Tuesday, August 18, 2009

SIN - South Florida Rock Bands 1990s

Deniz Kose performed in many venues through out the 1990s. The photo to the left is Deniz performing at Penrods in South Beach (Florida). As I stated in the previous post "Deniz and Kenny Collection 2", Deniz was in the group Ankara and SIN in the 1990s. Here is the story of SIN:

In 1993 Deniz started a studio in Hallandale, Florida called "Jamtite". I remember visiting the studio in 1996 to watch Ankara rehearse. Jamtite studio was located in an industrial type area with a lot of mechanic shops around. At night, it was a party zone packed with cars. One of Jamtite's many customers were two guys who rented studio time, Ray Gutierrez and Caesar Gutierrez. They were brothers whose family was Cuban. Ray and Caesar were customers for a long time, approximately one and half years. Deniz became good friends with Ray and Caesar. By the end of 1996, Ankara had broken up; and at that time, Deniz started jamming with Ray and Caesar. They all decided to put a together a band and called the group "SIN".

SIN consisted of Deniz Kose as the lead singer, Ray Gutierrez on bass and background vocals, and Caesar Gutierrez as lead guitar and background vocals. They played all original music. Ray and Caesar co-wrote the music and Deniz wrote the lyrics. When SIN practiced and recorded in the studio, the musicians on drums and keyboards were not permanent members of the band. They were musicians for hire.

SIN played many popular venues in South Florida such as The Button, Roses, Plus5, Churchill's, Rosebuds, and McFly just to name a few. When SIN performed live, they also used various drummers on stage. Deniz was forced to close Jamtite in 1996 because the building had a new owner who did not want bands playing there any more. About 4 days a week SIN rehearsed at Obenour Studio in Ft. Lauderdale. They rehearsed 5-6 days a week on average as well as performing live. Sometimes SIN would rehearse at a studio in South Miami, which was the group Exposé's old studio.

Deniz - "I remembers when Ray and Caesar invited Rudy Sarzo the bass player from Ozzy Osbourne, Quite Riot and White Snake to come to the studio and hang out at one of our rehearsals. Now that was a cool moment to jam in front of a musician who was one of my rock heroes. He actually liked our Band. That was a good moment and though I never made it to the Lime Light. it is moments like that I consider priceless."

SIN was together almost 4 years. They broke up in 2000. SIN left behind some great music and fun times. You can listen to some of SIN's songs on the music player on this blog. Also please listen to "Doin Fine" below recorded by SIN in 1998. - Kenny Leibow

SIN - Doin Fine


SIN
Deniz Kose - Lead vocals and Lyricist
Ray Gutierrez - Bass and Background vocals and co writer
Caesar Gutierrez- Lead Guitar.Background vocals and co writer

TRACKS

Trapped in the mirror
Whispering trees
Summer Rain
Doin fine
Into the sky
Feel



Venues in South Florida
South Florida is home to several arenas, stadiums, amphitheaters, and other live music venues.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Hollywood Sportatorium - Rush and Yes 1988

How many venues have featured Elvis Presley and Led Zeppelin in its history? A small arena in Hollywood, Florida did exactly that. The Hollywood Sportatorium was a major events facility for Southeastern Florida in the 1970's and 1980's, and at the time was the only venue of its kind in Broward County. Built in 1969 and opened in September of 1970, it had a concert capacity of 15,500 seats. It was located at 16661 W. Hollywood Blvd. (later renamed Pines Boulevard) in what was then Unincorporated Broward County. It was built adjacent to the Miami-Hollywood Motorsports Park, built just four years earlier. At the time, Pines Blvd was a small two lane road.

In addition to Elvis and Led Zeppelin, the Hollywood Sportatorium was host to Van Halen, Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac, Billy Joel, U2, Rush, Yes and Aerosmith just to name a few great bands and artists. After living in Florida for a very short time, I did get to experience a concert at the Hollywood Sportatorium in 1988. I saw Aerosmith on April 17th, 1988 on their "Permanent Vacation" tour with some friends. It was a fantastic concert! Unfortunately the newly built Miami Arena at the time took away all the business from the Hollywood Sportatorium and it was forced to close in October 1988. It was later torn down in 1993.

The Hollywood Sportatoriium was not only known for great rock concerts in the 1970's and 1980's, but also for Star Trek conventions. The acoustics were notorious for being poor and the building was basically cement and metal; nothing sexy about it at all. Billy Joel at one of his concerts, dealt with echoing sounds by yelling, “This place sucks!”. It is the memories and the experiences that were created along with the great bands who played there is why we want to remember the Hollywood Sportatorium. - Kenny Leibow

Sources: http://www.classics-rock-concerts.com

Below are audience recordings from the Hollywood Sportatorium, Hollywood, Florida of "Yes" and "Rush" concerts. By watching these videos, you can get a sense of the experience from inside the Hollywood Sportatorium. Listen to the crowd go wild when Rush starts to play "Tom Sawyer".

Audience recording of "Yes" from the Hollywood Sportatorium, Hollywood, Florida, Sunday, January 24, 1988.

Yes - Owner Of A Lonely Heart



Yes - And You and I



Yes - Love Will Find A Way




"Rush" playing at the The Sportatorium in Hollywood, Florida, USA, on February 13, 1988, as part of the Hold Your Fire tour.


Rush - YYZ / The Rhythm Method / Red Lenses 2-13-1988



Rush - Closer To The Heart 2-13-1988



Rush - Limelight 2-13-1988



Rush - Tom Sawyer 2-13-1988