up the crowd with ZZ Top's "I ain't askin for much". After greeting most of the fans and first timers, he swung into "Midnight Special" by Fleetwood Mac. That was followed by Gretta Van Fleet's "Highway Tune", and to quote a fan, "If you wanna get it hard and right into ya face--- John Rocky is ya man!" While John was busy putting the "pedal to the metal", I was busy scanning his amazing song list. When I spotted one that I just had to hear, I hopped in his "naughty box" and asked for "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" by ACDC. Man, I wasn't disappointed! Had to keep control of myself cause my lady wasn't here with me, otherwise I'd have had to hold her close and prime the pump!

John kept the party heated up with a popular request for Black Sabbath's "Heaven and Hell, and Motley Crue's Kickstart, "My Heart". Another favorite of mine, "Turn Me Loose" by Loverboy, was requested by my buddy Rads. I'll have to remember to ask him if the song or the group has any significance...grin.

Glancing at my watch I thought to myself, "where has the time gone??" John Rocky had just time for two more, "Learn to Fly" a Foo Fighters number and "Angel" by Aerosmith, then apologized to those who had submitted requests that he just didn't have time for.

If you are up for some amazing "smash mouth, in your face" rock, then you have to make it to one of John Rocky's shows. He is as hot on that guitar as his vocals are, and the time will go by way too fast!

Bio:

Erik Kottzen hails from São Paulo, Brazil, and studied at the Music Conservatory of Dr. Carlos Campos in Tatuí! Then became a vocal coach himself and actively works with bands in studio recordings and live in-person performances all over Brazil. He successfully released the Album "The Broken Mirror" with his prior band, Beyond The Mirror, in 2019 and is currently producing more recordings and videos in collaboration with other artists and as a solo act!

Erik brings Second Life his wealth of real-life experience. His shows are in English and have often been described as being "beautiful," "groovy," "retro to modern," "heart-touching," and "rocking." Each show can featuring pop, rock, hard rock, metal, 80's, 90's, and even some classic rock ballads!