Collectors Corner: Rockin' The Smiles

Rockin' The Smiles
VIP Spotlight: Dr. Brad Jennings

Dr. Brad Jennings

What do you get when you combine a passion for music memorabilia and the skills to create beautiful smiles? Well you get a "rockin' orthodontist"! Dr. Jennings is not only a Backstage Auctions customer but also resides in Houston. So we thought we would stop by his office and check out for ourselves what this "rockin' doc" is all about and find out a little about how he got into collecting music memorabilia.

How did you get into music collecting?

Always been a rock fan.  Been playing guitar for 20+ yrs, after buying orthodontic practice I wanted to liven it up with my style and thought a rock theme would be perfect for the kids and parents.  I had some Nugent stuff given to me from Ted in high school when my parents owned a large hunting store called Dunn’s in TN, and he wanted some bow equipment for his live shows.  My dad didn’t even know who he was when he talked to him.  Like a typical teenager I was so embarrassed when he told me that.

What is the focus of your collection (genre, band, era, type of item)?

I aim for bands that I liked growing up:  GNR, Van Halen, Zeppelin.  The parents all know them and kids know them from playing Rock Band of course! 

What is your method of collecting? How do you determine the authenticity and provenance of a piece of memorabilia?

Perry Farrell's Jacket

I got burned at first, and I’m sure I’ll get burned again!  I try to compare autographed things to other pics on the internet.  A lot of bands are selling their stuff personally like Nine Inch Nails and Smashing Pumpkins which makes buying a lot safer.  I’m staying away from buying autographs now.  I’m looking for unique things like personally owned things.  I have a jacket worn by Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction and a Nine Inch Nails flight case with travel stickers on it. 

What do you like most about collecting?

Sun Records
Sam Phillips Telegram

I like collecting stuff that has a story behind it.  I loved the Gene Simmons meeting and getting his stage played Axe bass.  I have a telegraph from Sam Phillips talking about Jerry Lee Lewis that I got from Backstage Auctions.  It means a lot since I grew up in Memphis with Sun Records.

What would you consider to be your "first" piece of memorabilia?

My first memorabilia would actually be some items from Drivin’ ‘N Cryin’, a band out of Atlanta, that I loved in high school.  Unfortunately, my mom tossed all my cool stuff out about two months before I started decorating the office!

What is your most-prized item (both in dollar value and sentimental value)?

Gene Simmons' Axe Bass
Check out the personal note...cool! 

Gene Simmons’ Axe bass complete with blood!  Getting to meet Gene was great and getting an actual stage played item that I have pictures and videos of him playing is awesome.

What is your favorite musical act or artist of all time?

I’d say Jane’s Addiction.  I’ve been listening to them from the mid-80’s and never seem to get sick of hearing them.

What was your most memorable concert you have ever attended?

I saw Smashing Pumpkins when they were just coming out in a small place in Memphis.  Billy Corgan said, “Here are 3 things about us:  We’re from Chicago, we don’t take requests, and we promise to kick your ass”  It was awesome. 

What advice would you give to someone that is new to the world of collecting music memorabilia?

I’d go after things that are personal to you.  I know Beatles stuff and Elvis items are worth a lot, but I don’t have a personal tie to growing up with them.  I love my Nine Inch Nails, Kiss, and Jane’s Addiction stuff b/c I grew up with them.

What does the future hold? 

Once a rocker...always a rocker! 

I plan to get a larger office in the future thanks to us growing as a practice, but I want to plan the rock theme into the building of it.  I’d like to have a room dedicated to items like the Hall of Fame or Hard Rock does.


Well Dr. Jennings certainly has a passion for collecting and his office was really cool. We really enjoyed visiting with him, his staff and yes we were tempted to sign up for braces. How cool is to to walk into your orthodontist's office and have this view? 

Dr. Jennings "pit"

Keep "rockin' those smiles" Dr. Jennings!

If you live in the Houston, Texas area and are interested in a consult with Dr. Jennings please visit his website for the office contact information:   http://www.rockingyoursmile.com/

DVD Review: Jane’s Addiction "Voodoo Live"

DVD Review: Jane’s Addiction "Voodoo Live"
Eagle Vision
All Access Review:  B+

Part Oscar Wilde, part Liberace, with a little bit of P.T. Barnum thrown in for good measure, Perry Farrell played the pied piper of excess and debauchery to wide acclaim in the late ‘80s and early-‘90s, leading Jane’s Addiction out of the L.A. underground and into the light of alternative-rock godhead with dark, puzzling lyrics, controversial album covers and a sound that was impossible to define. Freely sexual and embracing the ethos of “better living through chemistry,” Ferrell wanted to party and indulge in orgies, while grunge, handcuffed to a pipe in its own dank cellar of cynicism and despair, tapped into the angst and anger of America’s flannel-clad youth and simply overwhelmed the recording industry.

There was no room for self-pity in Jane’s Addiction. With a guitarist in Dave Navarro whose chops were dizzying, frenetic and atmospheric, plus a rhythm section – drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery – that laid down powerful, seductive grooves, Jane’s Addiction offered subversive poetry that plumbed the same depths of humanity Lou Reed did with the Velvet Underground, along with a multi-faceted, visionary attack that embraced art-rock, hard funk, psychedelia, island rhythms, punk, dark wave and heavy metal. And it had Farrell, a Dionysian showman in the tradition of Jim Morrison, only not quite so bent on self-destruction.

Almost 20 years removed from their heyday, the original Jane’s Addiction lineup reunited in 2009, performing on Halloween night in New Orleans – what better setting could there possibly be for a revival of their surreal alternative-rock circus? “Voodoo Live,” a new concert DVD from Eagle Vision, captured the band’s colorfully theatrical live set at the Voodoo Experience, a thrilling, captivating performance that again makes you wonder why, oh why, they’ve only given the world a scant catalog of just two sensational studio albums, one lukewarm comeback LP (2003’s Strays) and an early live manifesto.

Amid smoke and ever-changing colored lights, an older, but no less dangerous, Jane’s Addiction put on its own Mardi Gras, complete with a pair of burlesque dancers performing x-rated stunts with and without Farrell. Opening with a hypnotic “Up The Beach” before launching into the rumbling, Zeppelin-like avalanche of chords that rolls down “Mountain Song” and “Ain’t No Right,” Jane’s Addiction fires on all cylinders. Down-shifting for a spell, Jane’s plunge into the moody, enthralling abyss of “Three Days” and the track’s somewhat jazzy, not-so-distant cousin “Then She Did …” before blitzing through the frenzied classic “Been Caught Stealing” and the funked-out “Stop.”

Looking resplendently alien in a glitzy cape and bodysuit and occasionally guzzling a bottle of wine, Farrell takes care to acknowledge the hardships New Orleans has seen in recent years and the city’s ability to recover. To salve their wounds, he and the band offer the massive waves of sonic bewilderment that pound away in “Ocean Size” and a wonderfully life-affirming “Jane Says,” where the band is joined onstage by what seem like a hundred costumed partygoers in joyous celebration of putting off rehab for one euphoric night of glorious insobriety.

Accompanied by a New Music Express featurette on Jane’s return, plus two scorching, up-close-and-personal live versions of “1%” and “Ocean Size” performed in a tight, sweaty little club, with the crowd right in their faces, “Voodoo Live” is a quintessential Jane’s Addiction experience, even if Farrell’s somewhat weakened vocals don’t always match the intensity of what’s going on behind him. The camera work, clear with images coming at you from a variety of angles, is professional and thankfully free of tricks, and even if there’s a paucity of extras and Farrell’s voice isn’t what it used to be, this DVD is still remarkable. And Farrell’s charisma is magnetic, with Navarro, Avery and Perkins, often seen in grotesque masks as he bashes away at his drum kit, giving absolutely jaw-dropping performances, their playing the perfect balance of passion, precision and unpredictable direction.

-         - Peter Lindblad