Meet Caroline McElroy

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Caroline McElroy. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Caroline, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.

Since the age of 13 when I went to Indio, CA with Frank Zappa and posse, I have always found creativity with the company I keep. As a Go Go Dancer at the Teen Fairs at the Hollywood Palladium I met and danced for many different bands and helped the original Knack win the Battle of The Bands at the Teen Fair which led to answering fan mail for them at Capital Records and making TV dance show appearances. Ever since I can remember, I have been in the company of talented people which has continued up to this time in my life. Going to concerts and gigs at night clubs with gal pal Vicky Hamilton, mega manager and the person that bought Motley Crue, Guns N’ Roses, Poison and Faster Pussycat ( to name a few) to record companies and in Journalism school I made friends with Rock Journalist/Pollstar Features Editor Debbie Speer and we still share our stories. We are slated to go see The Outlaw Fest at the Hollywood Bowl in July, 2024. FYI my first concert was at the Hollywood Bowl to see The Beatles. My advice to staying young at heart and keeping your creative edge is to get out and enjoy the music.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Because of the nearly half-million bands that I’ve seen and danced for over the decades, I have acquired an ear for Rock Music and can tell when someone is off. I know many, many songs which date back to the Sixties all the way to now and can tell when a riff has been recycled by another act beyond the original. Up until I had Long Covid, I wrote for the nohoartsdidtrict.com with a column titled “The LA Music Scene” and still have my blog on WordPress “News From The Front” at carolinemcelroy.wordpress.com. In addition to writing, I’ve enjoyed creating one of a kind collages and had the President of the National Endowment For The Arts come to view my work at my art studio as well as appearing in their magazine in an article titled “A Place of Possibilities” and have appeared in other media as well. While I don’t dwell upon my past as a survivor of Domestic Violence, I did create a powerful message with a piece I put together titled “Beer With A Chaser” which was shown at The Gallery at NoHo SAC and was offered to our current City Attorney for her campaign. Currently I am working on a few ebooks about Street Art, and growing up on the Sunset Strip.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Since childhood I’ve written, collaged and danced and during my education sought to improve my skills in any way I could which included collage. It is said that if you follow your passion’s you will never work a day in your life. Do what you love. In high school they found that my aptitude was in teaching and writing so my education did focus on those, but I always did take art classes no matter where I was. I’ve taught for the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) Indian Education Program, been a Commissioner for American Indian Education Commission at the LAUSD. I’ve taught in Santa Barbara, CA at “Discoveries Learning Centers” which was one of the first outdoor classroom environment in California which is now owned by Bright Horizons Family Solutions. I’ve also taught at Universal Studios and Disney Studios. Always find the time to do what you love and “grow” your art no matter what it is.

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

In November of 2019 I contracted Covid 19 which led to Long Covid. You can never recover from Long Covid once you have it, but it will go into remission. I’ve been in remission a few times. My most recent bout of Long Covid has left me with many limitations and it is hard to write and go out (especially with a cane) to see gigs. Vicky Hamilton has been a good friend and patient cohort. She brings me to gigs and we share lunches/dinners. She is always up to something fun and exciting and I love hearing about her victories. She is very encouraging and tells me “you’ll lose it if you don’t use it” which keeps me going. My college Journalism buddy Debbie Speer and I go way back to when I broke a huge story and our professors assigned her to me to make sure I didn’t flub it up. Speer and I won Media Arts awards and a grant from the Greater Los Angeles Press Club’s Eight Ball Committee for that story.
Speer also saved my life at a Robert Plant concert. In addition, super PR person Mitchell Schneider has been an inspiration with his tales of entertainment and dinning excursions in Las Vegas where I met him with Hamilton when seeing the Arctic Monkeys and Cage The Elephant at the Life Is Beautiful Fest at Las Vegas. Schneider is good friends with Speer and has been for years. These are the people that are currently keeping me afloat while I grapple with Long Covid’s devastating effects upon my body. Big hugs to them and frequent music gig companion Jack Witt for believing in me and keeping my head above water.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: MusicMaven9/Caroline McElroy
• Facebook: Caroline McElroy (Music Maven)
• Linkedin: Caroline/Mona McElroy
• Twitter: musicmaven9/Caroline McElroy
• Youtube: Music Maven @musicmaven806
• Other: carolinemcelroy.wordpress.com, carolinemcelroy.blogger.com

Image Credits

Cover photo taken at Amoeba Music in Hollywood for a blurb in a Canadian project by Michele Coombe. The top photo has Debbie Speer, Caroline McElroy, Vicky Hamilton taking lunch in Beverly Hills. Photog Henry Diltz autographing Caroline’s “Morrison Hotel” t-shirt at the Laurel Canyon Love Fest. Third photo is of Caroline at “The Cave” which was her nightclub. Caroline is on the left. Caroline at a Griffith Park Love-In 2019 and taken by Mindi Sparks. Caroline with May Pang at her photo exhibit at a Hollywood gallery 2023. The NEA (National Endowment For The Arts) President on right and NEA CFO in left viewing two pieces of Caroline’s one of a kind original collage art. Love band co-founder and Caroline at Love Fest on Laurel Canyon.