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Greg Pope & The Popmonsters appear at Heyday Guitars, Winston-Salem NC July 7, 2016. The Popmonsters are Asher Pope on Bass and David Sprouse on drums.

Jamie Hoover - Everything except drums and backing vocals Elena Rogers - Backing Vocals Michael Ruiz - Drums © 2021 Jamie Hoover / Richard Rossi

Peter Holsapple & The Well Respected Men at The Kracken Chapel Hill area, 12-17-2016 as filmed by Richard Rossi.

Recorded at The Kracken, Carrboro NC on December 17, 2016. Peter Holsapple & The Well Respected Men performed an entire set of Kinks favorites to an appreciative crowd. Filmed by yours truly. Visit www.powerpopnews.com for reviews of current releases and more power pop.

Recorded entirely on an iPad, here's 4 songs from Greg Pope's August 14 2015 show in Raleigh NC. Songs include Fanboy, Sleeping Dogs, Only One, and Help Yourself. Visit www.powerpopnews.com for more power pop.

Jude Cole performs a Records classic, "Hearts in Her Eyes", in honor of the band's lead singer and songwriter, John Wicks. Jude performed this at the John Wicks memorial birthday celebration (2017). Taken with my iPad.

On October 8, 2015, a benefit concert was held for John Wicks of The Records. Wicks had been diagnosed in the summer of 2015 with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Many of John's friends got together to perform and raise money to offset his medical expenses. One of those friends is Peter Case of The Plimsouls. In the summer/fall of 2008, I believe, I had the good fortune to work with John Wicks and Paul Collins. I was responsible for booking many of the shows on that year's acoustic mostly-house tour. As part of that tour we booked a show at the legendary McCabes Guitar Shop in Santa Monica. As it so happens, Peter lived within a mile or two of the venue and decided to join John and Paul on stage. It was the first time Peter and Paul had appeared together in many years. You all know the story from there.... Anyway, here's Peter's performance from the night of October 8, 2015. It truly was a magical night for all, but especially Plimsouls fans. Those who attended this benefit were fortunate enough to hear a few classics - songs that may never be heard live again. To view this video and others from the Benefit for John Wicks, visit powerpopnews.com and search "John Wicks Benefit".

I first saw and heard The Blasters over 30 years ago on Dick Clark's American Bandstand. Shortly after, I watched in awe as they played a blistering set at The Ritz in Manhattan. I finally had a chance to see them once more, minus Dave Alvin and Gene Taylor. They still got it. Filmed with my iPad.

"Charmed Life" was written by John Wicks and Debbi Peterson. They performed the song from time to time in their live shows as Broken Sky. Debbi performed this at Bogies on February 28, John's birthday, in his honor.

Peter Holsapple & The Well Respected Men perform a Kinks classic entitled "Tired of Waiting" at The Kracken near Chapel Hill, NC on 12-17-2016. Filmed by Yours Truly. Visit www.powerpopnews.com for more power pop.

Nick Lowe at YepRoc 20 with Los Straightjackets. Filmed on my iPad. Read about the latest power pop releases at www.powerpopnews.com.

Debbi and Vicki Peterson of The Bangles performed "Going Down To Liverpool" in honor of their good friend John Wicks on his birthday (Feb 28). This was one of John's favorites from the Bangles catalog. Filmed by Richard Rossi on an I-Pad.

Grep Pope and the Popmonsters recorded live on Friday August 14 at Deep South, Raleigh NC. Filmed entirely from an old iPad.

Taken at Cat's Cradle with my iPod.

John Wicks & The Records at The Knitting Factory circa February 2002. Lineup includes Clem Burke on drums.

Al Stewart talks about the day he met John Wicks and first performed "Starry Eyes", the power pop classic John wrote back in 1978. He went on to perform "Year of the Cat" in honor of John at his birthday memorial celebration on February 28. Filmed by Richard Rossi.

A little less than a month ago, I flew out to Los Angeles to attend the most anticipated show of the year for power pop fans. First, a little bit of background.... This past summer, John Wicks was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The lead singer and author of classic songs like "Teenarama" and "Starry Eyes" has a lot of friends and many got together to perform on his behalf. It was a magical night with appearances by some powerpop greats like Denny Laine (Paul McCartney & Wings, Moody Blues), Peter Case (Plimsouls), Carla Olson, The Bangles and of course, The Records. When John Wicks took the stage at the end of the evening, the place was electric. The performance by Wicks and The Records was the highlight among a night of many highlights. There were other performers, those who typically would not fit within the genre of powerpop. Their performances are included in a full-length version of this video. In this "powerpop edition", you'll find just the performances of those who fit the genre comfortably. I shot this footage from a simple iPad. The sound is surprisingly good, all things considered. I hope you enjoy it. You can read about this experience in more depth (and get occasional CD reviews) by visiting Power Pop News at www.powerpopnews.com. ENJOY.

Featuring Phil Rambow, Martin Belmont and Cheyne Pride. Three songs in all, footage taken at The Green Note, London on September 9, 2017.

In the summer of 2015, John Wicks of The Records was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. On October 8, 2015, a benefit was held to help John offset his extensive medical costs. This benefit was organized by Paul Rock, whom many of you know as a driving force behind the Wild Honey Orchestra benefits for Autism. Held at the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles, this benefit was hosted by Chris Carter of "Breakfast with the Beatles" and featured performances from a number of rock and pop luminaries. The lineup included: The Kennedys, Al Stewart, Nick Guzman, Steve Barton, Jaime Salko, Carla Olson, Peter Case (Plimsouls), Denny Laine (Wings, Moody Blues), The Muffs, Peter Asher (Peter & Gordon), The Bangles and of course, The Records. The entire performance lasted over 4 hours. A few of the highlights are captured here in this roughly 15 minute video which focuses primarily on those fitting within the "powerpop" genre. There were other great performances too, although I was not fortunate to capture each and every one. I have included some of these additionally, equally moving performances in an extended version which is to come at a later date. Here's what you will see in the condensed version: 1) Denny Laine (Moody Blues & Wings) - Go Now 2) The Bangles - September Gurls 3) Peter Case (The Plimsouls) - A Million Miles Away 4) The Records - All Messes Up & Ready With John's passing in 2018, Peter Case, Al Stewart, Chris Thompson (Manfred Mann), and several other top recording artists created a tribute album t their dear friend. It is currently available at https://johnwickstribute.bandcamp.com/album/for-the-record-a-tribute-to-john-wicks.

On February 28, friends got together to celebrate the life and work of John Wicks. Jude Cole sung a Records classic, "Starry Eyes", in honor of John on his birthday.