Rock 'n' Roll in Orange County

The great acts--from Hendrix to Joplin and from Kiss to Korn--played to the Orange County crowd at such classic venues as Huntington Beach's Golden Bear, the Anaheim Convention Center and Anaheim's Doll Hut. Rock 'n' roll's OC roots include Leo Fender's electric guitar factory in Fullerton and the birthplace for the garage-band standard &quote;Louie Louie&quote; in Anaheim. As the music changed, iconic OC groups like Social Distortion and Avenged Sevenfold helped lead the way. Final curtains came down here, too: though killed in England, Eddie Cochran is buried in Cypress, and Bobby Hatfield, half of the Righteous Brothers, is interred at Corona del Mar. Join pop culture expert Chris Epting for the essential big hits plus idiosyncratic flip-side riffs of Orange County's mighty rock 'n' roll history.

Chris Epting is an award-winning music and travel journalist and author of more than twenty pop culture books, including "Led Zeppelin Crashed Here: The Locations of America's Rock and Roll Landmarks, " "Roadside Baseball" and "James Dean Died Here." He writes extensively about music for a variety of outlets, including Loudwire and Ultimate Classic Rock. Originally from New York, Chris lives in Huntington Beach with his wife and two children. Jim Kaa is a guitar player and original member of the legendary Orange County punk band, The Crowd, from Huntington Beach. Formed in 1978, The Crowd still plays around the area and Jim also works as a financial analyst in Los Angeles. Long a part of the Orange County music scene, Jordan West has been a nightclub DJ, drummer in a few bands and roadie for a few more. He scored an overnight DJ gig with KNAC.COM, and earned the nickname the "Junkman"? because of his love of collecting at garage sales, used record stores and swap meets. Jim Washburn was the OC Weekly's first executive editor, longtime "Lost in O.C." columnist and lead music critic. He parlayed his "The Orange Groove" Orange County rock 'n' roll history exhibition at the Orange County Fair in the summer of 2003 into the fantabulous "The Orange Groove" exhibition at Fullerton Museum Center in the winter and spring of 2004, 05. Washburn has written for the Los Angeles Times, Orange County Register, Boston Globe and various MSN sites. Barry Rillera was for three decades associated with the Righteous Brothers, as lead guitarist, band leader and tour manager. An Orange County music legend, he also toured with Ray Charles and White Trash.