The Band Guestbook, August 2000

Posted on Thu Aug 31 23:53:59 CEST 2000 from twmaine-63-167-210-226.twmaine.com (63.167.210.226)

MattK

From the camp of the "little guys," I have a friend who has been assisting the former lead singer, Todd Schaeffer, of "From Good Homes" in his new solo career by helping scare up gigs and promoting his self-produced/distributed CD.

Band hard-cores may remember that FGH sax player, Dan Myers, appears on Angus' eponymous recording, which was produced by Aaron Hurwitz and also featured Garth Hudson. Angus also recorded with Rick on his 1997 Live Album (Blind Willie McTell).

Neither Angus nor Garth are involved with Schaeffer's new album, but I wanted to put in a plug for it here as I think many GB'ers would really enjoy his music. Schaeffer is a very good guitarist and a songwriter of the first order. His album, "Dream of Love," is a solo-acoustic outing, showcasing Schaeffer's fine voice with a somewhat intimate sound.

While we're on the topic of supporting big labels vs. the artists, I encourage those of you partial to an acoustic sound to check out this album. It's not available at your local record store, but you can purchase it via The Aware Store, at this page.

Happy listening.

matt

Posted on Thu Aug 31 22:05:51 CEST 2000 from gw3a60-2-d478.wind.it (212.141.125.224)

Emanuele "THE BEARD"

New Design for The BAND ITALIAN HOMEPAGE ( The Beards Page) Visit the site on : www.geocities.com/emanuele_30031 Last Adjournament : Realaudio Files from Oakland and N.Y.74 (DYLAN AND THE BAND TOUR) Thank you , Emanuele

Posted on Thu Aug 31 20:22:56 CEST 2000 from bethany.chartworksinc.com (209.125.212.140)

Brien Sz

While waiting for sleep in my hotel room last night, i watched one of VH-1's new series on Eric Clapton. The Last Waltz got about a thirty second mention. They showed the clip of RR and EC(mostly EC) jammin'. It was a well produced show that i found interesting and entertaining.

Posted on Thu Aug 31 20:04:42 CEST 2000 from rsmithbehv.scs.unt.edu (129.120.128.155)

Rick Smith

Whoops, not the new Danko, but Live on Breeze Hill. Still, pretty cool . . .

Posted on Thu Aug 31 20:00:52 CEST 2000 from rsmithbehv.scs.unt.edu (129.120.128.155)

Rick Smith

Guess who is featured on Amazon's home page! And not just the reissues, but the new Danko album too!

Posted on Thu Aug 31 19:55:52 CEST 2000 from m198214176104.austin.cc.tx.us (198.214.176.104)

Pehr

listened to pink and brown reissues last night and really enjoyed them. must say I was underwhelmed by alt. take on "lonesome Susie", though to hear Richard sing is always a pleasure. Bessie Smith isnt on my version, however- whats up with that? thrilled to have a remastered version of "Yazoo St. Scandal" in my collection. Loved "Get up Jake", what a great version. I wonder if in another 25 years the suits will relaease alt. takes of "Chest Fever" and "The Weight".

Robbie came off a little pompous in the liner notes, causing me minor irriration, but as a true Robertsonian to the end, I cant let it bother me. wish we could see Jan get credit in the sleeve but cant have everything. Nice to see thanks going to Lee and Butch though.

Posted on Thu Aug 31 19:30:39 CEST 2000 from du-tele3-159.mailbox.co.uk (195.82.121.159)

Peter Viney

Answering my own question – UK release date is 11th September at £11.99, but US imports were available at Spin at £14.99 immediately, though they’ve sold out of Cahoots already (and were as surprised as me). I restricted myself to the first two initially as the bonus tracks are "rarer" – supposedly if you have the standard Stage Fright and the Gold Stage Fright you have both sets of mixes. Even though I’m obviously on tenterhooks waiting to hear the remastered version of ‘The Moon Struck One" I might just be able to wait eleven days.

Posted on Thu Aug 31 19:23:16 CEST 2000 from (208.218.212.187)

David Powell

I've mentioned this before -- in the past if you went to Capitol's Hollywood and Vine website, you couldn't even find The Band listed if you searched their roster of artists. Talk about neglect -- at least now they're receiving some attention. I noticed this week that Capitol, in conjunction with the Best Buy chain, is running a nice size ad for the reissues in Atlanta's Creative Loafing, a newspaper devoted to entertainment.

Posted on Thu Aug 31 18:39:33 CEST 2000 from ric-wht-pxy-int02.wheatfirst.com (204.238.130.68)

Bones

Amanda: Did I read that correctly? Elvis Costello joined Robbie Robertson on "I Shall Be Released" on stage in Italy 1995. Was it a Dylan show? Or was it the Robbie show where he headlined the Native American Festival (Italy 1995). Wow.

Big Pink Reissue: "Lonesome Suzie" outtake is the most interesting. John Simon gives it a jazzy/Big Band arrangement. John said in the liner notes that this was completely inappropriate for the song, but I find it fascinating nonetheless.

Posted on Thu Aug 31 18:17:44 CEST 2000 from wwwcache3.uce.ac.uk (193.60.131.2)

Roger Woods

I share Peter's view of the Capitol pages. Reading the comments on our site before turning to them, I expected much worse whereas there are a few good features. They're clearly not put together by someone with a love, or even a superficial feel, for the music or The Band. I was interested to see Eric Clapton's comments being used once more. In the latest issue of MOJO Eric's musical choices are featured in a short article (along the lines of 'favourite albums' 'what are you listening to now?') and The Band doesn't get even a passing mention.

I've noted this before with Eric Clapton. There are in-depth interviews with Eric where he talks for hours without mentioning The Band. This seems odd given the (how realistic?) story that he disbanded Cream after hearing Big Pink and wanted to join the Band. Are we in danger of over-estimating the importance of The Band to him?

Roger

Posted on Thu Aug 31 17:35:30 CEST 2000 from (12.34.17.217)

Johnny Flippo

'Tis truly a lame effort, that Capitol Records site. Really just a bad commercial and nothing else. The group "bio" contains numerous errors, among them, the old chestnut/myth that MFBP was actually recorded in the basement of the house. It looks as if some middle-management dweeb's research consisted of pulling thirty two year-old copy and reproducing it verbatim. In short my guestbook colleagues, don't waste your time.

Posted on Thu Aug 31 17:19:09 CEST 2000 from spider-wc031.proxy.aol.com (205.188.193.31)

Don (again)

Sorry, forgot to mention to all our napsterites, search under Robbie Robertson, some interesting downloads, ooops. Is this ok to mention? Hope we do not have the vigilantes from Metalica evesdropping

Posted on Thu Aug 31 17:12:04 CEST 2000 from twmaine-63-167-210-226.twmaine.com (63.167.210.226)

Mattk

Here's a question. I know it's tempting for the Robbie-bashers to take out frustrations regarding the Capitol site and marketing on RR, but other than supervising the production of the Re-issues, how much does Robbie deal with Capitol these days? Is he still under contract at Capitol for his solo releases, or will future solo recordings be released under his A/R deal with Dreamworks?

Either way, I doubt RR has much to do with the Hollywood and Vine setup, his own board remains pretty stale, other than frequent visits and disruptions from pre-teens phlaming out from the "Sammie" board. In fact both the RR and Band boards lack moderators. I've considered volunteering to moderate either of those boards, but I don't know if I have the time or inclination. Besides, it would detract from my "enthusiastic" posting hereabouts - which may be a good or bad thing, depending on your view.

Posted on Thu Aug 31 17:11:39 CEST 2000 from spider-wc031.proxy.aol.com (205.188.193.31)

Don Pugatch

Re: Buffalo Springfield, here that a "New" digitally remastered CD is planned for September. Do not have the particulars, but think it may be an Anthology. Still also awaiting the release of John Hiatt's new CD, do know you can download a song for 99 cents on emusic. Besides the Hiatt/Danko song on Jubilation, are there any other links?

Posted on Thu Aug 31 16:45:43 CEST 2000 from du-tele3-037.mailbox.co.uk (195.82.121.37)

Peter Viney

Capitol’s site looks good, though I’m not sure whether having The Weight playing the whole time is irritating rather than a useful addition. The unannounced soundtrack might certainly be embarrassing for those logging on from a computer at work! Now, nothing against Badfinger, but why does the Capitol Band site ask us if we want further updates on them? (In addition to Music from THE Big Pink which Johnny Flippo mentioned). Good to see it directs people to the REAL site (i.e. this one).

Does anyone have a concrete UK release date for the reissues? I didn’t pre-order from a US importer as I assumed releases would be simultaneous, and "£13.99" (as advertised) is a lot more than the $10.88 mentioned here. I’ll try a few importers today to see if they have stock here though.

A word of warning for the UK: if you order commercial CDs / DVDs from the USA (in this case from Amazon) to be sent to the UK it’s fine until a package gets stopped at random by UK Customs. Then you hit a £25 Customs Clearance charge from the Courier company, plus 17.5% VAT and a further admin charge for collecting the money from you. I got a CD and a DVD stopped in the same week last year, and now do not order directly from the USA!

Posted on Thu Aug 31 16:17:36 CEST 2000 from stjhts19c39.nbnet.nb.ca (142.166.253.45)

WS Walcott

Would just like to respond to posting by "JCF" concerning The Band reissues. Yes, Cahoots is a fairly weak album compared to the fist three. Overall though I'd have to say that it is still a decent album that every Band fan should own. At least half of the tunes are quite good, which is more than you get with a lot of todays music. JCF also mentioned picking up Islands but heard it was not that good. I disagree. It is not one of their finest albums but it is pretty darn good. Do yourself a favor JCF and pick up Islands, you won't be disappointed. Pick up NLSC too, if u haven't already. Oh by the way I've read some postings in here about Capitol Records Band web site. Think I'll avoid it but just curious if anybody has checked it out, and if so, what do they think of it. Might make for some interesting postings.

Posted on Thu Aug 31 16:13:10 CEST 2000 from (208.218.212.187)

David Powell

With the passing of Jack Nitzsche, we've lost another great artist in the world of music. His credits are way too numerous to mention here briefly -- from his work in constructing Phil Spector's "wall of sound" to his pioneering film score work, he helped fashion a lot of the foundation of the music that makes up the soundtrack of our lives.

Oh yes, there is a Band / Nitzsche connection -- Mr. Nitzsche's last film score was for Sean Penn's 1995 "Crossing Guard", that featured actors Jack Nicholson, Angelica Huston and Robbie Robertson.

Posted on Thu Aug 31 15:54:59 CEST 2000 from stcath-ppp73081.sympatico.ca (216.208.72.80)

Richard Patterson

Of course there's a Band/Handsome Dick Manatoba/Kinky Friedman connection,,, but I'm not goin' there...

PAC: Thanks for the background on Jack Nitzsche... I had no idea he worked with Phil Spector... I'm listening the first Crazy Horse lp right now,,, Jack Nitzsche is listed as piano player and producer...what a classic... "Gone Dead Train" (writing credit to Jack on that one - and the Randy Newman/Ry Cooder version on the 'Performance' soundtrack is cooler than "Memo From Turner" IMHO), "Beggars Day" (great Nils Lofgren), and "I Don't Want to Talk About It" and "Downtown" are both spooky good Danny Whitten vocals... I don't know if this thing was ever put out on CD (it's on Frank Sinatra's label)... but if any of you Bandfans out there are looking for it it's from 1971... it's just called 'Crazy Horse'... there is no Neil Young on it... it's got a yellow cover with a horse's head... and it's brilliant...

Jack Nitzsche rocked!!!

Posted on Thu Aug 31 13:37:12 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

Hey now, don't be dissin' the chairman of the board, now. He may be dead, but he's still connected. Besides, we all owe the Rat Pack big time. If not for Sammy Davis Jr., we might be talking about the re-issue of that album recorded at Peter Lawford's house...that's not nearly as hip, dig?

Posted on Thu Aug 31 13:19:22 CEST 2000 from dialup-106.cork.iol.ie (194.125.43.106)

Hank

Well, first of all.....The Monty Python /Band link is in George Harrison......This thing about The Beatles being subversive is actually true......Sinatra knew that, too.......The Beatles knew it, too....but the difference between The Beatles and other subversives is that they did it with a tremendous sense of humour and fun and released great singles and albums at regular intervals.........The Band were subversive in the realm of making music and the music business........something the music business never, to this day, forgave them for........except RR, who plays the game very well with The Military-Industrial-Entertainment Complex that rules modern society.........oops!!! Did I say tooo much there?........

Posted on Thu Aug 31 09:45:03 CEST 2000 from (228.131.128.64)

John P.

Mike, those eBay tapes look just like tapes for an ordinary reel-to-reel home tape recorder from the '60s to me. Probably just some old private copy with misspelled song titles written on the covers, that someone is trying to sell as "original mix master tapes" with "different versions." This is a bluff. Spend your money on the reissues instead.

Posted on Thu Aug 31 09:21:25 CEST 2000 from spider-wb044.proxy.aol.com (205.188.192.169)

Mike

Anybody know about this? Item #424481413 on eBay - The Band "Big Pink" Original Mix Master Dubs. Here's a description:

"You are bidding on a dub set of the original master tapes of "Music From Big Pink" by The Band. These are THE ORIGINAL MIXES!! This is NOT THE RELEASED VERSION! These mixes are DIFFERENT FROM THE RELEASED VERSION of the album. (For instance, there's a synthesizer instead of an organ on "The Weight".) Check out the spelling and the mistakes on the boxes. "I Shall be Relieved". Wouldn't we like to know how that got on the box? Legendary music from one of the most influential bands of the sixties. On two 7" reels, probably 7.5 ips / two track. (No, I'm not going to play them to be sure.)"

Anyone?

Posted on Thu Aug 31 07:49:57 CEST 2000 from spider-tj073.proxy.aol.com (152.163.213.208)

Pac

Jack Straw, thanks for fighting those fires! I lived through the Oakland Fire and saw many others in BC and Alberta, Canada. You're doing such a courageous, important, dangerous job. Take good care. Anyway, I'm delighted to see you mentioned the passing of Jack Nitzsche. My friend in LA just sent me the Times obit. JN started his career by hooking up with Sonny Bono in the Spector "wall of sound" days and arranged "Be My Baby" for the Ronettes. He also arranged and played keyboards on the Stones' "Let's Spend the Night Together" and other hits. And he wrote the score for Jagger's film "Performance." Got into film scores; he and his wife at the time, Buffy St. Marie, won an Oscar for the song from "An Officer and a Gentleman." And yes, he had gotten into record producing, starting with Jackie DeShannon and Buffalo Springfield. Apparently he was a lifelong fan of Neil Young's music. I remember his name from reading a few biographies on Neil. Must get them down from the shelf now. Anyway, Jack was highly respected and now we have a better idea of why. All the best! Pac

Posted on Thu Aug 31 07:39:27 CEST 2000 from 1cust181.tnt12.nyc3.da.uu.net (63.23.136.181)

Crabgrass

Of course there's a Band / Sinatra connection too by way of Bob Dylan who sang "Restless Farewell" at a televised tribute to Old Blues Eyes a few years back. Bob referred to Sinatra as "Mr. Frank."

And I wonder if Frank ever heard the Sid Vicious version of "My Way."

Posted on Thu Aug 31 06:56:00 CEST 2000 from spider-te053.proxy.aol.com (152.163.195.198)

Dave Z

Stanley L: Regarding comment "Why do we have to suffer through the feud"... I agree... It's like Survivor with the two of them standing on the logs... each with his hand on the idol of Leader of the Band... trying to outlast the other... and the first to take his hand off is gonna lose... but they haven't figured out there is the tribal council jury... who will ultimately decide who gets to survive... Unfortunately the members of the jury are currently all off somewhere listening to the reissues... Maybe the host of some future show (Bob, you there smoking a cig?) can get these two survivors face-to-face... push some buttons... and lets finish this thing... then, of course, you all gotta jam...

Posted on Thu Aug 31 06:44:50 CEST 2000 from host-209-214-116-189.bna.bellsouth.net (209.214.116.189)

BWNWITennessee

Here's some good news from the Capitol site - apparently there's a new Band album. Check it out, go to the Discography page; I guess it's going to be called Music From "The" Big Pink. Nice to see they spent five whole minutes putting the site together.

Posted on Thu Aug 31 06:26:14 CEST 2000 from b105-32.blgs.splitrock.net (209.252.130.183)

Jack Straw

I suppose I should have previewed my last post. Should have been spelled Jack Nitzsche. Sorry

Posted on Thu Aug 31 06:19:18 CEST 2000 from b105-32.blgs.splitrock.net (209.252.130.183)

Jack Straw

I really don't intend to or want to resurect a really dead thread. "Broken Arrow" first saw the light of day on Buffalo Springfield's second (and some say their best) album "Buffalo Springfield Again". The producer of that album, Jack Nitzche, died last Friday. I recall he did some work for the Stones and won a Grammey. This might be old GB news but I've been fighting fires and don't get around here much.

Posted on Thu Aug 31 05:38:40 CEST 2000 from spider-wj032.proxy.aol.com (205.188.198.32)

Bayou Sam

How about an album of Elvis Costello doing Neil Diamond tunes? - or vice-versa? Think About it.

Posted on Thu Aug 31 05:34:53 CEST 2000 from spider-wj032.proxy.aol.com (205.188.198.32)

Bayou Sam

'Ol Blue Eyes must have relaxed his opinion later because he used to do "Something" in his show. He must not have looked at his Abbey Road album very closely though, because he would introduce it as his favorite Lennon/McCartney song.... For anyone who might not be into The Beatles (shame on you), the song was written by George Harrison.

Posted on Thu Aug 31 04:57:02 CEST 2000 from cf3k-3.paradise.net.nz (203.96.152.183)

Amanda

I realise this is flogging a (nearly) dead thread but, oh well…I just finished "let them all talk-the music of Elvis Costello" by Brian Hinton. I can recommend it as informative and well written. Re. the Band- Elvis C connection I can now report that in 1995 he appeared as a support act for Bob Dylan at concerts in Paris, London and Dublin. And at the Primomaggio Festival in Rome "he joined early hero Robbie Robertson to reprise "I shall be released". As he commented he "just happened" to know the words." There was also a set list from his early days in pub rock before he became Elvis and jumped on the new wave bandwagon. He did cover versions of Cripple Creek and the Weight.

While I am on the subject of my recent recreational reading I also just finished "Road Kill" by Kinky Friedman. Without giving too much of the plot away; someone is trying to kill Willy Nelson- possibly because of his support of Leonard Peltier. Kinky investigates and in the course of his investigation calls on his Native American musician friend Robby Romero for help. Robby "Had one foot in the white man's world, but his heart had definitely been buried at Wounded Knee." Now I may be BAND obsessed but nonetheless think Robby Romero just has to be a fictionalised version of Robbie Robertson. Bob Dylan also makes a brief appearance when Kinky reminisces about the 1976 Rolling Thunder tour.

Posted on Thu Aug 31 04:34:32 CEST 2000 from 1cust139.tnt11.nyc3.da.uu.net (63.23.134.139)

Crabgrass

"I rued the day the Beatles were unfortunately born into this world. They are, in my mind, responsible for most of the degeneration that has happened, not only musically, but in the sense of youth orientation politically, too. They are the people who first made it publicly acceptable to spit in the eye of authority." -- Frank Sinatra

Well, that settles the argument about who started the Punk Rock movement!! Poor Old Blue Eyes, his Rat Pack, and Mafia cronies - what great role models for America's youth! Ah... what could have been if the Mop Tops had not come along.

BTW a great big Thanx to the poster who ruined my fledgling porno spamming business. Now I'll have to think up some new money making ventures or I'll never be able to buy all of the reissues!!

Posted on Thu Aug 31 03:52:25 CEST 2000 from unionppp9.union.edu (149.106.172.10)

Danny Lopez

Hey Little Brother, hope you weren't "unduly aggravated" by the ritual shaming remark. It was meant in a lighthearted way, to raise a smile, not to get a rise. You can check my posts, ask my neighbors, and interrogate my dogs, I never say anything bad about anybody, except maybe corporate culture and republicans. But that's another matter .... Back to the reissues. Peace.

Posted on Thu Aug 31 03:50:55 CEST 2000 from cr514777-a.yec1.on.wave.home.com (24.114.57.20)

Stanley Landau

The only good thing about the Capitol site is its reference to this site:

"ULTIMATE FAN SITE

Although not the official Band site, theband.hiof.no has been acknowledged and accepted by members of The Band and by their management and collaborators."

Posted on Thu Aug 31 03:17:12 CEST 2000 from thor.belo.com (207.238.232.190)

csiron

Capitol Records has started an "official" site and bulletin board for Band fans: http://hollywoodandvine.com/theband As you might expect, it pales in comparison with this, the REAL official site.(Perhaps the new site's only useful purpose will be to pass along all the anti-Capitol remarks that get posted here.)

Posted on Thu Aug 31 02:41:27 CEST 2000 from cdial238.infoblvd.net (216.42.67.238)

Tom Kailbourn

Just got the first four Band reissues today; what a fine day! I gave "Cahoots" a quick sampling on my headphones, and noticed an unpleasant rumbling noise on one channel at the very beginning of the first track, "Life is a Carnival." (A similar noise was also present at the start of another track later in the album--maybe "Volcano"?) Has anybody else experienced this "noise?" I'm wondering if it signifies some deterioration in the master; or perhaps a defect in the cd? Comments appreciated, and thanks!

Posted on Thu Aug 31 02:17:34 CEST 2000 from spider-ti031.proxy.aol.com (152.163.194.186)

Rick S.

In today's Times-Herald Record (Middletown, NY) there's a great picture of Levon greeting 4 politicians (including Gov. Pataki) at the press conference for the new Performing Arts Center. It will be on the site of the original Woodstock Festival in Bethel, N.Y. and is slated to open in 2003. Levon has on a red plaid shirt, bluejeans and has 3 drumsticks sticking out of his right rear pocket. The on-line address for the newspaper (no picture unfortunately) is: http://www.th-record.com

Posted on Thu Aug 31 02:02:27 CEST 2000 from spider-wk082.proxy.aol.com (205.188.198.187)

Ben Turkel

I just picked up the remastered cd's yesterday and I generally agree with the favorable comments already posted. It's been long overdue for quality versions of these cd's to be available at reasonble prices. In my opinion, the brown album has gained the most over previous cd releases in terms of sound quality. There were at one time very good sounding versions of 'Big Pink' and 'Stage fright'available on gold disc, these discs, particularly 'Big Pink' seem to go for a small fortune on EBay. I wonder if the price on these will come down now. I didn't notice as much of an improvement on 'Cahoots'. Maybe it would have benefited from a remix. I think it's great to finally have 'Ferdinand the Imposter' and the studio version of 'Don't do it' finally available on official releases.

Posted on Thu Aug 31 01:51:55 CEST 2000 from unionppp4.union.edu (149.106.172.5)

Danny Lopez

Thanks MattK for the email warning about the porn stuff. I got one too, and without the warning would have probably opened it, as it contained many GBer email addresses.

I have to agree with Bones -- comparing the alternate takes to the official releases, it appears the Band were good judges of superior versions. Can't say the same for other artists, such as Bobby D, who is notorious for not putting his best stuff on official releases (e.g., Blind Willie McTell).

Biggest bummer of the whole reissue deal -- no mention of Jan's site. Instead the address for hollywood and vine.com Who cares about that one!!!!

Posted on Thu Aug 31 01:47:19 CEST 2000 from mat-8-28.enter.net (207.16.156.130)

Little Brøther

A big Thanks! to MattK for the warning about the suspect E-mail. I indeed found two offending messages in my in-box and promptly deleted them. Cyberporn viewing should be consensual, for one thing-- though my researches can be summed up by the old Borscht Belt joke about the old ladies fussing in the resort dining room: "The food is so terrible!" "Yes, and the portions are so small!"

Oh, and I'm glad that MattK, like Paul Revere, phrased his warning in plain English-- 'cause all the references to DVD cracks and hexadecimal code and whatnot are lost on this baffled Earthling.

P.S. I'm still singing "Please, Mister Postman" as I await my set of reissues, and I'm sure I'll enjoy them. Still, I rise to object to ritually shaming jcf. Surely one may experience true Reissue Rapture, or at least ecstasy, without proclaiming every track beyond reproach!

I find "Shoot Out In Chinatown" okay, but a trifle cute at best. Of course there's always something worth listening to in every item in the Band repertoire. Even "Islands", I spoze, though I wouldn't like to say just what.

As more of us acquire the reissues worldwide, I hope pros and cons about both the music (the music!) and ancillary written material can be expressed without unduly aggravating 110% Band fans.

Posted on Thu Aug 31 01:14:56 CEST 2000 from spider-th062.proxy.aol.com (152.163.213.72)

Bashful Bill

A couple months ago, some kind person from these parts sent me a couple emails with info re:Lucinda Williams guesting on somebody's albums. Well, it's been a crazy summer, & I seem to have misplaced it. If that person reads this, and if they are still kind, will they be kind enough to send me that info again? Thanks!

Posted on Thu Aug 31 01:09:24 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

I suspect it was smart marketing to keep the interviewer away from Levon these days...it might earn the CDs a PMRC label. There is generally a real lack of Garth interviews out there. I get the feeling he's not comfortable speaking in this manner (just an observation from TLW and the Classic Albums video). Still, when he does talk, he's an incredibly sincere and warm human. His quotes in TLW remain my favorite. I suspect Garth is an incredible source of knowledge and information, but only with those he's closest with.

Posted on Thu Aug 31 00:47:39 CEST 2000 from proxy-333.public.rwc.webtv.net (209.240.200.33)

Scott

I bought the reissues today and was disappointed at the lack of recent interviews conducted with the musicians that actually continued in The Band until 1998 (Levon, Garth). I would have enjoyed more input from their perspective. A better mix of comments should have been used, and not so much emphasis on one person and his views. But not entirely a suprise.

Posted on Wed Aug 30 23:05:11 CEST 2000 from (12.34.17.217)

Johnny Flippo

Thanks to all this spam stuff, do we now have a Monty Python/Band connection?

Posted on Wed Aug 30 23:03:21 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

Sorry Jan, obviously my pseudo-binary was just that...bogus. I apologizes. Just trying to bring a bit of levity to the proceedings. I had nothing to do with the DVD hack.

Posted on Wed Aug 30 22:48:46 CEST 2000 from jan-hoiberg.hiof.no (158.36.52.15)

jh

Please do not dump program code and hexadecimal/binary/whatever crap in this guestbook. As interesting as DVD cracks may be, this is not the right place for them. Thanks.

Posted on Wed Aug 30 22:25:00 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

110100010101010101000010111 0101010001 ...(etc)

Whew! Excuse me, but I feel better, now. That's the last time I have burritos for lunch...

Posted on Wed Aug 30 21:42:33 CEST 2000 from spider-tk033.proxy.aol.com (152.163.206.188)

bob wigo

Lassie, Go get help. Timmy's fallen down the well.Hurry girl.

Posted on Wed Aug 30 21:31:44 CEST 2000 from spider-tk033.proxy.aol.com (152.163.206.188)

bob wigo

In the words of the great Keith Jackson:

Whooooooa Nellie !!

Posted on Wed Aug 30 21:20:53 CEST 2000 from stcath-ppp73179.sympatico.ca (216.208.72.178)

Richard Patterson

gee... the Digital Millennium Copyright Act... now that's serious...

hey MATTK, do you think this would be our SPAM ALERT subject?

Posted on Wed Aug 30 21:14:49 CEST 2000 from proxy-1391.public.svc.webtv.net (209.240.220.204)

Mark

WANTED: The full uncut (both Canadian & USA official releases had songs edited out) pay-per-view video version of the 1983 reunion tour. If you have it let's work out a trade. I've got some nice Band boots.

Posted on Wed Aug 30 21:04:45 CEST 2000 from d83b5fcb.dsl.flashcom.net (216.59.95.203)

screw the mpaa

The contents of this post have been determined to be illegal. Simply linking to the contents of this post is also illegal. This website is now in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. For more information, go to www.2600.com or www.opendvd.org

Program code deleted, please refer to the URLs above if interested. --JH

Posted on Wed Aug 30 20:44:49 CEST 2000 from stcath-ppp73179.sympatico.ca (216.208.72.178)

Richard Patterson

RADIO RADIO: I keep hearin' "Rag Mama Rag" by Little Feat on the local FM station from Hamilton... nice version,,, funky pianer player... I hope they buy the Band reissues : )

Hey SERGE, thanks for the tip on the JOHN DONABIE week on CFRB,,, although it was a little disconcerting to figure out why Ted Wallishin (sp?) isn't in St Kitts anymore... great job JOHN... still haven't caught your saturday music hour... hopefully this week...

PAT BRENNAN: no disrespect intended with my last post... I still think Liz Phair is a "punk"...

".....Then there was the guy who was gonna throw all his Elvis C. records outta the window......." Thanks HANK ,,, I'm still laughing...

Posted on Wed Aug 30 20:35:29 CEST 2000 from cic-proxy02.firstunion.com (169.200.25.141)

Bones

REISSUES: I went into all this being excited by the new tracks, but now that I've listened to the Brown album, what really makes me happy is how good the original album now sounds.

An interesting note in the Band album liner notes: Robbie said that Richard would be writing a song during this time and get stuck. Robbie said his main contribution to the Manuel/Robertson tracks were lyrics, and that Richard wrote the majority of the music.

Posted on Wed Aug 30 20:06:26 CEST 2000 from 1cust75.tnt9.new-york.ny.da.uu.net (63.29.181.75)

Rich

Anyone see yesterday's NY Times item on the state's helping to fund a new $40 million arts center on the site of the original Woodstock show? Gov. Pataki was quoted as saying that he loved the music of the era, loved the Stones, but his all time favorite was The Band. It went on to say that Levon would appear with him on Tuesday (yesterday) at the site to make an official announcement of the project. No follow up in today's Times, from what I could see.

Posted on Wed Aug 30 19:33:36 CEST 2000 from gw3a61-d418.wind.it (212.141.127.164)

Emanuele (Again)

YEAH! NOW AVAIABLE ALL REALAUDIO FILES FROM NEW YORK AND OAKLAND 1974 .----------------- ------------------ WHEEL' ON FIRE - WHEN YOU AWAKE - RAG MAMA RAG - KING HARVEST - ------------------- THANK YOU FOR PATIENCE !!! GOOD LISTEN !! Emanuele

Posted on Wed Aug 30 19:11:09 CEST 2000 from spider-tl073.proxy.aol.com (152.163.207.208)

bob wigo

Check out Rick's vocals in the last verse of "We Can Talk".

Posted on Wed Aug 30 19:01:46 CEST 2000 from unionppp7.union.edu (149.106.172.8)

Danny Lopez

The UPS man delivered the four reissues today. What a treat. So beautifully packaged. So much to digest!

Most interesting things to me at the moment:

(a) the completely different version of Endless Highway -- I love it. Can't say it's better than the Danko, guitar-driven version, but equally good.

(b) the liner notes explaining who mixed what on Stage Fright. The upshot is that the blurb we have from the All-Music Guide on this site for the Stage Fright gold disc is wrong.

(c) So happy that I've now got the studio version of Get Up Jake on disc -- some have put down that song in the GB but I think it's the bomb.

(d) JCF -- I advocate you undergo ritual shaming for slamming Cahoots, and Shootout in Chinatown. We all know the circumstances that surrounded the album's production. Actually, it's amazing such a great album could be manufactured amidst such turmoil. I invite you to listen again to Shootout and just enjoy the beauty of Richard and Rick singing together.

Posted on Wed Aug 30 18:30:57 CEST 2000 from cache01.tor.axxent.ca (209.250.153.18)

Stanley Landau

Band Thought and RPence: I agree with everything you each said.

John C.: I am almost positive that the version of Bessie Smith is identical to the one on the Basement Tapes as is the version of Katies Been Gone. By the way there is a different version of Katie on Crossing the Great Divide. You can hear the harmonies quite distinctly, and I'm pretty sure it's Robbie, not Rick singing harmony. I think the answer to your question is that these songs were recorded much later than 1967 and put on the Basement Tapes to flush them out.

John Lyness: No misspellings, no colour mistakes. As David Powell pointed out the liner notes I've read so far (Big Pink and The Band)are detailed and replete with quotes from various Band members to the author. However, I think that they may end up generating more and more controversy re the "feud". Robbie's quotes tend to speak of the Band's accomplishments in the first person. Also he describes very pointedly his view of the nature and extent of Levon's contribution to the writing of Dixie, and I suspect that this will not sit well with some. By the way - why is it we Band fans have to suffer through the "feud"? Why couldn't it be some really crummy Band like Iron Butterfly whose members had such a falling out.

David Powell, I loved your comments on the memories of the December 10, 1970 concert you saw. Reminds me of my own feelings about the January 17, 1970 concert I attended.

Crabgrass: I think you're wrong. You won't find anything to crab out on the reissues.

JCF: I respect your opinion but respectfully disagree. Cahoots is a great album - it's just not a great Band album. I think I prefer the Rick vocal version of Endless Highway, but the point is it's a different song completely when Richard sings it. And who ever thought we would be lucky enough to hear what are essentially new original five Band songs in 2000?

Posted on Wed Aug 30 18:08:00 CEST 2000 from (129.237.77.56)

RPence

Reissues: I bought Cahoots and Big Pink because I thought their extra tracks looked the most interesting and represented pretty significant differences. Though I was disappointed with the fact that "Bessie Smith," a song I really love, is indeed the same one that was on the official Basement tapes, along with "Katie's Been Gone" on Big Pink, also on the BT, which is an album with some questionable choices as most folks know by now. For the most part, however, these are a step up from what Capitol has offered in the past--but again, I don't know how much that's really saying, considering stuff like Watkins Glen. OK, now for something positive: I do think Cahoots is a real candidate for reassessment, especially with this version. If it hadn't followed two indispensable and one outstanding album, it would have been better received. And of course the personality problems in its background are well known. But I think the record has some of the best pure playing on any Band records, which is paradoxically highlighted by the undeniably weak lyrical quality on most of the songs. I like the guitar and piano on "Smoke Signal," and the piano on "Thinking Out Loud." This is really Robbie and Rick's album overall, dominated by Robbie's ambition, often misguided but intermittently dramatic, and Rick's enthusiasm and occasional anger, like on "Thinking Out Loud." But Richard was never one to be counted out, especially on "4% Pantomime" and "The Moon Struck One," which his voice salvages. It's interesting how Levon, whom I'm sure wasn't crazy about being in the Band at the time, provides "bookends" for the record with the songs he dominates and then is pretty much MIA for what's in between. Maybe the sequencing, which was probably Robbie's province, was a subtle message to Levon: you'll always have the first and last word? Anyway, check out Jon Landau's review of Cahoots on this website: it is brilliant, and helped me gain a new perspective on the record.

Posted on Wed Aug 30 17:52:36 CEST 2000 from gw3a61-d305.wind.it (212.141.127.51)

Emanuele

I insert too soon on THE Beards PAGE (Tribute to the band), 3 SONGS( REALAUDIO) PERFORMED BY ROBBIE ROBERTSON AND ELVIS COSTELLO TO ROMA, ITALY 2 MAY 1995(96 MAYBE!) THEY PLAY 3 SONGS Between Which " I shall be realeased". MAY YOU Interest you?! Bye , friends of the Band. Wait a answer on my E-mail. Emanuele

Posted on Wed Aug 30 17:37:08 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

Mattk

SPAM ALERT - PLEASE READ

The GB has apparently been "scraped" and many of us have been spammed by a porn site. Anyone getting an e-mail from "Deborah Yuliawati" or the e-mail address "clinton@bidik.com" should NOT open the link enclosed in that e-mail. It uses a javascript to open about 15 browser windows chock full o' porn. It may also crash your computer, depending on your setup, memory, etc.

Hate to say it, but it's probably time to start using the age old UseNet trick of sticking "_nospam" in your e-mail address (see mine above). It's not full proof, but it will help help defeat automatic "bots" that may come to the GB and collect e-mail addresses for spamming purposes.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program...

Posted on Wed Aug 30 17:18:35 CEST 2000 from (207.159.243.159)

jcf

Re: Cahoots reissue I have to admit that this album is not that great. The first two tracks would belong on the earlier albums, however the rest is not that good. The Rivey Hymm was a disappointment. Worst was Shootout in Chinatown. But, I had to buy it. If I was around in the early 70's I surely would have bought it after listening to the first three albums. I also plan on buying Islands, which I hear isn't that good also... The outake of Endless Highway was interesting, although I think I prefer the way Rick sang it..

Posted on Wed Aug 30 17:17:41 CEST 2000 from spider-th072.proxy.aol.com (152.163.213.77)

Don Pugatch

Being an old Al Kooper fan(Albert Cooperman), whenever I see any postings on either Al or Blues Project,I get interested. By the by, the reissue of The Blues Project Anthology(2 CD Set) is a great place for anyone how is not familiar with or wants to revisit The Blues Project. Great insert of the history of the group. Also, Soul of a Man, the 2 CD live set of Al's 50th birthday party, incorporates lots of BP cuts, and of course Al puts his two cents before some of these songs. SeaTrain, to me was a band that used music as a story teller, and a lot of bluegrass influence with David Green on fiddle. Was lucky enough to see SeaTrain, and unfortunatley, my 8 tracks are doomed and my record player is in the garbage.

Posted on Wed Aug 30 17:02:00 CEST 2000 from 2cust124.tnt9.nyc3.da.uu.net (63.23.129.124)

Crabgrass

I'm getting bored with the entries praising the reissues and have decided to boycott them until I have enough dough to buy them - hopefully soon and I'm sure I'll find SOMETHING wrong with them too! Now, back to the "Punk" thread!!

Around 1980 I was in SF and witnessed Jack Casady's metamorhosis into a punker with a short-lived band he'd formed called SVT (forget what that stood for but am sure it was something meaningful). Anyway, Casady had re-invented himself - cut his hair and slicked it back, got a new pair of shades, and basically streamlined his playing style to one loud throbbing note throughout the whole set (I think it was Bb) while the lead singer (some sweaty 20 year old) screamed his lungs out apparently trying to burst a vein in his neck - I have photos to prove it. What he was screaming about I can't tell you - and doubt if anyone else could - since the lyrics (for lack of a better term) were completely unintelligible. Also, saw Jim Carrol known for his uplifting hit song "People Who Died" produced by Keith Richards who also sought to elevate his hipness by associating himself with the more youthful punk scene. I wouldn't classify Carrol as a hard-core punker by any means though I'd say he shares a basic lack of musical talent with those who I'd consider "hard-core" punks.

Posted on Wed Aug 30 16:45:45 CEST 2000 from polaris-fw1.nspco.com (206.10.243.20)

Dave Z

My re-issues are in the mail... and I am enjoying all this fourplay... before they arrive... Thanks everybody...

Posted on Wed Aug 30 16:32:05 CEST 2000 from ipc379e26d.dial.wxs.nl (195.121.226.109)

Frances Vandyke

Love this website; I am sorry that The Band never visits The Netherlands. Never saw them live yet. I was so upset when Danko passed away. It's good Robbie R. is still making incredible good music! Love to follow his career...

Posted on Wed Aug 30 16:19:49 CEST 2000 from (208.218.212.187)

David Powell

With Rick's "Times Like These" CD, along with the four new Band reissues in hand, there's so much great music to listen to and not much time to talk. Briefly -- the improved dynamics & clarity in the sound of the reissues, alone, makes them worth having. The addition of the bonus cuts greatly enhances the bargain.

I enjoyed reading Rob Bowman's thorough liner notes for each of the reissues. The photos & artwork in the booklets are also an added bonus. On a personal note -- I was amazed to see a reproduction of a promotional ad for The Band concert at The Municipal Auditorium in Atlanta for Thursday, December 10, 1970 included in the booklet with the "brown album". I attended that concert and it was the first time that I saw The Band perform as The Band. Four years prior to that night, I saw The Hawks with Bob Dylan perform together in that same auditorium. Although I have vivid memories of that Band concert, I had forgotten the exact date, and seeing that ad in the CD booklet brought back an additional flood of reminiscences. I remember seeing that same ad shortly before the concert back in 1970. Last night while I was looking at it again, that date, December 10th, really hit me deeply. Twenty nine years later, to the day, after I first saw The Band perform, Rick Danko passed away. That date, that first brought me great joy, now also reminds me of a deep sadness. But today, listening to these wonderfully reissued albums, the music of three beautiful voices, singing in harmony, soothes my soul.

Posted on Wed Aug 30 15:57:37 CEST 2000 from sjiassoc16.erols.com (208.58.12.144)

Jon Lyness

Peter Mena, always good to hear from a fellow NYC Band fan. In case you don't already know: if your bar is at 35 East 13th Street, then you are just steps away from the former site of the Lone Star Cafe at 5th Ave & 13th St (now a deli), home to many great Band shows and Levon/Rick/Richard solo/duo shows in the 80s. Regards!

I envy those of you who have the reissues already...looking forward. Great that early reviews have been so positive...no reports yet of Capitol misspelling Band members' names, or recoloring the Brown album to be blue or something. :)

Posted on Wed Aug 30 15:51:20 CEST 2000 from d223-205.hcvlny.optonline.net (24.189.223.205)

JOHNC.

Hi all=} Have to make this quick.....The reissues are brilliant, worth every penny!!! One quick question..... Isn't the Cahoots outtake of "Bessie Smith" the same as the version on Basement Tapes?? I'm pretty sure it is. Someone please explain. How could it be same version? They are way different years.. Thanks! John

Posted on Wed Aug 30 14:34:48 CEST 2000 from dialup-084.cork.iol.ie (194.125.43.84)

HANK

BAYOU SAM.......Lennon at The Lyceum.....I'm really not too sure about all that......On "Sometime in NYC" John and Yoko appear on stage w/Frank and the Mothers.........The Lyceum gig was a Christmas thing in 1969 where a whole buncha people showed up to jam with John and Yoko......Yoko did one of her screamy things with everyone just playing free-form noise around it....Lennon sez in an interview before he died that there were quite a few young kids at the front of the stage and he said he wondered if a few of 'em became Punks 7 years later.....a fanciful thought, perhaps....but John was good at the 'ole fanciful thought, was'nt he?..........To be definittive about what is known about Punk Rock in the seventies you MUST go to NYC......It was'nt London and it was'nt Detroit.....it was NYC (one band, in particular-The Ramones)........Malcolm McLaren hi-jacked the whole thing, brought it to London, made The Sex Pistols (who were GREAT w/ Glen Matlock and pathetic w/ Sid Vicious), started a process which undermined musicians having ANY control over the music indusrty and let the fashion freaks and record companies take it all over, here comes video and MTV and voila!!......the '80ies........HOOORAY!!!! (NOT)......Hey, that's a BIT simplistic and I don't want anyone to get the idea that I don't like Malcolm or Sid, 'cos I DO, in other ways..............I remember reading something about RR saying that Scorcese was well into The NYC Punk thing around the time of TLW......which begs the Question and a possible thread.....how come Handsome Dick Manitoba and The Dictators, The Dead Boys and The Ramones were'nt at TLW???.......Will we EVER get a satisfactory answer to THAT question??????

Posted on Wed Aug 30 14:21:01 CEST 2000 from (205.230.10.2)

Bob R

Many thanks to Bayou Sam, Lil, and Ben for the quick response to my query on the "Band Reunion" video- I clicked on the video section of this website, and there it was ! Thanks again- I was amazed at the amount of video that exists on the Band--Too bad most appears to be out of circulation, but it sure gives one a mission--to see how many can be located ! Cheers

Posted on Wed Aug 30 14:11:46 CEST 2000 from (206.2.196.66)

Band Thought

I would like to second Stanley's comments about the remastered Band CD originals. It's like re-discovering your first love all over again. Really. My first choice was to go right to The Band album - just to hear Richard's alternate take on Whispering Pines. The first thing that will strike you right in the ears is the sound; clean, clear, you-can-hear-a-pin-drop quality. You are right in the studio, getting directions from John Simon about squeaky chairs and the downside of wooden toes. And it is good to hear John Simon's voice during these sessions because he probably was a bigger part of the team than he was ever given credit for.

Listening to Levon's voice during Dixie (alternate take better than the original), the small talk in the studio, the stripped down version of Daniel and The Sacred Harp, Rick's clearest bass lines ever on record and Garth's everything, the experience is amazing. There is no hype (what I have read previously in press releases seemed to be) about these re-issues. I spent less than an hour catching up with this last night and there is a lot more to go.

A friendly suggestion: get off the punk and get into these "new" Band CD's. It really brings out a whole new appreciation of the best band that ever was. John

Posted on Wed Aug 30 07:12:41 CEST 2000 from spider-wj042.proxy.aol.com (205.188.198.37)

dennis

Ladies. Gentlemen. Don't quite know how to put enough emphasis on Butch's post of last Thursday, but perhaps a trip to the men's room might help: there on the walls are posters of everyone from NRBQ to Brooke Benton, the Talking Heads to Rick Danko. ..the young cop's sittin' down the road, just waitin' to catch you drivin' away from Woodstock's Joyous Lake to nab you one toke over the line. Attendance is way down and no one's makin' a living. An institution may be closing real soon. If you can make it, Wednesday's show could possibly be one for the ages. Maybe this shit-hole of a road house can make it until Jimmy 'n Randy's show Saturday. Hope YOU can make it. If you need directions, please don't hesitate to ask. ....Dennis

Posted on Wed Aug 30 07:07:21 CEST 2000 from 1cust160.tnt5.nyc3.da.uu.net (63.23.117.160)

peter mena

If anyone can get me directions to big pink, they'll drink free every sunday at bar 13, 35 E 13th St. NYC. And if you don't drink, we have delicious brick oven pizza, plus our djs play a lot of the band. thanks.

Posted on Wed Aug 30 06:55:30 CEST 2000 from spider-wb024.proxy.aol.com (205.188.192.159)

Bayou Sam

Bob R. - that Band Reunion video is great and you should try to find it. I've got it too and if it helps it says, copyright 1984 Media Home Entertainment, L.A. Cal. You get alot more Richard in this one than in TLW. If you can't find it I'll make you a copy. Good luck....... ...Hank - Lennon at the Lyceum - is that the show with Zappa that ended up as one of the records in the Sometime In NYC album? Lennon did a little tune called "Scumbag", not one of his proudest lyrical accomplishments but certainly worthy of punk rock. How come nobodys mentioning one of the most over-rated bands of all time -the Sex Pistols?........................ David Powell - I loved your John Mellencamp story. Now there's a no bullshit guy with his head and priorities screwed on straight. I could see him and the Band gettin' on together. I can see JM doing a cover of Cripple Creek. No??????

Posted on Wed Aug 30 05:51:48 CEST 2000 from ppp596.on.bellglobal.com (206.172.238.20)

Richard Patterson

PAT BRENNEN: Who's your dad?... Joey Ramone?...

Posted on Wed Aug 30 04:38:59 CEST 2000 from ch8smc.bellglobal.com (206.47.244.58)

Wallace

Just picked up the reissues...they're fantastic. I wanted to alert Band fans to the bootleg "The Joint" (detailed in the Discography section). If you haven't got this, please do not pass it up. The disc serves as a great snapshot of the reconstituted Band, circa 1996, at the top of their game. The sound quality is excellent. If you never had the chance to see The Band during the years 1993 to 1999,with Randy, Richard and Jim, here is your chance to experience it. Highlights are Rick's poignant rendition of "Caledonia Mission" and Levon's strong vocals throughout. Interesting sidelight...Garth's opening of "Genetic Method" has all the elements of "French Girls" which didn't appear until 1998 with "Jubilation"

Posted on Wed Aug 30 04:29:15 CEST 2000 from user-33qt8gj.dialup.mindspring.com (199.174.162.19)

Pat Brennan

Richard, I believe Crabgrass got it right: real punk music is performed by anti-musicians. Anyone who practiced his or her instrument in an attempt to get better immediately crossed the line. Out of the bands and soloists you listed, very few would be considered true punks. Dylan and the boys could never be considered punks; they sing and play way to well. The punk ethos makes for unlistenable music.

Btw, as a resident of Chicago, I can safely say Liz Phair is as far from a punk as my mother.

Posted on Wed Aug 30 03:20:07 CEST 2000 from cr514777-a.yec1.on.wave.home.com (24.114.57.20)

Stanley Landau

Bought all four reissues and listened to snippets of the original remastered tracks on the Brown Album and all of the bonus tracks in the car on the way home. Wow, wow, wow!!! Pulled into my driveway and couldn't get out of the car till they were finished.

I read some posts a few days ago from people who don't want to buy the reissues. I can only say all Band fans must hear this stuff. The bonus tracks - exciting, wild, brilliant original music from the past. Please, I can't bear the thought of any Band fan not hearing this. I urge you all to get them.

Posted on Wed Aug 30 03:11:27 CEST 2000 from spider-wa044.proxy.aol.com (205.188.192.39)

L

Al Kooper " I love YOu More than You'll Ever know" has any one ever heard Garth do this song ?:??

Posted on Wed Aug 30 03:08:17 CEST 2000 from spider-tk023.proxy.aol.com (152.163.206.183)

Bumbles

Energetic GB regular mattk mentioned David Johansen's recent Central Park guest spot with Levon & the Barnburners, which wasn't as surprising as it might first seem. While not really a "seminal early punker," Johansen was a seminal New York Doll. It's worth remembering that at a time when the Band would trot out their Sonny Boy Williamson story in interviews then head off to the recording studio to cut snoozers like "Last of the Blacksmiths" & "Hobo Jungle," the Dolls and Johansen were laying down absolutely homicidal versions of Sonny Boy's own "Don't Start Me Talkin'" as well as Bo Diddley's "Pills" and, gulp, "Hoochie Coochie Man."

Final word (for a while, I hope) on a recent GB thread comes from the "Your Stars" astrology column in today's New York Daily News, where the Celebrity Profile is of "rocker" Elvis Costello, whose "chart suggests he'll team up with someone completely unexpected. Costello is a terrific example of how a hard-working Virgo can commit to a lasting and interesting career in a field that is notoriously short-lived for many. His Scorpio moon explains the angry-young-man image of his early years."

Posted on Wed Aug 30 03:08:28 CEST 2000 from spider-wa044.proxy.aol.com (205.188.192.39)

Liz

yeah Danny bravo!! I am a huge tubes fan as well but...........actually the song did someone justice, someone who I think may be older than Fee ( sp ) Waybill ? ? yes "White punks on Dope" brings back laughs ........ Im sure that even certain Band members that may read this are laughing about that, ummmmm remember " Dont touch me there ? " Isnt music wonderful, sorry to stray from the BAND but, actually we were ALL THERE.........

Posted on Wed Aug 30 02:55:54 CEST 2000 from mat-12-80.enter.net (207.16.159.136)

Little Brøther

Ronnie's not here, Bob. I think he's out buying the reissues. I'll give him the message.

Posted on Wed Aug 30 02:46:22 CEST 2000 from unionppp6.union.edu (149.106.172.7)

Danny Lopez

Liz:

I've got the answer to your question -- it was the Tubes! "I was a punk before you were a punk" on their live album. What a fun tune. Plus, they had the marvelous song "White Punks on Dope," which was somewhat of an anthem for me and my white, middle class suburban friends in those freaky high school days.

But, the Tubes were no punk band no matter which definition one adopts. More like a cross between Alice Cooper and Frank Zappa. Saw them in Peoria, IL during their "Completion Backward Principle" days, and then in Columbus, OH during their post-Fee Waybill decline period. Haven't listened or thought about them in years. But they had some moments.

In fact, I'm just looking over their first album now, and ach du lieber Gott, the album was "rearranged" and "mixed" by "Al Kooper"! Am I on the precipice of an unexpected and bizarre Band connection? Ambiguity prevails as the album was "produced" by an "Alan Peter Kooper" who may or may not be the same as the aforementioned. I await answers from the GB diviners and soothsayers.

Posted on Wed Aug 30 02:38:21 CEST 2000 from proxy1.sshe1.sk.home.com (24.66.255.211)

bob cook

Hi Ronnie,I,m Jordan Cook's dad,I just wanted to say thanks for putting him up this summer,he still says what a blast he had at your place,I just got done reading the 2 books you gave him,very interesting, and most humorus,thanks again,and all the best! Bob and Jordan Cook

Posted on Wed Aug 30 01:45:56 CEST 2000 from hud1-pm-13-73.termserv.net (204.97.156.73)

Diamond Lil

Bob: As Ben just mentioned, the video you asked about is called 'The Band Reunion' concert. I have it here. Was done at Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Tunes include: Cripple Creek, Hand Jive, The Shape I'm In, Rag Mama Rag, It Makes no Difference, The Weight, among others....coupled with dialogue by mostly Levon and Rick. I always liked the way "The Band is Back" comes on the screen at the beginning. Haven't watched it in awhile though. Thanks for mentioning it.

Posted on Wed Aug 30 01:35:22 CEST 2000 from spider-tl081.proxy.aol.com (152.163.207.211)

Ben Turkel

Bob, the video you asked about is called simply called 'The Band-Reunion concert' I beleive. There's info about on this site in the videography section. It's out of print, but pops up on Ebay pretty regularly.

Posted on Wed Aug 30 00:41:44 CEST 2000 from spider-tk054.proxy.aol.com (152.163.206.199)

Bumbles

html tags can be hazardous. Use with caution.

Posted on Wed Aug 30 00:23:19 CEST 2000 from spider-wa061.proxy.aol.com (205.188.192.46)

Liz

I once had the honor to chat with Jerry Garcia about music, 1978, he asked me what music I liked then, ( I was young !!) I said Elvis Costello and some Punk Bands..........He said he was a BIG Elvis Costello Fan, and he was going to see him. I have this on tape : )

Trivia Question: Who said " I was a punk before you were a punk ?? playon

Posted on Tue Aug 29 23:58:19 CEST 2000 from m198214178108.austin.cc.tx.us (198.214.178.108)

Pehr

Punk is attitude. punk goes back to Napoleon Strickland in Mississippi. It goes back to Harmonica Frank. It probably goes back to Patrick Henry and Marie Antoinette. the first punk was either Adam or his son Cain, though Eve carried most of the blame and shame thru history I suppose.

The essential thing is that Punk must re-invent itself and does and has, to stay alive. if it's put under a microscope it dissapears, its a strange aspect of its reality in the world of physics.

in 60's rock I often think of the Who as one of the first "Real" punk bands because the early songs like "Happy Jack" were not rock and roll, not blues, just totally weird and very much about frustration, hangups, rebellion, adolescent superiority, and all that wonderful stuff, (in a very bizarre package,too. I would, however, love to hear what Zappa was doing, say, ca. '59 to '64.)

Compared to the Hawks in the early 60's... well to me on "Bo Diddley" and "Who Do You Love", the Hawks sound like a punk prodigy. I dont think punk ever got more vehement or simple. A famous "Punk" Painter, Keith Haring once remarked in his journal how difficult simplicity is to achieve. I agree.

Another landmark in punk staked out by our Band here are the first 2 albums, completely against the grain of all that was going on in rock music in terms of image, aesthetic, philosophy, playing, singing, and in it's reinvention of songwriting.

Gettin offa work now. going to the record store to get the reissues. thanks for keepin us posted.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 23:42:37 CEST 2000 from www-cache.vuw.ac.nz (130.195.2.96)

Amanda

Hank, ya hippie! But actually I agree with most of what you say about the stupidity of nihilism, gobbing etc.

I like your list Richard Patterson but I agree- it is difficult to label music. (Eg. What is "alternative"? In my opinion it's a marketing strategy.) But part of how I would define punk is that it was a moment in time when the tide turned back in favour of short songs and against long self indulgent solos. In that sense The Band were punks well ahead of their time.

Got to go and order Cahoots now.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 23:15:27 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

Hank, nice try, but both the Velvets and the MC5 predate the Lennon/Yoko show...I guess this raises the spectre of the age-old argument about WHERE punk originated, whether it be London, NYC or Detroit. All make reasonable claims.

And hey, seminal early punker David Johansen is jamming with Levon these days, so I'd argue we're still on topic.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 22:58:10 CEST 2000 from dialup-320.cork.iol.ie (193.203.148.64)

HANK

.....Then there was the guy who was gonna throw all his Elvis C. records outta the window.......That's one of the funniest things I've ever read here!!!!!!.....John and Yoko and The Beatles invented Punk.....in 1969!!!!.......loud , outta tune, inner-city (London) guitar rock on a roof top.....no overdubs.....and The War is Over concert at The Lyceum in December of that year..............Could it be that I'm the only one here who knows that?????...........Actually I recall reading that Ewan McCall, the English folkie, branded the music that Dylan and The Band were making in 1966 as "pure punk.....". That tour really did scare the living crap outta everyone.......

Posted on Tue Aug 29 22:57:25 CEST 2000 from spider-we053.proxy.aol.com (205.188.195.43)

Stephen Novik

comments about the reissues... WOW! I'm currently likening the bonus tracks to The Beatles Anthology -- it is very interesting to hear the different mixes and takes. Lonesome Suzie with horns! And the Cahoots commercial was very cheesy! I mean, tres fromage! (but funny too.) More later, everybody.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 22:40:40 CEST 2000 from gw.itac.ca (209.146.161.1)

Bill

The Hawks/Band and their links to punk: It seems to be accepted as truth that the Hawks played on the Barbarians' "Moulty", which is on Nuggets. And I'd say that Dylan's calculated, in-your-face attitude circa Live '66 was attitudinally (what a great word!) punkish. And Toronto's big garage band of the '60s was the Ugly Ducklings, whose leader was a serious blues collector who absolutely loved Robertson's playing on So Many Roads. The only edition of Creem I've saved is from the late '70s, when it ran an article on obscure punk classics. One of them was "Like A Dribbling Fram" by Race Marbles - a funny and bizarre parody of you-know-what. All of which adds up to not a lot, but what the heck.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 22:11:16 CEST 2000 from (12.34.17.217)

Johnny Flippo

Lotte Lenya invented punk. Everybody knows that. Now can we hear more from the folks who've purchased the reissues?

Posted on Tue Aug 29 22:08:14 CEST 2000 from (205.230.10.2)

Bob R

While living in Maine back in the early 90's I remember renting a video of the re-formed Band in concert-- it was the version of the Band with the Cate Bros--I cannot remember the name of the video, but I remember it being filmed in Canada and it was pretty good--- the cover was pretty cheesey, like the company that put it together was low budget, but I would love to get my hands on it again-- I never see it avaiable anywhere, does anyone out there own a copy ? If so, could you fill in some of the holes in my memory as to what songs were performed , etc, and what the name of the video is ?? I do remember Richard Manuel being in it---can anyone help ? ps- good to see the posts regarding Richard Thompson & Nick Lowe-- I am big fans of both, have seen both in concert a number of times and had a great time--I heard once that Richard Thompson was Danko's choice for a replacement for Robbie R in the re-formed Band

Posted on Tue Aug 29 21:55:09 CEST 2000 from client-151-198-114-207.nnj.dialup.bellatlantic.net (151.198.114.207)

Bumbles

“[R]etro-rockabilly/new wave project” sounds more like a performance art piece or a theme restaurant with pretensions than two guitars, bass, and drums doing the Chuck Berry thing. Rock and roll band might be a more accurate characterization of Rockpile.

“Punk” came into wide use in the early 70s, applied to then-almost-forgotten Nuggets/Pebbles bands that proliferated across the U.S. in the period (roughly) between Meet the Beatles and Magical Mystery Tour---bands now more commonly known as “garage.” Critics in outlets like the original Creem and the fanzine Teenage Wasteland Gazette soon began using the term to characterize a later generation of bands marked by an aggressive---preferably brutal---musical approach and an antisocial---preferably offensive---attitude. Detroit’s MC-5 and Stooges were most prominent among the second punk generation, but the designation was applied somewhat indiscriminately to just about any band that rocked even a little and was favored by anyone with access to print or a mimeograph. When a scene began to coalesce around NY’s CBGB’s in 1975, many of the same journalists and critics were on hand to dub it…Punk. After the Ramones and the Patti Smith Group (whose guitarist, Lenny Kaye, compiled and annotated Nuggets way back in 1972) toured England, British punk was a movement waiting for the Sex Pistols to happen. Shortly after they did, punk became meaningless, and everyone from the Police to Joe Jackson to the Romantics was punk. Or new wave. Or something. Bruce Springsteen has nothing to do with any of this. Bob Dylan does, as an inspiration to the garage generation to (1) play fucking loud, (2) do drugs and write songs about it (or, in many cases, imagine what doing drugs must be like and write songs about that), and (3) act as surly as you’d like. (Live ‘66, by the way, isn’t a punk album because there are no electric guitars on half of it; “Albert Hall” bootlegs with just the electric set aren’t punk albums either, but are an important punk source.) Even though one of the Hawk’s (or Canadian Squires’) singles was anthologized on a volume of Pebbles dedicated to “foreign” bands, the Band (as the Band, not Bob Dylan’s band) doesn’t figure in it either, largely because, rooted in an earlier era, they were committed to ideals of professionalism and musicianship antithetical to punk in any of its authentic forms.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 21:31:49 CEST 2000 from (200.227.227.2)

Marcelo

Hi there, how's everybody?? I'm back from a little trip and I'm reading some mails of this gestbook of course, some about Elvis Costello. I like this guy, he makes "real music" with instruments, people playing, not eletronic. I hate some "eletronic musics" that play everywhere. But what's going on with him? Did he say bad things about this site, or about The Band or some of it's members? Please let me know, because if it is true I throw his albuns out of the window. Thanks, bye !

Posted on Tue Aug 29 21:05:46 CEST 2000 from gw3a61-d591.wind.it (212.141.121.211)

EMANUELE "THE BEARD"

Hi !Everybody ! Jan the your work for this SITE IS WONDERFULL! I Have a some problems: I make work get the last albums of Rick Danko, the system it is very complex have them arrived in Italy, there e' a branch European of the Woodstock Record!! I am looking for THE Complete Last Waltz, I would like to know if I succeed in finding it in the European territory! Thanks!! Write on my e-mail address ! Sorry for my bad English ....

Posted on Tue Aug 29 20:52:03 CEST 2000 from (208.218.212.187)

David Powell

I just got back from catching John Mellencamp's free concert in Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park today. Since this latest stop on his "Stealth" acoustic tour was just down the street from my office, I took an extended lunch hour to enjoy the music and it was great.

Accompanying himself on a beat-up Gibson Dove acoustic guitar, he played an hour long set backed by a young lady on fiddle & vocals, an accordian player and another one of his regular band members on acoustic guitar. His set consisted maninly of other people's songs, apparently material that he enjoys playing himself. Although I'm not sure of all of the exact titles, he played: "Small Town, "Oklahoma Hills" (Woody Guthrie), the old blues standard "In My Time of Dyin'", "Captain Bobby Stout" (from Jerry Hahn's Brotherhood), "I Saw You First", "Cut Across Shorty", Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower", "Street Fighting Man" (The Stones), "(I'm Gonna Buy You A) Chevrolet", "Spider And The Fly" (Stones again), and closed with "Little Pink Houses".

It was an enthusiastic & strong performance from Mr. Mellencamp and you could tell he was enjoying himself. Even though I did not get there early, I managed to get down front near the small stage and could see the smiles all around on the faces of the performers. It's not every day that you can to see someone of this caliber play for free -- it was like having him play in your backyard for a summer picnic. In the words of Mr. Mellencamp: "I don't have anything to sell here today. I'm not promoting anything and I don't have a f******g album coming out. I just want to thank all of you for supporting me for the last twenty five years."

Posted on Tue Aug 29 20:33:25 CEST 2000 from gw.itac.ca (209.146.161.1)

Bill

Is punk any sneering rock music, or does it have to be self-consciously sneering? If the former, then I'd go back to much rockabilly and Bo Diddley. ("Hey Mama, Keep Your Big Mouth Shut".) If the latter, then maybe the Velvets and Dylan/Hawks. Our guys are there no matter which you pick.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 20:26:28 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

Well, Richard, for a second I thought I was losing it when I misread your post. Glad to hear neither of us are suffering too much from early senility. The research was fun though, I'm going to have to do a Nick Lowe tribute on my stereo when I take my vacation next week.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 20:01:13 CEST 2000 from ppp690.on.bellglobal.com (206.172.238.114)

Richard Patterson

MATTK: I meant to say "Stick to Me" was his worst job... not his only job... thanks for the list... : )

Posted on Tue Aug 29 20:00:08 CEST 2000 from (12.34.17.217)

Johnny Flippo

I too have returned from the record store with my copy of Cahoots, and thanks to my lunch hour, have heard it in its entirety. Now, my grandfather always said, "with age comes wisdom born of perspective", and he was right. Before listening, I summoned all of the concentration I could muster to prepare myself to listen to this thing with the ears of a kid in 1971, which was what I was at the time of its release. When I originally bought it way back then, like many others, I was kind of confounded by it -- it lacked something. Levon's drumming, in particular, seemed a definite disappointment; you could really sense the lack of involvement/interest on his part. But let's cut to the present. You know what? This "record" is pretty damn good. The songs, as we all know, are not the strongest in the Band canon, but still (again listening with those '71 ears) they have elegance, passion, charm, even swagger. IMHO, Richard and Rick do some of their finest singing on this platter. The remastering makes all the difference in the world -- just wait 'til you __really__ hear Garth on "The River Hymn", not to mention Levon's playing -- turns out his "disinterest" was merely a bad mix. Some surprises are revealed in Mr. Bowman's liner notes -- that's Richard playing slide on "Thinkin' Out Loud"! I won't spoil the fun found in the outtakes, particularly the cheesy commercial. Suffice to say folks, if I'm this pleased with Cahoots, I can't wait to hear the rest.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 19:56:40 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

Actually, for my money, punk was invented between September of 1965 and June of 1966. If "Live '66" isn't a punk album, then I'm not sure what is...

Posted on Tue Aug 29 19:54:51 CEST 2000 from cic-proxy02.firstunion.com (169.200.25.141)

Bones

Entertainment Weekly has a nice review of the reissues in the current issue. Big Pink and the Brown album were given an A, Stage Fright an A-, and Cahoots received a respectable B-. Tony Scherman wrote the blurb. Tony was the author of that great Robbie Robertson article in Musician Magazine in 1991, where Robbie spoke so glowingly of Levon and their past Hawks days.

I just came back from the record store since its REISSUE DAY and something unusual happened. The store mistakingly only stocked one of each reissue, and when I got there early, they had all been sold EXCEPT the Brown album. I would have thought it would have been the other way around.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 19:52:29 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

Richard, you are very correct about labeling in music. I can't even define Rock, Classical, Jazz, Country, etc. In this post-modern year of hyphenation, it's increasingly difficult to define anything culturally. After all, one man's weed is another man's lawn, Crabby so often illustrates ; )

Regarding Nick Lowe as producer, I have to admit that while Crenshaw's records SOUND like Lowe productions, they are in fact not, as you pointed out. However, your assertion that Lowe's only production turn was on Parker's "Stick it to Me." If anything Lowe has a more extensive and illustrious career as a producer than anything else.

Credits span multiple genres, working as Costello's most frequent collaborator in the latter's earlier recordings (with a couple of return engagements more recently), and enjoying a good musical relationship with the Carter/Cash enclave, producing for Johnny Cash, and in a more formal Country setting with Carlene Carter.

Follows is a short list of albums that I know he has producer credits, thanks to a quick perusal of my faulty memory and some quick verification from CD Now:

Elvis Costello
Trust
Ten Bloody Marys
Get Happy!!
Armed Forces
This Year's Model
My Aim Is True
Blood and Chococlate

The Pretenders
"The Pretenders" (debut)

The Damned
Music For Pleasure
Neat, Neat, Neat
Light At The End Of The Tunnel
Damned Damned Damned

John Hiatt
Living A Little Laughing A Lit
Riding With The King
Repeat When Necessary
Get It
Subtle As A Flying Mallet

Graham Parker
Howlin' Wind

Johnny Cash
Rockabilly Blues

Carlene Carter
Musical Shapes/Blue Nun

Additionally, Lowe is very busy as a soundtrack producer, having overseen production for "The Sopranos," "Apollo 13," and even the most recent "Flintstone's: Viva Rock Vegas" debacle.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 19:44:28 CEST 2000 from bethany.chartworksinc.com (209.125.212.140)

Brien Sz

The Boss as the founder of Punk? I think that's a bit of a stretch, especially from a critic.

I was always under the impression that The Velvet Underground were the forefathers of the Punk movement. Interesting..,

Posted on Tue Aug 29 19:31:01 CEST 2000 from ppp690.on.bellglobal.com (206.172.238.114)

Richard Patterson

hmmm... CRABGRASS... you got me thinkin'... is how we identify ourselves the answer to the question "what is punk?"

try defining "beat" or "bohemian" or "hippie"...

Posted on Tue Aug 29 19:25:02 CEST 2000 from userbn71.netscapeonline.co.uk (62.125.143.123)

steve thomas

Just ordered the reissues from amazon uk, anyone know when they'll be available in uk. Amazon are giving the 11th September date but our friends in the US seem to be getting them today?

Posted on Tue Aug 29 19:04:15 CEST 2000 from (204.120.54.1)

jcf

I "just" bought Cahoots this morning. I have only listened to the first three tracks, but I will provide my thoughts on the album when I finish listening.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 19:03:18 CEST 2000 from spider-tl014.proxy.aol.com (152.163.207.179)

hip hype

What a banquet of Band goodies on EBAY! Promos of all 4 reissues, Live at the Hollywood Bowl, Roosevelt Stadium, audiophile/Japanese editions, Friends & Other Strangers--- even Old Shoes! WOW! Instant collector's collection!

Posted on Tue Aug 29 18:26:44 CEST 2000 from 1cust249.tnt12.nyc3.da.uu.net (63.23.136.249)

Crabgrass

I recall some critic in the early 80s writing that Bruce Springsteen started the "Punk" movement. I guess it's possible to label any individual or group as "Punk Rockers" if you really want to as recently exhibited right here in the GB.

Agree that Richard Thomspson puts on one of the best live shows around - and he can be just as potent (maybe even more so) with just his acoustic guitar as he is with his band. I look forward to seeing him in Princeton (solo) in October.

Glad to hear that Iris Dement appeared with John Prine and Thompson (though I think he should have been headlining) recently in Atlanta. She is truly a unique and great songwriter and talent.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 17:56:01 CEST 2000 from ppp744.on.bellglobal.com (206.172.238.168)

Richard Patterson

"On a related note, it's rather evident that the whole punk movement has provided little if any good music." - PAT BRENNAN.

With all due respect Pat, I disagree... Of course the examples below hinge on how you define good music... but here goes...

The Ramones, The Clash, Talking Heads, Pere Ubu, Wire, Gang of Four, Patti Smith, Tom Robinson, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Blondie, X, XTC, Black Flag, Replacements, Minutemen, Husker Du, Mekons, Pogues, Rattlers, Undertones, Sonic Youth, Sleater-Kinney, P J Harvey, Liz Phair, Dead Milkmen, Camper Van Beethoven, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Big Black, Graham Parker and the Rumour, Flipper, Angry Samoans, Wreckless Eric, Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, Pretenders, Police, Joan Jett, Pearl Jam, etc., etc.

Now I haven't even scratched the surface of listing the whole punk movement... but come on,,, there's gotta be a few artists in there you throw on the old hi-fi from time to time... No?

Sorry for taking up so much un 'Band'-related space...

MATTK: The only time Nick Lowe really took a dive as a producer was the third Graham Parker lp 'Stick to Me'... but I agree with your assessment of Rockpile...

And Little Village rocks...

Posted on Tue Aug 29 17:33:49 CEST 2000 from spider-tk074.proxy.aol.com (152.163.206.209)

bob wigo

As for Nick Lowe--

Let's not forget his contribution to Little Village. They put on a wonderful show and their one and only album is a key component of my collection.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 17:28:41 CEST 2000 from stk-pm1-44-172.dialup.slip.net (207.171.230.172)

Guenevere

Didn't Rick jam with the Red Hot Chili Peppers at some club a few years back. I seem to recall reading about it in here.

I was glad to hear the report of the Richard Thompson concert in Atlanta... I'm seeing him in Northern CA next week. IMHO... Richard Thompson's shows are the greatest live shows going .....(well, that's next to The Who of course). All Band fans will love him!

Posted on Tue Aug 29 17:29:04 CEST 2000 from usr53-dialup96.mix2.boston.cw.net (166.62.199.98)

G-MAN

Headstone business should be left to the wishess of the family. I'm sure if they desired one we'd ALL help out. Buy TIMES LIKE THESE; lend a hand & get some enjoyment. Just got the cd 8/28-soul-soul, Rickie nailed it right on the money this time. Times Like These, You Can Go Home, Chain Gang--wow; Rick and Rando do some special sound there. Don't know whether to be happy or sad. BEST PICTURE-inside cover with bass; that look is typical & priceless. Only my opion. Peace/Health !!

Posted on Tue Aug 29 17:26:54 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

Nick Lowe is a pretty bad bass player. Still as a producer and songwriter, he's got pretty good chops. I mean what IS so funny about "Peace, Love, and Understanding?"

As a producer, not only was Lowe behind most of Elvis' better earlier recordings, but I rather liked his work with Marshall Crenshaw as well as his "Rockpile" retro-rockabilly/new wave project in the early 80s.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 17:01:41 CEST 2000 from pool-209-138-14-197.ipls.grid.net (209.138.14.197)

Bobby Jones

Just got the re-issues. They sound great.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 16:30:08 CEST 2000 from (208.218.212.187)

David Powell

"I hate graveyards and old pawnshops / For they always bring me tears / Can't forget the way they robbed me / Of my childhood souvenirs." -- John Prine

Rick left us with something greater than any grave marker could convey -- He left us with his music, which is immortal and transcends earthly boundaries of time & place. In his music, his spirit lives on. In these current times, when much of the music we hear is filled with youthful rage, Rick gave us something gentle & positive to sooth our souls.

If you haven't already -- order Rick's "Times Like These" CD from Breeze Hill. I received my copy yesterday, within 5 days of my order. No, I don't need a grave marker to remember Rick, I have his music, especially this latest CD, that for me is a mark of the man's immortal soul.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 16:04:56 CEST 2000 from spider-wj052.proxy.aol.com (205.188.198.42)

Bayou Sam

It seems to me that an arrangement between a musical artist and a record company is purely buiness - in most cases. Capitol isn't going to buy Rick a gravestone any quicker than The Band would buy one for a Capitol executive. If there was a fan effort to do it as Kitrick also suggests, I'd be into that. However, if Rick's family has done what they want to, and what Rick would have wanted, as Lil suggests - then we should leave it alone.IMHO of course.... It's too bad Levon is so angry still. Since I'm not in his shoes I certainly can't feel whatever he's feeling. Keep beatin' on them drums Levon - it's good therapy. That's something I can say from experience....Hey Ingrid Zwart, go out and pick up a couple of Band CD's. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 15:48:24 CEST 2000 from hud1-pm-26-86.termserv.net (204.97.156.86)

Diamond Lil

"I'm a pepper, you're a pepper, he's a pepper, she's a pepper..wouldn't you like to be a pepper too?" (Sorry..couldn't resist :-)

And on a note to the self-proclaimed "world's worst bass player"...you can bring over your (cheap, made-in-china, precision copy) Fender and...........terrorize my spud-launching, bottle-shooting neighbors too :-)

Hmmm... I suppose I should now find something constructive to do here. Have a good day (again) everyone.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 14:43:42 CEST 2000 from spider-wi022.proxy.aol.com (205.188.197.27)

bob wigo

That was zwart of strange.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 14:36:30 CEST 2000 from (12.34.17.217)

Johnny Flippo

Today is "R-Day" (as in reissue). In order to foster a stronger sense of delayed gratification in myself, I have decided to purchase only one of the four reissues per week. And for some reason (stupidity? curiosity? obstinance?) I have decided that my first purchase will be "Cahoots". It will be interesting to see if the remastering and (remixing?) job will make any difference in the overall ambience of the record. Plus, I'll finally be able to hear the fabled studio take of "Don't Do It". All this, of course, hinges on whether or not our "quality" chain record store even has the damn things today (I'm scared of e-shopping). Finally, thanks to Lil's much-needed consciousness raising, in order to ease any guilt pangs I may have, I've decided to donate the cost of all four CD's to Greenpeace. I don't know if that'll get me off the karmic shit list, but it's a start.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 14:13:44 CEST 2000 from routa38.vestdata.no (195.204.72.231)

Ingrid Zwart (again)

SORRY thought you were the Red Hot chili Peppers...OOOPppss...won't do it again

Posted on Tue Aug 29 14:06:36 CEST 2000 from routa38.vestdata.no (195.204.72.231)

Ingrid Zwart

I love you guys!!! Especially you Flea.... I'm your biggest fan i Norway and admire you from beginning to end. I play base at my self and you guys are my biggest inspiration. Horray for the red hot chili peppers

Posted on Tue Aug 29 12:54:29 CEST 2000 from hud1-pm-25-85.termserv.net (204.97.156.85)

Diamond Lil

Kitrick: As much as I agree with your sentiment (and Levon's), there is no headstone at Rick's gravesite because Rick _chose_ not to have one for Eli, and it now should be Elizabeth's prerogative to choose to have one for Rick...or not.

As 'sad' as the fact that no headstone makes some folks, both Rick's and Eli's graves are maintained and visited often. I saw beautiful flowers planted on Rick's the last time I was there. In fact, I sent Jan a photo, which I told him to leave up to his discretion whether or not he wanted to put it on the site. My reason for sending it was to let folks see that it _is_ well-cared for. It's Jan's call..and I respect his decision to post it or not.

I'd also like to add Kitrick, that I am in 100% agreement that Capitol records should donate _something_ out of respect for Rick's memory. I'd like to suggest perhaps a contribution in his name to one of the many charities he cared about. Of course though, it won't happen.

Anyway...have a good day everyone. Hug Jan.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 06:15:56 CEST 2000 from spider-tm012.proxy.aol.com (152.163.197.47)

Dave Z

Now I know why Peter uses a cut-and-paste approach to his posts... I just lost a bunch of ramblin' words in a flicker...anyway, a question... Did anybody filmed in Woodstock get filmed in TLW or vice versa?... also, has anybody bought the Stills/Manassas video appearing on Amazon.com?... It looks like a live show in Germany... I kinda like Stills' "Word Games" and "Singin' Call"... maybe the distance from cool-hippie-acoustic-guitar-God-genius to lounge lizard is 50 lbs... I interpret "Love The One Your With" as a pep talk for some poor guy who's lost at love and needs to move on... and rather think lounge lizard applies more appropriately to the bordering on predatory "Make Love To You"... from an album where Stills edited out the voices of two of his buddies so he could tour with a third who left him twisting midway through... and then "Shaa-Zam" all 4 reunion in 2000... and Stills looked to me to be mighty Danko-ish on bass during a VH1 special... deferring to Neil and all... anyway, again, I am getting ready to make a career change... and plan to start off with a canoe trip to northern MN... so TLW and Cahoots are getting some airplay in my household... last year the wind blowed down all the trees up north I guess... and I am gonna get to see if a special place has disappeared from me... forever changed in my lifetime... I'll close my ramblin' with excerpt from a book I'm reading about an artist (Can you guess who?)... "The automobile and the airplane have not been able to take away from it its old moving power as an assaulter of space and time. Its whistle is the most nostalgic of sounds to my ear."... and later: "The automobilist may stay or go, tomorrow or the next day makes no difference. He is consequently, freer of a sense of fate than was his earlier foot-itching brother for whom the train whistle not only suggested journey but, after the ticket was bought, commanded it."... Makes me think of the "Far and Lonely Cry of Trains" and "Where Do We Go From Here?"... Excuse my indulging...

Posted on Tue Aug 29 05:43:44 CEST 2000 from c5300-2-ip20.albany.thebiz.net (216.238.225.20)

Kitrick Short

Hi Friends! I have some sad news here from Woodstock. I went to visit Ricks grave this last weekend and found that he and his son are side by side. What made me sad was that they didn't have a head stone just a very small stick in the ground name plate. I was at Levon's house talking to him about it and his comment was CAPITOL RECORDS SHOULD DONATE A REAL HEAD STONE ITS THE LEAST THEY COULD DO FOR SUCH A GREAT MAN THAT HELPED MAKE THEM ALOT MORE MONEY THAN THEY GOT FOR THE MUSIC. NOW THAT THEY ARE RERELEASEING THE WHOLE SET OF BAND CDS AGAIN LET ALL SEND THEM E MAIL ABOUT THIS ISSUE. I WOULD START AN ACCOUNT FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARDS THE CREATION OF A HEAD STONE FOR RICK. IF THERE IS ANY INTREST IN THIS PLEASE EMAIL ME.PEACE AND LOVE! KITRICK SHORT

Posted on Tue Aug 29 05:40:08 CEST 2000 from user-33qt8r7.dialup.mindspring.com (199.174.163.103)

Pat Brennan

Odd sidelight: I believe Elvis Costello is 46 years old, which would have made him in his mid-20's at the time of the "incident." That's a bit old for the "youthful indiscretion" excuse, isn't it? Whatever the case, big deal. I'm with Lenny Bruce on this one.

On a related note, it's rather evident that the whole punk movement has provided little if any good music.

Back to Elvis. "Get Happy" is a truly fabulous album. He's also quite good live. His keyboardist Steve Nieve is a Garth-type with an exstensive classical background. For the best example of Nieve's playing, listen to "Man Out Of Time."

By the way, calling The Last Waltz a "grotesque" event (was that the adjective, or something like that?) reminds me, oddly enough, of Elvis's run-in with Bonnie Bramlett.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 03:56:07 CEST 2000 from spider-tj022.proxy.aol.com (152.163.213.182)

Bayou Sam

I was looking through my trusty Rolling Stone Rock and Roll Encyclopedia, and I decided to read the Elvis Costello entry. It pretty much echos MattK's version of "the incident", and talks about him spending most of his career after that trying to do damage control. I'm amused by all the deep analysis' of why Elvis C.(I can't bring myself to call him just Elvis - there's only one Elvis) did such a thing. Alot of deep reasons involving angry youth and social issues and the like. I'd like to offer this honest opinion - he was a punk who was tasting fame, that had way too much to drink, made an ass of himself, and got his lights punched out. The fact that he vocally hammered an American musical legend just made it worse and got it into the newspapers. That dosen't make him a lifelong horrible person - but it kinda made a bad first impression on some people.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 03:09:36 CEST 2000 from bethany.chartworksinc.com (209.125.212.140)

Brien Sz

If the Elliot Landy book is the same one I saw at Barnes and Noble the other day, it has a lot of Band pictures in it.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 01:44:17 CEST 2000 from host-209-214-125-187.bna.bellsouth.net (209.214.125.187)

BWNWITennessee

"Rolling Stone" says Elliott Landy has a new 144-page book of unreleased photos of Dylan in Woodstock. I'm sure there'd be a few of The Band in there. It says to call 1-800-775-1111.

There's also a picture of Keith Richards with Janet Jackson and N'Sync. And he's smiling! I guess it's better than Mick. I'm currently hiding in the basement awaiting the end.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 00:52:44 CEST 2000 from bethany.chartworksinc.com (209.125.212.140)

Brien Sz

HEY ABOTT!!!!!!!!!

Now there was a Costello everyone could love!

Posted on Tue Aug 29 00:06:22 CEST 2000 from du-tele3-017.mailbox.co.uk (195.82.121.17)

Peter Viney

Michael: Wow! that means it's not simply a Band / Bob / Lindisfarne link, but a Band / Bob / Lindisfarne / Van link - he did two songs with them, including Caravan.

KLJ: However, I do think that some members of The Attractions at least mentioned (in glowing terms) meeting Levon.

Posted on Tue Aug 29 00:03:33 CEST 2000 from m198214191216.austin.cc.tx.us (198.214.191.216)

Pehr

I'd pretty much forgotten about The Blues Project. Interesting to see them pop up here. The other day I was listening to Roy Buchanan's MALAGUENA, a record of outtakes and after hours show of his from the mid to late 60's. I highly recommend a listen to anyone. There is one track called "I Found You" that bespeaks a BP influence rather strongly, which caused me to comment that I'd forgotten them. I dont think Kalb "sold out" as a guitarist/artist in being a part of that band, thats where alot of music was going. I also think Al Kooper had alot to do with their sound, which may not have earned millions of sales but opened alot of doors (no pun, really) for other 60's blues based bands. Unlike the Butterfield gang, the BP came up with alot of new arrangements of old blues and traditionals- Andy Kulberg may be the first flute player in Rock.

Reminds me of sitting around Seattle Airport a few years ago and having a strange feeling of deja-vu. On investigating the feeling I found the cause of it being the MUZAK being played in the terminal. I couldn't for the life of me remember where I heard the song before, then realized it was a Muzak version of "The Flute Thing" off the old BP record I had in my early music collection.

Band connection? well after I discovered music through Bob D and the Band I ate up everything I could on anyone related to them. Koopers book BACKSTAGE PASSES was an entertaining read that introduced me to alot of Band connections, and I recommend the updated version ofthe book, "Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards" as a good look into those days.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 23:52:24 CEST 2000 from ppp650.on.bellglobal.com (206.172.238.74)

Richard Patterson

BILL M.: The best Brinsley Schwartz (the band, not the guy) album is called 'Nervous on the Road' from 1972... VERY Band-like. Nick Lowe writes and sings over half the songs... keeps pitch, tempo and time quite well (confused here about your 'world's worst bass player' comment)... This is a great country-rock album with a little bit of funk thrown in... everthing pulled off with great respect for the genre... "The Name of the Place Is I Like it Like That" is a very cool cover, Ian Gomm opens the lp with "It's Been So Long" (anybody remember 'Gomm With the Wind'?),,, and Brinsley plays beautiful RR-style tele guitar throughout (rockin' on "Home in my Hand")... this guy recalls Steve Cropper, James Burton, and Robbie Robertson... and he's British!!! go figure...

PETER V. Did they call this stuff Pub Rock? Those 2 great Graham Parker lps from '76 ('Howlin' Wind' and 'Heat Treatment') obviously didn't come out of thin air. What the hell was happening in England in the early-mid 70's with these bands like Brinsley Schwartz, Ducks Deluxe and Kilburn and the High Roads... The whole scene seems to have been very country-roots-'Band' oriented...

Anyway, all this to say 'Nervous on the Road' is a GREAT album. Should appeal to any Band fan.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 22:39:27 CEST 2000 from spider-tk044.proxy.aol.com (152.163.206.194)

frank

If any Band fans out there are interested in the future instead of the past all the time, this wed. at The Lake are Levon and The Barn Burners. On Fri. nite at The Lake are Jimmy Weider and The Gurus.[Who knows maybe Elvis Costello might show up]

Posted on Mon Aug 28 22:32:49 CEST 2000 from gw.itac.ca (209.146.161.1)

Bill

Jan (and others): I really do like Nick Lowe, and I do recognise that the fact that a guy didn't sound good then doesn't mean that he doesn't sound good now, thirty years ago! Nick's Rose of England is in my ever-shortening collection of favourite LPs (as opposed to CDs). That collection, by the way, includes four Band LPs - more than any other artist.

Interestingly enough, considering recent discussions here, the song "Rose of England" forms part of an imagined radio "set" that goes through my head from time to time - along with the Clash's "This Is England", Sparks's "England" and Rodney Crowell's "The One About England". The latter even links back to the Band.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 21:57:49 CEST 2000 from client-151-198-146-29.nnj.dialup.bellatlantic.net (151.198.146.29)

Bumbles

Didn’t expect to see the Blues Project in here, but it makes more sense than Jim Morrison. Or Elvis Costello. They seemed to be a mix of pop-savvy young pros like Al Kooper & Steve Katz and folkies willing to sell out in the wake of the Byrds & the Spoonful, but finding fewer buyers than they’d imagined. They were also part of an attempt by classy jazz label Verve to establish itself in the burgeoning “progressive” market (under the Verve/Folkways imprimatur) by dipping into a Greenwich Village talent pool that yielded (among others) Richie Havens, Janis Ian, and Artie Traum’s band Bear. Despite being all over the map stylistically, the BP’s 1966 debut, Live at the Café au Go Go, still holds up surprisingly well. By their first studio lp (Projections? Directions?), though, they were doing something called “Flute Thing,” and even as youth I knew enough to steer clear of that. (“Flute Thing” did become a staple of early “underground” FM radio, back when those stations also played Ravi Shankar, Walter Carlos, and the Neon Philharmonic.) The group’s crowning achievement was undoubtedly “No Time Like the Right Time,” a great rock/psych/soul single. Not a hit, it was one of the selections on the original 2-lp Nuggets---suitably elevated company. Guitarist Danny Kalb for many years (maybe still) advertised his services as a guitar teacher in the Village Voice.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 21:33:49 CEST 2000 from spider-tk083.proxy.aol.com (152.163.206.213)

bob wigo

Anyone here have any history on that great photo of Rick in the cowboy garb? I'm sure there's a story that would raise a few smiles.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 21:30:32 CEST 2000 from (200.220.96.3)

RICARDO

ZELMA DAUGHTER!!!! Hey, indian girl, where are you?

Posted on Mon Aug 28 21:00:00 CEST 2000 from jan-hoiberg.hiof.no (158.36.52.15)

jh

Bill,
Nick Lowe?! Phht, the world's worst bass player (shameless enough to play in public and put his music on the internet) can be heard here. He is now terrorizing his neighbours with a brand new Squire P-bass (cheap Made-in-China Fender-licensed Precision copy) and his trusty old Marshall amp :-)

Posted on Mon Aug 28 20:43:21 CEST 2000 from (149.160.24.116)

Kockin' Lost John

In the words of Levon Helm (only his were directed at Neil Diamond), "Tell Elvis Costello we don't even know who the f**k he is!"

Posted on Mon Aug 28 20:35:32 CEST 2000 from dialup-371.cork.iol.ie (193.203.148.115)

Hank

Wow, folks, that Elvis Costello Thread has been amazing!!!!!.......his comments about Ray Charles were drunken ravings, no doubt...........I view that whole incident in two ways: 1 The British Punk Rock movement, essentially, espoused negativity, personally insulting language, ignorance and hatred of any music made before 1976 as A WAY OF LIFE!!.......poor old Declan McManus went along with this mode of behaviour charade, changed his name to Elvis Costello and became a star........and ended up drunkenly insulting Ray Charles, whom, I would have no doubt, he probably really respected, when sober.........the reality is that he was into The Band, CSN and song-writing ( this is evident in his own fine body of work).........and his argument with Stephen Stills and Bonnie Brammlett was a sorta personal come-uppance for selling out............that's my own personal take on THAT scenario.....my other point of view is that the press people there were really to blame for making it into such a scandal.......but there ya go......that's the other thing about British Punk Rock, more than the British Glam-Rock movement before it, British Punk Rock thrived and survived almost COMPLETELY on hype as opposed to any seriously rocking musicians and bands........The Sex Pistols did whole NME spreads insulting The Beatles, The Stones, Bowie and whoever.....that was OK for them ......but it permeated into the whole culture and Elvis Costello got caught up in it in an effort to become a star........well, he BECAME a star......and this when it REALLY happened.........how unfortunate for him that he has to carry that around......I've read interviews where he says he was COMPLETELY bummed-out because Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson once walked out of a session when they realised he was there and who he was.......his favourite target however was not, Ray Charles, whom, as I've already pointed out, he probably really respected....no, his favourite target was Led Zeppelin.......he used to REALLY rip into those guys....I've read a few interviews where he calls Led Zep "charlatans......."......and lotsa other nasty stuff......which is kinda rich.....like 'em or loath 'em, Led Zep was a hard-working, hard rockin' band who strove to put out great music and do great shows for their audiences......Why pick on Zeppelin?......Why pick on ANYONE? ( The answer is HYPE, of course).........what more can you ask a band to do?......SPIT on their audience so that it looks good in "The News of The World" (A British Sunday Tabloid) for a few Sundays??????......yeah, well, that's what British Punks did....SPIT.....like, wow!!!!....Elvis C, however, was made of sterner stuff than the rest of the wimpy British Punks......and survived all that controversy to write great songs and make great records......he also gave the Pogues to the world, in a way.........he ended up jammin' with Jerry, too, dudes........and Dylan.......... I believe that Ray Charles comments on the whole matter were along the lines of; "Mr Costello should not be judged by his drunken comments but by his music"....which shows you how cool and hip Brother Ray is............It'd be GREAT if Ray Charles recorded one of his songs.......I dunno, maybe he HAS!!!!!!!......anyone out there know??...........Elvis C and The Band is an interesting story, too.....any interview I've read where he speaks of The Band, he can't say enuff great stuff about them......it's a pity, then, that he never searched 'em out and got them to play on any of his records......or maybe he DID......I dunno, anybody out there know if there are any Band/Elvis C interface stories available?............sorry for going on a bit here, but y'know,..... it's been a few days since my last GB fix and I guess I just over-did it.........and don't get me wrong folks, I like ALOT of what could be termed as British Punk Rock songs.......but I cannnot stomach the nihilistic horseshit that was force-fed to us at the time.......call me a hippie......I don't care........

Posted on Mon Aug 28 20:31:57 CEST 2000 from gw.itac.ca (209.146.161.1)

Bill

Somebody mentioned Brinsley Schwartz (the band, not the guy) back there. I think their first LP (? - anyway, the 'painted pony' one) shows strong Band influence, though the organ was more out front that Garth usually was (except on "Chest Fever"). And Nick Lowe showed himself to be, at the time, just about the world's worst bass player.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 20:31:11 CEST 2000 from webcache03b.cache.pol.co.uk (195.92.194.13)

Michael

In answer to the Band/Lindisfarne connection quiz - Lindisfarne supported The Band (and Bob) at Nostell Priory, West Yorkshire in Summer 1984.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 19:54:20 CEST 2000 from (12.34.17.217)

Johnny Flippo

I just now scrolled down and read MattK's post on the much bandied (no pun intended)about Costello incident. As usual, he said everything I wanted to say, only a hundred times better. Scooped again. Curses!

Posted on Mon Aug 28 19:50:31 CEST 2000 from cic-proxy02.firstunion.com (169.200.25.141)

Bones

BEN: I also have been curious about Levon's relationship with Hurwitz. After a Barn Burners show, I asked a member a their road crew about their upcoming CD release. He told me that it could be released by anybody EXCEPT Woodstock Records. He insinuated that Levon would rather release it himself than go with Woodstock. He would not say anything else after I asked why.

I have really enjoyed all the recent posts about the Band in our Elvis Costello guestbook.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 18:47:02 CEST 2000 from (208.218.212.187)

David Powell

Bill mentioned BS&T --Their first album that featured the original line-up with Al Kooper, "Child Is Father To The Man" (Columbia 1968), was produced by John Simon. A remastered version of that album, as well as their follow-up effort featuring David Clayton Thomas, will be released separately on CD by Columbia/Legacy on Sept. 5th.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 18:20:26 CEST 2000 from (12.34.17.217)

Johnny Flippo

RIP Jack Nietsche.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 17:44:15 CEST 2000 from du-tele3-152.mailbox.co.uk (195.82.121.152)

Peter Viney

Matt K: Major apologies are due from me- I was of course reading Bumbles comments addressed to Matt K on Bonnie Bramlett, not Matt K’s comments! I was probably as drunk as a Costello at the time I wrote it. For further background on Elvis C. and the desire to shock, seek out Bruce Thomas’s "The Big Wheel" an account of life on the road as bassist with The Attractions, which is hilarious. He refers to Elvis C. throughout as The Singer (and Pete T. as "The drummer") and details The Singer’s many, many phobias from fear of heights to DC10 aeroplanes ("he was so scared of heights he couldn’t stand on a sheet of paper" is one). I skimmed it last night to see if he mentioned the Columbus incident but failed to turn it up. Anyway, CS&N (though probably not Y) would have represented all they seemed to hate. Bruce T. did have a laugh at The Knack who quoted Harry Belafonte as the source of their love for reggae. There was something in the paper today about the difference between British and American sit-com, which said British comedy likes to be iconoclastic. Going back 20 years, British musicians were fond of Stevie Wonder jokes (A repeatable e.g. Q: What’s the first thing Stevie does when he recovers his eyesight? A: Shoot the guy who chooses his clothes.) The comment about Ray C. was inexcusable, but I think it was designed to start a fight. The outcome seems just.

On Stephen Stills, it’s all a matter of personal taste, but Stills (like Danko, Manuel, Don Henly etc) was blessed with a great unaffected natural ability to sing, which I don’t think Elvis C. shares in spite of his inventiveness and originality. Nor do Bob Dylan, Neil Young or Robbie Robertson, though all three are superior songwriters to Stills. I’d admit there’s a lot of dull filler material among Stills’ writings, but the good stuff is worth sifting for. Try ‘Southern Cross’ and ‘Colorado’.

Would the Band / Dylan / Lindisfarne link be the Isle of Wight? It figures.

Dave Z. said "I also couldn't help thinking that something about this sound is not that inconsistent with stuff Robbie does.." Funnily enough, I was saying last night that I couldn’t understand why Rick’s "Chain gang" never made it to HOTH, and my wife said "Probably because it sounds too much like a Robbie production would have sounded." This relates to the questions about Levon & the Barn Burners v The Crowmatix. I’d guess it can just be put down to diverging musical tastes at this point in time.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 17:41:31 CEST 2000 from gw.itac.ca (209.146.161.1)

Bill

Ms Sugar asked about Blues Project. They were a New York group that grew out of an album, Blues Project that featured guitarist Danny Kalb and other young blues guys. I guess either Kalb or his manager built a band around the guy - Al Kooper on keyboards, Tommy Flanders on vocals, Andy Kulberg on bass, Roy Blumenfeld on drums, Steve Katz on guitar. Several albums, the best being the live one. Best cuts that I can think of are "Violets of Dawn" (by Band chum Eric Andersen, I think) and "Flute Thing" (featuring Kulberg). Flanders left and did a folky solo LP. Kalb left too. Kooper left and eventually formed BS&T (which included Katz, even though Kooper didn't care for his playing). Katz stayed in BST for years, including the glory days when they were lead by another Band-chum, David Clayton Thomas. And of course we shouldn't forget Kooper's work with Dylan, Robertson and Helm and with Bloomfield.

Meanwhile, Blumenfeld and Kulberg called in some other musicians and switched names to Sea Train. One LP, then Kulberg called in Toronto drummer Larry Atamanuik (ex Hawk, ex Crowbar) for two great albums on Capitol. Then Atamanuik left for Paul Winter Consort and Sea Train did another LP before retreating into obscurity.

In the late '70s the full original Blues Project got together for a big concert - in Central Park, I believe - that was recorded and released on vinyl.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 17:30:10 CEST 2000 from (208.218.212.187)

David Powell

The Richard Thompson / John Prine concert last Friday night at Chastain Amphitheatre in Atlanta was incredible. Mr. Thompson opened the show with a three piece band that included Danny Thompson on stand-up bass. His set consisted mostly of songs from his recent album "Mock Tudor". He performed: "Man In Need, Bathsheba Smiles, I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight, Hard On Me, Uninhabited Man (acoustic), Sights and Sounds of London Town (acoustic), Walking The long Miles Home (acoustic), Tear Stained Letter and Crawl Back (Under My Stone).

John Prine, backed by Jason Wilber (electric guitar, mandolin, lap-steel, harmonica, etc.) and David Jacques (acoustic & electric bass), performed an awesome set that encompassed songs from his large catalog. Mid-way through his set he brought out Iris DeMent, who joined him on the duets "(We're Not) The Jet Set, Milwaukee Here I Come, Let's Invite Them Over, We Could and In Spite of Ourselves". Ms. DeMent also came back out to join in on the encore, "Paradise".

Regarding Danny Lopez's post about Robbie Robertson's guitars -- The guitars he is referring to are, I believe, a Gibson acoustic/electric Howard Roberts model and an Epiphone Casino (also a favorite of The Beatles). Choice of guitars is a matter of personal preference. Guitarists, especially those with the funds, like to accumulate as many as they can, to use in different situations -- practice, in the studio and live concerts. Why Robertson preferred to use mainly Fenders when performing live is a good question. Maybe he has addressed that in interviews. Fender guitars, however, are noted for their rugged reliability, and for us older guys with not-so-strong backs, they're a lot lighter in weight than many Gibson models like the Les Paul and others.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 16:49:03 CEST 2000 from (12.34.17.217)

Johnny Flippo

Mr. Viney: I think you're quite correct in your assessment of Mr. Costello's (over 20 year-old) comment as one fueled by lager. Having said that, I think the comment was more from a generational angle and not one fueled by racist sentiment. Costello has pointed out that, in his own sort of twisted, misguided way, he was trying to piss off people he felt were part of a 60's/70's ersatz soul brigade; one that tried to claim the genre and had all the trappings of black music, but missed the boat entirely. But c'mon now, Steven Stills better than Elvis Costello? Vocally, I guess it's a matter of esthetic, but a better writer? "Love the One Your With" (a lounge lizard anthem if there ever was one) vs. "Shipbuilding"? No contest.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 16:36:47 CEST 2000 from sjiassoc16.erols.com (208.58.12.144)

Jon Lyness

Hey Ben, your question re: Levon and the Cromatix is a good one...but note that Levon & his group are on the same bill as the Cromatix at Tribeca Blues, NYC, Sept. 9th. I assume they would not be playing together if there were any kind of rift, so let's just assume the best unless we find out otherwise. Cannot wait to see that show!!

Posted on Mon Aug 28 16:08:01 CEST 2000 from powfoot.gcal.ac.uk (193.62.228.217)

Norman Dodgyperm

Of course, Lindisfarne became infamous in the early ninties for recording "FOg on the Tyne" with soccer star, clown, genius and alcoholic Paul 'Gazza' Gascoigne. All together now...fog on the tyne is all mine all mine, fog on the tyne is all mine.... woo hoo!

Posted on Mon Aug 28 15:28:51 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

Peter, I'm confused. I was not aware that I made any comments about Bonnie Bramlett other than to point out that she threw the punch. Some later posts were a bit more qualitative in their assesment. Perhaps you have my comments confused?

Amanda, I'm with you on London Calling, but "Combat Rock?" Egads, I doubt there's ever been a better reason for a band to break up than Rock the Casbah...

Posted on Mon Aug 28 15:10:06 CEST 2000 from myponga0.connect.com.au (210.8.224.3)

Christine

Just thought I would say to Scotty Moore and D.J from Australia. If they wish to contact me great!!!!! I Love them heaps and hope they will send me a personal message later on this week.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 15:07:04 CEST 2000 from usr50-dialup9.mix2.boston.cw.net (166.62.196.9)

G-MAN

Ginny asks, "What is going home by Robbie Robertson'? That is the video where he is introducing his native american relatives, and one says...."and who are you again"??? Did you notice the video trailer advertising a music management video: "Stash the Cash", by Do-We, Cheatem, & Howe. Please no offense to Native Americans, just don't get ripped(off) by Robbie !!!(What a title!!)

Posted on Mon Aug 28 14:06:07 CEST 2000 from wstisp4c02.ml.com (199.43.48.23)

Ben Turkel

Please don't all respond at once to my question about Levon and Aaron Hurwitz. I know this has nothing to do with Elvis Costello or The Doors, but I thought that some folks here may have some insight into this. It strikes me that Levon doen't mention 'Souvenir'(his first solo album in 15 years)at all in his book, while he goes into detail about the session with Keith Richards for the 'All the King's Men' album. Actually I don't beleive that the Cromatix are mentioned at all, despite the fact that he toured with them, and they played shows with the Band in '97 while Rick was in Japan. I'm not trying to stir things up, if anyone has thoughts about this and doesn't want to post here, please e-mail me. Thanks.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 12:59:39 CEST 2000 from 147.0102.bun.iprimus.net.au (202.138.60.147)

Nancy

Re: my previous post. I hadn't finished with the slippery little sucker....hit the submit instead of the back icon, hope it all makes sense just as it is.....

Posted on Mon Aug 28 12:53:40 CEST 2000 from 147.0102.bun.iprimus.net.au (202.138.60.147)

Nancy

Anyone recall that I asked for information about Lindisfarne yesterday? A couple of people (thanks Crabby, Michael and Peter), responded. I went to www.lindisfarne.de as directed, and found some oh so curious information. According to a precis of a book about the band, Lindisfarne performed "alongside Dylan, The Band". No matter how much I searched I could find no further information about where or when this occurred. Short of me buying the book to seek out further details, it will probably remain a mystery unless someone else knows more about the alleged performance. But it seems obvious that my choice of description (obscure) was not quite on the money. Actually, the band has been performing on and off for decades and is still in existence today.

According to the notes on the website, they appeared with Bob Dylan and Santana at St James Park in 1984, and "Dylan producer Bob Johnson worked on their second album, 'Fog on the Tyne', released 1971.

Connections, connections, everywhere connections..

Posted on Mon Aug 28 06:48:26 CEST 2000 from 1cust166.tnt1.idaho-falls.id.da.uu.net (63.28.242.166)

rollie

Looks like we just lost another one of the great ones.Another individual whos music and spirit affected and enriched the lives of many.My hats off to another Brother.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 06:38:05 CEST 2000 from host-209-214-117-67.bna.bellsouth.net (209.214.117.67)

BWNWITennessee

For all you Allman Brothers and Gov't Mule fans, if it hasn't already been posted here, Allen Woody died in his sleep on Friday night.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 05:40:58 CEST 2000 from spider-ta075.proxy.aol.com (152.163.205.8)

Dave Z

Peter V: My initial listen to "Times Like These" got me thinking of the possibilities too... I agree some intrumental versions by Garth could be interesting... maybe in his future solo CD?... I also couldn't help thinking that something about this sound is not that inconsistent with stuff Robbie does...

Others: My favorite punk rock band is Crazy Horse... In Neil's concert movie it looks like the bass player is repeatedly getting hit in the face by some invisible Bonnie Bramlet ghost... By the way, isn't Neil one of the best original guitar players ever?!?!... If Levon were to do a CD with Professor Louie & Crowmatix what would you call the group?... Levon Helm & Professor Louie & the Crowmatix?... What's a Crowmatix anyway?... Anything else on the Afterward from Levon's book?... If Robbie and Levon were to try to do a CD together at some future date what would each bring to the table... or rather what qualities would each recognize in the other as being helpful in creating something new?...

Posted on Mon Aug 28 05:20:19 CEST 2000 from spider-tp062.proxy.aol.com (152.163.204.202)

Bayou Sam

As I said before - I have a slightly more relaxed opinion of Elvis Costello thanks to you folks. But I've got a TON of respect now for someone who isn't getting credit here - Bonnie Bramlett. Good for her.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 05:15:18 CEST 2000 from 209-239-197-170.oak.jps.net (209.239.197.170)

Phil

John Sebastian on harp on The Doors "Road House Blues"? Where do you guys come up with this stuff?

As for "25 Or 6 To 4", I heard it was about a guy who should have been drinking de-caff diet cola, but didn't, therefore he couldn't sleep ect... although I could be wrong.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 03:52:52 CEST 2000 from www-cache.vuw.ac.nz (130.195.2.96)

Amanda

As much as I like Elvis Costello none of his albums make it into my personal top ten and "Londons Calling" by the Clash and maybe even "Combat Rock" both do. As a matter of interest (to me anyway) does anyone know of any Band - Clash connections?

I can certainly see why some people are repelled by the punk rock ethos in general but I still enjoy the energy and vitality of the music. There is no denying that Sid Vicious (for example) was a wreck of a human being but some of the rest needs to be viewed, as it was intended, with a sense of irony.

Re. the bar brangle story…the fact that as a young, drunk, angry man Elvis Costello once made some racist remarks won't detract from my enjoyment of his work. (& I'm pretty sure he never played Sun City) Similarly while I'm not generally in favour of reckless driving I do not allow this to interfere with my enjoyment of the Band.

I realise that people are fans and like different kinds of music for different reasons but I myself don't need to feel any particular empathy with an artist to like their work. I've recently realised that as I've grown older the song-writers I rate the most highly are not the ones who express the way that I may be feeling at a given moment but the ones who can take me somewhere I've never been. That's why I particularly like (for example) Rockin' Chair. I've never been to ol' Virginny & I'm about as different to a 73 year old sailor as its possible to be but when I hear that song I feel his nostalgia and longing etc.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 03:45:45 CEST 2000 from hud1-pm-18-78.termserv.net (204.97.156.78)

TSaxMan16

Hey Band Fans.

I gotta question for you guys, it's not Band related perse, but it's still a question we've wondered about for a while :). (Well it relates to MY school band ;-)). Well for a Band trip we're doing the Chicago song "25 or 6 to 4", and I was telling my mom about it, and we got on the subject of "what does it mean?" Any of you music afficionados have ANY clue, cause it's bugging us :). Thanks for any help, perhaps once we know we can sleep better at night :). Later.

TSM16 - BTW, I'm the one in the orangeish red shirt, since everyone ALWAYS asks :-D.

To the esteemed webmaster of this site, who is more powerful than the mere mortal ;-). Your four favorite "psychos from the website" love ya here :).

Posted on Mon Aug 28 02:57:27 CEST 2000 from ns1.schuster.com (199.105.252.66)

Charlie Young

Hey mattk: thanks for setting the record straight about Elvis Costello. That was the biggest bit of controversy around here since our friend in Ireland brought up Jim Morrison's name.

That reminds me--I thought of a connection between The Band and the Doors. One guy who played with Robbie, Rick and Levon regularly was John Sebastian, who also played the classic blues harp on the Doors' "Roadhouse Blues."

I also figured out that the reason Morrison's name brought up so much venom here is that he was like Robbie and Levon in one body, with the two sides fighting for control. Read Ray Manzarek's book and you'll know what I mean...

Posted on Mon Aug 28 02:48:58 CEST 2000 from proxy-1411.public.svc.webtv.net (209.240.220.212)

Scott

After a weekend of listening to "Times Like These", I have one thing to say. AMAZING !!! My favorites are the "Times Like These", "Ripple" has a fresh arrangement and I love those echoing harmonies, "This Wheel's On Fire". Garth's accordian at the end of the song cuts deep, sends a chill down my spine. "You Can Go Home". This song is pure emotion, music at its best, and the lyrics are beautiful..... Makes me greedy and wanting more music from Rick.

Posted on Mon Aug 28 01:05:09 CEST 2000 from atmax-5-40.enter.net (207.16.153.234)

Little Brøther

Welcome back, Cotter. Your pithy recap of this once and future obscure row is hilarious. And Viney, too, for again being a cool breeze from across the sea that clears away the stinging smoke from all the brush fires.

When you get half-crazy / From the August heat...

Posted on Mon Aug 28 00:27:44 CEST 2000 from gw3a60-1-d172.wind.it (212.141.122.172)

Emanuele

KING HARVEST ( From Oakland 1974 Tour Dylan/The Band , afternoon show ) AVAIABLE NOW IN REALAUDIO FULL-LEGHT ON ---- WWW.GEOCITIES.COM/emanuele_30031 ----- See on THE BAND FILES / REALAUDIO (SECTION DEDICATED TO THE BAND) THIS VERSION PERFORMED IN OAKLAND IS STRONG AND BEAUTY RICHARD SING HOARSE !! COME ON MY SITE!! EMANUELE

Posted on Sun Aug 27 23:26:25 CEST 2000 from d8.as3.oshk0.wi.voyager.net (64.77.132.72)

Mary Cotter

Well...here I am. I've posted here once before, but I'm afraid this Band fan hasn't been able to come over here and read the GB much. But, a friend of mine has pointed out a sort of controversial problem that's been going on here for awhile...about Elvis Costello and Stephen Stills. Being a huge fan of Stephen and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, I'm going to attempt to give some info here that is not meant to be biased in any way. I don't know much about Elvis, but I'm sure he has been trying to make up for what he said, as said recently. Anyway, CSN-keyboardist Mike Finnegan was there and he told the story this way: "We were sittin' in this bar when Elvis [Costello] started givin' mouth. He had the nerve to call Ray Charles a blind [insert that bad n word]. I was about to send his teeth and eyeballs all over Columbus. But my mom was there. And she said, 'I didn't come all the way to Columbus to see you beat up some midget.' So Bonnie Bramlett stood up and goes pow! and sent Elvis smellvis twitchin'. Then she said, 'It's a good thing I stopped drinkin' or I mighta killed 'im.' That little bastard. He needed a beating by a woman and got one." I hope Michael's rather blunt retelling of the story isn't taken in a bad way (sorry about the name calling, Costello fans...!) but if there's any doubt about what happened there...Mike isn't the type to lie. First hand source from a great book written by Dave Zimmer, who's friendly with CSN. So if this is a waste of space, I'm sorry, and this is not meant to cause any more trouble, but I thought I'd post it if it would help clears things up any... -Mary

Posted on Sun Aug 27 23:01:28 CEST 2000 from du-tele3-129.mailbox.co.uk (195.82.121.129)

Peter Viney

I’ll tell you two things about Elvis Costello and the Attractions. First, they correctly held Levon Helm to be the best drummer in rock – bar none. Nothing wrong with that. Second, they held themselves to be an elite band and they had a marked superiority complex when it came to older early 70s bands. They also believed that backing Johnny Cash proved this. I once listened to remarks about several important British and American bands, all of which held them to be vastly inferior to The Attractions (The Band were excepted as the ultimate and RR as THE songwriter). They had a mission, they were ten years younger, they had attitude. And they had a particularly British attitude to sick humour which they displayed in the wrong place, the wrong time, with zero sensitivity, while pissed paralytic (as we would say). The comment was, I’m sure, meant to be totally ironic – a send up of others’ attitudes, therefore reflecting on the stupidity of such attitudes. The British tend to do this, and as a result get up peoples’ noses (not in the Steve Stills sense). Personally, I think the Stephen Stills band could have held their own musically with anyone, and were in this case unjustly slighted. More so, Stephen Stills own catalogue can easily match Elvis Costello’s, and further Stills is a better singer. And if even if we discount ‘For what it’s worth’ (an obvious great) you still have ‘Southern Cross,’ ‘Love the one you’re with’, ‘Colorado’ … and he can play guitar. I think Bonnie Bramlett deserves better than Matt K’s put-down, but it was well written and funny.

P.S. If Chain Gang is a HOTH out-take, why? It would have been the best track.

Posted on Sun Aug 27 22:05:47 CEST 2000 from stcath-ppp73191.sympatico.ca (216.208.72.190)

Richard Patterson

post script... I don't think Elvis C. ever played Sun City... did Ray?

Posted on Sun Aug 27 21:40:36 CEST 2000 from stcath-ppp73191.sympatico.ca (216.208.72.190)

Richard Patterson

R PENCE: The first "Rumour" lp (without GP - Parker that is, not Parsons) was a great attempt to capture the Band sound, although the actual results place it in 'Islands' territory. I believe it is called 'Max'. The musicianship is there,,, they just didn't pull off enough good songs to make it work. Check out Brinsley Schwartz, Ducks Deluxe, and the Motors for more 'Rumour' related fun.

While I agree that Elvis C. was a lesser Graham Parker to begin with (Parker already had 2 great lp's in '76 a year before 'My Aim is True' - and Elvis's early vocal style was a direct rip-off of Parkers') Elvis has turned out to be the more consistent and interesting artist in the long run...

I believe Elvis C.'s comments re: Ray Charles were typical punk-style establishment baiting,,, about as sincere as Johnny R. ripping up a Pink Floyd t-shirt. Obviously Elvis C. forgot he was in the U.S...

Take care Band fans... Rich.

Posted on Sun Aug 27 21:01:28 CEST 2000 from hud1-pm-24-84.termserv.net (204.97.156.84)

Diamond Lil

Bayou Sam: I read your post (twice) and appreciate your opinion. I did laugh about your comment about someone wanting to grant me a grammy award however......obviously that person has never heard me sing :-) I've already apologized to everyone for spouting my opinion about the re-issues, and I meant it when I said that I hope those who do purchase them truly enjoy them.

In refence to your comment about being made to feel like there's a "line" between 'fans' and 'friends', I never really thought about it in those terms before. I know that, at least for myself, the fact that I knew Rick very well for a very long time doesn't make me feel superior to anyone else. It just makes me feel lucky. And sharing some of what I've shared with you here makes me feel good...like those of you who never had the chance to know him...perhaps walk away from here feeling like you did know him..at least a little bit. A good thing..or so I thought. As I told you in my e-mail, I like to think of myself as one of the most approachable folks here..and I enjoy hearing from all of you. If I've done anything to make you think otherwise, I'm sorry again.

Thanks for letting me ramble (hey Sam..I'm a Noo Yawker too :-) Have a good night everyone.

Hug Jan.

Posted on Sun Aug 27 20:49:11 CEST 2000 from (129.237.77.56)

R Pence

Random thoughts: On Elvis Costello, I haven't bought anything of his for years now, but I was a huge fan in his early days. The controversy covered in the guestbook took all the momentum out of his career; he might have survived the decline of new wave if it hadn't happened, but things were never the same after that. He's still going out of his way to show that he's a mellow guy and likes black music and people. I never made the Band connection with him until he and some journalists pointed it out. His last great record, and the one that's most Band-ish, is "King of America," produced by T-Bone Burnett. (Side note: the Graham Parker connection with the Band is right on the money--it's no accident that his smoking backup band called itself "The Rumour." He lived in Woodstock and was known for jamming with Rick Danko) I think some Los Lobos people are on it, too...I want to catch up on the concert history thread, even though it's off the guestbook table. My first was the Rolling Stones, 1978, Boulder, CO. They were better when I saw them last year at Kemper Arena in Kansas City. I've seen Dylan twice, with the show where Petty and co. backed him up inferior to the version of him I witnessed in Pueblo, CO in 1990, with G.E. Smith. Most unique shows were Husker Du, Denver, CO, 1987, not long before they disbanded, got autographs, remember it as the week Gary Hart was driven from the Presidential race for getting laid; the other was the late, great, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, with Egypt 90, Red Rocks, Boulder, CO, coming on at the end of a rather forgettable "Reggae Fest" in the wee hours of the morning, after most people had left. Two shows at the Rainbow Music Hall in the early 80s bear mentioning: the Ramones, even though I spent the better part of the show paying the price in the bathroom for the whiskey I drank with an 18-year old's destructive gusto, and the Band, of course the best show I have ever or will ever witness--will never forget Richard's smiling face as he took the stage, or his drumming body language, or Levon's riveting charisma as he called the meeting to order with "Rag Mama Rag"...and last but not least I'm really looking forward to reissue Tuesday (hope it doesn't get pushed back, considering Capitol-ist's dismal record...).

Posted on Sun Aug 27 19:57:04 CEST 2000 from du-tele3-082.mailbox.co.uk (195.82.121.82)

Peter Viney

Nancy: Lindisfarne were from Newcastle and their debut was "Nicely Out of Tune" (1969). They became major artists with "Fog on The Tyne" in 1971 (UK #1) and remained a major draw for several years. I saw them early on, but retain no abiding impression – which could have been me or them! They returned in 1990 doing a horrendous reprise of "Fog on the Tyne" with hyper-active footballer Paul Gascoigne (a number 2 UK hit). Their use of mandolin and fiddle and a folksy repetoire means their early stuff is likely to appeal. But do avoid that 1990 revival (which in fact one of my kids owns!

Sitting here on the second day of "Times Like These". Reading the credits shows how many people contributed their talents. As Rick S. said, it’s the mellowness that strikes first, and the instrinsic quality of most (if not all) of the songs. Without opening a can of worms, does anyone feel that Rick seemed to have too little influence on the post-93 Band? He did his share of "old-Band" songs but although they were played once or twice, there wasn’t ever much of his solo material like "Blue River" or "Driftin’ Away". Stuff like "Crazy Mama" and Dylan’s worst fragment, ‘Must love you too Much" were just not as good as "Times Like These’, ‘All Our Past Times’, Sam Cooke’s "Chain Gang" (which is a full Band out-take ), ‘Ripple’ (which was originally The Grateful Dead trying to be the Band). "This Wheel’s on Fire" opens up fascinating possibilities – an album of instrumental versions of Band songs by Garth & The Crowmatix anyone? If you haven’t got it, get it (and in this case especially, don’t tape it off a friend or rip it off via an MP3 – pay up. It’s worth every penny.)

Posted on Sun Aug 27 19:45:45 CEST 2000 from spider-tl051.proxy.aol.com (152.163.207.196)

Bumbles

mattk: The words ignorant and flea-bitten also figured in Costello's Ray Charles comments, placed strategically before the OJ word. That flea-bitten was the rhetorical stroke that distinguished the outburst from run-of-the-mill Aryan Nation spew. Otherwise, a commendable summary of the events, down to Bonnie Bramlett's role. Interesting that despite having not much in common (distinguished middle-aged angry young man in one corner, coked-out third-rate blues mama/backup chick in the other), Costello and B. Bramlett will each be popularly remembered for a signal remark---Costello for his concise critique of Mr. Charles and Bonnie B. for her oft-quoted criterion for selecting party guests: "I don't want to see any faces there I haven't sat on."

Bayou Sam: I think Stephen Stills elicited Costello's rage just by being the greedy, laid-back, empty-headed embodiment of that moment in big-time rock and roll---the very qualities, come to think of it, that earned him his role as a fringe player at The Last Waltz. And Band fan or not, I wager the 1976 edition of E. Costello would have had some colorful things to say about the smirkingly self-satisfied nature of that grotesque event.

Posted on Sun Aug 27 19:29:54 CEST 2000 from spider-wj011.proxy.aol.com (205.188.198.21)

Jay wardlaw

Another interesting find today. I was at the Atlanta Record Show and saw a dealer with an original of THE COMPLETE LAST WALTZ set. I am lucky enough to have found a copy way back when from a dear departed local store, so I didn't pick it up. However, I did get the dealer's name and number in case anyone here was interested. His price was $100. Let me know.

Jay

Posted on Sun Aug 27 19:29:24 CEST 2000 from aca556f3.ipt.aol.com (172.165.86.243)

Liz

Sam, let it go....... I was just explaining my earlier post, I don think it was wacko ? everyone can read this, its just a reaction to your post, I dont think I attacked you........let it go ok ?

Posted on Sun Aug 27 18:32:36 CEST 2000 from spider-tp022.proxy.aol.com (152.163.204.182)

Ben Turkel

I picked up the revised edition of Levon's book yesterday. My initial reaction to the new section, the 'afterword' is that I wish it was longer and more detailed. The 90's Band albums are covered in a few paragraphs and Rick's death and Levon's illness are also covered very briefly. I don't want to give all of the details away for people who haven't seen this yet, but Levon pretty much echoes what he said in the Rolling Stone article a few months ago about Rick working himself to death and others ripping him off. This brings up another issue that I've been wondering about, but haven't posted here. Does anyone know if there's a rift between Levon and Aaron Hurwitz/Woodstock records. I'm curious about this because Levon was very involved with the label's initial releases 'Souvenir' and 'RD in Concert' but seems to have had minimal involvement with the recent releases.

Posted on Sun Aug 27 18:23:41 CEST 2000 from spider-mtc-tc073.proxy.aol.com (64.12.105.183)

Bayou Sam

One more of these from me folks. Sorry.... Liz - I talked to you in the chatroom last night and you wanted me to stay cool and be friends and you'd e-mail me. I said fine and had a wonderful time with you, Nancy, Donna, eb, and a couple of others who dropped in. Now this morning you let me have it in the GB. I'm one of the easiest going guys you'll ever meet. But you've broken the last straw. Please do not get wacko with me anymore in here. It isn't fair to me or the people who come in here. I hate like shit to even be posting this - but I gotta. You accussed me via e-mail of hating you, hating women, and for some bizzarre reason, taking Patricias "side" once. Then you come in here and make folks think that I'm picking on you or something. Enough. I don't mind nor should I mind - if someone has an opposing point to something I've said. That's just adult conversation. But to tell me I'm attacking you and that you have cops watching the e-mails is "beyond the beyond" (-Pete Townsend). Can we let the Elvis Costello thing go already? I'm sick of typing his name. The guy is OK I guess. I have a different opinion on his comments thanks to MattK. I still am not wild about his music although I haven't listened to all of it. I don't think he's like the Band or Robbie Robertson. Allison, Pump It Up, and Veronica (I know, written with McCartney), just aren't All La Glory, Thinking Out Loud, or Out Of The Blue for me......... Yes I've played with drums in Bands for over 20 years. I've been ripped off. I don't whine about it - I use it as knowledge for future dealings....... Liz, I will be very cordial to you when our paths cross on this website and I would appreciate the same please............ to the rest of you - I know, I shouldn't let it get me. You're right. Thanks for your patience...............and now, back to the music.

Posted on Sun Aug 27 18:05:16 CEST 2000 from spider-ti082.proxy.aol.com (152.163.194.212)

Rick S.

Rick Danko's "Times Like These" is a mellow masterpiece. Thanks to all who contributed- especially Professor Louie, Garth Hudson and the Crowmatix.

Posted on Sun Aug 27 18:02:48 CEST 2000 from spider-mtc-tc073.proxy.aol.com (64.12.105.183)

Bayou Sam

Ahhh man. How'd I get in so much trouble? .... Lil.I didn't mean to suggest you took credit for those lyrics, and no, there is no problem with posting lyrics. If I did have a problem it would be too bad for me. However, I love quality songwriting - or my perception of it. I got your e-mail and appreciate it. I want to say this here though for anyone who thinks I'm a rotten bastard for what I wrote. You posted a nice verse about life being hard but always being able to go home where it's better. After your post people wanted to give you a Grammy award and grant you sainthood. This is not a knock on you by any stretch of the imagination. I just reacted the way I did from alot of the personal banter that makes some "regular" fans like me feel as if they are overhearing some personal conversation that they don't - or shouldn't be overhearing. Please don't misunderstand my feelings. I enjoy a good story of a personal encounter or a little glimpse at the Band from someone who knew them. I just think it gets too much, and I don't know what the line is. Alot of us just want to drink up the music and grab these new releases like they're a last gift from a Band we love that is surely done at this point. I'm sorry if someone is getting screwed somewhere, but I wasn't at the buisness meeting when they signed contracts. I just want to hear the tunes, and get in here and say, "hey everyone, which tune do you like best".... I hope this made sense. I thought the last post made sense.

Posted on Sun Aug 27 18:00:03 CEST 2000 from gw3a61-d2.wind.it (212.141.126.2)

EMANUELE

!Friends, the THE BEARDS HOMEPAGE WITH REALAUDIO FILES OF THE BAND , RE-OPEN SOON WITH 4 FULL-LEGHT REALAUDIO FILES FROM THE BAND LIVE IN OAKLAND 1974 (AFT. SHOW). KING HARVEST (MANUEL Sung with hourse Voice, Splendid!) WHEEL'S ON FIRE RAG MAMA RAG WHEN YOU AWAKE THANKS !! TO SOON ON MY HOMEPAGE . EMANUELE

Posted on Sun Aug 27 12:33:29 CEST 2000 from hud1-pm-18-78.termserv.net (204.97.156.78)

Diamond Lil

I believe I credited the lyrics I posted several posts back to who wrote them. Tom Pacheco and Rick Danko. Is there now a problem with posting _lyrics_ in here..or does that cut into the "fun fan banter" too?

Posted on Sun Aug 27 11:00:30 CEST 2000 from 102.0101.bun.iprimus.net.au (202.138.60.102)

Nancy

This is a plea for information about an obscure group called LINDISFARNE.

I think they were a British group from around the early 70's. Maybe Peter Viney or someone else from the UK will be able to give me some details about them. I used to listen to an LP owned by a friend in the mid 70's, and hadn't really heard anything about or by the group until I bought a CD release yesterday. It made me curious about them, and any information will be appreciated. Ta!

Posted on Sun Aug 27 10:21:49 CEST 2000 from spider-we064.proxy.aol.com (205.188.195.49)

Liz

Id like to thank Matt

Sam, My comments on Elvis Costello were not "pro violence," they were pro- change dated back to 1977........ and Elvis Costello was complaining about the US record industry problems way back in 1977.......and the FRAT boys ignored him that night and the record company made him play there and he smashed his amps.......so what, you ever been in a Band Sam ? you ever been ripped off ? Play On keep listening, when Elvis Costello wrote songs as a teenager ( most of em on 'My Aim is True) he said he wanted to write like Robbie Robertson Im not going to continue this thread but Elvis Costello is a passionate intelligent songwriter..and and and and ......

Posted on Sun Aug 27 09:37:57 CEST 2000 from spider-tj032.proxy.aol.com (152.163.213.187)

Ginny

Ok, I was just browsing though amazon.com and completely inadvertently came upon a Robbie VHS called "Going Home" ... I guess my question is simple -- can anybody tell me what this is??? thanks! --Ginny.

Posted on Sun Aug 27 07:51:35 CEST 2000 from pm1-68.delrio.com (208.246.52.88)

Just Wonderin'

OOPS! That's 10.49 U.S. folks. $14.99 Canadian.

Posted on Sun Aug 27 07:43:20 CEST 2000 from pm1-68.delrio.com (208.246.52.88)

Just Wonderin'

Hey you lucky Canadians (those living in your own country of course...which lets me out of this deal at the moment!)...Sam the Record Man is offering free shipping on orders over $35.00. The list on the new releases is 10.49 each. Real deal in my book!

Posted on Sun Aug 27 06:01:15 CEST 2000 from spider-wl044.proxy.aol.com (205.188.199.39)

Jay Wardlaw

I am a devoted under-30 fan of The Band and frequent observer of the lively and informative discussion on the guestbook. My wife, younger brother and I saw our first show by The Band at Levon's Cafe, which unfortunately turned out to be the second to last show by The Band. I wish we hadn't cut it that close, but I'm glad I at least had a chance to see The Band once. Wish we'd taken them up on the offer to see the next night's show on the cheap, though!

Anyway, I came across a hardback copy of the Hoskyns book on Media Play's 99 cent rack today. Since I already have my own copy from long ago, I thought I'd offer it up to first respondent from the guestbook at cost + postage. Not sure how much it'll cost to ship, but I would guess that $4-$5 total will be the maximum final shipping cost (in the US, at least). Hope I can help grow the community of fans and listeners.

Kudos to Jan on the best music site I have ever come across.

Jay

Posted on Sun Aug 27 05:54:20 CEST 2000 from spider-wb013.proxy.aol.com (205.188.192.153)

Bayou Sam

thank you MattK for that clear discription of this infamous Elvis Costello incident. I had never heard the whole story. You're probably correct in saying that his comments were stupid - calossally stupid - but not sincere. That sheds a little more light on it for me. Thanks. I would have thought he'd have liked someone like Stills.I can't imagine anyone who doesn't think that "For What It's Worth" isn't a great statement song. I guess it was unfortunate that there were reporters present when these people got loaded and made asses of themselves....... I don't see why he had that opinion of Steven Stills. I would consider Stills and the music he's done to be a pretty good representation of American popular music for his time. He's done some stuff of substance. I wish I had written "For What It's Worth". I can't imagine Stills not having a knowledge and respect for American musical history. Now that I've heard some of Mr. Costello's comments and feelings on this incident, I'd love to hear Steven Stills' take on it. Does anyone know if he ever discussed it?..... Anyway - thanks again for your response Matt. It was very informative............... one more thing - did I spell colassally correct?

Posted on Sun Aug 27 05:44:54 CEST 2000 from ip206-105-181.netusa1.net (216.206.105.181)

MS. SUGAR

Hey Peter Viney: I just caught Hot Tuna with The Allman Brothers recently. I though Jack Cassady played good on records...uhhh...he was killin' us all! There were more people yelling for Cassady than Jorma, which is unusual. I wasn't even alive, hell, not even thought of when you were spinning those records, but I admire your taste. I'm only 22, but I'm trying to pass it on to my four-month-old. BTW, if anyone has any information on The Blues Project, can you please e-mail me. I've been playing their greatest pretty steady for two weeks and need more info. Thanks... Ms. S.

Posted on Sun Aug 27 05:16:23 CEST 2000 from spider-tj052.proxy.aol.com (152.163.213.197)

Bayou Sam

with all due respect to Lil - she POSTED a very, very nice set of lyrics. She didn't write them!

Posted on Sun Aug 27 05:09:42 CEST 2000 from mplsdslgw10poola208.mpls.uswest.net (63.228.40.208)

Patrick

Could someone e-mail me the chords to "The Unfaithful Servant". Musically it's my favorite Band song. I do not agree with the chords on this site. The real chords are more complicated.

Posted on Sun Aug 27 03:46:09 CEST 2000 from ip178.portland.me.pub-ip.psi.net (38.11.101.178)

mattk

Elvis Costello, and various comments he's made. Let's set the record straight.

First, the comments Costello reputedly made and the incident cited with Stephen Stills are one and the same. Costello's racist comments regarding African American musicians occurred during an incident in Columbus, OH in 1979.

According to Costello himself, the Attractions and the Stephen Stills band were in the same bar. Initially trading gibes, the tone changed as both camps became increasingly drunker. At one point, Costello reputedly made a comment referring to Ray Charles as a "blind n..." and a similair comment regarding James Brown. At this point, according to all parties, Bonnie Bramlett punched Elvis (not Stephen Stills as mentioned previously).

There were reporters in the bar at the time, and the incident made headlines. Costello, who hates the press, was forced into making a very awkard and odd apology, stating that the comments made about Ray and James were insincere on his part and were an attempt to bait the Stills band, who he felt were typically fake American musicians who didn't know their own musical heritage and who themselves were getting rich by bastardizing music of which they had no respect or understanding. A somewhat bitter idea, true, but one echoed by a number of artists (admittedly in a less regretful manner), including the Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Who. Closer to home, Levon has himself made similair complaints regarding American rock musicians, and has even used the unfortunate "n" word to describe his own situation with the suits in the music industry.

Quoting Costello in Rolling Stone a few years later (1982):

What it was about was the most outrageous thing I could possibly say to them - that I KNEW, in my drunken logic, would anger them more than anything else.

Costello's comments were obviously racist, but is Costello a racist? It may seem a fine line, however in this case there is a definite distinction. NO one familiar with Costello's career or music could possibly see his comments to Stills and Bramlett as sincere. Stupid, yes, but not said out of any conviction.

Elvis Costello is an active and vociferous voice against discrimination and racism. Before the Stills/Bramlett incident, Elvis had ravaged the National Front in Britain with his song "Night Rally," had been active (and was after) in the Rock Against Racism rallies in the 1980s, his album Get Happy is an earnest Motown tribute, and he produced and brought to fame The Specials, who played a key role in creating an interracial music scene in the UK in the 1980s.

Costello may be acidic and incredibly glib. He has made some incredibly insensitive comments, meant primarily to skewer the inconsistency of so-called progressive white American rock musicians.

However, tossing aside these 20 year-old incidents, the breadth of Costello's career and actions reveals a man with deep respect and scholarly understanding of American Black music and an activist's behavior in working against racism and intolerance.

Posted on Sun Aug 27 02:28:34 CEST 2000 from nat202.246.mpoweredpc.net (142.177.202.246)

JD

If anyone can tell me where to find the chords for "Out of the Blue", please email me.

Posted on Sat Aug 26 21:34:59 CEST 2000 from (200.248.128.75)

Luyde

Hi.. Sorry to bug again with non-the band subject, but I really need someone-from-here's help... I'm looking for Paula Cole's "St. Nicholas is carrying a gun" song which has only been released on the first issue of "Snow, Winter & Fire".. Please, if someone sould get me an mp3 of this song... I'D BE FOREVER THANKFUL.. Thanx Luyde

Posted on Sat Aug 26 21:17:31 CEST 2000 from usr50-dialup99.mix2.boston.cw.net (166.62.196.101)

G-MAN

Reserved a copy of Levon's 2nd edition. It was waitin upon return from J. Lake on 08/25 !! It is out. Made me wonder WHO would learn all about royalties and publishing rights, not inform his mates, then hoodwink em ???? But I WONT bash anyone !!! How could someone (WHO) obtain that info. and use it to his own advantage. Man, I want to puke . HMMMM it must be the guy from the BAND who can sing so well he always had his mic turned of !!!

Posted on Sat Aug 26 20:03:17 CEST 2000 from dialup-166.90.29.69.washington1.level3.net (166.90.29.69)

Mitt Stampler

To rebuild and heal--Truer words were never spoken. Something I'm trying to do myself--hence my long absence. Lil, you remind me of my mom, another exceptionally strong and wise lady :) As she (another Green Party member, Matt, and a huge fan of the Beach Boys--I never did figure that one out) used to say, you've got to keep on living no matter what kind of mistakes you make. Although I think she actually learned that from Bob Dylan. I think my favorite insight of the Minnesota Mud Throat's was: "It frightens me, the awful truth, of how sweet life can be--" I had to work today, and for some odd reason began thinking of "Rocking Chair" on the Metro, going back to Greenbelt Station. Always listen to the stale old jokes-- Peace, y'all.

Posted on Sat Aug 26 18:51:03 CEST 2000 from unionppp5.union.edu (149.106.172.6)

Danny Lopez

Having just gotten the Brown album LP, I noticed on the inside sleeve that Robbie is playing what looks like a Gibson guitar. Noticed that too on the authorized biography video during the playing of King Harvest. And yet his standard guitar of choice is .... (a Fender or Epiphone?, I don't know that much about guitars). But the question is this -- and to my knowledge this has never been raised in the guestbook -- why the gibson in this instance, and what accounts for Robbie's typical guitar of choice?

Posted on Sat Aug 26 17:46:19 CEST 2000 from du104-4.ppp.algonet.se (195.100.4.104)

Ilkka

Thank you Diamond Lil for posting the lyrics (taken from "Times Like These"). I would cry if I wasn't a man.

Posted on Sat Aug 26 15:31:29 CEST 2000 from spider-wj031.proxy.aol.com (205.188.198.31)

Bayou Sam

ya know........we are a very diverse bunch in here from all around the world and all walks of life. some of us would probably have nothing to do with each other if not for the common intrest in the Bands MUSIC. Some people drag other things in here that create all kinds of little ripples. (Some people are really on the edge in fact). There are some who seem to have had a close relationship of some kind with all or some of the Band. I really am saddened by Ricks death and hate seeing photos of how he looked towards the end. He seemed like one of the nicest guys on earth. I met him for 30 seconds once. I don't want to come off sounding cold, but sometimes I get the feeling that I'm listening in on a personal conversation in here among Rick's family and that I should drop everything to help them. I got my own hands full with my own life.Very full. If there is a benefit of something -I'm there. When I bought the live Danko CD, and it said prceeds go to the Danko family (this is when Rick was still with us), I thought that was great. I come to places like this to escape that. If people know Rick, Levon, or the familys - that's great. I think it might be better to separate personal things from the fun fan banter that seemes to be the best part of the conversation in here. I hope this makes sense. I usually just react right away to something I've read in recent posts. It' the New York in me. Have a nice day all

Posted on Sat Aug 26 11:18:46 CEST 2000 from spider-tn024.proxy.aol.com (152.163.207.54)

Linda

'Wow' Lil. after 20 yrs. you still amaze me. Good post. I thank-God for knowing true people in our lives. We have been blessed. Others pretend to know everything , yet the value of nothing. You are a special person. Life has handed you are hard hand to hold. Yet we have been taught 'never to fold' . The best is yet to come. Time to filter out the driftwood. You shine like the talented star that you are. Your kids thrive on music too. We are blessed because we have chosen the happy trail of life. . ready for another loop-de-loop on the roller coaster of life. .? see you next week in Woodstock. and we'll do lunch. Thank-you Rick for a 20 yr. friendship between Lil and I. And thank-you for so much more.. and 'The Band' played on. and we'll always dance....

Posted on Sat Aug 26 09:58:18 CEST 2000 from hud1-pm-03-63.termserv.net (204.97.156.63)

Diamond Lil

You've been through so much, beyond all belief
You've lost everything, you're way beyond grief
You wandered the road, like rags in the rain
Blood on your clothes, half dead, half insane
You've got memories, that hi-jack your dreams
And swim in your soul, like snakes in a stream
You'd have to be Christ, to forget and forgive
One day at a time, that's how you must live
You can go home, to the red poppy fields
You can go home, where familiar is real
You can go home, you don't have to kneel
You can go home, to rebuild and to heal

Tom Pacheco/Rick Danko

Posted on Sat Aug 26 08:52:00 CEST 2000 from spider-wc083.proxy.aol.com (205.188.193.58)

Pac

Hey Little Brother, I found your answer on the internet (assuming it's true). check out http://taa.winona.msus.edu/taa/NOTABLE/webster.html It turns out Noah Webster was the first author to gain copyright protection in America. He started off selling rights to print the Speller for a lump sum (with one publisher, $200)instead of receiving royalties. "Webster secured copyright for the Speller in 1783, for a term of 13 years. For the next 50 years he worked to improve laws to protect the rights of authors' works." Note that he was a teacher turned lawyer. Then he worked for 28 years on the dictionary. "The first edition sold only 2,500 copies at $20 per copy. The publisher went bankrupt. Because of the financial difficulties and also because of litigation Webster couldn't put out a new edition. At age 80, he mortgaged his house to put out a new edition in 1841. When he died in 1843, his heirs sold rights to the work to George and Charles Merriam." I had no idea that his work was based on Christian fundamentalism! Found some interesting websites on both sides of that fence! But one fact did come up time and time again -- he worked [with Ben Franklin] to develop one common, standardized language for uniting the new nation and distinguishing it from England's classism and regional dialects. Satisfied? Noah whey? smoooch Or is that smouch?

Posted on Sat Aug 26 08:50:13 CEST 2000 from hud1-pm-03-63.termserv.net (204.97.156.63)

Diamond Lil

When the music starts to play, people's pain goes away. A very nice sentiment. Not always true though. Not tonight.

Posted on Sat Aug 26 05:46:45 CEST 2000 from pool-209-138-13-160.ipls.grid.net (209.138.13.160)

Bobby Jones

For those who care. Levons book is listed on the Boarders web site as in stock (paperback). Amazon and Barnes & Nobles have it as a 2 day ship, but not in stock until Sept. 2000. Does anybody know if this will be released as a hard cover?

B.T.W.

I will buy this and the re-issues as well as any other Band related stuff I come across, as I have since 1979. This is why I have worked my ass off in corporate america. I really admire Lil's stance, yet I can honestly say "WHO" are you really hurting? I was once told by Levon that "When the music stars to play, peoples pain goes away" and that what people pay for.

Posted on Sat Aug 26 05:42:59 CEST 2000 from pm3-pt5.pcnet.net (206.105.29.79)

Laura P.

Yes, the Levon book I got at Borders is the new edition, with an afterward copyright 2000. The afterward is nine pages long, plus a page of recent pictures. The cover is the new one, with the "Hudson on the Hudson" photo. According to Amazon.com, this book isn't supposed to be released until September, but apparently it has been!

Posted on Sat Aug 26 05:25:55 CEST 2000 from spider-wj052.proxy.aol.com (205.188.198.42)

Bayou Sam

Thanks Dave Z. I was beginning to feel very lonely with my opinion of Elvis Costello. I was wondering if anyone had either read the same thing I read - or could prove it wrong(about his comments). I too would be willing to know what music of his has any Band-ish sound. I own none of his stuff.

Posted on Sat Aug 26 04:44:59 CEST 2000 from proxy1-external.avnl1.nj.home.com (24.4.252.66)

Brien Sz

Laura: The book you bought---Is that the updated version or a reissue by another publisher of the old book? Just asking because I went to Borders and Barnes and Noble site and looked it up. They say nothin' about being updated versions--Just was wonderin'?

Posted on Sat Aug 26 04:11:53 CEST 2000 from spider-wb034.proxy.aol.com (205.188.192.164)

Dave Z

Bayou Sam: I share your opinion of Elvis Costello... I also heard a similar story of his negative comments about blues legends... but the way I heard it was that Stephen Stills decked him in a bar afterwards... Probably never happened but... maybe somebody can tell me what his most Band-like CD is... and I may be willing to give him a 2nd listen... I always thought he was a poor man's Gram Parker... Someone also mentioned Styx a while back too... I remember hearing an interview where they said they were the best band at the time... and I couldn't figure out why DJs could stand playing them so much... Oh well, enough negativity from me... I listened to Levon & Crowmatix CD today and really liked the guitar work on 900 lbs...

Posted on Sat Aug 26 03:30:54 CEST 2000 from atmax-3-44.enter.net (207.16.153.146)

Little Brøther

Noah way, Pac! But as long as you're researching (Why isn't it "yo're, incidentally?), what we really want to know is-- did he get royalties when the next editions were published? Pennies, pence, or pittance? Inqiring minds want to know...

Posted on Sat Aug 26 02:07:34 CEST 2000 from spider-tr013.proxy.aol.com (152.163.201.178)

Pac

Hi everyone! Just completed a week-long teachers' workshop on reading/language arts and learned something that may shed a different light on comments about spelling differences. Supposedly Webster put together our Americanized WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY as part of a political move. Changes were deliberate to separate America's culture/language from England's. People still needed to communicate so he stuck with English, but made changes like dropping the "u" (color, humor) and replacing "s" with "z" (cozy) to give a semblance of independence and nationhood. I need to research this story, but it was confirmed by many at the workshop. Thought some of you great writers might find it fascinating. And yes, The Clash rules! Love to all.

Posted on Sat Aug 26 01:17:17 CEST 2000 from spider-tr064.proxy.aol.com (152.163.201.204)

Ginny

Hey everyone, I'm wondering about the *Old Shoes* boot in Bumbles' post yesterday-- I've never seen this in stores and probably couldn't afford the $20-disk prices even if i had. (i'm just another poor starving student!) Anyhow, wondering if any of you folks out there with (or without, for that matter) this boot would be up for a trade. I've got some neat stuff! Looking forward to Rick's new album -- and did i read right? Levon's book is being updated in a reissue? mmmmm.... should be interesting!! thanks in advance and *many* thanks to Jan, Ginny.

Posted on Sat Aug 26 00:52:26 CEST 2000 from pm3-pt28.pcnet.net (206.105.29.102)

Laura P.

Hey, guys, the new edition of Levon's book is available now! I was just browsing the shelves at Borders and was shocked to see two copies. Now there is only one. :)

Posted on Sat Aug 26 00:21:04 CEST 2000 from proxy-1431.public.svc.webtv.net (209.240.220.228)

Ed Blayzor

I haven`t stopped listening to Times Like These & Over The Edge since monday! thanks to Aaron "Professor Louie" Hurwitz & Quentin Ryan for your care and work on Rick`s cd, and to Jan for the best site on the web.Peace -EDDIE

Posted on Fri Aug 25 23:46:43 CEST 2000 from crtntx1-ar2-074-173.dsl.gtei.net (4.35.74.173)

Kelly

I just finished listening to "Times Like These." What a wonderful gift left for all to enjoy. Thank you Rick... Have a good day all.

Posted on Fri Aug 25 23:03:34 CEST 2000 from usr23-dialup42.mix2.boston.cw.net (166.62.71.170)

G-MAN

08/23--10 am and Bashful Bull says Levons playin & he's goin to J-Lake. What's a short drive !!! Well, met some great people. I don't know but there was somethin in the sound--Butch record em SOOOOOON !!! GREAT SHOW, & thanks to Levon, the Burners, and #1 Butch. Ready for 09/01 Gurus<<<<<

Posted on Fri Aug 25 21:30:08 CEST 2000 from gw.itac.ca (209.146.161.1)

Bill

I've taken Levon's complaints to mean that he thinks he should have gotten writing credits for more of the songs. While he mightn't get songwriter royalties for certain Band originals, he's likely getting publishing royalties from his (presumed) 20% ownership in the Band's publishing company. My guess is that the other guys sold Robertson their individual 20 percents.

The way I figure it, if Helm, Hudson and Robertson had written a song together, each would be due a third of the royalties that go to the songwriter. Plus each would get a fifth of whatever royalties the Band publishing company keeps for itself (provided they hadn't sold their rights). If, as was often the case, songs were co-published 50/50 by the group's own publishing company and the record company's publishing company, the three guys would get a fifth of a half. The non-writers in this case, Danko and Manuel, would get no writer royalties, but 20 percent each (or 20 percent of 50 percent) of the publisher's take.

Posted on Fri Aug 25 20:39:40 CEST 2000 from sjiassoc16.erols.com (208.58.12.144)

Jon Lyness

It is always funny to see Band members mentioned out of the contexts we are used to. I was just flipping through the New York Press (local weekly newspaper), when a familiar name caught my eye: an ad placed in the "Musicians Seeking Musicians" classified ad section reads as follows:

KEYBOARDIST/ORGANIST
GARTH HUDSON/BILLY PRESTON
Female singer/songwriter with band seeks above.

Pretty funny...makes me wonder how any "keyboardist/organist" would go about trying to sound like Garth?!

Posted on Fri Aug 25 20:28:26 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

The thing about Levon not selling out rights is very confusin and seems somewhat inconsistent to me. If indeed he did not sell his rights, then why does he keep saying he's been robbed (no pun intended), where in his book he makes a big deal out of how he was the only one NOT hoodwinked. I just don't understand. Either he sold his rights or he didn't. Seems somewhat murky.

Regarding the Clash, I have to concur with Danny Lopez - London Calling is one of my all-time faves. Sandinista, I know, has been portrayed as overblown, but for my money, it's one of the great concept albums of its era.

matt

Posted on Fri Aug 25 20:21:54 CEST 2000 from spider-we064.proxy.aol.com (205.188.195.49)

QUINCY

HI I AM 19 AND A NEW FAN OF THE BAND I HAVE THE LAST WALTZ VIDEO AS WELL AS THE BIOGRAPHY I READ AUG 29 THE BANDS CDS ARE BEING REIISUED I CANNOT WAIT FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME ANY FANS OF THE BAND

Posted on Fri Aug 25 19:31:52 CEST 2000 from unionppp5.union.edu (149.106.172.6)

Danny Lopez

On the Elvis Costello thread, never did find any personal "attractions." Seems like I'm in a minority on that one. Wasn't until "Spike" that he delivered something I could dig. In those early Elvis days, I was much more a Clash man, and not even punk Clash but "London Calling" Clash. Now that's an album with an expansive musical range and some lyrics that make one think.

There's been some hand-wringing and anti-corporation jabbing on the Band reissues. I see the point, but let's consider a counterfactual -- how happy would we be if their catalogue was re-released in the same form as it first was on cd? Besides, Capitol missed the opportunity in 1999 to release a 30 year gold commemorative Brown cd, and you just know they'll never release a cd entirely of outtakes, basement tape nuggets, and hard-to-find live stuff. So I'm extremely excited about what I'm about to receive, curious about the remastered sound, intrigued by the extra tracks, and yes, I'll keep buying the boots.

"What else can a poor worker do?" [the clash]

Posted on Fri Aug 25 19:16:15 CEST 2000 from dialup-356.cork.iol.ie (193.203.148.100)

HANK

With regards to my last post............I'm a gonna get "Times like These" as well..........I just looked at it here on the web-site.......read all the descriptions of songs and performers.......yup, gotta have it...... Anyone have any idea how I'd buy it here in Ireland?......by the way, don't ever underestimate how popular The Band are here in The Emerald Isle.......there's many folks would buy Ricks new album here......AND go see The Crowmatics.....AND The Barnburners......AND The HT Gurus........get over here, folks!!!!!..............

Posted on Fri Aug 25 19:12:15 CEST 2000 from (24.3.160.27)

Brien Sz

As an FYI on Elvis C.---His Radio, Radio performance on SNL is on disc. It's on Vol.1 of SNL's greatest hits. It has the whole intro to the first song..., the "Wait a minute,Wait a minute!" etc.., the whole ShaBang.

Posted on Fri Aug 25 18:48:22 CEST 2000 from dialin-70-tnt.nyc.bestweb.net (216.179.1.70)

Mike

Caught the Crowmatix show last night at the Joyous Lake. Was a great session--- lots of good music. Nice to hear "Garths Vocals" on Youngblood. "Your the One"-- Garth, the one and only. Super horns,organ and accordian. Also picked up Rick's new CD. A superb recording with a great mixture of songs. Starts off with "Times Like These" and just gets better with every song. Thank You Breeze Hill for the keeping the music alive.

Posted on Fri Aug 25 18:37:51 CEST 2000 from spider-tj084.proxy.aol.com (152.163.213.214)

Bayou Sam

I want to apologise to all for the sparing match I had with Liz in here. I'm mad at myself for letting it spill into the GB. I don't even know where the hell it came from. She hit me with both barrels through e-mail which is where it should be...........now back to the music.......... thanks

Posted on Fri Aug 25 18:26:59 CEST 2000 from client-151-198-114-199.nnj.dialup.bellatlantic.net (151.198.114.199)

Bumbles

Liz: E. Costello’s famous 1st SNL appearance was in 1977, not ’79, and he was a very busy boy in those days. I saw him (& the Attractions, of course) in Asbury Park, NJ, the night before the SNL spot, a show that still ranks high in my personal Top 10. Although they were on stage less than an hour, they seemed to do everything from the first two albums in one furious maximum-volume rush. I’ve never detected any stylistic similarities between the Band and Costello, but he’s among their most prominent admirers owing to his quotes in Hoskyns’ book and his career-long cultivation of Greil Marcus. Costello and the Band are alike in being among the few acts who debuted on record as fully formed and uniquely individual artists, although Costello maintained that level longer and over more records than the Band managed. He’s also yet to deliver an Islands, and is still capable of surprising returns to top form, something I’d never expect from any of the surviving Band members.

Posted on Fri Aug 25 18:06:07 CEST 2000 from cic-proxy02.firstunion.com (169.200.25.141)

Bones

Bumbles: You are so right! I am one of those who THINKS he has a firm grasp on how the money trickles down to the artists. However, if you were to ask me how much Levon made compared to Garth on the reissues, I WOULD HAVE NO IDEA! That thing about Robbie buying out the rights with Levon not selling is extremely confusing to me. It would appear that Levon made a great call, since it's the year 2000 and we're still selling Band records, but he sure doesn't seem to be happy about it.

Posted on Fri Aug 25 16:45:33 CEST 2000 from spider-th013.proxy.aol.com (152.163.213.48)

Don Pugatch

For the group looking for CD Store Bought bargains, check out Best Buys, this week, $5.99, remaster AJA (Steely Dan)and also a Who Greatest Hits. Did see a Steppenwolf, but "Monster" was not incorporated, and that is my other theme song. ............ Someone mentioned Elvis Costello, did anyone remember the program "Larry Sander's Show, the Elvis scene was unforgettable.

Posted on Fri Aug 25 14:16:32 CEST 2000 from du-tele3-002.mailbox.co.uk (195.82.121.2)

Peter Viney

Ms Sugar: Thanks for reminding me of Hot Tuna. I played the first album through last night and enjoyed it more than anything this month. Casady’s bass was wonderful. Of course I have two copies, vinyl and remastered Cd. It took me back to 71 when Stage Fright / Hot Tuna / American Beauty were on heavy rotation on my record deck. ‘Burgers’ is another gem which I’ll investigate again today.

Amanda: good rundown on CD payments. You’re saying that composers benefit from mechanical rights on CDs PRESSED, while performers benefit on CDs SOLD. Big, big difference. I know which I’d rather have. The article mentions "various deductions". One interesting and long-established piece of record industry malpractice which I believe still persists in places was an automatic 10% deduction from royalties for "breakages". This dated back to 78 rpm shellac discs, persisted through vinyl and survived on CD. That meant that all payments were 10% less than negotiated. Of course they came up with another delightful trick, initially paying less on CDs than vinyl to cover "development costs". That was on top of charging more for CD than cassette or vinyl, even though within a few years of CDs launch, they were far cheaper to manufacture than cassettes or vinyl. All we’re saying is that the major record companies rip off performers and consumers. So what’s new? Car manufacturers charge 20% more in the UK than Germany. When challenged they more or less said "it’s because we can get away with it." We "upgrade" our computer O/S and software annually (at least). I’ve just driven a 3 year old high quality monitor to the dump because repair costs are twice as much as a new one of comparable quality. At the end of the day, I need my computer, my car and my music. But GM food really bothers me.

Posted on Fri Aug 25 13:02:50 CEST 2000 from dialup-360.cork.iol.ie (193.203.148.104)

HANK

This re-issue debate is very interesting........it's funny 'cos I HARDLY EVER buy records/CDs........I usually tape stuff off people that do......I mean, I DO have SOME stuff but ........sorry, but there it is, that's the truth............there are many reasons for this and one of them lately is that I've got a two year old son who considers the frisbee potential of anything disc-like, vinyl or CD, with great seriousness and precision.....mind you, he's also made spaghetti of a few of my tapes.........I AM interested in hearing the re-issues tho' and you know what?....I WILL........usually what will happen is that I'll be over at someones place after a gig or whatever and someone will say "Hey Hank, D'ja hear any of The Bands Reissue stuff?" ........and I'll say " No, but they're all raging about it on The Bands GB"....then they will look at me all funny and say "WHAT?".....and I'll say "Aw, never mind.......check out The Bands web-site".....and they'll say "I havent got a computer" or " The internet is over-rated" or "I'm USELESS with technology" or SOMETHING along those those lines, by which time we'll be halfawy thru "Tears of Rage", probably.........so, yeah I'll hear it all......I'm a firm believer in things coming to you as opposed to going out and getting them for a price all the time.....you gotta pay for stuff sometimes I know.....Actually, I think I WILL go out and buy the reissued "Big Pink" if only to hear "Katies Been Gone"....is it different from "The Basement Tapes"?........VERY Different?..........The only other record I wanna buy, that's out at the moment, is The Red Hot Chilli Peppers "Californication"......thing is, it's all over the radio as it is.......I'll also get The Barnburners record which BUTCH said they're gonna start recording tommorrow or today or something..........having said all that tho', it's a firm ambition of mine to build up a huge catalogue of music and have it to listen to and and let folks tape or copy it if they wanna..........

Posted on Fri Aug 25 11:12:34 CEST 2000 from spider-ti013.proxy.aol.com (152.163.194.178)

Liz

If you havent heard the new 'Rick Danko' release ,look on the Whats New, pages here, "Its Really Rick ! " In Times Like These"

Posted on Fri Aug 25 10:20:18 CEST 2000 from spider-ti011.proxy.aol.com (152.163.194.176)

Liz

Sammy babe I neversaid "hate.." nor ,did you ,kind of interesting how that surfaced eh Jan ? haaaaa here's the scoop : I knew- that you knew -that I had -that story blah blah blah blah but HATRED why.? my dear ,you said it first ??>>strange reaction./

Posted on Fri Aug 25 09:48:26 CEST 2000 from spider-tp043.proxy.aol.com (152.163.204.193)

Bayou Sam

say, Liz - how can I put this????????? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? :) What did I instigate? I guess I made you remember something you wanted to forget. I don't know. BTW - smashing amps was old hat by '79. Pete Townsend had the market cornered on musical equiptment destruction. I don't know why you thought it was so cool. I'm sorry I was a pain in the ass to you. I'm still at a loss for how I was. ........ and BTW - I DON'T hate you. Did my comments about Elvis bother you? What can I say - I like Lou Costello better than Elvis Costello...... I thought that when he came on the scene, that the nasty, punky, spit in your face schtick was just dopey. The Ray Charles comment was assinine. Later he seemed to grow up. He did a live thing on the radio here in NY one time, where he did the Animals' "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood". It was very good. They used to play it once in awhile. Maybe it was released, I don't know. I never went for the punk or disco stuff back then. I was listening to the regular rock people that had been around, and hoping that The Beatles would reunite................... IMHO, there were one or two bands that had more to say than the crap that most of those new wave/punk groups were spewing. Squeeze, and The Talking Heads to name two.... So anyway, that's enough from me...... and for God's sake Liz - I DON'T HATE YOU. I don't hate anyone. Although I come close with Mark David Chapman.

Posted on Fri Aug 25 09:18:46 CEST 2000 from spider-wj054.proxy.aol.com (205.188.198.44)

Liz

Pump It up

Posted on Fri Aug 25 08:45:54 CEST 2000 from 1cust156.tnt11.nyc3.da.uu.net (63.23.134.156)

Crabgrass

For those of you who were disappointed like me by the curtailed airing of Source Magazine's Hip-Hop Awards good news as reported in today's New York Post: UPN will broadcast a taped violence-free hip-hop awards show next Tuesday even though a brawling, bottle throwing melee brought an early curtain down on the rap concert-turned-riot, network officials said today. "This is not a reflection of what hip-hop is really all about." rapper Coolio said of the violence. "Hip-hop is really all about people coming together."

Right on, brother Coolio! Anyway, I hope there is no repeat of this violence at the upcoming Rapstock 2000 festival -- I've already got my ticket!!

Those who've e-mailed me requesting more posts concerning the Incredible String Band - fortunately to save me the work there is a rather large feature article on the ISB in the August issue of MOJO with some really nice photos too! Or check out the ISB fan site Be Glad For The Song Has No Ending.

Also in the August MOJO is the Top 100 Greatest Songs of All Time which is quite interesting ("The Weight" is number 55 as has already been mentioned here) but I was somewhat disappointed that one of my personal favorite songs of all time "Windmills of Your Mind" was severely underrated at number 62 though I found it interesting that the song was written after a suggestion was made to the composers that they "Write something like Strawberry Fields Forever." I had always noticed an obvious similarity between the songs but assumed that Lennon was inspired to write "Strawberry Fields Forever" after he heard "Windmills." You learn something new everyday!!

Was surprised that Jim Webb (or as he lately prefers "Jimmy") had 2 songs on the list while I counted only one for Joni Mitchell. He must be the better songwriter unless I miscounted. Too bad The Band never recorded any of Jimmy's great songs. Oh, well.

Posted on Fri Aug 25 08:39:53 CEST 2000 from spider-tj064.proxy.aol.com (152.163.213.204)

Liz

I saw 'Declan McMannus' Elvis Costello the night after he did SNL 'ya know where he said: "this is America, lets do Radio Radio" ( Bayou Sam you know this, and you are an instigator and pain in my ass for making me tell the story) at a fraternity party at Brockport State UNIVERSITY, IN NYS. 1979, of course I wore my red shoes I was an intern for the radio staion.....[wcmf ]We went with a CBS RECORD REP they had record reps with radio and such back then

He was pissed ,and upset, I didnt blame him, I'm problably going to get shot for even remembering this....but he was wonderful , Elvis did alot of : MY AIM IS TRUE ,AND some of This Years Model, Even though it was just the start "Radio Radio"- Go John D !! and at the end of the night .. masterfully ....HE TRASHED ALL THE PEAVEYS ON THE STAGE !! It was wonderful , that was my first meeting with Elvis Costello. { there were others ]Oh Sam you pain in the ass

Posted on Fri Aug 25 07:09:42 CEST 2000 from h0000f8718e9a.ne.mediaone.net (24.128.17.20)

longdistanceoperator

Today's Rushmore Of Rock: Robertson, Townshend, Hendrix, and Berry. Dylan gets his own mountain, like Crazy Horse.

Posted on Fri Aug 25 06:54:57 CEST 2000 from spider-tj084.proxy.aol.com (152.163.213.214)

Bayou Sam

I remember when Elvis Costello hit the scene. I couldn't beleive anyone else would have the nerve to use the name "Elvis". Then I read where he referred to the great Ray Charles as a "blind, dumb, ni**er". I didn't like him at all. I did think he got a bit cooler later on. Does anyone see the tiniest similarity between Pump It Up and Cripple Creek? Not Me.

Posted on Fri Aug 25 06:01:25 CEST 2000 from cacheflow.nettally.com (199.44.53.3)

mjd

can't wait for the reissues. tonight we listened to blue highways, watched the "authorized biography", and put on rock of ages... levon will be here in a couple months. love the site and can't wait to receive times like these. anyone wanna trade?? peace, mjd

Posted on Fri Aug 25 05:01:32 CEST 2000 from cfa1.execulink.net (199.166.6.10)

paulgodfrey

O Canada, To any Band fans living within a 100 mile radius of Toronto. I heard via the Band Guestbook that John Donabie was filling in on the morning show on CFRB 1010 AM.

Caught him this morning on my way to work. Tune in tomorrow morning. What a treat to hear not only one of Canada's finest broadcasters but also a #1 fan of the Band.

Shineonpaulg

Posted on Fri Aug 25 02:25:22 CEST 2000 from www-cache.vuw.ac.nz (130.195.2.96)

Amanda

I'm just reading "Rolling Stones Alt-Rock-A-Rama" &I thought some of you might be interested to know that Elvis Costello's "My aim is true" (which he says was influenced by the BAND) made it into their listing of top 100 most influential alternative releases of all time.

All respect to people who live by their principles whatever they may be... I've no idea about what arrangements the BAND have re. the re-releases etc and I wouldn't care to speculate. However, I found the following info which may be of interest in an article in Atlantic Monthly (click home page above for the full article)

"From the sale of a compact disc a band receives, in theory, royalties from three different sources: sales of the disc as a whole, "performance rights" for performances of each of the twelve songs (on radio or MTV, for instance), and "mechanical rights" for copies of each song made on CD, sheet music, and the like.

As a rule, the royalty on the CD itself -- typically about $1.30 per disc before various deductions -- goes to performers rather than composers.

The other two kinds of royalties -- performance and mechanical rights -- go to songwriters and composers. Songwriters receive performance-rights payments when their compositions are played in public -- executed in concert, beamed over the radio, sprayed over supermarket shoppers from speakers in the ceiling.

Mechanical rights derive in [the US] from the Copyright Act of 1909, which reversed earlier court rulings that piano rolls and phonograph recordings were not copies of music…Today the recording industry pays composers 7.55 cents for every track on every copy of every CD, pre-recorded cassette, and vinyl record stamped out by the manufacturing plants.."

Posted on Fri Aug 25 02:05:38 CEST 2000 from proxy1.doit.wisc.edu (144.92.44.76)

t(s)c

Me too! And tapes, and records, and ect.

Posted on Fri Aug 25 01:39:07 CEST 2000 from spider-wm036.proxy.aol.com (205.188.199.144)

Dave Z

Can anybody tell me if the reissue of Stage Fright basic tracks is going to be a reissue of the original or the gold CD selections?

Go Lil.. Go girl... Go Ilkka... Go guy... I applaud you both... I'm still buying my CDs though...

And what fun would this site be if I couldn't take a poke at Survivor... So who do you vote off the Island?...Peter V or David P?... Jan H or Lee G?... Lil or Tracy?... Serge or Crabby?... Richard P or Matt K?... John D or Bill M?... Ragtime or Ragman?... Ilkka or Pete R? (By the way - good to hear some banjo on Times Like These, huh?)... Tough decisions... I won't even go near the Fued... How about Moon Struck One or Shoot Out In Chinatown?... Take Care...

Posted on Fri Aug 25 00:03:37 CEST 2000 from spider-tn041.proxy.aol.com (152.163.207.61)

Lee

Lil, sorry that I misread your post and obviously it is your prerogative to buy the CDs or not. Apologies.

My friend, Ragtime, mentioned Jawbone Records stocking the reissues. This is not strictly true! The reissues should be available in the UK in Sept. I have no idea about the rest of Europe, but I have had a few people ask who believe they are not going to be available there. So anyone that finds it difficult to obtain certain releases, I'm willing to help. We don't stock Kevin Doherty's great album Strange Weather as its available in the UK, as is Jim & The Gurus. But if anyone does have problems finding copies in Europe, please get in touch.

Thanks, Jan, for giving me the space to rattle on. We'd be in big trouble if we didn't have this website, brother.

Posted on Fri Aug 25 00:02:09 CEST 2000 from tcnet01-51.austin.texas.net (209.99.40.51)

Laura Holt

Right on Bones! I very much agree with your post!! I try to get what I can too..sometimes it ain't easy!! I could care less where it comes from ...just give it to me!! :)

Posted on Thu Aug 24 23:22:37 CEST 2000 from spider-wa021.proxy.aol.com (205.188.192.26)

Ben Turkel

I'm sure that Amazon isn't making much profit selling the reissues for $11.99. I worked at a Borders bookstore in the music dept, and I've seen cd invoices. For a $16.99 list price cd, Amazon (or any store) is probably paying $10-$11, so they're not making much profit by selling the disc for $11.99. At this point, many artists have had their catalogs re-released 2 or 3 times on cd, (Hendrix and Bowie come to mind)with mixed results. I think that bonues tracks along with improved sound make these releases a good value. Certainly it's preferable to MFSL or DCC putting out a gold version for $25 that doesn't have any bonus tracks.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 22:26:18 CEST 2000 from client-151-198-146-5.nnj.dialup.bellatlantic.net (151.198.146.5)

Bumbles

carmen poses an excellent question concerning the disposition of Band-related revenue. It will remain unanswered, though, because, repeat after me, no one reading or posting to this GB has the foggiest notion. That won’t stop the usual suspects from posting at great length about what the situation may be or what they imagine it to be, but, as amusing as that can be, it won’t illuminate an extraordinarily murky topic. The only sensible response is bones’: To seek out everything. And for admirers of a group that ceased to exist almost a quarter of a century ago and wasn’t all that fecund to begin with, this is a remarkably abundant time. The first four reissues constitute a long-overdue upgrade to the semi-schlock status to which Capitol had relegated the heart of the Band’s legacy, and while the bonus tracks are a mixed bag, they do include some things (“Key to the Highway”!) most of weren’t even sure existed a month or two ago; Old Shoes is an invaluable addition to the bootleg canon if only for the live ’64 tracks; and Times Like These, whatever its other virtues (I could’ve used a couple more new songs or fresh covers and a lot less “Professor Louie”), is undeniably a Rick Danko album. To devise illusory reasons to miss out on any of it does a disservice to the people who made the music.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 21:04:07 CEST 2000 from cic-proxy02.firstunion.com (169.200.25.141)

Bones

Thanks to Peter Viney and David Powell. Great posts as always. Like many people here, I just grab all the Band product I can get. Because our boys were not the most prolific bunch, it makes me even hungrier for Band stuff. It doesn't matter whether it's a Breeze Hill t-shirt, a local Barn Burners show, a poor-sounding bootleg or my fifteenth copy of Big Pink......I WANT IT ALL!

Posted on Thu Aug 24 20:58:02 CEST 2000 from host161-123-26-209.utelfla.com (209.26.123.161)

carmen

I won't judge those who chose not to buy, however, I hope I am not judged for buying.

I have a question, and this is not intended to start a rift in the GB. Question is - How are the monies divided? Do they all get a piece for being the BAND and then those who wrote get an additional piece? I am just curious.

I can't stop hearing Chain Gang in my head. Someone make it stop!

Regards to all!

Posted on Thu Aug 24 20:42:56 CEST 2000 from jan-hoiberg.hiof.no (158.36.52.15)

jh

Ryan, thanks. Just finished listening to the Breeze Hill catolog, wearing the Breeze Hill t-shirts and cap, after playing catch-the-Breeze-Hill-frisbee with the dog and plastering the Space Wagon with Breeze Hill stickers. You got Breeze Hill brew, too? :-) Harald, Lil, Laura et. al: catching up on the e-mail backlog here, stay tuned.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 20:27:59 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

Dammit, would everyone stop being so damn reasonable? Any you, Illka, yeah you, don't you know how hard it is to be smug around people with ethics?

Damn, not sure if I should get off my high horse, or (if I do), if I should worry about it trampling me to death...

: - )

Posted on Thu Aug 24 20:18:42 CEST 2000 from (208.218.212.187)

David Powell

On the subject of the reissues, I'm somewhat in agreement with Lee. It's the music that I love and the business behind that music is something that's not my business. However, I do respect the opinions of Lil and anyone else who, for the sake of principle, is willing to put aside their love of the music in order to make a statement. It's a sad situation that this music that has brought joy to so many can also be such a divisive issue to those who made the music and their families.

Facing this dilemma, I do what I can in my neighborhood of the world. Although I will purchase the Capitol reissues, I've also ordered Rick's "Times Like These" from Breezehill and I went both nights when Levon and the Barnburners played in my neck of the woods a while back.

The members of The Band have given us and continue to give us such a wonderful legacy in their music. In recent years, the bins at the local music stores in many parts of the world have been missing some of this fine music. Hopefully the Capitol reissues will be readily available everywhere so many new generations of music lovers will be able to enjoy this music and pass the torch on to others.

On a different note -- I'm looking forward to a long three day weekend filled with music in my neighborhood. Tomorrow night we're catching Richard Thompson and John Prine on the same bill in concert at Chastain Amphitheatre. Saturday night, my partner in crime and I will be playing out at the cantina, sharing a few tunes and brews.

"Do you close your eyes to see miracles? / Do you raise your face to kiss angels? / Do you float on air to hear oracles? / Bathsheba smiles, smiles.../ No doubt can cross her mind." --Richard Thompson

Posted on Thu Aug 24 19:13:37 CEST 2000 from du235-249.ppp.algonet.se (195.100.249.235)

Ilkka

To Diamond Lil: Once upon the time there were 12 men in the Finnish Governement - plus one woman. All the men were considered to be cowards but she was brave. At last she was called "the only man in the Governement". From now on I'll call you "THE ONLY MAN IN GB".
I don't know about the rights or wrongs in the life, but I'll go to the Bank tomorrow, multiply the price of the reissues with ten, buy a check in US$ and send it directly to Danko family.

Gone fishing.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 18:39:27 CEST 2000 from dhcp58207.sunyocc.edu (204.168.58.207)

Freddie The Funk

TO: DOCTOR PEPPER FROM: THE FUNK SUBJECT: BREWSTER..... BAAAAAALLLLDWWWIIINNNN!!!!

Posted on Thu Aug 24 18:29:55 CEST 2000 from schltns.demon.nl (212.238.41.164)

Ragtime

My (rather late) two cents on Lil's outcry: I intend to purchase the reissues VIA Jawbone Records, so it'll be not only the big record company that (inevitably) will make money out of it. Please do the same if you live in the Old World. And Amazon.com? No Way!

Posted on Thu Aug 24 17:44:08 CEST 2000 from spider-mtc-tc072.proxy.aol.com (64.12.105.182)

butch

Well, another wednesday has come & gone,,, The Barn Burners & Levon played more great music, last night,,,, The G-Man, Bashful Bill, ( RUBY's spirit )Peter & Caleb,,,and many more friends came to hear the blues,,, The Barn Burners are tighter than ever,,,,studio-ready,,, monday we start tracking,,,, looking forward to it,,, Tim Moore Jeremy Baum, & joe beesemer sat in withthe fellas last night,, & everyone had smiles,, Levon's new YAMAHA's & ZILDJIANS were ringing from the jump,,,, we had gone down to Croton Point Park on sunday to visit Little Feat,, they did Rag Mama Rag & Gimme A Stone, in Levon's honor,, BIG FUN !!!,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ya better come see the show on wednesday night, soon,,, vicious rumor that The Joyous Lake needs a new owner,, or IT WILL CLOSE !!!!!!!!! so come on down & catch the show,,,,, SOON, enjoy,,,, butch

Posted on Thu Aug 24 17:18:48 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

Amen, as always, Peter Viney!

As a member of the Green Party here in the US, I'm very sensitive to effect of Corporations on our lives and on the lives of people throughout the world. In my everyday habits, I will almost always default to supporting the local store over the corporate chain, the local label over the major label.

However, as much as I deplore the music industry and feel it is undermining our musical culture, the fact remains that they "own" distribution rights for music that I want. As great as it is to support artists like Tom Waits or Frank Zappa, who either created their own labels (Zappa - Barking Pumpkin) or joined smaller labels (Waits), if I want to listen to older material, I'm going to have to pony some cash up to the bad boys.

I understand that there is some cynicism warranted towards the labels when they re-release albums with alternate or outake tracks. However, owning these four releases will allow me to improve my appreciation of the artist, and allows me to put money (however meager the percentage) into the artists' pocket.

If I buy Big Pink or "The Band," it's true that I'm giving the lionshare of each dollar to the label. However, I'm also giving money to Richard's family, Rick's family, and to a lesser extent Levon and Garth (obviously Robbie gets his cut). I would love for Woodstock or Breeze Hill to own the rights to these early albums, but they don't.

In an age of CDs where so many great albums were originally reproduced to digital off of second or third-generation copies, for me to have access to these records as they were originally conceived, I have to be willing to make these second purchases. If by adding in the extra tracks the labels increase their value to me, then so much the better.

The whole Napster/Gnutilla debate brings these issues of creative ownership into sharp focus. While I'm not necessarily a fan of Napster itself, the concept of a community of listeners able to share music and get more direct access to artists outside the marketing mainstream of the corporate label is a bellweather for things to come.

I'm hopeful that as technology changes our concept of albums (I believe we're headed for a world where record sales are replaced with subscriptions, and recording contracts resemble book publishing contracts), that things will change. In the meantime, if I have to go to Capitol to get a more honest version of Big Pink, or Columbia to get a copy of Dylan/Hawks recordings, I'm not sure what else I'm supposed to do. Does it have to be an either/or?

I fully respect what Lil is saying, and support her efforts to spend her hard-earned cash more locally. However, as much as I appreciate where her heart is, I can't feel guilty about investing in my music collection, even if it means the suits get some cash. If I hold hard to Lil's line of reasoning, I would not have most of the music I own, including The Band. Given the choice, I'll take the music any day, but make sure I support my local artists and the non-local artists when they come to play in my town.

Otherwise, I'm not sure what else can be done, short of never buying another major-label release - though if the likes of Brittany and Company continue to dominate, that might become a progressively easier proposition.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 16:10:11 CEST 2000 from spider-ta084.proxy.aol.com (152.163.205.84)

Mike

Observation: There have been numerous times in my life when things weren't going so hot -- parents divorce, death of family member, my own divorce, layoffs, etc. -- The Band's music has always been there for me. The recent examples were as follows:

Fall of '98 I got let go from my job of almost six years following a corporate sale. "Jubilation" was released and the music was there for me.

We all know what happened last December. Again, music was the healer.

Lo and behold (!), here we are heading into the fall of 2000. Lil mentioned "corporate manipulation and power." It reared its ugly head again. I'm not gone yet, but looking. The music? Rick's new one. I've played it over and over. It's great.

Here's a thought: Why don't we all e-mail Elizabeth and Justin and let them know how much we love "Times Like These"? It might help make this December a little less cold.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 15:40:14 CEST 2000 from du-tele3-171.mailbox.co.uk (195.82.121.171)

Peter Viney

As I sit here using Microsoft Word, gazing at my Apple monitor with its Sony Trinitron tube, listening to a Marantz CD player through a Technics (Mitsubishi) amp playing a Polygram CD, I’m wearing a Marlboro Classics shirt and Structure trousers with Gap socks and Nike shoes, and I do sometimes worry about the effect big corporations have on some people’s lives, but at least they never get through to me! I just wish that a certain four Capitol CDs were already available at my local HMV or Virgin store so that I could press more money (via NatWest bank) into their hands.

I dread to think how many times I can be sold essentially the same product, but I think I have about six different copies of Big Pink, and can’t wait to buy another one. I rebought the remastered Surf’s Up last month. I must have the title track six times too. At $11.88 (which I think was the AmazonCom price for the Band albums), it’s a decent bottle of wine, that’s all. In England, it’ll be two slightly-less decent bottles of wine by the time it appears, I’d guess. I don’t suppose that in a year’s time, I’ll be selecting "Key to the Highway" rather than "The Weight" for a moment, but I still see it as an essential item! If there are any genuine 8-track artifacts left they must have printed-through so badly that you really should replace them!

As to who gets the money, that’s a bit like debating the equity of Bill Gate’s and Paul Allen’s original share / deal next time you are forced to upgrade Word for a more memory-hungry, confusing and less useful version. People might curse about it, but it’s a basic fact of life when you live on royalties (as I do myself). At certain points you make decisions. Some you win (look at Harry Potter), others you lose. Sometimes you’d have been way better off charging a fee for a job. Others it would have been folly to do so. I’ve done projects where I’ve taken a royalty and a co-writer has insisted on a fee instead. Sometimes I’ve done better, sometimes I’ve done worse. If we accept Levon’s account at face value, at a point someone must have tried to put a value on the right to future royalties. Then a decision had to be made. Perhaps some thought ‘This isn’t selling now. There’s no way this will ever be making money in 20 years time’, others maybe thought ‘I’m keeping hold of it.’ According to the account, Levon kept his share going. It looks like Robbie and Levon made the better call. Other artists sold out their rights to commercial companies (witness the saga of the Beatles song copyrights). The re-releases keep the legend alive, spread the music to new audiences and further enhance the reputation of all the members. It makes their new projects more marketable. It makes current live dates more appealing to a wider audience.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 15:13:41 CEST 2000 from pm1-17.delrio.com (208.246.52.37)

Just Wonderin'

Best Dylan/Band album? Official release: "Planet Waves"! Unofficial release "Basement Tapes" boots! IMHO!

Posted on Thu Aug 24 14:26:03 CEST 2000 from (209.177.59.167)

Jason V.

I grew up with the Band's music and got to know them personally through some family connections. Great stories and tales of early road life were always told... mostly by Levon... but big laughter from Rick. Unfortunately, I only experienced their later years of performances with different casts of bandmates. Loved when Butterfield sat in on a few tunes... he always knew how to liven up the place with that harp playing of his. However, their early music is still close to my heart. I was surprised not to see a certain performance from 1983 on your list of bootlegs... an amazing duet of Helm/Danko playing Univ. of Chicago all acoustically. Potentially, the first "Unplugged"... screw MTV! Has some great tunes like: Milk Cow Boogie, Java Blues, Blaze of Glory, Hand Jive, etc. I love the website and I can't believe the wealth of information provided and the amazing fan feedback. Oh... an FYI for Dr. Pepper, Brewster stepped down as Chief of Police and now one of the good old boys has taken over... Harry Baldwin.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 14:12:34 CEST 2000 from (194.248.229.230)

Ghost of electricity

I don't think there's much chance for a "Doors-revival", and I don't really want that, either. It's good that more people get to hear and love The Band, but I don't want the stupid DJs on the radio to play "Unfaithful servant" sandwiched between "The real Slim Shady" and the latest single from All saints. That's not "worthy", if you know what I mean.. Talking about The Doors and Jim Morrison...Do you think Garth would look great in his leather pants?

Posted on Thu Aug 24 14:05:24 CEST 2000 from telisp1c02.ml.com (199.43.32.22)

Ben Turkel

The "buzz" around the re-releases will also likely help sales of Levon's revised book due next month, and will likely bring more people to this site and to Breeze hill for the new cd's there. I don't think there's much chance of a 'Doors' like revival, but I think that the awareness of the Band to the general public is increasing and Levon and the Danko family should benefit from this along with RR and Capital records, etc.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 13:55:41 CEST 2000 from (194.248.229.230)

Ghost of electricity

Hey, what's your favourite record by Bob Dylan? Do you prefer his records with The Band, or what? Has Dylan and the remaining members of The Band been in contact in the nineties? Did he attend Rick Danko's funeral? I just kinda wondered....

"The basement tapes" are great, but I prefer both "Planet waves" and, of course, "Live 1966" - one of the best records of all time, though it was released more than 30 years after the concert took place. In my opinion "Planet waves" is a very underrated album - maybe also by fans of The Band. I think it's right up there with their best work. I know the songs are written by Dylan, but never the less..

It's interesting that The Band - creatively - where at an all time low when "Planet waves" were recorded. Still their playing was just brilliant. Maybe that experience was just what The Band needed before their creative "comeback" in 1975?

Just some thoughts...

Posted on Thu Aug 24 13:47:46 CEST 2000 from wstisp1c01.ml.com (199.43.48.21)

Ben Turkel

One result of the Band reissues that hasn't been brought up yet, is that the original cd's are going to start showing up in used cd stores in droves. No one is forced to buy the new versions, but many who do will trade in or sell the old cd's which will make them available for someone else to buy for a few dollars.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 13:42:06 CEST 2000 from (194.248.229.230)

Ghost of electricity

What happened to the rest of the comments on the remasters? We just got to read about "Cahoots" a couple of days ago...

I would love to hear the mighty Who in concert. They are one of my favourite bands, alongside The Band (of course!), The Stones and The Velvets. The best albums by The Who are, without a doubt, "Who's next" and "Who by numbers". "How many friends", "They're all in love", "Slip kid", "However much I booze" - great, great songs.

A new album by The Who? Well, I don't think they make as good records as in the 60s or 70s - but neither could The Band. I love both "Jericho" and "Jubilation" - but hey! - they just recorded one song in the nineties that can compete with their best work, and that's "Blind Willie McTell" - a cover song!

Posted on Thu Aug 24 13:25:49 CEST 2000 from proxy1-external.avnl1.nj.home.com (24.4.252.66)

Brien Sz

Just ordered all four re-issues at Amazon. Never owned Cahoots, so decided now was the time.

Lil, Sorry you feel the way you do about the big record industry. I'd have loved it if Woodstock or Breeze Hill were involved but..,

And,I don't know what it is about the Who that i just never really got into them. Yea, they have some great songs and i even owned some lp's at one time but for some reason i'm very apathetic to them. A friend called me and bought the maximum amount of tickets he could for the WHO and Jimmy Paige and the Black Crowes. I told him i'd get back to him. Maybe i should drag my wife with me and go! It might change my mind!

Posted on Thu Aug 24 13:17:30 CEST 2000 from x2-13.poughkeepsie.bestweb.net (216.179.14.187)

Some Other Guy

Still trying to remember that danged 1st concert. As close as I can tell, it was around the time of my 1st bottle of Boone's Farm Apple wine, and 1st hit o' weed. I'll keep ya posted.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 12:34:19 CEST 2000 from pm3-pt13.pcnet.net (206.105.29.87)

Laura P.

Well, I placed an order for Big Pink and the brown album at Amazon.com today, so I guess that leap in sales has me to thank. ;-) Of course, I also ordered the Beach Boys' Love You (my favourite album!) reissue, and I don't see that climbing out of obscurity...

In the meantime, I've been listening to disc three of The Complete Last Waltz, and I think the unrehearsed Evangeline/Last Waltz piece is very, very interesting. This is not meant as a criticism of Levon (in the circumstances, it was quite understandable) but I think his vocal performance is the worst. I guess he can't read cue cards very well. :)

Robbie's is also not so great... he keeps fading in and out, and Richard really seems to come to his rescue in that last section! Rick's performance seems to be the best... he has a great grasp on the special phrasing already (or maybe he just made it up on the spot!) and sounds most similar to how "Evangeline" would end up when they recorded it, even though the lyrics are not yet in their final form (and gosh, they sure got drastically improved!).

Richard on the "Last Waltz" section (singing with Robbie) isn't quite there at first, but his singing is soooo emotional, he completely saves that part from dreck-dom. It's like he just injects this real, moving element into it whenever he opens his mouth, and it doesn't matter if he's in sync with Robbie or even knows the lyrics...

Oh, all right, I'd better go to bed.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 12:15:24 CEST 2000 from hud1-pm-16-76.termserv.net (204.97.156.76)

Diamond Lil

Re-issues: Obviously, my last post led to the belief that I was telling folks not to buy the new cd's. Certainly not what I said. For my own personal reasons, I've just chosen not to. I apologize if that in any way sounded as if I was looking down on anyone who is purchasing them.

This has very little to do with any 'feud' as some here seem to think. It has to do with corporate manipulation and power...two words that I don't respond well to. If Breeze Hill Records or Woodstock Records or Jawbone Records were releasing these cd's..I'd buy em in a heartbeat. Know why? Because those folks care about the _people_ involved in making the music, and not just the numbers following the dollar signs.

The music..as I've always contended..is what it's all about. I cherish all The Band music I have, and would feel less than who I am if I compromised my conscience just to get my hands on more. And I am speaking only for myself here.

I sincerely hope that those of you who purchase the new cd's enjoy them.

Have a good day everyone.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 10:19:25 CEST 2000 from levon.hiof.no (158.36.51.54)

jh

Amazon.com, 09.00 GMT, Aug 24th: The 4 Band re-issues are now all among the best-selling albums at Amazon.com! (Big Pink #2, The Band #3, Stage Fright #8, Cahoots #11). Guess we can start looking forward to remastered versions of the rest of The Band catalog.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 07:49:53 CEST 2000 from 1cust135.tnt12.nyc3.da.uu.net (63.23.136.135)

Crabgrass

Wow!! I'm gonna break open the piggy bank full of nickels I was saving up for the re-issues and get a ticket for The Who instead!

Posted on Thu Aug 24 07:19:13 CEST 2000 from gdh2-4f8.twcny.rr.com (24.24.5.248)

Dr. Pepper

I believe Ed Brewster is the chief of POO-LICE in Woodstock and he gave me a hell of a poke check in the throat in the spring of 77 and a hell of a scolding at the Gateway Diner during the Fall of 1982. Helluva a guy! I am sure he does a great job and tries to do a difficult job well! I heard he has Rick's new CD and all the boys listen to "This Wheels On Fire" before they head out to work.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 07:00:10 CEST 2000 from spider-mtc-tc054.proxy.aol.com (64.12.105.174)

Bayou Sam

Yeah it's me again. The guy drumming for the Who is Zak Starkey - son of the great Richard Starkey a.k.a. Ringo Starr.......... That's it from me tonight. I'm going to bed. Please hold your applause.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 06:49:47 CEST 2000 from host-209-214-113-76.bna.bellsouth.net (209.214.113.76)

BWNWITennessee

Well, it's just a guess, but what Lil could be refering to could instead be Capitol making even more money off of Band fans by "forcing" them to buy four more copies of CDs that they already own for audio quality that may or may not be much of an improvement, which they could have used for the first CD versions if they had spent a little time and work on it, and for a few bonus tracks that may or may not be unreleased; similar to releasing two-CD compilations and three-CD box sets with a smattering of seldom-heard music in order to make even more money off of a thirty year old catalog, or sticking two new songs on a greatest hits package so that fans with all those songs already still have to shell out money for the greatest hits CD, too. Whew, is that the GB's longest run-on sentence? You do all know that that's the only reason, at all, that record companies put unreleased material on compilation packages and reissues, don't you? I hope you don't think they would ever do anything out of the goodness of their hearts. BTW, the views expressed here are not necessarily those of the author, I'm just trying to point something out. I don't think you should let other people's shady dealings affect something you might gain personal enjoyment from.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 06:48:08 CEST 2000 from stk-pm1-35-163.dialup.slip.net (207.171.230.163)

Guenevere

and now we interrupt "Back To The Feud V" ... for some MUSIC news...

I am so stunned that I barely have words to describe The Who's concert last night....

Pete Townshend is playing like you can't believe... believe me!!! In the middle of the show John Entwistle took a bass solo that even Townshend couldn't believe... he went somewhere into McCoy Tyner Land (yes, it can be done on the bass), and he just did some really crazy ‘stuff' that was absolutely from some other planet.......and Daltrey can sing JUST as good as ever, (and cute as ever too), and he showed no signs of having slowed down at all...

they have a new drummer who even Townshend says comes closer to giving them the joy of playing with Keith Moon than anyone that's played with The Who has over the years, since Keith's death... he's a rock solid drummer, who knows all the fills... and (I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't hear it with my own ears).......Sorry I don't remember the piano player's name, but he was truly great, right on the money every song, and he also had some amazing solos..........they played for three hours straight... and THEN in the two songs they did during the encore, Townsend pulled out all the stops and went completely insane... (just the way Who fans like him to do!!!!) The encore was almost a show in itself...:)... it reached levels somewhere just past spiritual enlightenment... (pure bliss I think they call it)...oh man!!!

they did every song you'd ever want to hear except a couple... Townshend said that they couldn't do the ones that require 7 part harmonies like 'I Can See For Miles'... but may next time when they hire some background singers... (ahhhhhhhhh!!!)... here's just a few they did...

My Wife

Pinball Wizard

I Can't Explain

Substitute

Bargain

Getting in Tune

Behind Blue Eyes

Won't Get Fooled Again

Pure and Easy

I Don't Even Know Myself

Who Are You

Out in the Street

I Don't Mind

My Generation

and a lot more...

One of the best concerts I've seen.....(possibly in my life).... I highly recommend seeing them on this tour .... (more like you'd be crazy to miss them if they're coming through.)

Okay, now where were we... Oh yeah, to get rid of our 8-tracks... or buy the reissues.............. mmmmmm...................... decisions decisions...:)

Posted on Thu Aug 24 06:45:33 CEST 2000 from spider-wb064.proxy.aol.com (205.188.192.179)

Bayou Sam

THE MUSIC - THE MUSIC - .... so I finally got Levon's drum video. I mentioned it in a previous post. It's something any Band fan would really enjoy. It is available at music shops, but I got it on eBay. There is alot of wonderful footage of the 90's Band running through songs. There are some oldies rock stuff and some classic Band stuff. There's a wonderful bit - I think it's Short Fat Fanny - where Garth does a bunch of Jerry Lee Lewis type runs down the piano, then shakes his hand as if it hurt(it did) and he never let's up with the left hand. Rick's bass playing on these tunes is amazing. Actually, listening to them play on this tape (and on Jubilation) really showed how this "second"(or third) version of The Band, really "clicked" and became a super tight band(IMHO). Great stuff. The Band stuff was done at Bearsville studios. It kind of reminds me of the Evangeline and The Weight segments from TLW. Any of you fans would enjoy this video if you haven't seen it.... God I love music!

Posted on Thu Aug 24 05:37:55 CEST 2000 from ch8smc.bellglobal.com (206.47.244.58)

Blind Willie

Never thought I would ever see the day when Barney Miller could become the chief of the Woodstock police.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 05:20:08 CEST 2000 from spider-te061.proxy.aol.com (152.163.195.201)

Bayou Sam

Right on LG. Just get the music. Who's gettin' paid or screwed - who signed the wrong thing - who has the best lawyer - who didn't handle their money right - who cares. I mean I care a little, but I'm a fan of these guys music. I'm not a fan of legal wranglings and royalties that don't involve me. Let's talk about THE MUSIC. Now don't get me wrong. I was set to go to the Rick memorial at Stephen Talkhouse. It was only a family emergency that kept me from going. I had no problem paying the money which was going to a good cause (the Danko family). If any of the Band members or their families are not getting a peice of the pie(for the re-issues), then that's probably due to some kind of slick legal crap - and is unfortunate. But I'm going to get these CD's because I really want to listen to this music.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 05:06:20 CEST 2000 from atmax-1-2.enter.net (207.16.153.12)

Little Brøther

There's an episode in the outstanding 1980's TV sitcom "Barney Miller" in which police captain Barney shows up in the squad room with a broken foot. He's embarrassed to explain that he slipped in the bathroom, so he refuses to discuss how it happened.

Detective Stan 'Wojo' Wojciehowicz, a good-natured but dogged subordinate, pesters his boss all day for details-- "Howdja do it, Barn?" Barney's reluctant half-answers only inflame Wojo the more.

As Wojo persists, Barney finally snaps at him to leave it alone.

"But my curiosity is piqued!" Wojo complains in hurt and petulant tones.

"So ya got piqued curiosity!" Barney thunders back, ending the conversation.

The strong implication is that Wojo will learn to eat his piqued curiosity if he knows what's good for him. He doesn't, by the way, and neither will I. We have dark hints and disturbing implications raised about the circumstances of the much-ballyhooed reissues, then we have equally cryptic counter-postings foreclosing and pre-empting further comment.

I can stand having my Piqued Curiosity swept away in a flood of suggestions, even insistences, to Live In The Present and Be About The Music. But like a kid hearing grownups arguing downstairs at night, I have to at least stumble sleepily down the stairs and ask, "What's up?"

Posted on Thu Aug 24 04:51:30 CEST 2000 from unionppp8.union.edu (149.106.172.9)

Danny Lopez

Put in my order at amazon.com for the reissues today. Noticed that Stage Fright boasts not only "extra tracks" but "live" as well. Didn't see anything about a live cut(s)on the earlier Capitol announcements. Anyone know anything about this?

Posted on Thu Aug 24 03:17:09 CEST 2000 from spider-tj064.proxy.aol.com (152.163.213.204)

LG

People should buy the reissues regardless of other posts. Sorry, Jan, Lil. You are buying it for the music not the politics. It has to be said that if you feel someone is being screwed, then it is their descision to make a statement, and not that of a fan. Please put things into perspective and let the people with the know-how do the talking.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 01:15:11 CEST 2000 from spider-ta073.proxy.aol.com (152.163.205.78)

Ben Turkel

I just received the two new Breeze hill cd's yesterday. I've listened to 'Times like these' 2 1/2 times now and I think it's very good. My favorite track so far is 'Book faded brown', I prefer it to the version on 'Jubilation'. I also like the new versions of 'All our past times' and 'This wheel's on fire' very much. I think that Aaron Hurwitz and Quentin Ryan did a very good job of putting this together. I'm listening to 'over the edge' now for the first time, and so far I like it very much. I hope that there will be more Danko related cd's coming from Breeze Hill in the future. Maybe they could do a series similiar to Dick's Pick's and release complete shows from different years, such as Danko solo, Danko/Manual, Danko/Hudson, Danko/Hurwitz, Hudson/Cromatix, etc. Someone has bootlegged several Danko related shows on cdr recently, so obviously there's some interest in them, and I think it would be preferable if some shows are released officially and the musician's and their families were compensated.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 01:14:50 CEST 2000 from ip206-105-142.netusa1.net (216.206.105.142)

MS. SUGAR

I just wanted to mention something that has become very interesting to me lately. I have a four-month-old son, Sebastian. (yes, in case you're wondering he was named after someone's son.) Sebastian has inherited my temper, which is not a good thing. I discovered a few things to calm him down and it amazes me. 1.) Van Morrison's "Moondance" album 2.) "Between Trains," by Robbie 3.) "Whispering Pines 4.) Anything by Hot Tuna. I noticed someone mentioned his five-year-old son thought Dylan wailed like an infant and it made me think of Sebastian's already developed taste in music. I don't understand why he prefers Hot Tuna instead of The Band. It has to be Jorma. (Jorma for President 2000!) It seems like Van's voice and Richard's voice soothes him best. He perks up when I play Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. Thank God he's inherited my taste in music and not his father's, which happens to be rap. Luv ya'll Ms. S.

Posted on Thu Aug 24 00:30:35 CEST 2000 from (209.19.78.25)

Frank Dracman

Im writing RE: Elvis Costello. I bought My Aim is True on CD about 6 years ago. I have the liner notes in front of me (but no release date). This version has 9 bonus tracks. Some studio and some bedroom. The bedroom sessions (he writes) are pre-professional (my aim is true was recorded on sick days and holidays in 1976-77). 6 bedroom songs (liner notes) "I learned a great deal from trying (and failing) to copy such artists as Randy Newman, Hoagy Carmichael, Lowell George, John Prine and The Band. Even though I abandoned this particular borrowed style in favo(u)r of the more direct sound of My Aim Is True, I hope the listener will be amused, one way or another, by these steps in my apprenticeship".

Posted on Wed Aug 23 21:44:32 CEST 2000 from (206.15.160.247)

Long Distance Operator

Emptying out the desk drawer of the rock and roll mind: The winner of the "First Concert" thread has got to be Paul Godfrey, in a landslide. Is it true that Watkins Glen is out of print? "Richard's policy was to raise a glass and say 'Spend it all!', which is a pretty good policy when you think about it". How cool is the little exchange between Robbie and Neil Young right before Helpless when Neil says, "I just want to thank you for letting me do this", and Robbie says, "Shee-it! Are you kidding me!"? I wish Robbie and Levon could be friends again. I saw Neil and the Stray Gators 11 days ago. He opened with Motorcycle Mama, Powderfinger, and Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. THANK YOU NEIL! He went on to do an unbelievable set which included Tonight's The Night, Unknown Legend, Harvest Moon, From Hank To Hendrix, Walk On (WALK ON!) and Words (WORDS!!). Truly a slice of rock and roll heaven from one of the living masters of the genre. Who would be on your personal Mount Rushmore of Rock? Mine changes virtually every day, but right now it would be Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Neil Young, and Keith Richards. Stealing a line from the inimitable Mr. Godfrey.... SHINE ON!

Posted on Wed Aug 23 21:17:11 CEST 2000 from proxy.netsetter.org (208.49.238.132)

VEL OMARR

WIN $100! To Qualify: Just visit my Web Page and listen to my Songs. In my "COMMENT" link, enter your name, E-mail address and what you thought about the Songs. Yes , that all! Winner will be announced October 2000!

Posted on Wed Aug 23 21:13:55 CEST 2000 from cic-proxy02.firstunion.com (169.200.25.141)

Bones

If anyone enjoyed "Do The Honky Tonk" from the box set, then try and get a copy of Old Shoes bootleg. Sadly, the sound is poor, but the performances are incredible. I would have loved to see them in those days.

I am so happy that people are buying the new reissues on Amazon. If these do well, Capitol will do a good job preparing the Rock of Ages, Moondog Matinee, NLSC, and Islands reissues. I worry that if they don't do well, Capitol will scrap the rest of the project.

Posted on Wed Aug 23 20:13:45 CEST 2000 from tcnet00-56.austin.texas.net (209.99.42.245)

Laura Holt

Sundog...great Pitures of Rick..though they are hard to look at and they make me a bit sad..it's nice to see Ricks smile!! I am STILL waiting on my "Breeze Hill" cd...can you believe it!! Dang these Austin music shops!! I should have purchased through amazon.com (I live and learn). Things seem to be SO MUCH better here in the GB world. Everyone have a good weekend and take care! Hello to Matt K!! PEACE ALL!

Posted on Wed Aug 23 19:39:21 CEST 2000 from client-151-198-146-91.nnj.dialup.bellatlantic.net (151.198.146.91)

Bumbles

D. Lil: Waiting for the inside word before I make a move on the reissues. Should we just hold on to our 8-tracks and all the wonderful memories?

Posted on Wed Aug 23 18:10:12 CEST 2000 from c668974-a.ftclns1.co.home.com (24.22.179.133)

Mike Ensor

I like your website...I haven't heard your music, but by discription, you would like the new Zebrahead album titled "Playmate of the Year"...it comes out August 22 You should check it out, all of you and your fans... Thanks

Posted on Wed Aug 23 16:49:37 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

I have a lot of respect for your opinions, Lil. I too am curious about your comment regarding the reissues. Perhaps I'm missing something, but reissues of Big Pink, Brown and Cahoots would also mean that publishing residuals would be coming to Rick's (endless highway, wheel's on fire) and Richard's (about half of BP and a chunk of Brown) would be families. The feud seems to revolve around who was given songwriting credit, but I did not think that it extended to deny points on album sales or royalities to Band members who ARE credited with songwriting credits (though Richard and Rick both would be sharing some of the rights with Dylan for songs cowritten with Bob).

On another note, I listen to Spinner quite a bit at work and in particular the Barenaked Ladies channel, which has a strong emphasis on Canadian artists (I've not heard any Band songs yet, however). Additionally, it apparently features music that BNL enjoys or is influenced by and includes folks like Tom Waits, Sam Phillips (the former christian singer, not the Sun Records owner). Ray Charles singing "Georgia" has been in heavy rotation that last few days. Each time I hear it, I can't help but think of Richard and that wonderful voice.

Peace all

matt

Posted on Wed Aug 23 16:04:08 CEST 2000 from sjiassoc16.erols.com (208.58.12.144)

Jon Lyness

Hey Lil, I'm confused too about your reference to the reissues. If you mean that the original members are not being compensated fairly...I thought that recent articles indicated that Levon and Garth were okay with the reissues project? As Bob just said, we'd very much like to know what your thoughts are. Thanks...

Posted on Wed Aug 23 15:48:17 CEST 2000 from levon.hiof.no (158.36.51.54)

jh

Also, The Band re-issues are now the biggest gainers in the music sales rank at amazon.com in the past 24 hours! The statistics are here.

Posted on Wed Aug 23 15:32:49 CEST 2000 from spider-tl082.proxy.aol.com (152.163.207.212)

bob wigo

Lil,
You wrote:

And on a seperate note, as one of the folks here who is _not_ anxiously awaiting getting my hands on the re-issues, I want to say one thing. Compromising conscience for the almighty dollar is something I choose not to be a part of.

Posted on Wed Aug 23 15:12:18 CEST 2000 from spider-tl082.proxy.aol.com (152.163.207.212)

bob wigo

I received a message from Amazon this morning offering the first four reissues at a 30 percent discount. Click on this link to go directly to their page. Seems like a pretty good deal.

I'm looking forward to the commentary here in the Guestbook once we've all had a chance to enjoy the music.

Posted on Wed Aug 23 14:51:28 CEST 2000 from dial30.pm3.keme.net (193.164.179.180)

Chris

I've just caught up with this website and wanted to say that it's great to have access to material of this quality. If anyone wants to contact me at my e-mail address, feel free - there aren't many Band afficionado's in this neck of the woods, it would be great to hear from some of you!

Posted on Wed Aug 23 13:27:56 CEST 2000 from atmax-5-3.enter.net (207.16.153.197)

Little Brøther

Speaking of Dave Mason's wonderful "Alone Together" album, as folks were a couple of parsecs ago: Someone once told me that they thought the line from "Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave" was:

Sherman took more than he gave / Or we wouldn't be in this mess today."

He thought it might have been written as some sort of odd homage from Across the Water to "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" .

It helps if you're familiar with the vocal, I realize... Still, this should count as a Wacky Band Thread.

Posted on Wed Aug 23 13:14:36 CEST 2000 from alb1-as5200-40-40.termserv.net (208.20.67.40)

Diamond Lil

Because the emotional impact of hearing Rick's last cd in it's entirety pretty much rendered me speechless last night (very hard to do btw...), I thought I'd take a moment now to talk about a few of my favorites.

The title track, "Times Like These", as I've mentioned many times in here, has been one of my favorite Rick tunes forever. I have several live versions of it here, and was very intrigued to hear this studio version. It's all that I knew it would be! Have been playing it over and over...

As I posted a few weeks ago, the wonderful version of "This Wheel's on Fire" remains both beautiful and just a bit eerie to me. There's a sense of both happiness..and overwhelming sadness to it at the same time. Have been playing that one over and over here too.

Elizabeth was quoted in the cd cover as saying that Rick is listening..and is proud. And I believe she's right.

And on a seperate note, as one of the folks here who is _not_ anxiously awaiting getting my hands on the re-issues, I want to say one thing. Compromising conscience for the almighty dollar is something I choose not to be a part of.

Have a good day everyone. Huuuuug Jan :-)

Posted on Wed Aug 23 12:48:24 CEST 2000 from ai04436.vlaanderen.be (193.190.148.29)

Rudy Veirman

FYI : this Fridaynight (the 25th of August) Dutch Television will broadcast "The Band in Pittsburgh" (november 1970 - see The Band Tape Archive - Performances with the Band - The 70's). It's on channel NL3 and starts at 00.38 GMT. I already have it on videotape from a previous broadcast some years ago and it shows the Band in great form, performing 4 songs (not 8 nor an interview as mentioned in the Tape Archive - but perhaps the reruns were edited since the original broadcast dates from the early seventies - I have no idea). The songs are : "Up on Cripple Creek", "Time to kill", "The Weight" and "Wheel's on fire". The quality is rather good, regarding the fact that it was taped using only one mike and one camera. As a result, and in view of the playlist, one gets merely a glimpse of Richard and Garth. But you've heard that one before, I guess. Greetings to all the Bandheads from Rudyman (just as anxious as you to get my hands on the reissues some time next week)

Posted on Wed Aug 23 08:39:57 CEST 2000 from 1cust77.tnt11.nyc3.da.uu.net (63.23.134.77)

Crabgrass

Continuing the wildly popular Incredible String Band thread:

In an interview seemingly made hazy by drugs (at one point, out of nowhere Gram referred to "impish Keith, the gypsy"), Gram, his voice softened by nostalgia reveled in memories of singing with the two leaders of the Stones and discussing universality in their music. "It's all the same." That's what Keith said. When the three of us sing together, it sounds like Gaelic music. Like the Incredible String Band..." -- from Hickory Wind by Ben Fong-Torres

The Band and the Incredible String Band both appeared at Woodstock but were not included in the movie. (This may turn up in question form on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?")

"May the long time sun shine upon you all love surround you and the pure light within you guide you all the way on." - M.H.

Can't wait to see the new Danko site featuring the infamous **** **** photos. And I sure hope Robbie's not grabbing most of the dough from the new releases otherwise the "feud thing" might re-surface here!!

Posted on Wed Aug 23 04:27:28 CEST 2000 from unionppp4.union.edu (149.106.172.5)

Danny Lopez

Please excuse this "idle scheming" as I've currently been committing serious acts of avoidance lately, i.e., avoiding preparations for the start of school. Eh gads, what a terrible thought! Oh well, here are some diversionary musings:

In checking out the Big Pink lp I got, I noticed the boys' names listed on the vinyl label, right underneath the title of the lp. If memory serves, there was something to this -- the original ideal being to have no mention of the members, but the record company posting this simply for clarification. Sound right?

The other little ditty: I recently (re-)read Jon Landau's Rolling Stone review of Cahoots on this site. It seems like quite a positive review to me, unlike what some contributors to the GB say about the album. The only quibble I have with him is this statement:

"If The Band was a perfectly thought out and arranged conceptual masterpiece, it had nothing as loose and free on it as "Strawberry Wine."

Excuse me, but can anyone say "Look Out Cleveland." And on that matter, what is the role of Cleveland in the Brown album motif? I believe Greil Marcus said it was a tip o' the hat to the Hawks days. But if so, then it doesn't really fit into the Brown conception, does it? I continue to regard the studio version of Get Up Jake as fitting in more coherently with everything else.

Finally, there is a clear difference, at least on my "hi-fi" system, between the lps and the cds. On the Brown album in particular, the sound is much clearer, the drums are earthier, there's less density, and plenty of other positive things I can't think of now.

Back to my G&T nightcap, which is another form of diversion.

Posted on Wed Aug 23 03:21:16 CEST 2000 from a228.goes.com (63.76.36.228)

Potsy

Just got Old Shoes. Richard's singing on Sweeter Girl from the Port Dover show is mind boggling. It is absolute perfection in its entirety. I'd have bought the disc if it had been the only track. The other highlight is from the London Ontario tape. Ronnie gets the girls all worked up over Levon and has him sing "Howling", laughing some of the time Levon gets through it nicely with Robbie adding some great fills. There is a great sense of spirit and fun. This just leaves you wanting more. I've only heard 4 of 27 songs from the port Dover show. I would kill to hear Richard's version of Kansas City. If I had a time machine I wouldn't go see Dylan 66 or The Band in 69 or 76, I'd Go see the R&b kings of Canada Levon and the Hawks. To hell with the Beatles and the Star club I'm in Port Dover listening to Richard's soul and Levon's Swagger! I envy anyone who was lucky enough to have seen them. Tell Levon to give up the tape Jan. Thanks much, Potsy

Posted on Wed Aug 23 01:38:17 CEST 2000 from ac898e84.ipt.aol.com (172.137.142.132)

Liz

imagine that, a marching band and a Big Band ! yippie !

Posted on Wed Aug 23 01:31:20 CEST 2000 from spider-wb011.proxy.aol.com (205.188.192.151)

Liz

just thought if ya didnt know already ya might just want to know........

Posted on Wed Aug 23 00:48:23 CEST 2000 from proxy.lfpress.com (204.101.153.10)

Mike Nomad

Really interesting stuff, Mr. Munson, re cushnie, darou, martynec et al. One almost needs a a Band family tree to sort it out. Gee, THAT might be an idea . . . .

Posted on Wed Aug 23 00:38:54 CEST 2000 from proxy1-external.avnl1.nj.home.com (24.4.252.66)

Brien Sz

Hats off to the Professor and Quentin and everyone involved with the post productionof Rick's new cd. I feel they did a masterful job of layering the music and vocals. It really lifted the cd. Rick's voice is as grand and touching as i've ever heard it. The title track is superb! Great start to a totally enjoyable cd. Love Chain Gang and Book Faded Brown as well as the others. I'm glad to see a slightly new approach was brought to "Wheel". The whole layout of the cd makes it easy to read and i really crack up at the ol sepia tone photo of Rick in that cowboy/saloon getup! Have only listened to it twice now but more is certainly to come over the next few days.

Posted on Wed Aug 23 00:05:18 CEST 2000 from www-cache.vuw.ac.nz (130.195.2.96)

Amanda

Thanks for interesting comments re. the Band- Elvis Costello connection. When I think about it I can see Rick Danko's influence on his singing and I think he sometimes manages something like the "weeping" quality Richard Manuel is famed for as well.

He is a favourite artist of mine too. I saw him live in the mid 90s and it is one of the most memorable concerts I've ever been to. He was playing in a large concert space that has all the ambience and charm of a concrete bunker but he somehow managed to make it seem intimate and warm. Also, as I believe the Band used to do, the stage was strewn with musical instruments and he played them all.

He was pretty funny in 200 cigarettes as well which is an enjoyable musical nostalgia trip for those of us that were teenagers in the 80s.

Posted on Tue Aug 22 23:53:02 CEST 2000 from spider-tk022.proxy.aol.com (152.163.206.182)

Donna

Hello everyone! I received Rick's CD yesterday and I just have to say that it is just wonderful! I love all the songs on the CD, but my absolute favorite is, "Let The Four Winds Blow." My second favorite is a tie between, "Ripple," and "Chain Gang."

On another note, I was watching a program last night on A&E, it was called "City Confidential." It was all about Robert Johnson. I found it very interesting, but there was a musician named john Hoskey, who narrated some of the program. Does anybody know who he is?

I heard that the "Dollmaker," will be on tonight, sorry I am not sure of the time or channel. I know that "Stand and be Counted," is also on at the same time. Maybe, I'll record "SABC," and watch the "Dollmaker." I have never seen that movie, but knowing Levon will be in it, I guess I'll just have to watch that. Oh decisions...decisions!!!

Have a good night. :O)

Posted on Tue Aug 22 23:37:19 CEST 2000 from spider-ta036.proxy.aol.com (152.163.205.25)

Dave Z

My early favorites off Rick's new CD are the title track and Change Is Good... both are beautiful songs... there's a very emotional feel to the songs that to me is consistent with Live On Breeze Hill... I am waiting for someone to tell me that Rick was peaking again... or that as the body declines the heart spirit rises... and we maybe get a glimpse of that with these songs...

Posted on Tue Aug 22 23:34:47 CEST 2000 from hud1-pm-27-87.termserv.net (204.97.156.87)

Diamond Lil

To Aaron, Marie, Tom, Quentin..and everyone involved in giving us Times Like These. From the bottom of what's left of my heart..thank you. Hard to put it all into words as I listen here now. Smiling through tears.

And to Elizabeth and Justin..love and continued strength to both of you. Love the photos. Thanks for sharing.

That's it for me for tonight except to say I love you Rick..and miss you more than you know.

Have a good night everyone

Posted on Tue Aug 22 23:17:28 CEST 2000 from unionppp1.union.edu (149.106.172.2)

Danny Lopez

LONG LIVE LPs!

Finally got around to killing some time by scouting out the local "import" record stores in the capitol. Two Band cds were available -- the Roosevelt Stadium show on CD-R (ugh!) and "The Last Moving Shadows." But instead of going for one of these, I found, in the lp bins, two pristine editions of the first two classic albums. Looking at the inside at all these nice pictures I couldn't believe it. I felt ripped off having purchased the cd versions which didn't include such great photos. And that quote on the back from "The Darktown Strutters' Ball," what a nice touch. Being that these are both first pressings, kind of makes me feel like I got a piece of history in my hands. And all that for $16.00.

Posted on Tue Aug 22 22:53:28 CEST 2000 from dialup-269.cork.iol.ie (193.203.148.13)

HANK

Thanks to Crabby and Bill for your ISB comments........Here's a weird one......apparently Neil Tennant from the British electronic-pop band "The Pet Shop Boys" is a huge fan of The ISB..........I'd love to hear The PSBoys do aan ISB song...........then again.......maybe not!!!!!!..... I'm going with my wife (and half my band) to see Bob Dylan in Dublin on Sept. 14th.........anyone here know what band he's bringing with him??.......we're bringing our 5-year old daughter as well........she watches Dylan Unplugged on her own (in between the relentless onslaught of Disney and Pokemon product).......knows that her Dad loves Bob's music......we brought her older brother and sister to see him at an open-air gig in Tramore, Co. Waterford in 1993.......my eldest son was 5-years old in 1993.......I'll share this story with y'all......as the gig progressed I decided to bring my son, on my shoulders up towards the front, near the stage.....he was on my shoulders and we were close enuff to the stage.....as Bob and his band were singing and playing "Ballad of a Thin Man"........"SOMETHING IS HAAAAAAAPPPPPENINNNNNG AN ' YEEWWWOUUUUU DONNNNNNNNNNNNNNO WHAT IT IIIIIIISSSSS!!!! DO YEEEEEEWWWWWOUUUUUUUUUU MISTAAAAH JOENNNNNNNNNES?????!!!!" I heard my 5 year son laughing out loud and exclaiming........"He sings like a.... BABY!!!!!!!!!!!"...........He'd been listening to Bob songs for all of his five years.........I guess he associated Bobs wailing with the wail of an infant......which I thought, in it's own way, very perceptive..........What's all this stuff about none of the rest of The Band and their dependants not being consulted and nobody getting paid except RR for these latest re-issues of their albums......could someone clarify that please?........

Posted on Tue Aug 22 22:46:47 CEST 2000 from cic-proxy01.firstunion.com (169.200.25.140)

Bones

The new Rick Danko disc sounds wonderful. I'm so excited by it. Early reactions: the new version of "This Wheel's On Fire" is incredible, very powerful with a great Danko vocal.

Posted on Tue Aug 22 22:22:56 CEST 2000 from (137.187.145.155)

Alex Hoffman

Received the Rick Danko album "Times Like These" in yesterday's mail. Beautiful...especially the title track, and "Book Faded Brown" from his last live studio performance. At least the music carries on. Long live Rick and the Band!

Posted on Tue Aug 22 21:25:09 CEST 2000 from gw.itac.ca (209.146.161.1)

Bill

I've been meaning to add, since Lil mentioned Jay and the Americans a few days ago, that there's a circuitous link to the Band there. One of the three or four groups in Ronnie Hawkins' stable of artists in the mid '60s (when he had Hawk Enterprises - record company, management, publishing) was an outfit called the Vendettas, with ex-Hawk Scott Cushnie on piano. Their bassist, Alex Darou, left the group to accept a post with Jay and the Americans, but the Americans reneged and Alex was left groupless (because the Vendettas had taken on Wayne Cardinal, who would later join Hawkins along with Cushnie). Darou cooled his heels until manager Bernie Finkelstein (who ultimately made his mark with Bruce Cockburn) put together a new group around the leader of the Vendettas, Keith McKie. That group was Kensington Market, a name that causes most Toronto rock fans of a certain age to wipe their eyes. Their Aardvark LP would be my desert-island disc for sure - even though it's not even out on CD. Their guitarist, Gene Martynec, by the way, produced the first dozen Cockburn LPs. And I believe he was in the Godspell pit band, along with Paul Shaffer of the Letterman Show, who I see has been enshrined on this site (see What's New). Martin Short was in that production I believe; his brother Mike was Hawkins' pianist at the time of the '77 gig with Levon, Kalmusky et al. God this is a confusing world!

Posted on Tue Aug 22 19:56:36 CEST 2000 from (204.120.54.1)

jcf

Did anyone here ever quote the Band in their high school yearbook? I couldn't have since I was not a fan back then. Looking back at my yearbook I noticed quotations from the Doors, the Smiths, and even Poison, but nothing from the Band.

Posted on Tue Aug 22 19:07:24 CEST 2000 from 56k-la-01-26.dial.qnet.com (209.221.212.89)

Dave the Phone Guy

I received my copy of Mr.Danko's newest cd "Times Like These" in the mail just yesterday. I didn't have time last night to sit down and listen to it properly. I did put the new cd on and at one point thought to myself,"that's a real spooky vocal on Chain Gang".

I'm leaving tomorrow for San Fransisco to catch the Furthur 2000 festival featuring Bob Weir,Mickey Hart,Bill Kreautzman,Bruce Hornsby,Alphonso Johnson,Steve Kimock,and Mark Karan.(that's right,all these guys in the same band)Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers open.Well, I'll admit I am bragging a bit this time. Hey, maybe I'll get to hear "Ripple".

Posted on Tue Aug 22 19:04:17 CEST 2000 from du104-4.ppp.algonet.se (195.100.4.104)

Meadowlark a.k.a. Ilkka's wife

I visit this site only occassionally but now I'd like to post a message:

Thank you, Rick, for the music in "TIMES LIKE THESE". Especially for "BOOK FADED BROWN", which was recorded on a very special day for us.

Posted on Tue Aug 22 18:15:39 CEST 2000 from proxy1.doit.wisc.edu (144.92.44.76)

Tim(SUNDOG)Corcoran

Dear Q. Ryan,,,I have some wonderful pictures of Rick Danko, but most people here think they are to painful to look at even though they are Rick. I personally think Rick looked like Rick all through his wonderful life,,,be it forever young,,,or forever old... But I guess people are bent on remembering Rick as a person in a fixed set of time,,,and not for ALL time...

Posted on Tue Aug 22 17:59:59 CEST 2000 from gw.itac.ca (209.146.161.1)

Bill

Thanks to David for all that great info about the Keiths. Bassist in the Cage/Garrett version of the Great Speckled Bird was Ken Kalmusky, who'd been in the Revols with Richard Manuel and John Till. And he was playing for Hawkins at the time of the '77 jam with Levon, Penfound, Dr John, Pat Travers et al.

Buddy Cage left the GSB, not for the New Riders of the Purple Sage as is often assumed, but to join the Tommy James-less Shondells (who had renamed themselves Hog Heaven, for reasons that Heaven alone can explain). One LP, then over to a successful career with NRPS.

Posted on Tue Aug 22 17:53:10 CEST 2000 from spider-mtc-tc011.proxy.aol.com (64.12.105.151)

Bayou Sam

"Something Auld, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Bluegrass". Great Bill Keith album. He is a top notch banjo player.

Posted on Tue Aug 22 17:45:28 CEST 2000 from 1cust223.tnt1.har1.da.uu.net (63.17.25.223)

Quentin Ryan

Hi from Breeze Hill- we are putting together Rick's official home page. If anyone has photos of Rick or anecdotal and documentable information or stories they would like to submit please contact us at bzhrec@dellnet.com thanks, Quentin

Posted on Tue Aug 22 17:17:20 CEST 2000 from (208.218.212.187)

David Powell

Regarding Danny Lopez's query about Ben Keith -- Many people, including veteran music writers, often confuse Ben Keith, the pedal steel guitarist, with Bill Keith, the innovative banjo player. This is easy to do because, in addition to their similar names, their musical paths also crossed in Woodstock.

Ben Keith was born in Kentucky and in the '60s his talent as a pedal steel guitarist earned him a spot on the list of top session musicians in Nashville. That's Ben playing on Patsy Cline's classic "I Fall To Pieces". His musical influences were not limited to country and he soon branched out by playing sessions for such artists as Mother Earth, featuring Tracy Nelson.

When other non-country artists began recording in Nashville in the late '60s, they soon discovered Mr. Keith. Such was the case with Ian & Sylvia, who convinced him to join their band, Great Speckled Bird. He later left the road and returned to studio work and was replaced by Buddy Cage. When several members of the Great Speckled Bird left Ian & Sylvia and relocated in Woodstock to form the band Hungry Chuck, they were able to lure Mr. Keith up North to join them. Hungry Chuck was managed by Albert Grossman and recorded for his Bearsville label. Mr. Keith would later appear on The Band's "Moondog Matinee" album, which was recorded at Grossman's new Bearsville studio.

In 1972, Neil Young went to Nashville to tape an appearance on Johnny Cash's television show. While there, Mr. Young also heard Ben Keith and asked he to come record with him on the sessions for his break-through "Harvest" album. This long-lasting professional relationship, as a part of what became known as Mr. Young's Stray Gator band, continues to this day. Ben Keith, along with Duck Dunn on bass, Jim Keltner on drums, Spooner Oldham on keyboards, and Neil Young's wife, Pegi, and sister, Astrid, on background vocals, are now out on tour with Mr. Young.

Ben Keith's career over the years has not been limited to his work with Neil Young. He has done session work for a virtual who's who of artists, from Willie Nelson to J.J. Cale, just to name a few. He also appeared on Emmylou Harris' first major-label solo album, "Pieces of the Sky". In 1995, Mr. Keith was chosen to produce Jewel's debut album, "Pieces Of You", which went on to sell over 5 million copies so far.

Let me just briefly mention a few details about Bill Keith, the talented banjo player. He was born in the Boston area and soon became immersed in the folk & roots music scene in the '60s. He learned to play the banjo and began playing with his friend Jim Rooney, who would later become an influential producer in Nashville. Mr. Keith's ability on the five-string would soon gain him work with such established bluegrass artists as Bill Monroe and Frank Wakefield. He would later play with the New England-based Jim Kweskin's Jug Band, along with Geoff & Maria Muldaur. Over the years, his expertise on the banjo, especially when adapting lightning-fast fiddle breakdowns to that instrument, has gained him a reputation as one of the modern innovators of the banjo, along with, of course, Earl Scruggs, the father of the style. In the early '70s, Mr. Keith would become part of the all-star Muleskinner group, along with the late Clarence White, David Grissman, Richard Greene and Peter Rowan. It was this group of young pickers, who played a blend of bluegrass, jazz & rock, who would pave the way for such groups as the New Grass Revival and Bela Fleck. In the '70s, Bill Keith also got together with a group of musicians in upstate New York, near Woodstock, that included Maria Muldaur, John Sebastian, Jim Rooney, Eric Andersen, Paul Seigel and others, to record the two "Mudacre" albums.

Posted on Tue Aug 22 17:18:01 CEST 2000 from spider-wi042.proxy.aol.com (205.188.197.37)

bob (not Bill, not Hank, nor John Lee ) wigo

"Times Like These" arrived in yesterday's mail. Too soon to offer any in depth comments but I'm certainly grateful for yet another musical gift from Rick Danko."Chain Gang" is wonderful.

Posted on Tue Aug 22 17:01:48 CEST 2000 from gw.itac.ca (209.146.161.1)

Bill (not Hank)

Sorry.

Posted on Tue Aug 22 16:54:52 CEST 2000 from gw.itac.ca (209.146.161.1)

Hank

Hank: I like ISB, most especially The Big Huge (but not The Wee Tam). And even more than that I love Mike Heron's "Singing The Dolphins Through", as done by Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Aside from any similarities in album covers, both the Band and ISB drew heavily on local folk-music traditions and religion (to the extent that there's a distinction). ISB's producer, Joe Boyd, also worked with Fairport, the Thompsons, the Martyns (on whose Stormbringer Levon Helm played), the Muldaurs (with Amos Garrett). All in all, one of the best track records I can think of.

Danny: Jozef Chirowski wasn't with Hawkins before joining Alice Cooper; he joined Crowbar as keyboardist AFTER the rest of the group had left Hawkins and had recorded an album backing King Biscuit Boy. Rick Bell played keys on that album, and ex-Suede John Rutter sang.

Chirowski's big gig before Crowbar was as organist with the Mandala, led by Robertson's replacement as Hawkins' guitarist, Domenic Troiano. He played on the Mandala's first two singles, "Opportunity" and "Give And Take". The latter was written, I believe, by Jackie Edwards, who also wrote a couple of Spencer Davis Group hits.

Posted on Tue Aug 22 16:43:43 CEST 2000 from 34-zara-x11.libre.retevision.es (62.82.98.34)

Panoramics 3D Spain

Hello !! Let me invite you to visit and see my website www.altogallego.com about the North of Spain (the Pirynees Mountains). The 3D panoramics are really superb... May I sugest you signing my guestbook. I'd really love if you write to some of the friends who has already signed, because we're creating the "Altogallego's friends Club" . See you... Manuel Lorenzo http://www.altogallego.com

Posted on Tue Aug 22 16:37:11 CEST 2000 from 1cust191.tnt11.nyc3.da.uu.net (63.23.134.191)

Crabgrass

I don't recall which came first but "The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter" by the Incredible String Band is one of my very favorite albums and I've alway ranked the ISB right up there with The Band and The Beatles - although their music is quite different sounding they are rooted in Folk like The Band. Robin Williamson is one of the great poets and songwriters of all time. I was lucky enough to have met Increds several times and even shot some video (don't have it anymore) at the Fillmore East during a rehearsal of their "musical" "U." Joe Boyd produced their early records and also produced Fairport Convention around that same time. And I am a HUGE fan of Richard Thompson who emerged from that lineup. Thompson's solo work continues to evolve to this day. The ISB (Robin Williamson & Mike Heron) will be performing this August - maybe already did - at the annual Fairport Convention Cropredy Festival for the first time after recently re-uniting. Williamson who has in the ensuing years retreated into a more traditional Scottish Celtic style of music no longer sounds the same - his accent has changed as has his vocal timbre - the latter probably due to smoking.

Posted on Tue Aug 22 14:54:19 CEST 2000 from (140.254.40.108)

Gordon Wardlaw

Can anyone supply me with a burned cd version of Right as Rain off the islands cd. It is out of print and I need it to produce a cd version of a casseete tape a frind of mine made for me just before he died. I have a cd burner, so if I could just borrow the islands cd for a day or so that would work great. I saw the band twice, once in 1968 and again in 1971.

Posted on Tue Aug 22 13:35:25 CEST 2000 from spider-wn081.proxy.aol.com (205.188.197.186)

Diamond Lil

Just want to say thanks to those of you who posted about the Stephen Talkhouse. Wanted to be there..but had to work :-( My 16 year old son informs me on the phone that both Rick's and the Crowmatix cd's arrived at my house yesterday..and of course...I'm not there. Figures. At least I have something to look forward to when I get home later today.

Laying in bed last night, a bit (ok..alot) tipsy ..the memory of one line of a poem that someone used to recite to me came rushing back. Unfortunately, I can't remember the rest of it, or who wrote it.

Between the gutter and the stars
People are what people are

If anyone remembers this and can send me the whole poem and the author, I'd very much appreciate it. Thanks.

Have a good day everyone. Hug Jan.

Posted on Tue Aug 22 13:31:17 CEST 2000 from (194.248.229.230)

Ghost of electricity

..howls in the bones of my face...

Interesting comments on "Cahoots", the only remaster I haven't ordered. The album is not my favourite by The Band, but maybe I will have to buy the new edition after all. I haven't heard the studio version of "Don't do it", but the song is great live. "Bessie Smith" is one of my favourites from The Basement, along with the lovely "Katie's been gone"..

Looking forward to more comments on "Big Pink", "The Band" and "Stage fright"!

To repeat a previous question: Which solo albums by the members of The Band are the best? I just found "American son" in my local record store. Is it any good?

Are there any fans of the great Richard Thompson out there? A compilation of his best work with ex.wife-Linda is being released in Europe these days. Recommended!!

Posted on Tue Aug 22 12:59:15 CEST 2000 from (209.167.110.151)

Serge

All you John Donabie fans can hear his talk show daily at WWW.CFRB.COM/ the station's web site. Real Player can be downloaded from the site if you don't have it. It's free. John's doing fill-ins this week: Mon thru Fri. 5:00 AM to 9:00 AM.EST. also Sat.& Sun. 6 to 10 AM. EST. He also does a music show Sat, nights 6 to 7 PM. EST.

Boy, those 4 AM wake-ups must be brutal.

Posted on Tue Aug 22 11:24:06 CEST 2000 from (208.219.108.2)

Grant Lee Buffalo

Thanks to the Crowmatix and Garth for keeping the flame burning. Enjoyed your show at the Stephen Talkhouse. One thing bothers me: I was told at the show that Garth and Levon Helm and the families of Richard Manuel and Rick Danko have not been involved at all in the re-issues of the early albums? And, worst of all, they are not getting paid either? (the concert I attended was a benefit for the Danko family...) How can Capitol/EMI and Robertson do this? If it's true then they are indeed cold-hearted and unfair - this an offence against decency, even if they did steal/buy the rights in the 1970s. I have ordered my copies, but are tempted to cancel the order after hearing about this. Please, someone say it's just a rumor.

Posted on Tue Aug 22 10:00:55 CEST 2000 from cr329169-a.brntfd1.on.wave.home.com (24.112.100.114)

Grant S.

Hello. It is extremely refreshing to see a Guestbook with intelligent postings by musically versed people.How often does everyone here visit other GB or chatrooms only to find the immature and ignorant postings of people who obviously need a slap. I'm not being close-minded to other forms of music, but really, where is the talent gone in the music of today? I have a hard time thinking of groups/artists today that play with the talent and songwriting ability that so many of the artists did 3-4 decades ago. There seems to be an astronomically abundant number of bands today that just make me turn away in disgust. I suppose it's just of sign of the times, which further forces me to believe that I was born into the wrong generation. There is good music being put out today, but you rarely see it on billboards 100. I mean really, how can Korn actually even be put on the same chart as Carlos? Again, I refer back two paragraphs, I suppose it's just of sign of the times, which further forces me to believe that I was born into the wrong generation. Well, enough ranting.How about some positive stuff? Thank you (Jan, right?) for creating a truly great site for such a great band. From what I've read of the gb (holy posts!) you have attracted a good bunch of people here. Definitely something to be proud of. I look forward to coming back to read and learn more about one of my fav bands. Thanks for letting me be vocal. Definitely be back soon.

Posted on Tue Aug 22 09:01:49 CEST 2000 from raisinbran.wcco.com (199.199.119.29)

Johnny Red

I have all four discs. We'll start with "Cahoots." (See track listing for details).

Overall, the tracks are a lot cleaner and brighter.

The most shocking thing on this one is that "Baby Don't You Do It" and "Bessie Smith" appear to be circulating versions. "Baby Don't You Do It" is definitely the version that appears on "Crossing The Great Divide" and is said on there to have been recorded after the Brown Album. However, it's inclusion (without liner notes, I'm guessing) with "Cahoots" suggests that it was recorded around that period. This would fit with the info from Levon's book, saying they cut the track during completion of Bearsville Studios. Mystery 1 solved.

This one is strangest of all. "Bessie Smith" appears to be the "Basement Tapes" version from the official Columbia release with vocals by Danko and Robertson. Whether Columbia OK'ed this I don't know, but this certainly solves the question about which tracks were and weren't recorded in Big Pink during the Basement Tapes period. (Other intriguing info on this thread later). I'll post more stuff soon.

Posted on Tue Aug 22 08:43:34 CEST 2000 from schltns.demon.nl (212.238.41.164)

Ragtime

Johnny Red... don't keep us waiting...

Posted on Tue Aug 22 07:04:09 CEST 2000 from crtntx1-ar2-074-173.dsl.gtei.net (4.35.74.173)

Kelly

Lil... the old Bill Cosby "Himself" routine, says that any parent with only one child is not really a parent... and he describes your trip in the car :) My poor folks... vacationing with eleven kids! Have a good day all!

Posted on Tue Aug 22 06:32:00 CEST 2000 from spider-wi043.proxy.aol.com (205.188.197.38)

The Ashtray is Full.!!!!!!!!!!

Gentleman Jack at the door. ashtray filler welcomed. Gump is sleeping . God Bless America .and 'The Band " played on.....

Posted on Tue Aug 22 05:39:46 CEST 2000 from 209-239-194-129.oak.jps.net (209.239.194.129)

Phil

Go Johnny (Red), Go Go Go....

Posted on Tue Aug 22 05:06:09 CEST 2000 from dialup-111.cork.iol.ie (194.125.43.111)

HANK

I just had great fun after a gig I played tonight back at someones house for the inevitable with a coupla guitars and voices teaching people how to sing the end of the chorus of "The Weight" .....what a blast!!!!!!.......it's one of those things you gotta have a few runs at before you get it right.....If folks are into it, can sing a bit and know it, it's a hoot......I wonder how long it took them (ie The Band) to get it right.....whose idea was it anyway?.......I mean, to sing it like that?.......... Well folks, here's a weird one..........I hope no one takes this too seriously but I had a bit of a vision today.............I was thumbing thru Levons book after not seeing it for a while and I came across a B&W print of the "Next-of-Kin" photo from "Big Pink"..........for a second it appeared to me like a Gary "The Far Side" Larson cartoon!!!!........ ARRRRRgh!!!!! ............ No offense folks, but I think it was the glasses some of the older women are wearing in the picture that make me think of it........sorry, if that sounds weird to y'all but I could'nt help myself......... The other thing it made me think was more reasonable.....which came first: The Chicken or The Egg?..... and which came first: "Big Pink" by The Band or "The Hangmans Beautiful Daughter" by The Incredible String Band?......both albums were released in 1968 and both albums feature photographic portraits of these communal gatherings of folks around the guys in the bands.......y'know what I mean?......which came out first?.....not that it really matters or anything.......(I really love of The ISB......anyone else here into 'em?)............but it became a bit of a trend for a while, did'nt it?.......these hairy rock'n'rollers with their spouses and the kids and dogs'n'cats'nstuff .........The Allmans did it, too,..... The Beatles behind the iron gate with all the kids and the people.....that was '68, too......but they never put those photos out until the released the "Red" and "Blue" compliation of hits in '73...........Speaking of Beatley stuff.........I's just listening to a bootleg of the Let it Be/Get Back sessions..........they do one jam type of number called something like "Get Outta My Door".......and sound like mid-70ies Grateful Dead in full flight.....THEN they do "Take This Hammer"/ "Long Lost John" and sound for all the world........ like The Band !!!!!!!............Hey, I would LOVE to hear Levon singing "Come Together"..............BWNWin Tenn........Would YOU like to hear Levon singing "Come Together"?..........aw, heck, Who here would love to hear Levon singing "Come Together"................Didj'all ever hear Bob Dylan and The Grateful Dead jamming out on Paul simons "The Boy in The Bubble"?............it's kinda scary actually........OK OK OK OK......I'll stop now............I love this GB.........Thanks Jan and everyone here...........it's a great way to end a day.........or start a new day.......hey hey..................

Posted on Tue Aug 22 03:54:49 CEST 2000 from unionppp3.union.edu (149.106.172.4)

Danny Lopez

Got two Band connections for you all, one ho-hum, one shocker (at least to me):

Saw in last Friday's New York Times, the Pop and Jazz Guide section, that Neil Young is touring with a list of luminaries, among whom is "guitarist and banjoist Ben Keith." Something tells me this guy is an old Young stalwart, but I'm not sure.

Found an old Rolling Stone Scrapbook on Alice Cooper in my basement. Curious as to how his albums were received I read the reviews. When Alice and his old band mates parted ways and he assembled new sideman for his first solo, Welcome to My Nightmare, a Jozef Chirowsky was chosen as the keyboardist. Chirowsky's previous stints included a brief period with Ronnie Hawkins in Toronto. Who would've thunk it? The Band and Alice Cooper.

On the topic of album reviews, I wonder if it's possible if anyone has old copies of the Rolling Stone reviews of the Band catalogue that could be sent to Jan. I realize we have BP, BT, and Cahoots on this site, but it'd be nice to have the rest.

Posted on Tue Aug 22 03:10:54 CEST 2000 from pm3-pt60.pcnet.net (206.105.29.134)

Laura P.

Johnny Red: Yes, please!

Posted on Tue Aug 22 02:29:54 CEST 2000 from raisinbran.wcco.com (199.199.119.29)

Johnny Red

Just got the reissues sans liner notes (connections thank you). Would you all like some reports on the discs as I listen to them? I think I have some good observations.

Posted on Tue Aug 22 02:08:33 CEST 2000 from 134.mercerville-33-34rs.nj.dial-access.att.net (12.78.153.134)

carmen

My favorite after first review-Chain Gang!

Posted on Tue Aug 22 00:20:17 CEST 2000 from proxy-1331.public.svc.webtv.net (209.240.220.156)

Scott

Just received Rick's new cd....THANK YOU Rick, one last time, for one more treasure....

Posted on Tue Aug 22 00:04:15 CEST 2000 from ns1.schuster.com (199.105.252.66)

Charlie Young

Another "six degrees" connection of Elvis Costello to The Band: his first (and best) album, "My Aim is True," featured members of a Northern California band called Clover, who later became Huey Lewis and the News. They recorded "Jacob's Ladder" by Bruce Hornsby on one of their first records and helped launch his career as well. Hornsby, of course, is one of the few musicians who regularly worked with both Robbie Robertson and The Band after they split apart.

Posted on Mon Aug 21 23:10:42 CEST 2000 from (205.230.10.2)

Bob R

Was at a record/music show this past weekend and hooked up with dealer who specializes in hard-to -find bootlegs. I am a big Beatles fan as well as Band fan, and spotted a Ringo Starr bootleg that consisted of out-takes and alternate versions of his "Ringo" & "Goodnight Vienna" discs-- there were a couple of versions of "Sunshine Life for me" with the Band backing Harrison (who seemed to be showing the song to Ringo) as well as an early version of "Snookeroo" with Robbie R on guitar...the guy told me that there is a bootleg out there that contains more tracks of the Band / Harrison / Ringo sessions with The Band recording "Come Together" with Levon on lead vocals and a version of Harrisons "So Sad " with Danko on vocals...anyone know of this CD or have it ? If so, would love to buy a copy

Posted on Mon Aug 21 22:22:12 CEST 2000 from proxy-393.public.rwc.webtv.net (209.240.200.93)

Ed Blayzor

Got Rick`s and the Crowmatix` cd`s today!!! listening to Rick`s now,enjoying it although with a heavy heart.Peace-Eddie

Posted on Mon Aug 21 20:51:52 CEST 2000 from cic-proxy02.firstunion.com (169.200.25.141)

Bones

Dexy: I'm confused. Were you asking me where Bruce(Springsteen I assume) was at the Dylan tribute? I have no idea. I don't know that much about Springsteen, but I would agree that he and Robbie were the two obvious no-shows.

Posted on Mon Aug 21 18:34:46 CEST 2000 from (208.218.212.187)

David Powell

I noticed this past weekend that the preview on the In Demand cable pay-for-view for the movie "Girl Interrupted" prominently features The Band's "The Weight". The song plays in the background throughout the entire scene shown in the preview. Have'nt seen the film yet, but the teaser certainly caught my ear.

I did watch the DVD version of Martin Scorsese's "Bringing Out The Dead" recently and liked the way Scorsese used Van Morrison's "T.B. Sheets" in the soundtrack. The song, used in the opening & elsewhere, is very appropriate for creating a mood for this dark, gritty film about emergency medical technicians working in New York City. Say what you like about Mr. Scorsese, but he does enjoy good music and has a way of effectively working it into his films.

Posted on Mon Aug 21 18:12:36 CEST 2000 from (12.34.17.217)

Johnny Flippo

Thanks Matt K. "Blame It on __Cain__"; "Aint' No More __Cane__". Those darn homonynms! What a silly language.

Posted on Mon Aug 21 16:41:07 CEST 2000 from dhcp21558.sunyocc.edu (198.242.215.58)

Mr. K. Horse

Just back from the CROWMATICS benefit show for E. Danko and family held at Stephens Talkhouse out on the Island. A superb show in every way. Garths very touching finale on Twilight was a moving experience. Special thanx to Louie, Tom Malone, and of course Garth for making us feel welcome after the show... See ya in Sterling N.Y. in Sept..

Posted on Mon Aug 21 16:15:41 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

Robbie's support of Native American causes, and Native American music has been extensive, particularly in recent years. Obviously, the man does not like to tour, so his performance schedule is always limited, however, I know he did play at the NAMMY's a few years back, and has been a very vocal advocate for Native American musicians in the industry. Good for him.

Elvis Costello is one of my all-time favorite artists, and IMHO one of the great songwriters of his (or any generation). "Blame it Cain" which comes from his debut album "my aim is true" is one of the highlights of a brilliant album. I need to check the liner notes of my re-released version of MAIT, but I believe Cain is one of those songs he wrote when he was 17 or 18. The CD I have features a number of outakes, and I seem to recall that there is an acoustic version of Cain from a four-track recorded in his bedroom or at a motel at a very young age.

I've been less enamored with Elvis' post Attractions work, but pretty much anything from BAIT to Punch the Clock rank among my heavy rotation list in my car. I thought Spike was a good effort back in '89, especially the inclusion of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, which he employs in some very unique ways (funk tuba?).

Regarding the "other" Elvis (TCB, baby), I have to confess I've never really understood the attraction. I recognize, of course his influence both musically and culturally, but I'm not sure I understand why, other than as a white man, he provided a "safer," more accessible route to music that was better when provided by Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, et al. My feelings here are somewhat myopic, admittedly, as by the time I was aware of Elvis, he was firmly entrenched in his big fat, white jumpsuit, Vegas-style country phase. Growing up in the suburbs, I always found the obsession of my friends' mothers to be disturbing - one velvet painting in the basement is one too many, thank you very much.

His backing band in the 50s ruled though. No bashing needed, I know I'm in a firm minority in finding Elvis Presley musically overrated.

Matt

Posted on Mon Aug 21 14:52:51 CEST 2000 from (12.34.17.217)

Johnny Flippo

Whenever asked about his vocal influences, Elvis Costello __always__ cited to Rick Danko. Elvis also wrote a song called "Blame It on Cane" which he described as an attempt to write a "Robbie Robertson song." Also, IMHO, Attractions keyboardist Steve Nieve is second only to you-know-who as an ensemble player.

Posted on Mon Aug 21 14:34:09 CEST 2000 from proxy1-external.owml1.md.home.com (24.4.252.26)

Richard Baker

Adhering to a promise we made to each other 30 years ago, my friend and I set out for Woodstock on Friday for a pilgrimage to Big Pink. Using directions from users of this site, we found it easily. Small dirt road in the middle of the woods, the house appeared between the trees like a desert mirage. Unassuming suburban looking house with a second floor apparently added since the boys occupied it. We got out of the car and took some pictures from across the dirt road when I noticed the curtains in the basement moving. A man came over to us, we told him why we were there and we spent the next 45 minutes talking. It turned out that he was a musician who was staying in the house that was owned by a friend, who is also a musician. He let us see the historic and unassuming basement that is currently set up for his band. Cement floor, low ceilings, not a lot of room. He was as nice as could be. Great to know that the house is in the hands of Band/Bob appreciaters. Looked to be in good shape. This was as close to a religious experience that I can get. Levon plays at the small Joyous Lake Club on the main drag in Woodstock every Wednesday night. Draws about 50-70 people, but keeps his chops by playing in his adopted hometown, 10 minutes from his house. He lives about 5 minutes from Big Pink. Looked and asked about Rick's grave, but unsuccessful. I am not even sure if Rick (or Richard) are buried nearby. It was my first trip to Woodstock. Beautiful country. I can understand why it has been an artist's haven for a century. 100 miles from New York City. Lots of money here. Million dollar homes in the woods. But not disgustingly yuppie. Well worth the trip.

Posted on Mon Aug 21 14:22:47 CEST 2000 from hud1-pm-24-84.termserv.net (204.97.156.84)

Diamond Lil

So there I was, watching a re-run of "Eight is Enough" last night (yeah..I know.. :-) and what do I see but a Band connection. Seems 'ol Tommy Bradford was cruising Sunset Strip on his way to his first big audition, and was perusing the neon signs of all the "big" names in town. And there it was.."The Band"..on a marquis (marquee?)..right in front of him! Made me smile :-)

Heading out of town today for change of scenery and some time with friends. Of course, I'm taking the 2 youngest munchkins (and a bottle of Gentleman Jack) with me. Munchkins will comandeer the car radio and argue over who's feet are on who and who's looking at the other one funny. Mom will make drinks on arrival and put her feet wherever she chooses and commence to looking at everyone funny. It all balances out.

Jan and Lee: First shot tonight is for you guys. Wish you could be there.

Have a good day everyone. Elsker deg Jan.

Posted on Mon Aug 21 13:43:01 CEST 2000 from proxy1-external.avnl1.nj.home.com (24.4.252.66)

Brien Sz

Can't wait for Rick's cd to come in the mail--hope today!

Just finished a 5 star book this weekend! Michael Shaara's "Killer Angels". I've never read a novel about the Civil War but this came highly recommended. It's about Gettysburg. It's classified as fiction(kinda like Capote's, In Cold Blood), it's based on facts about the battle and letters that various soldiers and officers wrote who were there. Simply amazing. Just thought i'd share.

Posted on Mon Aug 21 07:19:07 CEST 2000 from parachute1-156-40-64-39.net.nih.gov (156.40.64.39)

Jonathan Katz

Check out the site listed above - and try the spiral. Its a bit wacky, but fun.

Posted on Mon Aug 21 06:16:47 CEST 2000 from spider-wl034.proxy.aol.com (205.188.199.34)

Bayou sam

so it seems like George Harrison would have been a great addition to TLW. How about The Band at The Concert for Bangladesh. Stagefright was their new album - they knew George - and Dylan was even there. You would have had Ringo, Levon, and Jim Keltner drumming, which would have been an All Starr Band preview. Garth and Billy Preston on keys. It's funny though, because this was a night that Dylan came out and just played acoustic - although I think Leon Russel may have played some electric bass on some of his tunes. It's an interesting thought though - no?

Posted on Mon Aug 21 05:55:35 CEST 2000 from host-209-214-125-64.bna.bellsouth.net (209.214.125.64)

BWNWITennessee

I thought that Robbie did several Native American benefits after the release of "Contact." In fact, I thought that almost all of the shows he did for that album were benefits. I'm pretty sure he did one in Washington, D.C. a few years ago right in front of the White House. I was actually there at the time, I walked right past the benefit, and I forgot until a few days later that Robbie was playing there. I still have an impression of my own footprint on my ass from that one. Robbie is probably at the very top of my list of contemporary artists whom I would like to see that I haven't yet been able to.

Posted on Mon Aug 21 03:36:06 CEST 2000 from spider-th072.proxy.aol.com (152.163.213.77)

Bonnie

I have been reading the posts on this guestbook for a few weeks and especially enjoy the reviews of live shows... So I am surprised there has been no mention of the Danko CD release party. Did anyone go?

The articles and general information on this site are superb. Well done Mr Hoiberg.

Enjoyed listening to the track Times Like These. Rick Danko had a lovely, warm country style to his singing. I hope it does well.

Posted on Mon Aug 21 03:08:47 CEST 2000 from proxy.pth.iprimus.net.au (203.134.17.8)

Nancy

Crabby: No, proof-read / proofread DOESN'T end there, as I have since found out that you were RIGHT all along. I owe you an apology (ouch).

My use of words appears to be old-fashioned. Now is that oldfashioned, or old fashioned or.......

Posted on Mon Aug 21 02:47:15 CEST 2000 from 1cust67.tnt1.topeka.ks.da.uu.net (63.39.63.67)

Dexy

Elvis Costello's Band connection: There may be more, but I think it is his adoration of The Band, as witnessed in various interviews over the years (and in his music). Of course, he's also a fan of The Beatles (and has written w/Paul) and Dylan. I understand he was supposed to be at the Dylan Columbia tribute at Madison Square Garden, but couldn't make it (were was Bruce, by the way, Bones???). Most missed guest at TLW really does have to be George Harrison. What's the story? Anyone know? Surely he was invited, I can't believe he was forgotten. Maybe Mr. Dener can find out for us....

Posted on Mon Aug 21 02:13:33 CEST 2000 from dial-100-max-bbvt-01.ramp.together.net (207.41.57.228)

steve s

first concert? hmmmm.. how about Blue Oyster Cult, J Geils (stealing the show) and Black Sabbath Nassau Coliseum circa 1972 - I also agree with everyone who remembers fondly the smaller shows at the great little venues (My Father's Place, Lone Star, etc.) I've been following the recent David Crosby thread) I have no TV so I can't see the show but I'm sure it will be 1st class - he is a very decent guy. I used to write an entertainment law column for The Music Paper for many years. When David got out of jail, we met at a party. Someone took a photo for the paper and it appeared with the caption "Steve and Dave - tipping the scales of justice! Ouch!

Posted on Mon Aug 21 01:11:36 CEST 2000 from proxy1-external.etntwn1.nj.home.com (24.4.252.64)

Regina F. W. H.

This is my first comment,don't have any thought out message today except The Band have been a major influence in my life .Last time I saw them was New Year's Eve, at the Keswick Theatre. Levon banged away at those drums. Hope his health get's better!! Does anyone know how he is really doing. Cancer is pretty serious even with what doctor's know nowadays. I agree with the Elvis story being funny and cute,like some of the other message writer's wrote.By the way has anyone else been having trouble posting message's on the chatboard? I don't know if it is my computor or the Band chatboard that is the problem! Someone let me know, if you can or can't leave message's on there, then I can figure if it's my computor or them. One more thing, can Amy Helm sing or what, she is GREAT,but then of course it's in the blood!! I heard her on a tape,someone had one of those tiny recorders,would love to see her & her dad LIVE.

Posted on Mon Aug 21 00:03:28 CEST 2000 from cf3k-3.paradise.net.nz (203.96.152.183)

Amanda

What is the connection between Elvis Costello and the BAND? There must be one since he is on the related artists page. I'd guess he may have some involvement with Robbie Robertson since his songs seem to be popping up in films a lot. Does anyone know?

And I think idiosyncratic spelling & eccentric punctuation make the GB more coloUrful. But if I were to quibble over anything excessive use of exclamation marks is...but I'll stop right there!!

Posted on Sun Aug 20 22:30:21 CEST 2000 from 1cust200.tnt11.nyc3.da.uu.net (63.23.134.200)

Crabgrass

Wow! I was just lucky enough to get in my order for Gang Starr's 1991 album "Step in the Arena" at CD now - they only have a few left!! There's even a few sound samples on the CD NOW site though unfortunately the cut (as opposed to "song") which samples the rhythm track from "Up On Cripple Creek" is not available. However, as all the cuts sound pretty much the same (fantastic!!) you can pick any one and just use a little imagination. With the Band's early albums being reissued and gaining a wider audience for their music I'm optimistic that many of their classics will be covered in the Hip Hop genre!!

Americo-centric dictionaries differ from Anglo-centric ones regarding spelling and usage. Although I personally prefer a hyphenated "proof-read" to the alternative which I chose to use I feel that since The Band's original four Canadian members were expatriates (like Joni and Neil) that spellings in the Guestbook should reflect that fact even though the site is based in Norway. I hope that ends that!!

Posted on Sun Aug 20 22:31:38 CEST 2000 from ahml102.ahml.lib.il.us (38.231.168.102)

Osceola

I just got promos of the cd remasters of "The Band" and "Cahoots" from a friend of mine that is a manager at a Tower Records. The sound quality is absolutely amazing and the extra tracks are a real treat as well. I guess I'll be upgrading my whole collection real soon! I really can't say enough good things about them, what a joy!

Posted on Sun Aug 20 21:35:34 CEST 2000 from spider-wc032.proxy.aol.com (205.188.193.32)

Pac

Hi everyone! Have been busy catching up on all the posts from the past few weeks. Again I recommend you read "Stand and be Counted" [I don't know how to underline in this format]. As mentioned a few months back, it starts off slowly but is captivating once you get through the first few chapters. To me the main point is not who gets mentioned or excluded; it's an overview of how social consciousness has evolved in the rock and folk scenes and how much more work needs to be done. I loved it and finished it off in less time than it took to catch up on the Guestbook! ;) David Crosby has my greatest respect. He and Neil Young (our Bay Area favorite) may be at their most creative stages now, educating and helping. One of the posts devoured Neil's new CD. I saw him perform (solo; acoustic) in a small hall in Berkeley this year, doing much of the material. The audience was filled with old friends and kids, including his nieces and nephews. He sang to all of us. It was the most endearing side of him I'd ever seen. And yes, he can still kick ass when plugged in. There are many sides to Neil Young. Those who didn't like the last CD need only wait for the next to be totally different, although it may be the long-awaited box set. His and his wife Peggy's Bridge School benefits take so much work every year, always have an incredible line-up, and seem to bring out the best in everyone. Enough said. Nice to see you all again!

Posted on Sun Aug 20 20:32:42 CEST 2000 from wit-p1a-157.wittenbergnet.net (206.40.103.160)

Ron Shankland

Hi! Looking for a burned cd-r of "old Shoes' Have a spare Roosevelt Stadium 1973 original glass master in exchange!Anyone? Thanks!

Posted on Sun Aug 20 19:58:58 CEST 2000 from spider-ta086.proxy.aol.com (152.163.205.13)

Bumbles

Seems to me it would be a badge of honor to be ignored by a David Crosby project, but it shouldn't be surprising that Stand Up & Be Counted includes Robbie Robertson and doesn't mention Levon or Robbie, especially if, as the title and Crosby's comments in the Post seem to indicate, the focus is on activism. While the efforts of Rick & Levon cited by a frequent poster to the GB (as well as Rick's Clearweater-related activities) are admirable and speak of their generous spirits, they're basically local charity work and not the sort of thing that would be of wide interest. On a mass-media level, Rick & Levon aren't news and, except for death or catastrophic illness, haven't been for a long time. Robbie's support for Leonard Peltier's freedom, on the other hand, makes him a prominent public voice on a matter of international interest that inflames passions on either side and may surface as an issue in the presidential race. Like it or not, RR has turned himself into one of rock's most reliable senior-level talking heads---an informed, articulate, and telegenic source of opinion on a variety of subjects. It's not unfair or unkind to suggest that it's difficult to imagine Levon or Rick performing that function.

crabgrass: Your eternal vigilance on same-sex activities almost seems like a case of protesting too much. Is that a Weed Whacker in your pocket, or are you just glad to bash Robbie? You're right about proofread, though---that's the accepted form in edited American English, which, of course, is all that matters.

Posted on Sun Aug 20 18:24:04 CEST 2000 from spider-tl073.proxy.aol.com (152.163.207.208)

BOOT DR.

Great page on OLD SHOES. Picked one of those up last week, and have been digging it nonstop. Truly the most major BAND release since CROSSING THE GREAT DIVIDE, even better than the recent Roosevelt Stadium set. Includes some of the hardest to find preDylan tapes from Levon and the Hawks and some nice 7os rarities, including the SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE they did just before the last Waltz. Oh yeah, outtakes of WE CAN TALK (BIG PINK), too. Man, if you're any kind of BAND fan you need this. Most of you probably have it already, but I see one listed on EBAY (there's a Roosevelt Stadium, too) at a very low price. Some sharp BANDHEAD will be very happy. LEVON ROCKS!!!

Posted on Sun Aug 20 17:06:11 CEST 2000 from levon.hiof.no (158.36.51.54)

jh

Hank,
Gang Starr sampled the rhytm track from "Up on Cripple Creek" on 1991's Step in the Arena

Posted on Sun Aug 20 16:09:16 CEST 2000 from dialup-325.cork.iol.ie (193.203.148.69)

HANK

Did'nt a rap-group sample 'Up on Cripple Creek" once upon a time??....Anyone remember that? Anyone remember whether it was any good or not? I'm surprised no-ones Rapped or Hip-Hopped "The Weight" yet.........Maybe they have....I dunno......(Scratchy -record-style) "I P-P-P-Pulled into N-N-N-Nazareth"........followed by that hip-hop beat that sounds so good on FM radio sigmnals and on modern sound systems in clubs and discos......."YO! Take a load OFFA ANNIE! BRO! Take a LOAD....for FREE!!!!!"........You don't think I'm serious, do ya, Folks? But actually, that song has more Gospel potential than "Every Breath you Take"........and a funkier drum sound, too........Hallelujah!!!!!!!!!........(is that how you spell "Hallelujah"?)..................

Posted on Sun Aug 20 14:59:13 CEST 2000 from mygore0.connect.com.au (210.8.232.5)

xj6

it is good to see things are back to normal the past few weeks i thought we must have all gone mental. also good to chat again with people who i have not talked too for a long time, this site is the best music sites on the web...

Posted on Sun Aug 20 14:02:45 CEST 2000 from du-tele3-049.mailbox.co.uk (195.82.121.49)

Peter Viney

Elvis & TLW: Elvis might have been alive at the time of the TLW concert, but as he wasn’t present, he wouldn’t have seen the show, as apart from those attending, no one did until the movie, which was released after his death. For Band/Elvis connections see the "Influences" article in the library on this site.

Lil: my immediate thought would be that RR played at the Agrigento Festival in Italy in May 1995, which was filmed for an Italian TV broadcast. Clips are on "Going home" and the full Italian show is worth re-broadcasting. I can’t find any note to the effect, but the old memory banks have an idea that the festivalwas somehow in aid of indigenuous peoples. As far as I know, discounting TV promos and Hall of Fame appearances, the only full RR concerts of the decade are Seville (Guitar Legends) in 92 and Agrigento in 95. Having assembled and rehearsed such a large and elaborate show for Agrigento, it’s really odd that they never appeared elsewhere. Are the proceeds of the Hall of Fame shows for a charity? It’s a further possibility.

Posted on Sun Aug 20 08:39:34 CEST 2000 from parachute1-156-40-64-99.net.nih.gov (156.40.64.99)

Jonathan Katz

Well on CA time I'm checking up on the GB. 1st concert: Rolling Stones 1967. 2nd: Can't be sure, but maybe the Kinks and the Emergency in DC. Best might have been Dylan/Band '74 or Dylan 2000! I used to love Traffic but haven't listened in some time. Need to dust off the LPs. David Powell: I agree on Dave Mason's 1970 solo album "Alone Together" - great album.

Posted on Sun Aug 20 06:43:54 CEST 2000 from proxy.pth.iprimus.net.au (203.134.17.8)

Nancy

"Proof-read": The Concise Oxford Dictionary 9th Edition 1995. You're right, Crabby, proofread looks weird, and that's because its incorrect.

In the words of Ilka: class dismissed.

Posted on Sun Aug 20 06:27:06 CEST 2000 from 209-239-207-94.oak.jps.net (209.239.207.94)

Phil

Just listened to the 3 bonus tracks from CheckOut.com on liquid audio. I was using cheap headphones because everyone is asleep here, but I would say the sound quality is real good. Cripple Creek is real close to 'being there' except the lyrics aren't quite rolling off Levon's tounge in the way we are used to hearing them. Either these are flubs or changes were made later. The clavinet sounds a bit thinner than the original too. Everything else is real close. Man these guys were good. Intresting false start with Rick taking the blame. Time To Kill sounds different, but I think it's just a alternate mix. Garth's piano could be a different take. Yazoo Street is different from the BT version, but so similar that it is obviously from the same session's.

Posted on Sun Aug 20 06:23:36 CEST 2000 from 1cust84.tnt11.nyc3.da.uu.net (63.23.134.84)

Crabgrass

"Proofread" is correct. (Check m-w.com) The more I look at it the weirder it looks though.

How about a "Which Band songs would make great Rap records thread?" A few years back Paul McCartney blocked the efforts (threats?) of some rapper to do that with a bunch of Beatles' songs. But perhaps Robbie is more open-minded like Sting who thought Puffy's use of "Every Breath You Take" was "absolutely marvelous" as I recall reading somewhere.

Posted on Sun Aug 20 05:32:07 CEST 2000 from dialup-382.cork.iol.ie (193.203.148.126)

HANK

This thing of Elvis-meets-Bob Dylan-and-The Band woulda got a mention in Levons book if, indeed, it happened............would'nt it?......then again, maybe Levon kept it for himself and The Band as a private memory...........I would imagine that Peter Gurnalick would have mentioned it in his excellent book on Elvis, "Careless Love"....Then again,....maybe not........."Went to See The Gypsy" from "New Morning" is about Bob Dylan meeting Elvis, isn't it?..........Who here reckons Elvis woulda done a great version of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"??............I used to think Elvis coulda done a great job of "The Weight"......but I get the feeling he mighta done it too fast and it woulda gotten "too old" really fast.................Actually, now that I think of it, y'know which Band song Elvis woulda sung great?.................."The Shape I'm In".........can you just hear that?..........enjoy your Sunday ,Folks!!!!!.......

Posted on Sun Aug 20 03:43:30 CEST 2000 from proxy.pth.iprimus.net.au (203.134.17.8)

Nancy

Me again. Neil, don't let a few people including me, questioning the authenticity of your story, put you off posting altogether. It was a good story, and although I didn't think it sounded plausible, I enjoyed it. The thought of Elvis answering his front door and saying "Hello Bob" was just too much for me to swallow, but that doesn't mean that it didn't happen. Find the proof and put all of the skeptics back in our place where we belong!!

I bet its not the first shaky story to make its way on these pages, speculation and innuendo being essential criteria for a proportion of the stories that appear here :)

Posted on Sun Aug 20 03:20:45 CEST 2000 from proxy.pth.iprimus.net.au (203.134.17.8)

Nancy

Crabby, Crabby, Crabby, what are we going to do with you???? First a missing "I", then an absent apostrophe, and at the end of your post I noticed "proofread". Now is that "proo-fread" or "proof-read"? I'm glad it couldn't be construed as "poo-fread" as that would quite change the meaning of your post.

I bought John Lee Hooker's "The Best of Friends" yesterday, and have listened to it continuously since then (as one does), and thereby driven my family outdoors in the middle of winter (as one does). Its a great little album. Ask out loud if you're interested in details. I also noticed a Robert Johnson Collection, 2 CD set for AUS$20, which seemed seemed reasonable considering that the standard single CD price here is AUS$@29.95. I didn't get it as I had already spent my pocket money.

Posted on Sun Aug 20 00:14:02 CEST 2000 from ct-8-sim-ppp40.kwic.com (209.205.36.194)

Neil

I was quite certain I was correct about Bob Dylan and the Band visiting Elvis's home once. I have been searching frantically to find out where I once read that, but to no evail I can not offer any proof. Therefore, I must both retract and apologize to all the readers in the Guestbook (and Jan) about my entry.

Posted on Sat Aug 19 23:18:47 CEST 2000 from spider-tk013.proxy.aol.com (152.163.206.178)

frank

Hi Band fans, I saw Jimmy Weider and Tom Pacheco at The Pattenburg House last nite. They put on one hell of a show. Everyone had a great time. Thanks Jimmy and Tom. p.s. To Lee me friend from across the big pond, Jimmy and Tom send their regards. later

Posted on Sat Aug 19 21:52:48 CEST 2000 from m198214181064.austin.cc.tx.us (198.214.181.64)

pehr

saw a photo just he other day of RR at Hurricanes benefit. I thought it was here... no, as a matter of fact it was the AE dylan show I think.

the band/ elvis story reminds me of a musician friend of mine that went to Wentzville, MO. to see Chuck Berry's place. Their van was being chased by a rottweiler. they had a bunch of hamburgers, and slid the door open, the dog took a shine to the burgers so they let the dog in the van for a burger. then they dropped the dog off at the house to the incredulous looks of the groundskeepers.

Posted on Sat Aug 19 19:12:21 CEST 2000 from 1cust143.tnt11.nyc3.da.uu.net (63.23.134.143)

Crabgrass

The only Robbie benefit concert I know of was The Last Waltz which was basically a benefit for himself. But maybe he's done a more recent one for a Native American cause or Gay Activist group promoting same-sex marriages. Time will tell. I think I can wait a couple of days to find out without losing any sleep.

The way I heard the Elvis story was that the boys and Bob were emptying their bladders in the bushes and Elvis ran out of the house with a shotgun and chased them off.

Sorry for the missing "l" and apostrophe in my two previous posts. Here are a few extras in case I do it again - llll '''' (I'm also fining myself 25 cents for sloppy proofreading!)

Posted on Sat Aug 19 18:21:53 CEST 2000 from du146-249.ppp.algonet.se (195.100.249.146)

Ilkka

A friend of my asked about the opening bass line in DON'T YOU DO IT. It is certainly documented somewhere. I made a very simple description which I'd like to share. Here we go...

(tchk) da-dah dah-da-daa da-da-da daa-dah da-dah dah-da-daa (boom-boom)
Now replace all the da-da's with following notes:
F G G F G F G F C A# F G G F G
Simple. Despite that, Rick's playing touched deep in our souls. That is what real art and skill are all about.

Always nice to see my compatriot JORMA KAUKONEN mentioned here. Jorma has been seeking his Nordic musical roots lately - wonder if it has given any concrete results yet?

Posted on Sat Aug 19 18:09:48 CEST 2000 from hud1-pm-10-70.termserv.net (204.97.156.70)

Diamond Lil

Heheh...the whole concept of Dylan and The Band...staggering in a drunken stupor up to Elvis' front door to use the bathroom is pretty funny. Considering however that these were 6 men..all ehm.....self-equipped...I'd probably believe the story more if it was posted that they lined up at Elvis' bushes :-)

Hug Jan. (And one for John Donabie too :-)

Posted on Sat Aug 19 17:35:30 CEST 2000 from spider-wn013.proxy.aol.com (205.188.197.153)

Ben Turkel

I've read many books about Elvis and have never read of any meeting with Dylan, much less the Band, so I'm sure that that post was a joke. I did just read an anecdote that Eric Clapton met Elvis once and Elvis didn't know who he was.

Posted on Sat Aug 19 16:46:35 CEST 2000 from proxy.pth.iprimus.net.au (203.134.17.8)

Nancy

Neil's story about Bob Dylan dropping by Elvis' home to say "Hi", and to use his bathroom was kinda cute, but did it actually happen? When I read it, I thought someone was pulling our legs.

Posted on Sat Aug 19 16:40:09 CEST 2000 from d160.as13.nwbl0.wi.voyager.net (169.207.136.226)

John

I can't wait to see this RR footage in 'Stand and Be Counted'. I'm not sure, but didn't he perform with Dylan at a Hurricane Carter benefit concert years ago? I don't seem to recall hearing of any others.

Posted on Sat Aug 19 15:35:06 CEST 2000 from dialup-281.cork.iol.ie (193.203.148.25)

HANK

Is that story about Dylan going for a piss in Elvis LA home true?......and bringing The Band with him? That's too funky to be true..........If it IS true, my only reaction is WOW!!!!!!!........The only Elvis/Band connection I could think of was the fact that Levon used to go see Elvis, Scotty and Bill in Arkansas in The late '50ies...........Can you imagine Elvis being backed by The Band?.......Anytime I hear "The Promised Land" by Elvis I figure they used that clavinet sound that's on "Up on Cripple Creek".......does anyone here know what I talking about? Do I know what I'm talking about?.....it's toooo early in the day for this.............later..........

Posted on Sat Aug 19 15:13:07 CEST 2000 from hud1-pm-11-71.termserv.net (204.97.156.71)

Diamond Lil

Crabgrass: I also read that article in the NY Post about David Crosby's "Stand and be Counted", which indeed mentions concert footage by Robbie Robertson. I'm both intrigued and perplexed at the same time. I don't recall ever hearing that Robbie performed at any 'benefit' concerts. That doesn't mean he didn't..I just don't recall ever hearing anything. Can you (or anyone else out there) enlighten me on this?

And I guess I'm also curious as to why both Rick and Levon weren't mentioned as being a part of this? Rick's contributions to charities and benefits, most importantly the time and care he showed concerning battered women, and Levon's giving of his time and talent to bring smiles to the faces of kids with cancer, should be acknowledged, no? Can someone please tell me what Robbie did that's more (?) _important_?

Please understand this is _not_ a Robbie bashing post. I'm just a bit confused about this 'benefit' thing. To anyone who can fill me in, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

Posted on Sat Aug 19 10:44:33 CEST 2000 from athe530-f228.otenet.gr (212.205.234.228)

pretty little girl

Thanx Molly Z. Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton were both there. (I was trying to be funny.....sorry, tongue in cheek doesn't translate into text very well.) In the Authorized Biography George Harrison makes quite a decent contribution talking about The Band as inspirational. I can only guess he would have accepted had he been invited. My Sweet Lord would have ROCKED. Possibly the stage was not big enough for 3 lead guitarists? (sorry Robbie, 4)

Posted on Sat Aug 19 07:47:55 CEST 2000 from 1cust108.tnt11.nyc3.da.uu.net (63.23.134.108)

Crabgrass

An article in today's New York Post announces that David Crosby has put together a documentary called "Stand and Be Counted" concerning artists who have done benefit concerts which will contain rare concert footage as well as interviews conducted by Crosby who is quoted as saying "I've been fascinated by people who have the guts to do benefits and the courage to stick up for what they believe in." The program is four hours long and will be aired in two parts on TLC (formerly The Learning Channel) next Monday and Tuesday from 9 to 11 pm. AND (almost forgot) it says "Concert footage includes performances by... Robbie Robertson..." Emmylou's mentioned in there too as are EC, Jackson Browne, and Woody Guthrie. (Sadly, no mention of 'N SYNC, Britney Spears, or the Spice Girls but who knows - they might just not have been listed in the article.)

Unfortunatey, I am in the .0000000000000001% of the population that still doesn't have cable TV (I'm waiting for it to go 3D) so I'll be relying on my fellow Robbie bashers to criticize his performance (unless it happens to be with The Band, of course). I urge you to do your best - I'm counting on you - don't let me down!!

Posted on Sat Aug 19 07:05:41 CEST 2000 from spider-tj064.proxy.aol.com (152.163.213.204)

Bayou Sam

talking about people that maybe should have been at TLW - somebody in here once mentioned George Harrison. He had Band connections and would have been a logical choice. I could see him doing My Sweet Lord. Imagine how great that would have sounded with Richard, Rick, and Levon singing with him - doing the backround vocals. I wonder if GH was asked.... Does anyone know of any people that we're asked but couldn't - or didn't - do it?.... Peace. Sam's your third cousin once removed.

Posted on Sat Aug 19 06:57:41 CEST 2000 from spider-tj064.proxy.aol.com (152.163.213.204)

Bayou Sam

if you recall, in TLW, Robbie is talking about how the road has claimed so many people. He goes through a couple of names, then he pauses a second and says "Elvis". It always seemed to me that Elvis must have just died. I get that feeling just the way RR says it. This was obviously done quite awhile after the actual Last Waltz concert happened.

Posted on Sat Aug 19 06:32:35 CEST 2000 from ct-4-sim-ppp12.kwic.com (209.47.103.22)

Neil

Actually the Band memebers did meet Elvis, that jokester Bob Dylan was driving around Beverly Hills one day with the Band members, drinking a few or course, and told the driver to stop at this house so he could use the bathroom, much to the Band members disbelief. Well, they all staggered up to the house,Bob rang the doorbell, and Elvis opened the door and said hello Bob! Elvis was so glad to see them all, and the spent the afternoon, talking, drinking and jamming a bit. Bob was always one to keep people on the edge and full of surprises.

Posted on Sat Aug 19 05:56:02 CEST 2000 from ch8smc.bellglobal.com (206.47.244.58)

Blind Willie McTell

OK, picture this .... Elvis is sitting in his movie room watching TLW ...

Does he wish he had taken a jet from Memphis to San Francisco to be at the concert? Or did he blast the movie screen with a shotgun? I guess he wished he was there.

Posted on Sat Aug 19 05:42:57 CEST 2000 from host-216-76-150-118.bna.bellsouth.net (216.76.150.118)

BWNWITennessee

Nope, August 16th, '77, a few days and many years ago; TLW was in November of '76. So he was on the doorstep, perhaps, but still around.

Posted on Sat Aug 19 05:33:17 CEST 2000 from ch8smc.bellglobal.com (206.47.244.58)

Blind Willie McTell

Sorry, didn't Elvis Presley die a few months before TLW?

Posted on Sat Aug 19 05:30:32 CEST 2000 from ch8smc.bellglobal.com (206.47.244.58)

Blind Willie McTell

Didn't Elvis Presley did a few months before TLW?

Posted on Sat Aug 19 05:26:57 CEST 2000 from host-216-76-150-118.bna.bellsouth.net (216.76.150.118)

Back with no wife in Tennessee

One person I've always thought should have been at TLW, in terms of having an influence on The Band, was Elvis. I wonder if that thought ever crossed anyone's minds when they were putting the show together. I always assumed that Elvis was just to big at the time (in more ways than one!) to do something like that with what he probably would have considered to have been a bunch of drugged-up hippies. It definetly would have changed the feel of the entire show. He could have done "Mystery Train," with James Burton along to join in on the "Further On Up The Road" jam. If I could pick one person to add to the Last Waltz, that's who it would be. Does anyone know if there was any type of EP/Band connection at all, in terms of them ever meeting? I know those dastardly Beatles and Led Zeppelin got to visit Elvis at Graceland, but I've never heard about anyone in The Band ever having even met him. It seems like they should have, though, they were defenitely fans and I assume they all would have been up for it.

Posted on Sat Aug 19 05:06:09 CEST 2000 from cf3k-3.paradise.net.nz (203.96.152.183)

Amanda

On the subject of Woodstock I just found that Wavy Gravy has a home page.

http://users.aol.com/wgeneral/wavyhome.html

Wavy Gravy is, of course, the character who made the announcement in the film "What we have in mind is breakfast in bed for 400,000 people". Apparently he has an ice cream flavour named after him as well. I can't imagine what Wavy Gravy ice cream would be like but I digress…

Back to the music, back to the music...

Posted on Sat Aug 19 03:07:57 CEST 2000 from ip-136.dial.wans.com (64.7.64.136)

Molly Z.

PLG: If my memory serves me well, Bob Dylan was at TLW & played great! To me, he looked fantastic too!

Dave Z: You heard right! Sounds a little unfair that they didn't include The Band & The Grateful Dead. I mean all The Band played (if my memory serves me well) was The Weight or Cripple Creek. so.....what's the problem with that???? There good tunes & I don't see how it didn't fit the energy level, seems kinda stupid to me that it was arranged that way. Oh well.

Posted on Sat Aug 19 03:01:48 CEST 2000 from spider-wb044.proxy.aol.com (205.188.192.169)

Dave Z

Anybody else watch Woodstock on Bravo this past weekend?... I thought I heard the somebody say the film makers purposely didn't include the Band or the Dead in the film because it wouldn't have fit with the energy level they were looking for... Did I hear that right?... I thought Grossman or Columbia didn't allow the Band in the movie?... Anybody know the true story?...

Posted on Sat Aug 19 01:30:41 CEST 2000 from (207.34.146.22)

Cupid

Great thread..Ok first concert..would have been about '78,A Canadian Band called Trooper at The pacific Colieseum.I remeber Security frog marching the guy in front of me out becouse he was chucking sparklers into the crowd on the floor.Had the good fortune to meet B.B.King after a club date in North Vancouver.Really sweet guy and his security never laid a hand on us two skinny white kids even though we charged up to him after the show in the hotel hallway. The best show I'd seen was Jeff Beck on the "There and Back" tour around In September of '79....Then I saw Tom Waits this past October...Honorable mentions go to Keith Richards,Steve Ray Vaughan[and the Hells Angels who were our unexpected hosts],Steve Earle,The Replacements,The Rolling Stones,Billy Bragg and The Pogues..Peace all Cupid

Posted on Sat Aug 19 01:23:07 CEST 2000 from athe530-c006.otenet.gr (212.205.238.6)

pretty little girl

Molly Z, it would have been even greater to see Bob Dylan there too!! (sorry, I just had to) Peace.

Posted on Sat Aug 19 01:08:45 CEST 2000 from ip-136.dial.wans.com (64.7.64.136)

Molly Z.

Hey there!

It's really nice to see all of your posts on your first concerts. Hank, I must agree with what you said about having Elton John play at TLW instead of Neil Diamond. He probably would have been great to play there. I betcha it would've been great to see Eric Clapton or Bonnie Raitt play there. Or The Grateful Dead would 've been good as well. Probably other artists that weren't at TLW would probably be good too. I must admit I never really was a huge Neil Diamond fan, but a few songs of his were ok.

Have a good evening, and a good weekend everyone!

Posted on Sat Aug 19 00:01:05 CEST 2000 from (198.173.6.246)

Tom

It's great to see the GB getting back to being about music. I've enjoyed everyone's posts over the last week, and the first concert thread has definitely brought back lots of memories.

My first show was Steppenwolf at a place called The Warehouse on Tchoupitoulas St. (say that three times as fast as you can) in New Orleans in 1969 or 1970. Then, in December, 1970 I saw The Band there. What I recall is their unassuming, unflashy manner and what a tight band they were. I was also in awe at the musical chairs that they played every couple of songs. What I wouldn't give to experience a replay of that night! I've been a true believer ever since.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 23:48:46 CEST 2000 from hyp01-207-97-142-125.i-2000.net (207.97.142.125)

BK

Great thread regarding first concerts. My first was Edgar Winter with Rick Derringer in the band at Providence, RI. I think it was about '72. (I was a 12 year old metalhead).

Got to agree with Dexy & Lil, though, the best shows are always the bars or theatres. I saw Muddy Waters at the Stanhope House in NJ. (got to shake his hand as he walked offstage through the crowd)

Also- Rick at a little bar in Clifton, NJ, and like most of you who've seen him like that, I was able to spend a little time talking to him after the show and have him sign a CD. That was an unforgettable experience! Levon and the Barnburners at Stanhope last May was also one of the greatest all-time shows! (didn't get to meet them, but there's still time...)

I think the intamacy of a small club or bar tends to blur the line between the performer and the audience, which makes the audience feel more a part of the show, and the performer can feed off the audience, so they're playing more to "them" as individuals than to one mass crowd.

thanks for listenin'- Bill

Posted on Fri Aug 18 23:44:28 CEST 2000 from crtntx1-ar2-074-173.dsl.gtei.net (4.35.74.173)

Kelly

First concert... I still lived in California, and a friend had won tickets to a "All Star Blues Venue" hee, hee! Little did we know back then. Featured artists were Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley. The show went on and on, with great players whose names at the time I did not know (but do now!)... then as a "SPECIAL GUEST" the unforgettable... B.B. King, who was not scheduled to play, but happened to be in the Los Angeles area. What a treat! Wow! I still can't believe we went to that. I think we must have been 14 or 15 because my one friends older brother had to drive us! Have a great Friday everyone!

Posted on Fri Aug 18 22:46:10 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

Donna, both are excellent books, as is Calt's Skip James biography (which i think is out of print too). You can probably find any of these books via Bibliofind (www.bibliofind.com, which will let you search a database of used books available via a network of independent book stores. The big boys probably won't be much help.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 22:34:56 CEST 2000 from spider-wb082.proxy.aol.com (205.188.192.187)

Donna

Mattk, I really enjoyed reading your post on the bluesmen of the south and throughout the delta. Thank You! I tried ordering Stephen Calts, biography of Charley Patton, "King of the Delta Blues," and Alan Lomax's, "Land Where Blues Began," but they were out of print with Amazon.Com. Does anyone know of any other books that are still in print on this subject? :O)

Posted on Fri Aug 18 22:08:29 CEST 2000 from max1-124.intellistar.net (206.105.68.124)

Dan

Listening to the top 5 this week in 1962. Peter Paul & Mary's version of Blowin' In The Wind was at number 2. Beautiful version. Amazing contrast between "Peace Now" feel of Peter, Paul and Mary and the angry bite of the Dylan/Band Before the Flood version in 1974 as Vietnam was winding down hundreds of thousands of deaths later. The number 1 song was Little Stevie Wonder, reminding me of Ray Charles in a way a young Richard Manuel probably did. First concert was Billy Joel while second was Dylan/Petty just after my friends & I really got into The Band so it was kind of sad.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 21:44:41 CEST 2000 from m198214181047.austin.cc.tx.us (198.214.181.47)

Pehr

Enjoying the concert stories and the refreshing air inside the guestbook. Jan I read your post and must thank you again for your hard work and dedication to this site. You've really created a "Frankenstein" as the saying goes, for a good idea that catches on and keeps growing. I must say how much I enjoy this great site, and use it all the time to destress, or fall back and regroup at work. I have become quite the addict and dont know what I'd do without this place. Thanks.

One great show I'll never ever forget was seeing Rick here in Austin at the Cactus Cafe at the University of Texas. The Cactus is a small coffee house near the famous UT tower, it only holds maybe 100 people max, and you can hear a pin drop in there on any given nite when music is on. Rick was by himself that nite back in March of '93 I believe.

I'd narrowly missed seeing the guys a couple times recently before this and wasnt gonna let that happen again. I'd never seen Rick solo and had never given much thought to his guitar playing, he was my favorite bass player since I ever even gave a hoot about music, and my favorite singer (well up with Richard and Levon of course) I brought a girlfriend along who knew who Rick was, I think, but not much beyond that.

I had no idea how for that show my life would be transformed by such a great show. Rick played this wonderful style of acoustic guitar, seemed to hold every chord in some weird unorthodox way that had me in awe. He was so happy, funny and charming and irresistible. I cant remember what he said to us from up there but he made breaking strings and talking to us into an art form. His joyous attitude and very soulful, yet childlike stage prescence would have been enough to make WC Fields quit show business, or very jealous. It was the greatest solo act I will ever see, I believe. When he broke into "Jimmy Crack Corn" it was sung along like the national anthem in there, just wild. I never heard all the verses before, at least not since my day care days in the early 60's when they sang it to keep us kiddies under control. I remember also just sitting there, closing my eyes, listening to that voice singing songs like "Shape I'm In, "The Weight", "The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down", and just pinching myself because my favorite singer and newly crowned favorite performer was only about 15 feet away.

My girlfriend and I talked about that show for a long time after that. Still would probably Thanks for listening.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 21:42:02 CEST 2000 from 216-164-200-253.s507.tnt4.atn.pa.dialup.rcn.com (216.164.200.253)

Krispy

Hey folks!!

Well, on the first concert thread, I'm hanging my head in shame here, but it was The Jackson's Victory Tour. Mind you I was only 12!! Thankfully my taste changed over the next few years and I was fortunate enough to see The Band at the Tower Theater in PA in Jan. 1987. (Hank - you had asked about the Jorma/Danko connection...Hot Tuna opened for the Band at that particular show).

Bob Wigo - I saw you mention that free show in Camden NJ - that was the 94 WYSP Be-In right? Where Spirit and Rick Allen & The Upsetters played? I had no idea about the brass knuckle incident - how awful!!! I was able to make a tape of that days show on a little boombox we had with us. Obviously not the best quality, but fun to hear again nevertheless. Do you happen to have any idea of the exact date of that? I'm pretty sure it was Sept. 1990, but I was wondering the exact date.

I also loved the time I caught them play (of all places) at the Ribfest in Trenton NJ - I think that was around 1994, when Steven Seagal showed up and played a bit o'guitar and drums. :) Also was able to catch a few shows at the Keswick Theater in PA - 2 NYE's in a row they came down and played here. THANK YOU ALL FOR THE MOST MEMORABLE TIMES!!!! And Bob mentioned seeing Rick solo at the Tin Angel. It WAS like sitting in Rick's living room. I had the pleasure of meeting a couple folks from the GB at those shows :)

Anyhow, whoever started this thread, thanks! Very cool to read!!

Also, congrats to fellow Band/Dead/Zappa head Sundog on pulling off Zappenin 2000!

Posted on Fri Aug 18 21:31:01 CEST 2000 from benton-r17.showme.net (198.209.31.209)

Al

While reading the post concerning the Saturday night "speakeasies" I remembered stories I heard form family members. I grew up in the cotton fields of the Missouri Bootheel and I've heard LOTS of stories about moonshining and just general rough and tumble life in the Depression era. Many of these parties were more on the line of "house parties" intended to supplement the meager income of many of the farmfolks, black and white alike. The term I've heard used to refer to these was "blind pigs". I don't know the origin of the term but the parties were, at least according to the stories I heard, pretty wild affairs. Lots of drinking, gambling, fighting. You know, just good old Saturday night fun! One of my favorites is of a short-line railroad that ran through the area that was used as cheap transportation by the poorer people of the area, many of my family members included. At this time many of them had mules or horses and no automobiles or much in the way of decent roads during rainy weather or in the winter. There was a small town that was well known as a gambling spot and lots of people lost their weeks wages there. I know this doesn't directly concern The Band, but I know that Levon grew up in pretty much the same circumstances and I can't imagine that it didn't affect their music in a major way. I heard the same feelings in many of the songs I heard played around home by family members.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 21:13:07 CEST 2000 from kccfpxy2.att.com (192.128.133.84)

Gaylord

1st concert... Styx.. 1973 at Downers Grove North High School - Downers Grove, IL. Good show.. "Lady" was their big hit at the time. 1st time I smelled and/or saw someone smoke reefer. I didn't partake.. I was too scared..

Posted on Fri Aug 18 21:12:24 CEST 2000 from ahml92.ahml.lib.il.us (38.231.168.92)

Osceola

I just wanted to tell y'all that I've met some really nice folks in the chatroom here. No kidding; I really have. I also wanted to tell y'all that my personal favorite country blues artist is Blind Blake. There is a pretty good compilation of his stuff available on Yazoo records, or, if'n yer so inclined, you can get his complete recorded works in a 4 volume set from Document Records out of Austria. The ironic thing is he recorded most of his stuff within 50 miles of where I'm at now, but to get it all, you have to send away to Austria. Take care.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 21:01:02 CEST 2000 from ct-hartford-us134.javanet.com (209.150.34.39)

Breeze Hill Records

Just a quick note to let everyone who had placed an order for the latest CD's from Rick or Professor "Louie" and the Crowmatix that all orders recieved to date have been shipped and filled as of this afternoon. You should be recieving them very shortly. Thanks for your patience, I'm positive that you will find that they were both well worth the wait!

Posted on Fri Aug 18 20:13:40 CEST 2000 from ric-wht-pxy-int02.wheatfirst.com (204.238.130.68)

Bones

BWNWITennesse: I know that guy from Flat Duo Jets. His name is Dexter, and that is a great story. They're a North Carolina band (or were I should say).

I had a similar concert experience with James Cotton. He came on almost two hours late, played two songs, said F*** You to the sound guy and walked off. He was great for those two songs though.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 20:11:39 CEST 2000 from spider-wi064.proxy.aol.com (205.188.197.49)

bob wigo

Hank,

Now that you've been in the Cork City Virgin , I guess that does that !

Posted on Fri Aug 18 19:40:05 CEST 2000 from ppp16112.on.bellglobal.com (206.172.142.192)

uncle bob

well this whole thread re. FIRST CONCERT is a little off track but ....here goes....first real concert "Strawberry Fields Forever" at "mosport race track" s.ontario....pretty high lets see if i remember: "Mountain", "Alice Cooper", sheee....three day show i can only finger two acts...excuse me while i visit the "Mental Hospital"...My wife's first concert "THE BEATLES" maple leaf gardens toronto (and i hate her for it).....most memorable show "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" GENESIS......second place: ...Talking Heads "Stop Making Sense" ....third place:KING CRIMSON/GENTLE GIANT/JEFF BECK/PINK FLOYD/ROGER WATERS and 100's of others ...were'nt the 70's and 80's great for live music good inexpensive FUN TIMES.........on raged the machine...... peace...... bobs yer uncle

Posted on Fri Aug 18 19:34:52 CEST 2000 from usr3-dialup33.mix2.boston.cw.net (166.62.66.161)

G-MAN

Sorry Johnny-comment in jest. Hey Blues stuff is great. Just readin good book on old blues players. Anyone see AE on J. Joplin--what a shame. How bout styx--any analogies re. leadership of a band (Styx) and the Band ???? Have a good w/e. PEACE

Posted on Fri Aug 18 19:29:04 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

Perhaps my language was a bit broad as I did not truly mean that ALL bluesmen subsidized their income this way.

However, it is true that the blues as an entertainment form in the era preceding World War II, was on display in the South primarily in speakeasies throughout the Delta. The usual model was that these roadhouses were set up by white landowners, who were either bootleggers themselves, or essentially "franchising" the work to the speakeasy proprietor (usually Black).

The speakeasy was allowed to stay on the property as a way to sell alchohol to sharecroppers. The landowner would take a cut of the bootlegging sales, while the proprietor or bootlegger would be the fall guy should things go awry. The landowner would also endeavor to keep the local law enforcement out of the way, usually with a cut to the local official himself.

The value was clear. The landowner took on very little risk while making much of the meager money paid back to the share croppers back in alchohol sales. To the proprietor, while extremely dangerous work, running a gin mill provided a much better income than straight share-cropping, which was a subsistance life-style at best and was not without it's own dangers, violence and death.

The juke joints themselves were very rough and tumble places. Since the local sherriff was paid off by the white landowner, if the sherriff showed up at a Black speakeasy, it was usually because something had gone afoul with the arrangement, and the owner could very well end up missing and presumed dead.

It's important to note that we're not necessarily talking about bluesmen such as Muddy Waters, but more the previous generation or two of bluesmen in the Delta. Playing the blues itself was not considered honorable, and there are many legends that equated blues with devil music among Southern Blacks themselves (a la Robert Johnson).

"Devil Music" in this case, as ascribed in Black churches, did not equate to the typical White reaction of the era--which was more about racism. Instead, because the juke joints were so violent and rife with vice, ministers in Black churches painted these places and their music with frightening detail of lost souls and violent deaths.

In addition, the Saturday night speakeasy competed directly with churches for attendance (those who partied late on Saturday found it hard to go to church on Sunday), so the villification of the Blues by Black ministers was as much a marketing manuever as a deplorement of the "sins" perpetrated in the speakeasies, which included heavy drinking, dancing and prostitution.

In a musicological sense, gospel and blues are clearly siblings. Culturally, they evolved under somewhat different circumstances. It is true that some bluesmen would also frequent the local church and play music on Sunday mornings. This was not so common, however as our romantic vision may suggest. In most cases, a bluesman became involved in the local church only after some form of re-birth as they were otherwised considered primary offenders against the very sins the ministers were preaching against.

All of this is a way of painting a cultural diorama of sorts, and perhaps led to a bit of syllopsism in my earlier post. Speakeasies ran a regular commerce in bootlegging and prostitution and also served as the primary showcase for bluesmen. Most bluesmen of the era were NOT professional, in the sense that the did not work as full-time musicians.

Bluesmen almost always subsidised their income in a variety of ways, as share croppers, road workers, dock workers, or whichever way they could make the money to get by. Many bluesmen had periods working and running the speakeasies themselves, providing entertainment to facillitate the commerce that occurred there. Such commerce always included moonshining, and usually included prostitution. At various points in their "careers," many bluesmen benefited from this commerce both directly and indirectly - not by actively doing the work, then by guaranteeing a cut of the action.

Please understand did not mean to imply that all bluesmen were pimps, or rum runners. However, I stand by the fact that most bluesmen played important roles in an economu that (as economies always do) served both the most enlightened and most base instincts. By association, the blues tended to be affiliated more with the latter than the former in that era as were the bluesmen themselves, by way of the fact that their music served as a prime form of entertainment within that sector of that particular economy at that particular time.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 19:13:31 CEST 2000 from dialup-373.cork.iol.ie (193.203.148.117)

Hank

Hey, I just wanna say, before I start... it's been the pleasure of my week to read The GB with you folks writing in it the past few days..Hey, Everyone!!!...D'y'know who woulda been waaaaaaaay better at TLW insteada Neil Diamond??? ELTON JOHN!!! (Stop cackling at the back there and think about it!!!!) He was, by that stage (1976), an international superstar and certainly a great enuff muso to play with 'em.....not to mention sharing an affinity with ingesting intoxicants of the sniffular and alcoholicular variety. He woulda fit right in!!! No Question!!!!.......now before some of you start thinking arguments to refute this......I had been vaguely aware how Elton dug The Band in the early '70ies but yesterday I was in the Cork City Virgin... (er, Record Store) and came across a new biography of Elton John......check it out........You know the way these Rock Biographies have like, TWO sets of photos to look at?.....sorta "Formative" Years" and then "Successful Years".....at the page which immediately comes after the first slab of "Formative Years" photos the text describes how, when Elton first came to the US, The Band sought him and Bernie Taupin out and hung with 'em...........Taupin, Eltons long-time lyrical partner sez RR was nothing less than gracious, giving them advice and praise.....this musta been about 1970-71.....RR really liked Eltons "Tumbleweed Connection" LP seeing how it was about North America and neither Elton nor Taupin had spent any time there at all.......... There's also an amazing story about how, after both groups, Eltons Band and The Band, spilt to do their own gigs in different towns on the same night, Elton and his band finished THEIR gig walked into their dressing room and found all the guys in The Band in there. In this book they say that The Band played THEIR gig early, pulled it forward a few hours, got on a hired private jet and FLEW to where Elton was playing..........Got that, folks?.....So, yeah Elton SHOULDA been at TLW........Well, anyway, it's just a thought........I dunno the name of the new Elton John Biog, but it's something like "The Definitive Elton John" or summat ......what'cha reckon folks?..........What song coulda Elton John have sung at The Last Waltz............How about "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"?........it mighta been kinda apt for the occaision........see 'y'all later...........Week-ends here!!!!!!!.....

Posted on Fri Aug 18 18:56:17 CEST 2000 from spider-wn043.proxy.aol.com (205.188.197.168)

Linda

Hi, like reading concert posts. Hey Lil, remember when you saw the Stones @ Shea and half your face was sunburned ,lol, that was so funny..but I think the best of times were when Rick kicked our beer bottle right off the stage at The Lone Star , . A complete accident of course , he was just tapping to the beat. dang ! I miss that man. 1999 , never want to relive that year. My best 'big' venue show was Aerosmith at the garden. And the best shows in smaller venues were Rick, Richard , Garth and Levon in various clubs. I think the most memorable were at 'My Father's Place' leaky ceiling , Blonde Chaplin and passing around the bottle .ah, those were the days my friend....many more good times ahead for all. Njoy the day , ...

Posted on Fri Aug 18 18:34:29 CEST 2000 from cobalt.nextlink.net (206.129.70.172)

Mike

I once saw Little Richard in London in 1972 at a Rock and Roll Revival Show (Wembley -- Bill Haley, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc.) He was having a real bad day. He jumped up on the piano and started taking his clothes off and kept telling everyone to “SHUT UP!!” It was pretty embarrassing. The audience was full of “Teddy Boys” who were all set to storm the stage to punch him out. They all started throwing bottles and garbage at him. Things calmed down, but it was a pretty wild show. Lil, you shoulda been there :)

Posted on Fri Aug 18 18:28:45 CEST 2000 from spider-tl032.proxy.aol.com (152.163.207.187)

frank

The first concert that I can remember was John Lee Hooker around 1965 at The Lambertville Music Circus. Does anybody else out there remember The Music Circus in Lambertville,N.J.?

Posted on Fri Aug 18 18:15:01 CEST 2000 from client-151-198-114-132.nnj.dialup.bellatlantic.net (151.198.114.132)

Bumbles

Re concerts: I can never hear “4% Pantomime” without remembering an early 70s night backstage at a dreary small-college gymnasium when a very difficult B.B. King was threatening to walk because his contract rider specified Johnnie Walker Black, and the hapless undergraduate gopher in charge of hospitality could only provide JW Red. A quick run to the liquor store, and the show did indeed go on.

mattk: While no doubt well meant in a romantic sort of way, your assertion that early bluesmen wuz bein’ pimps & rumrunners is a touch broad.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 16:44:50 CEST 2000 from 1cust101.tnt3.pittsburgh.pa.da.uu.net (63.10.67.101)

Johnny Flippo

Terrific Skip James story, Matt. Hard to believe that someone who sang so gently could be so lethal. Watch the Pat-bating G-man, unless your ready to take it like you can give it. Word.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 16:37:53 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

Ah, well according to his own account, bluesman Skip James while playing a speakeasy he once ran, reputedly broke up a fight during a set by grabbing a shotgun and firing into the crowd at point-blank range. Biographer Stephen Calt, who had something resembling a "friendship" with James in the sixties, shortly befor James' death, found that James claimed at least three homicides he had perpetrated during his younger days - James wasn't sure how many or if he'd killed anyone in the shotgun incident. Calt himself declared that Skip James was almost certainly a "mass murder."

The life of a bluesman, particularly in the 20s and 30s was a deadly occupation. Bluesmen tended to supplement their meager earnings with rum running or pimping - both of which could get a black man killed in Jim Crow-era South.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 16:33:17 CEST 2000 from 1cust124.tnt1.topeka.ks.da.uu.net (63.39.63.124)

Dexy

Lil is on the money -- give me a legend in a smoky bar over a stadium anytime. That's why seeing Levon and the boys at the Lone Star stays at the top of my list. Getting to sit so close to Levon, Rick, Garth, et.al. -- I couldn't believe it, especially when Levon smiles and nods your way. Seemed like it was to me, but surely everybody there thought it was to them. RE: GARFUNKLE SIGHTINGS (really) -- when I was living in DC many years ago, I had to pick someone up at The Watergate apartments. My colleague and I were waiting in the lobby when a cab pulled up, and Art got out. This is the truth -- he was singing as he entered the lobby. He went to the front desk, had the man call his friends, and the guy ASKED HIM HIS NAME. Now, Art ain't Elvis, but he's pretty hard to mistake for anyone else. And, yes, he said "Mr. Garfunkle," to our great and everlasting amusement.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 16:23:09 CEST 2000 from usr53-dialup34.mix2.boston.cw.net (166.62.199.34)

G-MAN

No bashing RR,& Paticia is no where to be found ?? Has she returned to Sat. Nite Live as Pat ???? Couldn't resist...she's edged out Robbie!!

Posted on Fri Aug 18 16:06:18 CEST 2000 from 1cust101.tnt3.pittsburgh.pa.da.uu.net (63.10.67.101)

Johnny Flippo

Chuck Berry is often prone to temper tantrums, especially when he hasn't had a "hot lunch" for a while (Berry-o-philes and news hounds will know what I'm sayin' here). But no musician "losing it on stage" story compares with the night Jimmy Reed, after being annoyed by a too-verbose audience member, pulled a 44 out of his guitar case and began firing into the crowd. Now __that's__ showmanship!

Posted on Fri Aug 18 15:56:16 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

Pat Brennan, can you imagine the conversations between the Who and Buddy? I'd love to know Buddy's thoughts on Keith. Both guys were big time bashers, though Buddy was more of a snare guy. Still, it's hard to imagine which dressing room had more profanity and fighting. My guess is Daltrey could take Buddy, but I don't know about Pete - his pugalistic skills seemed limited to cold-cocking ranting political activists.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 13:38:02 CEST 2000 from (24.3.160.27)

Brien Sz

Ahh, the memories.., For the guitar guru's. I had the pleasure of having 3rd row center seats for Robin Trower at the now no more Capital Theatre in lovely Passaic NJ. Fantastic show and the other guy..., what's his name.., oh yea, Roy Buchanan opened--could that cat jam, WOW!

I also saw Chuck Berry, I think it was in 89--I was at a private press function at the grand opening of the Hard Rock Cafe and Universal Studio's in Orlando. Chuck opened the Hard Rock. Played great BUT unplugged his guitar and walked off the stage PISSED that people were taking his picture. He came back about 20 min. later after it was announced that he would only come back if everyone put there camera's away. He came back, played great for 3 or 4 songs and left without a smile or a "Thank you goodnight" The next group that night was an all star band that featured Greg Allman, Rick Derringer, Edgar Winter (Frankenstein guy?) and i think the bass player from Deep Purple. Regardless.., they cranked it for almost two hours.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 13:19:37 CEST 2000 from (194.248.229.230)

Ghost of electricity

While we're waiting for the remasters, which solo albums by Band members would you recommend? What about making a list of the five best for me, with comments? I haven't heard any of them, except for Robbie's first album, plus his two "indian" ones - which I like very much. What about Levon's records. Are they any good?
This is my first posting on the GB, but I've been visiting this site every day the past year or so. Great place! This site and expectingrain.com give me all the information I need about my to favourites - Bob Dylan and The Band. And both sites are run from Norway! Well done...
I read somewhere that the remasters wont be released until the 11. of september. Is that correct? Have any of you heard them? Or the bonus tracks?
As Alex Chilton put it many years ago: Take care!
(By the way, has Big Star been mentioned in the GB? Great band, their third album, also called "Sister lovers", is superb, a "must buy" for every Band-fan, at least in my humble opinion)

Posted on Fri Aug 18 12:48:44 CEST 2000 from alb2-as5200-07-55.termserv.net (208.20.67.55)

Diamond Lil

I've really been enjoying reading about the concerts that folks have seen. As I sit here thinking about alot of the 'big' ones I've seen over the years, it occurs to me that my _favorites_ were actually the small, intimate ones..the ones in small, even run-down clubs...where the musicicans and the crowd are all near enough to feel each other's energy. I guess I have a need to 'see' the music as well as hear it. The bigger the venue, the less 'personal' it becomes. And besides, I don't like crowds.

Anyhow..I guess that's what's made Ricks and Levons solo shows over the years so appealing to me...and why I'd see the Barnburners, Crowmatix, and Gurus for the thousandth time before I'd ever attend another Stones (for example) concert.

And btw Bayou Sam: I saw Clapton in 77 at the Nassau Coliseum as well...truly a night from hell.

Have a good day everyone.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 12:32:39 CEST 2000 from proxy.pth.iprimus.net.au (203.134.17.8)

Nancy

I really screwed up with my Cat Stevens post last night. In my rush to post before going out, I shaved 3 years off my age, and portrayed the occurrence of a Cat Stevens concert in Australia in 1974 that clearly never took place!

Perhaps it is due to the additional 3 years I gained since last night that even now with more concentration, I don't feel sure of the facts. To cut a rambling story down to size, I THINK that the concert was in 1972, and I was either 15, or 15 that year.

My truly first live music experience was at a country dance / christmas party, when at the age of about four, I fell in love with the guitar player, and hassled him continuously throughout the night, right up until the time when the big fat man in red made his appearance and handed out lollies and pressies! One of my earliest memories, and not a bad one, eh???

Posted on Fri Aug 18 10:26:32 CEST 2000 from sys47.hou.wt.net (205.230.159.47)

Michael Shiloh

First concert: Bob Dylan and the Band, Hofheinz Pavillion, Houston, Texas, 1974. What more can I say? "Before the Flood" doesn't even approach the dynamics of that night: Robbie Robertson's guitar strings seemed to be on fire; Richard was one of the most beautiful singers ever; Rick was playful but attentive to Dylan; Levon was the "star" of the show; Garth's keyboards were so intricate the hall's acoustics couldn't handle it: I felt like I was missing something. Dylan was so charismatic you could tell even in the back row.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 08:39:37 CEST 2000 from ac86df48.ipt.aol.com (172.134.223.72)

i FORGOT

the only reason I continued on the 'great intro' thread was to blend it with the 'greatest Sax' thread, soooooooo I cant believe that no one has mentioned Allen Tousaint's horns, often included the best sax players of our time.If Imissed it forgive me......... Imagine if I went on and on, like you guys......... : ) I love this guestbook ! Thanks Jan, everybody ~! Play on!

Posted on Fri Aug 18 06:18:58 CEST 2000 from host-209-214-112-94.bna.bellsouth.net (209.214.112.94)

BWNWITennessee

I saw a band called the Flat Duo Jets in this small bar one time. They're kind of a rockabilly/punk band, consisting solely of a drummer and guitar player/singer. They played for about 45 minutes, and all seemed well. Between songs the guitar player was talking to the drummer when all of a sudden, just totally out of the blue, he ripped off his guitar, threw it on the stage, kicked it into the audience, then jumped off stage and walked out the door. We all just kind of sat there in shock staring at the drummer, who looked back at us like, "Okay, well I guess the show's over."

Posted on Fri Aug 18 05:52:44 CEST 2000 from spider-wj014.proxy.aol.com (205.188.198.24)

Dave Z

First concert(s) were with my family... saw Sonny & Cher... and Fifth Dimension... both at Shady Grove in MD... don't recall which was first... circular revolving stage action... Let the Sunshine In... my youngest brother (the musician in my family) got a kiss from Cher and a pat on the head by Sonny as they left the stage right through the crowd... vaguely remember Buddy Rich too... 1st show w/o parents was Dave Mason outside... a great high ... followed by a general admission Santana where the crowd rushed and pushed to get through the doors... real scary... but allowed for sneaking in too... ever see thousands dance for 3 hours w/o sitting down... hot too... my favorite concert was Van outside on the Mississippi in St. Paul... 1st song he walks on stage alone with sax and just starts jamming into Celtic Swing... definitely got healed... Have to admit though, I've passed on too many good shows which from today's view I wish I had gone to... I guess I don't care for crowds... I saw TLW in movie theatre twice when it first came out... first time was with a kindred spirit... and I recall saying something about Rick being so coool... she replied that Robbie was the cool one...

Posted on Fri Aug 18 05:37:36 CEST 2000 from spider-ta084.proxy.aol.com (152.163.205.84)

Lizz

as I have said in so many posts.........and on Garth's Birthday, the best keyboard intro to rock and roll is..[ drumroll to explain ] = Tocatta and Fugue in D minor, which is also the intro to "Chest Fever".......OK now do you guys know what I'm talking about ???? ya'all just thought I was nuts huh? second best " intro is the horn chart on "Lighthouse" : ' One Fine Morning' and then more horn charts ? Tower of Power, " what is Hip ".Play on Keep listening"

Posted on Fri Aug 18 05:29:56 CEST 2000 from spider-wa023.proxy.aol.com (205.188.192.28)

Bayou Sam

Not my first concert, but - I had the pleasure of seeing the real king of rock n roll - Chuck Berry in NYC in 1987. He did all the great tunes and duckwalked and kept the backup band wondering what was next. At the end of the show he went into a dressing room, followed by a VERY young lady. I walked up to a rope that kept me from getting any closer than about 15 feet from the dressing room, where a large gentleman asked me what I wanted. I held out my copy of Chuck's autobiography and asked the guy if I might get it autographed. He took the book and went over and knocked on the door. Chuck opened it a crack, and took the book inside. I could barley see him because the lights in the room were out. About a minute later the door opened and he handed the book to the guy, and I barked a thank you from behind the rope. I wish I could have shook his hand but it was still great to get his autograph. He signed it to my wife and myself, and wrote "Cheers - Chuck Berry"........... ........... I also met Peter Tork and he signed "best fishes Peter Tork" - but that's another story.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 05:11:24 CEST 2000 from user-33qtad1.dialup.mindspring.com (199.174.169.161)

Pat Brennan

How about crazy combo's, like Miles opening for the boys in LA? I saw Aerosmith open for the Mahavishnu Orchestra at the Kinetic; the posers didn't belong in the same room with McLaughlin, Hammer, Goodman, Cobham, and Laird. Saw a folk singer open for Mountain; he lasted three songs. Buddy Rich and the Who at the Kinetic; laughable, especially in light of the famous bus tape of Mr. Rich.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 05:05:45 CEST 2000 from (203.103.135.138)

Michael

Guenevere, Peter Paul & Mary 1963, introduced a song by a 'great songwriter', Bob Dylan, Blowing in the Wind. 1st concert, were lucky in those days as most of the good acts included Australia on their tours.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 04:45:29 CEST 2000 from spider-wk034.proxy.aol.com (205.188.198.164)

Side Man

Just catching up on the GB and noticing all the What IF? Posts about the Boys using horns more often or regularly. I think the real jewel of the recent "Old Shoes" collection is a terrific live version of "Lucille" with Levon on vocals and BOTH Garth and Jerry Penfound chugging away on saxes. Very New Orleans & a great track. Worth hunting down.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 04:33:20 CEST 2000 from 1cust146.tnt1.idaho-falls.id.da.uu.net (63.28.242.146)

rollie

I'm getting a little sick and tired of all this upbeat, historical, concert info! When can we start slandering Robbie again?

Posted on Fri Aug 18 03:48:02 CEST 2000 from spider-th074.proxy.aol.com (152.163.213.79)

Don

Sorry, got carried away, did find Cripple Creek, even though we did not stop in, too far off the beaten track. We did pick up the local brouchures. Town is now totally tourist land, even has legalized gambling, total population 600. Anyone interested, this town is about 50 miles from Colorado Springs, but a good 2 hour drive thru the mountains.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 03:43:31 CEST 2000 from spider-th074.proxy.aol.com (152.163.213.79)

Don Pugatch

I consider myself a very lucky guy, have traveled lots, and most trips usually start off normal, but for some reason, always have Band connections. Been to Marvel, think I went past Turkey Scratch, Toronto, Woodstock (Really Bethel), and this week, went in search of the west, and landed in New Mexico. Driving up towards the Colorado border, we finally found Rick singing, yes, New Mexico(Jonathan, your Memorial CD was the answer). As the sun was setting, the sky was in it's majestic Redish Blue, that only an artist like Georgia O'Keefe could capture, a tear welled up in my eye as we crossed into Colorado. I looked at my son, and he too was in the same trance as I. I do not know if Rick was inspired by a visit to New Mexico, but the coincidence is too great.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 03:18:05 CEST 2000 from spider-ta075.proxy.aol.com (152.163.205.8)

Lizz

I would love to post the details of my first concert experience, but I would go on too long.........and Im all wraped up in the Democratic National convention right now, it is good to take a " listen " hey Al Gore was a journalist once too

any ways..... one funny point about my second or third BIG ROCK CONCERT experiences is : [ the third was Halloween with Aeorosmith 73~! ] I remember my whole Junior High school being there........we were young, and My best friend Sandy - uh- dot dot dot...snuck a bong into the show, in her FRYE ( sp ? ) boots, c'mon guys.......ya remember FRYE boots ? I had a pair, problably why we all can barely walk now........ hahahahaha and halter tops ? If you have a teenage daughter UH oh...... halter tops are BACK

sorry to mention Politics...but Play on and Keep listening

Posted on Fri Aug 18 03:17:03 CEST 2000 from atmax-2-19.enter.net (207.16.153.75)

Little Brøther

It must have been towards the end of 1968, because I'm pretty sure I was in eighth grade. I would've been 13.

Three pals and I arranged to go to Philadelphia's Electric Factory to see Iron Butterfly. I have no recollection of any parental hassles or arguments, nor do I remember lying or sneaking my way out. I mention this because even though "the Sixties" had been raging for a half-dozen years, the Electric Factory scene would have been on the fringe of the unknown for my decidedly unhip, staid parents. Maybe my older brother had broken the ice in previous years with his many visits to catch folk musicians at "The Main Point" coffeehouse in Bryn Mawr-- my mother wryly referred to it as "The Last Chance", but since John came back alive and unharmed, parental defenses were co-opted.

Still, the Electric Factory was the Big Leagues of countercultural music in Philly, at least in my neighborhood. The very name triggered visions of a psychedelic otherworld, a Looking-Glass into Wonderland! I didn't know what kind of magic transformation was in store, but I was thrilled as hell to be going.

Being a rotund, though cool, lad-- "husky" was the sartiorial euphemism-- I remember being embarrassed at a lack of appropriate cool wardrobe. (At least one of my fellow concertgoers, a rail-thin, spoiled Only Child, actually owned a Nehru suit, though I don't think he wore it to that show. Is he w, but since John came back alive and unharmed, parental defenses were co-opted.

Still, the Electric Factory was the Big Leagues of countercultural music in Philly, at least in my neighborhood. The very name triggered visions of a psychedelic otherworld, a Looking-Glass into Wonderland! I didn't know what kind of magic transformation was in store, but I was thrilled as hell to be going.

Being a rotund, though cool, lad-- "husky" was the sartiorial euphemism-- I remember being embarrassed at a lack of appropriate cool wardrobe. (At least one of my fellow concertgoers, a rail-thin, spoiled Only Child, actually owned a Nehru suit, though I don't think he wore it to that show. Is he wearing Armani threads now, I wonder?) The best I could do was a pair of wide-legged blue pants that might have passed for bell-bottom dungarees in a dim light, and a white mock turtleneck. Perhaps my unpretentious garb anticipated my affinity for the Band's look when I encountered the brown album a year later.

Some parent chauffeured us to our Mecca, probably shaking his or her head as we were swallowed up in the motley horde swirling outside the place. We four were just thrilled to be among throngs of mostly older teens, many with the long hair, scarves, and ornaments that cried out "hippie". Straight from the Broadway cast album cover of "Hair"!

I have a fitful, swirling recollection of the actual show: The Factory, as I remember, was a vaguely warehouse-like building. I can't even remember for sure if there were seats; I know we stood up at least part of the night. There were, I believe, scaffold-like assemblages like oversized playground "monkey bars"-- in Day-Glo, bathed in black light. There were strobes, and a light show too. Blobs of amorphous food-coloring bubbles, spinning geometric shapes. This was way before laser-show technology, my children, but it was all-- totally awesome!

The opening act was a loud rock-blues band, perhaps a local Big Brother & The Holding Company copy sans an ersatz Janis, whose centerpiece was a tune called "Smokestack Eleven". It got very loud, ran very long, and built to your classic Shattering Climax. No challenge to "Chest Fever", though.

Yes, all I remember of Iron Butterfly's set was their obligatory performance of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida". It was great, and received with enthusiastic yells, screams, and cheers of ecstasy.

At some point in the show, I became aware that some one was blowing on the back of my sweaty neck-- it was a mock turtleneck, remember? I kept turning around, but all I could see in the dim, flashing, throbbing glow was a sea of faces, floating hair, and some braless chests under peasant blouses. There was giggling, too, and I finally gave up trying to figure out if they were blowing with me or blowing at me. I don't suppose I'll ever know, now.

Not long afterwards I went with my sister and her girlfriend to see Simon & Garfunkel at the Civic Center. "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" was a new song, I remember, and it was a riveting performance. Afterwards, I stopped to buy a copy of one of their LPs, which someone was hawking outside the hall. "Parsely, Sage..." I think. The three of us walked up a side street to meet my sister's friend's dad, who was picking us up. The departing crowd had thinned, and we were away from the main entrance anyway.

Suddenly, there he was, walking by himself: Art Garfunkel! It seems like a dream now. There may have been a couple of other fans around, and he might've had a companion, but Paul Simon wasn't with him. I remember him seeming very normal and approachable. He had a dark windbreaker over the white bell-sleeved shirt he'd worn during the show. We couldn't believe our eyes!

I wanted to get him to sign my album, but I was so nervous I couldn't tear the polyethylene wrap from the LP. He said quietly, "No, don't bother ripping that," and got into a waiting car. The moment was as impressive as an autograph, anyway, though some people didn't believe us afterwards.

And then there was the time Dave van Ronk--- but the less said about that now, the better. OK, he let me touch his F-50...

Posted on Fri Aug 18 02:34:15 CEST 2000 from cfa1.execulink.net (199.166.6.10)

paul godfrey

Worst concert!

Had to be the Beach Boys in the mid 70's at Maple Leaf Gardens Toronto. They played two shows that day - afternoon and evening. I was working at CFTR The Super 680 as was fellow dj Red Knight.(He took his name from one of the Star Wars Movies. Red mc'd the afternoon show and I did the evening. By the time I arrived back stage they were well liquored up. I tried to get some idea when they wanted to go on stage so we all would be nsync. Dennis, was pretty much out of it. I tried to get some information from him and he just came on with a slurred: "Hey do you love me man, do you love the Beach Boys"...then a string of words that would make Jan blush. With that he filled a water glass with whiskey and proceeded out to the east corridor. For those familiar with the Gardens...they had a wall of fame on the east wall with photos of Elvis, The Rolling Stones Beatles et al. Dennis took offence to not seeing the Beach Boys photo up there. He went nuts calling down anyone and everyone associated with the Gardens. The security guys were having a fit. I reminded him they were on in 5 minutes. He went back into his "Do You Love the Beach Boys routine" and we got him back stage. So I intro'd the show on behalf of CFTR and Concert Productions International and made my exit. They sang off key, drank on stage, used a lot of bad language and Dennis continued his..."hey do you love the Beach Boys!" I love the Beach Boys recordings and Brians contribution to the California sound....but was I disappointed that night. Dennis Wilson would be dead within six months. Shine On!

Posted on Fri Aug 18 01:20:35 CEST 2000 from 37.richmond-06-07rs16rt.va.dial-access.att.net (12.79.198.37)

Stephanie

I'm a youngun. First concerts were in 1987: U2 & REM in Virginia.

Posted on Fri Aug 18 00:38:59 CEST 2000 from 1cust106.tnt1.idaho-falls.id.da.uu.net (63.28.242.106)

rollie

First show, Edgar Winter,1972,New York! God that cheap Columbian sure smelled good at the time! Not like the perfume floating around these days though!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted on Fri Aug 18 00:37:41 CEST 2000 from spider-wa023.proxy.aol.com (205.188.192.28)

Mike

I think my first concert was Fleetwood Mac in San Diego in 1969, when they were a blues band. There were so many concerts then...it's a little hard to remember. I missed The Band back then...finally got to see them in '95 here in Portland, Oregon. Great show.

Paul Godfrey, I honestly think I would trade all my concert experiences for your first one with The Hawks. What a night that must have been. Serge -- can you share some of yours?

Posted on Fri Aug 18 00:03:30 CEST 2000 from athe530-e034.otenet.gr (212.205.247.34)

pretty little girl

First "concert experience" was The Last Waltz in Greece 1977. I was 16 and the cinema in Athens was packed and lively. Might as well have been real. It was real to me. Watched it 3 nights in a row. Had to run away from home (Dad didn't allow me to go) the second and third night my poor mom actually followed me and sat through it!! But my first "live" concert was ..............Oingo Boingo in San Diego CA!!

Posted on Thu Aug 17 23:45:22 CEST 2000 from www-cache.vuw.ac.nz (130.195.2.96)

Amanda

Laura H- I was also born in 1968 & I am pretty jealous of Pat Brennan's (amongst others) first concert experiences.:)

Since, I spent most of my teenage years in South Africa under cultural sanctions (any one remember "I ain't gonna play Sun City"?) I didn't get to see any international acts till I moved to New Zealand in the late 80s. But my first concert experiences were still fairly memorable because they featured the cream of South African music like Johnny Clegg & Lady Smith Black Mambazo.

I think the first concert I went to was a "Free Peoples Concert" which was quite exciting not just for the music but also the atmosphere. At the time multiracial events were are rarity so it almost felt like a blow against apartheid just to attend one. Also there was quite a real possibility (that didn't eventuate) that the police would intervene and everybody would be tear gassed and ordered to disperse.

I know Paul Simon was at one concert I went to- presumably when he was preparing to make Graceland- because they announced it from the stage. However, his principles did not permit him to peform.

Other later memorable concert experiences: watching Shane Magowan then of the Pogues somehow managing to stay upright and sing & hold a whiskey bottle all at the same time, seeing BB King even though it meant I had to wait around afterwards while my chums watched U2, the whole of one Elvis Costello concert… he is such a warm, entertaining performer…

Incidentally, does anybody know what Elvis Costello's connection to the BAND is? I was a bit surprised to see his name mentioned here in Jan's great website on the related artists page.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 23:16:18 CEST 2000 from du-tele3-051.mailbox.co.uk (195.82.121.51)

Peter Viney

Alright! Illka wins the contest for earliest concert hands-down. His story reminds me of my kids’ first rock concert, which like several here was the Beach Boys (but in the late 80s or early 90s). My youngest loved Sloop John B, God Only Knows & Good Vibrations (still does), but fell fast asleep after a rather dull intro section of early stuff like In My Room. We couldn’t wake him at all, and he was most upset when he woke for the encore which was something of the order of Kokomo. When the six bikini-clad lovelies danced on in California Girls I mentally awarded them my tackiest concert prize (but it was fun overall). And so to Benny Hill.

Glad to see Crabgrass’s erudite reference to Yakkety Sax and Benny Hill. Benny Hill made Thames TV millions when they sold his shows all around the world, then in a climate of political correctness they decided to abandon him completely for the last few years of his life. Sad. He was a peculiar character it emerges, but essentially harmless. He’s the first thing I remember on TV, very early on in the 1950s. The way he was gold-dust then suddenly invisible is a bit like the way the major labels have treated musicians of the status of The Band.

On Mississippi saxophone, trust Lee.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 21:51:54 CEST 2000 from ppp15968.on.bellglobal.com (206.172.142.48)

uncle bob

is there anyone there who wants to say something to me....theres my e-mail and it is correct so fire away i'm a big boy i can shoulder it! peace bobs yer uncle

Posted on Thu Aug 17 21:47:35 CEST 2000 from usr53-dialup12.mix2.boston.cw.net (166.62.199.12)

G-MAN

At the Lafayette Theatre, Buffalo, NY, "Bill Haley and the Comets". I was young, then !!!!

Posted on Thu Aug 17 21:35:39 CEST 2000 from 56k-la-01-40.dial.qnet.com (209.221.212.103)

Dave the Phone Guy

I've posted this message on here before,my mom bought my brother and I our very first concert tickets for birthday presents.They were for Jimi Hendrix Experience at the LA Forum.It must have been '67 or '68 because Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell were still in the group.I don't remember "Axis Bold As Love" being out yet.I've kept the torn ticket stub with the price of $3.50 on it but no date.Very generous Mom,thankyou again.The next year I attended a great Elvis show with a date!(My mom)This must have been in 1968 at the old Swing Auditorium San Bernardino,California.Does anyone on the GB remember the Swing Auditorium?Every(I mean EVERY)rock,soul,and R&B group from the 50's on came through that dump a few times.I saw Jimi there at one of his last shows.Hendrix seemed pissed,the crowd were acting like idiots,and there was tear gas and helmeted police outside.This show was probably in the year 1970.

First time BAND,I couldn't catch up to them till February 13,14 1974 at the LA Forum.Bob Dylan and The Band,I still get excited remembering that tour.I caught The Band only three more times between '74 and '76 at the Greek Theatre LA alas,until 1983 that is.I'm logging on frequently here watching for Levon to come within striking distance.(here's my idea for a tour itinerary for Levon & the Barnburners for shows I could make;Tucson and Pheonix,Az. San Diego and Smell A,Ca. San Fransisco/Bay area,then over to Reno,Nevada.)This is my fantasy tour at the moment and I've got vacation time saved.Come on book 'em out West Danno.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 21:34:49 CEST 2000 from spider-wo013.proxy.aol.com (205.188.200.23)

Lee

BONES,

It actually says: Levon overdubbed some great Mississippi saxophone to give it that real barrelhouse flavour.

Now, I've already had to explain myself to one or two people who shall be having a laugh at my expense - I'm sure. Its musical slang (that I picked up on somewhere), for the harmonica. Maybe Peter, Pat, David or someone could come to my defense or show me the door.

Nice to read about folks first gigs - mine was Bo Diddley at a small club in Manchester when I was 13. He ended the show playing drums, a great drummer. I got on the stage when most people had left (one of the roadies helped me up)and I played that great square-shaped guitar he has for a couple of minutes. I then went into his small dressing room where the great man was sweating profusely in a string vest. I'd also like to add that he had a couple of ladies on each arm and was being very accommodating to a fan with dozens of albums that he wanted Bo to sign. I'm sure he signed them eventually, but the ladies were getting the most attention. Rightly so.

A few weeks later I saw Albert King at the same club. Football, or should I say soccer? Anyway, sports took a major backseat after that.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 21:25:29 CEST 2000 from ppp15968.on.bellglobal.com (206.172.142.48)

uncle bob

did anyone want to say something to me? peace bobs yer uncle

Posted on Thu Aug 17 21:07:32 CEST 2000 from stjhts21c64.nbnet.nb.ca (198.164.98.69)

WS Walcott

First concert? I think it was in 1972. A Canadian band, Lighthouse (Sunny Days, Pretty Lady, One Fine Morning). Anybody remember those guys?

Posted on Thu Aug 17 20:24:26 CEST 2000 from (129.237.77.56)

RPence

Another exhibit in the ever-expanding gallery of Band-related errors: those new downloads of rare tracks that just appeared aren't accurate in their listings. "W.S. Walcott Show" is actually "Time to Kill," a different mix than the original as far as my ears can detect. Quite a dandy version, however, and compared to other mistakes, not so bad.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 20:18:40 CEST 2000 from cic-proxy02.firstunion.com (169.200.25.141)

Bones

I was looking at the "Times Like These" page and noticed that it said Levon played a sax solo on "Let The Four Winds Blow". Is that true or is it really, I assume, Garth?

Posted on Thu Aug 17 19:46:26 CEST 2000 from spider-tp011.proxy.aol.com (152.163.204.176)

Bayou Sam

Eric Clapton - 1977 - Nassau Coloseum(Long Island, N.Y.) - Slowhand Tour

Posted on Thu Aug 17 19:14:54 CEST 2000 from du23-3.ppp.algonet.se (195.100.3.23)

Ilkka (sorry)

It wasn't Ella, it was Mahalia Jackson.
No big deal, I slept anyway.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 19:04:30 CEST 2000 from du7-250.ppp.algonet.se (195.100.250.7)

Ilkka

First concert: Ella Fitzgerald 1954, outdoor concert. I fell asleep several hours before she began, Mommy said.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 18:20:53 CEST 2000 from (24.3.160.27)

Brien Sz

WOW! All these Concerts! Crabgrass mentioned Clarence Clemmons--I saw Clarence jam with The Band on their Jericho tour. They opened for CSN at the Garden State Arts Center. He played on The Weight and did a jammin' Sax solo. I also saw Max Weinberg get on stage with the boys(different show). Him and Levon were smilin' away as they banged their kits.

2nd concert I saw, Journey--The Escape Tour, 1980. LoverBoy opened.

Same year, went with this girl to see Rick Springfield, not nearly as awful as one might think. Also saw Quarter Flash around the same time.

WORST Concert, Beach Boys, summer of 83 0r 84 and The Fixx, same time frame.

Other early shows(for me anyway) seeing Stevie Ray Vaughn on his first tour, he opened for the Moody Blues. Also saw the ARMS benefit at MSG in NYC. That show had Beck, Clapton, Paige, Ronnie Wood, Joe Cocker, Paul Rodgers--Show wasn't long enough to showcase everyone properly.

Love conjuring up these memories.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 18:04:03 CEST 2000 from tcnet07-36.austin.texas.net (209.99.35.99)

Laura Holt

Like that we are getting back to the music!! First concert for me was Neil Diamond! Don't really know how to feel about that (ha ha)!! Actually.... for being 9 years old and mom and dad being cool enough to drag me along was pretty rockin!! I think the babysitter cancelled!! The first "Official Concert" as a teen would have been Blue Oyster Cult!! Geez..don't know how to feel about that one either!!! I must say that they got better as the years past. The Who's Farewell Tour, The Rolling Stones Steel Wheels (not fortunate enough to have seen them back in their REAL hayday with Bobby Keyes), Steeley Dan, Jethro Tull. All you lucky ones that got to see these groups I have listed back in the day REALLY got a helluva show. Seeing alot of them now just ain't the same as they were in the late 60s early 70s!! I arrived too late - that's what I get for being born in 1968 (ha ha)!! It's nice to hear some mention about Steve Winwood. I have been a huge fan of his AND his past bands. Traffic and Blind Faith were such good ones!! I always liked Traffic's album "John Barleycorn Must Die". Blind Faith had some good stuff as well. I always liked "Presence of the Lord" off of that album with the naked girl on the front with the airplane in her hand. I think that one was maybe just titled "Blind Faith"?? Well everyone take it easy. Thanks for letting me prattle on!! PEACE!!

Posted on Thu Aug 17 17:36:29 CEST 2000 from stk-pm1-23-151.dialup.slip.net (207.171.230.151)

Guenevere

OK... I was waiting to see if anyone was older than me... But NO!!! (except maybe Viney :-)...

My first concert was The Righteous Brothers opening for The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl in 1963 (?)... you couldn't hear anything except screaming. When The Beatles left the stage my friend and I went down to the front, and I said, "hey lets go over the mote and run backstage"... which we tried to do, but ‘the pigs' grabbed us and threw us into the teaming throngs.... hence the invention of the mosh pit.

My the second one, was The Beatles at Dodger Stadium... same thing, you couldn't hear anything, but that time it was because of the terrible echo.

Bumbles, thanks for reminding me, I have tickets for The Who next week!!!

Posted on Thu Aug 17 17:15:06 CEST 2000 from (208.218.212.187)

David Powell

MUSIC FROM ASTON TIRROLD

Much of the music that appeared on Traffic's first two albums was a result of the communal "clubhouse" woodshedding approach like that of The Band's. Following the "I'm A Man" sessions, Steve Winwood left the Spencer Davis Group in April 1967. Winwood formed a new group with an old friend, Jim Capaldi, who had played the "talking drum" part on "I'm A Man", and Chris Wood & Dave Mason. Wood and Mason had previously played with Capaldi in a group called Deep Feeling, and at one time Mason had been a roadie with the Spencer Davis Group.

After releasing the single "Paper Sun" in May 1967, the new group, named Traffic by Capaldi, retreated to the country and rented a cottage in Berkshire at Aston Tirrold. Free from distractions, they wrote and rehearsed the songs that would appear on their debut album.

That album, "Mr. Fantasy", following on the heels of two singles, "Hole In My Shoe" and "Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush", produced by Jimmy Miller, engineered by Eddie Kramer and recorded at Olympic Studios, was released several months later. Containing such classics as "Dear Mr. Fantasy", "No Face, No Name, No Number", and "Coloured Rain", the album was a hit but all was not well within the group. Mason, who insisted on calling all the shots on his own compositions, rather than following the collaborative approach that the others favoured, left the group within days of the album's release.

For much of the next year, Traffic continued on and toured as a trio until Mason rejoined in May 1968. Along with Mason, the group recorded the sessions for their self-titled second album (another Band comparison). In addition to Mason's excellent contribution, "Feelin' Alright", the album contained the Winwood/Capaldi collaborations, "40,000 Headmen", "Pearly Queen" and "Who Knows What Tomorrow Might Bring". Perhaps the cryptic title of the latter song betrayed the tensions in the group, because Mason left the group again shortly before the album's release. "Traffic" was released in October 1968 and was a critical success. But once again, all was not well, as four months later Winwwod announced that he was leaving the trio to form the group that would become known as Blind Faith with Eric Clapton.

Traffic would reform again in 1970 and enjoy more success, but their later music would fail to capture the spirit of the "clubhouse" collaborations of their early recordings.

(Brian Hogg's excellent 1992 liner notes that accompanied the Mobile Fidelity gold CD reissue of "Mr. Fantasy" provided invaluable source information for my comments)

Posted on Thu Aug 17 17:13:31 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

Danny Lopez,

Well, no one asked about my SECOND concert. If they had, I could top your embarrasment, so in the interest of brotherly humiliation:

1981, Colorado State Fair: Air Supply with opening act, Juice Newton.

The only thing I can say in my defense is that concert attendance was required as I was attending with my 4-H group as I had won my category at the county fair level (no, I didn't raise a pig/cow/animal of any sort). Our chaperone required us all to attend, and being 1981, both Air Supply and Juice were enjoying big hits at the time. Personally, I wanted to tour the freak show tent, but I guess, all things considered, I had a more freakish experience at the show. Rednecks and sloshy-pop do NOT mix (parents warn your children).

Posted on Thu Aug 17 17:01:43 CEST 2000 from unionppp3.union.edu (149.106.172.4)

Danny Lopez

Wow! All you people had such great bands to see for your first concert, or least bands you're not currently embarrassed to admit. Wish it was the same for me. But I was a "hard rock" kid, and only came to the Band once the premature gray hairs began to show. So here it is, my first concert:

Summer 1976, Pekin, Illinois, High School Football Field

headliners: Kiss (right before they broke it big with Kiss Alive!)

second bill: REO Speedwagon (before Kevin Cronin's return, the red-haired guy who sang Ridin' the Storm Out was the frontman)

third bill: Ted Nugent (post-Amboy Dukes but before he was big)

opener: Smokehouse (never heard of them before and never since)

So that's it. We've seen some great bands listed as concerts firsts -- Blind Faith, Dr. Hook, Nitty Gritty, Procol Harum, Guess Who, New Riders, the Band, etc. Wonder if anyone can beat this for most embarrassing first concert??!!??

Posted on Thu Aug 17 16:57:21 CEST 2000 from client-151-198-114-145.nnj.dialup.bellatlantic.net (151.198.114.145)

Bumbles

First show: The Soul Survivors in a small South Jersey town at a “teen nightclub” with go-go dancers in cages on either side of the stage.

First concert: The Who’s third or fourth U.S. appearance, as the opening act for Herman’s Hermits and the Blues (“We Ain’t Got Nothin’ Yet”) Magoos, who were the evening’s highlight with their black suits trimmed with neon tubing. All the lights went off during their set’s climactic rave-up, and the on-stage light show went over better than the Who’s complete smash-and-destroy schtick, which, even at that early date, was fairly grim and workmanlike.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 16:50:37 CEST 2000 from spider-tk051.proxy.aol.com (152.163.206.196)

bob wigo

Great response to my first concert question. Thanks to all who have shared their stories.It is refreshing to see the music take the lead here.

A similar thread comes to mind. How about sharing the very best,the funniest, the craziest,the most intense, etc.,etc., concert moments.

So many come to mind as I have been blessed to see many , many shows. I worked for Electric Factory Concerts here in Philly for four years ('78-'82)and was fortunate enough to share in lots of memorable moments.

Mick Jagger stuffing his hand-held mike into the bell of Bobby Keys' sax during his Brown Sugar solo.My ears are still ringing.

Mick steering Stevie Wonder around the stage during their "Satisfaction" duet.

The Stones' horn section on that tour. They were big,bold and brassy as all get out.

Bruce at The Main Point(1972) and the feeling that we were all in on something.

The sheer electricity in the air as Dylan and The Band took the Spectrum stage and twenty thousand voices singing the last encore "Like A Rolling Stone" while the boys soared.

Rod Stewart(w/Faces) stepping up to the mike after an incredible opening hour by the Doobie Bros.and saying "We better get right to f***ing work" --and doing so.

Muddy Waters and the Allman Bros. The aisles were filled with dancers that night.

Working backstage at JFK Stadium (long gone)for The Stones, Fleetwood Mac,Lynyrd Skynyrd,J.Geils Band and many more.The stories from those shows alone would take me a month to type.

The Band at a free concert in Camden, N.J. where I sadly witnessed a member of the audience slip on a set of brass knuckles and proceed to beat another man to a bloody pulp. I managed to get the bastard's photograph and probably still have it somewhere in my collection.

Bruce Springsteen playing his first "big room", the great Tower Theater in Upper Darby,Pa. The curtain rose to Bruce in the spotlight donning a leather jacket and mirror shades and the place just shook with the energy of a brand new star.

Bruce covering "Mountain of Love" at Widener College and the crowd beaming with the joy of the moment.

Bowie and the Spiders From Mars at the Tower.Mick Ronson's solo on "Moonage Daydream" was ferociously loud and seemed to test the old building's walls.Bowie was breaking ground we didn't even know existed.The opening band was Fumble.

Bowie's Diamond Dogs tour. Equally outrageous.

Little Feat with Lowell George shortly before his death.Too soon gone.

McCartney and Wings.Both times a marvelous musical experience.

The Kinks--Ray Davies'charm and charisma in presenting one great song after another.

Van Morrison at the Tower roaring through a great playlist.

T-Rex at the Tower.Glamour rock was a blast with Tommy Bolin.

The Bay City Rollers. In retrospect I'm glad I had to work that one because I wouldn't have believed it if I had heard it from someone else.

Dire Straits first U.S.tour.The show from the Tower was broadcast live to twenty three cities on the east coast and they were magnificent.

The Dead at the Philadelphia Civic Center.A long, strange trip indeed.

Jeff Beck and Jan Hammer at the Astor Theater in Reading,Pa.No one else on this planet can play what Jeff Beck plays.

Rick at the Tin Angel making everyone feel as if we were in his living room.

Levon and the Barnburners at the Stanhope House.The broadest smile I've sported in years.

Keith Richards and the X-pensive Winos at the Tower.Strong,raw rock and roll.

Iggy Pop and Lou Reed.I think there may have been drugs involved.

Pete Townshend performing "Psychoderelict" at the Tower.The realization that he is an ENORMOUSLY talented human being.

I'm sorry for rambling. The memories are pouring out of me.I've been so very fortunate. I wish I had more time......there's a whole lot more!

Thank you for this opportunity to share these wonderful memories.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 15:57:17 CEST 2000 from proxy-1351.public.svc.webtv.net (209.240.220.172)

Bob Wyman

First concert: Jimi Hendrix' last show with the Experience. Univibes magazine has a great article about it, click on "homepage" if you would like to read it.

Missed A&E's Dylan program but if it was as lame as the Hendrix one I missed nothing... Peace...

Posted on Thu Aug 17 15:13:06 CEST 2000 from du-tele3-140.mailbox.co.uk (195.82.121.140)

Peter Viney

I mentioned my first concert a couple of weeks back (as opposed to a dance). 1962 Brian Hyland and Little Eva. I think Tommy Roe was on the package as well. A classic 15 minutes per act show. Stand out tracks: Keep your hands Off my Baby. Warmed Over Kisses (Left over love). The next concert was probably the Beatles, who did a week in Bournemouth, early summer 1963, with Billy J. Kramer, Tommy Quickly, one or two others. The Dakotas backed all the solo artists, and impressed with "The Cruel Sea". In between I must have seen Zoot Money several times, but that was a dance hall, and I classed this in my mind as a totally different sort of thing. Better too. As I’ve often said, Zoot’s reputation as a training school for great players was already getting established. At the same hall, we saw a few Irish Show Bands who would do everything – soul, country, pop. Lots and lots of local bands at dances in church halls, probably starting in late 61 when everyone did Shadows and Ventures covers and a microphone and P.A. were not a necessary expense.

I’ve just received my tickets for Paul Simon in London in October, and would hope that this will be in the elite category of concerts to remember. He’s touring behind the new album (October 3rd release).

Posted on Thu Aug 17 15:12:31 CEST 2000 from usr53-dialup95.mix2.boston.cw.net (166.62.199.97)

G-MAN

Hmmm, Patricia--are you actually Robbie ?????

Posted on Thu Aug 17 14:06:38 CEST 2000 from (205.230.10.2)

Bob R

First concert--- Delaney & Bonnie & Friends---in Boston 1969 or 1970-- they were touring to support their "on tour with Eric Clapton" album-- Clapton wasnt there, but as I remember they really cooked

Posted on Thu Aug 17 13:01:59 CEST 2000 from 1cust119.tnt2.poughkeepsie.ny.da.uu.net (63.17.108.119)

crow

I like the 1st concert thread. Mine was Tim Hardin at the Woodstock playhouse in 1966. Three long years later I went to a concert in Bethel. Nothings been the same since...

Posted on Thu Aug 17 12:13:55 CEST 2000 from proxy.pth.iprimus.net.au (203.134.17.8)

Nancy

First concert: 1974

Artist: Cat Stevens

Place: Perth, Australia

Age 14

Outcome: fell asleep

Reason: couldn't take the pace

Thought you may be interested to read the newspaper report that was in the daily paper the day after this event. Will probably bring memories back for some of you rebels :)

"The police arrested ten youths who were among hundreds who tried to scale the wall surrounding the W.A.C.A. Ground to see pop singer Cat Stevens perform last night.

About 40 policemen inside and outside the ground spent nearly 2 1/2 hours trying to stop the gate-crashers.

A gate was torn off its hinges at the rear pf the ground, but the police said there was no violence.

The youths arrested were charged with disorderly conduct.

Attendants who had been employed by the sponsors of the concert to keep order in the ground used garden hoses and buckets of water on the gatecrashers.

The police said that the trouble started about 8.30 when a group of youths placed a ladder against the wall.

The police closed in, dispersed the youths and removed the ladder.

Many youths had managed to get into the ground over the wall to avoid paying the $4 to $6 admission to see the concert.

About 11,000 people attended the concert.

So there you go, a concert story in part, from a time gone by. Perhaps we could start a thread of "the time I sneaked in through a gap in the fence, or hid in the boot of my mates car, and saw [insert name] for nothing. Mind you, an entry price of $4-$6 sounds pretty reasonable today.

Paul Godfrey: can I swap my first concert experience for yours pLease. Too good to be true.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 10:47:48 CEST 2000 from hoiberg.hiof.no (158.36.51.55)

jh

First concert: Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, Chateau Neuf, Oslo, 1974. The band autographed my t-shirt after the gig, I swapped it for a bottle of wine on the train back home. Dr. Hook was big at the time, and quite good, too. Two great singers, Dennis Locorriere and Ray Sawyer, funny, powerful songs, often penned by the great Shel Silverstein, and they were something else on stage, totally crazy... their keyboard player (Bill something) ended up ripping off all his clothes, playing the last tunes naked...ahh...the '70s. I still remember their incredible live version of "Carry Me, Carrie." Btw, both Sawyer and Locorriere visit Norway as solo acts now and then.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 09:15:59 CEST 2000 from 1cust37.tnt12.nyc3.da.uu.net (63.23.136.37)

Crabgrass

Regarding solo sax players in Rock Music - unless I missed it surprisingly no one mentioned Clarence Clemmons. It seems to me that it was Bruce who reintroduced the sax back into the genre after a long hiatus. Of course, the sax was a popular Rock 'n' Roll instrument back in the mid to late 50s being featured in such early bands as Bill Haley and the Comets, and also quite prominently in the Coasters' seemingly endless string of Leiber-Stoller penned hits starting with "Yakety Yak" (which spawned the later Boots Randolf instrumental hit "Yakety Sax" frequently used by Benny Hill). The sax was also featured in many of Duane Eddy's huge hits from "Rebel Rouser" to "Peter Gunn" while the sax fronted rock instrumental group Johnny and the Hurricanes had at least half a dozen top ten or top twenty hits with such tunes as "Crossfire" and "Red River Rock." And not to forget that King Curtis was always featured at Alan Freed's live extravaganzas. AND also - since no one else did it I'll mention that Richard Thompson has been using Pete Zorn (a terrific multi-instrumentalist) to play sax in his band for many years (also Pete Thomas). It has worked quite well.

Blondie Chaplin? I saw him perform with Rick at the Bottom Line in NYC in '96 and he did a solo set of rock covers on acoustic guitar in the middle but didn't do his great song "Semolina (Queen of the Night)" which I recall him doing along with "Sail On Sailor" with Richard and Rick in the late 70s.

BTW - good to see the old GB back on course! It seems that some posters are only interested in stirring up trouble!!

Posted on Thu Aug 17 09:05:37 CEST 2000 from gateway.tono.no (212.71.68.22)

Jens Magnus

My first concert was Blind Faith in 70, I think. I was totally swept away; Clapton, Winwood, Baker. Grech.

And, yes, Rick I remember Whale Meat again, by Capaldi. I used to follow Traffic quite a lot. I remember seeing Dave Mason in Oslo in 75. Not many attending, and Mason invited us all down on the floor in front of the stage. Like one big happy family.

I have never seen the Band, though. But TLW helps a lot.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 08:35:30 CEST 2000 from spider-wm081.proxy.aol.com (205.188.199.186)

Stu Hruska

This Saturday night my wife, Marcia and I have tickets to see Professor Louie and the Crowmatix, Marie Spinosa and Garth Hudson at The Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, New York to celebrate the release of Rick Danko’s latest cd. I’ve been looking forward to this performance since I heard about the show earlier this summer. We’ve also been lucky enough to catch several of their live performances since the beginning of the year during which both Cindy Lauper and Paul Schaeffer have performed wonderful renditions of “The Weight” as well showing obvious affection and reverence for Garth.

The location and purpose of this weekends gig has really given me quite a bit to think about. The summer of 1998 was just a wonderful time. During the Summer we arranged to take many weekend trips which often involved taking in performances by the individual members of The Band. On one particular weekend we planned to see Rick at this very same Stephen Talkhouse and at the same time have an early diner at Lunch’s, a small restaurant on the beach in Napeague, a few miles east of Amagansett. They serve the absolue best fresh lobster roll in the world and would also offer a great view of the setting sun before the show.

It was late afternoon and we were heading east on the Long Island Expressway. I’m driving behind this large sedan and something catches my eye. In the back seat of the other car is someone reclining with his hand behind his head. Even at one or two car lengths behind the immensity of this guy’s hand is apparent. Something about his wrist watch looks vaguely familiar. Several miles pass and I say to Marcia, “that’s either Rick, or some coal miner from Pennsylvania is going fishing in Montauk”. I start to pass the car and we pull even to the back seat where Rick is relaxing. We continue to pull up to the front seats and wave to Aaron Hurwitz and George Lembesis. I think it was Aaron who was driving. Later at the show I tell Aaron, George and Rick about how I recognized Rick from my car and we all had a good laugh.

Two or three weeks later we were in the Berkshire Mountains around Lenox, Mass. We knew Rick was appearing at a club called the Iron Horse in Northampton which was about a 45 minute drive. We made a last minute decision to make the drive. We were sitting in the club and both Aaron and Rick pass our table on the way to the stage. They briefly stop to say hello and shake our hands. Rick takes the stage and acknowledges our presence which really made me feel very happy. He starts to tune and strum his guitar. He pauses for a moment and then starts to tell a story about driving down the Long Island Expressway with his hand behind his head. My ears really started to burn as soon as I realize what he was saying. Marcia and I just smiled at each other. What I remember about the Ironhorse performance was that it was the first time I heard Rick get through “Book Faded Brown” without faltering or making a mistake, (I was always pulling for him) and it was also the first time I met Rick’s son, Justin. We walked around Northhampton after the show and I really liked the town.

A few weeks back I was at one of Levon’s shows with the Barnburners at the Turning Point in Piermont, N.Y.. I mentioned to George Lembesis that I was planning to see the show this weekend and he also remembered my story from the Stephen Talkhouse. I’ll be sure to mention it to Aaron again on Saturday

Posted on Thu Aug 17 07:49:57 CEST 2000 from proxy-1311.public.svc.webtv.net (209.240.220.140)

Patricia

...I see it now.....This place is a lot like The Band was......the thing goes sour and only one person is singled out as the culprit.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 06:37:18 CEST 2000 from proxy1-external.avnl1.nj.home.com (24.4.252.66)

Brien Sz

Just got in. It's a little after midnight here in the east and I've got the Java Blues. Was over a friends house checking out the moon through a nice little telescope. Sea of Tranquility--the whole thing. Coffee has me UP!

Anyway, I like the 1st concert thing. A lot of interesting shows you guys(genderless) have seen. Mine was YES in the summer of 79. Didn't see The Band until they regrouped-- The Cate Brothers opened and it was at the now defunct Capital Theatre in Passaic NJ. At the time, I think i knew a half dozen songs that i would recognize. After that show, I must have rolled off at least 4 more in the next year or two. WoW, What a great time those shows were. Got a real education on what it meant to jam!

Forever young...,

Posted on Thu Aug 17 06:32:58 CEST 2000 from spider-tl034.proxy.aol.com (152.163.207.189)

Donna

Bob Wigo, boy did you bring back memories with your post on Bruce Springsteen, at the Main Point. I remember that well, because I was babysitting for these people who went to the show. I remember, that I would listen to WMMR, broad- casting the show live. As far as my first concert, I was only fourteen, when I saw the group, America, at Robin Hood Dell East.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 06:19:13 CEST 2000 from proxy1-external.lndn1.on.home.com (24.112.158.228)

Kerrilyn

Paul Godfrey: That was an excellent story, thanks for sharing. IMHO you have the best *first concert* story ever. Sorry to hear you are leaving the radio (unless it's what you want, then happy retirement) and I hope that doesn't mean you are leaving good ole London behind.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 06:09:21 CEST 2000 from host-209-214-118-132.bna.bellsouth.net (209.214.118.132)

Back with no wife in Tennessee

Hank, I read an interview with Jorma once, in the early '90s, where he said that Rick Danko was his neighbor and that he had been going over to Rick's house on a regular basis for informal singing lessons. Although I don't know where this was, as I thought Jorma lived in Ohio. Anyway, one of the best shows I ever saw was solo acoustic Jorma in a tiny dive bar in Morgantown, West By-God Virginia. He played until almost 3 a.m., people were sitting on the floor in front of the stage. Afterwards, he said he was going to invite "the rest of the gang," to come sometime, but he never did.

Patricia, no offense, but I thought you said you were leaving, because you respected Jan's wishes. You posted, "almost gone" at 8:30, then at 2:30 you're back again. What is wrong with you? You know as well as everyone else here that despite what your best intentions may be, you're just going to start the usual crap again in a matter of time. YOU will be single-handedly responsible for getting this entire guestbook shut down. Thanks. Jan, isn't there some way you can block this person from posting? She's never going to stop on her own.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 05:44:04 CEST 2000 from proxy-393.public.rwc.webtv.net (209.240.200.93)

Geoff Patton

First concert ever? That's easy. It was The Band, in Philadelphia at the Spectrum, November 1971, a memorable experience to say the least. And the first of many Band shows for me.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 05:31:44 CEST 2000 from proxy-393.public.rwc.webtv.net (209.240.200.93)

Patricia

The first concert I ever seen...The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band...1974...at our local county fair....I sat way back in the bleachers with a Leonard Cohen fan.....Jimmy Ibbotson stepped up to the microphone and said " please don't expect much...we have been on the road for months now..doing these little shows for people all over this country and we are really really tired "...and just about the same time he uttered the last word of his sentence....John McEuen jumped out of nowhere and landed on foot on the piano and hit the floor on both feet right into the intro of "The Battle of New Orleans"...the rain of love those guys had for the music came rushing back to those bleachers that this guy insisted we sit in because he couldn't "relate" to this kind of music.....and I said to him...CAN'T YOU FEEL THAT...he said....feel what....what are you so excited about.....I said ...THAT....the rain...don't you feel it...and he continued to repeat to me ...I can't relate..I just can't relate to this kind of music.....and I just said....THEN SHUT THE #&@* UP....that was my first taste of live music.....and I forgot my own name.....it wasn't that the group was so good ...it was that it was live music.....and well....maybe some of you know what I'm talking about......

Posted on Thu Aug 17 05:30:59 CEST 2000 from user-33qt88q.dialup.mindspring.com (199.174.161.26)

Pat Brennan

Hank, Jorma and Rick played together a number of times. A few boots document some of the shows. Whoops, sorry I mentioned boots. Hey, how about that Boots Randolph as a sax player?

Posted on Thu Aug 17 05:25:04 CEST 2000 from ac8a811b.ipt.aol.com (172.138.129.27)

Lizz

First concert/show was: New Riders of The Purple Sage, at an old "community playhouse" 1972? , first big "Rock Concert": Allman Bros, 1973

Ghost Rider,that sounds like a great show ! Play on

Posted on Thu Aug 17 05:23:48 CEST 2000 from user-33qt88q.dialup.mindspring.com (199.174.161.26)

Pat Brennan

First "real" concert: Procol Harum at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago, summer of 68. Started quite a string for me. That autumn saw (separately) Hendrix, Rascals, Jeff Beck, Deep Purple, and so it goes. Before PH I saw the Flock at a high school--more like a dance. First "fake" concert: The Teenage World's Fair (honest) in the summer of 66. There were a bunch of stages set up in the exhibition hall at McCormick Place. You'll be happy to know I saw Neil Diamond who looked like a greaser, but I was honestly impressed by Tommy James and the Shondells. Granted, I was in 8th grade.

Now something to make you blue. While Levon gets quoted for his acid comments on Robbie, Procol Harum announces a one time concert--termed The Millenium Concert--which has PH fans descending on England in mid-September. Brooker, Matthew Fisher, Mick Grabham and two vets of the early 90's tour.

BTw, a visit today to Virgin led to the discovery that the reissues are coming out next Tuesday, at least here in Chicago.

And our best to Paul Godfrey. As Gary Brooker would sing, "Shine On Brightly, Quite Insane..." Well, let's not get that carried away.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 05:21:30 CEST 2000 from ch8smc.bellglobal.com (206.47.244.58)

uncle bob

hello all....thanks for your e-mails and i hope (know) you will enjoy the photos....as a very close friend of ronnies and levons.....and having now spent two days with robbie one in the studio as you see and one shooting footage on Yonge st. toronto for the documentary, i was very taken with just how Normal robbie is and impressed by his humility That said I do believe there is hope for burying the hatchet so to speak between he and lee.To this end i will visit with levon for a few days in sept. and poke around IN there to see whats possible.Thanks again for all your notes even the not so nice ones. peace bobs yer uncle

Posted on Thu Aug 17 04:58:45 CEST 2000 from h0000f8718e9a.ne.mediaone.net (24.128.17.20)

Long Distance Operator

Jimmy Miller is a genius.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 04:51:46 CEST 2000 from ch8smc.bellglobal.com (206.47.244.58)

Blind Willie McTell

The first band I ever saw live was the 2nd best Canadian band of all time. The Guess Who.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 04:20:39 CEST 2000 from ip206-105-180.netusa1.net (216.206.105.180)

MS. SUGAR

I saw Ringo's All Star Band in '92, I think. It was the year after Levon and Rick was with him. Anyway, Rundgren was there, Burton Cummings...tons of goodies. The Allman Brothers was kind of disappointing this year...no Dickey. I thought I told you not to post messages to me on this site anymore. I think you need to read s-l-o-w-l-y. And yes, those pictures sucked. Might want to have a pro photographer look at those and give their opinion. I might e-mail Mr. Landy and ask his opinion.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 04:15:08 CEST 2000 from cfa1.execulink.net (199.166.6.10)

paul godfrey

Re: 1st concert ever.

It was in my hometown of Peterborough Ontario Canada. The Pharoh's car club brought RONNIE HAWKINS & THE HAWKS to town. They played at the Brock Ballroom. The MC was Johnny Gilbert from CHEX radio. I knew John because of a Saturday morning show I was a part of on Saturday Mornings called Campus Cavalcade. Used to report high school news etc.

It was a young country boy's thrill to have Johnny introduce me to Ronnie Hawkins before the show. The Hawk has been a friend ever since. After the show I met Levon and helped carry some of the equipment out to the all white Chevy truck. We had in common three things. We were both country boys, both poor and both loved music. Some of you may know that my boy is named for Levon. The Concert was incredible. Levon eternally smiling. Richard with that grin. Robbie with his white Telecaster. Garth...the wizard on the organ. Ricky...man he looked the kid. But that stand up bass and his voice cut thru it all. Ronnie was still doing the duck walk. Songs that stand out in my memory are Beak's verson of "You Don't Know Me" and Ronnie sharing the mike with Robbie for "Come Love"

For that moment in time they were all brothers. For that moment in time there were...are... and always will be!

BTW..come Monday August 28th, 2000 I leave 36 years of radio in my wake. It was one great voyage but its time to test new waters. Last words on the radio will be as always. "This is Paul, Love you all...Shine On!

Posted on Thu Aug 17 04:02:29 CEST 2000 from spider-tr014.proxy.aol.com (152.163.201.179)

Ghost Rider

First concert: Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, Strawberry Alarm Clock, and the Soul Survivors. Westchester County Center, White Plains, NY. 1966. I saw the Young Rascals at Mt. Vernon High School prior to that, but it was set up as more of a dance than a concert.

Come to think of it, The Rascals may be able to provide some answers to that other thread running through the Guestbook currently: songs with memorable organ intros, ex. Come On Up, Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore, Plenty of good stuff from Felix, back then, but I'm struggling to recall the first notes of most of those oldies. There's always "96 Tears" by Question Mark & the Mysterians

Posted on Thu Aug 17 03:55:20 CEST 2000 from proxy1.doit.wisc.edu (144.92.44.76)

Ryan Stang

I'm sure everyone knows about the "Genuine '66" boxed-set that came out a month or two ago, put out by the same guys who did "The Genuine Basement Tapes", "The Genuine Bootleg Series," and "Crossing the Great Divide". Well, at my local import CD store, which is owned by one of the biggest Dylanphiles ever, I viewed something truely astonishing. It was a 26-CD set of every Dylan/Hawks show available of the '65-'66 our, all available audio from the tour interviews, and studio sessions (over 2 hrs alone) from Blonde on Blonde. It also comes with a one-to-two-hundred page booklet. The price? $650! I can't remember the name of it exactly, but it wasn't a hack job, and the owner of the store had sold 4 out of the 6 he got sight-unseen. If anyone wants to inquire further, I could give you the name and number of the store here in Madison, WI.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 03:38:42 CEST 2000 from 209-239-204-222.oak.jps.net (209.239.204.222)

Phil

MollyZ: I live exactly seven mins. from Konocti Harbor Inn Resort in Kelseyville Ca. where you saw your first concert! Which is where I saw my most recent concert in Feb '99. Ringo Starr and his All Star Band. With Jack Bruce, Todd Rundgren, The drummer from Free and Bad Co. (who's name escapes me) and the great Gary Brooker. Great show. Pat Brennan, you should have been there. Whiskey Train, Conquistador and of course AWSOP. First concert... Ten Years After 1970 at the Santa Clara Co. Fairgrounds. The power went out for about 3 mins. and it scared the hell out of me.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 03:04:24 CEST 2000 from on-tor-unv-ap3-20-36.look.ca (216.154.31.227)

Rick Kenworthy

Forgot to add: Thank you, Jan for your patience and wisdom, and for this great and good gift to all of us. (Now, can SKS show me how to put paragraph in my entries?) Rick

Posted on Thu Aug 17 03:02:50 CEST 2000 from benton-r07.showme.net (198.209.31.199)

Al

I just found this website after seeing Levon on the Dylan Biography on A&E the other night. As for first concerts, I'm nearly ashamed to admit that mine was Tommy James and the Shondells. On the other hand, I did get to see The Band twice, and Levon with The Cate Brothers a couple of times. Even managed to get a "Catskill Hogs" cap at one of the Levon and the Cate Brothers gigs. That was in Helena, Ar. a few years ago. I feel fortunate to have grown up with the music of The Band, Dylan, The Allman Brothers and so many others.. I also learned to appreciate in the last few years the contributions these people have made to all of us who listen to and try to understand the emotions that go along with these great songs. Hopefully there will be many more memories to come for all of us!

Posted on Thu Aug 17 02:59:50 CEST 2000 from on-tor-unv-ap3-20-36.look.ca (216.154.31.227)

Rick Kenworthy

Back to music, yes. Alone Together remains one of my favorites to this day - pick out the Leon pinao on "Shouldna took more'n ya gave". The whole LP very heavily influenced by the Delaney&Bonnie Revival(with Duane Allman riding shotgun)that so invigorated Clapton, Harrison et al, and brought the Tulsa connection (Russell, Radle, Gordon, Keys, Price, Keltner) to the forefront of the music scene. A Traffic-Band connection? What about that cross-Canada train, the Festival Express, with the Dead, Janis & Ian & Sylvia? Soon to be released as a documentary, Canoe.com/jam/home.html carried a recent interview with the director/producer who was quoted praising both Traffic and The Band for their incredible performances. Anyone remember a Jim Capaldi LP from the early seventies, I think it was "Whale Meat again?" Had some interesting ditties, notably a countrified version of "Love Hurts', later done by a heavier metal band, maybe Aerosmith? Pehr: My first concert was Paul Revere & the Raiders, too. Pointe Claire arena in Montreal, I was about 11 - my Dad got tickets thru work - got to see Billy Joe Royal (Down in the Boon Docks, Hush-Hush) as the opening act. My dad kept laughing at the Raiders in them tights doing that 'skip-to-ma-Loo' boogie (that's what he called it) But ya know - I remember it sounding pretty darn good! Welcome back, music-lovers. Dileas gu Brath Rick

Posted on Thu Aug 17 02:30:51 CEST 2000 from unused219-26.soldny.optonline.net (24.188.219.26)

Tony LoBue

Spotted this article about Levon in this weeks People Weekly... http://tdmcc.bizland.com/lh.htm

Posted on Thu Aug 17 02:27:34 CEST 2000 from spider-tn072.proxy.aol.com (152.163.207.77)

Mike Carrico

Amen, brother David, to your comments on "Alone Together" - an album I listen to frequently to this day...and a'int that multi-colored vinyl a groovy thing? The cumbersome song titles belie some agile musicianship, powered by the Dominoes/Traffic axis. "World In Changes" and "Sad And Deep As You" are highlights for me.

My first concert was the Beach Boys in 1964 at the old Uline Arena in DC; the same venue at which my brother and his girlfriend had seen The Beatles a few months earlier. Like them we saw rather than heard the show (scream city). This was shortly after Brian Wilson had stopped touring, and I was keenly disappointed at his absence, with Glen Campbell there in his stead.

If only I had been aware of The Hawks then...

Posted on Thu Aug 17 02:15:44 CEST 2000 from proxy-523.public.rwc.webtv.net (209.240.200.113)

Patricia

....nothing was said about Levon and Robbie recording in the same room at the very same time shug.......please read the posts again....s-l-o-w-l-y......and Bobs pictures are terrific !

Posted on Thu Aug 17 02:15:03 CEST 2000 from 190.chicago-31-32rs.il.dial-access.att.net (12.75.160.190)

Julie

OK, BWNWITN, if you want to feel young: the first concert I went to was either Herman's Hermits, Paul Revere & the Raiders or the Buckinghams. In 1960-something. Now, can someone help me back to my rocking chair?

Posted on Thu Aug 17 02:13:28 CEST 2000 from dialup-283.cork.iol.ie (193.203.148.27)

Hank

Jefferson Airplane at The Academy of Music in NYC circa 1971.......I was 8 years old and my Dad brought my sister and I.........I remember it being very loud and thinking that my Mom would'nt like it at all...........I also remember thinking Grace Slick must've been crazy to sling herself all over the stage the way she did..............Actually, I could be wrong but is there any connection between Jorma and The Band?......I suspect Jorma and Rick woulda known each other........could be wrong about that... though I seem to remember them playing the same club-circuit in the '80ies and '90ies........anyone got a glimmer about THAT?....I really enjoyed the Steve Winwood/Traffic thread that was going on there......I finally got a copy of "The Heebeegeebees".......what a hoot!!!!!!......it came out on the cusp of The '70ies and '80ies.............It seems to be a buncha British session-heads lampooning top acts of the time.....The Police, Bowie, ABBA..... as well as Neil Young, Dylan and........yep! our heros.....The Band......They get introduced as "The Bland" during the finale..... which is a song called "Bird of Peace"..."The Bland' just sing a chorus.....but verses are sung by 'Neil Dung' and "Leonard Crowin'"....amongst others.....wicked parodies altogether.......the standard of musicianship is top-notch and I would'nt be surprised to find out if this record caused Sting to leave The Police.......The Bee Gees themselves were not amused...... I know 'cos I read an interview with them in Q magazine once, years ago, where they said it was'nt funny...........well, they're wrong!!!!!.........I like almost every song on it ..............you would'nt BELIEVE how good they do Kenny Rogers!!!!!!......talk to y'all later...........

Posted on Thu Aug 17 02:09:12 CEST 2000 from 1cust28.tnt1.topeka.ks.da.uu.net (63.39.63.28)

Dexy

I saw Winwood & Traffic in the '70s in my home town of Wichita. I was a big fan, but they had sound problems and were sort of blown away by the "unkown" opening act -- The J. Geils Band. To give recent posts a circular logic, my first concert (again in W-town) was Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, sans Bonnie for some reason (and sans George and Eric too). Best concert I ever saw in Wichita: Rolling Thunder Review.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 01:57:57 CEST 2000 from ip206-105-36.netusa1.net (216.206.105.36)

MS. SUGAR

That's a funny rumor about Robbie and Levon recording together, seeing as how I just read quote in People where Levon says, "I hate him and he hates me." Those pictures you have Uncle Bob, I do believe those are screen captures. I just saw them. Nice false photography son. I take pictures and I know what I'm looking at is crap. I'm too ashamed to say what my first concert was. The best concert was B.B. King with John Hammond. Ms. S.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 01:56:33 CEST 2000 from stcath-ppp73029.sympatico.ca (216.208.72.28)

Richard Patterson

Hate to mention this while you're battin' 0-fer Matt, but I think the most distinctive organ intro in rock is by Garth on "Chest Fever".

1st concert ... Quicksilver with Wishbone Ash and Flo and Eddie ... Niagara Falls, Canada 197?

Posted on Thu Aug 17 01:43:01 CEST 2000 from 209-239-198-132.oak.jps.net (209.239.198.132)

Phil

MattK: I used to think that long solo on LSOHBoys was a sax too. Later on in the '80's I read an interview of Winwood were he stated it was the B3 thru a distortion box. Listen to it again. It will never be the same. But it will still be a bit to long IMO.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 01:26:59 CEST 2000 from ip-154.dial.wans.com (64.7.64.154)

Molly Z.

My first concert I ever went to was an Elvin Bishop show in Konocti about 5 years ago. At that time, I didn't really know him too well, except I always liked one of his songs Fool Around & Fell In Love. It was a great show. I've been to other great concerts & shows as well. The last show I went to was a Chris Isaac show in San Francisco, which was almost a year ago. That was a blast!!

BWNWITennesee - Hope that didn't make ya feel old. Have a great evening everyone!

Posted on Thu Aug 17 01:10:31 CEST 2000 from host-209-214-116-130.bna.bellsouth.net (209.214.116.130)

BWNWITennessee

Steve Berlin from Los Lobos is a good example of a sax player in a contemporary rock band. I don't know how he ranks just as a pure sax player, but he really fits in well in a fairly loud, agressive ensemble. Then again, he does also play keyboards, too. He started with them just as a sax player, and added keys when they started doing stuff sax would be innapropriate on.

And I hate to be negative, but I always thought that Garth's solo on "High Cotton" just doesn't fit in. It's not the presence of a sax, it's just his playing. Maybe he's on a soprano; I just think it should be lower and honkier(!) for that particular song.

My first concert was Bruce Springsteen on the Born In The USA tour in '85. A pretty good one to claim as the first. Y'all are making me feel young, thanks, but now Molly Z's probably going to post something that will make me feel old again.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 00:48:44 CEST 2000 from pm3-pt18.pcnet.net (206.105.29.92)

Laura P.

I just finished giving my mother-in-law a little introductory course on The Band. She's in her early 50's--got married in '69--so you'd think she'd know who they are, but no. No one I talk to ever does. So I was telling her how I always blast The Band when I go around cruising in my New Beetle, and we had to go through the little rigmarole--"I'm crazy about The Band." "What band?" "The Band." "But which band is that...?"

So, anyway, I told her that she probably knew some of The Band's songs, for example, "The Weight," even if she didn't know that was the title or that it was by The Band, and we took a little drive up and down the street while I played "The Weight" for her. She said, "I really like this!" Then she started skipping around on the CD to hear other tracks. I tried to play "Rag Mama Rag" but that didn't seem to turn her on too much. But she'd heard "The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down" before, and "This Wheel's On Fire." When "I Shall Be Released" came on, I said excitedly, "That's Richard! He's my favourite," and she commented about his "high baritone." I also told her about The Last Waltz (she'd never heard of it) and I said, "Well, if you like 'The Weight' so much, I ought to make you a CD-R of Band songs and force you to listen to it! Heh heh heh." She did not object, so now I am plotting a conversion. Boy, The Band sure is ridiculously anonymous, though.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 00:34:17 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

Well, I'm batting a big 0-fer 100 today. You know Pat, my stature would be much better if you stopped clouding things with all of these facts...

; - )

Hard to imagine Gimme Some Lovin' without that B3. Is there a more distinctive organ intro in Rock? Perhaps a good thread for the second shift to consider. Gimme Some Lovin', Whiter Shade Of Pale, Like a Rolling Stone?

With that, I bid adieu. Night everyone.

matt

Posted on Thu Aug 17 00:17:26 CEST 2000 from user-33qt987.dialup.mindspring.com (199.174.165.7)

Pat Brennan

Mattk and all, Chris Wood and Jim Capaldi played various percussion toys on Gimme Some Lovin' and I'm A Man, but the Spencer Davis Group played the basic tracks. I believe Capaldi and Wood were roadies for the band at the time. Gimme Some Lovin' is actually kind of interesting. It was originally released without the Hammond Organ track, background vocals, and the percussion stuff. Producer Jimmy Miller used the basic tracks, recut the lead vocal, and added all the other stuff to create the finished song as we know it.

Posted on Thu Aug 17 00:03:12 CEST 2000 from alb1-as5200-17-17.termserv.net (208.20.67.17)

Diamond Lil

Aah..."Dear Mr. Fantasy"...one of my favorites. Someone called it a "timeless song" and I definately agree. Also love Traffic's "Heaven is in your mind". Been a long time since I listened to them though. Thanks for the reminder. Will have to dust off the cassettes and give a listen tonight.

First concert? Mine was "Jay and the Americans" (remember them? "Come a little bit closer you're my kind of man...") They played an outdoor concert at a Long Island Airport and I went with about 10 friends. Funny to remember that now...My kids would say that makes me old :-)

Nice to see that the guestbook is back to relative normalcy. Thanks.

Have a good night everyone. ohauf Jan :-)

Posted on Wed Aug 16 22:56:41 CEST 2000 from gw.itac.ca (209.146.161.1)

Bill

Nice to see all the interesting guestbook traffic about Winwood, British R&B, etc. "Dear Mr Fantasy" is one of those timeless songs - and "sing a song, play guitar, make it snappy" always reminds me for some reason of Chilliwack's "Rain-O", one of my most favourite rock lyrics: "Rain O rain, O fall upon the earth again, make it green and make it cool, fill the river fill the pool, quench the thirst of every sage and every fool, and every sour soul who's lost so much he doesn't know his needs". Which goes for some of us on this site, judging from some of the entries.

Back to Traffic: I believe that was Winwood on guitar rather than Mason on "Mr Fantasy", and I'm pretty sure that the Spencer Davis Group played on their own hits - and not the later Traffic guys (though Winwood did reprise the songs in the Welcome to the Canteen days. Speaking of which, Jim Gordon was the main drummer on that one, as far as I recall, so that takes us to the Band via Clapton. And his replacement, Roger Hawkins (along with other latter-day Trafficers Barry Beckett and David Hood), recorded with Ronnie Hawkins.

Among the reasons for thinking Capaldi, etc., didn't play on the Spencer Davis hits is that Pete York was a far superior drummer. Capaldi was moved to tambourine following Barleycorn, which must say something. And York drummed on the two or so cuts recorded by Eric Clapton and the Powerhouse 'supergroup' in '66 or so for the Electra LP, What's Shakin'?. (Powerhouse was Clapton, Paul Jones and Jack Bruce from Manfred Mann - who also had a saxist, Peter - and Pete York and Steve Anglo/Winwood from Spencer Davis.)

Whoever mentioned Turning Point was quite right. It was drummerless and was, and is, first rate. John Mark and Johnny Almond then formed Mark-Almond (as opposed to Marc Almond). I think the bassist, something Thompson, went on to Stone the Crows.

Mattk: my first real concert (as opposed to freebie by local acts) was also ELP, but in my case it was the Tarkus Tour in '71. "Lucky Man" was a big hit at the time, but they didn't even do it - mostly because they started very late so had no time to do an encore before the NAC had to be cleared for the second show. Opener was Mylon and his Holy Smoke Do-Dah Band. Mylon's guitarist, JP Lauzon, had been in JB and the Playboys, whose singer wound up in several Altman movies, including Nashville and Slapshot. Ther must be a Levon link there somewhere.

Peter makes an interesting point about saxes in rock. He's certainly right that they lingered longer in the UK than here, though I'm not sure about why. In Toronto, the bigger local bands of the early '60s were R&B (of the time), aside from Hawkins, and even he had lots of R&B in the repertoire. The big local hits - by Shirley Matthews, Little Caesar and the Consuls, Richie Knight and the Midknights, Jackie Shane - all had sax. Most of the saxy bands listed by Peter are classifiable as 'art-rock' - something that didn't take off here to such an extent, and certainly not as early.

Posted on Wed Aug 16 22:44:28 CEST 2000 from m198214181089.austin.cc.tx.us (198.214.181.89)

pehr

nice thread goin, back to the music! I almost forgot! my first concert was Paul Revere and the Raiders!

Posted on Wed Aug 16 22:21:29 CEST 2000 from (208.218.212.187)

David Powell

I've always been kind of partial towards Dave Mason's 1970 solo album "Alone Together". John Simon reportedly played piano on the album. Mason recorded it shortly after a stint with Bonnie & Delany & Friends and the all-star cast appearing with him on the album includes Jim Keltner, Leon Russell, Carl Radle, Jim Gordon, Rita Coolidge, Jim Capaldi and the aforementioned Bramletts.

Mason matches the incredible players with strong vocal performances of some great original songs that include "Only You Know And I Know", "Waitin' On You", "Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave" and "Look At You Look At Me". The original pressings of this record, released on the Blue Thumb label, were on marbled, multi-colored vinyl that came in a unique fold-out cover pack.

Posted on Wed Aug 16 21:44:59 CEST 2000 from spider-tj071.proxy.aol.com (152.163.213.206)

Bashful Bill

My first show was a BeachBoys show,and many many years later I took my 2 older kids to their first show, BeachBoys with America. Over the years we got them to see Trisha yearwood, Mary Chapin Carpenter, a few others. And my 15 year old went with me to see the Barnburners last Jan. They are moving on as children do, in a couple weeks they are going to see the Goo Goo Dolls. My 6 year old had an early dose of his parents music. When Mrs. Bashful Bill was 5-months pregnant we attended a Jerry Garcia show (last time of 80 or so that I saw him), then when he was 3 months old we took him to one of those Hell Freezes Over shows with Sheryl Crow opening for the Eagles. He already is leaning towards rap and, gasp!, WWF. Could it be because of that Garcia show?

Posted on Wed Aug 16 21:42:08 CEST 2000 from usr51-dialup280.mix2.boston.cw.net (166.62.198.160)

G-MAN

It sure would be great to hear Levon sing again. Then again, let's be satisfied and happy with his playin with the BB's(better than ever). If and when he's able to sing, I'm sure all his fans will be in for a great show. If not we'll enjoy him and the BB's. Peace !!!!

Posted on Wed Aug 16 21:38:25 CEST 2000 from ric-wht-pxy-int02.wheatfirst.com (204.238.130.68)

Bones

Thank you for the Al Aronowitz links! Great stories about Dylan and The Band.

The new People Magazine with Faith Hill on the cover has a brief spotlight article on Levon Helm. Levon was negative as usual with regard to Robbie. My biggest fear is that all these bitter comments are eventually going to hurt the legacy of the Band. I understand that Levon has a right to speak his mind, but journalists always want to dwell on the the bad things. I know that times have changed, but I still like to think of them as a band of brothers.

Posted on Wed Aug 16 21:19:45 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

matt k

Technically, Pat, you are correct. However, both "I'm a Man" and "Gimme Some Lovin'" were recorded by the Spencer Davis Group in November, 1966. Winwood, Capaldi, Mason and Wood, however performed on both tracks. It was this Spencer Davis session that led directly to the formation of Traffic.

Posted on Wed Aug 16 21:07:02 CEST 2000 from user-33qt992.dialup.mindspring.com (199.174.165.34)

Pat Brennan

Mattk, I believe "I'm A Man" was Spencer Davis Group.

More minutiae: the splinter group from Mayall's acoustic blues thing was the Marc-Almond Band, great live but not quite able to pull it off in the studio. Abetted by ex-Mingus drummer Danny Richmond.

Traffic. Jeez I loved them. Interesting is the butcher job on their first album. The British version had a couple of Dave Mason songs that disappeared by the time the US version came out and the band became a trio. I actually prefer the US version--as Peter V. said, some of the early stuff was a bit arch but the US version concentrated on the R&B side of things. The second album was beautiful, a great balance between English folk, American R&B, even some spacey atmospheres. And, as mentioned "Don't Be Sad" owes much to the boys, although I'm not sure of the time frame here. Will have to check when I get home.

Gosh, music discussions. Whadda relief.

Posted on Wed Aug 16 20:39:23 CEST 2000 from 84.newark-21-22rs.nj.dial-access.att.net (12.78.104.84)

Chris Popp

Hi Everyone, I'm going to a friend's wedding upstate this weekend, and I thought I'd like to go see Big Pink. Can anyone out there give me driving directions from Kingston, NY to Basement Land? Thanks in advance. Rock on! Chris Popp

Posted on Wed Aug 16 20:17:47 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

matt k

first concert of any kind for me was a "New Christy Minstrels" show at the local fairgrounds in Colorado, however that wasn't much of a concert experience by rock standards. For that, my first show was the "final" Emerson Lake and Palmer tour in, I think, 1979. I was a big ELP fan at the time, but all I can remember was a pretty amazing light show.

Winwood was always a collaborative writer, usually sharing credit with Capaldi in the Traffic years and Will Jennings in his solo years for the lyrics (Winwood writing/arranging the instrumental portions). I think the problem with the later stuff was his tendency to be ruthlessly Pop in his approach. His earlier work seemed to be a bit more experimental and free in it's style...even going so far as spending much of the 70s recording and performing with Stomu Yamashta's "Go" and otherwise keeping a low-profile.

Somewhere, around the time of his solo album "Arc of a Diver" (When You See Your Chance) and the follow up "Talking Back to the Night (Valerie), his style became more top-40 and through the late-80s and early 90s became increasingly sappy and derivative - a far cry from a guy who made such a huge imprint in the late-60s playing with everyone from Jimi Hendrix (Electric Ladyland and Cry of Love) to Lou Reed (Berlin) to Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf.

Winwood as part of the British Blues scene and in subsequent work with guys like Clapton and Muddy would seem to run in similair circles as the Band. Both Traffic and the Band opened for the Dead on their final tour, and Traffic played Woodstock '94. Hard to imagine their paths have never crossed, creatively, but I don't see direct links, anyone?

Hey Butch, maybe y'all coul get Steve to sit in on a BB gig sometime!

matt

Posted on Wed Aug 16 19:29:35 CEST 2000 from (208.218.212.187)

David Powell

Following the Band/Traffic/sax thread: After a period out of music, multi-instrumentalist, singer & songwriter, Randall Bramblett from Georgia, was called on to join Steve Winwood's touring group around the late '80s. In 1994, when founding members Winwood and Jim Capaldi did a Traffic reunion tour, Randall joined in on sax & flute, filling the role originally handled by Chris Wood, who passed away in 1983.

In the '70s, Randall established himself as premiere sideman with his work with such artists as Goose Creek Symphony, B.J. Thomas, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Cowboy, Greg Allman, Bonnie Bramlett and Sea Level. His talents as a singer and songwriter were displayed on two solo albums released by Polydor in the mid-'70s. Randall & friends also contributed a song on Robbie Robertson's "Carny" soundtrack. He also joined Levon Helm on tour dates following Levon's recording sessions in Muscle Shoals around that time.

As noted previously, here in the guestbook, Randall graciously sat in on tenor sax on both nights when Levon & the Barn Burners played down here in Winder, Ga. this past April. Through his work with such a diverse group of artists, Randall continues to amaze me with his ability to play so many different types of music. His playing with Levon & group, for me, brought to mind the tenor work of Lee Allen on many of Fats Domino's classic recordings. His sweet & smooth playing seem to fit perfectly in the Barn Burners' repetoire of songs. Like all great players, Randall knows how to blend in without overpowering the rest of the group, but when it comes his turn to take a solo -- you better stand back as he burns it up!

Posted on Wed Aug 16 18:56:11 CEST 2000 from 216-1-128-25.akorn.net (216.1.128.25)

Mike Carrico

Interesting comments re Traffic...always thought they (along with Procol Harum & Little Feat) were the groups with the most Band-like characteristics. The early Traffic records had a communal, almost homemade quality; made by players with an instictive feel for each other's musical strengths. I can imagine Rick singing "Dear Mr. Fantasy", or Richard on "Feelin' Alright?". In the Little Feat department, would love to have heard the boys take a stab at "Fat Man In The Bathtub" with Levon on lead vocal.

Little Bro - I really enjoyed your ruminations on Mr. Middle America, clueless about the shrine he is inhabiting, fending off Bandfans from his front lawn at Big Pink and wondering why they are so intent on sabotaging his pleasant valley sunday...that image kept me laughing all day.

Posted on Wed Aug 16 18:56:52 CEST 2000 from host161-123-26-209.utelfla.com (209.26.123.161)

carmen

First concert. Can't remember!

Bob Wigo, I have a great boot of that show which contains Springsteen performing Dylan's I Want You!

Posted on Wed Aug 16 18:40:42 CEST 2000 from spider-tk084.proxy.aol.com (152.163.206.214)

bob wigo

Peter---Glad to hear you mention Stevie Winwood's guitar. In my humble opinion he is sadly overlooked as a guitarist due in large part to his reluctance to step out front.I have always found him to be wonderfully melodic and never overstated.

I fondly recollect Traffic's first visit to Philadelphia following Dave Mason's departure. Stevie stepped up to the microphone and offered an advance apology for his below average vocal abilities. He proceeded to sing his ass off for two and one half hours. I remember it like it was yesterday.

Here's a question I haven't seen posed here in the GB.What was the very first "concert" you attended ? This certainly should include big names prior to their impending fame.

For the record, the first show I ever saw was at the Spectrum in Philly in the summer of 1972.Stevie Wonder opened for the Rolling Stones on their "Exile" tour. They set the bar rather high and I won't ever forget it. That fall it was Bruce Springsteen at the Main Point in Bryn Mawr,Pa. The room held about two hundred. What we were seeing and hearing was plain as the noses on our faces. Don't remember much about the next year or so but 1974 brought The Band to town with Dylan and here I am !

Posted on Wed Aug 16 18:38:14 CEST 2000 from (149.160.22.39)

Knockin' Lost John

Hi everyone. Anybody else catch the Bob Dylan Biography on A&E the other night? All in all it wasn't anything special, since it didn't tell us anything we didn't already know. They didn't even mention the Traveling Wilburys!!! However, Levon was interviewed an few times about The Hawks and the Basement Tapes days at Big Pink. Also, Levon sang a raspy-voiced version of the chorus to "Don't Ya' Tell Henry." It was great to hear his voice again, even if it is only a shadow of its former self. Question for BUTCH: DOES THIS MEAN WE MAY HEAR LEVON SINGING MORE IN THE FUTURE?????????? \I hope so. Personally, I like Levon's "new" raspy voice. It is quite the same as James Cotton's voice in recent years, and I LOVE James Cotton. It's just my opinion, but I think Levon should sing a few new tunes with the Barnburners! JOHN> ps: You can buy a copy of the Dylan biography at A&E's website.

Posted on Wed Aug 16 18:11:02 CEST 2000 from du-tele3-095.mailbox.co.uk (195.82.121.95)

Peter Viney

Thanks, Mike. I’ll go and get one.

The Winwood / Manuel comparison is intriguing, the more so the more I think about it. I said "Stevie" as he was known by the British press in the Spencer Davis Group days, while everyone else comes in with "Steve", which is what it said on the first Spencer Davis sleeve. With Spencer Davis, he used a rich soul voice, belying his tender years, on "Keep on Running" and "Somebody Help Me", then he hit the higher registers (as with Traffic). "John Barleycorn" was a deliberate exploration of English roots music, complete with soft unlaminated sleeve, just after the Band had explored American roots music. I’m sure there are other similarities, but Traffic has not withstood the passing of time so well, probably because of the feyness of some early stuff, and the long, long solos on the "Welcome to the Canteen" era stuff. . The fact that Winwood is a great singer, keyboard player AND a fine guitarist made him an asset for any band. Like the other Stevie (Wonder), I think his precocious talent has not provided the quality of later career that would have been predicted twenty, or thirty, or thirty five years ago. Look at his earlier stuff and you think "great songwriter" but with the later stuff, "What happened?" I still treasure the first Spencer Davis Group LP (It’s Gonna work Out Fine, Jump Back, Dimples …).

Posted on Wed Aug 16 17:00:09 CEST 2000 from ip-154.dial.wans.com (64.7.64.154)

Molly Z.

Yeah I think Steve Winwood would've been a great replacement for Richard. He probably would've done a great version of I Shall Be Released. He does have a great voice like Richard too! I wonder if they have played together at one time or another.

Have a great day, everyone.

Posted on Wed Aug 16 16:47:59 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

I think one problem solo sax players have in groups is the timbre of the sax is very much like a human voice. This tends to render the sax as either a solo instrument or a kind of "backup vocalist" as Peter hints at in his analogy.

I'd not thought of the similairities between Traffic's formative sessions and the Band's. It's very true, though that Winwood has a fairly low-key style, even playing organ in his local church into the 80s (don't know if he still does this). If I recall, the story with Traffic's formative sessions involved a lot of LSD, which may be why, like the Dead, they eventually ended up meandering quite a bit with live shows featuring 20 minute percussion solos.

Pat, I agree that earlier Traffic is more "song" oriented, and tunes like "I'm a Man" or "Low Spark" both represent better efforts at songwriting than some of their later work (though Woods' solo on Low Spark heralds much of what I grew to dislike about Traffic).

There are probably some interesting parallels between the Band and Winwood's career, particularly Blind Faith, which in some fashion must have been an attempt by Clapton to capture the roots feel that the Band accomplished and lead indirectly (or directly, perhaps) to the dissolution of Cream.

I also find the notion of a Winwood versus Robbie parallel intriguing. Both guys are somewhat reluctant "stars," though certainly with that great voice, Winwood ends up being a front-man more that Robbie would have considered at the time. I think Robbie also has a stronger personality that Winwood. Clapton has said that Blind Faith didn't work, in part, because there was no way he was going to sing in a group featuring Winwood, but that Steve's laid back persona made him (Winwood) reticent about taking the reins as a front man in the group.

On a final note, I wonder if Steve would be a good voice to have "replaced" Richard in the late 80s. Obviously at the time, Winwood was enjoying a huge re-birth with "Back in the High Life" which was one of the top-selling albums in 1986, so I doubt there was interest. Still it would be interesting to have heard Winwood's take on some of Richard's material...both have superb R&B falsetto voices, and a Garth/Winwood keyboard combo would have been outrageous.

Posted on Wed Aug 16 16:02:03 CEST 2000 from cobalt.nextlink.net (206.129.70.172)

Mike

Peter V. -- I think the Mayall album w/ no drummer is "Turning Point." It's the one with "Room to Move."

Been watching the guys at Woodstock '94 -- they got pretty hot there after the sound was adjusted. It still makes me laugh to watch Lee. He was getting real ticked at the beginning when the sound was bad, but mellowed out after a while.

Can't wait for Rick's new one...

Posted on Wed Aug 16 15:44:17 CEST 2000 from du-tele3-033.mailbox.co.uk (195.82.121.33)

Peter Viney

Sax players: I didn’t mention Mel Collins because I thought of him as a "star session man" rather than a full group member in the way the others were. Thanks Illka for reminding me of the drummerless Mayall band with Johnny Almond-I recall great acoustic guitar work from that line-up, who I saw, but I never got the album. Which one was it? I agree with Pat about Traffic being at their peak when they did songs rather than long jams, which is the first two albums. The critics love to love "John Barleycorn Must Die" but I never really got into that. Dave Mason was the key for me, and presumably it’s the same Dave Mason who guests on some 80s shows by various Band offshoots. In the 68/69 era comparisons were made between Traffic and The Band, as both were composed of road-hardened veterans (and Stevie Winwood was effectively a pro musician even younger than RR was) who went off and "got it together" in the country before emerging with a great and innovative album. I’d suspect that Traffic were considerably more self-conscious about the news angle of doing so.

Now I’m trying to think what the main problem about having single sax players in a band was. It was hard for sax players, as the sax solo became an inevitable contribution on every song, and didn’t always fit, which is why willingness to play flute, clarinet and often to do a little keyboardwork was an advantage. Horn players must have to get used to waiting to do their thing, as they’re less likely to play right through the number. I guess backing vocalists have the same problem. Hence the tendency to have tambourines or something to do while standing around.

Posted on Wed Aug 16 15:44:02 CEST 2000 from usr40-dialup41.mix2.boston.cw.net (166.62.75.233)

G-MAN

FACT or RUMOR ????? RR's life story on CBC this fall ????

Posted on Wed Aug 16 15:32:29 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

matt k

The trouble with Pink Floyd, is many of us grew up listening to them in our parent's basement, inevitably...altered and going..."dude."

Sadly, years later, there are apparently after effects that still cloud my memory of those halcyon days (pun intended). Alas, Mel Collins did NOT play on Dark Side, and boy do I look foolish. Collins did record with Rick Wright on his late-70s solo album and has been working and recording with Roger Waters quite a bit, and was on the Radio KAOS tour some years back.

DOH!

I CAN however, make a Band connection for Collins, though it is tenuous. Turns out that Collins was involved in the recording sessions for Dylan's "Desire" album. I don't think Collins made it on to any of the released tracks, though he is on the alternate takes found on the first two volumes of the Genuine Bootleg CDs.

Posted on Wed Aug 16 12:32:40 CEST 2000 from du218-1.ppp.algonet.se (195.100.1.218)

Ilkka

Thanks Peter Viney (and Pat Brennan) for mentioning the fantastic sax player Dick Heckstall-Smith. He played also in John Mayalls Bluesbreakers (Crusade, Bare Wires, The Diary Of A Band). Mayall had also JOHNNY ALMOND (sax and flutes) in his band. That particularly ensemble didn't have ANY DRUMMER at all. The blues without a drummer in a band works very fine...did I curse in a church now? (Yes, BarnBurners, it's time to come to Europe to change my mind.)
The first blues band I saw was a Finnish band - BLUES SECTION, with Eero Koivistoinen on sax. I thought that it was normal to have a sax player in a R&B band. But, then again, I believed that Bob Dylan had composed "Blowin' in the wind"...

To Ostfold College: Without this site I wouldn't have heard of you, taken contact to the College, asked of the courses and told to people around me of your courses!

Posted on Wed Aug 16 09:57:18 CEST 2000 from ip70.houston2.tx.pub-ip.psi.net (38.11.201.70)

Michael Shiloh

Man, I drop out for a couple of weeks and how things change! Robbie and Levon getting together (even if it is long distance!)...A&E does Dylan... Paul Godfrey: I agree that Dylan's post 1965 career was shortchanged on the A&E special: where was existing footage from "Eat the Document?" Where were the Wilburys? The most upsetting thing about the special was the quality of Levon's speaking voice...maybe he was having a bad day, but I'd hate to think he was losing that beautiful sound...but I worry too much about a lot of things...Robbie's got more movie scores coming out...?! Hank: I guess you know "Eat the Document" is out on bootleg video...the quality isn't too bad. Michael: It would be great to hear more details of your view of Dylan and the Band, 1966! Laura P.: Darn, I missed out on that CD! The more you post about it the more intriguing it sounds! Laura Holt, Marcelo and anyone who cares: I'd be glad to copy my home tape of the A&E Dylan special for you for the price of postage and a couple of bucks for the tape; just because we're friends in the GB (Isn't Austin great, Laura?). Does anyone have obscure Band and/or Dylan tapes for sale or trade? BTW, I love this site!

Posted on Wed Aug 16 08:34:53 CEST 2000 from proxy-711.public.rwc.webtv.net (209.240.216.111)

Patricia

rollie...good goin'...Tim O'Brien used to be a member of the bluegrass "Hot Rize"...he made good stuff with them and he makes good stuff now......

Posted on Wed Aug 16 08:26:37 CEST 2000 from ts1-36.steveston.axion.net (207.34.146.36)

Cupid

Marcelo: Try the Barnes and Noble or A&E websites[sorry I don't have the URL] they both handle the VHS copy of the Dylan Biography.It is for sale as they plugged it immediatly after the Broadcast.Not sure of the cost either I'm afraid.Peace Cupid...Hi Lil...Kindest regards Jan, Thanx for being so patient.

Posted on Wed Aug 16 07:57:21 CEST 2000 from 1cust152.tnt1.idaho-falls.id.da.uu.net (63.28.242.152)

rollie

Hey all you Dylan heads! How many of you have heard of Tim O'Brien? Better known in the Bluegrass circles, he did a great record some time back entitled "Red on Blond".Great renditions of Dylan classics. I had the great fortune to "jam" on stage with the lad this past weekend, and got to hear him do a great take on "When I Paint my Masterpiece" with Darrell Scott.(I was long gone from that company when that song went down,pros only). If you haven't heard him , check him out!!!! His sister Mollie is a great blues belter as well and will be performing a the Telluride Blues Festival this fall.

Posted on Wed Aug 16 07:18:47 CEST 2000 from 200-191-196-239-as.acessonet.com.br (200.191.196.239)

Marcelo

Hi there, how's everybody? I know I'm a little bit late, but I read in this guestbook you guys talking about some Bob Dylan's special broadcast on A&E (sorry if I'm wrong). Here in my country we don't have this channel. So I ask: This special is avaliable for sale on VHS? If it is, where? How much? I really appreciate because I love Dylan as much I love The Band. I have almost everything about him, books, records, bootlegs, but this special I never heard. Help me please, and thanks so very, very much! Long Live Rock !!! Bye!

Posted on Wed Aug 16 04:42:16 CEST 2000 from user-33qt8gm.dialup.mindspring.com (199.174.162.22)

Pat Brennan

Hank, that's some funny stuff about Brown Sugar and Honky Tonk Woman.

Dick Heckstall-Smith on a Jack Bruce album called Things We Like was outrageous.

Mattk, when they first formed, Traffic was a very song-oriented, interplay-driven group. The song Dear Mr. Fantasy represented something of an anomaly for them. However, once Mason left, they started stretching out. But those first two albums are fantastic, and the song Don't Be Sad owes much to the boys.

Posted on Wed Aug 16 02:48:51 CEST 2000 from m198214178186.austin.cc.tx.us (198.214.178.186)

Pehr

Didn't Mel Collins Play in Clapton's band in the mid-late 70's? I think he did the sax solo on "The Core" offa "slowhand".

I was thinking of Steve Douglas when the Sax thread came up. Sorry to hear that he's passed on. Great player.

thanks for the note on the Aronowitx writngs. I'm enjoying them.

Posted on Wed Aug 16 02:32:57 CEST 2000 from dialup-335.cork.iol.ie (193.203.148.79)

HANK

Bobby Keys sax solo on The Stones "Brown Sugar" moves me to dance every time.......I've said this before, but I reckon The Band woulda done a GREAT Version of "Brown Sugar"......Levon singing lead w/Rick and Richard singing behind him......YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! WOOOOOOOOO!!......don't anyone give me grief about how it would be beneath The Band to play it........it's just as crazy as any Band song in terms of chords....and it virtually invented "Southern Rock".......just like "Hony Tonk Woman" invented "Country Rock"....What AWFUL terms they are to describe music, y'know?......It's only Rock'n'Roll.....oh well, enuff fantasy.......OK......I STILL did'nt get any answers as to why "Eat The Document" isn't out on video or DVD from y'all yet.........does ANYONE have a glimmer why not?........Peace and Harmony and Sweet Dreams to you all.................

Posted on Wed Aug 16 02:32:03 CEST 2000 from proxy-681.public.rwc.webtv.net (209.240.216.81)

Patricia

The thing that Jan mentioned this morning about some java blip..or something...is not mine....I could not do anything like that with a webtv.....this thing is not anything like a computer.......yesterday when I was asked to find another outlet....I thought Ja meant that if I didn't settle down that he wanted me to leave......he made it clear this morning that he had already TOLD me to leave.....since this is Jan's site...he is the only one I will listen too...the opinions of the rest of you don't matter to me......but I WILL do what he says....he runs the show here...and he is the boss

Posted on Wed Aug 16 02:10:53 CEST 2000 from proxy1-external.blfld1.ct.home.com (24.4.252.36)

AHROOO!!

Aside from the posting Bones just mentioned, there is more news in regards to Robbie.

The long awaited film "Sunset Strip" is just about to make it's run in the theaters (starting 8/16 in NY & LA with the rest of the country nearly a month later). This time around we have Stewart Copeland (best known for his work with The Police and scoring for the TV show "The Equalizer.") Robbie will be providing some guitar work and some scoring as well, but there is no word if they will combine the two. Look for Robbie's son, Sebastian in the part of a busboy in the film.

AHROOO!!

runnin' with the Pack

Posted on Wed Aug 16 01:35:28 CEST 2000 from 209-239-196-127.oak.jps.net (209.239.196.127)

Phil

On my copy of Dark Side Of The Moon it say's Saxophone on Us And Them and Money Dick Parry. I remember Mel Collins on many a King Crimson record after Ian MacDonald left. Did'nt Mel Collins play the solo on The Rolling Stones Miss You?

Posted on Wed Aug 16 01:16:58 CEST 2000 from ppp641.on.bellglobal.com (206.172.238.65)

Richard Patterson

Well, well, well ... Conversation turns back to music ... yipee ...

I just scored the 'A Tribute to Woody Guthrie' cd that was recorded live in 1968. Wow ! If you are a Guthrie fan or a Bob Dylan fan (Bob is here on three tracks accompanied by our boys on his first live gig since the Woodstock "Tapes" period) scoop it..

This is the real deal! ... "I Ain't Got No Home In This World Anymore" (go Ricky), "Dear Mrs Roosevelt" (kind of nice hear the Band's background vocals and Richard's piano up the mix vs. 'Albert Hall '66'), and "Grand Coulee Dam" (nice solo Robbie). All three have great Band performances.

Also, a hot version of "Do Re Mi" by Arlo, "Ramblin' Round" by Odetta is pretty funky, and Country Joe doin' "Woman at Home" is kinda ... well you figure it out ..

Then there's Joan ... oh well ...

Kind of neat to compare this to the new 'Till We Outnumber 'Em' cd from the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame tribute concert that was recorded in '96 but was just released last year ... Same structure ... that is to say you will here actors recite Woody's prose in between the songs (Will Geer {grampa Walton} and Peter Fonda on the oldie .. and Tim Robbins on the new one)

If there's anybody out there who hasn't bought the 'Mermaid Ave' cds by Billy Bragg and Wilco ... do not pass go ... score 'em!!

Woody rocks!!!

Posted on Tue Aug 15 23:45:31 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

Matt K

Peter, Peter, Peter,

How can you extoll the virtues of British sax players in the rock era and leave off Mel Collins (Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, David Sylvian)? Every high school stoner and sax player knows Mel by reputation, if not name. He's the guy playing on Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon," including the title track and the ubiquitious "Money," which may be the most recognized sax solo, ever.

Nice to see, John Helliwell on your list. He did some nice work on "Breakfast In America," which also features Halliwell on one of the few clarinet solos (Take the Long Way Home) on a pop/rock album.

I have to say, that while I like Steve Winwood's pre-1980s work quite a bit, I was never a huge Traffic fan. I have the same complaints there as I do with the Dead. Just too much meandering masquerading as jamming.

Chris Wood was a prime offender on this point, and was not a very interesting or accomplished saxophonist, IMHO. He was a much better flute player, however. Seems like he's always working with a really bad and squeaky reed.

Posted on Tue Aug 15 22:51:38 CEST 2000 from pm3-pt86.pcnet.net (206.105.29.160)

Laura P.

Just wanted to chime in and say, yes, the Dylan/Band piece at http://www.bigmagic.com/pages/blackj/Column48.html is fantastic. Well worth reading. Also, don't miss the follow-up (about the Isle of Wight machinations) at http://www.bigmagic.com/pages/blackj/Column49.html. That one is hilarious!

I just got back from a drive during which I couldn't stop playing "Life Is A Carnival" (Rock of Ages version, because that's what I had in my disc changer). I can't get enough of the "I got six on each arm and two more round my feet" line. Those feet watches much have exceptionally long wristbands, though, because I tried it and mine sure didn't fit... ;-)

Posted on Tue Aug 15 22:47:15 CEST 2000 from du-tele3-164.mailbox.co.uk (195.82.121.164)

Peter Viney

A curious aside from the new Mojo, Paul Barrerre of Little Feat says, " (Rag Mama Rag) is a tip of the hat to Levon Helm. It’s a great song and perfect for the Feat. Levon joins us on our cover of The Hooters ‘Gimmee A Stone." Well, not according to the credits on "Chinese Work Songs". Does anyone know different?

Single sax players in rock bands (as opposed to horn sections): Because British bands usually went from R&B via soul to progressive, the lone sax player had a chance to survive (after the full soul horn section got fired, possibly for heavy drinking). Dick Heckstall-Smith with Graham Bond Organization, Mick Eve on the first Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames album, Jim King on the first two Family albums, Jack Lancaster (Blodwyn Pig), John Helliwell with The Alan Bown Set (later with Supertramp), Dave Winthrop with the 1970-71 incarnation of Supertramp, Ron Caines with East of Eden, then in the 70s, Andy MacKay (Roxy Music). Van Morrison even blew a bit of sax with Them. As did Davey Jones, aka David Bowie, with Davey Jones & The Lower Third. If you add "woodwinds"/"winds" to the category, and progressive bands were particularly partial to a touch of flute, you can add Chris Wood (Traffic), Ian McDonald (King Crimson 1), Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull), Peter Gabriel (Genesis), Ray Thomas (Moody Blues). So, it wouldn’t have been unique if Jerry Penfound had stayed with The Hawks, and then The Band. It seems less likely in North America, possibly because there wasn’t much point in white bands doing ersatz soul revues. In the UK, bands might have dumped soul, but the sax player was great or their best friend or whatever, so a place was kept, and music arranged to suit.

Posted on Tue Aug 15 22:10:57 CEST 2000 from spider-te083.proxy.aol.com (152.163.195.213)

bob wigo

And the BEAT(les) go(es) on:

Paul McCartney makes new Beatles record

LONDON (Reuters) - Paul McCartney reportedly said Tuesday he had put together a new Beatles record -- 30 years after the chart-topping group split up.

The track ``Free Now'' is a collaboration between the former Beatle and Welsh pop group Super Furry Animals, and features out-takes from the Fab Four's recording sessions in the 1960s.

``It's a new little piece of the Beatles. 'Free Now' is an outbreak from my normal stuff,'' McCartney told Britain's Sun tabloid newspaper.

``It's more underground than what you usually hear from me, but I like to be free enough to do this sort of thing,'' he said.

``Free Now,'' which will appear on an album, features the voice of the late John Lennon. The former Beatle can be heard saying: ``OK Paul, you ready boy? This is it.''

The Sun said sounds from Liverpool, the Beatles' home city, had been woven into the track. They include the lapping of the River Mersey and a woman at McCartney's local fish and chip shop.

McCartney had been sending the track to disc jockeys and was coming under pressure to release it as a single, the Sun said.

Reuters/Variety

This calls to mind a wonderful quotation ...

"Now he has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion."

Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Posted on Tue Aug 15 21:16:56 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

mattk

Zappa wasn't much for idolartry, even his own, and he found much of his humor at the expense of his own audience - it's part of the drill for a Zappa fan. The only one's who get annoyed were the ones who didn't get that he was making fun of them until it was too late, but those were usually the guys providing the best humor.

None of that takes away from Tim's hard work, however. It's great to hear that his hard work came of well, and I'm sure everyone had a great time at Zappening 2000. Congrats Sundog!

Posted on Tue Aug 15 21:14:24 CEST 2000 from tcnet20-040.austin.texas.net (209.99.96.166)

LAURA HOLT

GEEZ!!! I go out of town for a few days..come back and furs flying all over the place!! I have read on down the line the various post from all the devoted fans. I must put my 2 cents in and say to Jan myself..PLEASE don't shut us down. I know if you must then it has to be done. I just found this site back last November when I moved from Houston to Austin. What a pleasure it has been to be able to make friends and enjoy the discussions back and forth about this great music from THE BAND. I shall keep my fingers crossed that the GB will continue to stay up and running! Missed the Robert Zimmerman A&E special since I was out of town. I hope they re-run it so that I can tape it for keeps. Hang in there everyone.."Life is very short..and there's no time for fussisng and fighting my friends..we can work it out" ok..enough Lennon/McCartney fer now!! PEACE!!

Posted on Tue Aug 15 21:13:20 CEST 2000 from host161-123-26-209.utelfla.com (209.26.123.161)

carmen

Good news on the RR soundtrack. Lets hope for a new release soon. August is a great month for BAND fans, I hope I don't run out of money! Can't wait for all the new stuff.

Posted on Tue Aug 15 20:46:56 CEST 2000 from spider-wg011.proxy.aol.com (205.188.196.21)

Bashful Bill

Yeah, me again. I know i've been in here a lot recently, but I wanted to share this. A little blurb in my local paper this AM carries the headline:"Fans of Frank Zappa make camp in Illinois". "hundereds of devoted Zappa fans have descended on Chillicothe Ill. outside of Peoria". "a dozen or so bands that toured with Zappa or play the kind of irreverent music he was known for" The article doesn't mention any of the organizors of Zappening 2000 by name, unfortunately. I'm sure Sundog has worked hard on his labor of love. The article takes a pretty cheap shot by saying FZ "probably wouldn't be caught dead there" and says he would "make fun" of the event.

Posted on Tue Aug 15 20:42:49 CEST 2000 from ric-wht-pxy-int02.wheatfirst.com (204.238.130.68)

Bones

NEW BAND-RELATED NEWS!

Robbie Robertson has five new tracks on the upcoming ANY GIVEN SUNDAY 2 soundtrack, which will be released Aug.29th. "Bended Knee", "Ghost Dance", "Amazing Grace", "Out Of The Blue", and "Inches Speech"(credited to Al Pacino and Robbie Robertson) are the titles to the tracks. Robbie scored this movie, and if I remember correctly, "Out Of The Blue" is a new version performed with Bill Dillon. Aug 29th will be a great Band day!

Posted on Tue Aug 15 18:56:27 CEST 2000 from (208.218.212.187)

David Powell

As Greil Marcus pointed out in his Salon on-line column last week, the A&E biography on Dylan was severely limited in access to material that they could legally use. Evidently, Dylan did not grant permission for them to use anything over which he controlled the rights. Add this to the fact that Dylan has always closely guarded his privacy, as well as his persona, and one can see why A&E was handicapped in their profile.

Regarding Dylan and saxophonists -- In the late '70s and during the '80s, when Dylan experimented with a large "Vegas-style" band, the legendary sax man, Steve Douglas toured & recorded with Dylan. The late Mr. Douglas can be heard on such albums as "Street Legal" (1978), "Live at Budokan" (1979), "Shot of Love" (1981) and "Knocked Out Loaded" (1986). Perhaps the best example of his collaboration with Dylan can be heard on the excellently remastered & remixed version of "Street Legal" that was released by Sony last year.

Posted on Tue Aug 15 18:37:06 CEST 2000 from spider-tp024.proxy.aol.com (152.163.204.184)

Bayou sam

Hey, this thing that Patricia and bob bring up about RR and Levon recording is cool. It's too bad they still can't be in the same room together. Maybe Levon is taking a different look at things these days. Maybe he listened to We Can Work It Out and it made him pause and think about things ( ya think Levon listens to Beatles CD's much? - nah) I just got Levon's drumming video off of e-bay. It's got some great footage in it. I think a Band fan would actually enjoy it as much, if not more, than a drum student. There are a number of performances by the Band on it that were taped at Bearsville Studios - including some classic tunes. I couldn't stop watching Rick and feeling a bit sad. The drum instruction stuff was taped at Levon's house. Forgive me if this video has been discussed befroe. I know it's been out awhile............... There is a Garth show/ Rick Danko memorial show this Saturday, way out on Long Island (New York). I am planning to go and I was wondering if any other of you might be going.

Posted on Tue Aug 15 18:23:27 CEST 2000 from spider-tp024.proxy.aol.com (152.163.204.184)

Bayou Sam

That's it. I'm leaving if little brother dosen't put on his pants

Posted on Tue Aug 15 16:21:43 CEST 2000 from spider-tr084.proxy.aol.com (152.163.201.214)

Bashful Bill

After my daily check of What's New I went to check the new dates fo the Guru's & while there I reviewed the various schedules for all of the Band alumni and noticed and was kind of blown away by how seriously Levon & the Barnburners(& Butch) are taking this touring thing. Also..I noticed that Richard Bell is noticible by his absence on the touring schedule. Last I heard he was being a sesssion man down in Nashville. Does anyone know- sessions with who? does sessions just mean recording sesions or does he ever tour as part of a backup band? Any info?

Posted on Tue Aug 15 16:03:01 CEST 2000 from p90.as1.drogheda1.eircom.net (159.134.211.90)

crazy chester

great site.great band

Posted on Tue Aug 15 15:32:04 CEST 2000 from ras4-1.icom.ca (209.47.242.194)

The Ancient One

GREETINGS FROM THE ANCIENT ONE . MY COMPLIMENTS ON YOUR SITE . I AM A PSYCHIC/METAPHYSICAL PRACTITIONER . I FOUND YOUR SITE INFORMATIVE AND ENTERTAINING . THANK YOU .

Posted on Tue Aug 15 15:30:48 CEST 2000 from revlukup2.clr.com (164.57.254.209)

Brown-Eyed Johnny

Wow-read this. http://www.bigmagic.com/pages/blackj/Column48.html

Posted on Tue Aug 15 11:22:33 CEST 2000 from (194.75.150.6)

Michael

Jan, this site is one of the best resources for any band I've seen on the web. I'm a relative newcomer to The Band, and it's been invaluable. Thank you, and thank you also to Levon & co. for the music. It saddens me that people see fit to abuse the GB. To whoever is responsible: Don't. It's not big and it's not clever.

Posted on Tue Aug 15 11:18:08 CEST 2000 from cf3k-3.paradise.net.nz (203.96.152.183)

Rod

Jan, your patience is legendary. Can every one who is not interested in The Band please sod off and let the rest of us enjoy thid great site.

As the sax died in the sixties I sort of wish the guitar would do the same thing now. I don't know what would replace it but there are just too many predicatable guitar based bands around now.

Posted on Tue Aug 15 10:30:36 CEST 2000 from hoiberg.hiof.no (158.36.51.55)

jh

Some of you may have noticed a weird Javascript error when loading the guestbook yesterday afternoon.

"dude", posting at 23:03:35 from 208.222.224.123, entered a little Javascript that, if it had worked, would have made your mouse pointer look a bit strange (see this page for a demo).

This is not an acceptable use of the guestbook. The ability to post HTML-code (and Java) is meant to give users a chance to format their entries, with paragraphs and such. Inserting Java programs and code that radically alters the look of the page is abuse and will not be tolerated.

Of course, Javascripts and Applets are supposed to be "harmless", as they are always locked in the Java "sandbox" at runtime, without access to your disc and your I/O. And this time it was a harmless script posted by a clueless newbie that had no chance to make it work. Next time it may be scripts that e.g. changes the look of your browser window, so you have to restart it. Things like this will confuse many users.

I am now working on a revision of the guestbook program, that will filter out HTML and Java, but still making it possible to break the text into paragraphs.

Until then, if this Javascript thing happens one more time, I have no other choice than to close the guestbook until the new version is ready. It's taking too much of my time to monitor and maintain the guestbook already.

And, of course, it may be a coincidence that this happened the same day certain visitors here were told to leave.

Posted on Tue Aug 15 09:17:58 CEST 2000 from proxy3-external.msnv1.occa.home.com (24.4.254.50)

J. Katz [again]

Check out the above address for stuff on Dylan and the Band from Al Aronowitz.

Posted on Tue Aug 15 08:25:49 CEST 2000 from proxy1-external.msnv1.occa.home.com (24.4.254.46)

Jonathan Katz

My 2 cents on the Dylan A&E Biography:

In general: Superficial! Little commentary on lyrics much beyond the fact that they can be cryptic! Nothing on the album "Infidels." After his born-again trilogy this album is probably one of his most important [considering the importance of his secular phase - which too many dismiss probably because they are not comfortable with it]. Also, I thought that the comentators were poorly utilized. Certainly Dave Von Ronk was good for early Dylan, but beyond that forget it. Bring in those more involved in those later stages. The "SDS guy" [Todd Gitlins, I think] should have given commentary on the relation of Dylan to "the movement." But beyond that, why him? Have someone who knows about music talk about music. Where were the Dylan biographers: Shelton, Spitz, or even Heylin; or the great commentators: Williams, or Marcus?

I agree with Jon Lyness that there was too much attention to pre-1967 work, however, with Dylan I can understand the attention given to that period - its just too rich, and its preamble for what followed. They would have needed twice the time to give his whole career the same depth of treatment that they did for the pre-1967 period.

I agree with MattK, that the program did little to provide an understanding of Dylan the artist, or his true effect on music or culture, though it did state that he had that influence. To me, the best theory on Dylan the artist is put forward by Shelton.

Pehr - I also loved Levon's singing "Dont Ya Tell Henry." Given the circumstances: what a beautiful sound! MattK - I hope that it was filmed long ago, and that his voice has rebounded more! And BTW you should quit smoking. My father went cold turkey with no problems after a quadruple by-pass. His cardiologist said: "Quitting smoking is easy. I've seen most of my patients do it without difficulty. Its all motivation."

BWNWITennessee: My view on the complete Basement Tapes - Its pretty remarkable that an unreleased set of songs was even mentioned on the A&E program [very mainstream], and for that matter that a book was published about them. That is respect IMHO. So for my money, the best of the bunch is "All You Have To Do Is Dream."

Miscellaneous: Its reported that Blondie Chaplin appears on Jim Keltner's latest collaboration with Charlie Watts. The "Charlie Watts Jim Keltner Project" features Watts on drums, Keltner as "sonic alchemist" on many electronic and acoustic instruments. The disc contains nine tracks which take their titles from the names of important jazz drummers like Art Blakey, Elvin Jones and the late Tony Williams.

Posted on Tue Aug 15 07:36:35 CEST 2000 from pm3-pt32.pcnet.net (206.105.29.106)

Laura P.

BWNWITennessee: I completely agree about the basement tapes songs being underrated. My favourite basement tape song is Ruben Remus; it's also my favourite Band song, period.

Of just the unreleased basement tapes songs, there are so many that are excruciatingly pleasurable to listen to... I love all the ones I included on the CD-R that I talked about in my post below. I could babble on and on about any of those.

I have no idea what the lyrics to "All You Have To Do Is Dream" mean (what is a "floor bird"??) but the way the song moves along... oh man... it's just bliss. The harmonizing at the end just tops it all off. I also can't take "I'm A Fool For You," for the same reason. Beautiful. Just the feel... I even love it when they mess up the chord changes; it's so cool to hear the guys talking (I wish I was better at identifying whose voice is whose, though) and getting things down.

"Bring It On Home" is really cool... I like the part where Richard says to Bob, "Oh, I can't ad-lib like you..." But Bob's nice and says, "Okay, I'll sing it." :-) These guys have the goofiest-sounding laughs I have ever heard in my life.

"I Am A Teenage Prayer" is marvellous, just marvellous. Ahh! And, of course, I adore "Ferdinand the Imposter." (I don't like the non-cut version on the Crossing the Great Divide set much, though. It's far too breezy!) Rick's singing on "Ferdinand" is sooo... well, Rick's the only person who could possibly sing that way. It's classic. And the lyrics are up there in the tradition of Ruben Remus and The Weight. Ferdinand is such a loveable, crazy figure...

Richard's "Beautiful Thing" (on the CtGD set) and "You Say You Love Me" are beyond gorgeous. Two more of my favourites of all time. I love Robbie's mile-away whine on "You Say You Love Me" and everything about Richard's vocals. The whole thing sends tingles up my spine. I play it over and over.

"One Single River" makes me think of the relationship between Robbie and Levon. :-/

Posted on Tue Aug 15 07:28:50 CEST 2000 from ip128.portland.me.pub-ip.psi.net (38.11.101.128)

mattk

I guess the problem, vis a vis saxophones in rock is illustrated by the responses. The fact that the sax is interpreted as a less powerful instrument on the volume scale is not necessarily accurate, assuming sufficient re-enforcement is available.

After all, a sax is MUCH louder than most human voices left unmiked.

The fact that it is assumed a sax MUST be the way we hear it is a direct result of the role it's forced into. However, as any John Zorn fan can attest (or closer to home, Lenny Pickett) the sax is capable of a HUGE range of sounds and timbres, most of which are rarely tapped. I run into this preconception all the time when I hook up with guitarists who say "play this way," and while I often do play "that way" I always as "why?"

Believe me, I've played in bands that make your ears bleed, and was in no way shape or form buried. I point curious listeners to the band Mr. Bungle or the Borneo Horns for proof that *foowah foowah* and *honk honk* are but two sounds we can make.

So my question stands. Assuming a sax had been available to Dylan (no offense to Garth, but I don't think he played sax with Dylan, nor do I think he has the sax-as-guitarist mentality it would require to make the sonic dents I'm thinking of), imagine the possibilities. Sound re-enforcement that supported the electrified sax, a la Eddie Harris, and later Michael Brecker, might have evolved at the same speed as the electronic advances guitarists enjoy.

Posted on Tue Aug 15 06:36:15 CEST 2000 from stk-pm1-25-153.dialup.slip.net (207.171.230.153)

Guenevere

In the Dylan A&E Biography, I really loved the several interesting segments with Dave Von Ronk describing Bob as a young man starting out. Also the "SDS guy" gave a great historical point of view, in fact everyone, Happy Traum, Al Aronowitz, Elliot Landy, and the guy from Rolling Stone was particulary good too, they all helped to add their own puzzle pieces nicely. I always loved the way Bob handled the press, once when asked in an interview how he would like to be remembered he said "As a song and dance man"... (how totally cool). And in case anyone missed it, at the end of the show it was mentioned that Bob has an upcoming "variety show" in the making for HBO.

Dave Z, I noticed the anti counter-culture slant as well, showing violence in the street, and saying something derogatory about the ‘60's generation.... when actually as I recall, the violence was usually being committed by the police at anti-war rallies. Its funny that the media doesn't have any problem showing the violence committed by police to people of color during the Civil Rights demonstrations, but to this day they still portray the Anti-War Protestors as the ones causing violence at the anti war rallies, when except for a few incidents it was anything but. A friend of mine, pointed out to me that this propaganda began in the ‘70's after Charlie Manson's trial, with the advent of ‘Rambo', and when suddenly every TV crime drama had a criminal that was a guy with long hair.... (do you think it had an effect ?)

Posted on Tue Aug 15 06:31:29 CEST 2000 from host-209-214-115-99.bna.bellsouth.net (209.214.115.99)

BWNWITennessee

Since Laura P. mentioned the complete Basement Tapes, and some of the songs on there seem to not get the respect they deserve, how 'bout a thread of everyone's favorites? There are so many amazing things on there, they really need to release it as a legitimate product. I think it contains some of the best music of The Band and Bob Dylan's careers. I think the Basement Tapes are criminally underrated by most music historians; they're as important as Elvis' Sun sessions or Robert Johnson's stuff. Maybe it's because they're not as influential as those two is why they don't get the attention they deserve. Everyone here needs to find a copy if you don't already have one, it's just as important to The Band's history and rock music in general as Big Pink and the Brown Album. So here're some of my favorites (forgive any errors in the titles) - Sign on the Cross, A Fool Such As I, Rock Salt and Nails, She's Not Here (1956), Still in Town, You Say You Love Me, One For The Road. I just love One For The Road, I love Robbie's guitar part. Didn't Frank Sinatra do a version of it?

Posted on Tue Aug 15 06:30:19 CEST 2000 from pm3-pt15.pcnet.net (206.105.29.89)

Laura P.

The CD-R I am giving away has now been officially snatched up. :-)

Posted on Tue Aug 15 06:14:41 CEST 2000 from ch8smc.bellglobal.com (206.47.244.58)

uncle bob

well i'm not sure what happened to my post 10 min. ago but one more time..... robbie robertson and levon were closer than that patricia levon recorded the bed tracks at bath studios...bath ontario (tragically hips place) near kingston and a month later i had the pleasure of seeing?hearing robbie set the guitar lead at metalworks in toronto 2 1/2 hours apart they were ....who knows ,,,the start of something....hmmmmmm i was able with permission to get some fabulous pics if anyone would like to get e-mail me.....peace bobs yer uncle

Posted on Tue Aug 15 06:00:42 CEST 2000 from ch8smc.bellglobal.com (206.47.244.58)

unclebob

yes thats true i watched robbie lay the guitar down in mississauga,ontario at metalworks studio june 27/2000...and have some excellant photos if anyone is interested....levon started the sessions in "bath, ontario" at tragically hips studio 3 hrs from where robbie laid guitar tracks a month later. peace bobs yer uncle

Posted on Tue Aug 15 05:51:33 CEST 2000 from proxy-343.public.rwc.webtv.net (209.240.200.43)

Patricia

I just heard the most interesting thing....Robbie and Levon have recorded a song together for The Hawk's new record....don't get too excited yet.....Robbie recorded the guitar stuff in Canada and Levon recorded the drum stuff way off somewhere's else.

Posted on Tue Aug 15 05:31:27 CEST 2000 from spider-tl034.proxy.aol.com (152.163.207.189)

Seeker

Is anybody familiar with a Band CD (also by Levon and the Hawks, probably a bootleg i guess) called OLD SHOES? There is one on EBay and it looks fantastic but things on EBay can get expensive and i'd like to be sure. Thank you all for your knowledge and your love of the Band. Thankss.

Posted on Tue Aug 15 05:17:18 CEST 2000 from pm3-pt40.pcnet.net (206.105.29.114)

Laura P.

I'm working on my Jersey City 1973 song by song comparison (between the July 31 and August 1 concerts, that is)... I'm about half finished. Truly a fascinating study. I'll share it when it's done.

Which reminds me... I have an extra CD-R that I don't need any more, and I'd like to give it away to someone who would appreciate it. It's one I made, just for my own enjoyment, with my favourite selections from The Genuine Basement Tapes set (with a few songs from the released Basement Tapes included as well, because I like them and wanted to listen to them); the reason I don't need it any more is that I've made an updated version with a couple more songs and different versions of songs. I was just going to throw away my old one, but then I thought... hey, wait a minute, there's probably someone out there who'd hasn't heard this stuff, who'd consider tossing this disc a crime! So, if anyone wants it (only if you don't already have the Genuine Basement Tapes 4-disc set, and live in the US, please) please e-mail me, and I'll mail it to you for free. The music isn't *all* The Band... a bunch of the selections are mainly Dylan, but most of the ones I chose are pretty Band-centric. Here's the tracklisting:

You Ain’t Goin' Nowhere, All You Have To Do Is Dream, I'm A Fool For You, Bring It On Home, I Am A Teenage Prayer, All American Boy, See You Later Allen Ginsberg, Don't Know Why They Kick My Dog, If I Lose Let Me Lose, Bessie Smith, Katie's Been Gone, Ruben Remus, You Ain't Goin' Nowhere, Ferdinand the Imposter, Four Strong Winds, Still In Town, Rock Salt and Nails, Big River, Waltzing With Sin, A Fool Such As I, One Single River, You Say You Love Me, I'm Alright

Posted on Tue Aug 15 04:44:26 CEST 2000 from www-cache.vuw.ac.nz (130.195.2.96)

Amanda

Interesting comment Dave Z about the mud people bad- Kerouac good trend that seems to be developing in the media. Anyone who is interested in history and counterculture of the 60s might be interested in this odd article I just read (Click homepage above).

It's a review of book that seems to be anti-counterculture generally. It uses language such as "the malevolence and menace" of counterculture and traces a path of nihilism, destruction and general bad stuff from the Beats to the late 60's. Doesn't mention Bob Dylan directly but, as was discussed a while back, he is a descendant of the beats. Weird Although, I respect the BANDs apartness from some aspects of it- notably the importance of kin stance they took- I've always thought of the counterculture of the 60s as being very moral. As Dave Z said maybe people are focusing too much on the bad stuff.

One final tangent- on the subject of descendants from the Beats I am a huge Morphine fan so I was pleased to see them mentioned here…But apart from the fact that I'm fan of both I can't think of any possible connection or way that they are like the Band so won't say any more about that.

Posted on Tue Aug 15 04:39:51 CEST 2000 from (203.103.135.138)

Michael

Dear Matt K, I agree with you re sax players in rock & roll but having seen Dylan and the band in 1966 it is hard to imagine a sax player finding room to add to the music, it was so loud, Micky Jones hit the drums harder than anyone I have seen before or since and Dylan was screeming to get heard over the booing, it was really bizarre, there were fights going on in the audience between people (like myself) who thought something special was going on and those who just thought they should boo because everyone else was.

Posted on Tue Aug 15 04:27:18 CEST 2000 from mat-12-61.enter.net (207.16.159.117)

Little Brøther

-- I don't have cable TV or a DVD player at the moment, and I'm feeling all left out and sulky about this Dylan special. Still, it doesn't do to get all petulant and withdrawn and whatnot, so:

-- Thanks for the Mr. Ed theme music, the tip on the Elliott Landy site, Carol Caffin's heartfelt comments; in short, Thanks For the Memories

-- Putting myself in Wayback Machine Sampler Mode (nice segue, eh?), sax wouldn't have fit in with Dylan's '66 tour, Master Garth's presence notwithstanding. To echo what others have said, the noble saxophone was eclipsed in mainstream rock of the day (or whatever the scholars and musicologists label it). For better or worse, the overdriven, amped-up electric lead guitar had the Big Mo' as the preferred rich, throaty, edgy, sexy, serrated melodic voice.

Hard to believe that the sax seemed, well, corny in this context, but it did. There were horn sections lurking around in jazz-rock ensembles, R & B, and Motown, but not in straight rock bands of that era. I'm just recalling the sensibilities operating then-- for example, my fellow Band freaks and I weren't quite sure what to make of horns on "Cahoots" and ROA! We mulled over whether it was some sort of "gimmick"-- ignorant, callow youths that we were. (We decided they sounded pretty cool, though, so we weren't beyond hope.) The fact that horns were integral to the Band's albums from the beginning simply escaped us, or we unconsciously distinguished between horn parts carefully incorporated for overall mood and texture vs. out-front horns as in "horn section" or Garth blowing sax.

Yeah, sax was a jazz instrument, even (gack) a band instrument with a small "b", but not something to rock with. It was cool to hear a very processed sax thrown in to a hit like "Lady Madonna", but even the Beatles (Paul?) toned it down instead of showcasing it in its full power and glory. Strange how fashions work...

-- And now for something completely different: I can't help but wonder, with all this renewed interest in Big Pink, whether New York real estate law requires realtors and lessors to disclose significant historical facts about a property. I wish all the pilgrims well, and if I ever break my reclusive habits long enough to get out that way, I'd surely thrill as I closed in on Big Pink space and made that first direct visual sighting. Still, I hope for the residents' sake that they know what they're inhabiting! I keep picturing some privacy-loving, retiring schmo taking over the place, maybe setting up a lawn chair or hammock beside his beloved petunia patch, only to be constantly beseiged by a procession of dewy or wide-eyed Bandophiliacs, staggering by him like zombies to lay a trembling hand on the siding, asking for tours, clutching his frayed lapels, accidently knocking over his hard cider... I have one request, offered with all possible empathy and understanding: Do not, please do not use any implement, crowbar, pry bar, chisel, shovel, keyhole saw, or edged tool to carve, sever, or extract any part of the property for souvenir purposes.

Actually, I think we should petition George Harrison to buy the place and turn it into a Band Museum! And offer Jan right of first refusal to the post of live-in curator should he decide to retire to the US.

-- P.S. I do understand the reasons for the flood of well-meaning admonishments, reminders, and exhortations to remain on our Very Best Behavior and Stay On Topic. Indeed. Still, with all due respect, I must conclude with this admission: I'm not wearing any pants...

Posted on Tue Aug 15 04:09:11 CEST 2000 from spider-wg021.proxy.aol.com (205.188.196.26)

Mike Sims

In april I went to Joyous Lake to catch Levon & the Barn Burners, what a cool band !!!! Yesterday I saw Big Pink. What a thrill it was to see.

Posted on Tue Aug 15 04:07:01 CEST 2000 from ip206-105-147.netusa1.net (216.206.105.147)

MS. SUGAR

PATRICIA: Do Not E-mail me again. Yes, freak, I was talking to Serge. Since when did state hospitals let their patients use computers? What is your problem with Canada anyway? I know there's obviously something wrong with you, but take it elsewhere. Your comments on RR's message board have upset me enough. Like I said, weirdo, That was ME you were referring to and not ahroo. Don't even get me started again. I'll e-mail your ass like I did last time. JAN:get her out of here...please... I missed the Dylan special. I had an upset baby last night. Thanks for writing all about it everyone. BTW, lyrics to The Weight, along with chord changes are on this site, as well as directions to big pink, I think. If not, I know where it's at. MS. S.

Posted on Tue Aug 15 03:43:36 CEST 2000 from dialup-360.cork.iol.ie (193.203.148.104)

HANK

UH..............Does anyone from The UK or Ireland lookin' in here know when this Dylan documentary is gonna be on Channel 4 or somewhere?.......Has it been on already? Peter Viney ?.....OK.......I thought the "Ish" thread was really informative, folks, THANKS!!!!!!....but LO and Behold (Ho! HO! HO!)........IS THERE footage of The '74 tour?........yea or nay?......THAT I would love to see.....OH Yeah,......'afore I go.........WHY is'nt "Eat The Document" out on video yet?......Wassa problem there?..........Are they all scared of hearing The Booooooooos!!!!! again, perhaps? ......that's a pretty daunting reality to revisit And know that people will have it at home watchin' it for kicks........What'cha reckon?............I'm hoping to purchase tickets for the performance of Bob Dylan and his band in Dublins Point Depot on Thursday, Sept 14........tomorrow...............I'd love to know what anyone here in The GB thinks I'm gonna see 'n' hear......hearin' sea?.............seeyahearya later............

Posted on Tue Aug 15 02:51:13 CEST 2000 from proxy3-external.owml1.md.home.com (24.4.252.28)

Richard Baker

My friend and I are trekking from Baltimore to Woodstock this weekend. We have been talking for years about making the pilgrimage to the sites where so much wonderful music was created. Please e-mail me privately if you can provide directions to Big Pink or any other sites of interest

Posted on Tue Aug 15 02:40:19 CEST 2000 from spider-tp022.proxy.aol.com (152.163.204.182)

Dave Z

Re: A&E on Dylan... Didn't seem like a lot of woman talked about Bob?... On the other hand, I liked finding out who that first artsy girlfriend was that I have always seen in pics... I would have liked a little more on wife Sara... I also don't like the way history is starting to talk about Woodstock and hippies which worked its way into this show... I think it ignores the positives, it's like Kerouac good, mudpeople bad... I also couldn't help but think about what Van said about creating art... i.e. it's in the doing... Bob's comments as reported seemed to be in the same vein... I also liked how they zoomed in on each member of the Band... taking their time... They had a little writeup in the Mpls Star Tribune advertising the show and it seemed to indicate Bob didn't really help out or maybe care too much about supporting the program... anybody read something similar?...

Posted on Tue Aug 15 01:31:31 CEST 2000 from (209.19.78.25)

frank dracman

I went to CDNOW and noticed stage fringt cd for only 6.50 any fool who doesnt own -- I bought Dylan Self portrait although Ive never heard a good review I own most of the mid 60s-early 70 and this was only 10.50 (?)(for 20 tracks). I didnt buy the 1 of 4 levon solo cds I dont own. I dont know why - the first self titled, I like RCO a lot(#1)then Id put American Son and 3rd the 2nd self titled. Lately all I listen to is Jesse James (Its excellent) I bought it in the last year with White Mansions (which is also very good)

Posted on Tue Aug 15 01:17:58 CEST 2000 from athe530-e013.otenet.gr (212.205.247.13)

pretty little girl

Re bob dylan: the expecting rain website has lots on Dylan/nobel prize nomination. Also have a look at Elliot Landy's photos of him in the 60's. Landy's link from this site will lead you to his portfolio. Band photos as well. Rick horsing around under a waterfall etc... peace, huda siksek.

Posted on Tue Aug 15 01:10:44 CEST 2000 from ppp13.a1-2.56k.execulink.com (209.239.1.141)

Paul Godfrey

MattK

You put forth some interesting thoughts on the Bob Dylan A&E special.

Essentially the program was about 1 hour too long. Why? After seeing and meeting Bob Dylan at Massey Hall in April of 1965 and again at the party after the Last Waltz I can assure you I am a big fan.

There are strange events missing. Three come to mind. The "Before The Flood" tour. I caught one of the Canadian Dates at Maple Leaf Gardens Toronto. There must be footage of that tour and commentary around. What about "The Travelling Wilbury's?" Me thinks that was a major musical milestone in the last quarter of the last century. Not a mention. Yes we saw Tom Petty...but no interview or association with TW. Getting back to The Last Waltz...The video clips are available and certainly many contemporary artists and peer group folks that might have commented. Strange. Maybe there were copywrite problems. For my viewing time...they had to rehash too many of the same photos over and over again. Sure good to see Levon. In fact that was the highlight for me. But then again I am Band biased.

Would welcome any other thoughts or comments. Shine On! ;0)

Posted on Tue Aug 15 00:59:01 CEST 2000 from host-209-214-113-198.bna.bellsouth.net (209.214.113.198)

BWNWITennessee

Just when I'm feelin' riled up, everybody else is gettin' all shiny happy on me.

And HEY NOW, what's all this talk about if Bob Dylan would have wanted a saxaphone on his electric tour? You guys ever hear of someone named Garth who was along on that trip?

Posted on Tue Aug 15 00:24:32 CEST 2000 from sjiassoc16.erols.com (208.58.12.144)

Jon Lyness

I can't resist chiming in about the A&E program--I may not be a Dylan scholar but I am surely a fan! My biggest beef with what I thought was a reasonably well-done program (and I agree with your comments, MattK, that the treatment was somewhat superficial), was that (as usual!) not a lot of attention was given to Dylan's post-1966 work, save for Blood on the Tracks. I tuned into the 10 pm showing at 11:25, and they were only up to 1967 -- not a good sign, IMHO. I realize that Dylan's "significance" will always be as an icon of the early/mid 60s, etc, but I don't quite get how a program that supposes to tell about his life story & career can skim through 1967-1999 so quickly. They missed out on some fascinating periods of his life--as well as a hell of a lot of great music. And of course, correcting this imbalance would have given them a chance to talk more about a certain group he worked with in 1967-1976...

Posted on Tue Aug 15 00:22:34 CEST 2000 from spider-wq071.proxy.aol.com (205.188.200.190)

Ruby

Thank you David Powell for the info on Blondie....and you too Joe....whoever you are!!! Just got back from Syracuse for 3 days of blues!! Excellent time. I witnessed Bashful Bill getting his Pinetop tee shirt signed by the man himself...and once again forgot the camera!! Next trip will be in Sept to see the Gurus at the Joyous Lake Hope a bunch of you will be there. Peace to all (and to Downstate Rick) Ruby

Posted on Mon Aug 14 23:56:48 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

MattK

Not sure if Studs was "involved" in Dylan's career, per se (poor wording on my part, sorry). Last night, however, the A&E biography referenced Terkel's 1963 interview with Dylan a number of times when trying to establish Dylan's elusive state of mind in his own terms. I thought that barring more interviews with people involved with Dylan directly or influenced heavily by him at various points in his career, a bigger helping of such interview material, particularly from a giant like Studs, would have given the program a better perspective on Dylan the man as much as Dylan the icon. As it was, the program, to me, was a very good annotated timeline, but did not really get to the meat of understanding Dylan or his true effect on music or culture in his time (though it often made broad references to the FACT of such an effect).

We have a number of people on the GB who are also great Dylan fans/scholars/collectors. I'd be curious as to their take on the program...

matt

Posted on Mon Aug 14 23:46:19 CEST 2000 from du-tele3-064.mailbox.co.uk (195.82.121.64)

Peter Viney

A very timely word from Jan, and suddenly the book is back to talking about music. And a lot of people who've sat quietly through the last few weeks reappear. Good stuff.

Re: Jerry Penfound. I'll be back soon with thoughts on solo sax players in the late 60s (rather than in larger horn sections in bands like BST & Chicago). Dick Heckstall-Smith is the first thought. Others will follow!

Posted on Mon Aug 14 23:40:22 CEST 2000 from www-cache.vuw.ac.nz (130.195.2.96)

Amanda

This may be getting a little off topic but I was intrigued by Mattk's comment about Studs Terkel's involvement with Dylan's career. I'm familiar with Studs Terkel as the writer of "Working" which, as you may know, is a very significant series of interviews with American working people. I wasn't aware he'd had any involvement with Dylan.

If anyone knows more, I would be very interested to know more about the connection between Studs Terkel and Dylan. Were they connected in Dylan's pre-Hawks days through political activism or was it just that Studs Terkel interviewed Dylan a number of times? Has he written about Dylan and/the Band? If he has I'd imagine his thoughts would be a good complement to Greil Marcus.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 23:03:35 CEST 2000 from (208.222.224.123)

dude

Posted on Mon Aug 14 22:56:03 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

Matt K

Thanks, Bill.

Of course, hindsight is all I have - I was born in early June of 1966, a matter of days after the Dylan/Hawks tour ended. You are of course correct, that many months on the road is a lifetime to a musician on the road, particularly those musicians on that particular hard-living road.

You actually touched on the thread I was headed toward. A sort of "what if" you might say. It's easy to cast Penfound in a Pete Best role with The Hawks, but of course, it would be neither fair or accurate. Pete WAS derailed on the cusp on the Beatles' stardom, in part to get them over the hump and make them stars.

It seems like Jerry's decision was more about life - how you want to live it and where. In some ways, though they are/were very different people, I'm sure, Robbie's decision in 1976 and Jerry's decision in 1964 have strong parallels, complete with a kind of estrangement from Levon in subsequent years.

I wonder though, "what if" Jerry had stuck it out? Like you ask, would Dylan have wanted a sax player? If so, how might it have changed our notion of a rock and roll band? The sax was THE dominant rock and roll solo instrument up until the mid-sixities. If a man the stature of Dylan had rolled out with a sixth, sax-playing Hawk, I wonder if other bands would have gone "gee, WE should get a sax player."

Instead, history tells us that there was no sax player, and the psychedelic and hard-rock movements that came of age in the late-sixties featured virtually no sax work. If not for the Memphis and Motown soul movements giving the Memphis Horns and Junior Walker life (respectively) or James Brown's JBs with Maceo Parker or Earth Wind and Fire, the sax would be virtually extinct from our modern rock vocabulary, save the occasional star turn by Phil Woods on a Steely Dan or Billie Joel album, or the studio glitz of Chicago or Blood Sweat and Tears.

Horns in general have become a lost art in rock, I find, except under revival movements like the swing bands (a la "Big Bad Voodoo Daddies" or ska bands like the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. How many sax/horn uses are truly original in this day and age? Frankly, other than John Zorn's work with Mr. Bungle, Dana Colley in Morphine, and to a lesser degree, Leroi Moore from Dave Matthews Band, there's not much going on.

I just wonder how history might have been different. It intrigues me to no end that the biggest historical facts hinge on the smallest, most personal decisions. Assuming Dylan would have WANTED a sax, how might our musical vocubulary have changed if Ish has been on that pivotal tour in 1965-66.

matt

Posted on Mon Aug 14 22:13:52 CEST 2000 from gw.itac.ca (209.146.161.1)

Bill

Mattk: There was no doubt more to it than this, but Penfound told me he left the Hawks some months after they left Hawkins because a six- or seven-man (counting Bruce Bruno) bar band is too expensive.

I don't think it's correct to say - except in hindight, which tends to compress time - that he left on the 'eve' of Dylan. There were months of slogging before that opportunity presented itself - and that would have felt like forever for those living it at the time. He must have wished, some days, that he'd been able to stay on, but would Dylan have wanted a sax player? And even if he had, he would presumably have wound up living in a nice house with a wife and some instruments. Which is probably what he wound up with anyway.

Penfound died of cancer just a few years ago. I doubt he was ever considered for the reconstructed Band - he just wasn't in their orbit. (I believe the '77(?) Hawkins gig at the Beverly Hills was the first time he and Levon had seen each other in more than 10 years.)

Posted on Mon Aug 14 21:43:35 CEST 2000 from m198214182037.austin.cc.tx.us (198.214.182.37)

Pehr

Saw the Dylan A&E Biography. Really enjoyed it. I thought it was a helluva presentation. Loved the pan of Big Pink... I only knew it from one or two angles previously. I loved Levon's singin' "Dont ya tell Henry" though it sounded painful - I hope the healing effects his music has benefitted us helps him too. There were just miles of roads travelled in his voice. My only regret is that there was no mention of "Planet Waves" and "Tour '74", very high water marks indeed.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 21:41:07 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

MattK

The Hawks photo in the A&E Biography on Dylan was the same found on this site and in Levon's book. Noticed last night, however, that they cropped poor Jerry Penfound from the picture.

Question to some of our historical masters (Mssrs Donabie, Munson, Serge), what were the issues that led to "Ish's" departure from the Hawks on the eve of their working with Dylan? Did Jerry ever voice any regrets given the Band's latter day success?

Resources here are unclear, though the long bio claims that Ish left in 1964 as a kind of ripple effect from the separation from Hawkins. I thought Ish continued with the Hawks for awhile after leaving Hawkins prior to returning to Canada. I'm sure Levon's book covers this in some way, but I don't recall, and do not have the book handy.

Also, when and how did Jerry die? If it was more recently, was he ever considered for the reconstituted Band (a la Stan Szelest's performances and appearance on "Jericho")?

Matt

Posted on Mon Aug 14 21:35:54 CEST 2000 from (12.40.113.50)

bob wigo

Danny: Al Aronowitz has quite a history as a New York city journalist who befriended Dylan. There is a lot of information available on-line. Without going into detail here's a note from a Who's Who on BD.

Aronowitz, Al

New York journalist and supporter of Dylan; he introduced him to the Beatles in 1964, co-authored an article with him in 1965, and remained in contact throughout his Woodstock period.

Clinton Heylin:"Bob Dylan: Behind The Shades, a Biography"

Posted on Mon Aug 14 21:14:15 CEST 2000 from spider-tf074.proxy.aol.com (152.163.197.209)

Bashful Bill

Dave the Phone Guy-I thought they should have at least mentioned the BTF tour, it was Dylan's first real tour since he had dropped out of sight,(and what a tour it was!). I thought the Dylan/Dead collaborations should have merited a mention also...Bayou Sam-You're correct about Levon's excellent vocal on the BTF Cripple Creek, but I think the LW version is even hotter. And the LW Dixie is arguably Levon's best, at least most passionate vocal(IMHO of course)...G-Man, are you going to JL on 9/1?

Posted on Mon Aug 14 21:06:03 CEST 2000 from unionppp5.union.edu (149.106.172.6)

Danny Lopez

Does anyone know anything about the guy interviewed on the Dylan A&E biography who was listed as "guitar tech/musician"? I forget his name already, but he certainly seemed to know Dylan intimately. And what about Al Aronowitz? What's his story?

Thanks.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 20:54:13 CEST 2000 from ip-120.dial.wans.com (64.7.64.120)

Molly Z.

I watched Bob Dylan on A&E last night, and I was a little disappointed that they didn't even talk about him being in The Last Waltz with The Band. They also didn't mention the whole Dylan birthday party back in '94 (I think), if any of you guys remember that. I was really happy to hear Levon singing a little bit. My dad says that he looks like he's 10 years older than he is!! To me, he doesn't.

I must admit that I shouldn't have blown my top in my previous post when I did, and I should have kept it confidetual. So I am extremely sorry if I'm close to blowing it for everyone else here. So I'll just stick to the music. :-)

Jan, you have done a really fantastic job on keeping this website up and running. I would hate to see this GB & the chatroom shut down, forever. So please don't do that and we will for now on cooperate. Thanks.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 20:44:24 CEST 2000 from (209.32.133.41)

Pete Rivard

Bill Monroe's name appeared in an earlier post. I think our generation's Bill Monroe (meaning "boomers") will be Bob Dylan, and maybe Neil Young as well. Nice article on Neil Young in a recent New York Times magazine. Hat's off to anybody still grinding out original music in their 50's and 60's. By the way, Dylan's "Times Have Changed" is a GREAT song. Rates right up with his best early and mid-career stuff.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 20:38:22 CEST 2000 from gw.itac.ca (209.146.161.1)

Bill

Bumbles, thanks for raising the topic of horticulture. Did the Band record any songs about flowers? ("Strawberry Wine" and "Ain't No More Cane" strike me as closies, since they at least belong to the vegetable realm.)

Posted on Mon Aug 14 20:28:43 CEST 2000 from 56k-la-01-28.dial.qnet.com (209.221.212.91)

Dave the Phone Guy

Mr.Hoiberg,I've been visiting your guestbook for three years or so now and really admire all the effort you put into this site.THANKYOU very much.

Let's get Rick Danko's newest certified gold.(at least guestbook viewer certified gold)Anyone who hasn't ordered yet forget the bills,forget this month's budget and please order "Times Like These".Order one for a friend that should have it also.

I wish A&E would have shown some Before the Food tour footage but the picture of the young Hawks marvelous.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 20:28:02 CEST 2000 from (208.218.212.187)

David Powell

In answer to Ruby's question regarding Blondie Chaplin--In recent years he's been touring & recording with the Rolling Stones. He also appears on the recently released Beach Boys CD "Greatist Hits Vol. 3: Best of the Brother Years". As a member of that group in the early '70s, he can be singing on such songs as "Sail On, Sailor".

Posted on Mon Aug 14 20:01:21 CEST 2000 from stk-pm1-24-152.dialup.slip.net (207.171.230.152)

Guenevere

Bumbles: oops you're correct! But in this case, I say it was Oscar Wilde and the word was "can".... you should feel bad for picking on someone who can't even spell their own name... tsk.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 19:49:02 CEST 2000 from flowbie2-outside.csc.com (192.251.173.34)

Luke

Patricia - or whatever your name is: Pleeeze stop the negative posts. I don't post here often, but I've been visiting this site for years. Jan puts in so much time and effort for our benefit, so don't blow it for everyone else! If you don't like what's discussed here, then GO AWAY!

Posted on Mon Aug 14 19:41:29 CEST 2000 from spider-wj064.proxy.aol.com (205.188.198.49)

Bayou Sam

Wouldn't it really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really suck, if Jan had to shut this site down. His last post should be a wake up call......................how about Levon's vocal on "Cripple Creek" off of the Before The Flood CD! He was feelin' good that nite.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 19:21:54 CEST 2000 from client-151-198-114-224.nnj.dialup.bellatlantic.net (151.198.114.224)

Bumbles

Guenevere: "You can lead a whore to culture, but you can't make her think." And it's Dorothy Parker---not Oscar Wilde.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 18:41:36 CEST 2000 from cic-proxy02.firstunion.com (169.200.25.141)

Bones

I thought the Band was well-represented last night on the A&E Dylan biography. It was wonderful to see Levon, and there were some clips of Big Pink that I had not seen before. I wish we could have seen more of that Isle Of Wight footage.

Jan: Thanks for everything!

Posted on Mon Aug 14 18:37:35 CEST 2000 from grnsvr3.bellatlantic.com (198.23.5.8)

Bernie

Very educational. Would someone let me know what happened to Levon Helm? I suspect throat cancer. Didn't recognize him on the Dylan special last night...

Posted on Mon Aug 14 17:34:36 CEST 2000 from usr53-dialup68.mix2.boston.cw.net (166.62.199.70)

G-MAN

Just back from vac.--1000 isl & Brockville, Ont.. DON'T knock Canada. Some folks approached me re. Rick Danko T-shirt and gave comments on the Band. See "Times Like These" is out. Earlier was anticipatin' rushin' home to order; I will but what a downer knowin we won't see a Rick solo show again. Saw A & E's Dylan show. It was great history-the Band and Woodstock shots. Levon's interview was cool, too. He'll be singin again, soon; we hope & pray. Surprised Robbie Robertson wasn't part of the Dylan special ???? Also, the GB really offers some of the greatest hx of the Band and music in general. Why would anyone be so immature as to tear down what Jan has worked so hard for? Individual opinions are fine--but take the B-ll and overly personal stuff out of it. Well--peace & health--hope to see some of you at Joyous !!!

Posted on Mon Aug 14 17:17:09 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

MattK (again)

On a more pleasant note, there was a cool 5 second shot of Big Pink as it looks today in the Dylan Biography. Very short, but it panned the house and went right up to that basement door. Couldn't help remembering all the great pilgrimage stories from last week as I watched it.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 17:15:21 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

MattK

Incidentally, one of the sadder moments in the Dylan biography came during the "Basement Tapes" discussion. I'm not sure when this was filmed, but there was a poingnant shot of Levon singing "Don't Ya Tell Henry." Levon's voice is extremely hoarse, even when speaking, and singing is very difficult for him. Perhaps this was filmed shortly after his treatment and his voice has rebounded some since then (I hope so, though by all accounts singing is out of the question for Levon now due to the stress it puts on the larynx), so perhaps the hoarseness is more dramatic in the Dylan Biography than it is now in real time.

I'm so glad to see/hear that he is overjoyed with the Barnburners and must be thrilled to work with his daughter. Still, it's hard not to be effected to see how one of rock and roll's great voices is effectively silenced as a singer. This scene would be a powerful anti-smoking ad. Lighting up this a.m. for my coffee and nicotine fix (which I really enjoy, btw), gave me some guilts this time. Perhaps it's time to go buy one of those damn patches (and I'm not a singer).

matt

Posted on Mon Aug 14 16:24:49 CEST 2000 from cobalt.nextlink.net (206.129.70.172)

Mike

I agree -- It'd be a shame to lose this site because of someone's foolishness. Please...whoever you are...you're potentially going to ruin something that's pretty cool. Some of us have been coming here for a few years.. The site is one of the best around and is a source of enjoyment for a lot of Band fans. It's Jan's labor of love -- He doesn't HAVE to do it. Please...

Posted on Mon Aug 14 16:17:20 CEST 2000 from gw.itac.ca (209.146.161.1)

Bill

Kerrilyn: I don't recall seeing Richard Manuel in the "Tears Are Not Enough" video, but I'm pretty sure he's there, partially obscured, towards the back of the group shot. And his signature is one of those reproduced on the sleeve of the 45. But he sure didn't get to sing one of the solo lines, unfortunately.

As for Jerry Penfound, he did play piano as well as sax on the two group LPs he recorded post-Hawks (Capers and Quorum) and he played well enough that fellow musicians from those groups accepted his word that he'd played the piano on "Bo Diddley" (which is what he told me too).

Now that I'm older and wiser, I'm less inclined to believe tales that so-and-so played on this-or-that specific song. Maybe so, maybe not. But I'm sure Penfound did play piano with Hawkins - as Hawkins has told me himself. Even the group shot of the four Hawks - Robertson, Danko, Helm and Penfound - would suggest that he did.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 16:02:21 CEST 2000 from proxy1-external.lndn1.on.home.com (24.112.158.228)

Kerrilyn

Nancy: There is no feud between Canada and the States, if there is I haven't seen it. There are idiots in Canada, just like there are in the States, same as in Australia, everybody's got some. Doesn't mean they speak for the whole of the nation (unless they attain political office). I would think Australians have had to endure the largest amount of idiot comments since all those Crocodile Dundee movies than any other country in the world. They were great for tourism though I bet. I want to go there someday just to see the animals, Australia got blessed with the coolest looking animals on the planet!

Now onto to music. I watched the Dylan biography. I must admit I'm not a Dylan fan and never have been so I know virtually nothing about him. His voice just didn't do it for me....(I've got my helmet ready for the rocks coming my way). However after watching the show, I do have a new found respect for him. It would have taken a lot of guts to be on top and then get booed everynight and he never backed down just to please the crowds. I can't think of another artist that ticked off his audience so much yet still had staying power to continue in the biz for another 3 decades. The thing that struck me as most odd was that during his folks years he wrote songs about change (especially about the race riots etc, which puts him high in my books now) and the same fans that embraced him for it turned on him when he wanted to change to electric. That's pretty ironic for a group that wanted be change the world in a positive way. I found that the wierdest part. That and the fact that he could change his voice so much to sing Lay Lady Lay, everytime I hear that song I still can't believe it's Dylan...he sounds sort of like Roger Miller. I'm intrigued to read more about Dylan now, and it was great to see Levon on the show and he sang...way to go Levon!!

Jan: I hope you don't have to shut down this website, it's like your baby and I bet you're very attached to it, like we are. It must be a ton of work, I hope you know it is appreciated . Please pull out your old Jackson 5 record today and give One Bad Apple a listen to....one bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch girl....yeah da da da (I forget the rest). Peace.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 15:51:57 CEST 2000 from schltns.demon.nl (212.238.41.164)

Ragtime

Has anybody heard the augmented Band reissues yet? I'm dying of curiosity...

Lee Gabites / Jawbone Records: sorry I lost your email address. Please contact me.

Hey Jan! Keep up the good work! I'll behave.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 15:30:38 CEST 2000 from grnsvr3.bellatlantic.com (198.23.5.8)

"Amends-maker"

I would like to step forward and admit that I have been one of the "perpetrators". I am sorry for the mayhem and immaturity. I agree with Ian; it's beyond inappropriate to use this site as an outlet for my personal problems...My sincere apologies to all I have offended.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 15:21:28 CEST 2000 from twmaine-208-5-183-171.twmaine.com (208.5.183.171)

Mattk

I came in late from a gig last night and switched on the TV, intending to do my ritualistic "wind down" prior to hitting the sheets. I popped on A&E, intending to go to bed in about 10 minutes, but alas the Dylan Biography was on.

I'm not a huge Dylan scholar, but I thought they did a pretty good job, though I wish they would have dug up a few more people to interview than they did (no offense to Levon). It would have been cool to hear from other people involved in Dylan's career, particularly Studs Terkel, whose 1963 interview they did play a few excerpts from. From an Oral History perspective, I thought the History of Rock and Roll documentary did a better job on the interview front in the 45 minutes they dedicated to Dylan in one episode. Biography, with a full two hours, was able to provide a much more in-depth view Dylan in terms of pure biographical information - influences and effect were left more to the narration than actual live quotes, which would have enriched it more, I think.

On another Dylan note, I was watching The List on VH-1 this weekend, which is normally a program I deplore - watching a bunch of models and actor/actresses make ridiculous comments about music gets on my nerves. Ironically, however, this weekend, Wierd Al Yankovic was the host, and I have to say he did a great job with topics and particularly guests.

The best panel featured one of the singers from Barenaked Ladies, Judy Tenuto, and Dweezil Zappa, who were surprisingly intelligent, and not so surprisingly, irreverent. The topic was "greatest moment in rock and roll." Dylan was nominated, embodying his own "greatest moment," but due to one-upmanship in the veto round, was ejected, along with the birth of punk. Of course, "the influence of Frank Zappa" did make the final round.

Finally, Jan's right. We all need to chill. If it's not constructive, then it's best to keep silent. Otherwise, if we stick to talking about music, I suspect we'll make out ok.

Thanks Jan for all you do. As much as I'd hate to see this forum die, I can certanly understand how it's more trouble than it's worth.

matt

Posted on Mon Aug 14 14:22:08 CEST 2000 from (205.230.10.2)

Bob R

I usually just read the many posts on this site, but do have to occasionally pipe up-- I have to honestly say that Levon & The Barnburners are such a hot rockin band, that you really have to check them out if possible-- great live music is such a rarity these days, and to see a band so committed to going out and giving it all for the sake of the music is really refreshing. I cant wait for their CD-- as for Rick Danko solo- beautiful music. What else can you say ? Check out his work with Eric Anderson & Jonas Fjeld if you need proof Patricia. By the way, Levon looked great on the Dylan biography-- AND he was singing! The voice is still rough, but what do you think--maybe its on its way back! One last thing for you Dylan / Band fans: I bought a Dylan bootleg (import these days I guess they're called) called "Yesterdays Blues" and purports to be the May 1st 1970 sessions with George Harrison--the cover features both Dylan & harrison looking out from a barn door--the music puzzles me: I really cant distinguish Harrison on the tracks ( he does have a pretty distinctive style) BUT I guess he is on there-- Dylan does a complete version of the Beatles "Yesterday", they do "Da Doo Ron Ron", and others--my question is this-- on some tracks I think I hear Garth Hudsons organ playing ( although it could be Al Kooper), and possibly Rick Danko-- does anyone know if the Band were involved in any type of sessions with Dylan & George around that time ?? Also I hope the plug does not get pulled on this site--

Posted on Mon Aug 14 13:48:30 CEST 2000 from dialup-264.cork.iol.ie (193.203.148.8)

Hank

Well, I been busy gigging over the past few days .............I was disappointed to read that Jan might close the whole GB thing down.........to some extent, however, I understand how The Band attracts this intensity........The Band really were SOOOOO brilliant for a while that they inspire intense jealousy...... as well as admiration.........and that jealousy is evident on the pages of this GB......in many different forms, from time to time......you may not have a belief system which has a God or a Satan......you may NOT believe in Jesus or Buddha or Mohommad or Hitler or Stalin or Charlie Manson........(Ying Yang yor my thang...... AW now baby don't ya ever sang?) but if you're alive and breathing you cannot deny that JEALOUSY is a potent force which rules many hearts and minds.............They Smile at yo face but behind your back they Hiss.........The Band inspire ALOT of that in people.......even in musicians who know SHOULD know better..........some people just CAN'T deal with how GREAT The Band are.....and it comes out here in the GB sometimes as "informed" knowledge or "insider" info........it's all a load of bollox!!!!!!.........it would be a great shame if these people caused this GB to close down........these are the same kinda of people/demons who hastened The Bands demise in 1976........and who preyed upon The Band in the '80ies and '90ies in various reunion scenarios trying to marginalise them in various nefarious physical and psychic ways.........you never actually managed to do kill them off tho', did you?........you won't succeed here either, I'll wager ................

Posted on Mon Aug 14 13:49:12 CEST 2000 from proxy1-external.avnl1.nj.home.com (24.4.252.66)

Brien Sz

This is a tough one to stomach. But Jan's right. A couple of folks will screw it up for everyone. Reminds me of basic training--One person messes up, the company pays for it. Then everyone in the company wants to punish the one but that rarely works -- it just makes the situation worse.

I supremely appreciate all Jan's hard work to keep this site one of the best on the web. It's like my little cyber home. I just hope I'm not evicted but will understand if such a move is deemed necessary.

I'm glad you stepped in jh because i was ready to take a swipe with the thumping stick to.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 13:19:12 CEST 2000 from alb1-as5200-26-26.termserv.net (208.20.67.26)

Diamond Lil

First, I'd like to thank Jan for telling it like it is. As 'tolerant' and 'patient' as _he_ may be...his employer still has the ultimate say on the fate of this website. I'd hate to see this whole thing shut down because of a few unstable individuals. So instead of posting to Jan about how much we all appreciate his dedication to this site, let's _show_ him (and his employer) Ok? Time is running out folks. It's now or never.

Have a good day everyone. Hug Jan.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 11:59:33 CEST 2000 from cf3k-3.paradise.net.nz (203.96.152.183)

Rod

Amanda and Nancy: I do follow sport and well I can say is John Earles has to retire someday (the sooner the better).

On a more musical note I was playing two live albums the other night Hot August Night and The Last Waltz. Once HAN had finished I put on TLW and my 10 month old immediately started to dance to The Shape I'm In and later on Caravan. One interesting thing struck me about Neil Diamond. I know he gets alot of shite around here but Robbie could have quite easily written Red Red Wine and Cracklin' Rosie. Diamond for his part could have written It Makes No Difference or Hobo Jungle. Maybe this is why ND was at TLW.

Finally does any one know what mixes are to be used on the re-released Stage Fright? I will definitely get the other three but this seems the less interesting on the releases. I would however be tempted if it had the original vinyl mixes.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 11:56:48 CEST 2000 from (204.214.66.179)

Kelly

Unfortunately, due to work, and my forgetting to set the VCR I missed the Bob Dylan biography! However, it is available for purchase for $14.95 (USD) from the Biography website, here's the link. Or you may call them at 1-888-423-1212 It sounds as if I missed a wonderful tribute, so I will be placing my order. Jan, thank you for the wonderful site, I for one appreciate it, and all of the hard work you put forth in maintaining it. Have a nice day all.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 10:40:26 CEST 2000 from hoiberg.hiof.no (158.36.51.55)

Jan Høiberg

"Patricia" et al.

Please switch to e-mail or go see a shrink or something. If you need to vent your anger and frustration and personal problems in public, then use a newsgroup or another message board or whatever instead.

I've been running this web site as a hobby for nearly six years now. The only reason I still have the time to do it, is that my employer (the college) is positive to the project. Because of the large amount of traffic (it's among the top 30 visited web sites in Norway), the positive media publicity and the student projects it generates, I get to use their servers and some of my work hours to maintain the site. Lately, the college has received complaints from web visitors about the content of my Band site.

The guestbook and the chat room were not created for insults, stupidity and smut. They'll be closed if things don't improve. And this time they'll stay closed.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 08:09:40 CEST 2000 from spider-tl061.proxy.aol.com (152.163.207.201)

Donna

Just last weekend, my twelve year old daughter, posted in this great guestbook. I was so surprised that she had done this. She is just starting to appreciate the music of "The Band." She really enjoys hearing Rick singing, "It Makes No Difference," and Levon's "Violet Eyes." I hear her playing it on her cd player over and over. I would pass her room and smile to myself. So when I saw her post in the guestbook, I was so proud of her. Then she told me that she received a e mail from a Patricia. She said that the response from Patricia was very sweet. Not knowing that this was my daughter, I was very appreciative of your kind words to her.

Now after your last postings I just do not know what to say it left me speechless. I guess the only words that come to mind is.... you break my heart.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 08:00:09 CEST 2000 from proxy-1351.public.svc.webtv.net (209.240.220.172)

Alias

Unpredictability is the spice of life.....learned that from Dylan.....he's up ..he's down...he's hot ...he's cold ...he's in ...he's out....and no matter what he did he was always pissin' somebody off.....Bill Monroe was the same way...speaking of Dylan...when he and Robbie were hangin' out together in 74 when Bob was getting ready to make his "Desire" record.....he and Robbie went to see Mr. Monroe at one of those clubs out there in Hollywood......Bob wanted to be introduced to Bill Monroe...and he knew one of the guys that was playng with ol' Bill....David Grisman or somebody.......anyway ....this guy was reluctant to introduce Bob and Robbie to the old man because Bill Monroe had a tendency to treat you like a son one minute and act like he had never seen you before the next minute.....and this fella didn't want to get humiliated in front of Bob Dylan....on that note......I will have to say this.....the reason I came in here and attacked the post original line-up Band is because ...there was a fella that wondered what would happen if someone ever did that......he said tha he would do it but he didn't want to get f----- lynched......so I did it for him.....cause I'm used to gettin' lynched......anyone who thinks I am not a fan of The Band is dead wrong......but it is very understandable that you all could easily get that idea....I do prefer the original line-up to the reformed "This Band" by about 90 to 1....but Garth is the master of everything....and ...well it's all been said before by every one here........and about the "anger" that everyone in her thinks I carry.....it's not anger.......well maybe it is.....but Pat Brennan.....the silent stuff doesn't work....silent anger will kill you...everybody says...let it all out.....and then when you let it out they want you to put it back in.....see.....in or out....Bayou Sam is right......he is the most decent fella in here by a real long shot.......I am a nice person.....butI have an outrageous streak a mile wide.....so shoot me !!

Posted on Mon Aug 14 07:51:55 CEST 2000 from stk-pm1-48-176.dialup.slip.net (207.171.230.176)

Guenevere

Even though I know I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, and that a nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse, and yet through this illusively golden silence, I am still bridled with the thought of being saddled with the responsibility of confronting the Trojan of non musical bent amongst us by saying that the incessant vacillation between appearing as a placid and gentle mare, and next exuding the fury and zealousness of a stallion... brings to mind a quote from the great Oscar Wilde

~ "you can lead a whore to culture, but you can make her think!"

And using good horse sense I'll stop posting like this, and also I guess I'll stop horsing around now, yet I still have one more nagging quote to share with you, by an anonymous horse... er source

"if wishes were horses beggars would ride"...

Posted on Mon Aug 14 05:26:07 CEST 2000 from spider-wj022.proxy.aol.com (205.188.198.27)

Bayou Sam

PATRICIA - what are you doing. I had a nice chat with you in the chatroom(where else) the other nite and you told me you were never coming in the GB again because everyone hates you. Now you're in there going wild. You seem to enjoy a nice rational coversation, but you sure as hell seem to enjoy raising hell too. As one of the other posters asked, "why" ( I forgot who asked but it's a great question) Now, I'm not attacking you, and you say that I'm one of the people you "like", so please - cool it a bit. Try to be that pleasant person I chatted with the other nite. I'm sorry this GB has to be filled with all this shit so often.. ......... did you all see the Dylan special tonight on TV. I only caught the last 25 minutes or so ans it looked pretty good. I'll have to catch the whole thing........... take it easy all - and Patty, lighten up.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 05:03:58 CEST 2000 from spider-wd012.proxy.aol.com (205.188.193.152)

Bashful Bill

We just watched the A&E Biography of Dylan. Had houseguests here since Thurs. & have been Blues Festivaling it here in CNY all weekend(until today, which was a much needed R&R day). Among the many many excellent artists we saw this weekend was Bob Margolin, fresh off his gig with the Barnburners last Wed. I also proudly had my Pinetop Perkins t=shirt signed by none other than Pinetop Perkins. Great weather, great music, great adult beverages. I guess the weekend ends with that Dylan show tonite, with our boys, especially Levon, well-represented. Mon. AM the last houseguest leaves, I return to work, how sad, how sad. Nothing to look forward to until the Guru's show at Joyous Lake on 9/1. Hope to see some of you there.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 04:33:35 CEST 2000 from 209-130-142-100.nas3.mon.gblx.net (209.130.142.100)

Lars

I think Patricia is the salt of the earth...the stuff dreams are made of. I've already forgiven your slur against the Canadians and the only thing that bothers me is finding out that I spent time on a dedication (song?) entitled "Patricia" and it turns out it's not really your name. I don't suppose your name is "Lola?"

I watched Dylan's biography on A&E tonight. A great show. I left with a feeling that it's too bad people (fans) put artists on such a pedestal. These musicians who some people worship are, in the end, just regular people...in an irregular lifestyle. Bob Dylan looked drained from being cast as an "icon" when all he wanted to be was "Bob."

The next time I see George Lembesis in the store I'm going to let him have his privacy and just ignore him.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 04:17:58 CEST 2000 from ip-164.dial.wans.com (64.7.64.164)

Molly Z.

Patricia, is that's not your real name, then what IS your real name? I really thought you were a true Band fan. But now I've just lost my respect for you. So don't even bother responding to any of my posts! And if I've judged you wrong, I appoligize. But do me a favor, and get your name straight like everyone else in here! Thanks.

Sorry everyone. Just a little frustrated and had to get it out. Have a good night y'all!

Posted on Mon Aug 14 04:11:59 CEST 2000 from trt-on60-68.netcom.ca (216.123.102.196)

John Donabie

Nice to see Levon interviewed and the classic picture of The Hawks on the Bob Dylan Biography tonight. Didn't learn much more than I already knew; but it was pretty well put together.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 03:57:00 CEST 2000 from proxy-333.public.rwc.webtv.net (209.240.200.33)

Patricia

If you are not the nurse I was searching for...what can I say..I'm s---y....it was not meant to sound threatening...I do not like being referred to as a horse....even with subtleies......

Posted on Mon Aug 14 02:59:48 CEST 2000 from stk-pm1-21-149.dialup.slip.net (207.171.230.149)

Guenevere

I apologize to anyone this may offend....

The following bracketed quote, is the second abusive email that I've received today from this supposed "woman" named Patricia, with the email address of "Amelia M. Gray" "helenbak@webtv.net"

["Is Big Nurse your first role ,baby......you get me all excited with that.......I wanna just give it to ya......hard.......know what I mean.....fairy tales...do come true ..it can happen to you..if your young at heart......dadadadaddadadadadadadadadada....I forgot the rest....."]

I'd be interested to find out if anyone else in here has received similar emails from "Patricia" and please feel free to share them here if you do, since this has pretty much become THE PATRICIA BOOK anyway...

btw: I do not think that I deserved this for posting the lyrics to the "Mr. Ed jingle"...

is that original enough for you Pat???

Posted on Mon Aug 14 02:44:37 CEST 2000 from proxy.pth.iprimus.net.au (203.134.17.8)

Nancy

Re: the national pride thing. I think John Donabie started the discussion, and then someone else listed examples of the foolish questions he had been asked by interested Americans when he moved from Toronto to Oregon.

Living so far away, and in no position to make a comment about your situation, I understood that there was no significant feud between Americans and Canadians. I actually found the thought of a feud between two countries which are so closely aligned to be quite amusing. I mean, you are like co-joined twins, and the thought of a serious dispute between such twins is bizarre when you consider how dependent they are on each other's good-will.

In Australia, we have a long running rivalry between our two oldest and largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne. Sydney is seen by Melbournians as brash and loud, thought by some to be so categorised because it was initially populated by a huge majority of convicts 200 years ago. Apparently to some people Sydney can never quite shed the image created by it's shady past. Melbourne on the other hand (according to some Melbournians), is characterised by refinement and sophistication and some think that this is because it was initially settled by a better class of people, that is, free settlers. Since I don't live in either city, I don't know whether it is a friendly rivalry, or otherwise, but I bet that if an outsider was to criticise any aspect of Australia, there would be an angry nationalistic response no matter what the target of criticism. So note, any of you who may jet in to the Olympics in a few weeks, make sure none of that nasty Sydney past rubs off on you.

And as for the thought of Amanda and her New Zealand sporting teams licking Australia, I don't mind either way, babe, I don't follow sport either!!!

Posted on Mon Aug 14 02:32:36 CEST 2000 from proxy-681.public.rwc.webtv.net (209.240.216.81)

murriah

Cheeseville,huh....who's 5th cussin'....I mean cousin, are you......an "insider" told me a few months ago that Lil was Rick's 4th or 5th cousin..and added that HE didn't even like her.....anyway...Patricia is not really my real name....but all my e mails are valid

Posted on Mon Aug 14 02:32:26 CEST 2000 from spider-ti052.proxy.aol.com (152.163.194.197)

Nurse Ratchet

Now Patricia, remember all the the times you told these good people you were housebound? You're supposed to be resting. Where did you find time to go see Levon, twice? Time to up the lithium dosage a few milligrams to offset the hallucinations.

Posted on Mon Aug 14 01:23:24 CEST 2000 from spider-wk072.proxy.aol.com (205.188.198.182)

Cousin Lori

Patricia, I guess when you get tired of arguing with everyone else, you contradict yourself. I have read some of your posts that indicate that you are really touched by Rick's vocals on Book Faded Brown and some others. You have lost all credibility in my book and I will ignore your posts from now on.

With that in mind I hope you will take the advise of the man you love/hate and "Go back, go back, go back to your woods."

Posted on Mon Aug 14 01:12:35 CEST 2000 from (200.228.170.187)

Luiz Possebon

Hi... Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with their music, But I came across this site due to the statement I read somewhere here of a Paula Cole song, called "St. Nicholas is Carrying a Gun" I just can´t find this song anywhere... All the cds i can find to buy have more than 12 songs and what´s more, no Paula Cole song. Please.. If anyone wants to sell this cd to me or, which is better, make an mp3 of it... I'd be whole-heartedly thankful... We can trade it... Please get in touch with me.. Best regards... Luiz If you

Posted on Mon Aug 14 01:06:58 CEST 2000 from spider-wl053.proxy.aol.com (205.188.199.43)

jcf

I am a bit late, but I would like to wish a Happy Birthday to the sixth member of the band John Simon. I am looking foward to listening to his solo albums real soon..

Posted on Mon Aug 14 00:33:21 CEST 2000 from spider-wd082.proxy.aol.com (205.188.193.187)

Ruby

Hello to all the TRUE Band Fans!!!!! Does anyone out there happen to know whatever happened to or where is Blondie Chaplin ? Curious Peace Ruby

Posted on Mon Aug 14 00:23:20 CEST 2000 from gw3a61-d610.wind.it (212.141.121.230)

Emanuele

Wow , yesterday 12 August Great Concert To THE BAND to DOLO , VENICE ,ITALY !!!! 4 HOUR ONLY THE BAND SONGS !! GREAT COVER!!! NOTE : WITH SONGS FROM RICK DANKO SOLO ALBUM LIKE: BRAINWASH SWEET ROMANCE JAVA BLUES SHAKE IT SIP THE WINE !! SOON FULL DETAIL OF TRIBUTE CONCERT ON THE BEARDS HOMEPAGE WWW.GEOCITIES.COM/emanuele_30031 AVAIABLE FROM 15/16 AUGUST : RAG MAMA RAG WHEN YOU AWAKE STAGE FRIGHT KING HARVEST ALL FROM LIVE TO OAKLAND 11/2/1974 THANK YOU ! VISIT MY PAGE !! BYE , EMANUELE

Posted on Mon Aug 14 00:18:08 CEST 2000 from alb2-as5200-41-89.termserv.net (208.20.67.89)

Diamond Lil

Patricia: I'm not questioning your musical likes and dislikes as we're all entitled to our opinions. I do have a question however. If nothing that the surviving Band members are doing interests you, why are you here? I'm not trying to be sarcastic..I really want to know what keeps you coming back to a place full of folks who talk about and love music that (in your words) "isn't worth the plastic it's printed on".

Posted on Mon Aug 14 00:14:32 CEST 2000 from www-cache.vuw.ac.nz (130.195.2.96)

Amanda

Oh dearie me… A flame war is about to erupt I'd say.

I'll just squeeze in an uncontroversial comment first…I watched Coal Miners Daughter last night and really enjoyed it. I'd guess all of you have seen it but in case anyone hasn't it tells the story of Loretta Lynn's journey to fame from poverty in Kentucky. It could so easily have been oversentimentalised and cliched and it wasn't. Levon Helm's portrayal of Ted Webb, Loretta's father was really very touching. The character's dignity and love for his family shone through the poverty of the surroundings.

Stu- click Library on the side bar to your left and look under lyrics for the words to the weight. And I believe the directions to Big Pink have been posted in the GB a number of times but I don't know where.

Re international rivalry one my favourite bands is mostly from Canada and Canadian maple syrup is mm,mm good! And I support New Zealand and any team that plays against Australia. (Just kidding Nancy! In fact I really don't care about sport at all and many of my best friends are Australian ;)

Posted on Mon Aug 14 00:04:10 CEST 2000 from proxy-513.public.rwc.webtv.net (209.240.200.103)

Ed Blayzor

Patricia: usually i just lurk in the GB and enjoy 90% of whats posted and pay no attention to the petty arguments that go on,but you saying that the Barnburners, Cromatix,Honky Tonk Gurus and Rick`s solo stuff is not worth the plastic it is printed on is uncalled for.this is whats left of THE BAND and a lot of in here enjoy these groups. and having seen these groups several times myself, i do not know what you were medicating yourself with, not to enjoy these talented groups.

Posted on Sun Aug 13 23:36:03 CEST 2000 from user-33qtafh.dialup.mindspring.com (199.174.169.241)

Pat Brennan

Patricia, why?

Posted on Sun Aug 13 23:17:08 CEST 2000 from proxy-553.public.rwc.webtv.net (209.240.200.143)

Patricia

...all that just for me.....I'm so flattered....but Lars....a little piece of advice...if you are going to write your own songs......take a class or something and learn how to do it....and to guen......couldn't you think of something original to say.....and for hose wh wonder why I don't talk about music in here....I find The Crowmatics...The Honky Tonk Gurus...and the Barnburners...and Rick's solo music really not worth the plastic it is printed on.....I saw the Barnburners this summer...not once but twice...the reason I went twice was to give them a benefit of a doubt....the only reason I went was to see what all you Gbers were getting so "up" about...to get so excited about something as benign as he "Barnburners: tells me that you folk are trying much much too hard.....and that goes for everything else made post- original line-up......but I guess you all have to keep it going.....never underestimate the power of denial......

Posted on Sun Aug 13 22:10:24 CEST 2000 from spider-te011.proxy.aol.com (152.163.195.176)

Stu

How can I get the lyrics to The Weight? Thanks.

Posted on Sun Aug 13 21:56:56 CEST 2000 from alb1-as5200-18-18.termserv.net (208.20.67.18)

Diamond Lil

Marcelo: It is true that Levon no longer sings..but he does however play the hell out of those drums. He's happy and looks like he's having the time of his life.

And btw...that last part of your post was in _very_ poor taste.

Have a good night everyone. Hug Jan. ohauf :-)

Posted on Sun Aug 13 21:47:19 CEST 2000 from pm3-pt73.pcnet.net (206.105.29.147)

Laura P.

Oh, and I, too, am yearning to visit Big Pink. I am thinking of taking a little day trip before the summer is over. Would someone be so kind as to help me with directions (or just an address)? Since it seems a number of people are interested, maybe this information could be posted in the Guest Book, unless it's a big secret or something...

Also, does anyone know of any good sushi restaurants in the Woodstock area? I want to go out for sushi on the same trip... I figure there must be one somewhere near Woodstock, or else where would Levon eat? :-)

Posted on Sun Aug 13 21:37:44 CEST 2000 from 200-191-199-9-as.acessonet.com.br (200.191.199.9)

Marcelo

Hi there, how's everybody? Can anybody tell me if it is true that Levon can no longer sing with his angry voice, because his got a throat cancer? I just cannot believe!! This is must be a joke! Somebody please answer me and say:"Calm down son, it's not true; Britney Spears got a cancer and she's gonna die!" Oh....what a sweet relief..

Posted on Sun Aug 13 21:34:03 CEST 2000 from pm3-pt73.pcnet.net (206.105.29.147)

Laura P.

No, I haven't disappeared (if anyone's even noticed that I haven't posted in weeks :-) ...I was on vacation, and when I got back there was all this new Band music waiting in my mailbox for me to listen to. Talk about a great method for preventing post-vacation letdown!! Now that I have both the "bad" Jersey City 1973 concert (July 28th) and the "great" one (August 1st), I have to say, whether or not it makes me look like a fool, that I love the "bad" one more! Perhaps I'll post details as to why, although that would require ordered thinking, something that is pretty hard to do in the middle of listening to "Pinball machine and a queen...!" Suffice to say, most of the reasons have to do with the performances of Richard and Rick.

BTW, I also have "The Complete Last Waltz" now, and I was really surprised that verses were cut out of the movie! I mean, obviously they are missing, but I figured they weren't even sung for some reason. (Yes, I should know this... I guess they are there in the album version. However, I never listen to the album version of TLW because I made my own CD-R from the movie because I like that mix better. Plus, that way I get to hear things like "Don't Do It" and "Old Time Religion," plus quotes.) Anyway, cutting out the "ruckus/shuck us" part of "The Shape I'm In" is an appalling crime!

Posted on Sun Aug 13 20:28:39 CEST 2000 from ti15a22-0034.dialup.online.no (130.67.112.226)

Dag

BOB DYLAN A&E BIOGRAPHY feat. LEVON HELM: Broadcast times (Eastern) for the Dylan Bio on A&E: Sunday, Aug 13th -- 8:00 pm; repeated at 10:00 pm Monday, Aug 14th -- 12 midnight; repeated at 2:00 am -The program is available on DVD from the above link.

Posted on Sun Aug 13 19:50:10 CEST 2000 from adsl-208-191-122-226.dsl.snantx.swbell.net (208.191.122.226)

Barefoot Larry

Jugband music with a South Texas Accent!

Posted on Sun Aug 13 19:37:49 CEST 2000 from stk-pm1-44-172.dialup.slip.net (207.171.230.172)

Guenevere

Go right to the source and ask the horse/ he'll give you the answer that you'll endorse/ he's always on a steady course/ talk to Mr. Ed...

Bridge:

Now people will yakitty yak and waste your time of day/ but Mr. Ed will never speak unless he has something to say.....

A horse is a horse of course of course/ and no one can talk to a horse of course/ unless of course the name of horse/ is the famous Mr. Ed

~~~Wilbur~~~~

Posted on Sun Aug 13 16:40:13 CEST 2000 from 209-130-151-47.nas3.mon.gblx.net (209.130.151.47)

Ray Davies (a guest of Lars')

I met her on a page inside the Band guestbook,

I glanced over sideways and she gave me a look:

"I'm Patricia....Papapapa-tricia...you can call me Patricia."

I shut down quickly and I hit restart.

I snuck back in and she gave me a start

And said "PATRICIA! PAPAPAPA-TRICIA"..."I SEE YOU, I'M PATRICIA!

Well, she put in posts nine times an hour.

She never talked music, she just talked sour.

She talked real tough and tried to raise cane.

She was especially down on syrup and Canadians.

Now I'm not the world's most sensitive guy,

But my stomach got tight when she gave me the eye

And said "Patricia...I came here to preach to ya...

PAPAPAPA-TREE-SHA."

(With apologies to Lola.)

Posted on Sun Aug 13 12:14:32 CEST 2000 from du119-0.ppp.algonet.se (195.100.0.119)

Ilkka

This is to all Canadian gb-friends!
I am half-tame. This means that I work for the moment 50% as a high school teacher: writer's classes, some history. Our school is a bilingual Swedish-Finnish private school. I seek contact with French-English speaking Canadians who are interested to share the experiences as a bilingual minority. A teacher or a parent, maybe. Our kids are double as crazy as I am so ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. Please contact me.

Posted on Sun Aug 13 09:27:43 CEST 2000 from spider-tl014.proxy.aol.com (152.163.207.179)

Maurice Goldner

Anyone got directions to Big Pink. Up here in the hills for the weekend. Want to go to Pink on monday. Please email me

Posted on Sun Aug 13 07:57:00 CEST 2000 from stk-pm1-51-179.dialup.slip.net (207.171.230.179)

Guenevere

... and no one can talk to a horse of course...

Posted on Sun Aug 13 06:51:38 CEST 2000 from atmax-8-9.enter.net (207.16.154.111)

Little Brøther

"It's just another whistle stop / If you don't quit till we reach the top

I will be much obliged to you."

Of course, of course...

Posted on Sun Aug 13 06:02:06 CEST 2000 from proxy-1331.public.svc.webtv.net (209.240.220.156)

Patricia

...Yeah..that just shows how stupid canadians really are......he probably got his fired......perfect response...you are right.

Posted on Sun Aug 13 05:53:55 CEST 2000 from proxy1-external.lndn1.on.home.com (24.112.158.228)

Kerrilyn

The Canadians are restless: Commenting on a few points here.

John D, excellent as always. There is a very funny commercial (the latest in the I AM CANADIAN series) that I think you will enjoy seeing. It takes place in an office where a new Canadian employee is being harrassed with the common US ridiculous questions and this fine Canadian fellow takes it all in stride, smiling the whole time. Then at the end he quietly pulls the idiots jacket over his head and gives him a push. Perfect response.

Gordon Lightfoot must be more popular than we thought. His song Sundown is the latest to fall prey to a rap rip-off, it's getting quite a bit of air-play on the rock station here.

Bill: I didn't know that Richard Manuel was involved in the Canadian Live Aid song Tears are Not Enough...he wasn't in the video was he? I didn't see Rick, Robbie or Garth either. (I saw the Hawk) Were they not asked to or did they just not participate?

Posted on Sun Aug 13 03:41:36 CEST 2000 from spider-wo074.proxy.aol.com (205.188.200.54)

Wally

Is it true that Levon can no longer sing due to throat cancer?

Posted on Sun Aug 13 03:30:21 CEST 2000 from spider-ta046.proxy.aol.com (152.163.205.29)

Mike

John...I moved to San Diego when I was a teenager with a noticeable Canadian twang...(“Well, we’re just gonna go OAT there an’ score some goals, aye?”) It was always amazing to hear some of the questions and remarks from friends when they found out I moved down from “The Great White North.” Examples:

(Summertime)”Pretty hot for you down here, isn’t it?”

(Wintertime)”Well...YOU won’t need a coat.”

”What’s an aye?”

”So, what kind of music do you have up there?”

“This is the movie theater…where they show movies.”

“What’s a cheque?”

”So, what are the chicks like where you come from?”

”Oh, you’ve heard Blues before?”

“Are The Beatles popular up there?”

It always made me laugh, though. Of course that was back in the late sixties, when the world seemed a whole lot bigger. I thought everyone in Southern California drove a convertible, all the girls were blonde and that it never rained. I now know better. Thanks for triggering a memory John.

Thanks, Jan, for a great website. It’s sort of like a neighborhood. Glad to have a place to go to hang out. Always be thankful for The Band’s music.

Posted on Sun Aug 13 02:04:27 CEST 2000 from spider-th081.proxy.aol.com (152.163.213.81)

Bob

A Canadian friend of mine who is involved in the music business recently told me that, 'We're all asleep when it comes to our culture and heritage. If it doesn't have a fuc*+n union jack or stars and stripes forgot it.'

Posted on Sat Aug 12 23:16:33 CEST 2000 from host-209-214-112-165.bna.bellsouth.net (209.214.112.165)

BWNWITennessee

Ah, well, John, as we all know, Canada's really more like our 51st state than an actual country. :-) Did you ever watch "Northern Exposure" - "What's Canadian Football? They add one more man and ten yards and act like it's something they invented. And what's Canadian Bacon? Ham. Oooh."

Posted on Sat Aug 12 22:35:46 CEST 2000 from proxy-543.public.rwc.webtv.net (209.240.200.133)

Patricia

...thats funny there ....BoB....but geez you people are so sensitive.....but ol' RR himself referred to Canada as"the land of snow".....just a little harmless thing there BuB....I mean BoB.....say...you ain't that there ..."BoB's yer uncle" cat are ya ?

Posted on Sat Aug 12 21:15:30 CEST 2000 from trt-on65-94.netcom.ca (216.123.97.94)

John Donabie

If I were typically Canadian I would apologize for being so sensitive today; but as my American buds tell me...."you're all to wimpy and apathetic up there." So I'll let it stand.

Posted on Sat Aug 12 21:09:10 CEST 2000 from trt-on65-94.netcom.ca (216.123.97.94)

John Donabie (HAND ME THE NITRO)

I have been reading the different posts about Gordon Lightfoot who is an old friend of The Band and Bob Dylan. Remember they were all managed by the same people in the early days along with Ian & Sylvia.

By the way PATRICIA Ian & Sylvia were part of the folk boom. You may have heard of "Four Strong Winds." I mean you are 42 aren't you. You've been around a little bit. Gee look at me....fiesty today. I thought I got over this crap at 18. Hand me my nitro!

PATRICIA you would be surprised at how many people have heard of Gordon Lightfoot around the world. Even people with indoor plumbing like Canada just got the other day :>)

Why I'm writing is that "dumb shot" referring to Canada as "WINTERLAND"

Years ago I used to love to hear the stories of some Americans pulling up to the border in the summertime with snowshoes and parkas and wondering where the igloos were. It would be 80, 90 or over 100 degrees. The odd thing is that there is still a segment of the American Population that still believes it. a.k.a. PATRICIA.

The other night some friends and I were sitting around laughing at comments made about the country from people from south of the border who seem to bathe in ignorance and are so proud of it.

I mean, I really love The U.S. and I know that I know much more about the country than many Americans know about Canada. I've travelled through most of the U.S. and the people are just fantastic.

I still find it funny that people don't realize that Toronto for example, is on the same latitude as Portland Oregon. Buffalo NY 90 miles south of us gets far more snow in one winter than we get in three or four winters combined.

Yeh I know it's a joke; but some people actually believe it. If you tell a falsehood long enough....people will believe it. I think it's the "Pride" in the ignorance that bothers me. By the way PATRICIA, Montana is north of Toronto. This is by no means an Anti-American slam. Far from it. This is just for that small group who ask me questions like.."Who is your President." "Do you really live in igloos" "Is Gordon Lightfoot still alive." Geeeeeeeeeeeeeez!

I do believe I protest too much! Sorry to the rest of you for taking up your time. Hugs Lil:>)

Posted on Sat Aug 12 20:47:55 CEST 2000 from 200-191-199-212-as.acessonet.com.br (200.191.199.212)

Marcelo

Hi there, how's everybody? Hey I just bought Levon's 1980 album "American Son" and I'm listening over and over and over... and it's beautiful, brilliant, what a voice and what a performance! It's so intense! I know...everyone of you had already listen to it, but let me share with the new timers. And say....BUY IT, just BUY IT !!!Lord have mercy...

Posted on Sat Aug 12 19:45:13 CEST 2000 from spider-to047.proxy.aol.com (152.163.204.23)

Stephen Novik

Just thought of this after posting that last entry, Murray Mclauchlan's song "I Hate Your Gun" is a hate ridden rant 'gainst the murderer of rock 'n roll, Mark Chapman. Big circle, small world, we all go 'round... hey, think I'm becoming a poet here. Better stop and listen to the real good stuff 'stead. 'Nuff said fer now. Ta, folks. (as I tip my toque to y'all.)

Posted on Sat Aug 12 19:40:37 CEST 2000 from spider-to047.proxy.aol.com (152.163.204.23)

Stephen Novik

Mattk, I would just like to reiterate about Murray McLauchlan's CBC special "Floating Over Canada" where he and Levon lip-sync to "Acadian Driftwood". In case you need to know, Murray is a label mate of Cockburn's, (True North) and they toured Japan together back in 1977. Notable songs from this Canadian songwriter include "The Farmer's Song", " Down By The Henry Moore" and "Whispering Rain". And, in a real weird tangent, do you think The Guess Who is singing about The Band in their song "When The Band Was Singing, 'Shakin' All Over'"?? Ha Ha Ha. Lots of GREAT MUSIC came from The North. CANADA RULES!

Posted on Sat Aug 12 15:46:50 CEST 2000 from 209-23-38-85.ip.termserv.net (209.23.38.85)

Lil again

Jan just said it. "Wonderful version" of 'This wheel's on fire...done instrumentally..with Rick's voice coming in at the end. Eerie...beautiful. Chills here. This is _beautiful_.

Posted on Sat Aug 12 15:41:33 CEST 2000 from levon.hiof.no (158.36.51.54)

Jan Høiberg

WDST - 100.1 FM - Woodstock coming in crystal clear over the net here in Norway. Right now they're playing that wonderful version of "This Wheel's on Fire" with Rick singing at the end. Thanks to Aaron and Tom for doing this webcast. Hope the show'll be "canned" and made available later, too.

Posted on Sat Aug 12 15:23:30 CEST 2000 from 209-23-38-85.ip.termserv.net (209.23.38.85)

Diamond Lil

Hi Aaron..Hi Tom! Am listening to you guys on WDST right now..what a nice way to spend the morning. Tears in my eyes listening to Rick's beautiful voice here. Thanks for playing the cd. One of the reasons I'm still here is for 'Times like these'.

Times like these, everyone's going to need each other more
Everyone agrees,things are gonna get a little harder than before
Nobody wants to laugh, everybody wants to cry a little more everyday
And with odds like that, given a choice, only a fool would stay.

I miss you Rick.

Posted on Sat Aug 12 14:30:18 CEST 2000 from schltns.demon.nl (212.238.41.164)

Ragtime

Just back after a month vacation a.k.a. holiday. Took Stage Fright (24K gold version) with me and enjoyed it every day, over and over again. Oh, you don't know the shape I'm in...

Nothing changed in our beloved guestbook which is said to be devoted to our beloved Band... so I'm off for another week... this time to the streets of Rome... filled with rubble...?

Posted on Sat Aug 12 10:58:00 CEST 2000 from proxy-333.public.rwc.webtv.net (209.240.200.33)

Patricia

....and you my dear....are a coward....sucker punching is a cheap trick....either use a valid e mail address or shut up.....you are showing your true colors.....and they are not pretty......bully...you were probably like that in high school too..weren't ya.....we all remember you.

Posted on Sat Aug 12 10:43:28 CEST 2000 from cache-hki-8.inet.fi (194.197.68.48)

Kalervo

MattK/Bill: I can' t understand why Bruce Cockburn is so underrated. He has been at his creative peak for the past 10 years with classic albums like Nothing But A Burning Light, Dart To The Heart and The Charity of Night. With this guy you don' t have to be nostalgic, although he made already fine records when the Band at its best.

Posted on Sat Aug 12 10:13:19 CEST 2000 from spider-ti034.proxy.aol.com (152.163.194.189)

Nurse Ratchet

Patricia, hon, she's talking about Serge, another ward of the west wing. The thing about Serge, though, is he has the self-control to only post when he can't hold it in any longer. His condition is acute. Yours is more chronic...with a touch of paranoia now to boot.

Posted on Sat Aug 12 10:01:58 CEST 2000 from proxy-383.public.rwc.webtv.net (209.240.200.83)

Patricia

.......if Miss Sugar wasa' talkin' to me.......answer : YES.......and all at the very same time.......but......this is not a reply to her question.....if in fact she was commenting about me and not Serge....she did not make it clear.....she might not know how to make paragraphs........I would like to add this: all my e mail addresses are valid.....I got a great deal with the web tv people....5 extra ones for the price of one....

Posted on Sat Aug 12 08:50:52 CEST 2000 from proxy1-external.msnv1.occa.home.com (24.4.254.46)

Jonathan Katz

A while back Pehr asked:

Where is Shangri la and who lives there now?

Zuma Beach, just north of Malibu. Don't know who lives there now.

Is Manuel's old bungalow still there?

Yes. I visited a few years back and put an entry in the GB about it. According to various accounts, Richard Manuel actually lived out in Mr. Ed's barn. It was still there a few years ago and I would guess its there now.

A few Levon sites that I just discovered [for some of you this is old news] worth visiting:

http://www.flagpole.com/Issues/04.26.00/levonhelm.html

http://www.hvmusic.com/writers/werewolf/newblues/index.shtml

http://www.berkshireweb.com/rogovoy/concerts/levon.html

http://www.offbeat.com/ob9812/backtalk.html

http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers2/Levon_Helm.html

http://newyork.citysearch.com/E/E/NYCNY/0015/37/68/cs1.html

Posted on Sat Aug 12 08:33:26 CEST 2000 from ip206-105-216.netusa1.net (216.206.105.216)

MS. SUGAR

Am I'm flying on Acid or did I see a negative post from Serge towards the bottom? Hey man, have you ever thought about a psychiatrist or taking prozac, zoloft or deseryl? How about a nerve pill? Xanax, valium...? Don't even reply to me either, I'm in a bad mood. Nice posts about Gordon Lightfoot guys. I grew up with GL. There's nothing like crossing the Mackinac Bridge at dawn and hearing "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." You guys all have great taste. Luv ya'll. Ms. S.

Posted on Sat Aug 12 08:05:04 CEST 2000 from proxy-701.public.rwc.webtv.net (209.240.216.101)

back off Patricia...you're flippin out again

....well it's 9th and Hennipen.....all the donuts have names that sound like prostitutes.......and the moon's teeth marks are on the sky like a tarp thrown over all this..........and the broken umbrellas like dead birds....and the steam comes out of the grills lik the whole Goddamned town is ready to blow........and the bricks are all scattered with jailhouse tattoos..and everyone is behaving like dogs.........ad the horses are coming down Violin Road...and Dutch is dead on his feet....and the rooms all smell like diesel and you take on the dreams of the ones who have slept there..........and I'm lost in the window.and I hide in the stairway......I hang in the curtain....and I sleep in your hat..........and no one brings anything small into a bar around here...........they all started out with bad directions.....and the girl behind the counter has a tattooed tear....one for every year he's away..she says......such a crumbling beauty....ahh, there's nothin' wrong with her that a hundred dollars wouldn't fix......she has that...razor sadness that only gets worse with the clang and the thunder of the Southern Pacific goin' by..........as the clock ticks out like a dripping faucet till you're full of rag water,bitters and blue ruin.......and you spill out over the sides to anyone who will listen.............and I have seen it all............I've seen it all thru the yellow windows of the evening train......thanks, Waits

Posted on Sat Aug 12 06:36:45 CEST 2000 from spider-wa074.proxy.aol.com (205.188.192.54)

Dave Z

Re: Gord... If You Could Read My Mind... just beautiful... and I'm a sucker for his sentimental swill too... I try to catch his show every time he passes through Mpls... usually with a canoe buddy of mine... same goes for Arlo... last time I saw Gord it was right on Hennepin Ave near First Ave (i.e. Purple Rain)... and my friend didn't tell me we had 7th row seats... I thought he got the tickets at the last moment... so I loaded up on long island ice teas just prior... and we sat right next to an serious older couple and were real loud but in a nice way... you know clapping too loudly at the wrong time, maybe even yelling "Excellent"... anyway when we rolled onto the street... some brother in a cool cap smoking a cig chuckled and said to his buddies so everyone could hear... "Look out, hear comes the Gordon Lightfoot crowd"...

Wouldn't it be neat to hear Levon & Garth play on a Gord CD?

Posted on Sat Aug 12 06:22:54 CEST 2000 from proxy-1331.public.svc.webtv.net (209.240.220.156)

X

...Hey Bill....that thing about the bottles was mentioned in Levon's book.....and to the guy....what's his name..aaah ..Steph....hey buddy...if you can't figure out that part of the song......well geez.

Posted on Sat Aug 12 05:43:05 CEST 2000 from spider-we022.proxy.aol.com (205.188.195.27)

Bayou Sam

there's a great interview in the latest issue of Modern Drummer with Charlie Watts and Jim Keltner. Keltner mentions Levon breifly in it too. It's good, if you can find the mag.

Posted on Sat Aug 12 03:42:21 CEST 2000 from spider-tl023.proxy.aol.com (152.163.207.183)

Buffalo Rhythm and Blues Project

Hi all, I've been lurking in here for a long time and decided to come forward a bit. ...... This site is the best!!! ..........note to bill munson, my canadian friend, It seems to me that since Jerry Penfound was the sax player, It would not have been possible for him to replace Stan.(as if anyone could) Rick is qouted in This wheel's on Fire that he learned a lot of bass lines from Stan.(Stan had a wicked left hand.).............it is real nice in here when everyone is discussing the music.............SEPT 21....LEVON.....The Tralf....Buffalo.......IT HAS BEEN WAY TOO LONG!!!!!......hope every one has a great weekend..you folks are the best................later....gary