After the release of the studio album “Doctor Faith“, Christopher Cross started one of his biggest tours in Europe in the last 15 years. “A Night In Paris” is the first live 2CD/DVD by Christopher Cross which was filmed at the notorious Theatre Le Trianon in Paris, France in April 2012. It will be released on March 8th, 2013 via earMUSIC.

While the previous tours showed a more acoustic (at times even jazzy) approach, Cross decided that for the ‘Doctor Faith’ tour he would go back to his musical roots and expanded his band to a more classical “rock line-up“: Andy Suzuki (keyboards, sax), Dave Beyer (drums), Chazz Frichtel (bass, vocals), Kiki Ebsen (keyboards, vocals), Richie Gajate Garcia (percussion) and famous sound engineer Ross Pallone (Michael Jackson, Alice Cooper, Elton John,...).

Filmed by 9 cameras in HD, the show captures Christopher Cross playing all his classic singles and new material from the album “Doctor Faith“.

The 90 minutes show is impeccable, the new material is fused beautifully with all the songs the audience is expecting. The wonderful theatre gives the concert a magical atmosphere. Songs like ‘Sailing’, ‘Ride Like The Wind’ and ‘Arthur’s Theme’, sound simply perfect placed beside the most recent songs like ‘Leave It To Me’ and ‘November’.

Click here to watch "Sailing (Live)" and "Never Be The Same" from A Night In Paris

Cross recorded and toured regularly, while his back-catalogue and his anthologies never stopped being best sellers, and his songs always remained among the most played on the radio worldwide.

In 2011, Christopher Cross released the critically acclaimed record “Doctor Faith” – his first album with new material in 12 years. An incredibly powerful album, that kept Cross and his band busy with a long world tour where old classics were mixed perfectly with new compositions.

Tracklist
01. All Right
02. The Light Is On
03. Leave It To Me
04. Everything
05. No Time For Talk
06. When You Come Home
07. Minstrel Gigolo
08. Walking In Avalon
09. Sailing
10. Never Be The Same
11. Dreamers
12. Spinning
13. I Really Don’t Know Anymore
14. November
15. Arthur’s Theme
16. Ride Like The Wind
17. Say You’ll Be Mine

An event at a major french TV channel September 16, 2012 (8:40 pm): an exclusive 1 hour documentary about WestCoast Music / AOR : StarStory "Le rêve californien" (California Dreaming) on DirectStar TV Channel. You can try this live video feed to see it. The video replay will be available at this address.

What will be featured? A story about Westcoast Music / Californian Rock since The Sixties 'til nowadays. The documentary has been shot in 2011 and 2012 in California, in The USA as well as in France by Stephane Basset as a director. See the video teasers at the end of this article.

Discover again the hits of this amazing music ("Hotel California", "Ride Like The Wind", "Long Train Running"... The Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Randy Newman...) along with great images and exclusive interviews:

Bobby Kimball (Toto), Christopher Cross, Jay Graydon and Bill Champlin, Michael Sembello, Arnold McCuller, Alessi Brothers, Sam Andrews (Big Brother), Jack Casady (Jefferson Airplane), Henry Diltz (photographer), Gael Benyamin (Geyster, NightShift)...

Also in the documentary "California Dreaming" some interviews of french medias and hosts that take care here in France about this music : Georges Lang (RTL), Jean-Michel Canitrot (RFM, Skyrock Connection, Rock Connection), Arnaud Léger and Jean-Luc Raymond (Westcoast Rendez-Vous)...

"Star Story: California Dreamin' " will be broadcasted again on September 19, 2012 at 2:45 pm (french hour).

Crédit images : PylaProd : Christopher Cross, Bobby Kimball (Toto), Jat Graydon and Bill Champlin featured in the documentary.

A major event : French major radio network Radio Nostalgie (France) has just created a 100 per cent Westcoast Music / AOR / Californian webradiostation entitled Nostalgie California, just launched on February 20th, 2012. Nostalgie California is one of the 27 webradiostations of Radio Nostalgie. You can listen to it online 24 hours a day at this address.

Nostalgie California is also available via the 100% free app Radio Nostalgie for iPhone/iPad/iPod, Android et Windows Mobile devices.

The playlist of Nostalgie California is a mix of classic hits from Westcoast Music as well rarities and new californian rock music stuff : with 100% of music. Via the mobile apps, you can select the present tune airplayed to put it on your Facebook wall. Each song airplayed is featured with the title of the song and the name of the artist/group.

On february 8th, we had the pleasure to meet Laura Mayne and release a video interview with her to talk about her career with NATIVE and her return on the musical scene with her recent EP "Native song book vol.1" and upcoming new studio album "Seule et sans armes" to be released soon.

Laura had a very successful career with Native, a duet with her sister Chris, during the 90's. For their second album "Les couleurs de l'amour", they worked with an american team including Billy Steinberg, Jon Lind, Diane Warren and others. It features the song "Dans ce monde à part" which had been covered by Cher under the title "Taking Back My Heart" on her "Believe" album. Laura was also chosen to sing the Pocahontas's theme movie and be the voice of that character for the french version of that popular Walt Disney movie.

If you don't already know who is Laura Mayne, it's a big mistake and I recommend you to discover this very talented artist now!

Bill LaBounty is the very special guest of the legendary french radioshow of Sir Georges Lang "Les Nocturnes" on RTL (french nationwide radiostation - number one radiostation) this wednesday, February 1rst from midnight to 3am (French hour - Central European Time) for an exclusive interview of Bill LaBounty recorded in Nashville last november. Bill LaBounty talks about his career, music projects as well as this new 4 CD box set "Bill LaBounty - Time Starts Now: The Definitive Anthology 1975-2011", released a few weeks ago by Warner France. You can listen to the show live on RTL via the online player at this address. Listen to one of the best artist of the Westcoast / AOR music sound!

To know more about Bill LaBounty and his latest news, take a look at his official website as well as at Les Nocturnes radioshow page  .

Photo : Bill LaBounty & Georges Lang - Copyright G. Lang

There are a few great moments in this life about amazing music. One of these was an acoustic session of the band VENICE (Kip Lennon, Mark Lennon and Pat Lennon) during the afternoon of June 29, 11 in the legendary studio of free format radio dee jay Georges Lang at RTL (rue Bayard, Paris, very closed to the Champs Elysees avenue) for a great acoustic session and an interview of VENICE that you can listen to on RTL tonight November 2, 2011 at midnight - french hour (or live on RTL website) from midnight to 3 am. If you love harmony vocals, guitar playing and great songs: be there or be no where!

This precious afternoon, in Les Nocturnes studio at RTL radiostation, VENICE live in acoustic in Paris was a real blast. Some other members of The Wall live tour (Roger Waters) have been featured on this acoustic session too: Jon Joyce (original background vocalist from PINK FLOYD - THE WALL album), G.E.Smith (guitar player - Bob Dylan, Daryl Hall & John Oates) and Robbie Wyckoff as lead singer (with Roger Waters).

November 2, 2011 at midnight on RTL... Let's listen this fabulous acoustic live session from the band VENICE with an exclusive interview of Mark, Kip and Pat Lennon during the program LES NOCTURNES de GEORGES LANG. RTL website has put a special page for this event. The program will be also available online on RTL Les Nocturnes website as soon as possible! Enjoy and keep on rocking!

You can check out our special gallery of this accounstic session on Westcoast Rendez-Vous Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/westcoastrendezvous - see the gallery section.

Special Thanks: Georges Lang and Yves Bigot at RTL. Olivier Saintot (at Virgin Megastore Champs-Elysées record store, Westcoast Musis section - Paris).

Photo : Kip Lennon, Mark Lennon and Pat Lennon at RTL. Copyright: J.-L. Raymond

My California Groove Package is a new exciting project by Warner Music France in the cool serie of the "California Groove" box sets. This package due to release November 8, 2010 features: a 160 pages notebook + a 2011 calendar + a Best Of CD titled "California Groove Special Edition" (18 tracks)... The whole package at very nice price (less than 15 EUR) available at Amazon France. This project is under the coordination of Warner Music France / Rhino France, always in the magic hands of David Dutreuil there.

Here is the tracklisting of the CD "California Groove Special Edition" (18 tracks):

1. Andrew Gold-- Genevieve
2. Robbie Dupree - Steal Away
3. Daryl Hall and John Oates - Beanie G. And The Rose Tattoo
4. Eye To Eye - T.W.A. Sari
5. Ambrosia - Biggest Part Of Me
6. Michael Franks - B'Wanna-He No Home
7. Orleans - You're Life My Friend
8. Jimmy Webb - Slippin' In The Daytime
9. Larsen-Feiten Band - Who'll Be The Fool Tonight
10. David Roberts - Never Gonna Let You Go
11. Poco - Ghost Town
12. Seals & Croft - Hummingbird
13. Firefall - It Doesn't Matter
14. Marc Jordan - Survival
15. Christopher Cross - Ride Like The Wind
16. Michael McDonald - I Keep Forgettin'
17. Carly Simon - You're So Vain
18. Nicolette Larson - Lotta Love

Peter Mayer (member of the band PM) is Jimmy Buffett's lead guitarist, Jimmy will be Buffeting the Olympia (Paris) on Friday 24 September. Karel Beer (concert promoter in Paris) has arranged an intimate evening for Peter whilst he was in town. So Peter will do an acoustic concert with his brother Jim Mayer (also an original member of PM):

September 23, 2010

At 8 pm

At The Sound Gallery

104 quai de Jemappes

75010 Paris (France)

You can get tickets by calling at 01 53 19 98 98 or by email at [email protected]

Don't miss this live event

Please don't miss this great event: Peter Mayer et Jim Mayer (from the band P.M.), Mac McAnally and Scott Kirby (Carole King, Livingston Taylor...) will be in concert in Paris: September 23, 2010 (concert hall to be announced very soon).

On September 24th, the band will be the backing band of Jimmy Buffett (concert at The Olympia Hall, Paris).

Peter Mayer and Jim Mayer concerts are always great... And who can forget Mac McAnally magic Westcoast Music - AOR albums from the early 80s : "Cuttin' Corners", "Nothin' But The Truth" as well as his great career ...

The Concert Event in Paris not to miss in September!

More information soon here on the blog as well as on our Facebook Westcoast Rendez-Vous page.

AL JARREAU has been hospitalized in Gap (south of France, French Alps) yesterday evening just before his concert in a Jazz Festival in the city of Barcelonnette. He suffers breathing and heart problems according to the doctors interviews shot for french TV channels. The doctors believe fatigue as well as the altitude may have played a role in Jarreau's health problems. New of his health are good.

The singer is still AL JARREAU at Gap public city hospital and the medical center there hope to transfer Al Jarreau in Marseille (La Timone) hospital as soon as possible.

According to his agent Joe Gordon, Al Jarreau has already canceled two shows in Germany and another in Azerbaijan besides the one in France and this hospitalization forces him to cancel 4 concerts. Al Jarreau played before July 20 in Marseille. Here is a brief video shooting from a fan from his concert.

We wish Al Jarreau a full recovery.