Author Archives: Shirley Pena

Shirley Pena

About Shirley Pena

A native of Southern California, Shirley Peña began her career as a music journalist almost twenty years ago, writing for her websites "Stars In My Eyes: the Girlhowdy Website" and "La Raza Rock!" and progressed to creating various fan sites on Yahoo, including the first for New Zealand singer/songwriter Tim Finn. From there, she became a free agent, arranging online interviews for Yahoo fan clubs with various music artists (Andy White, John Crawford, Debora Iyall, John Easdale, etc.). She also lent her support in creating and moderating a number of Yahoo fan clubs for various music artists from the 1990s-today. As a music journalist, Shirley Peña has contributed to a number of magazines (both hard copy and online), among them: Goldmine, American Songwriter, Classic Drummer Magazine and UK-based Keyboard Player (where she was a principal journalist). A self-confessed "fanatic" of 1960s "British Invasion" bands, Classic Rock and nostalgic "Old Hollywood ", she also keeps her finger on the pulse of current trends in music, with a keen eye for up and coming artists of special merit. Shirley Peña loves Los Angeles, and is thrilled to join the writing staff of The Los Angeles Beat!

Keep On Growing: An Interview With Bobby Whitlock

“Everybody at Stax would come over to hear me play (with The Counts, later renamed The Memphis Blues) at the Cabaret Club at University.  Memphis was a great place to be at that point in time.  Music was just everywhere.  … Continue reading

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Real Fun: An Exclusive Interview With Ian McLagan Of The (Small) Faces

“It all comes down to having fun. Real fun. Over the years, I’ve been asked to play on different people’s records, but I have turned them down. I just told them I was busy. They were people I didn’t particularly … Continue reading

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Casting Out Evil: An Exclusive Interview With Roky Erickson

The Los Angeles Beat is pleased to welcome veteran rock scribe Shirley Pena to our music writing staff. Shirley’s introducing herself with a series of  interviews with rock legends, which will appear here every Wednesday.  The following exclusive interview was … Continue reading

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