A little entertainment for Friday morning. I liken this to Michaelangelo talking about his chisels and hammers and paint brushes. Very intimate and a very rare moment.
Enjoy!
Archive for the 'Reflections' Category
19
Apr
12
RIP Levon Helm
May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012.
The following text was borrowed from a post that appeared on Joe Bonamassa’s forum:
Eric Clapton’s speech inducting THE BAND in to the Hall of fame:
“Thank you. I want to talk about what it was like to be a musician – a serious musician who couldn’t be in the Band. And that was tough, that was hard. I remember being on tour in about ’66 or ’67 with a band called the Cream, and we thought we were the bee’s knees, you know? And I met this guy… I knew this man in L.A. who was an entrepreneur of different sorts of things, and he had a tape by a band called the Crackers, and he lent it to me, and I took it on the road with me, and it became my drug. When we would get to the end of a gig, Jack and Ginger would go off and do their stuff, and I’d put this tape on. And I’d go into another world. And it was my kind of release.
For someone like me, who had been born in England, like Elton was talking about, and worshiped the music from America, it was very tough to find a place to belong in all this – and this band that I was listening to on this tape had it all. They were white, but they seemed to have derived all they could from black music, and they combined it to make a beautiful hybrid. And for me it was serious. It was serious, and it was grown up, and it was mature, and it told stories, and it had beautiful harmonies, fantastic singing, beautiful musicianship without any virtuosity. Just economy and beauty. And I wanted to be in the band.
So I went and told Jack and Ginger that I couldn’t go on anymore. There was something else happening that I had to bow out of because. And I went – Robbie and the boys will never know this – but I went to visit the Band in Woodstock, and I really sort of went there to ask if I could join the band. I mean, I didn’t have the guts to say it – I didn’t have the nerve. I just sort of sat there and watched these guys work. And I remember Robbie saying, “We don’t jam. We don’t jam, so there’s no point in sitting here and trying to, you know… We just write and work.” And I was very impressed, you know? And from that day, I spent the rest of my career – until The Last Waltz, anyway – trying to find ways to imitate what they had. And it was an impossible dream, really, because from where I came from, and from where they came from, completely different worlds. But it was something to do with a principle that I got from what they did, which was integrity. Integrity and a standard of craft that really didn’t bow down to any kind of commerciality, and I really identified with that, and I adored it.
At the same time, it was very hard; it was very hard to sort of make my way and not be part of it, until The Last Waltz, and in some respects, I was very relieved with The Last Waltz, because it meant that there wasn’t a band that I wasn’t a part of anymore, you know? And I could just go on and be me, and it was all right. But at the same time, when The Last Waltz happened, it was a tragic thing, because as much as they may have reached the end of their journey, there were no more records. I couldn’t go to the store and buy a Band album, and have my life transformed by listening to it. And it’s been a long journey since then without their sort of guidance, because I always kind of looked up to them as older brothers in the music world.
But at the same time, they’ve always been there in spirit. And I go back, and I listen to old records all the time. In fact, most of the time I listen to old blues and old records by people like the Band. And I think it’s a long time since they were really honored and put together, and as it was last year with me and Cream, it’s a beautiful thing to have a reunion if we can, and get together and rejoice in the gift that we’ve been given, which is music. Tonight, I’m very happy to induct the Band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”
Brad Delp, multi-instrumentalist and lead vocalist for the 70′s and 80′s rock Band Boston took his own life on this day in 2007, with a note clipped to his shirt that read, “I am a lonely soul.” From what I’ve read online, there are those who believe Brad may have suffered from undiagnosed bipolar disorder (aka manic depression).
According to Wiki, Boston’s self-titled 1976 debut album has sold over 17 million copies (17x Platinum) – making it the second-highest selling debut album in US history. Only Guns and Roses’ 1987 debut Appetite for Destruction sold more copies, currently at 18x Platinum.
Aside from being the group’s vocalist, Brad also wrote Boston’s lyrics – so as you listen to Boston, you are listening to Brad sing the stories that he himself gave us. It strikes me with even a greater degree of sadness when I listen to him singing such familiar and uplifting music now. To think Brad was feeling so lonely in this world that he chose to “Opt out” lends a degree of melancholy and new meaning to his songs.
As much as Boston’s debut album was a monster record for sales and popularity, I’d thought I’d share a couple of lesser known (but excellent) cuts from their 1986 release, Third Stage, along with a fan tribute video I found on Youtube. Enjoy…
So many people
have come and gone,
their faces fade
as the years go by.
Yet still I recall
as I wander on,
As clear as the sun
in the Summer sky…
–from ‘More than a feeling’
05
Mar
12
Ronnie Montrose, 1947-2012
Ronnie Montrose lost his protracted battle with prostate cancer, passing away on March 3, 2012.
Ronnie Montore played on Edgar Winter’s 1972 classic, They Only Come Out At Night which featured the hits Frankenstein and Freeride. Then together with Sammy Hagar, Bill Church and Denny Carmassi, Ronnie Montrose released the iconic (and considered by some the be the first true ’Heavy Metal’) album ever recorded with Montrose’s self-titled debut album in 1973.
I was a senior in high school when that album came out, and I remember being blown away. As I mentioned on a different forum, it was a kick-the-doors-down, in-your-face, air-guitar-players-dream!
RIP Ronnie, and thanks for the countless hours of absolute rock-and-roll joy!
06
Feb
12
One Year Gone
No description needed. Turn it up LOUD, and remember…
03
Jan
12
Thank You!
I just noticed that the BS BLOG surpassed 100,000 hits on New Years Day! Thank you to everyone who helped us reach this milestone. I look forward to a great 2012.
So, is anyone counting down the days until the end of civilization and the Mayan Calendar on 12-21-12?
It’s interesting to note that Major Ed Dames and his Remote Viewing crowd are having trouble seeing past that date from what I understand. Additionally, the ancient Hindu Calendar supposedly matches the Mayan Calander, even though their ancient cultures had no contact with each other. The ancient Egyptian ’Great Pyramid Stone Calendar’ ends in 2012, and supposedly Nostradamus also predicted the world would end in 2012.
The Cherokee Indians also have a calendar with an end date of December 18th, 2012, which is pretty darn close. Hopi Indian legend also fortells the coming of a ‘Blue Star Spirit’ and a ‘Trembling of the Earth’ (perhaps a killer comet or asteroid?)
Happy New Year, and thanks again!
20
Dec
11
Christmas
Thankfully, there’s only a few more days of TV commercials for jewelry, electric shavers and computer-animated polar bears drinking Coca Cola.
Jaded? No. Just not into it. Tired of losing loved ones for the holidays. I’m 3 for 3 so far, and this last one was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
I can’t stand going to the store. Christmas carols playing in the background cloud my vision. I haven’t done any shopping yet, and I’m not sure I am going to. Not out of bitterness or anger. I’m just tired. Very tired. Sad. Unmotivated.
I’m trying to “suck it up” and put on my happy face. It’s not fair to my wife, kids and grandkids to selfishly withdraw; curled up in a fetal position somewhere in the back reaches of my childhood memories – but there I am.
It’s supposed to be getting better. It only gotten worse.
I know it’s time to put on my big-boy pants, quit my whining and get my shit together. Yeah, I know. I know. Maybe tomorrow. Hopefully tomorrow.
01
Dec
11
The Many Faces Of Steve Winwood
04
Jul
11
Jeff Neal, 1947-2011
Yesterday I learned that an old friend had passed away from cancer at the age of 63. The news caught me off-guard, and filled me with not only with sadness but with a fair amount of guilt as well.
I first met Jeff back in the late 70′s or early 80′s when I was a Fire Department Paramedic and Jeff was a Deputy Sheriff. Our paths would often cross at the scenes of assorted 911 calls. I remember being impressed by his calm and reasoned approach to emergency situations and his overall compassionate nature. I also recall Jeff as a fairly decent athlete, as evidenced by my inability to chase him down duing one of our annual Fire Department vs. Sheriff Office “Toilet Bowl” football games. I can still see that sleeveless green sweatshirt running away from me…
I came to know Jeff better at social settings, and jamming with him at parties. Jeff was a member of a respectable all-cop classic rock cover band and we shared a love of music. He was a fun-loving guy with a great sense of humor.
I left the Fire Department to take over the management of a private ambulance company and automotive towing service. After Jeff retired from the Sheriff’s Office I hired him on as a tow-truck operator. He didn’t really need the work, but I think he enjoyed staying active – and the public-service nature of the business.
It was during this time that we formed our own band, and rehearsed in Jeff’s basement. Jeff was a guitar player, a singer and a song writer. Other members of the band included Rick Glazener on drums (who was also a tow-truck operator), Steve Johnson (a guitar player I had played with in other bands), and myself on bass. We never performed live, but worked out some very good original songs. I’ve got some old cassette recordings somewhere, and I’ll have to see if I can find them.
The band split up when I moved out of town to be with my eventual wife while she was attending college. After I moved back to Bremerton I’d stop by Jeff’s on occasion. We’d talk music, play music, and Jeff would show me a new song he was working on. We thought about starting something up again, but never really got it together.
As time passed I got married, life got busy, and we didn’t see much of each other. Jeff would call on occasion and we’d visit on the phone, but it’s been years since we spoke, and even longer since I stopped by his place - even though we only lived a couple miles apart.
Jeff has been on my mind recently, and I had been meaning to stop by and say hello. I had been looking forward to catching up, but you know how that goes. I would make tentative plans but get sidetracked by this and that, and I’d tell myself I would stop by later. So much for that idea.
When I heard that Jeff has passed I went online and read his obit. Jeff passed nearly 3 months ago. From the obituary it seems that Jeff spent his final days at Bremerton Convalescent Center, a long-term skilled nursing facility. I don’t know how long he had been fighting cancer, or how long he was in that convalescent center. That’s where the guilt creeps in. I feel like I should have been a better friend, and made more of an effort to stay in touch. I would have liked to have been there for Jeff as he fought this fight. But Jeff was a bit of a Man’s man, so I’m not surprised that he didn’t call me. I’m sure Martina was there for him, and well as his son Danny. But still…
Anyway Jeff, this one’s for you my friend. From the Fireman, to the Cop:
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