Bear's Holiday Gift Ideas...or Everything Oprah Missed!

It’s that time of the year. People have thoughts of sugar plum fairies (ahhhhh what…..) as they try to figure out what is the cool gift to give this year.

I know you probably listened to Oprah or Ellen or some other TV talking head telling you their favorite holiday gift to give this year. The only problem is I can’t afford the gifts they suggest plus I would rather support the Cleveland artists, writers, craftsmen and venues they seem to overlook. (Take that Oprah!)

Well I’m here to give you the ultimate gift ideas (or at least in my eggnog soaked mind) for the rocker in your life.

There’s a lot of books out there about rock but what you need is a book about rock and Cleveland. The best one I’ve come across is John Gorman’s “The Buzzard – Inside The Glory Days Of WMMS And Cleveland Rock Radio”. Simply I love this book. Growing up in Cleveland with WMMS playing in the background of my life, I can relate to and remember many of the stories John tells about the formation of probably the greatest rock station ever created. It was a phenomenon we were a part of as listeners and it is great to get the behind the scenes look at our version or “WKRP”. Click here to buy

Need something to play in the background while reading “The Buzzard”? How about re-living Fridays at 6pm with Murray Sauls “The Get Downs Vol 1”. I mean the original wild man of Cleveland in the 70’s gave us his on the fly rants about politics, music, drugs, karma, work, life, liberty, sex, slavedriver bosses, and every other thing that crossed his fertile mind. Everyone tuned in at 6pm to get the proper start to the weekend. Always remember "We gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta.....get down, damnit!" Click here to buy

I’ve said it over and over. The only reason to buy the Plain Dealer is Michael Heaton. Plain and simple. Michael has a way of writing that you, me and everyone else can relate to and his book “Truth And Justice For Fun And Profit” is just fun reading. It’s a collection of his best works and as you finish one, you can’t wait to read the next. It’s a book you can’t put down. His view of Cleveland is to say “unique”. Also if you can get your hands on his “The Best Of The Minister Of Culture” it is worth the price of the book for just the story “Black Leather & Love: A Rock Fantasy” about his fantasy of being Mr. Joan Jett. Click here to buy

Looking for something unique or handmade? How about coming out and supporting Cleveland’s local artists at The Last Minute Market on Saturday December 19th from 10am-6pm at the Lake Erie Building at Templar Industrial Park 13000 Athens Ave. Lakewood. Local artists and craftsmen will be showing and selling jewelry, clothing, artwork and some really, really great rock concert posters (okay that’s my booth!). So why bother going to a crowded mall buying the same old run of the mill stuff when you can come by and get something unique and that one of a kind gift. Hey at worst case, you’ll finally get to see what I look like!

Ever walk down the street and see someone wearing a cool t-shirt and wonder where they got it? They probably got it from Psycho Reindeer! They have the wildest and coolest designs you can imagine and they are only $14 with free shipping. C’mon free shipping! Try to get that somewhere else. Click here to visit their website.

Looking to put the ultimate home theater in your house or looking for that audio system that goes “up to 11” or simply need that flat screen installed on the wall so it doesn’t fall off. Then you got to check out the guys at Crave Audio and Video. These guys know their stuff and I’m telling you this as a paying customer! Look it is easy to go to some of these overpriced audio/video specialist stores that are going to push you into something they want to sell you (trust me on this!) or that Best Buy where you got your tv and now what are you going to do as it sits in a box in the middle of your living room. These are good guys where the customer is first. Give Kyle a call at 440-623-5698 for a consultation and tell him Bear sent you. (Ask him about my A7’s!)

Look it is no secret here that my favorite Cleveland musician is Alex Bevan. I’ve been listening to Alex for over 35 years and his music just hits a cord with me and his latest CD “Falls And Angels” continues the tradition. It’s a beautiful CD that finishes off with the haunting “Gunfighter Smile”. Go over to Alex’s website and pick it up and while your there pick up some of his other great CD’s. Click Here to visit the website

Got a real rock and roll fan in your family? I got the perfect gift then. How about a membership to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Never thought of it before, don’t feel bad, it’s just one of those perfect gifts you just never think about. Wow, I got an idea!!!! Instead of going out and buying “Guitar Hero” or “Rock Band” so your child can sit in front of the TV pretending to be a rock legend, why not get them a membership to the Rock Hall in their name. Not only do they get a very cool members only rock and roll t-shirt, a collectable Rock Hall pin but a membership card with their name on it. Think how cool it would be when you take your family to the Rock Hall and your kid pulls out his/her membership card and tells them at the entrance “I’m a member”. Let’s start making a new generation of musicians and teaching them the history of rock and this is a great way to get started. Click Here to go the Rock Hall website

Okay one last gift idea. Just click over to the main website, www.clevelandrockandroll.com and click on the store button and check out the selections of the Cleveland rock concert posters I have available. Janis, Floyd, Stones, Zeppelin, there all there. Go on take a look! Click Here

Wow, okay now the eggnog (spiked of course!) is settling in and I think I might have given you some very cool gift ideas (hey, I have no problem if any of you would like to give me any of them. Just a thought) and you don’t even have to go to the mall and park a mile away and fight the crowds and blah, blah, blah. Okay you get the idea.

This holiday, give a little piece of Cleveland to your rock fan.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Nuff said, least till next time
Peace Out
Bear

Woe Is Me The Native Clevelander

You know being a Clevelander is hard.

We tune in and watch week after week as the Browns go thru the motions while the owner laughs at us being the suckers we are year after year.

We watch our former Indians pick up their World Series rings with their new teams as we go into another year of rebuilding.

The Cavs, well we’ll see. We’ll see LeBron dishing the pass off to Kobe or Dwayne Wade or Dwight Howard next year and we’ll just sit here and say what if?

You know it seems we like to be the underdog, the downtrodden, the “crapped upon”. It seems we relish it at times, wear it as a badge of honor because we keep taken it, year after year from our sports teams.

But you know what we have that every other city in the United States if not the World would love to rip away from us but we Clevelanders seem to take for granted?

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame…..

Other cities have football teams, baseball teams, basketball teams but none have the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. We do, but do you care?

I don’t know……

All you readers out there hold your hand up if you have been to the Rock Hall..…Okay keep them up if you have been there more than once….Okay now who has been there recently…..Okay that’s what I thought, you couple of people, lower your hands.

We love to bash the Rock Hall Foundation for not having the Induction Ceremonies here each year and complain that New York is stealing our glory, but if they were here every year would you go?

I don’t know……

We complained that the 25th Anniversary Concert for the Rock Hall was in New York and not here in Cleveland and we were being shafted again but would you have went if was?

I would hope so…….

While we were complaining about the Induction Ceremonies and the 25th Anniversary Concert not being held here did you know what is held here and NOT in New York for the past 14 years?


The American Music Masters Series Tribute Concert!

Now raise your hands out there if you knew this…..Keep them up while I count. Okay now those with your hands up, keep them up if you went….Yep that’s what I figured.

Okay, okay I’ll admit it, I didn’t know about it also until last year when they honored Les Paul but you know what…I won’t ever miss another one.

Every year for the past 14 years the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame honors one of the important figures in music with the American Music Masters Series Tribute Concert, right here in Cleveland. They have honored in the past Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Sam Cooke, Buddy Holly, Muddy Waters, Hank Williams, Robert Johnson and Woody Guthrie to name just a few and you know who came to Cleveland to perform at these concerts to honor the greats of the past? Well some of the greats of music now. Artists like Bruce Springsteen, Arlo Guthrie, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Levon Helm, Southside Johnny, The Allman Brothers, Bob Weir, Peter Green, BB King, Bo Diddley, Bonnie Raitt, John Mellancamp, Robert Plant, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello, Billy Gibbons, George Thorogood and this is a fraction of the artists that come to our town, our Cleveland, to perform for the past 14 years for us, not those New Yorkers we like to complain about, but us. Take that New York!

Did you go?

This year I did and man, I am glad I did. This year’s honoree was Janis Joplin and it was a great night of music. It showcased the not only Janis but the periods of music that flowed thru her life. From her early days in Austin Texas with the country roots to her love of the blues to the San Francisco sound to her following her heart and finding her unique style as a solo artist. This was all done with an eclectic mix of musicians, many who were friends of Janis.

The night started out with the big cowboy Ray Benson from Asleep At The Wheel accompanied by Carolyn Wonderland and they started the night out on the right track with “Silver Threads And Golden Needles” and for the next 3 hours it never waned. Highlights for me from the night were Carolyn Wonderland, who is just a powerhouse on stage, doing “Down On Me”, Susan Tedeschi’s great versions of “Try (Just A Little Bit Harder” and “Kosmic Blues”, Nona Hendrix doing “Move Over”, Gregg Rolie and Michael Carabello of Santana doing “No One to Depend On” and “Evil Ways” and truly confirming to me that the best music Santana ever created was when Rolie was the voice of the band, and Nick Gravanites “Buried Alive in the Blues” which he wrote for Janis for the Pearl album but she never got to record before she died. A beautiful blues ballad that Janis would have made her own. I especially loved the video of Kris Kristofferson who couldn’t be there talking about him and Janis during the recording of “Me And Bobby McGee” and the very funny stories he told of the two of them. The Rock Hall also did a great job of weaving video of Janis throughout the concert highlighting different parts of her life and seeing the transformation of this woman who finally became Pearl.

I had the honor of being with the press interviewing these artists before the show and got to see for myself how they really felt about the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and Cleveland. For Rock Hall Inductees like Gregg Rolie and Michael Carabello, they said it was cool for them to see their old outfits and items on display from their early days of Santana and for every other artist I talked to, they were like kids in a candy store as their eyes lit up while they talked about going thru the Rock Hall and seeing the guitars, lyrics and personal items of the artists they idolize.

I’m going to be publishing the interviews throughout the next few weeks here and they should be entertaining reading (at least I hope!). They were very open and gave great insights into their careers and music in general from Rolie and Carabello taking about the creation of Santana to Ray Benson telling me about seeing a 17 year old Stevie Ray Vaughan for the first time to Susan Tedeschi talking about the new project with her husband Derek Trucks (Allman Brothers Band) to Nona Hendrix of LaBelle fame talking about working with Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Jimi Hendrix but her revelation about her time hanging out with rock’s ultimate bad boy Keith Moon of The Who was definitely an eye opener.

On a personal note, I want to thank Reena Samaan and Margaret Thresher for their invitation and for their great hospitality.

We need to remember as our sports teams disappoint us again, we still think we are a great sports town but before that we were known as THE great music town and that’s why the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is here and not New York or San Francisco or Philadelphia or London. It’s here for a reason. Cleveland was the epicenter of Rock, period. Rock was formed here, given its name here, careers launched here and no one ever skipped playing here. That’s why the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is here so let’s make sure it stays here. Go out and support the Rock Hall. Go visit the hall, go to one of the talks with the guest speakers they bring in, go see one of the shows like U2 3D in their theatre. Just Go and show them why Cleveland is still the Rock And Roll Capital Of The World!

Take that New York!

Nuff said, least till next time
Peace Out
Bear

Is There Gas In The Car? Yes, There’s Gas In The Car…. Or Is There?

It has been 35 years since I last saw Steely Dan perform.

35 years!

That’s like 245 dog years or the average number of combined years for the careers of any 12 artists of this decade.

That 1974 tour was the last tour they did before breaking up in 1981 and it was also the last time Steely Dan was really a band, and not just Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. Steely Dan back then was Becker, Fagen, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Denny Dias and Victor Feldman. That was a line-up of some serious musicians, but the road took its toll that year and Becker and Fagen decided they wanted to just work in the studio and produce albums – thus it was the last tour for 19 years.

I mean this was pre-Aja and pre-Royal Scam, the two albums they featured this week at E.J. Thomas Hall. Back then, they were a great live band but how would they be 35 years later?

The first thing I noticed Monday night was the difference in Donald Fagen. Back in 1974 he didn’t seem to want to be there much, but in 2009 it looked like he was actually having fun performing his songs live. The second thing I noticed – they put together a hell of a band to re-produce that studio sound. I don’t know if you really can understand how hard it has to be to produce that Steely Dan sound live. Fagen and Becker were famous during the recording process for bringing in three, four or five different sets of musicians to play each song they were recording and picking the best parts of each group for the final product. For example on the Aja album – 37 musicians are credited for playing on it, and 27 musicians are credited on Royal Scam. To Becker and Fagen they always set out to produce the perfect studio albums but how would that come through now live?

The night I went was the night they featured the album Aja. This was a monster album in 1977 and has held up through the years. Frankly, it’s a classic and I looked forward to seeing it performed live in its entirety. I mean these are songs I have listened to for 30+ years on albums, cassettes, CDs and on the radio but never live. So there was a definite high expectation for me.

So how did it come out?

Amazing…just amazing. I sat there and just drank in some of the best music ever produced being played live and being done well. The songs just kept rolling through the night: “Black Cow,” “Aja,” “Deacon Blues,” “Peg,” “Home At Last,” “I Got The News” and “Josie” and that was just the Aja part of the show! The rest of the night was like a Steely Dan jukebox filled with hits: ”Black Friday,” “Time Out Of Mind,” “Daddy Don’t Live In That New York City No More,” “Bodhisattva,” “Babylon Sisters,” “Show Biz Kids,” “Hey Nineteen,” “Dirty Work,” “Do It Again,” “Don’t Take Me Alive,” “My Old School,” “Kid Charlemagne” and for the encore, “Reeling In The Years”. I mean come on, how could you not like that set list?

The band they put together was up to the task - especially guitarist Jon Herrington, who had many shoes to fill in for the many great guitarists that originally played on those songs. He did a great job and the band as a whole was fantastic. Walter Becker got to show his chops taking over some of the guitar solos, but the highlight for me was the unique and stylish vocals of Donald Fagen, who still can produce those notes. As my wife said to me during the show “he sounds better now than he did on the album.”

Not everything was perfect mind you but it was pretty close. I didn’t think Becker doing the vocals on “Daddy Don’t Live In That New York City No More” really carried well. I was disappointed that they let the three female backup singers do the vocals on “Dirty Work.” I know, I know. This is the only song that Fagen did not sing on an album, but if he did not want to do the vocals then they should have let one of the other musicians take a shot at it or not do it at all. It’s probably my favorite Steely Dan song of all time and instead of being a great bluesy rock song the arrangement became a torch song of sorts.

My only other complaint about the night and this is a personal observation. This is to the couple sitting next to me: Why do you go to a concert and feel the need to talk to each other? Was the conversation boring on the ride over and you felt a need to pick it up, or was it so stimulating that you had to continue it? Also, why yell out “Woooooooooo!” at the start of every song? Did you think that Donald was going to say “Thank you everyone and especially to that guy in Row L Seat 49 for that Woooooooo!” I hope you’re reading this and my advice to you – or anyone else that this could fit – Shut the hell up!

Okay enough of my rant.

To answer the famous line from “Kid Charlemagne,” is there gas in the car?

Yes there is, and there is still plenty left in the tank of Steely Dan!

Nuff said, least til next time
Peace Out
Bear

Two Guys, Two Guitars and A Great Night Of Music

Last Saturday I had the fortune to attend the benefit for Roots Of American Music (ROAM) at the Beachland Ballroom. It was a very cool event to be a part of because A.) It was a great cause for an organization that is doing so much for our schools and doing what it can to help keep the music flowing thru the halls and B.) it brought together two of my favorite musicians on one stage, Michael Stanley and Alex Bevan.

I can’t count the number of times I have seen either of these two artists play thru the years, and when I say thru the years I mean thru the years. I have been listening to them since the early 70’s. I have seen them in every type of venue you can imagine. Bars, arenas, clubs, outdoor venues, headlining shows, opening shows. The list goes on and on but the one thing I can tell you I don’t think I’ve seen the two of them better than Saturday night.

It was as intimate a night of music as I have ever seen and I have to say, it was one of the best nights of music I have heard in my almost 40 years of going to shows and concerts and this includes thousands of shows I’ve seen.

It was two guys, two guitars and their memories of the songs they sang.

I am used to seeing Alex in this type of show. A man with his guitar and his songs alone on a stage and he does it better than almost everyone and has been doing so for years but it was really different to see Michael in this element. I am used to seeing him fronting The Ghost Poets, The Resonators, The Midlife Chryslers and of course MSB but Saturday this striped down, acoustic version of Michael Stanley blew me away.

I think what made the night special was hearing their stories about each song they played. To hear what inspired them to write the song and what the special meaning of the song was for each of them. Michael said during the show “people ask me if I’ll ever write a book and I tell them to just go back and listen to the albums, it’s all there”.

You know what, I think that’s why these two men have had such a loyal following in Cleveland for so long. Over the years they have been writing and singing about things in their lives and in turn us. They are Cleveland thru and thru and in their songs we find bits and pieces of ourselves in them.

As far as the show itself they alternated playing their music and they pulled out all the classics. Midwest Midnight, Carey Come Smiling, Rosewood Bitters, Rodeo Rider, In The Heartland, Skinny Little Boy, Lover, Grand River Lullaby and many more of the songs we’ve come to love over the years. When each stood up and played, Folks this was the way to listen to these songs, stripped down to it’s essence with the voice and a guitar. When one was playing the other would sit on a chair and listen and just like us you could tell they were a fan. When the night first started they would just sit and let the other have the spotlight but as the night wore on you saw things that showed they were having fun and really getting into the music like when Alex was doing “Rodeo Rider” you saw Michael sitting there and singing the lyrics to himself. That was very cool. When Michael was doing “Rosewood Bitters” and playing a rhythm accompaniment you all of a sudden you heard a little bit of a lead guitar being interwoven into the song and you looked over and there was Alex playing along like you would if you were home listening on your stereo with your guitar on your lap. Again a very cool moment. It was these moments and many more that happened that night when you realized these guys really respected each other as musicians and really enjoyed the others songs. Just like us.

You know the night was great when you didn’t want it to end and you wanted more. As we were leaving my wife (Mrs. Bear) just looked at me and said “god they sounded great”. That was it, one comment just summed up the whole night. As I told Alex when I passed him at the intermission, “I hope you have tape running on this”

If you missed this show (and you got to be kicking yourself right now) and still want to do a good thing to help out Roots Of American Music go to www.rootsofamericanmusic.org/ and make a donation. I know in these times it’s hard for most of us but even the littlest donation helps. Their mission is “Preserving the past, enriching the present and inspiring the future” and that is a good thing for kids

Nuff said, least till next time
Peace Out
Bear

Recommended Alex Bevan albums. available at www.ncweb.com/ent/alex/

"Grand River Lullaby"
The album that made Alex, well "Alex"
Has the beautiful title song "Grand River Lullaby" Simply a classic.






"Springboard"
One of the most beautiful albums I have ever put on a turntable. I've worn out so many copies. "Carey Come Smiling", "Rodeo Rider", "Silver Wings" and so much more. My favorite





"Falls & Angels"
Alex's latest album that has the beautiful "Gunfighters Smile" That song alone is worth the buy.

Recommended Michael Stanley albums. available at http://www.michaelstanley.com/

"Michael Stanley"
Michael's first album it's my favorite. Has my favorite Michael Stanley song "Movin Right Along" as well as the always great "Rosewood Bitters"



"Live At Tangiers"
A thirty song live album done acoustically. Laid back and great with all the hits. Listen to "Lover" and "Let's Get The Show On The Road". Beautiful.

"The Soft Addictions"
One of his newer albums that continues the tradition. Has the amazing "Same Blood (Different Vein)"

Random Thoughts On The Rock Hall, The End Of Summer And A Good Cause

Random Thoughts On The Rock Hall, The End Of Summer And A Good Cause:

On The Rock Hall debate….
I want to thank everyone (and there were hundreds) who took the time to email me about last week’s story on the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame nominees and I have to tell you, people are pissed off.

I was going to do another story this week on the subject as an open letter to the committee but the more I research this, the madder I get so I am going to wait until the finalist are announced and with what I find out, I’ll put it all out there for you.

Just a couple of things I found out and don’t want to wait and have to get off my chest. Some of these members who hold themselves in such high esteem (ie: Robert Hilburn - LA Times music critic) don’t even bother to go to the nomination meeting and I’m sure there are others who didn’t bother to go but Bob made it public last week “tweeting” about it. Hey Bob, don’t complain about who the 12 finalists are if you don’t think it’s important enough to attend the meeting not just this year but the past several years. Here is his comment to futurerocklegends.com (a very cool site that I came across and covers the Rock Hall process) about this “unable to attend ny meetings in recent years; sent my choices to the chairman. so don't know how debate went this time”.

Bob if you can’t be there to advocate for your choices then RESIGN. Let someone that cares enough about their choices and feels strong enough about them come in and take your place. I know you said “Here are Rock candidates I would have preferred: Lou Reed, the Replacements, Gram Parsons, Tom Waits, Kraftwerk, Randy Newman, NY Dolls” but it wasn’t important enough for you to even go and voice your opinion so you know what, you get to vote for ABBA this year as you said you were going to.

If you guys on the committee feel as several have stated “keep seeing tweets about disco, punk, soul etc not being valid for rock hall--not true. the hall should embrace the great acts of rock era” and “The Rock Hall uses the word rock in the broadest possible definition, which makes a lot of sense” then as you embrace disco artists, rap artists, etc which performed during this “rock era” and this is the criteria you are using then where are the country artists such as Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson (true songwriters) or vocal artists such as Sinatra, Streisand, Dean Martin. Why are they not being considered based on your own criteria? During this time period they were as important to music as any artist out there. Look I love Willie, Frank and Dean but do they belong in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame?.....No! But under your strange rationalization your telling me Donna Summer had a bigger impact on music than Frank Sinatra or LL Cool J was a bigger influence than Willie Nelson let alone artists that actually should be in the Hall Of Fame such as Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Leon Russell, Stevie Ray Vaughan, etc. That is actually what you are saying to us with your nominations. You are so arbitrary with what you deem to be “important” in music and how and who you make your choices for, it absolutely makes no sense.

Remember it’s only Rock And Roll.

It’s great to get comments from the readers like “keep up the fight”, “you are right on about this”, “you’re speaking for all of us”, “Thank you” because at times you don’t know if it is just you (or the voices in your head!) or is this how others feel (Except for Bob The Cop who let’s me know very strongly how he feels each week!). I will keep up the fight alongside people like Bob (The Cop not Hilburn) because this process they using and who is on this committee, is just wrong.

______________________________________

On The End Of Summer….
Now that summer is gone, the Browns are officially eliminated from the playoffs (they are aren’t they?), the Indians AAA team is playing out the season at the Jake (I can’t get myself to say The Prog) and I just don’t care about the Cavs (what is everyone in Cleveland going to do next year when he is wearing someone else’s jersey) I have time on my hands so my good friend Matt from addictedtovinyl.com has a great feature on his site called the “Monday Morning Mix Tape” where you can submit your version of the old mix tape everyone used to make. It can have a theme, no theme, random songs or just whatever you like. Just put together your music for everyone to see.

I started mine to submit and it is “The End Of Summer” with songs that just remind me of summer days when I hear them. They don’t have “summer” in the title, they just have something that sparks some hidden memory for me. These are the songs I turn the radio up with the top down on the Jeep on those warm summer nights. So far I got Brown Eyed Girl (Van Morrison), Three Little Birds (Bob Marley), Grand River Lullaby (Alex Bevan), I’m Your Captain (Grand Funk), Baby Blue (Badfinger), Two Of Us (Beatles), My Whole World Ended (David Ruffin), Gimme Gimme Good Lovin (Crazy Elephant), Two Lane Highway (Pure Prairie League), Out In The Country (Three Dog Night), Got To Give It Up (Marvin Gaye), Time Won’t Let Me (The Outsiders), 6th Avenue Heartache (The Wallflowers), Ripple (Grateful Dead), Trick Of The Tail (Genesis).

Wow, what an eclectic mix. I swear I picked these “not under the influence”. That’s my Mix Tape so far. Now I just got to figure out which order to put them on the CD. Let me know your mix tape and make sure to send them into Matt.

_____________________________________

On Doing A Good Thing….
On October 10th Michael Stanley and Alex Bevan, two of Cleveland’s beloved musicians are doing a benefit at the Beachland Ballroom for the organization Roots Of American Music (ROAM). ROAM is a non-profit organization that focuses on presenting and preserving roots music (Blues, Jazz, Bluegrass, Folk) and using the music as a academic vehicle to help kids reach their benchmarks and educational goals.

This show features these two great artists for the first time ever together doing an intimate all-acoustic show of their best loved songs along with the stories and tales of their colorful careers.

So think about it readers, you get a great night of music and you get to do something good for the community and for a great cause.
Call Roots Of American Music at 216-321-9353 or visit http://www.rootsofamericanmusic.com/ for benefit reservations or www.beachlandballroom.com.

Well that’s it for this week. Let me know what you think good or bad of my random thoughts at bear@clevelandrockandroll.com.

Nuff said, least till next time
Peace Out
Bear

The Rock Hall Induction Committee Steps Into It Again

Today the Rock And Hall Induction Committee announced their list of finalists for the 2010 Class for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and as we say year in, year out….What were they thinking?

The finalists are the Red Hot Chili Peppers, LL Cool J, Kiss, Genesis, The Stooges, Donna Summer, ABBA, Darlene Love, Laura Nyro, The Chantels, The Hollies, and Jimmy Cliff.

I would like to know. Which member of the Induction Committee stood up and argued as the advocate for ABBA? Seriously!

Can we see some problems here?

By looking at the list, you can almost imagine the conversations in the room when you see a Genesis alongside Donna Summer or Kiss next to Darlene Love or The Hollies beside LL Cool J. Each of these artists have someone nominate them, argue for them and make deals to get them on that final list. “I’ll vote for Kiss if you vote for ABBA.”. Is this the way an artist should be honored?

By looking at the list and seeing Genesis (eligible since 1993 and first time on ballot), Kiss (eligible since 1999 and first time on the ballot), The Hollies (eligible since 1989 and again first time on ballot) it is like they said amongst themselves “We better put some classic rock bands on the list or we’ll get crucified in the press again.” Dave Marsh, a member of the Induction committee, was quoted last year about Kiss “Kiss is not a great band, Kiss was never a great band, Kiss never will be a great band, and I have done my share to keep them off the ballot.” Then when pressed on the Kiss issue by City Scoops Magazine he responded by email “I oppose Kiss because I think it was a shitty rock band, not worthy of induction. What else is there to say?”

Then why are they on the ballot now Dave?

You know what Gene Simmons response was? “There are disco bands, rap bands, Yiddish folk song bands in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but not Kiss. I believe we have more gold records in Americathan any other group, but it’s OK.”

No it’s not Gene. (Bear’s Note: As my readers know, I am not a huge Kiss fan, I like a couple of songs but to not acknowledge their impact on music in general is a travesty)
Little Steve Van Zandt of The E Street Band and a member of the Induction Committee in the new issue of Rolling Stone is quoted as saying “There's dozens and dozens of early rock & roll groups that should be in. I notice a bias toward the post-art-form rock critics' sensibility as opposed to the pre-art-form rock & roll sensibility. That's why I had so much difficulty getting the Rascals and the Dave Clark Five in. We'll probably never get Paul Revere and the Raiders in. Anybody who didn't eventually get into Important Personal Lyrics is not regarded seriously. It's very difficult for me to justify the Talking Heads being in the Hall of Fame before the Hollies, or Michael Jackson being in before Johnny Burnette.

Now there’s some insight into the process folks!

It is like they are trying to placate us by throwing us a bone here folks. Don’t get overexcited by seeing Kiss or Genesis, The Hollies, Jimmy Cliff, or The Stooges being on this list. Remember in the end, they don’t have to vote for them and only 5 of these bands will get in. So throwing us the bone now maybe lessens the blow later when we see Donna Summer get it.

As Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Inductee Madonna put it so clearly when she learned she was inducted "I heard about it and I kind of felt ambivalent, like, 'What is that, the place they put musical dinosaurs?' ".

Committee Members and Rock Hall Voters….Nice Job! This is who you honor by putting them into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame?

Last spring we did a poll on http://www.clevelandrockandroll.com/ (here is the link for the archived story http://clevelandrockandroll.blogspot.com/2009/03/votes-are-in-readers-vote-on-hall-of.html) and the Top 10 bands the fans wanted to see inducted were Rush, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kiss, Genesis, Doobie Brother, Heart, Jethro Tull, ELO, Cheap Trick. You know what they all have in common, not one disco song among them!

Looking at this list and based on the past voting here’s how I see the Class Of 2010. LL Cool J, Donna Summer, Jimmy Cliff, The Stooges and The Chantels. Next in line would be the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

No Genesis, No Hollies and it seems if Dave Marsh has his way NO KISS!

Sad is all I can say, hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think so. The real rock fans just don’t seem to matter.

Maybe next year Stevie Ray……..

Nuff said, least till next time
Peace Out
Bear

Beatles Rock Band or The Decline and Fall Of Civilization

Okay maybe the title is a little strong, exaggerated, maybe even over the top but………

This past week it seemed every time I turned on the television, two things hit me on the screen. 1. A commercial for Jay Leno’s new show and 2. the commercial for the Beatles Rock Band game.

My opinion, (and you are reading my column, whose opinion would it be?) I have to tell you something. 1. Leno’s show is going to suck no matter how much promotion NBC gives it and 2. Is that Beatles commercial the creepiest thing you have ever seen!

It is well known here that I am a Beatles fan, love the Beatles but come on, the cut ins of John especially in that commercial are really creepy. Do you think with the millions of feet of footage available of the Beatles they could not come up with a better image of John to use? It looks like a commercial that 7 year old doing the Windows commercial would do on her laptop cutting and pasting and telling us “I’m 7 and I’m a PC and I just did a Beatles commercial”

Okay, enough about the commercial. The real problem I have here is with the game itself or the whole genre of Rock Band and Guitar Hero games. When this first came out I originally thought it was pretty cool that the gaming industry was bringing gamers into the music world but what it seems to be doing now is losing a generation of musicians.

What do I mean? I have seen so many kids playing these games that they think playing guitar is simply pressing a series of plastic buttons on the neck, that’s all you have to do. I had a friend that was showing me the game one day and was flying thru “Welcome To The Jungle” by Guns N Roses, I mean flying thru it! The way he was acting you thought Slash was in the room with me. When he was done, he looked at me with a huge grin on his face, sweat rolling off and said “What do you think, cool huh!” I just looked at him with a blank stare and reached over and handed him one of my guitars lined up against the wall and said “Now play it, that’ll impress me.”

This guy spent weeks, months playing this game. Learning the songs or should I say learning which button to press to be a rock god. You know the worst thing; his kids are the same way with the game.

How about this for a novel idea parents. Buy them a real guitar to play on! Sign them up for lessons! If the kids I know spent the time they did learning how to play this game on a real guitar, we would have a whole new generation of Eddie Van Halens. Maybe I’m becoming an old “fuddy duddy” (wow, I just used the words “fuddy duddy” in a story. Man I am getting old!) but in my day (double wow, I just said “in my day” in a story, I am channeling my father here folks!) a game system didn’t replace the real thing, whether it was playing baseball, football or being a rock musician!

Remember your first guitar? The one where the strings were so high off the frets that your fingers bleed trying to push them down to play a single note but you kept coming back and you built up the calluses and you got better guitars as you got better and the next thing you knew you were playing in your first band. How cool was that!

Now you can have your first band without ever learning to play a note. Play guitar, bass, drums and microphone without a single music lesson. (Can someone explain to me…. How the hell do you play microphone? Do you fake singing? Is it like a Brittney Spears concert?)

What could be better for your kids in this day and age? The new life lessons…No work, no sacrifice, no commitment. Just turn on the game and be a rock star…Does fake tattoos come in the box also?

Nuff said….least till next time
Peace Out
Bear

Taking The Speakers For A Test Drive

A couple of months ago I went to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame for a talk on Springsteen with my good buddy Matt from addictedtovinyl.com. Sitting in the hall for the couple of hours I was there, what stuck with me most wasn’t the great history of Springsteen’s career, but “man I need to upgrade my sound system”


Now I’ve been wanting to change up my audio system for awhile but just been putting it off, because simply it is a pain in the ass.


The problem is 1. When you try out speakers in an audio store, nothing ever sounds as good as it does at the store. 2. Most speakers can sound great with certain types of music but get lost with others. 3. The biggest hassle, the salesman who thinks he knows what you like more than you do. So how do you get around these problems?

First I make them move the speakers from their acoustically perfect sound room and move them in the general show room. This way the acoustics are closer to what I would hear when I bring them home. Second I bring my own CD (or vinyl at a really, really good store!) to test drive the speakers. This also eliminates problem #3 as the salesman is virtually eliminated and I can listen to the speakers in peace.


I don’t want to hear just any song or album to test drive the speakers. I want to hear certain parts of songs. The parts that are real genius, the parts that make your hair stand up on your arm. It’s that parts that make you love the music as a whole.


So what are the song parts needed to test drive the speakers.


First I want to try out a couple of my favorite songs just to get a feel of the speakers.
There’s No Way Out Of Here (David Gilmour) – Tough song for a speaker to reproduce without sounding muddled in spots where it should sound rich and full.

Dirty Work (Steely Dan) – Again another song that should be rich and full while the chorus, horns and keyboards should be clean and sharp.

Baby Blue (Badfinger) - The first 1 minute has enough changes to give the speakers a start and just a fun rock song that's one of my favorites.


Now lets test out the vocals.
Fly Me To The Moon (Live) (Frank Sinatra) – Live At The Sands is Sinatra at his best. Clear, crisp. A great sound recording. I’ll listen to the first 25-30 seconds where he transitions from talking to the first couple bars of the song. You’ll know if the speaker can handle it very quickly.

I Can’t Make You Love Me (Bonnie Raitt) – Bonnie’s voice is like butter on this song and that’s the way it should sound, like it’s being poured out of the speakers.

Into The Mystic (Van Morrison) – The speakers better make it sound like Van’s in the room with me. They’ll be playing a lot of him!

Death On Two Legs (Queen) – skip to about a minute in to hear if Freddy’s vocal range. Should be driven hard.

How about the other parts.
Starman (David Bowie) – First the acoustic guitars, then the great transition from the drum roll to Bowies voice in the first 20 seconds. Three distinct sounds.

Save Room (John Legend) – The bass in the opening of this song is so over produced that most speakers distort. Terrible production on a great song.

Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd) – I want to hear if the speakers can reproduce the mistakes in the beginning. The cough, the sniffling on the song then Gilmour’s acoustic should just punch out of the speaker right after.

We Belong Together (Rickie Lee Jones) – This song has so many delicate hidden sounds in the first 30 seconds of it, it has to be tested out. Then around the 2:30 mark is one of the best drum parts I ever heard in a song that changes the dynamic of the song.

Couldn’t Stand The Weather (Stevie Ray Vaughn) – Close your eyes and listen to the first minute of the song. You should be able to actually visualize his fingers moving so smooth and effortlessly.

The E Street Shuffle (Bruce Springsteen) – right after the carnival horns, the guitar riff here is amazing then right into Bruce’s voice in his gravely best.

Badge (Cream) – Jack Bruce’s bass line in the first 15 seconds is all I need to hear.

Money (Pink Floyd) – Roger’s bass line in the beginning, same as Jack’s above, need to hear it.

Dance On A Volcano (Genesis) – The first 25 seconds of the song is a plethora of different sounds.

So Very Hard To Go (Tower Of Power) – It’s all about the horns!

I’m Your Captain (Grand Funk Railroad) – Love the first minute of the song. Farners guitar, Brewers drums coming in and not to be outdone, Schacher’s great bass riff all classics in the first 30 seconds of the song plus I want to hear all the mistakes including the engineers talking in the background. Listen closely!

Journey Of The Sorcerer (Eagles) – Just need a straight instrumental using a lot of different instruments to see if I can pick each one out.

You Shook Me All Night Long (AC/DC) – The speakers need to be able to just rock out and LOUD!

Let’s Stay Together (Al Green) – and they need to be soft and soulful at other times.

Okay I test drove um all and finally picked out a pair of vintage Voice Of The Theatres. Got them in the truck, got them home and now the hard part. Sneaking the new speakers past Mrs. Bear! She’ll never notice, they are only the size of a small car……


But hunny I need them for my job….Do you think that will work?


Nuff said…..least till next time.
Peace Out
Bear

Musical Footprints Parts 1 and 2

Sorry for not getting a new story up on the site this week but I have been recovering from surgery and simply put, it's kicking my butt!
So I decided to re-post two (actually Parts 1 and 2) of my favorite stories from the archives for some of my new readers that may have missed it and for my old readers, maybe you want to read it again.
Nuff said...least till next time
Peace Out
Bear

Musical Footprints or The Mix Tape Of Life - Originally Posted March 9, 2009

The other day when it was pouring outside I did as I usually do when bored, I put on a movie that I have watched so many times. I watched the great John Cusack movie "High Fidelity" and it rang true to me how music is a footprint of our lives.

Most of us listen to music daily. We listen to music when we wake up on our alarm clocks, while were getting ready for work, in our cars on the way to work, sometimes while at work, on the way home, when we get home and are cooking dinner, sitting in front of a roaring fireplace, on a plane with our ipods, working out, etc, etc, etc.



Music is always around us and for good times and bad we connect songs and bands to moments in our lives.
Musical footprints are everywhere in our lives. We might not even know we have them stored in our minds until a single moment when they are triggered when a song comes out of the blue on the radio, when a good feeling comes over us and we relate it to a song that we heard the last time we felt it or on the opposite when a song is related to a bad time in our lives. This is why music is so important to us and why we surround ourselves with it.

Every time I hear "Born To Run" it throws me back to Friday afternoons with Kid Leo's kicking off the weekends on WMMS as well as "Good Morning" by The Beatles as the wakeup call with Jeff and Flash in the mornings. When I'm out of town and Colbie Calliat comes on the radio I think of my wife because she plays the cd all the time and it makes me happy. "We Belong Together" by Rickie Lee Jones bring back memories of listening to it in the first house we lived in. "I Believe" by Stevie Wonder is pictures of my kids when they were little. "Just One Victory" by Todd Rundgren and "Magicians Birthday" by Uriah Heep take me back to the college dorms. "Captain Fantastic" takes me back to an old girl friend who stole my copy of the album back in 1975 that I would love to forget but can't (hey, can I at least have it back!). Marvin Gayes "Let's Get It On"..... well we'll leave that one alone.

These footprints can also change as new memories happen as a song is playing. "Comfortably Numb" use to have a totally different meaning to me but now when I hear it, it reminds me of seeing David Gilmour on his last tour with my son. We made the trip to Chicago and after the show, the first thing he did was call his college room mate and tell him "I just heard Comfortably Numb live!". This footprint changed because the importance of the footprint changed. I now relate it to the excitement and feeling my son had hearing the song live for the first time.

Our musical footprints can change like we used to do with our old cassette tapes. We record over them and over them, but some are so strong in our psyche that no matter what, for good or bad, they are there in back of our minds waiting to be released. They are our mix tape of life.

Enough writing, I think it's time to go put on "Let's Get It On"

Nuff said, at least till next week

Peace Out

Bear

Musical Footprints Part 2, Your Stories - Originally Posted March 16, 2009

I have to thank the readers here. When I hit on a subject you respond and respond you did. I had over 400 emails this week on this subject alone. The story (Musical Footnotes or The Mix Tape Of Life) was just a little thing about how when I hear a certain song it triggers memories for me and it registered with you also. That is why I am posting Part 2, using your stories.



Just a note here on the stories below. I emailed everyone back and asked their permission first before publishing their stories. Most said "sure go ahead" others were not sure about the statue of limitations!

Most of the ones sent in were funny but some were sad. I did not post the stories where the songs reminded the reader of a loss of a loved one as It seemed personal and I didn't want to bring that back to them in print.

So go ahead and enjoy, maybe some will trigger a new musical footnote of your own. If it does send it to me. There might be a Musical Footprints 3. I definitely have enough material!

"Rockin Down The Highway by The Doobie Brothers" Every time I hear it, it reminds me of going cross country with 2 of my high school buddies and the tape got eaten by the tape deck in Oklahoma. 400 more miles to go and no tunes. (Frank from Bay Village)

"I Love You More Today Than Yesterday by Spiral Staircase" My husband played in a band in the early 70s and that is how I met him. He sang it to me then and on our 30th wedding anniversary he surprised me by having the band to play it and he got up and sang it to me there. (Sue from Mayfield Village)

"Reflections Of My Life by Marmalade" My first girlfriend, if you could call it that in the 5th grade broke up with me and I remember playing that 45 over and over until my older brother broke it in half. God I hate that song! (Mark from Columbus)

"Boogie Shoes by KC and the Sunshine Band" Going out with my girlfriends to the Cosmopolitan and dancing every Saturday night (Nancy from Mentor)

"Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac" It reminds me of a summer vacation boyfriend in Myrtle Beach. It was only 2 weeks, but a great 2 weeks (Gina from Cleveland)

"Dancing In The Moonlight by King Harvest" Bonfires, drinking wine and dancing in the moonlight, It was great being young (Susan from Avon Lake)

"Melissa by The Allman Brothers" It used to be my favorite song by them but now every time I hear it I'm reminded of that stupid phone commercial! I’ll never buy one of their phones after ruining that song. (Chuck from Toledo)

"Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana" Brings back memories of high school and wanting to get out of there. Seeing the video on MTV for the first time, I related to the people in it. Now I see it and think, I really should have washed my hair and showered more (Mike from Canton)

"Give Me Just A Little More Time by Chairman Of The Board" A girl named Theresa who played it on the jukebox all the time. Every time I hear it her face still pops into my head. (Michael from University Hts)

"Rockin Into The Night by 38 Special" Cruising from bar to bar on the weekends with my friends. This song was always on the tape we played. (Alan from Kent)

"Paradise By The Dashboard Light by Meatloaf" My ex wife. That song could have been the story of our whole life. (Kurt from Cleveland)

You can tell a lot of my readers are from Cleveland as a lot of Cleveland bands and their songs were mentioned, here is a few:

"Tonight by The Raspberries" Anna Marie P_________., what a girl! (Dom from Little Italy) Note: I took out Anna Maries last name, just in case she's reading this

Waste A Little Time On Me by Michael Stanley Band" Stage Pass. I remember being at the Agora when they recorded it and when the album came out. I love that album. Do you think Jonah still has those suspenders he wore on the album? (Marcy from Westlake)

"Skinny Little Boy by Alex Bevan" Seeing him play at the Agora for the Christmas Coffee Break Concerts. It was such a great time in my life. (Alice from Tremont)

"Grand River Lullaby by Alex Bevan" Having Alex play it twice one night at my old bar Cafe Rock because it is my wife's favorite song (Bear - I had to put my own Alex moment in)

"Go All The Way by The Raspberries" The Friday night dances at Marymount High School. Catholic school girls and the Raspberries were always a hit for a 15yr old guy. (Tom from Garfield Hts)

"Stop Wait And Listen by Circus" This song takes me back to the school dances every time I hear it. (Mary from Bedford)

"Funky Poodle by Wild Horses" I put on the Pride Of Cleveland album a few months ago and when Funky Poodle came on it took me right back seeing Billy and the boys playing around the Cleveland bars (Dennis from Cleveland Hts)

Weddings were a big theme for a lot of readers, some very cool choices also:

"Come And Get Your Love by Redbone" It was our first dance at our wedding. (Brenda from Wooster)

"Into The Mystic by Van Morrison" Our wedding song. A little different but so are we. (Erin from Cleveland)

"Always And Forever by Heatwave" It was our wedding song. (Pam from Painesville)
"Get Ready by Rare Earth" It was our wedding dance song. a very cool wedding! (Angela from Mayfield)

"In A Little While by Uncle Kracker" Our first dance at our wedding. (Mark from Lakewood)
"Sweet Child Of Mine by Guns And Roses" She picked it for our first dance at our wedding. (Bob from Cleveland)

"You're My Best Friend by Queen" Our first song we danced to at our wedding. She was right in picking it, she is still my best friend. (Ryan from Chagrin Falls)

"White Wedding Day by Billy Idol" He picked it for our wedding dance. Might be why it didn't last! (Sally from Twinsburg)

There were some other themes that are not hard to figure out:

"The Wanderer by Donna Summer" The first stripper I ever saw, this was playing at the Crazy Horse. (Don from Cleveland)

"Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard" The Crazy Horse. They played this all the time in the late 80's. (Sam from Parma)

"Cherry Pie by Warrant" Reminds me of Tiffanys downtown whenever I hear it. (Tony from Berea)

"One Toke Over The Line by Brewer And Shipley" What else do you think it reminds me of. (Tommy from South Euclid)

"Up On Cripple Creek by The Band" Me and my buddies used to get together on Saturdays. We used to put the album on, roll a couple and the next thing I remember it would be Monday. (Jim from Cincinnati)

"Brain Damage by Pink Floyd" It reminds me of listening to Dark Side Of The Moon at the Pink Floyd light show they used to have at Geauga Lake and just being toasted and sitting in the stands and staring into space with the lights and music all around us. (Bruce from Hudson)

"Panama Red by New Riders Of The Purple Sage" Being able to actually buy Panama Red. The good old days. (Mort from Cleveland)

"Maggot Brain by Funkadelics" They used to play it every Friday at midnight on WMMS, Driving around with by buddies. It would come on and it was time to roll another one. (Phil from Parma)

"Fins by Jimmy Buffett" Summers at Blossom. (Paula from Bath Twp)

"Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffett" Blossom in the summer. What a party. (Mike from Medina)

"Cheeseburger In Paradise by Jimmy Buffett" Blossom every summer. (Mark from Akron)

"Let's Get Drunk And Screw by Jimmy Buffett" The parties at Blossom. (Allison from Cleveland)

And one song that became legendary in Cleveland history:

"Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen"

.....Kid Leo and Fridays (Dave from Long Island, NY, formally Cleveland)

.....Kid Leo and WMMS. You knew the weekend started when you heard it. (Owen from Parma)

.....The weekend started when you heard Murray Saul and The Boss (Billy from Cleveland)

.....WMMS. The buzzard was the place to tune to on Friday afternoons (Ralph from Geneva)

.....Kid Leo and MMS. I still get that great feeling. I miss Cleveland (Susan from Nashville, TN)

.....The Get Downs from Murray. I couldn't wait to hear what he had to say. (Rick from North Royalton)

.....The right way to start the weekend. The Boss. (Frank from Slavic Village)

.....The Kid and The Boss. What else would you think of. (Dave from Strongsville

Nuff said, At least til next week
Peace Out
Bear

An Open Letter To The Rock Hall Induction Committee

To: Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Committee
Fr: Rock And Roll Fans everywhere

Ladies and Gentlemen,
It’s just a month away before the 30 or so of you get together and throw out your picks on who gets into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2010 so I am asking, no begging you, please look to our past and get some of the greats you have overlooked into the hall. I can’t figure out your reasoning on your past nominations but now is the time to right the wrongs and honor the greats that have been passed over year after year. So please, pull your heads out of your …..., no I won’t go that far. How about just think about us when placing your vote, the true rock fans.

Sincerely
Rock Fans Across The World

Next month the secretive society (well not really anymore. Click Here to see the list of voters courtesy of futurerocklegends.com) we call the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Nominating Committee will meet and argue, wheel and deal, and whatever else they do to get who they put up for nomination into the hallowed halls of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

How all this all goes about, we don’t know.

Who nominates Chic every year, we don’t know.

Who the hell votes for Chic every year to get them to the final list the past couple of years, we sure as hell don’t know.

This I do know, the fact that they continue to overlook bands such as Genesis, Rush, Yes, Deep Purple, Electric Light Orchestra, Alice Cooper, Kiss, The Doobie Brothers, Todd Rundgren, Steve Miller Band, Emerson Lake And Palmer, Faces, Gram Parsons, The Hollies, J. Geils Band, Lou Reed, The Moody Blues, Peter Gabriel (with or without Genesis), Heart, Three Dog Night, Blood Sweat And Tears, Steve Winwood, Tom Waits, etc, etc, etc…. makes you wonder, what the hell do they talk about in their secret meetings. It can’t be rock and roll.

Before the Induction Ceremony this year I put a poll on the website and the music fans that visit http://www.clevelandrockandroll.com/ responded in surprisingly huge numbers. They voted and they want to see inducted into the Hall Of Fame in order:

1. Rush
2. Stevie Ray Vaughan
3. Kiss
4. Genesis
5. Alice Cooper
6. Doobie Brothers
7. Heart
8. Electric Light Orchestra
9. Jethro Tull
10. Cheap Trick
Now, personally I am not a big fan of some on the list but I can’t argue with anyone of the Top Ten getting the nod but will they?

I don’t know, probably not!

Artists such as Chic, Run DMC, Grandmaster Flash, Earth Wind And Fire, Madonna and others keep getting nominated and even inducted over those older “classic rock” artists. It seems a trend with this committee is emerging. They are going away from rock, punk, and metal of the past and toward “popular music” artists representing disco, dance, and rap. There also seems to be a trend of “newer is better”. How does John Mellencamp get in before Steve Winwood, Leon Russell or Todd Rundgren or how does Metallica get in before Deep Purple? Now don’t get me wrong, I think Metallica should be in the Hall, but come on, before Deep Purple? Even James Hetfield in his induction speech went on a rant about the innovators of the past that should have been in the Hall already like Deep Purple, Rush, Judas Priest, Kiss, Motorhead, and Thin Lizzy.

You know who is up for nomination this year? Whitney Houston….

Do I think she will get nominated? Yes.

Do I think she will get inducted? Absolutely

Do I think she belongs in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame? Hell no but she seems to be exactly the type of artist the committee loves and wants in the hall. She was a money making machine for the record industry right along the lines of Madonna, how could they not vote her in with the logic they have used in the past.

I am starting to think Madison Avenue should be represented on the committee. Why? Have you listened to commercials lately on television? They are like listening to a classic rock station at times. ELO, ELP, Moody Blues, George Thorogood, Grand Funk Railroad, The Cars, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Deep Purple, Bad Company, Canned Heat, Donovan, Edgar Winter, Faces, Jethro Tull, Rare Earth, and Styx to name just a few are the soundtracks for the commercials Madison Avenue throws at us daily. Why do they do this? Because even they know these are classic songs from classic bands that we love and guess what, none of these bands are in the Hall Of Fame. Is Madison Avenue smarter than the so called music experts on the committee? I am starting to think so.

Scott Rowley, the editor of the U.K.-based magazine Classic Rock suggests the Hall is creating its own misconceptions about what rock evolved into. Rowley said in a recent interview “Rush and Yes and ELO are as good and as loved and as worthy as most of the acts in the Hall,” noted Rowley “I think it’s very damaging to the Hall of Fame’s credibility to continually ignore bands that they perceive to be on ‘the fringes,’ whether they’re prog, punk or metal acts. It makes you wonder if the selection committee is actually run by music fans.”

Well maybe this year (and in future years) the committee, will open their ears and eyes and put some deserving bands into the hall and maybe I won’t have to write this column in the future.

PS: Remember committee, if you put Whitney in this year, next year Bobby Brown is eligible! Oh boy…I would put in a whole new wing just to run episodes of their reality show!

Nuff said, least till next time
Peace Out
Bear