I did some crate digging when my wife, two of our sons and I went to an antiques mall recently, and found some real gems (using that term very loosely) in the album bins. This is vinyl that takes me back to the days of old, when I was young.
Here’s the first album I ever bought:
Yep, I was pretty late to the Eagles party. This album was their swan song (post-breakup re-formation albums don’t count in my book). Love the cover… not too far removed from the infamous “Black Album” from Spinal Tap.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46kXH6GGtT0
I bought this album at Wal-Mart. (Don’t hate – it was pretty much the only store in Clarksville, Arkansas that sold records.) Brought it home, put it on the turntable and it skipped. Returned it to Wal-Mart for another copy, which also skipped. Finally figured out that if I taped a penny on the turntable’s needle arm, it worked just fine. Don’t try that with your mp3s.
I loved music so much that I pored over the liner notes. There was a note in tiny print at the bottom of the album sleeve telling how you could mail away for the lyrics:
How quaint. And of course I dutifully mailed in my SASE because I love lyrics.
I studied the album so much that I even found an “Easter egg” of sorts etched into the black vinyl between the last song and the record label on both sides, aka the “runout grooves.”
Side 1 said: Never let your monster lay down.
Side 2 read: From the Polack who sailed north.
I’m guessing that’s a reference to the album’s producer, Bill Szymczyk.
So I thought I was just driving 5 minutes away to an antiques mall, but I actually wound up going 800 miles (and 36 years) down Memory Lane.
“Who is gonna make it? We’ll find out, in the long run”
IMHO, The Band was one of the greatest bands ever. They never really got their due, probably because their name was too generic, and their association with Bob Dylan relegated them to backing band status in the minds of many casual music fans.
Within The Band, Garth Hudson, who turns 78 today, is easily the least well-known. All the others sang, and had their particular niche – Levon Helm, the Arkansas kid with the distinctive drawl, Robbie Robertson the hotshot guitarist and main songwriter (although Levon would dispute that), Rick Danko with his quivering falsetto, Richard Manuel with his soulful voice, put to use most memorably on “I Shall Be Released.” And there in the background was the mad scientist/keyboard wizard/genius, Garth. The strong, silent type. But let’s not forget that it was Garth who recorded the famous “Basement Tapes.” It’s Garth who has done the most since The Band broke up, doing session work and recording with dozens of artists, and still performing to this day.
It’s time to sing the praises of the unsung hero and “glue guy” of The Band. Happy Birthday, Garth, and here’s to many more!
Last weekend I attended Forecastle Fest, a three-day musical extravaganza, in Louisville, KY. It was my second straight year for Forecastle, and my second straight year of loving it. They have 4 stages with music going from 1PM until midnight all three days. For an old man like me who likes to keep up with what the kids are listening to these days, it’s a smokin’ hot smorgasbord. Hot was the operative word for the weekend too, as the temps were in the 90s and the humidity was off the charts. Saturday was an official “heat emergency” day in L-ville. But I did my best to stay hydrated.
Musical highlights:
The War on Drugs – great set from this Philly band. Lead singer’s voice reminds me a bit of Dylan, but I think he sounds more like Mike Scott from The Waterboys.
My Morning Jacket – love these fellers, and they played an epic 2 1/2 hour set for an extremely enthusiastic hometown crowd. The setlist was a great representation of the many facets of this band and their career. And lead singer Jim James had some great things to say about treating other human beings with kindness, too.
First Aid Kit – two sisters from Sweden, backed by a Scottish drummer and a Brit on guitar/keyboards/mandolin. They folkin’ rocked, with great originals and covers both expected (Simon & Garfunkel’s “America”) and unexpected (Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs”). Here’s one of my favorite songs of theirs:
Alvvays – I took a half day vacation from work on Friday because I wanted to get to Louisville for Alvvay’s 1:30 set. When I got there, they had been moved to 8:30. It was well worth the wait.
Sturgill Simpson – this is real-deal Country music, not the pre-fab pap/pop that tries to pass as country these days.
Field Report – much like Sun Kil Moon last year at Forecastle, this was a sleeper set. Very mellow, but extremely compelling listening. Would love to see this band at a club.
For good old R-A-W-K, there were four bands that delivered the goods in high-energy style:
I highly recommend that you pick up a set of EarPeace HD earplugs. For less than $20, you can still hear the bands just fine (unlike when you stuff cotton balls in your ears or use cheap earplugs that block the sound vs. filter it) and you’ll protect your ears. Wish these were around 30 years ago.
Complaints that make me sound like the old man that I am:
I know tobacco is still a big cash crop in Kentucky, but the smokers drove me crazy. No matter where I stood, somehow I was always downwind from a batch of nicotine addicts. Wish festivals would ban smoking, or at the very least create an enclosed “cancerdome” bubble where smokers could congregate.
On Friday night, a big thunderstorm rolled through during Sam Smith’s headlining set (looks like Mother Nature and I have something in common: we both don’t particularly care for Brit soul singers). Heavy winds caused some damage to the stages. So Saturday, Forecastle organizers delayed the opening of the gates by nearly an hour. Which would be fine except they didn’t communicate this until hundreds of folks were already lined up to enter, and they just let us sit there baking in the hot sun on an unshaded sidewalk the entire time. I’m surprised we didn’t all melt and/or pass out from sunstroke. I know the storm was out of their control, but their response to it was lame. At the very least, move the queues to the shade, and hand out bottled water.
OK, enough complaining. Overall it was a great experience, and I just might go for three in a row next year!
20 years ago, I couldn’t stand the Grateful Dead. I don’t like the smell of patchouli and I don’t care for $5 grilled cheese sandwiches made on the carburetor of a ’72 VW Microbus.
18 years ago, I married my wife, who is a big fan of the Dead. So I’ve listened to more than my fair share of their music since then. And it’s grown on me. Granted, I still could do without an 18-minute version of a 2-minute cover song (looking at you, “Good Lovin'”) or “Drum Space.” But I really do enjoy many of their songs, and have a great appreciation for the fan base they’ve cultivated over the last 50 years. Whether you love them or hate them (and there doesn’t seem to be much middle ground), you have to admit that they are one of the most generous bands around, in the sense that they view music as a gift to be shared, and not commerce to be peddled. Tapers have always been welcome at their shows, and their bootlegs have helped them grow their fan base.
Two nights ago, The Grateful Dead played their final show at Soldier Field in Chicago. (Some would argue they played their final show 20 years ago when Jerry Garcia passed away.) We are on vacation and went to see a live stream of the show on a Jumbotron at an outdoor bar in Florida. It was my first time seeing them live (or semi-live on a Jumbotron). There were plenty of other fans there watching as well. How many bands could pull that off – having people spend a vacation night watching one of their concerts from a thousand miles away?
I know that there are a lot of preconceived notions about Deadheads, but as a passionate live music fan I tip my hat to them, because they obviously love live music. The Dead may not be the most technically precise band around, but they have a groove that runs a mile deep and have built a passionate community around that. More bands should be like them.
Activities that have been cancelled on me recently:
1. The Replacements concert in Columbus, OH in early May. I was really looking forward to this show because I love the ‘mats. Originally the show was merely postponed… but apparently they couldn’t find a decent reschedule date so they eventually cancelled the gig. The reason it didn’t go on as scheduled was because lead singer Paul Westerberg was ailing. Or maybe Tommy got his tonsils out.
2. Jesse Malin concert in Newport, KY in mid-April. Yet another concert I was really looking forward to, because I love Jesse and adore his new album, New York Before the War. But I’m assuming he bailed out because his typical shows in the Cincinnati area are high on energy, but low on attendees. He did an in-studio performance at a Pittsburgh radio station the next afternoon to plug his Pittsburgh show – probably a wiser move economically. Ironically enough, Jesse opened two shows for the Replacements in London in early June… Bastards!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0eMdpf8lcU
3. Paddlefest. It’s not nearly as dirty as it sounds – it has nothing to do with spanking, just paddling down the Ohio River in kayaks, canoes, paddleboards and other people-powered watercraft.
It’s a wonderful event where a 10-mile stretch of the mighty Ohio is closed to barge traffic for several hours, and paddlers own the river. Peaceful, relaxing, beautiful… but this year Mother Nature had other plans. Heavy rains from Tropical Storm Bill made the river too rapid and risky for a bunch of amateur Gilligans.
Activities that have NOT been cancelled on me recently:
property tax bill
dentist appointment for 2 cavities
colonoscopy
my son’s 7:15 a.m. soccer game an hour away… and it started raining with thunder and lightning shortly after the game started so it was called off. Basically we spent 2 1/2 hours driving so he could play 15 minutes of soccer.
Saw Amanda Shires, Jason Isbell and Dwight Yoakam in concert a week ago. Dwight and his band are top-notch, but the highlight for me was Jason Isbell. Loved his 2013 album Southeastern, and still do. But the song from his set list that gave me the most goose bumps was “Dress Blues” – a tribute to a fallen soldier from Jason’s Alabama hometown. The song is from Jason’s 2007 debut solo album Sirens of the Ditch and was written for Marine Matthew Conley, who was killed by an IED in Iraq at age 21, just weeks before he was to go home and be reunited with his wife, who was pregnant with their first child. The song deftly and beautifully pays tribute to the young man while questioning the decisions that caused his death.
There’s red, white and blue in the rafters
And there’s silent old men from the Corps
What did they say when they shipped you away
To fight somebody’s Hollywood war?
Nobody here could forget you
You showed us what we had to lose
You never planned on the bombs in the sand
Or sleepin’ in your dress blues
You never planned on the bombs in the sand
Or sleepin’ in your dress blues
Kevin Sullivan on Life advice from a man who lived it: “A good one Damian. Bring our lens into focus after the long weekend or our long life journey.” Jul 7, 09:38
Thomas Kuhl on We’re alive, because nothing happened.: “That is why we should celebrate every day when our feet hit the floor. Another to enjoy and share with…” Jun 25, 04:33
Thomas Kuhl on We’re alive, because nothing happened.: “This simply explains why we should celebrate every day our feet hit the floor. Another day to enjoy and share…” Jun 25, 04:31
How quaint. And of course I dutifully mailed in my SASE because I love lyrics.
You done said…