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justforbooks · 1 year

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David Crosby, who has died aged 81, was a premier-league rock’n’roll star twice. In the mid-1960s he was a founder member of the Byrds, the Los Angeles band often credited with inventing the genre “folk-rock”. This was defined by their shimmering recording of Bob Dylan’s Mr Tambourine Man, its distinctive harmonies and chiming 12-string guitar carrying it to the top of the charts in Britain and the US in 1965.

Arrogant and argumentative, Crosby was sacked from the Byrds in 1967, but, after producing Joni Mitchell’s debut album, Song to a Seagull, he found an ideal berth with Crosby, Stills and Nash. It was a group of distinct individuals who wrote their own songs, but together they created one of the great harmony-singing blends in pop history. Their debut album, Crosby Stills & Nash (1969), was an immediate smash, and proved hugely influential on a rising generation of west coast artists. Crosby’s long hair, walrus moustache and buckskin jacket made him look like a frontiersman for the Age of Aquarius. Their second album, Déjà Vu (1970), with the addition of Neil Young, and the band becoming Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (CSNY), felt like the crowning moment of a California golden age. It topped the US chart, reached No 5 in the UK and has sold 14m copies.

The members then embarked on solo ventures and their reunions grew increasingly rare, though they reformed for a stadium tour in 1974, a lavishly wasteful affair that Crosby nicknamed “the Doom tour”. A major obstacle was that Crosby, a regular marijuana and LSD user, would succumb to a ferocious addiction to crack cocaine, with near-fatal consequences. This came to a head on 28 March 1982, when he was arrested by the California Highway Patrol after he crashed his car into the central divider on the Interstate 405 highway. Police found freebasing paraphernalia and a .45-calibre pistol in the car, and it was later determined that Crosby had suffered a seizure from “toxic saturation”.

A couple of weeks later he was arrested again on similar charges, this time at a Dallas nightclub where he was performing. A spell in a rehab facility in New Jersey failed when Crosby fled the premises. His decline from prince of west coast rock aristocracy to struggling addict was halted only when he was jailed in Texas in 1986, following yet another drugs-and-firearms arrest.

In 1985, Spin magazine had told its readers “The Tragic Story of David Crosby’s Living Death”, but after being paroled from Huntsville prison in August 1986, Crosby staged a remarkable comeback. He marked his return with the enthralling autobiography Long Time Gone (1988) and the solo album Oh Yes I Can (1989). He would make six further solo discs, in addition to Crosby & Nash (2004), two albums with Stills and Nash (Live It Up in 1990 and After the Storm, 1994) and American Dream and Looking Forward with CSNY (1988 and 1999). In 1987 he married Jan Dance, who had survived her own addiction purgatory alongside him. Shortly after being diagnosed with hepatitis C, in 1994 he underwent a liver transplant, the operation paid for by Phil Collins (Crosby had sung on Collins’s 1989 hit Another Day in Paradise), and bounced back with renewed energy.

Born in Los Angeles, he was the second son of the cinematographer Floyd Crosby and his first wife, Aliph Van Cortlandt Whitehead, a scion of the influential Van Cortlandt dynasty. Floyd came from an upper-class New York background, his father having been the treasurer of the Union Pacific Railroad, and his mother the daughter of a renowned surgeon. He had tried his hand at banking in New York before working on documentary films in the South Pacific (including FW Murnau’s Tabu, for which he won an Oscar) and eventually moving to Hollywood, where he won a Golden Globe award for his work on Fred Zinnemann’s western High Noon and made numerous films with Roger Corman.

David’s early musical influences included classical music and jazz as well as the Everly Brothers and bluesman Josh White, and he recalled how he would take the harmony parts when the family would gather to sing extracts from The Fireside Book of Folk Songs. A trip with his mother to hear a symphony orchestra “was the most intense experience I can remember from my early life” (as he wrote in Long Time Gone), because it illustrated how musicians could collaborate “to make something bigger than any one person could ever do”.

He attended the exclusive Crane school in Montecito, California, then Cate boarding school in Carpinteria. Though intelligent, he regarded academic work with contempt and refused to apply himself. One area where he did shine was in musical stage shows, such as his performance as the First Lord of the Admiralty in Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore. He subsequently attended Santa Barbara City College, but quit and moved to LA to study acting. However, music was becoming his true focus, and he began playing in folk clubs with his elder brother Ethan (who would take his own life in 1997). When a girlfriend became pregnant, Crosby hastily left town and worked his way across the country towards the folk-singing mecca of Greenwich Village, New York, where the likes of Peter, Paul and Mary, Phil Ochs and Joan Baez were breaking through, while Dylan was about to transform the musical climate entirely.

Crosby formed a partnership with the Chicago-born folk singer Terry Callier and they performed frequently together, before Crosby travelled down to Florida in 1962 to sample the folk scene in Miami’s Coconut Grove district. He then worked his way back to Los Angeles via Denver, Chicago and San Francisco. In LA he met Jim (later Roger) McGuinn and Gene Clark, all of them fascinated by the Beatles and the idea of mixing folk with rock’n’roll. They became the Jet Set, which evolved into the Byrds with the addition of the bassist Chris Hillman and drummer Michael Clarke.

Signed to Columbia, the Byrds had already built an enthusiastic local following by playing in clubs such as Ciro’s on Sunset Strip by the time Mr Tambourine Man was released in April 1965, and its success was followed up by their debut album, released in June. Crosby’s distinctive tenor voice was integral to the band’s vocal blend, and he began to develop an idiosyncratic songwriting style.

Influenced by jazz as much as rock, his songs used unusual chords and unconventional melodies. On the band’s third album, Fifth Dimension (1966), one of his most significant contributions was co-writing Eight Miles High. This psychedelic milestone gave them a Top 20 US hit, and also reflected Crosby’s infatuation with the jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. Their next album, Younger Than Yesterday (1967), featured Crosby’s ethereal Everybody’s Been Burned as well as his self-indulgent sound experiment Mind Gardens, while the song Why reflected his admiration for the sitar maestro Ravi Shankar. When the Byrds met the Beatles, Crosby’s enthusiasm for Shankar helped spark George Harrison’s interest in Indian music.

Crosby’s green suede cape and Borsalino hat had made him a Hollywood Hills style icon, but his days as a Byrd were numbered. He had irked his bandmates at the Monterey pop festival in June 1967 by making rambling speeches about LSD and the assassination of John F Kennedy, and also by getting on stage with Stills’s band Buffalo Springfield in place of the absent Young. Crosby’s song Lady Friend (1967) flopped as a single, and during the making of the album The Notorious Byrd Brothers he was fired after arguments over the choice of material. His song Triad, depicting a menage-a-trois, was vetoed by his bandmates as being too risque (Jefferson Airplane subsequently recorded it). Nonetheless, Crosby played on and co-wrote several tracks, and The Notorious Byrd Brothers is arguably the Byrds’ finest album.

Borrowing $25,000 from Peter Tork of the Monkees, Crosby bought a 74ft schooner called Mayan, where he would write some of his best-known songs including Crosby, Stills and Nash’s Wooden Ships. The obvious potential of CSN immediately won them a deal with Atlantic Records, which released their debut album in May 1969. Their second-ever live appearance was at the Woodstock festival that August. Though dominated by the all-round wizardry of Stills, the album showcased the different writing skills of each member. Crosby’s Guinnevere demonstrated his fondness for unusual scales and harmonies, while the bluesy Long Time Gone was a heartfelt response to the assassination of Bobby Kennedy and indicated the group’s willingness to embrace political and social issues.

Déjà Vu, released nine months later, brought another strong showing from Crosby. The hanging chords and mysterious time changes of his title track made it one of his most mesmerising compositions, while Almost Cut My Hair was his battle cry for the counterculture. However, personality clashes within the group while on tour in 1970 prompted them to split.

All the members made solo albums, including Crosby’s If I Could Only Remember My Name (1971). Additionally, he formed a successful duo with Nash, which brought them US Top 10 hit albums with Graham Nash David Crosby (1972, also UK No 13) and Wind on the Water (1975), and they reached No 26 with Whistling Down the Wire (1976). In 1973 Crosby reunited with his previous band for the album Byrds, and in 1977 Crosby, Stills and Nash released CSN, which reached No 2 on the US album chart and outsold the trio’s debut. However, by the time they made Daylight Again (1981), another US Top 10 hit, Crosby was in the throes of addiction. Allies (1983), a patchwork of live and studio material, was the group’s last effort before he was jailed.

Crosby’s post-prison renaissance continued with regular tours with CSN, who went on the road almost annually from 1987, with Young joining them in 2000, 2002 and 2006. He released the solo album Thousand Roads (1993), which gave him a minor hit single with Hero, then picked up the pace dramatically in the new century with Croz (2014), Lighthouse (2016), Sky Trails (2017) and Here If You Listen (2018). For Free, featuring Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen and Michael McDonald, came out in 2021. His final release, in December, was David Crosby & the Lighthouse Band Live at the Capitol Theatre.

One of his regular musical collaborators was James Raymond, his child with Celia Crawford Ferguson, whom Crosby had left pregnant in California in the early 60s, and who had given her baby up for adoption. She later moved to Australia. Raymond met his birth mother in 1994, then in 1995 introduced himself to his biological father at UCLA medical centre, where Crosby was having treatment following his liver transplant. An accomplished musician and composer, Raymond played in the jazz-rock band CPR with his father and Jeff Pevar (they released four albums between 1998 and 2001), was music director for Crosby’s solo live shows and also became a member of Crosby, Stills and Nash’s touring band from 2009.

Yet Crosby’s creative rebirth coincided with a calamitous breakdown in relations with his old comrades. In 2014 Young said CSNY would never tour again after Crosby described his new partner, Daryl Hannah, as “a purely poisonous predator”, and in 2016 Nash, who had always gone the extra mile for Crosby throughout his addiction years, also announced his estrangement from him.

In 1991 Crosby was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Byrds, and in 1997 with Crosby, Stills and Nash. He won the 2019 Critics’ Choice movie award as the “most compelling living subject of a documentary” for AJ Eaton’s film David Crosby: Remember My Name.

Crosby continued to be plagued by health problems. He suffered from type 2 diabetes, and in 2014 was left with eight stents in his heart following major cardiac surgery.

He was the sperm donor for the children of Melissa Etheridge and her partner Julie Cypher: their son, Beckett, who died in 2020, and daughter, Bailey.

Jan and their son, Django, survive him, as do James, a daughter, Erika, by Jackie Guthrie, and a daughter, Donovan, by Debbie Donovan.

🔔 David Van Cortlandt Crosby, musician, singer and songwriter, born 14 August 1941; died 18 January 2023

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

#JUST FOR BOOKS #David Crosby #in memoriam

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singeratlarge · 2 years

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SONG OF THE WEEK “Lonely Room” by Kris Ryder a.k.a. Chris Andrews.https://timchrisandrews.bandcamp.com/track/lonely-room ...This wouldn’t be the first time a musician wrote a song about breaking out of a lonely room. Released in 1979, this recording forecasted the sounds of the 80s, mixing classic rock, New Wave, and synthpop. The arpeggiated synthesizer work is by the late Billy Lyall (Bay City Rollers, Alan Parson’s Project, Pilot), still remembered well for his keyboard skills. The fab fretwork is by guitar hero and Kinks kolleague Phil Palmer (Eric Clapton, David Essex, Dire Straits, Wishbone Ash). This track was produced by Christopher Neil (a-ha, Sheena Easton). On a cosmic jukebox this record would play somewhere between The Cars and Christopher Cross. Listen here:

If this is your introduction to Chris Andrews, he’s a British singer-songwriter and recording artist whose songs have been covered by Roger Daltrey, David Essex, and Davy Jones (Monkees). Under the name Tim Andrews he was a champion of late 60s psychedelic pop and (later), as Kris Ryder, he released New Wave synthpop sides in the 80s. Chris was also part of the seminal 60s freakbeat band Fleur de Lys.

#synthpop #britpop #classicrock #synthesizer #NewWave #TheCars #christophercross #chrisandrews #krisryder #singersongwriter #recordingarist #britishrock #philpalmer #christopherneil #rogerdaltrey #davidessex #davyjones #monkees

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natromanxoff · 3 years

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“[...] one of my uncles was killed by Nazis.” - Roger

Did we know about this??! Below you can read the full article in Italian from 1995, translation is provided by @/_letusclingtogether_ on Instagram. Thanks once again to her!

Drummer Roger Taylor arrives in Italy with his own band and announces the release of a new Queen album recorded with Mercury right before his passing.

FREDDIE AND QUEEN: THE RECORD IS READY

Raffaele Niri Genoa - Queen is alive, long live the Queen. Roger Taylor, drummer and author of many hits of the band whose destiny eclipsed with its singer death Freddie Mercury, on the 24th of November, jokes with us. But Taylor strongly rejects the feasible accusation of recording necrophilia: the posthumous record of Queen is set to be released in a few months, right before the upcoming summer, and it will be, according to Roger Taylor himself, “a shocking experience: the tracks are full of Freddie's imagination, songs are exceptional and powerful. Electronic embellishments? Not even one: The bulk of the work is done, the 3 of us has just filled musical bases that we already conceived with Mercury.”

The announcement comes as a surprise, meanwhile Taylor's embarked on his 1st Italian tour: Brian May, John Deacon and Taylor himself have been working for months and months on the missing parts left by Freddie Mercury “and now the record is finally done. This one, started with Freddie and was conceived and wanted by Freddie too.” Thereby Taylor swears this is not a sinister marketing concept, furthermore this operation wouldn't have been worth worth of such gestation.

Obviously rumours about a new record they have been spreading for quite a while now, but if the chance to keep touring with a singer who could replace Mercury (and even a possible reunion of the 3 surviving Queen members) seems so overpowering at the moment, the idea of new music work had been buzzing us for 3 years on. But why Queen has been waiting for such a long time? "We wanted to make sure for the record to be devoid of morbidity,” Taylor explains, “we wanted it to be considered for what it really is, which is the last Queen album with a series of performances by Freddie Mercury. That is the time.”

45 years old, a Clinton-like look, and a great group to back him up (Jason Falloon on guitar, Phil Spalding the bass player and Mike Crossley on keyboards), Taylor got all sold-outs while playing his 3 gigs in Italy (Monfalcone, Schio, Genova). Today he's going to play in Cesena, tomorrow in Florence, the 22nd he'll be playing in Rome, then Malta, Palermo, Catania and Naples.

“Queen had to come to Italy in the early 70s, but there were political problems, it was not the best place to play,” Taylor explains as he turns on politics. His last single is called Nazis 1994, heavy condemnation against the spread of neo-nazism ideals (”here in Italy, you call it neo-fascism but it is basically the same”) in Europe.

But wasn't Queen “altogether apolitical”? “Queen is for sure, but I'm not. When you are in a group of 4 it's necessary to negotiate somehow, about me I've have treasured my mum's teachings throughout my life; one of my uncle was killed by Nazis and for sure I think that it is something to be afraid of.” We keep moving back and forth around the same dilemma: should be the role of a singer compared to a critical social consciousness? “I wanted to express my opinion on this topic and I did. Voice is the only instrument a singer has to convey his personal point of view. You know, people may be listening to us but it doesn't mean they agree with us all the time and share same opinions as we do on stage. But I gave it a go.”

As for the gigs, Taylor entertains the audience with Queen songs but he allegedly tries to stand on his own two feet, he stresses that "Radio Gaga", "A Kind Of Magic", and "I'm In Love With My Car" are his own tunes. After all other hits were signed by four of them.

On stage Taylor likes to end his shows with a quick jump, in a typical Joe Sentieri style, he moves rather badly as the majority of drummers, he talks very little with the audience and when he hits the gong he looks like the little man you find on Plasmon Biscuits* boxes. But the voice is on top, and his solo tracks stand up to the challenge too. At the end of the day it's like listening to a remarkable Queen karaoke. After all, who wouldn't dream of singing the Beatles with Ringo, or Equipe 84 with Alfio on lead?

*Here is the man on Plasmon Biscuits they mention:

#queen #queen band #roger taylor #roger meddows taylor #queen scans #magazine's title is unknown

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astrophysicist-guitar-god · 3 years

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MusicRadar.com

The 12 greatest singing drummers ever

By Joe Bosso, August 05, 2011

Driving the band/selling the song multi-taskers

It's one thing to be a good drummer. But to be a great drummer – one who keeps the beat, plays for the song, and who imbues his craft with a unique sense of personality – that's something else altogether.

Now, let's consider singers. Plenty of people can carry a tune. But how many of them can sell you a song with character and unfiltered emotion? Whether it's belting or crooning, capturing a feeling and putting it across to the listener is a mysterious talent that but a few truly possess.

All right, let’s combine the two and arrive at drummers who sing – not just ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs,’ mind you, we’re talking lead vocals. Suddenly, all of those drummer jokes aren’t so funny anymore.

With all of this right side/left side brain stuff in mind, MusicRadar is banging a gong and letting the melismas fly as we salute the 12 greatest singing drummers ever, players who dispel the notion that you have to step up to the mic to make magic. Sitting down is perfectly fine.

Unranked list.

Peter Criss (Kiss)

Kelly Keagy (Night Ranger)

Sheila E

Dave Clark (Dave Clark Five)

Karen Carpenter (Carpenters)

Mickey Dolenz (Monkees)

Dave Grohl (Nirvana/Foo Fighters)

Don Henley (Eagles)

Levon Helm (The Band)

Phil Collins (Genesis)

Ringo Starr (Beatles)

Roger Taylor

In Queen, Roger Taylor pulled off the near-impossible. Not only did the provide the kind of massive beats and thunderous fills sturdy enough to go up against Brian May's ginormous guitar sound, but he proved to be a versatile enough singer to complement the operatic, larger-than-life vocals of Freddie Mercury.

Whether swinging (Crazy Little Thing Called Love), funking out (Another One Bites The Dust) or rocking to the nth degree (take your pick), there hasn't been a drumming style or feel that Taylor hasn't been able to nail. (Until 2008, he played either Ludwig or Sleishman drums kits; now he favors DW.)

As a singer, Taylor handled harmonies and co-leads on numerous Queen gems (his falsetto screams in Bohemian Rhapsody are a particular highlight). But he grabbed center stage - or center drum stool - for solo turns on I'm In Love With My Car, Modern Times Rock 'N' Roll, Fun It, Father To Son and many others.

More than just a great drummer, and more than just a great drummer who could sing well - Roger Taylor was Queen's secret weapon.

#Roger Taylor #my little drummer love #top singing drummers #unranked list #Queen #Queen: Academia

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sinceileftyoublog · 5 years

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Newport Folk Festival: 7/26-7/28

Brandi Carlile and Dolly Parton sing “I Will Always Love You”

BY MICHAEL KINGSBAKER

Another Newport Folk Festival has come and gone, and yes, it still is the greatest music festival in the world, and it is still my favorite weekend of the year. This year, for the first time in its 60-year history, the festival had an all female-led Saturday night headliner, arguably had its two biggest appearances to date, covered an entire masterpiece album, premiered the biggest female country supergroup ever, and finally found the heir apparent to Pete Seeger on what would be his 100th birth year.

After Pete Seeger passed away in 2014, a gaping hole was left at the Newport Folk Festival. Seeger had been around the festival since its inception, and while festival producer Jay Sweet has captained the ship incredibly since taking over in 2008, the question has remained: Who would hold the seat that Seeger did for years? The musical ambassador of the people and of the music of the Newport Folk Festival? That question was answered loud and clear this year, as Brandi Carlile cemented her rightful seat. Last year was a precursor, when she performed from her Grammy Award-winning album By the Way, I Forgive You and guest performed with Mumford and Sons and during the Change is Gonna Come set. This year, she got handed the keys to the car and packed a Saturday night headlining slot full of talent from the past and present, culminating in a 5-song set from none other than Dolly Parton. Now, Jay Sweet has pulled some pretty big acts during his 12 years on the festival, but he didn’t pull Dolly--Brandi did! She also premiered her new country super group The Highwomen, an all-female answer to The Highwaymen. The former’s reworking of the latter’s namesake song absolutely took my breath away (and was just released), and then Carlile closed out her weekend singing Pete Seeger's classic song "If I Had a Hammer" with Alynda Segarra from Hurray For The Riff Raff.

Overall, this year’s festival was fiercely female, showcasing talents from multiple generations from Parton and Judy Collins, Sheryl Crow, and Linda Perry to Carlile, Rhiannon Giddens, Maggie Rogers, and Yola. The collaboration sets, which really gained steam with the Dylan 65' Revisited set 3 years ago, continued this year and actually tripled, with the Saturday night All-Female Collaboration, along with a last minute addition of a complete cover of Graham Nash's "Song for Beginners" led by Kyle Craft with an all-star cast of Newport favorites. Finally, on Sunday, Pete Seeger was celebrated with set entitled "If I Had a Song" where audiences were given song books with which to sing along. It opened with Jim James singing “The Rainbow Connection” with perhaps the second biggest star to ever appear at the Newport Folk Festival in Kermit the Frog. I was also pleased to see that Our Native Daughters were asked to participate in the Seeger Celebration, singing the Seeger tune "If You Miss Me at The Back of The Bus" and joining Mavis Staples and Hozier for "Keep Your Eyes on The Prize". Two years ago, for the SPEAK OUT set at Newport (intended to be a platform for artists to speak out about issues of our times), I was critical of the set’s lack of diversity. I noted that both Rhiannon Giddens and Alynda Segarra gave the most topical and stirring performances of that festival but were absent at that finale. Well, this year, they both hit the stage and had their voices heard with songs of protest to make up for lost time.

It's good to know this incredible festival is in good hands and has its ears open. I'm already looking forward to next July. Until then, here's a few photos to pass the time.

Newport is always a place to make discoveries. Saturday morning, the audience was woken up to the raucous duo of Illiterate Light.

Liz Cooper & The Stampede bent over backwards (literally) to electrify the audience at the Quad on Friday with their psychedelic soundscape.

Recent Tony Award winner Anais Mitchell and The Milk Carton Kids at The Harbor Stage, singing Graham Nash's "Simple Man" as part of the Songs for Beginners set.

After a last minute dropout from Noname due to illness, Festival producer Jay Sweet was left with a hole at the Harbor Stage on Saturday. After tweeting about the brilliance of Graham Nash's album Songs for Beginners and the responses it garnered, an idea sparked. A supergroup of Newport faithful led by Kyle Craft, including Hiss Golden Messenger, Lake Street Dive, Amy Ray, The Tallest Man on Earth, and more played the album from start to end. I think we may have just started a new Newport tradition--might I suggest Neil Young's Harvest next year?

Lukas Nelson and The Promise of The Real rocked the Quad Stage on Friday, closing the set with a rendition of Neil Young's "Rockin’ in the Free World" but slowed things down with reminders to Turn Off the News (Build a Garden), and song about an ex named Georgia that made performing with his father singing "Georgia On My Mind" every night a little tricky.

British singer-songwriter Yola was everywhere at the Newport Folk Festival, performing her own set at the Harbor stage as well as at the Quad with both The Highwomen and Dawes. Here, she takes the stage at the Fort during The Collaboration with the First Ladies of Bluegrass covering The Eurythmics’ "Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves".

After appearing last year as a guest to Mumford & Sons and others, this year, Maggie Rogers got the Fort stage all to herself to dance in and out of her sound equipment and share her debut album Heard It in a Past Life with Newport.

Every year, there's an act that brings Quad to its feet and doesn't let them sit back down. This year, Jupiter & Okwess invited everyone to fill in the fire lanes, and a 45-minute dance party ensued, capping off with a collaboration with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Phosporescent returned to the Quad stage with hypnotic grooves and chill vibes, keeping all the heads bobbing inside the old fort.

I'm With Her returned, bringing their sweet blend of harmonies bridging old-time music to the present, including covers of The Vampire Weekend and Joni Mitchell.

This year was all about the women, and the fellas came to support. Jason Isbell, who generally headlines festivals like these, wasn't even given a microphone. Here, Amanda Shires (who happens to be his wife) allows him to share a few thoughts as they introduced a song they co-wrote, "If She Ever Leaves Me", dubbed the first gay country song, which was sung moments later by Brandi Carlile.

Each year, the festival producer comes out to the early birds waiting for the gates to open to welcome them back and remind them to BE PRESENT, BE KIND, BE OPEN, and BE TOGETHER. There isn't a place in the world that's easier to do those four things.

It's always fun to see what surprise guests will show up to the festival that aren't officially listed. This year’s guests included Jim James, Kermit The Frog, Dolly Parton, James Taylor...you know that this list might end up being bigger than the actual lineup. Here's surprise guest Tallest Man on Earth, who joined both the Songs for Beginners set as well as The Cooks in the Kitchen.

Hozier returned for his 3rd appearance, singing a duet with Mavis Staples for their song "Nina Cried Power". He also gave over the stage to Brandi Carlile during his set for her to sing her hit “The Joke”. Here, he joins with Lake Street Dive for a cover of Sly & The Family Stone’s "Everyday People".

Jade Bird had her own solo set at The Fort stage but joined in on The Collaboration, seen here singing "What's Up" with Linda Perry and Brandi Carlile.

Phil Cook has become a regular staple at the festival. His love and respect for the musicians and the music played at the festival has endeared himself to both fans and musicians alike. For his set, Cooks in the Kitchen, Phil, who always seems up for a collaboration, was joined by his brother Brad as well as Tallest Man on The Earth’s Kristian Matsson, Amy Ray of The Indigo Girls, and Anais Mitchell.

Molly Tuttle, who had her own set with guitarist Billy Strings, joined The First Ladies of Bluegrass, Courtney Marie Andrews, and others for a cover of “Big Yellow Taxi” at the Collaboration Set Saturday.

Just a man, his guitar, and a huge open stage. Jeff Tweedy charmed the audience at the Fort on Saturday claiming he wanted to "hug you with his sad shit."

Rhiannon Giddens returned to the Newport Folk Festival with the most powerful and gut-wrenching set of the festival, joined by Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell to form the group Our Native Daughters, singing songs addressing American historical issues that have influenced the identity of black women. This marked only their 6th live performance, performing in Connecticut a week earlier for the first time. Emotions were overflowing both on stage and in the audience, as each artist (each of whom played multiple instruments) took turns singing songs of sorrow, hope, anger, and joy. It was an experience like no other at the festival.

Linda Perry leading a sing along of "What's Up" at The Collaboration, asking the audience to sing so high, "I wanna touch the fucking stars!" Later, she was on Facebook Live for the introduction of Dolly Parton.

There was a bit of a 90's renaissance at this year’s festival with appearances from Amy Ray, Linda Perry, and former Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss. Sheryl Crow, who had her own set at the Fort on Friday and later joined The Highwomen that day at the Quad, got in on the fun at The Collaboration on Saturday, performing "If It Makes You Happy" with Maren Morris and "Strong Enough" with Maggie Rogers and Yola.

Newport always does a great job of honoring those who led the way. This year, we saw Judy Collins hit many stages and share stories about a young Bob Dylan writing “Mr. Tambourine Man” on her porch, as well as recalling Stephen Stills singing her "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", to which she replied "It's a good song, but it won't get me back." Here, she shares the story of a friend discovering Joni Mitchell and bringing her "Both Sides Now", which was sung moments later with Brandi Carlile.

Couples take in the If I Had A Song set at sunset on Sunday, which included a duet from Kermit the Frog and Jim James as well as a serenade to Judy Collins from Robin Pecknold (Fleet Foxes), Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats), and James Mercer (The Shins), singing “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”.

Newport Folk Festival marked the inaugural performance of The Highwomen. Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires, and Natalie Hemby, here joined by Yola, opened their set to a powerful reworking of “The Highwaymen”, made famous by Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and Johnny Cash. The Highwomen’s version, written by Carlile, Shires, and Jimmy Webb (the original songwriter) honors the stories of courageous female revolutionaries and includes an additional 5th verse:

"We are The Highwomen / Singing stories still untold / We carry the sons, you can only hold / We are the daughters of the silent generations / You sent our hearts to die alone in foreign nations / It may return to us as tiny drops of rain / But we will still remain.”

A stage full of Newport Folk ladies, including Brandi Carlile, Rachael Price, Maggie Rogers, and Sheryl Crow, bow down to the one and only Dolly Parton. I've seen Roger Waters, Jack White, My Morning Jacket, Jackson Browne, Beck, Levon Helm, and Mumford & Sons headline the Festival. This was the biggest of all the Saturday night headliners.

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teachersofbeestonls11 · 4 years

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Background Story - Nursery years and “Big School”

So firstly to give you some background to the author.

I was born Jonathan Lee Hart September 21st 1982 at Hyde Terrace Hospital, The Eldest of 2 children on my Mothers side and Third born of 11 on my Fathers. Both my parents lived in Beeston. I was raised at 3 Cardinal Square on the council estate where I lived initially with My Mother, Grandad and Grandma and 2 of my Aunts who then moved out in my early primary years as they went about their adult lives. My family have lived on Cardinal Square since the day the houses were first to complete, something which is true in the case of both grandparents I grew up with, My grandfather Les lived on the “Little Square” just 5 doors down from where he then made his Marital home with Hetty, who grew up at 105 Cardinal Square with her parents, one of my earliest memories is going up the street with her to see my great-grandma Young every now and then, in later years my Aunt Janet moved into 103 and My mother Carol still lives at number 3 to this very day, where she previously grew up with her Brother Ronnie and her sisters Susan, Janet, Diane and Linda. Janet still also works in the area at Cardinal Court just behind where she grew up. My Grandfather on my Dads side also spent his final years on the neighbouring streets following his retirement from the city centre pub trade.

I spent much of my early working life in the area, from evenings on the phone at Weatherlite Windows, Abbseal and then later Royal Mail at Holbeck Delivery office, I can still be seen in the area usually playing the guitar at one of the local pubs or clubs with The Mercs many times a year when we are not in the midst of a Global Pandemic. Beeston is in my blood.

My closest friends from the street the Richmond, Giles and Naismith families go back 3 generations, our parents and grandparents were friends since childhood, the estate has been called a few names over the years but in my history growing up it was a close-knit area, many friends from there I have kept to this day, it made me who I am and I would not have changed that for anything.

This page is more focused on my memories of school days, less so on individual pupils but more the type of education we got and the teachers we encountered, I hope when complete others can contribute theirs from their times, most prominently on the teachers at the schools who helped to shape the lives we now live and the ways we learnt and types of lessons.

Tied into this also will be the local clubs I got to take part in and the many great volunteers who gave up their time for us in and out of school, So let’s get cracking and go to Beeston Primary School Nursery. Starting with Key Stage one for today's episode, one thing I am short on is photos of the days, I am in the process of tracking them down and then will update the page as I get them to hopefully create a bit of an archive, the idea of this is to recognise the efforts of the teachers and people in the area who invested the time in ourselves our education but also to allow our future generations to have an idea of how school life has changed so much in a few decades.

If people want to send photos to add to the page from the time feel free to put them in the comments or drop me a Facebook message with them.

Nursery

As far as nursery goes from memory it felt like one day I was spending days watching tv, going out on the Cardinal Field or playing with my pals round at the twins Duane and Danny’s house, then suddenly I was told “you’re off to nursery tomorrow” by my mother, so off I went, I remember first seeing the building, much of which has remained the same to this day with its dark brick oblongs with the white frames and fascias, I used to come up past the old Convent of The Most Holy Cross and Passion on Town Street, where you could see the building in the distance then we would go up the winding path by the terminus to the nursery. In those days we used to be scared of the Nuns as some of them almost had a ghostly appearance but in later life whenever we said a good morning to them they were always found to be most polite.

At this point that was the only “Hut” at the school, the portakabins were still to be dropped in. Of course, the first job of the day was getting your pumps on duly brought in our pump bags, I had the same one all through primary school hand made by my Aunty Diane. We were taught by Miss Holgate and Mrs Allen, Miss Holgate had a patient calm and welcoming manner, at nursery I don’t think I ever had a day when I didn’t want to bound in and look forward to it.

Miss Holgate was one for engaging the group in creative activities, most of which used to involve those old little white gluesticks and pots of glitter, or plenty of scribbling with crayons, Mrs Allen's forte was in storytelling, she was at both that school then Hugh Gaitskell all through my primary years, she had a preference for dressing in trouser suit/waistcoat combos when at Beeston Primary, with her short cut and tinted glasses, we must have been one of her early classes before she moved into single class teaching. She could be calm and soft-spoken with a slight depth to her voice but did not take any nonsense and the tone she used if there was any made that clear to not go too far.

Playtimes were spent between us all either trying to cram ourselves into the little wendy house in the playground, throwing coits on to poles, playing with the rocking horse or other similar toys or trying to get first dibs on an old fashioned metal tricycle so we could dash around doing circles of the yard, it was much faster than all the other plastic bikes and push cars and made you feel a bit more grown-up. The days were always finished off with a little story on the carpet and it was just a really enjoyable introduction to school life.

The one-story I remember in particular then we were read a few times was "Funnybones" with the opening line of “in a dark dark house on a dark dark night” Mrs Allen did a great interpretation of it. Some of my longest and oldest friends were in this class including Ben Woodburn, Shayn Thomas and Phil Mitchell, we all grew up on the Cardinals and Waincliffes and in Ben and Phil's case spent our entire school years in the same schools. Some of the other kids locally would go to the nursery in Cottingley at that time, who would then come and join us for “Big school”.

Beeston Primary Reception Class 0W / RW

For my introduction to mainstream schooling reception I was taught by the then Miss Harriet Wood (later to be Mrs Ansell-Wood), she was a fantastic teacher, she had a very calming presence, Tall with a blonde bob, a smile for everyone and welcoming manner about her, in later life she also then moved on to what became Hugh Gaitskell primary after the middle schools were abolished in the area, in what has become a recurring theme over the years some of my friends who came from different parts of Yorkshire, and even Europe became work colleagues with her in their early teaching days and every one of them has nothing but kind words to speak of her.

One particular time I was falsely accused of filling a crisp packet full of water and throwing it on my older mate Duane's head, a likely story indeed I wouldn’t even know how to do that back then, despite being an unproven allegation I was taken inside for a dressing down, At first I was just defensive and angry in my reaction to the point of being hysterical due to knowing I'd not done this. I remember Miss Wood did a marvellous job of calmly settling me back down, giving a reassuring hand until I could explain myself and all was forgiven. Kindness and understanding always live long in the memory.

We would work our way through the colours and levels of our maths books, learning to read via the Collins “one two three and away” books, learning about the Village with 3 corners and its inhabitants Roger Red Hat, Billy Blue hat and Jonathan and Jennifer Yellow Hat (The first Hart to Hart reference in this series).

We learnt to put words and sentences together using “Letra sets” that were in giant binders and looking back on it reminded me a bit like a more word-based version of having your scrabble letters out but filling in the words!

We would go to the main hall and take part in “music and movement” which involved sort of classical piece from the sound system playing while we would attempt various shapes or swop from hopping to trotting, skipping or other such movements to the soundtrack. With a few games of musical statues thrown in at the end for good measure!

If we did PE then the old blue mats would be brought out for doing little forward rolls and the old balance beams with the hooks on and various other bits of apparatus would appear, all the time this was carried out barefoot which in winter was freezing as well as being very sore on your feet and not so fun a landing if you took a wrong step.

On my little table, I was sat with Richard Leach (who met his wife at the school who are happily together to this day), Matthew Jeffers, James Ratcliffe, Sophie Grant and Stephen Hullock.

Stephens grandfather was the school caretaker for many years, there were a lot of days you would see him when we were out in the playground, he would be on the roof of the school retrieving various footballs and items that had been dispatched to the roof the night before by the kids from the Heathcroft estate during their football games or whatever other antics they chose to partake in, he would be greeted by a cheer as some of the balls were thrown back down into the playground. Talking of which Ste’s Grandfather on his dads' side was none other than Leeds United legend Jimmy Dunn, his other grandkids also went to our school and you can find his name on Bremner Square at the ground, check it out and if he is a player from before your time read him up and learn about his career he was a top player.

From those days to I can still visually picture how we all looked and were, the top music star of the time was Michael Jackson and Shayn Thomas is always shocked to remember that when I can still picture that he used to have his “thriller” T-Shirt on at school (no uniform at BPS in those days we could wear what we wanted).

The year group was based at the back end of the school that faces the Heathcroft Estate, the classrooms would usually have one wall separating them at the side with a large curtain at the end of each classroom being our way in and out which would then be closed for privacy at reading times our more “creative” play and lessons took place in what was known as the “Wet Area” where we would be able to get up to the more messy types of play, such as sandpits and making Papier Mache items by sticking bits of old newspaper to balloons, the area was overseen by Miss Barker (she still had her maiden name then) who also had the job of patching us up if we fell in the playground complete with that yellow spray that used to sting like mad and leave you smelling like TCP. Miss Barker always had a bit of glam and somehow managed to work in the messiest part of school yet always be dressed immaculately and still end the day still resembling Joan Collins.

The neighbouring class was Mr Johnson's class (later to be the Husband of the aforementioned Miss Barker). Mr Johnson was a big part of the school for many years, he had a great positive influence on many of us growing up, he was keen on his sport and football which i will go into more in later chapters, in his younger days, he had a moustache to rival Nigel Mansell but a lot more hair on top, at playtimes our year group had the little playground facing down towards the hill where we would run around playing “What time is it Mr Wolf” or trying to do the hops skips and jumps on the painted sections on the playground floor, recreate our favourite superheroes by buttoning our coats into capes battling whichever poor soul was nominated to be the baddie. It was also in this playground where I first found out about one of my lifelong passions, before then I only knew of Everton and Liverpool as football teams (I was only 4 years old so only ever saw the cup final up to then, which you may recall was played out by those two teams in 1986), we always saw the old gigantic floodlights and stadium down the hill, you couldn’t miss them, then one day in the distance I noticed some men were running up and down Fullerton Park in white tops, when it was still the training ground, I asked Mr Johnson who was on Duty, in his normal attire of polo shirt and jeans with this white winter coat and coffee in hand, “what's that down there sir” to which he then told me it was a football team called Leeds United, I asked him if they played Liverpool but he said they played in division two, so I credit him with the introduction as from there I looked out for them on the local news or tv when football was mentioned and along with the encouragement of my neighbours from the Wales family i was set to be a fan for life. Nice one sir!

This fact was also further made clear to us throughout the years by Mrs Robinson, one of the teachers who lived locally, she was a class teacher of many of my friends over the years and occasionally took the odd lesson of mine, she was notably famous in school for having an array of Leeds United artefacts both in her car and in the classroom, she would also wear the Leeds Hats or Scarves if on duty in winter, She also had a fondness for collecting items relating to Owls, another symbol of the city, she had a great rapport with all the students in the school and was seen as being very cool, in those days everyone at school still supported Leeds and any other team was out of the question, much like it hopefully will again in this new rebirth we are seeing at the moment.

Going back to the “wet area” this is also where the younger year groups would be served lunch as we had our first experience of “school dinners” the dinners at BPS were generally very good, the kitchen led by Mrs Willens and her team, which at then included Mrs Slight (who I now know as Gill, my classmate Amy’s mum and a good friend of my family Sunday afternoon pub trips and Darts and Dominoes) who later also then became a lunchtime supervisor.

We were served dinners on giant plastic trays that were split into segments, one for the main meal, one for your drink and biscuit (the second one after the then customary little bottle of milk in the morning part of the day) and one for the dessert or pudding as we say in LS11.

I used to love the puddings, Jam sponge or Chocolate Cake, always followed with a generous ladle of custard served from giant metal urns, and the top one which was the Lemon Meringue, which was like a new world to me in terms of food but I loved it, however, I was never as fussy about the main meal, which would get me into trouble from time to time, This is how we would also first encounter the famous Lunchtime Supervisor Miss Mary and her cohorts which at this point in time included Mrs Preston and Mrs Shipman (whose son Damian was also in my class) .

Once we had all dutifully lined up to get our dinners and then take them back to our places, in what became commonplace at the school the dinner ladies would circle the tables armed with their dishcloths, in between wiping up they would be checking first to make sure that no one was misbehaving or throwing food around, but their key function at that time seemed to be to ensure that we all ate properly or as much as possible, once we had reached however far we could manage with our main we would have to sit with our hands up and then ask their permission to “turn round” aka “I've had enough of that can I have my dessert please” in our inner thinking. t was at their discretion if we were permitted to do this unless you had eaten all the lot which meant you could turn round anyway.

One of these particular times had a lasting impression on my food habits for many years. Pizza was on the menu, I'd never had it before, didn’t like the look, smell or taste of it (nothing like the ones you get in a shop) I couldn’t face it. Asked to turn round, Mrs Preston with her dark bob and circular glasses was not having any of it, neither was I, so 15 minutes later I was still sat there, in tears being told I could not leave my seat until I ate it, everyone else was in the playground by this time, it was a battle of wits and in the end, I was defeated and had to sit there and eat every mouthful of it until it was gone, at which point I was done in, had my pudding then got to join my friends for about 5 minutes before we had to go back in, red-faced puffy-eyed, it must have had a lasting effect, it was noted in future by my parents that I didn't like pizza and it put me off eating it until my mid-20s, it goes to show that some of Sigmund Freud's theories definitely hold some gravitas!

Although that encounter with her was a bit more traumatic, Mrs Preston was only doing what all the dinner ladies then would do, a few friends have told me they had similar encounters with the other dinner ladies with the foods they were not keen on, they were trying to ensure we eat and try different foods, she never held it against me as the rest of the time she was always a very approachable and had a neighbourly manner about her, she has been a stalwart and mainstay of the school for decades and moved into working in the school offices in later years. She has given decades of her life to that school and is to be applauded.

A true servant to the school on every level.

#beeston leeds cardinals schooldays LS11 memories

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epacer · 4 years

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Back Story

Stephen Bishop, Class of 1969

Stephen Bishop San Diego’s Hometown Boy Keeps Going “On and On”

Virtually everyone in San Diego had their Stephen Bishop story in the late 1970s. I had mine! At the time I was a self-styled rock musician at Grossmont High School. I played some guitar and sang a set of Dylanesque songs with the five flat notes I could hit. Yet, there were enough polite, fellow students who could tolerate me. So I wound up at many a Grossmont HS house party, singing my songs in somebody’s living room. Needless to say, once, I remember finishing a set and taking a break. And a girl came up to me, a girl I secretly liked, and said, “Bob Dylan is so 1960s. Why don’t you play “On and On” by Stephen Bishop?”

Stephen Bishop was born at Balboa Naval Hospital in 1951. His family moved several times around San Diego in his early years, from Chula Vista to North Park to Del Cerro. Young Stephen attended several schools, including John Muir, which the kids called “John Manure,” and Jackson Elementary. Finally, the family settled on Mohawk Street in the College area, where Stephen went to Horace Mann Junior High and Crawford High School. (Interestingly, another great San Diego songwriter Jack Tempchin also went to Crawford.)

He got an early taste of the limelight when he appeared on the Johnny Downs Show at nine years old. Johnny Downs was a big, local celebrity in San Diego at the time with his own variety show for kids. Stephen remembers sharing the stage with the Oscar Mayer mascot, a little person dressed as a hot dog.

Bishop was in junior high when the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. The British Invasion proved to be a life-altering experience. “I was a newspaper boy,” Stephen says. “While on my route, I saw a guy and a girl in a car listening to ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand.’” Putting two and two together, he quickly concluded that music was a good way to meet girls.

Soon afterward, his older brother bought him an electric guitar and Stephen started to figure out how to play on his own. He learned to play the British stuff: the Kinks’ “All Day and All of the Night” and “Gloria” by Van Morrison’s Them. He was also playing Southern California surf guitar.

Unfortunately, Bishop’s stepfather, an opera singer and teacher, didn’t take too kindly to rock ‘n’ roll and the new British sound. “I had to hide my guitar and practice and write songs in the closet.” It was difficult to keep his affinity for British rock ‘n’ roll a secret, however. He began pronouncing his name “Stave” instead of “Steve.” He grew his hair out and began collecting Beatles trading cards. And, most prominently, he began speaking with a British accent. All the while, he was writing songs and progressing on the guitar.

Influenced by seminal San Diego rock band the Other Four, Stephen and his neighborhood friends formed the Weeds while attending Crawford High School.

Living close to San Diego State proved fortuitous and the Weeds made a decent name for themselves, playing Frat parties, dances, and venues along El Cajon Boulevard. At this time, they also entered a Battle of the Bands competition in Clairemont, winning second place. Their set included some early Stephen Bishop originals. And when the judges were handing out the awards, one commented to Stephen that he was going to be an accomplished songwriter someday.

At this time, he had another brush with music stardom when he met Ray Charles at the singer’s Tangerine Studios.

The Weeds broke up as high school came to an end. In 1970, Bishop realized that if he was going to become that accomplished songwriter, he would need to pack up and move to L.A. He would spend the next several years, walking all over Hollywood and knocking on doors.

“I lived in a motel when I met Milt Rogers at Dot Records.” Then, Bishop got a job making $50 per week as a staff songwriter at Edwin H. Morris Publishing. “I’d write silly songs with names like ‘A Hair in Your Enchilada’ and ‘Beer Can on the Beach.’” At this time, he wrote “Daisy Hawkins,” a song recorded by Jerry Cole.

Finally, his friend Leah Kunkel, whose sister is the late Mama Cass, slipped some of his demos to Art Garfunkel. Garfunkel recorded two of Stephen’s compositions: “Looking for the Right One” and “The Same Old Tears on a New Background” for Garfunkel’s platinum Breakaway album in 1975. Soon, Bishop was signed to ABC Records to record his own album, which became Careless, released in 1976. All in all, it took Bishop six years to break into Hollywood and finally make it.

Careless went Gold, buoyed by the two singles “On and On” and “Save It for a Rainy Day.” Stephen’s second album, which refers to his nickname, Bish went Gold in 1978.

Over the next 40 years, Bishop would release 19 albums, including his just-released We’ll Talk About It Later in the Car. He’d record and perform with an A-list of other artists, including Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, and Sting. And he’d have his songs covered by a who’s-who of popular music: David Crosby, Kenny Loggins, Johnny Mathis, Steve Perry, and Barbara Streisand plus nearly two dozen others.

Of course, “On and On,” which charted at #11, continues to be his signature song.

He has two Grammy nominations and one Oscar nomination. Phil Collins and Eric Clapton have loudly praised him as a songwriter. Along the way, he was mentored by Chaka Kahn’s manager Bob Ellis, Simon and Garfunkel’s producer Roy Halee, and E.Y. Harburg who co-wrote “Over the Rainbow” with Harold Arlen.

“To write good songs, you have to get your heart broken,” says Bishop. If that’s the formula, it’s obvious that Stephen has taken the heartbreak to heart. “I put a lot of time into songs,” he adds. It shows. Stephen is viewed as a craftsman within the songwriting community. Rooted in those early rock songs that were written to get the girls, his songwriting brims with the various stages of romance, from love found to love lost. He also isn’t afraid to reach back into the American Songbook and sample influences from a bygone, pre-rock ‘n’ roll era.

In addition, he’s acted in and written music for several major motion pictures, working with John Landis on four movies including Animal House, Blues Brothers, Kentucky Fried Movie, and Twilight Zone: The Movie. In one iconically-1970s moment, Bishop is seated playing folk guitar on the stairs of the Animal House fraternity when John Belushi, clad in toga, grabs the guitar and smashes it. He has also acted or provided music for several other movies including Tootsie, White Nights, and Somebody to Love. Stephen’s performance of Dave Grusin’s “It Might Be You” for the mega-hit Tootsie became an instant 1980s classic. Most recently, he wrote “Almost Home” for the 2018 remake of the movie Benji.

However, he’s also very proud of the “quirky” aspects of his career. He used to do a lot of fundraisers and tennis tournaments and met a lot of the celebrities who also participated. One of his favorite memories is once playing for Patty Hearst, following her famous foray into radical politics.

Bishop has steadily released new material over the last four decades, averaging a new album every couple of years. The year 2019 proves no different and he has just released a new album and a new collection of songs We’ll Talk About It Later in the Car. The album includes a recording of the Benji theme “Almost Home” along with three cover songs. But it also contains nine new songs that stretch across the pop music palette.

“In Dreams I Fly,” one of the covers, is soul-searching, introspective, and almost psychedelic at times. “One in a Million Girl” brandishes Bishop’s Top 40 chops with bubblegum perfection. “Like Mother, Like Daughter” takes the listener on a ride to the country charts while demonstrating Bishop’s storytelling talents, developing a narrative about life as it is passed down from one generation to the next. “In Love with a Violent Man” furthers the journey down that country road, this time exploring, through brilliant storytelling, the more brutal side of American relationships. “Nora June” is about love lost. So is “French Postcards,” which musically hints to the accordion-infused “musette” of Parisian sidewalk culture. “Tiny Pillow” drips with love and longing. Again, to write good songs, you need to have your heart broken. That motto is apparent on We’ll Talk About It Later in the Car.

However, after 40 years and counting, Stephen Bishop’s first hit “On and On” continues to be the song that most defines his career and public persona. “I wrote it living in Silverlake. My landlady had lots of exotic flowers. They made me want travel somewhere else.” Traveling somewhere is what he has done indeed.

In fact, he’s now writing a book about his travels, a collection of personal, behind-the-scenes stories aptly titled On and Off. Next year, 2020, will mark 50 years since Bishop started pounding the pavement along the Sunset Strip. And after 50 years of knocking on doors, attending awards ceremonies, recording, and touring, he has the stories to back up a fabled career. There are stories about meeting fellow songwriters such as Michael Sembello, who wrote and recorded the hit “Maniac” for the movie Flashdance. And there are stories about his encounter with music royalty, such as the time he was seated next to James Brown and a date at the Grammy Awards. “The book contains crazy, interesting things,” says Bishop.

Dedicated to the quirkier views of the world, today he enjoys reality shows such as Dr. Pimple Popper, Naked and Afraid, and 90-Day Fiancee. These days, “I’m kind of a home body. I stay at home with my dogs.”

He’s also performing and doing shows. In fact, Bishop is no stranger to touring, having performed in South America, Europe, Japan and, as he proudly adds, the Philippines 11 times. “The theme from Tootsie ‘It Might Be You’ is on every jukebox in the country.”

His next big show is at the Grammy Museum in L.A. on November 7. Tickets can be purchased online including at Stephen Bishop’s official website. And he’s set to play on the ’70s Rock & Romance Cruise scheduled for February 2020.

However, don’t call him a “’70s singer.” “I’m an anytime singer not a ’70s singer.” By the longevity of his songs and his popularity, that might be truer now more than ever. Regardless which era you place him in, Stephen Bishop is a really nice guy who writes and performs some very nicely crafted songs, *Reposted article from the SD Troubadour by Raul Sandelin of November 2019.

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rockrageradio · 4 years

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MULTI-PLATINUM SELLING GLOBAL RECORDING ARTIST BRET MICHAELS TO RECEIVE HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR AWARD AT THE 88TH ANNUAL HOLLYWOOD CHRISTMAS PARADE IN HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1

THE HOLLYWOOD CHRISTMAS PARADE WILL AIR PRIMETIME ON THE CW ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13th

PARADE WILL ALSO FEATURE A SPECIAL TRIBUTE FOR TOYS FOR TOTS; MAGIC PERFORMANCE BY STARS OF THE CW HIT SERIES “MASTERS OF ILLUSION”

Los Angeles, CA (November 13, 2019)-- The 88th Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade, the largest Christmas event in America, announces its Humanitarian of the Year award recipient, Bret Michaels. Bret Michaels is a multi-platinum global music superstar whose multi-faceted brand encompasses record-breaking touring sales, TV stardom and chart-topping songs. A successful entrepreneur in addition to his musical achievements, he created the multi-million dollar selling Pets Rock Collection with PetSmart, launched his own line of custom guitars and created “Bret’s Blend, Diet Trop-A-Rocka” which is a number-one-selling beverage for Dr. Pepper/Snapple Group.

“I could not be more honored to receive this Humanitarian of the Year award,” said Michaels. “It truly touches my soul, and I am extremely grateful to be able to receive this award at the holidays, which is the perfect time of year to give back and donate to great causes like Toys for Tots. I can’t wait to play a song or two and I truly look forward to this chance to meet a lot of amazing people and fans at the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

Demonstrating Michaels’ never-ending commitment to giving, he has pledged to honor his reception of this Humanitarian award by dedicating one of his upcoming shows to charity.

Michaels, a lifelong diabetic, the son of a veteran, and survivor of a life-threatening brain hemorrhage has always stood up to any challenge that was thrown at him. As a type 1 juvenile diabetic since the age of 6, he consistently leads the charge for diabetes awareness, sending children to camp with his Life Rocks Foundation. Through his Foundation, he has raised millions of dollars for charity and he has additionally personally donated to causes throughout his career, including his winnings from “Celebrity Apprentice.” His philanthropy has helped not only diabetes education and research but also a diverse range of causes such as childhood cancer, Veterans organizations, PetSmart Charities, Operation Homefront, Feelgood Foundation and many more.

Michaels’ latest hit single and video, “Unbroken” is dedicated to the idea of overcoming any challenge that life puts in front of you. He cowrote and recorded the song with his youngest daughter, Jorja Bleu, who currently attends a music and arts school. His eldest daughter, Raine, is an in-demand model after being a finalist in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Search earlier this year. Michaels himself is one one of the most sought-after performers in the world, keeping him on the road for each of the last 10 years for nearly 300 live performances, speaking engagements, charitable concerts and private engagements yearly. Those talents, combined with his passion for philanthropy and helping others, made Michaels a fitting choice to receive this year’s Humanitarian of the Year Award.

Although Michaels is primarily a solo artist and is finishing his UNBROKEN World Tour of arenas and amphitheaters, he is giving the fans an early Christmas gift by agreeing to a confirmed tour in 2020 featuring a reunited, all-original Poison. Though no dates are currently locked in, Michaels is excited to bring the band back on the road for a summer jaunt of concert hits.

As the mother of a five-year-old Type 1 Diabetic diagnosed just a few months ago, co-executive producer Emma Sharratt MacEachern says there was no other choice for this year’s Humanitarian of The Year Award.

Comments Sharratt MacEachern: “Imagine running a marathon on a high wire for the rest of your life.This is what it’s like to live with Type 1 diabetes. Hundreds of calculations and decisions to be made each day, all with life-threatening consequences. A 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week balancing act that will never go away. When my child was diagnosed, I was handed a piece of paper with photos of famous people with Type 1. One person stood out to me: Bret Michaels. Bret was diagnosed at age six, and since then, he’s gone on to live the life he has, realizing his dreams and making a huge impact in the world, not just with his many accomplishments in entertainment, but also with his incredible efforts to advocate for those who have been diagnosed or affected, to help find a cure. November is Diabetes Awareness Month, and we are truly honored and proud to present the Humanitarian of the Year Award to Bret Michaels.”

The landmark anniversary celebration will take place on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California, on Sunday, December 1, 2019, at 5:00 p.m. PT. The host of Access Hollywood, Mario Lopez, and the Lopez family, are this year’s Grand Marshals. They will join an eclectic array of musical performances featured during the parade and national telecast, including Jesse & Joy, Dionne Warwick, Brandon Jenner, Sheléa, The Band Of Merrymakers, Rock of Ages, Shawn Wayans presents The Boo Crew, Phil Vassar, David Archuleta, Ace Young & Diana DeGarmo, James Maslow, Ashen Moon with Mikalah Gordon and Brandon Rogers. The parade will also feature a special tribute for Toys for Tots and a magic performance by Mai Wynn and Farrell Dillon of The CW hit series, “Masters of Illusion.”

The 88th Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade will be hosted by Erik Estrada, Laura McKenzie, Dean Cain and Montel Williams, with special co-host Elizabeth Stanton. It will premiere as a two-hour special on The CW Network on Friday, December 13 at 8:00 p.m. ET / PT. The parade, featuring Marine Toys for Tots program, which is essential in providing gifts to less fortunate children everywhere, will also air on the Hallmark Channel shortly after as well as on American Forces Network, to more than one million American servicemen and women worldwide. The event will be presented and produced by Associated Television International, in association with The City of Los Angeles.

A true Hollywood yearly tradition, the parade attracts more than one million in attendance each year, with larger than life inflatable character balloons, award winning bands, colorful equestrians, ornate floats, popular characters/novelties, celebrity filled cars and, of course, Santa Claus making the much heralded trek down the over three mile parade route.

For information on how to purchase Grandstand Seats to the parade, please visit www.thehollywoodchristmasparade.org

For more information on all things Bret Michaels, please visit www.BretMichaels.com.

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some-far-far-away-land · 7 years

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Chesca’s Current Status

This weekend was amazing and gave me so much happiness, something I feel like I haven’t been in a long time. You know that the rest of this post is gonna explain why lol

So earlier last week I heard that a friend was selling tickets to the Alex Aiono and William Singe concert that I had been eyeing since like I think December or January, whenever they had released their tour dates. I was debating about it but by the time I decided tickets sold out already. So when I heard about my friend selling her ticket, the whole week I thought about it. I told her I’d tell her by Friday night. The week goes by and I was still debating, I was pretty broke and i knew if I went I would spend a lot of money on like getting there and back, and then food, and subway. What actually made me decide was that after class friday Nat Jose and I went for coffee with our old Don and I mentioned I was debating in going to toronto for this concert and Nat was like, “yo, lets go, i need a getaway and celebrate finishing design.” Plus Nellie was throwing a late bday party for Paul Saturday but I knew that Lisa would be there and that Thavi could potentially be there too. I honestly just didn’t want another repeat of gfx. I wouldn’t have been comfortable and I didn’t want that to translate on a celebration. Plus thinking about being in the same room as those two made me really anxious. I mean I know I didn’t do anything wrong but its the bad vibes and negativity I know those two people have for me that would make me uncomfortable. I mean if you had a choice I think you would choose a weekend in toronto by yourself, going on a few dates and going to see one of you favourite Youtube singers live, over a few hours of not knowing how to act around two people who use to be the closest people in your life who have now come to hate you for who know what reasons?

So yea after a night of drinking and dancing at Phil’s with Nat, Jon, and Jose, which by the way was super fun because of the drunken talks and the company. Nat and I ventured off to Toronto Saturday morning. We went and got Pho in Chinatown, and then went to Eaton’s to shop and pick up some stuff. We ate there and didn’t go to Celene and Abby’s place till around 6pm. Funny story about where we ate for dinner. We went to the like cafeteria type place. I went to the coffee and pastry section since I was still full from Pho. I got an iced latte with a cheesecake. While I was in line, there was a hella rude customer who was on his phone telling the guy behind the counter (who was pretty cute btw) that he wanted more syrup on his waffle. He was also waiting for his drink and when the girl called it out he didn’t think it was his, when it clearly was. When he had left the cute guy behind the counter and another co-worker who I realized were filipino started talking about how rude he was. I listened and laughed cuz I know their struggles too and when the guy gave me my drink i smiled and said Salamat, and he was thrown off by it and he smiled back and I went on my merry way.

Conversation with Nat was pretty good, we go pretty deep into my stuff, just with dating again and how I had been feeling the past few weeks. After that we went back and I redid my make up and taxied to the venue. I thought I was gonna be late but the show didn’t start till 8pm, line just started to move at 7pm. We get into the venue and its just standing so no seats. Its pretty packed and it was cold in there. I was supposed to meet up with my friend Jezeth but she was in the middle and I couldn’t find her so I just chilled where I was. When alex came out I had an amazing view of him, like most of the people there were girls who were with their girl friends or girls with their boyfriends, plus most of the people were asian so they were all shorter then me all I had to do was tippy toe a bit and I could see alex so well! The girls I ended up standing with and eventually befriending were super fun! They were drinking too so their vibes were legit and we danced and fangirled the whole time together!

So let me talk about Alex, this man, omg he was so much cuter in person, his smile 10x warmer and his voice.... like fuck me, lol Like I thought that it wouldn’t sound as good as his videos but honestly he sounded exactly the same, even better live actually. I could listen to this man sing and play guitar for hours! I totally jus vibed out during his set, really took in the moment and just enjoyed being in the same space as him. *sigh* his gf is so lucky! lol

So after Alex it was obviously William and I only knew him from the songs he and Alex collabed together on. I honestly was not prepared, like this man, was sooooo good live, like his falsetto is on point, his covers were amazing! I love his style, his r&b swag and even his original songs... man. He got me feeling feels too. A little bit into his set my phone died and I actually am so glad it did. I really jus experienced the night and really enjoyed myself without worrying about getting things on camera. I just lived in the moment. I was just so happy and loving life. Alex ended up coming back later on and they sang the songs they did together and I almost died, like I felt like I went to heaven lol

After the concert, which ended around 10:30pm I decided to walk back, well partially. I had to find a place that was open where I could charge my phone. So I went the Tims on College and Yonge. Stayed there for a bit and then took the street car to Abby’s place. Decided to get BK cuz i was hungry and then waited for Nat to come back since she went to go and hangout with Jack while I was at the concert. When she got back we talked a bit before we went to bed. I let her sleep on the bed and I took the ground, which wasn’t bad actually.

So we wake up and we originally planned on having brunch with Jack and Bri but Jack was too sick and Bri’s schedule was too busy so we went for lunch with Celene, her man, and Abby. The place we went to was near Koreatown and we ate at this cute restaurant that had the best eggs benedict I’ve every had in my life. I go mine with baby spinach and the home fries was covered in this sauce and like i died! The conversation was good too and it was nice hanging out with friends. It was such a beautiful day too! Like the nicest day of the year so far I think. I mean I didn’t wear a coat and walked around the whole day. after lunch nat and i walked around koreatown, got my favourite fish dessert and just chilled. She had a carpool a 5pm since she was having dinner with her roomies so she went back first. I actually had a date for that afternoon but he cancelled saying he had worked out too hard in the morning and pretty much felt sick. I wasn’t too bummed about it since I still got to hangout with my friends and eat good food. We’ve been having good conversations on facebook and he seemed sad we couldn’t hangout, but its okay things happen for a reason.

When nat left I went for a bbt date with this guy I had been talking too for a week now. He was Korean and was actually pretty nice and sweet. Like physically he was okay but conversation was nice and he spoke english pretty well despite only living in Korea until like 4 months ago. He was super sweet and even walked me to my subway. it was cute date, i’d talk to him again lol

I was supposed to meet up with other friends for dinner but they cancelled last minute because something came up. Another guy I’ve been talking to for a week asked if I was free to grab dinner since he wanted to see me while I was still in town. I said yes of course, and we ended up getting dim sum in Chinatown and it was honestly sooooo good! This guy is filipino and he’s one of the ones I enjoy talking to via text all week so i was excited to meet him. He was actually so much better looking in person and his voice, sounds so nice. Like its deep and he has a filipino accent which I didn’t think i’d like but I totally did. Our conversation was so good and i just felt comfortable with him. after dim sum he offered to subway with me all the way to yonge and sheppard. thats like 30 mins on the subway. My carpool was at 10:30 so we went to the meet up spot and the carpool cancels last minute! At first I was annoyed and furious cuz now I’m stuck here till tmrw morning. But what happened after made up for it.

We subway back to Abby’s place and then we decided that we wanted to walk around for a bit. guys, we ended up walking 3 km together. We went down beverley st. all the way to queen st. down john st., past front st. and all he way down to the harbourfront. We sat by the water for 30 mins, just talking about life, relationships, school, etc. The spontaneous nature of the whole night was something I honestly have never done before. Probably one of the best first dates I’ve had. we ended up walking up spadina from the rogers centre and made a full circle back to Abby’s place. We walked for 3 hrs almost. When we said our goodbyes he hugged me so tight and I was gonna kiss him on the cheek but i ended up giving him a peck on the lips, and then he hugged me again and then this time he kissed me and then just walked away all shy like. It was so cute and like the best way to end my night.

I went to sleep around 2am I think. Woke up at noon, and went and got starbucks with celene and her man. Then took a go train to bramalea and then a bus to kitchener go, then the 8 bus to asian grocery, then walked to campus and made it for the 5pm meeting. We then set up at 6pm for our event, and then EOT was at 7PM-10PM.

So that was my weekend getaway with myself. Honestly I’m so happy I decided to go away, even though now i’m hella broke, it was so worth it. I mean like I finally know what I want to do and what I’m gonna tell my parents my plan is. This weekend gave me motivation to get my shit together and just go after what I want to do and what I want to pursue. I swear I’m meant to live in Toronto and based of the events of this weekend I feel like in my gut its where I’m supposed to be.

I plan on going back in 2 weeks, after I’ve made some money and you know finished school stuff lol

#personal #current status #toronto #alex aiono #william singe #toronto adventures #weekend getaway #me time #happiness #things happen for a reason

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talhaghafoor2019-blog · 5 years

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Bryan Ferry on how Roxy Music invented a new kind of pop: 'We were game for anything'

More than 45 years ago, a new group released their first album. They didn’t wear denim, nor had they, apparently, paid their dues. Indeed, their heavily stylised presentation – a model posed archly on the cover in a 1950s pastiche, the musicians inside clad in leopardskin and leather with styled quiffs – could not have been more opposed to the rock modes of the day. “Is this a recording session or a cocktail party?” inquired Ferry’s friend Simon Puxley in the liner notes. Before you even got to the music, the record cover was a gauntlet thrown down – an explosion of glamour in a wasteland of faded blue cotton.

“The clothes we were wearing at that time would have put off quite a large chunk of people,” reflects Bryan Ferry. “What I liked about the American bands, the Stax label and Motown, they were into presentation and show business, mohair suits, quite slick. And the cover art, I thought of all the American pop culture icons, Marilyn Monroe: selling cigarettes or beer with a glamorous image. But it was a bit off-kilter as well; there was something a bit strange about it, futuristic as well as retro. All that, instead of a picture of the band, in a dreary street, looking rather sullen. Which was the norm.”

Timeline

Bryan Ferry: his career highlights

1971

Roxy Music form

Bryan Ferry was working as a ceramics teacher in a girls' school after leaving art school in Newcastle, having already played with Roxy bassist Graham Simpson in the band the Gas Board. They began amassing band members, including Brian Eno, eventually recruiting the final piece of the Roxy puzzle, guitarist Phil Manzanera.

1973

For Your Pleasure

Roxy Music's self-titled debut was a hit, as was this second album, which reached No 4 in the UK. It would be the last album with Eno, and features some of Ferry's most evocative performances, from the debonair strut of Do the Strand to the creepy In Every Dream Home a Heartache.

1974

Love is the Drug

Love is the Drug, from the Country Life album, is perhaps the most enduring Roxy hit – an irrepressible disco stomp, with Ferry peacocking through it with a magnificent staccato delivery. It was the band's only US hit, and reached no 2 in the UK.

1976

Let's Stick Together

During a two-year Roxy hiatus, Ferry released a pair of solo albums, with the title track from Let's Stick Together hitting the top five. It's a cover of the blues song by Wilbert Harrison, and Ferry has proven adept at covers down the years – his debut solo album in 1973 featured versions of everything from Piece of My Heart to Sympathy for the Devil, while Roxy Music's cover of John Lennon's Jealous Guy became the band's only No 1 single.

1982

Avalon

The final Roxy Music album was a long way from the fiendishly psychedelic art pop of their first records – it helped define the slick sound of 80s soft rock with tracks such as More Than This. It was released a month before his wedding to Lucy Helmore, a marriage that lasted until 2003.

1990

Fourth son Merlin born

Ferry has four sons: Otis, Isaac, Tara and Merlin. The latter survived a terrible car crash in 2014, while Otis became infamous for his support of fox hunting.

2001

Roxy Music reform

Roxy Music reformed for their 30th anniversary, and went on to tour in 2005, 2010 and 2011. Ferry continued to release solo work, including more cover versions – an album of jazz standards, As Time Goes By, was followed by an album of Dylan songs, Dylanesque.

2010

Olympia

After teasing new Roxy Music tracks for a number of years, including sessions with Eno, Ferry released the songs on his solo album Olympia, which also features Nile Rodgers, David Gilmour, Johnny Greenwood and Flea – plus Kate Moss on the cover.

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The music inside lived up to the cover’s challenge: a collage of pop-culture nostalgia, hard-rock guitar, piano-driven melodies, stylised high vocals, strange musical structures and experimental sound pictures. Roxy Music’s eponymous album sounded like nothing else in 1971 and 1972 – and like nothing else the group would ever attempt again. Recorded in the first full flush of inspiration, songs such as Ladytron, The Bob (Medley), and Sea Breezes exist outside of their time: a radical synthesis that mapped the future at the same time as it plundered the past.

Watch Roxy Music performing Ladytron on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1972

“We were definitely trying to show our versatility,” says Ferry now. “I had lots of musical influences, plus what the band brought to the table.” Lead guitarist Phil Manzanera, he says, “had this Latin heritage, being born in South America”. Saxophone and oboe player Andy Mackay was classically trained. “[Brian] Eno with his deep interest in experimental music. They were specialists in their field. Paul Thompson brought a lot, with his very powerful, earthy drumming, which was one of the features of the Velvet Underground.”

The cover of Roxy Music immediately marked it out from the rest of 1972’s fare

Ferry is talking in his west-London studio. We walk past repeated Warhol Marilyns and sit under a large print of Jerry Hall on the north coast of Anglesey, the cover for Roxy Music’s fifth album, Siren. Wearing a blue jacket, V-neck pullover and tie, Ferry is measured, at once diffident and supremely assured. At 72, he looks great. “The only bit I don’t like is analysing it,” he says of his work. “I do sometimes envy the people who don’t ever have to describe what they’re doing.”

Despite its age and apparent familiarity, Roxy Music’s debut remains thrillingly strange. A new reissue, eight years in the making, traces the development of this revolutionary record that seemingly arrived out of nowhere in June 1972. Combined with the group’s first, 1971 demos, three 1972 John Peel sessions and album outtakes, the songs that would populate Roxy Music come into focus as the bold, honed culmination of lifelong fixations.

Growing up in Washington, County Durham during the monochrome 1950s, Ferry found a lifeline and an inspiration: “I loved American music,” he says. ““From the age of about 10, every week you’d discover somebody new. I was very much into jazz. You know how English people are; there’s a certain amount of musical snobbery. I mean, I loved Little Richard and Fats Domino, but when I heard Charlie Parker for the first time, this was something I really loved, and nobody else who I knew knew anything about him. It’s good to have your private obsessions.”

Roxy Music photographed at London’s Royal College of Art, July 1972 (from left): Phil Manzanera, Bryan Ferry, Andy Mackay, Brian Eno, Rik Kenton and Paul Thompson. Photograph: Brian Cooke/Redferns

As a paperboy delivering newspapers and weekly music magazines, Ferry read about more music than he could actually hear. “There wasn’t a great deal of jazz on radio. Radio Luxembourg was very important for emerging pop and soul. The BBC had one or two programmes. When the skiffle thing happened, that was when you started hearing Leadbelly and Big Bill Broonzy. That intensity of feeling; that’s what I got, hearing Leadbelly with a 12-string guitar, that yearning in his voice, it struck such a magical chord in me.”

He had similar revelations from hearing Lotte Lenya singing the songs of her husband Kurt Weill and the German soprano Elizabeth Schwarzkopf singing Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs, He loved the beat poets, TS Eliot and American show tunes. “I liked Fred Astaire, Cole Porter, and I’d hear those songs played by Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Billie Holiday. There was a music store in Newcastle where you could go into a booth and listen to stuff. I lived in there.”

While in the sixth form at Washington Grammar, Ferry joined a group called the Banshees, who played R&B in the local clubs – including the famous Club A Go Go that had provided the launch pad for the Animals. In autumn 1964, he entered the fine art department of Newcastle University, where he was inspired by the British pop-artist Richard Hamilton and Warhol associate Mark Lancaster. After completing his degree, Ferry moved to London, where he supported himself by teaching art and ceramics at a Hammersmith school.

Roxy Music began in the late 1960s, after this move to the capital. Having sung R&B and soul with groups such as the Gas Board and the City Blues, he began to pursue the idea of striking out on his own. “In my college band, I had been imitating whichever song I was singing. We used to do quite obscure covers – Bobby Bland, BB King – but by the time I was writing my own songs, I didn’t want to sound too American. At the time, most English bands tried to sound American. Except for people like King Crimson. They had an English voice, which was quite interesting.”

He was convinced that he could start his own band. “First of all, [it was] just me and Graham [Simpson], the bass player. He had been in my college band. He was a very cool guy, into the beat poets, had a huge jazz collection, all those Blue Note records. He was one of the most interesting people in the band, actually. Sardonic sense of humour. Then Mackay, next, then Eno.”

Another early shot of Roxy Music from 1972. Photograph: Brian Moody/Rex Features

Each new addition brought an element that enabled the new group’s individuality. “The oboe was Andy Mackay’s first instrument, his main thing, although he developed into a great sax player. I met Andy because he had a synthesiser. So Andy brought a) the synthesiser and b) the oboe. Eno, of course, manipulated the synth in the band as soon as he joined, really. Those textures: the oboe is very precise, and the synth sounds were washes, colours, textures, mood enhancers, and so on. So, yes, it was a key part of the sound.”

Together with first guitarist Roger Bunn and drummer Dexter Lloyd, Roxy Music recorded their first demos in May 1971, early versions of The Bob (Medley), Grey Lagoons, 2HB, Chance Meeting and Ladytron. “They were all done in Eno’s flat in Camberwell, which is where we ended up doing a lot of rehearsals. There was a derelict house off Portobello Road where we went as well. That’s when it started. I thought of nothing else, I was quite driven to make it all happen. I would carry the tape around to record labels on my days off from teaching.”

A key early supporter was Richard Williams, who featured the group in Melody Maker during august 1971 before they had any whiff of record company interest. Williams had written glowing and informed reviews of, among other things, the recently reissued first three Velvet Underground albums, which piqued Ferry’s attention. “I always seemed to agree with his taste. So I thought, if anyone is going to like my music, it’s going to be this guy, so I sent him the tape. And he phoned me the same day to say how much he liked it.”

Slowly Roxy Music came into their time. With their Velvet Underground influence, they were tapping into similar sources to David Bowie. But the connections went deeper, into the Warholian fusion of pop and art – an approach prompted by Ferry’s friendship with Lancaster, who had worked in the Factory as a screen-printer in the mid-60s. “He was a really influential guy for me. He was the link between us and Richard Hamilton. All of those people were very influential, working with pop imagery.”

Ferry in 1973. Photograph: Ian Dickson / Rex Features

It was Roxy Music’s explicit intention to dissolve the boundaries between high and low. As Michael Bracewell writes in Re-make/Re-model, his account of the group’s founding years, “they chose to inhabit the point where fine art and the avant garde met the vivacity of pop and fashion as an almost elemental force in modern society”.

Produced by King Crimson lyricist Pete Sinfield, Roxy Music came together over two weeks in March 1972. The range of material is extraordinary: almost every song contains sudden twists and turns, like the galloping Joe Meek-style descent that comes out of nowhere in Ladytron. The opener, Re-Make/Re-Model, begins in party noises and breaks into brief, emblematic solos from each instrument. In Sea Breezes, synthesiser washes introduce a heartfelt torch song, which then segues into a strangulated guitar part: next up is the cocktail doo-wop of the tart album closer Bitters End.

“A lot of the first album is first or second take,” Ferry remembers. “Thinking about the songs, some of them are collage-like, with different sounds and moods within them – they will change abruptly into something else. For instance, Sea Breezes is a slow song, and suddenly moves into this angular, quite opposite mood. I found that interesting, and this band was perfect for that; they were game for anything. We were constantly fiddling around, changing things. I was still trying to find my voice. I [now] think sometimes I’m singing too high, or I should have had another go at that.”

It would have been easy to write Roxy Music off as pastiche – as a few die-hard hippies did at the time – but the feeling is authentic: the love, loss and regret in songs such as If There is Something, Sea Breezes and The Bob (Medley). It’s an album of chance encounters and wistful, evasive memories. “On one hand, you try to shape the emotion, but you’ve got to feel it,” says Ferry, “you don’t analyse as you’re doing it.”

Released in the same week as Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, Roxy Music entered the UK album charts in late July 1972. Within a month, the group’s first single, Virginia Plain, which wasn’t on the album, was on its way to the Top 10 (it reached No 4). Referencing an art college painting by Ferry, it distilled Roxy’s art-pop manifesto, “what’s real and what’s make-believe”. “It is much more confident,” Ferry says. “We’d made an album and we knew how to do it – sort of. Everyone was featured. It had oboe, the synth, the drums are powerful, and the lyrics were much more assured. I was still finding my feet as a songwriter.”

Roxy Music: 10 of the best

Roxy Music had no sense that the album would reach a mainstream audience. “We thought art students; people like us; limited interest; underground. Coming overground was … interesting.” When did he realised Roxy Music were really taking off? “I suppose when I heard Virginia Plain on midday radio. When the record came out, we were still playing tiny places – driving up to Scarborough or somewhere to play in a club. Hearing Virginia Plain on daytime radio, that felt like … something. Or seeing this album filling the record store window in King’s Road, which is where we went to the manager’s HQ. That was quite moving for me. Walking past, at night, and they’d just filled the window, I couldn’t believe it. It was so great, seeing the image repeated.”

Like a Warhol, you mean? “Exactly, yeah.”

Roxy Music: 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition is out now on Universal (£130). A 2-CD version is also available (£20)

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americanahighways · 5 years

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Saturday, Day Three of the Old Settler’s Music Fest did not start off well. No sooner did we arrive at the venue and before the first scheduled band, Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons, began their set, campers were sent back to the campgrounds and non-campers were sent back to their cars due to a severe weatheralert. After about 45 minutes or so, and a pretty good 10-minute downpour, the arena was re-opened and the music, with some slight schedule changes, back on.

The youth-competition, which featured ten amazing young artists was cut from 3 songs apiece to only 1 song, but those kids nailed that one song. The winner of the competition was Elijah Delgado a 16 year old singer-songwriter from Austin, TX. Other competitors included Christina Bolen, 17 from Lockhart, TX, Riley Edwards & Julia Blackmon, 17 and 16 respectively from Austin, 18 year old Ethan Hanson from new Braunfels, TX, Kendale Walker, 12 from Cypress, TX, Giri , (14) & Uma (11) Peters all the way from Nashville, TN, Mathias Lattin, 16 out of Houston, Jade Vondrew, 17 years old from Buda, TX, and Madi Meeks, 17 from Austin.

Due to the weather delay Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons were rescheduled from the main stage to the Bluebonnet stage later in the afternoon. Which meant first up on the main stage was last year’s youth competitor and Voice semi-finalist, 16-year old Sarah Grace and her band The Soul. It’s easy to see why Sarah won last year’s competition. She is a powerhouse singer and a multi-instrumentalist. Joining Sarah on stage were her younger sister Regan Kimberly on drums and apparent BFF Daniel Holder on bass.

Los Legends featuring Flaco Jimenez, Ruben Ramos and Rick Trevino played a rousing set of Tex-Mex music. This group of multi-Grammy winners put on a heck of a show and had the entire crowd up and moving.

The Nashville based Steeldrivers are a different style of bluegrass. More of a rock and roll meets soul, bluegrass. The band has gone through multiple lineup changes but still maintains that same Steeldrivers sound. The current lineup consist of fiddler Tammy Rogers, bassist Mike Fleming, guitarist Kelvin Damrell, mandolinist Brent Truitt, and banjoist Richard Bailey. The band received a Best Bluegrass Album Grammy Award for its album, The Muscle Shoals Recordings.

One of the highlights of the weekend was blues guitarist Samantha Fish. Samantha had a big year in 2018 winning seven awards, including Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year at the Blues Music Awards. Samantha has been wowing audiences with her guitar skills since she was a teenager. Samantha has toured extensively around the world with the likes of Jackie Greene and Tab Benoit. Later this year she embarks on a US tour with Marc Borussard.

Hayes Carll was up next. The native Texan opened his set with the song “None ‘Ya”, as in Nona ‘ya damn business. As song he wrote based on his relationship with fiancée, Allison Moorer. Like most of Carll’s songs it is not a typical love song. He picked up the pace a bit with “KMAG YOYO” a modern day protest song, chronicling the misadventures of a young soldier in Afghanistan. Other Carll songs include “Jesus and Elvis” , “Drunken and Poets Dream” and “I Will Stay”.

While most of the action was on the main stage on Saturday there were some happening over on the Bluebonnet Stage as well. After the youth competition concluded, the winner Elijah Delgado got toperform a 30 minute set. Then the rescheduled Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons set finally happened. It probably worked out better for them anyway. There was a much bigger crowd in the afternoon than first thing in the morning.

The rest of the day saw Austin’s own Penny and Sparrow, followed by Wood and Wire and then The Lone Bellow. Paul Cauthen and Wild Child closed out the evening at the Bluebonnet stage.

Meanwhile the weather took another nasty turn and temps dropped down into the high 40’s with a brisk wind. The crowd was bundled up in blankets, parkas, sleeping bags and anything they could find to keep themselves warm. Even in the cold weather, the ice cream booth still had the longest line in the place.

Brandi Carlile managed to warm the crowd up though. I have seen Brandi a few times and this was the best performance I have ever seen her do. Maybe she is still pumped up from her three Grammys. She told the crowd don’t let anyone tell you those awards don’t matter, it mattered to her and the twins. The twins being the rest of her band, Tim and Phil Hanseroth. Despite the cold and the wind Brandi delivered. Her voice is powerful and she sings with such emotion. She weaves stories in between her songs some of them funny some of them serious, but all of them entertaining. She talked about how proud she was to be the first openly gay person to perform at the Academy of Country Music Award. She talked about the difficulties of being a mother and she joked that the wind was scaring her a bit up on stage but as long as the aforementioned ice cream stand with its 20ft high ice cream cone was still there she felt safe. Her setlist included “The Story”, “Mother” and the crowd was almost reverently quiet when the trio sang the acoustic melody, “The Eye”. Brandi was joined on stage by “The Lone Bellow” for a beautiful version of “Angel in Montgomery”. She finished off her set with a cover of a Led Zeppelin song, “Going to California.”

Galactic finished off the evening but unfortunately by then the long day and the cold weather had gotten to this Southern California guy and I had to leave.

All in all the 32nd Annual Old Settler’s Music Festival was a lot of fun. It is just the right size. The crowd is friendly and there to enjoy the music. The sound was incredible and it was a weekend full of incredible musicians. Some I was familiar with and some of which I am now a new fan.

See ya next year, Tilmon, TX.

REVIEW: Old Settlers Music Fest 32nd Annual: Day 3 @hayescarll @brandicarlile @oldsettler @samantha_fish @benjoeband @sgandthesoul @texastornados @pennyandsparrow @woodandwire @cauthenmusic @thelonebellow #FlacoJimenez #oldSettlersmusicfest Saturday, Day Three of the Old Settler’s Music Fest did not start off well. No sooner did we arrive at the venue and before the first scheduled band, Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons, began their set, campers were sent back to the campgrounds and non-campers were sent back to their cars due to a severe weatheralert.

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nycpunkscene · 6 years

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THE RAMONES

1974-1996

“One of the two most important bands in punk rock history (the other being the Sex Pistols), the Ramones are arguably the band who created, or at least first articulated, the 1970s version of punk. The influence of the Ramones is vast, with almost every punk band out there having at some point learned or stolen ideas from the “brothers” from Queens, New York.

The Ramones’ first gig was on March 30, 1974. After that, the band played around the city for a few months before learning about the new scene that was developing at CBGB, where the Ramones quickly started a residency. Audiences were first repelled, and then enraptured, by the band’s energetic new sound and lightning-speed sets, punctuated by shouting matches between the Ramones about what song to play next. A key moment in early punk rock history occurred on July 4, 1976, the date of the Ramones’ legendary performance at London’s Roundhouse: In the audience that night were members of the Clash, the Damned, the Sex Pistols, and many others who later indicated that seeing that show inspired them to form punk bands.

The Ramones were signed by Seymour Stein to Sire Records in 1976 and recorded their first, self-titled album the same year. The album was laid down in record time and with a low budget but still accurately reflected the Ramones’ ideas about sound and velocity, which led to numerous instances of DJs playing the record for a few seconds and then flinging it across the room. Several other records followed, but, despite critical acclaim and extremely devoted fans in the major cities, the Ramones could not find a home on radio, even when producing incredibly poppy songs. The Ramones were consistently popular in New York, but the rest of the United States proved a harder nut to crack, even with their renowned cross-country tours in a small van--a disciplined but nerve-racking practice that would see the band playing thousands of shows before finally retiring in 1996.

The Ramones were given some exposure in the U.S., most notably in the film Rock ‘n’ Roll High School. Roger Corman, the king of the B-movie industry, set out to make a film that capitalized on the disco craze but was eventually dissuaded from this idea and decided to film a movie about rebellion at a high school in Los Angeles instead. After going through several titles, concepts (from “Heavy Metal High School” to “Disco High School”), and bands (Todd Rundgren and Cheap Trick were both considered), the Ramones were chosen to become punk movie stars. In late 1979, the Ramones filmed their scenes in California, arriving onscreen singing “I Just Wanna Have Something to Do” in a convertible driven by Rodney Bingenheimer. During filming, the band, needing more tour money than the $5,000 Corman was paying for their time, played three disastrous gigs with Black Sabbath, whose fans were hostile, to say the least. More trouble ensued when Dee Dee Ramone had to be taken to the hospital after he swallowed pills that fans were throwing at the band on set.

Following the completion of Rock ‘n’ Roll High School, the Ramones embarked on their most ambitious, doomed project to date, recording the album End of the Century with legendary producer Phil Spector. The sessions proved disastrous, with Spector spending 10 hours listening just to the opening chord of Rock ‘n’ Roll High School and eventually threatening the band with a loaded pistol. Even with Spector’s glossy production, and its selling more copies than any other prior Ramones album, the record did not enter the U.S. Top 40, although it did spawn their first British Top 10 single--a cover of the Ronettes’ “Baby I Love You.”

After the disappointing Spector sessions, the Ramones returned to their relentless touring schedule and continued to produce records, always with diminishing returns. The band went through several painful personnel changes, first in 1978 with the retirement of original drummer and band visionary Tommy Ramone, who desired to work more in production and songwriting for the band (a notion quickly shot down by the band’s stern taskmaster, Johnny Ramone). Then replacement drummer Marky Ramone (Mark Bell, the original drummer for the Voidoids) left in 1983 due to problems with alcoholism, and was replaced by Richie Ramone (Richie Beau), who departed after three years because he was not paid the same salary as the other band members. Marky returned in 1987 and stayed with the band until the Ramones disbanded.

Many fans were disappointed when founding member Dee Dee Ramone quit in 1989 and was replaced by C.J. Ramone, who (somewhat perversely) adopted Dee Dee’s look and even sang some of his songs in concert. Due to Joey Ramone’s failing health and the general rigors of touring, the band decided to hang it up in 1996 after several farewell tours that saw packed houses of rapturous fans. In particular, the band had become enormously popular in Latin and South America, where they played in packed stadiums to screaming fans who later mobbed their cars as though they were the Beatles. The official final Ramones concert (the last of some 2,263 shows) took place on August 6, 1996, at the Palace club in Hollywood and was recorded for posterity.

After the Ramones retired, Johnny Ramone sold his legendary Mosrite guitar and moved to California, while Joey became a vocal supporter of numerous bands in the New York scene. The story of the Ramones was ably chronicled in the 2004 documentary End of the Century. The film was an open and frank account of the dissension within the band precipitated by Johnny Ramone marrying Joey’s girlfriend, Johnny’s role as the taskmaster of the group, Dee Dee Ramone’s drug problems, and Joey’s struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Many of the band members died young: Joey from lymphoma in 2001, Dee Dee from a heroin overdose in June 2002, and Johnny from cancer in September 2004.

Like too many punk bands, the Ramones were much more popular in the United States after they broke up. Their once obscure (to the mainstream, at least) songs are now heard in movies, commercials, and in baseball stadiums across the country. Despite the vast numbers of their imitators, the Ramones have an enduring legacy in punk history that remains uniquely their own.”

- Brian Cogan, The Encyclopedia of Punk, (2006)

Essential Albums

The Ramones - Ramones (1976) The Ramones - Leave Home (1977) The Ramones - Rocket to Russia (1977)

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