I’m looking forward to Backstage @ the Sanctuary in the Palisades in Washington, DC on April 13th with my life-long friend and collaborator, Walter Egan. You can purchase tickets here for $15.

I first exhibited Walter’s series of paintings, Martyrs of Rock, in 2014 at Gypsy Sally‘s on M Street in Georgetown before taking the show to Los Angeles at Mr. Musichead Gallery on Sunset Boulevard in 2015. Both exhibitions were a sensation.

Mark Segraves of NBC 4 will be interviewing Walter and I about our work and friendship together in the arts and in music. Walter will perform his hit songs, “Magnet and Steel” and “Hearts of Fire.” I will join Walter on a couple of songs from our days in our first band in high school, The Malibooz, which was founded by John Zambetti and is still going strong under John’s direction.

Walter Egan is known worldwide for his hit single “Magnet and Steel.” Egan’s song, with Stevie Nicks singing background vocals, has been featured in movies such as Boogie Nights, Deuce Bigalow, Overnight Delivery, The Night We Never Met, and This is 40, among others. I’ve heard “Magnet and Steel” in elevators as muzak. Another song of Walter’s, “Hot Summer Nights,” served as the inspiration for Eminem’s hit record, “We Made You,” a top- 10 single. His song “Hearts on Fire” was recorded by Gram Parsons, the champion of the music genre known as Americana. A member of the bands Spirit, Burrito Deluxe, and the Brooklyn Cowboys, Egan has performed with everyone from Jackson Browne to Wanda Jackson. His music has been heard by millions of people and his accomplishments as a musician, performer and recording artist are known far and wide.

While Egan is well known as a musical artist, many people don’t know that Egan is also a visual artist who has developed a unique style. He earned a degree from Georgetown University in Fine Art in 1970. Since that time, Egan has continued to develop his raw, personal and powerfully enigmatic painting style. Egan’s paintings are a testament to his parallel talents as a visual artist. In this series of paintings, he pays homage to many of the musicians who have inspired him. These portraits, from Ricky Nelson, to Jimi Hendrix, to Amy Winehouse, reveal Egan’s sensitivity as a painter and his intimate connection with his subjects. – Chris Murray