I'm Bear and I run clevelandrockandroll.com which chronicles all of the rock concerts that came thru the North Coast Ohio area from the 50's until today. Check out the main website at www.clevelandrockandroll.com
The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 2011 Inductees has been leaked across the internet before the scheduled announcement on Wednesday December 15th and I have to say this...it"s not a bad class. It"s a strange class...but not a bad one. Welcome to the Hall Of Fame.....Alice Cooper, Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Tom Waits and Darlene Love.
Hard to believe isn"t it. Bear saying the inductees are not that bad. Don"t rush to judgment here, it could have been better, much much better but the voters could only vote for who the nominating committee sent over.
Did they miss the boat on not putting J. Geils in...Absolutely
Did they get it right by not voting in L.L. Cool J, Chic and Donna Summer...Hell yea
Look I actually like the five inductees. Alice Cooper was a no brainer, he should have been in when he was first eligible in 1995. I'm not so sure if Darlene Love is Hall worthy but I have always liked her and she is more worthy than Donna Summer. People will whine about Neil Diamond but before he went cheesy with Barbara Streisand he was considered rock in the 60’s and you would be hard pressed to find a more prolific songwriter of the past 50 years. Dr. John and Tom Waits I can put together as two artists I thought I would never see inducted, love them both but they are both so different from the mainstream I never thought they would see the inside of the hall except with a ticket. A happy surprise for sure.
Alice Cooper, Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Tom Waits and Darlene Love. Wow what a strange class...Can't wait to hear the jam at the end of the night. Wonder what Tom Waits song will they do?
Hopefully this version of rock's wikileaks is true.
Nuff said, least till next time
Happy holidays to everyone
Peace Out
Bear
One of the best lines I ever heard in a movie was in one of my favorites. “A Bronx Tale” when Robert DeNiro’s character tells his son “There is nothing worse than wasted talent”.
It rings so true. Wasted talent, you can never go back in time and use that talent once it’s time has gone.
The more I look around the music landscape today it’s more like the famous line from The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (changed slightly for this story) “Talent, We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Talent”.
The sad thing is that in todays music world, most don’t have talent to waste.
Really you want to argue this point?
Okay, lets look at a couple of the “hottest” (and please read the sarcasim in this next word) “artists”. Right now one of the biggest acts out there is Dustin Lieber. (What, hold on a minute someone is yelling at me. That’s not his name? It’s what? Justin Bieber, really? Does it really matter, in a couple of years won’t we be calling him “what’s his name” anyway?) Okay back to my story, JUSTIN BIEBER (is that better?) is right now the hottest thing out there and the only thing he is missing on his resume is talent.
This is a kid that was found on YouTube singing a song and someone who obiviosly did not have the sound up on his computer thought “Wow, great hair. We can make this kid a star!” and guess what they were right. In this day and age, talent can only get in the way of screaming pre-teens that seem to drive the music world these days.
Look who was the big music tickets this past year, Dustin (I couldn’t resist), Miley Cyrus, Ke$ha, The Jonas Brothers (can you hear the tick, tick , tick of their 15 minutes of fame running out), Taylor Swift to name a few and guess what. Talent is very sparce in that group.
Oh don’t give me that crap of, “Taylor Swift doesn’t belong in that group, she is a superstar, she writes her songs, she’s great” No she is not. She is a very cute girl with a guitar with a very limited voice range and once celebrities learn to stop dating her she will have very little to write about. Period, argument over.
I did with these so-called artists, what I do with all the new music I listen too. I sat back, closed my eyes, opened my mind and just listened to the music and guess what….at the end. Nothing, Nada, Ziltch.
I’m sorry. these kids don’t have talent, they don’t have voices, you know what they have….looks and in some cases the Disney machine behind them. Either one is the same to the pre-teen girls that are programming our airwaves.
One notable exception to the group above that was a dominate force in 2010 was Lady Gaga. Why did I leave her off the list? Because she is probably the smartest person in the music industry right now. She does have talent but she also knows that talent doesn’t mean anything in todays music. Image does. Why do you think she walks around in a meat dress or in outfits while going thru airports that TSA would be afraid of patting down. Simply image. She keeps her name out there and acts as outrageous as possible. She is 80’s era Madonna in 2010. Why else would she come to Cleveland twice in 2010 for sold out concerts when most big acts simply skip over us (big shout out to Sir Paul for skipping Cleveland to play in Pittsburgh instead this year, thanks). She knows fame is fleeting (remember the Jonas Brothers comment earlier) and get the money now. She knows that the teens and pre-teens that are buying her music now have the attention span of a nat. For her it’s a simple fomula, Get the money now and later work on being a real artist.
Sometimes when I see the Biebers of the music industry out there performing I wonder could a band like the Eagles have made it today if they broke in 2010? I mean I remember the first time I saw them in 1974 when four guys came onstage in jeans and t-shirts and just said “Were the Eagles from California” and launched into four part harmony that just absolutly blew me away. You know what they had?
Talent….. Would that work today?
The only way to end this story is this. There will be over a thousand musicians playing all over Cleveland this weekend in bars and clubs that have 100 times more talent than Justin Beiber will ever have but does it matter?
Sadly no………
Nuff said, least till next time Have a great thanksgiving Peace Bear
Hey Cleveland, one of the biggest events in Rock and Roll is coming back to Cleveland for the 15th year in a row, The American Music Masters Series If you missed last years great event honoring Janis Joplin don't miss out this year when the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame honors the music of Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew. This great event will not only feature the music of Fats and Dave but also the great music of New Orleans.
I mean come on Cleveland the house band is none other but Dr John and the Lower 9-11 what could be better.
This isn't just a one night concert, no......this is a week long celebration starting on Nov 8 with Rock And Roll Night School: A Spotlight On Fats Domino And Dave Bartholomeaw with something new every night leading up to the main event on Nov 13th.
Last year a lot of people I told about the Janis Joplin event all said "Bear I wish I would have known, I would have loved to gone" Well now you know so go to http://www.rockhall.com/ to get tickets and for a complete list of events. It'll be the best $30 you spent lately for a night of great music.
For more information on the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and all of the upcoming events at the hall go to http://www.rockhall.com/
American Music Masters®
2010: Fats Domino & Dave Bartholomew
2009: Janis Joplin
2008: Les Paul
2007: Jerry Lee Lewis
2006: Roy Orbison
2005: Sam Cooke
2004: Lead Belly
2003: Buddy Holly
2002: Hank Williams
2001: Bessie Smith
2000: Muddy Waters
1999: Louis Jordan
1998: Robert Johnson
1997: Jimmie Rodgers
1996: Woody Guthrie
I could while away the hours, conferrin' with the flowers Consultin' with the rain. And my head I'd be scratchin' while my thoughts were busy hatchin' If I only had a brain.
I can’t get this tune out of my head this week. It started when I first saw the list of nominees for the 2011 Rock Hall Inductions.
Seriously, doesn’t it seem we go thru this every year now?
Who on this distinguished board of music experts nominates Chic....LL Cool J….Donna Summer?
Who stands up in that room and advocates for them?
Bigger question, who voted for them to get them to the final ballot?
I listened all week to spokespeople from the Rock Hall try to justify the selections, telling us that the nominees are based not on sales, popularity, etc but on their influence on music and other artists, their body of work, the length and depth of their career and my favorite “unquestionable musical excellence.”
Really…..
Can the person that nominated Chic tell me who they influenced, how their long and storied body of work demands them being in the Rock Hall? Please tell me about the depth of their career and the innovations to music they exhibited or better yet who on the nominating committee can tell me why they voted them onto the final ballot! Again! I know if I was on the committee and in that room and when Chic was brought up my first response would have been “Are you f___ing kidding me! That’s the best you could come up with!”
Really……
Look there are people on the nomination committee I really respect, some I know personally. People like Jim Henke, David Fricke, Lauren Onkey, Steve Van Zandt and Dave Marsh, I really respect their musical opinions. I don’t know who they nominated or voted for but I would find it hard to believe one of them stood up and said “This year I think Donna Summer should be inducted.”
But others on the committee, ah no……
Look, LL Cool J is the new Abba for the Rock Hall. Abba was eligible for 11 years before all of a sudden a hit movie comes out and magically they are Rock Hall worthy. LL has a hit television show and you know what…. Bam, this year’s Abba.
LL Cool J has been eligible for two years and has made the final ballot both times. Do you really think he was a bigger influence and has a better body of work than say Stevie Ray Vaughan who has never even sniffed the final ballot or Leon Russell or Peter Gabriel or …….. I could go on and on but it falls on deaf ears, which is really a strange concept since we are talking about music.
Based on the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Foundation’s own criteria for nomination, I said it last year (click here) and I’ll say it again, Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson and Barbara Streisand all should be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. (I can’t believe I am advocating Babs to be in the Rock Hall, look what they have done to me) Tell me where I am wrong.
Let’s look at these three artists:
They have said in the past that it isn’t restricted to just “Rock” acts….okay check.
Their body of work…. check.
Influence on music and other artists…. check.
Depth of their career and unquestionable musical excellence….duh check.
Under the criteria we are told over and over when they try to justify their nominees to us, Are they qualified to be in the Hall Of Fame….Absolutely
Should they be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame…..? No
You know what the smart move would have been for the committee this year. Give the public a final ballot of just rock acts. If they would have given us a ballot of let’s say, Alice Cooper, J. Geils Band, Rush, Steve Ray Vaughan, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, Electric Light Orchestra, Jethro Tull, Lou Reed, Steve Winwood, Todd Rundgren, Yes, Moody Blues and to stop the emails to me, Kiss they would have shut up the very vocal public and then next year they could have gone back to their convoluted, mysterious ways.
That’s all they had to do…..
Do you really think someone would have thought that out after the past years of controversy? Hmmm……Let me reference my opening lines of this story, you can sing along if you want.
Look folks, LL Cool J is going to be shoved down our throats each and every year until he is inducted. Period. That’s just the way it is. That is the thinking of this committee.
Our only hope is the voters. The supposedly largest block of voters is the past inductees of the hall. Hopefully the Ozzy’s of the Rock Hall have more votes than the Madonna’s of the Hall.
Do we really need the proclaimed “Queen Of Disco” in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame?
As Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Inductee David Gilmour once said “If you liked Disco, then you really didn’t like Rock And Roll.”
Do you remember coming home from the record store and putting Jackson Browne’s “Running On Empty” on the turntable and listening to it for the first time. I mean for me, the needle would hit the end of side 2 and I would flip it over and had to play it again. It was that good. Hell I’m listening to it now as I write this review.
Last night Jackson came to town and just like the first time I listened to “Running On Empty”, he didn’t disappoint.
To me Jackson Browne is like an old pair of worn Levi’s. He’s comfortable. He’s comfortable to listen too, always has been for me. His voice takes you back to a time and decades later, the man has changed but the voice and style of song writing really hasn’t.
Jackson started the show with opening act David Lindley and started out with an acoustic set which included the great Warren Zevon’s “Seminole Bingo” and Springsteen’s “Brothers Under The Bridge” before leaving for a short time as Lindley did a couple of songs solo.
When Jackson came back it was with his full band and they were perfect for this show. They never overwhelmed the songs, they were the perfect accompaniment for a Jackson Browne show. He started the show with selections off his 2008 album “Time The Conqueror” and even though I didn’t really know the songs more than a once over, I found myself right into a groove, head bobbing and enjoying the moment. It’s like I said earlier, Jackson is like that old pair of Levi’s, just comfortable.
He soon broke into the older tunes hitting back into the early seventies with “Your Bright Baby Blue Eyes”, “Fountain Of Sorrow”, “For A Dancer”, “The Pretender” and before starting up “Rock Me On The Water” he did a little speech about the concerns of using plastic and the effect on the oceans and he was going okay until he talked about seeing the sign behind the stage warning against littering in the river for the sake of the fish and he said “Is there fish in there? You do know it does have the distinction that it once burned” which brought a spatter of boo’s and comments. He quickly ended the speech and got back to giving us a beautiful rendition of “Rock Me On The Water”. Right after someone yelled “Rosie” and he started to laugh saying “sometimes you don’t know when to do Rosie” (who would have thought a song about masturbation would bring the biggest hand! Okay that was a bad pun) and asked the crowd “Do you want to hear Rosie?” which brought a huge roar. Maybe to make up for the Cuyahoga River reference or just that it hit him at the right time because he had not been playing it at other concerts, sitting at the piano by himself broke into the crowd favorite and members of the band had to rush back out to do the call and answer part of the chorus. Without a doubt, the highlight of the night.
One of the nice things about a Jackson Browne concert is the interaction with the audience between songs, giving us a little insight into the song and what inspired him to write it. One great one was the story of his girlfriend wanting a “love song” about her that inspired him to write “My Problem Is You”. He rounded out the night with his great hits “Doctor My Eyes” and of course “Running On Empty” before doing the encores “Mercury Blues” and Little Steven’s “I Am A Patriot”.
Last night proved again, comfortable is good, if not great. If you don’t believe me go throw on that old pair of Levi’s and put “Running On Empty” back on the turntable and sit back and relax. It’s what I’m doing.
Tuesday night the Woodstock nation came to Cleveland. Okay it has been over 40 years since the Woodstock nation was at it’s zenith but looking at the crowd at the Time Warner Amphitheatre you might have stepped back in time as a huge crowd welcomed Crosby, Stills And Nash back to Cleveland.
It’s been awhile since I last saw them perform and I have to admit I was little worried about going to the show, that afternoon I almost talked myself out of it. C’mon a good scotch gets better with age, fine wines and chesses also but almost 70 year old voices….. especially voices that are as well known for it harmonies….. well that doesn't usually end well.
The verdict, I am glad I didn’t talk myself out of going and missing a great night of music.
It’s nice to go to a show and when the house lights go down the headliner knocks it out of the park with the very first song and that’s exactly what CSN did as they launched into “Woodstock”. For the next two plus hours the audience were treated to one of the iconic musical histories entrenched with idealism that stretched from Laurel Canyon to Woodstock.
“Long Time Gone”. “Southern Cross”, “Just A Song Before I Go”, “Déjà Vu”, “Wooden Ships” and that was just a part of the first set. How about throw in the beautiful Buffalo Springfield song “Bluebird” and you knew you were in for a great night of memories.
The voices, they still have it. The harmonies as always were beautiful but the strength they showed when they took the lead, was at times surprising. David Crosby showed that strength when he belted, and I mean belted out “I Almost Cut My Hair” you would have thought he was twenty years old again and rallying against the establishment! Don’t get me wrong there was a couple of rough spots especially when a moth flew into Stephen Stills mouth when he was singing Neil Young’s classic “Long May You Run” and he must have swallowed it as his voice broke a little through the song. The one thing that really stuck with me throughout the night was how good a guitarist Stills really is. He might be one of the most overlooked lead guitarist of rock and roll.
One of the only complaints, if you can call it a complaint is instead of the covers of other bands great songs they included in the second set is they left out some of their best songs. Granted hearing them do the Beatles “Norwegian Wood” and the Rolling Stones “Ruby Tuesday” (maybe better than the original?) was nice but I would have rather had them do their own great songs. Something like Stephen Stills great “Change Partners” and “Treetop Flyer” or throw in something from the The Byrds or how about just “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”, “Marrakesh Express”, “Guinnevere” or “Wasted On The Way”. With so much in their repertoire I didn’t need them to play The Who’s “Behind Blue Eyes” but that again is a small complaint.
In all, It was a night of great music from three guys that at one time helped define a generation and still all these years later can still inspire me.
I was having one of those weeks where you're just about to jump out of your skin due to the events being served up by life and as it often happens, I found myself being rescued by music. The venue was Half Price Books in Rocky River, a familiar favorite must-stop location any time that I am in the area (perhaps it could also be described as a financially draining rest stop on my personal path of life. Healthy? Hmmmm). The artist in question was Mr. Brian Wilson.
Like many of the past few generations, I was raised as a fan of both The Beatles and The Beach Boys, growing up listening to my dad's vinyl copies of various albums from the two groups. As I grew older, I began to buy copies of selected albums in the Beach Boys discography. Vocally, I was a Carl Wilson and Brian Wilson kind of guy and while I didn't hate the Mike Love vocal contributions (certainly, there are some classics there), there is no question that his material lacked the soul and feeling that you would get listening to Carl and Brian sing anything.
Of course I had read every Beach Boys and Brian Wilson related book that I could get my hands on and I had seen quite a few documentaries (including The Beach Boys: An American Band). So when The Beach Boys made their return to recording in 1985 (with their self-titled The Beach Boys release, which incidentally would be the band's final album of all-new material) after the very public tragedy of drummer/brother/cousin Dennis Wilson's drowning from a couple years prior, it was a really big deal. Listening to The Beach Boys and the subsequent odds and ends Still Cruisin' release that followed a few years later, I could tell that things had changed with Brian.
Without going through Wilson's output as a solo artist in the late '80s-'00s piece by piece, I'll summarize by saying that although Wilson now is a different person artistically than the Brian we knew during the golden age of The Beach Boys, the genius of Brian Wilson still burns within, although you sometimes have to search a little bit harder to find it. And as a music fan, I decided that I no longer wanted to spend that time searching. The following entry on the Burning Wood music blog really says it best, saying that Wilson has nothing left to prove to us as music fans. He writes that "if he [Brian] left us nothing but "The Warmth Of The Sun," that would have been more than enough for a lifetime."
Thankfully, Wilson has given us so much more beyond that and although I'm happy that he still wants to make new music, I've been happy to enjoy the albums and singles that came long before that. That's how I'd rather remember Brian as an artist instead of listening to his newer material and (often) hearing the glaring reminders of where Brian is now that I'd rather forget.
But then it happened (ooh, a plot twist - you knew this was coming, right?) as I stood there in Half Price Books and saw a promo copy of Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin out on the shelves a few days prior to street date - a definite diamond among the other more common CDs in the racks. I picked it up for a friend of mine that's a dedicated Brian Wilson devotee, and I knew that he'd appreciate the purchase (for a mere $5.99) greatly. But of course, I had to give it a brief spin to find out where Brian is at in 2010. Hey, but I thought you said that you weren't... I know, I know, but being a music fan is all about taking the chances, and this Brian Wilson album might be good. On paper, it's not exactly your typical boring covers album release, is it?
Wow, is this thing good! Listening to Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin, I was immediately taken back to being a kid, hearing The Beach Boys for the first time. A good album does that, it stirs those thoughts, feelings and emotions, and that's part of what made me so happy is that I had written off the chances of ever hearing an album again from Brian Wilson or The Beach Boys that would make me feel this way. As rock journalist David Wild notes in the liner notes, there's stuff on this album that sounds like it could have come off of a Beach Boys album from back in the day (he's specifically referencing the very Pet Sounds-like instrumental "I Got Plenty O' Nuttin').
It's fantastic, and more than that, Wilson himself sounds better vocally than I ever could have imagined possible. Produced by Wilson himself, Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin is proof that Wilson's amazing talents as a producer and arranger remain fully intact. I'm not sure how much work in the studio (and subsequent mixing magic by Al Schmitt) was required to serve up this final product, but the result is a beautiful work of art from an American treasure that will be an important addition to his catalog that people will remember over time.
14 songs, 39 minutes. And there's not a second of that time that feels wasted. If you're a Beach Boys fan, you're really going to love this.
As for me, I'm going to take a closer look at some of the Wilson material that I've missed in recent years (don't worry, I've already heard SMiLE) - first stop: That Lucky Old Sun.
As a younger guy in my mid-30s (unlike my Jurassic ol' pal Bear), it's always a bit of a rock and roll history lesson any time that I get the opportunity to talk to a classic artist like Gary Wright. The rock and roll resume of Wright is mind numbing to read and even more awe-inspiring to hear about in person from Wright himself. I spoke with Gary on the night before Ringo Starr's annual All-Starr Band tour played in Cleveland at Nautica Stage. The artists on the Ringo tour enjoy quite a posh experience, touring with a former Beatle, flying from gig to gig on his private plane.
The idea of the Ringo tour itself is quite genius – Ringo gets a band of seasoned professionals, each with their own successful singles, and the mix of Beatles, Ringo and classic rock material congeals into an evening of music that is good clean fun (along with plenty of peace and love, of course).
Wright recently released Connected, his first pop music album in 20 years, just in time for the Ringo tour. Now that the tour has come to a close, Wright will be in Chicago this weekend for the 34th annual BeatleFest, and he'll use the occasion to perform “To Discover Yourself” (a digital bonus track on Connected co-written with longtime friend George Harrison) for the first time. I spent a good amount of time talking with Wright about that Harrison connection, the new album and his impressive career.
What did you end up doing with your day off?
I went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
What did you think?
It was good. It seemed like when they edited everything together, it was done so fast that it was almost distracting. I would have liked to have seen a little bit more of the meat of some of the great artists, you know, Sly and the Family Stone and all that. They just had such tiny little tidbits in the films that they showed. It was well done, but I would have liked to see a little bit more of the performances of those people.
As an artist, how long has it been since you've been in Cleveland?
You know, I'm not sure. I know I played here a lot in the '70s with Spooky Tooth and my Dream Weaver album and touring with Yes, Frampton and Fleetwood Mac. As of late, I'm not sure – maybe around 2005?
I know you did a solo show back in April in NYC – Have you been doing a lot of shows in the past few years, playing your own material?
Uh, a fair amount, yeah. I've been doing some things with other artists. I went out with Christopher Cross, Al Stewart, Ambrosia and Edgar Winter. I've done several package shows like that. Last April, I did about 9 shows on the east coast and I'll do more of those in October and November.
The new album is being billed as your first pop album in 20 years. What brought you back to the idea of doing another album in that genre?
Just my desire to make a pop album and do it in the spirit of simplicity with simple production and not having too many things play on it. That's my roots – my roots are R&B and I've always felt that that's the way my music should be. It's a combination of R&B and ethereal space music.
It's timeless – it sounds like a Gary Wright album.
Oh, thank you!
You produced this album – did you record it at home?
Yes, I did.
This is your second go-around with Ringo's band, and as I understand it, this album started coming together before the last tour in 2008.
That's right. I started writing it before the tour.
Listening to "No One Does It Better" – that's a track that has quite a bit going on. How long does it take you to put together a track like that.
I wrote that in the studio, all of the music anyway. I finished the lyrics up when I went on a holiday to Colorado. All in all, maybe three weeks to a month. If you add up all of the time that I spent writing the lyrics, the production and the vocals.
You've got some cool special guests on this new album – you've got Ringo and Joe Walsh on the first single “Satisfied.” You've got some history with Ringo.
Yeah – I had worked with Ringo before on George Harrison's earlier albums and I also played keyboards on [Ringo's] “Back Off Boogaloo” and “It Don't Come Easy.” I had written a song with him on his new album Y Not called “Peace Train.” During the session I said “I've got a song that I want to play for you, Ringo.” I played him “Satisfied” and he liked it and I said “do you want to play drums on it,” and he said “sure.” I did the session at his studio and he put electronic drums on it that he played. Then, I asked Joe if he would want to play a solo and he agreed and I went up to his studio and he he laid his solo down. And then Skunk Baxter also came over to my place and put a rhythm guitar part down.
Where do you start with the writing process these days – do you start on guitar, or where does it start for you.
A lot of times I'll just write a song on an acoustic guitar and then I'll take it into the studio and I'll put it together in the context of all of my keyboards and the rhythms that I come up with. Other times I'll get a drum groove going and get a thing happening and that will inspire me to write a song. It's different every time. It's never the same.
I was surprised to hear that you wrote "Dream Weaver" on an acoustic guitar. Back then, how did it get to the point where the guitars exited the mix? It was unique for the time period to have an album that was all keyboards without a guitar prominently in the mix.
That's true, and I hadn't planned it that way but actually when I started writing the songs, I started to fill in the spaces with a Clavinet or a Rhodes and the other keyboards that I have. And then I thought “this sounds really cool just as it is, I'm not going to add any guitars to it.” So I did it, and it worked to my advantage because radio jumped all over it saying “this has no guitars on it,” so it was kind of cool.
Back when you were touring heavily in the '70s and '80s, what was your keyboard rig like?
Well, I had four Mini-Moogs, a Poly-Moog and an Oberheim polyphonic synthesizer. The other two keyboard players – there was a keyboard bass player, Steve Porcaro, he played keyboard bass on a Moog. I had another keyboard player who had a Hammond organ, a Fender Rhodes and another Oberheim. And then drums and two background vocalists.
I think that Ringo's concept for the All-Starr tour is brilliant, taking out people that are great musicians, but they also come armed with hit records. And I think that this year's lineup is particularly great.
Yeah, it is and it really works well – they're a great band. It's actually a very entertaining show, it's really well done, I think.
Watching some of the Youtube stuff from this tour, it seems like you all really spent a lot of time making sure that you have the proper sounds and samples to make each song sound faithful to the original. How long did you have to spend rounding stuff up on your end?
It took a while. I definitely wanted to zero in on getting the stuff to sound exactly like it did on the record.
If you buy the digital edition of this new album, there are a couple of George Harrison-related bonus tracks. George obviously was a longtime friend of yours. What's the history on these two tracks?
“To Discover Yourself” was written by George and I back in 1971. “Never Give Up,” he came over to my house and played a solo around '88 or '89 in that time period. They are available on the website on the digital edition. I'm coming out with another thing that's really cool – it's the new album on a USB drive which is encased in a little pendant with the Ohm symbol written on it. It's an Ohm necklace and you pull it apart and it's a little flash drive that comes out. It's got the entire album including all of the bonus material. It has video interviews of me talking about George Harrison, the All-Starr band, the making of Dream Weaver and Connected. It has extra photos, a video of George and I together – he sang on one of the songs that I did, “Don't Try To Own Me.” And it has the original "Dream Weaver" demo on acoustic guitar plus five other tracks. The URL of the website is www.thedreamweaver.com.
Your archives must be pretty well organized to be able to dig out a song that was written in 1971.
Well, I had all of the lyrics and I remembered the song quite well. I never forget songs that I write. I actually recorded that on the day that George passed away.
How did you come to know George originally?
I was invited to play on his first session for All Things Must Pass, which was “Isn't It A Pity.” Klaus Voorman called me up – Klaus was a friend of George's and played bass on most of the album. He asked me if I wanted to come and play keyboards, [because] George needed another keyboard player. I went to the sessions and I met George and we immediately hit it off. I wound up playing on the rest of the album and I played on his subsequent albums and we wrote songs together. We became really good friends.
The first time that I ever heard “Love Is Alive” came via Joe Cocker's version on his Night Calls album.
[laughs] Here's something funny – as we arrived today at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, that's what was playing. I don't think they planned it, and in fact, I asked the guy when we walked in if they had done that on purpose. [laughs]
This far into your career, what keeps you engaged in making new material. What's your goal?
Well, my goal is to get it out to as many people all over the world as I can, to promote it by doing tours and interviews like I'm doing now, and get more fans. I think it's important.
When you're not recording and touring, what are you up to generally? Do you still do any session work?
Not really. Occasionally, I'll do some stuff like that if it's for Ringo or other friends of mine. Sometimes I will write with other people on certain projects. I actually was supposed to get together and write with someone from the Black Eyed Peas, but then the Ringo tour came up and I ran out of time. So I will do those kind of projects from time to time. I'm going to write a book next year, so I think that's going to take a bunch of my time.
That's one reason that I was interested to talk to you, because of all of the really cool things you've done over the years. I'm sure you have no shortage of stories for that book.
[laughs] No, I don't!
I look at "Dream Weaver" as the gift that keeps on giving. Obviously it was in Wayne's World, and now this year, it's in Toy Story 3.
That's right, and it was in The People vs. Larry Flynt. It just keeps reinventing itself.
Were you familiar with Wayne's World at the time Warner Brothers approached you?
I had seen it a couple of times on TV, the version that they did when Madonna was there. I thought they were funny, and then when I saw the film, I thought it was hilarious. I like those guys.
I can imagine that certain artists that were not familiar with the film might not have been so keen on having their music included in the movie, because they wouldn't want to risk being a punchline. For those that bought in, it was obviously a great move.
Yeah, I think so too.
Prior to your musical career, you studied psychology – was that plan B in case the music thing didn't work out?
No, no. I actually hadn't even considered doing music. At that time, I wanted to go be a doctor. I studied a year of medicine and then I did some post-graduate work in psychology in Germany. And then I decided I really didn't want to be an academic or a doctor. That's when I really got back into music. I'd always played music when I was in college and in high school on the weekends with various bands, because I loved music so much that I enjoyed playing it.
What instrument did you start out with?
Keyboards, piano and then organ.
Was Spooky Tooth your first involvement with a band?
Yes, it was.
It's really amazing the number of projects that spawned from that group.
That's right – Foreigner, Humble Pie, Mott The Hoople, my own career...
What's next for you after the Ringo tour wraps up?
I'll probably start another album in the next year or so, and I'll be touring a lot, so I have plenty on my plate.
I’m jaded, I’ll admit it. In an era of music where singers like Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus are celebrated, I’m jaded.
That’s why on Saturday when I got to sit thru one of the best nights of music I can remember, I feel a little less jaded.
Saturday at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus I had the pleasure of listening to Carole King and James Taylor play hit after hit after hit for nearly 3 hours and I wished it could have gone on longer.
Forty years ago King and Taylor played at the now defunct Troubadour club in Los Angeles as they helped usher in the singer-songwriter era of the early 70’s and now in 2010 they shared the stage in the “Troubadour Reunion Tour” and if you closed your eyes, you would swear you were back in 1970. Yea, his hair has receded, they both have more lines on their faces but their voices….their voices are like a fine wine. It just seems to get better with age.
Performing in the round they were accompanied by members of the original band from the 1970 shows, guitarist Danny Kortchmar, drummer Russell Kunkel and one of my favorites bassist Leland Sklar who were essentially the band on the King’s “Tapestry” album and Taylor’s “Sweet Baby James”.
The concert had many great moments as they passed the spotlight back and forth singing some of the most memorable songs of our generation. Songs like “So Far Away”, “Country Road”, “Jazzman”, “Sweet Baby James”, “ I Feel The Earth Move”, “How Sweet It Is”, “Natural Woman”, “Carolina On My Mind”, “Sweetwater Jack”, “”Shower The People”, “It’s Too Late”, and “Fire And Rain” were just a sampling of the 28 songs they played as you sat there after each song and thought “how can they top this?” and they would come up with another amazing song from their vast repertoire.
The musical highlights were many but some of the most memorable moments were non-musical. Taylor’s back stories about his songs, King’s energy and huge smile as she danced around the stage and especially the finale when the two sat down on two stools, she interlocked her arm thru his and they gave a stirring rendition of “You Can Close Your Eyes” and at the end she laid her head on his shoulder and he gave her a kiss on the forehead showing us what the two of them mean to each other.
You know I just don’t see a reunion tour of Justin and Miley in 40 years and I’m happier for it.
What a beautiful day outside. Sun shining, the winter blues peeling away, a young man’s fancy turns too……. Aw what am I talking about, I’m not a young man and my thoughts turn to what else….music.
This summer music scene looks promising with some big acts returning to the North Coast. A large variety of festivals, art shows and events are going to make this a fun summer.
The summer really kicks off on May 22-23rd with the 41st Anniversary of the Hessler Street Fair. Local artists and craftsmen will be displaying their works as some of the best local bands in the area keep the party going all day long. The fair starts at 11am each day and goes till dusk in this historic area of Cleveland. Last year over 14,000 people came to the party. I’ll be there at the Cleveland Rock and Roll booth so plan on coming out and say hi. For more info goto
I’ll also be at OddMall out in Hudson May 8th. Come out to one of the largest indoor craft and art shows in the area. Make a day out of it and come support the local artists and pick up some really cool stuff. For more info goto http://www.oddmall.info
One of the best local musicians around David Budin will be playing with Long Road at Nightown on May 6th. As David describes this show “We have, probably, our most varied set of songs ever -- with everything from the '60s singer-songwriter stuff that we specialize in, to a 2010 song that's actually being played on radio stations now, to folky versions of early-rock songs, a Beatles song, a rousing traditional old-English tune, a couple of '70s Baxter Shadowfield originals, an acoustic version of a '60s psychedelic blues number, that song about the forest fire, a '50s TV theme song, and more -- including two songs I guarantee you've never heard before. And we have many new songs (that is, songs we haven't done before).” For only $10 that’s a lot music. Call Nightown for reservations at 216-795-0550.
The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is holding it's 9th annual Spring Benefit – It’s Only Rock and Roll at Public Hall. It's an eclectic lineup this year, amd it’s going to be a great show complete with 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee Terry Sylvester and Tommy James of the Shondells. Tickets are $15 for balcony seating. All proceeds go to support the Rock Hall’s education programs.
The Rock Hall It’s Only Rock and Roll Benefit proceeds will support the Museum's award-winning educational programming, which explores the impact that modern music has had on our culture, politics and society and reaches more than 50,000 students and educators on site and at great distances each year.
For more information on the Museum's FREE educational programming and to get tickets to this event, please visit www.rockhall.com.
Like I said earlier the summer concert season is coming with some big names. Some can’t miss shows (in my opinion) Ringo Starr and His All Star Band will be playing at Nautica on July 20th. Nautica is probably the best place to see a show these days (again in my humble opinion) and I can’t wait to see Ringo along with band members Edgar Winter and Rick Derringer play. Some other shows I am looking forward to is the Troubadour Tour of Carol King and James Taylor July 7th at Quicken Loans Arena, Jackson Browne September 19th at Tower City and the one show I wouldn’t miss, Roger Waters comes back to Cleveland performing “The Wall” September 28th at Quicken Loans. The only thing better would be for LiveNation to announce shows by Paul McCartney and David Gilmour! What do you think Barry? For info on all shows goto www.livenation.com
National Record Store Day is April 17th and I’ll be making the trip out to my favorite vinyl store, Blue Arrow Records at 16001 Waterloo Road. Blue Arrow Records is working closely with their neighbors at MUSIC SAVES (they will have the bulk of special releases. To see a list, check out their website: www.musicsaves.com and This Way Out. Blue Arrow Records and This Way Out will also open at noon on Record Store Day! Blue Arrow will have a handful of special releases, as well as goodies and prizes for customers. This Way Out is offering 10% off on records all day! So come on out, buy some vinyl while supporting local record shops and hear some live music. What is a better way of spending a Saturday!
The lineup of bands that will be playing at Blue Arrow and Music Saves: 4-5:30pm White Hinterland DJs at MUSIC SAVES (they play the Beachland later that night) 5pm Will Rigby DJs (of the dB’s, drummer for Steve Earle) at Blue Arrow Records5:30pm The Lighthouse and the Whaler at MUSIC SAVES6pm Prisoners at Blue Arrow Records6:30pm The Muttering Retreats at MUSIC SAVES 7pm Tasty Cakes at Blue Arrow Records 7:30pm Cloud Nothings at MUSIC SAVES
So that should get you started to thinking ahead to the dog days of summer. Speaking of dog, I gotta go try to catch my Great Dane puppy chasing some geese off my property! Nuff said, least till next time Peace Out Bear
I know, I know. Your probably saying “Are you kidding me?” or “Have you lost your mind?” or “Bear are you hitting the stash again?”
Ahh ……not yet it’s still early
What I mean is, whenever I am having a hard time coming up with a new story all I have to say is “Thank goodness for American Idol!”
This week it couldn’t get better for me. You all know how I love to hate this show. I’ve done stories on the failure rate of these “idols” it produces, stories on the rigging of the results, stories in general about just what a crock of s___ this show is but this week might be the best of all. Of all of the so-called musical geniuses they could have brought in to give “guidance” to these future superstars of music, they brought in the best yet…..
Miley Cyrus!
Yes I said it right or as Joe Biden would say, Miley F______ Cyrus.
First thing I thought of when I heard this was, as bad as this show is they have officially “Jumped The Shark”.
Miley Cyrus mentoring singers. Isn’t that like Stevie Wonder mentoring the drivers of NASCAR?
Seriously what musical guidance could Miley Cyrus bring to these kids? Could she bring her vast catalog of music to the show…….ahh no. Could she bring her decades of experience in the music world to them…….ahh no. Before any of you get in an uproar about bashing Miley did you listen to her sing on the show? That's all I got to say. Love it when my point is proved!
Look American Idol (and all of the American Idol apologists that will be sending me their emails) if you call it like it is “a staged reality show” then I don’t have a problem with it but to sit there and tell me these are the best new singers in the country week after week is a crock. Look bringing in the Miley Cyrus’s of the world onto this show isn’t going help to produce the next Dylan, McCartney, Lennon, Bono, or even the next Colbie Calliat, Adele, or Jason Mraz. It’s just going to get more pre-teens watching the show, going to the Top 10 tour and then forgetting about all of these singers within a year. (Can I say Adam Lambert who?) Producing the next inductee into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.....ahh no.
I’m going to miss you Simon when you leave. After this show fades away what is going to give me that last minute inspiration for a story. Oh wait! Simon’s next show….
Tonight is what music lover’s the world over have been waiting for!
Tonight ABBA, Sweden’s biggest import since meatballs and Ikea, is inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame!
Okay I’ll wait for the applause to subside……………………………………….
Wow that wasn’t very long.
Tonight the iconic rock staple ABBA is being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and guess what? Half of them aren’t even coming.
What!
You heard me right, two of the four members of ABBA are not even showing up to be inducted into the Hall Of Fame. One has “a family event” and the other one’s excuse is “I don’t like to fly.” Ahhhh didn’t you used to tour? Didn’t you fly then or did you take Greyhound from gig to gig?
Personally I don’t think any of them should be there simply based on their music, but that’s me. No one gave me a vote but come on, you get inducted over much more deserving bands and individuals and then you stiff the ceremonies. Wow that takes a huge pair.
Do you think the members of Deep Purple would have attended? How about Rush or Heart or Alice Cooper or The Moody Blues or The Doobie Brothers or The J. Geils Band or Chicago or Jethro Tull or Steve Miller or…………… oh hell, you get the point.
So many deserving rock artists are skipped over each and every year for inclusion into the Rock Hall and it is only going to get worse. The Rock Hall Foundation that oversees the induction selections wants to drop the 25 year rule (when an artist’s first album is released) to 20 years. Why? Because then “newer” acts would move up the ballot. Acts that are “fresher” and “have name value”.
Are you kidding me. “NAME VALUE” Really!
Hey Rock Hall Foundation do you ever take a look at the great artists that are not in and can you tell me with a straight face they do not have “name value”. If you can do that all I can say is, Wow another huge pair.
But under this cloud of delusion by the foundation members, the inclusion of ABBA makes perfect sense. They have been eligible for 10 years and in those 10 years only once before have they EVER even been nominated for induction. Once, that’s all.
Did their music somehow get better over the past 10 years to finally make them worthy?
No, it’s simple, ABBA got in to the prestigious Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame because of one thing. The movie Mamma Mia.
The movie Mamma Mia gave them as the Rock Hall Foundation states it “name value”.
Even ABBA member Benny Anderson isn’t as delusional as some members of the selection committee when they voted for him when he told Rolling Stone Magazine that he was shocked Abba received a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nod. “I didn’t think this would happen, because we were a pop band, not a rock band,” All I can say about that is neither did I Benny, neither did I.
Tonight all I want is one thing from Benny and Frida when they accept their awards. I don’t want them to thank God, their manager, their band mate who doesn’t like to fly, the fans, or even their cat’s chiropractor.
I would like to hear their acceptance speech go like this.
“We would like to thank the one person that made this happen for us, Meryl Streep. Without Meryl we would never have been recognized like this. We would have stayed in the obscurity we have been in for decades. Here’s to you Meryl”
If I was Alice Cooper I would be on the phone tomorrow saying “Meryl I got this idea for a movie called Welcome To My Nightmare, you would be the lead. A lot of music, snakes, and guillotines. It could be huge!” ABBA in the Rock Hall, welcome to MY nightmare folks.
It’s been awhile since I wrote my Random Thoughts…I guess my thoughts haven’t been so random with digging out from the snow and wishing for spring…
Can’t wait for today’s hockey game but a little observation from the world of sports and especially the Olympics. The next time I hear an announcer make a comment about the USA-Canada game being dubbed the “Miracle On Ice II” I’ll throw my remote thru the TV. Folks this is nothing like the 1980 game. That game was a bunch of unknown college hockey players upsetting a team of professional players from the USSR. Today’s game is a team of NHL professional hockey players playing against more NHL professional hockey players. I hope it will be a great game and it has all of the makings of a hell of a game, but a “Miracle”. Ahhh no…
Okay back to music….
Looking for a great night out on the town and want to help support a great organization? Then plan on coming out to “Get Back” on March 25th and join Roots Of American Music (ROAM) for it’s 2010 spring fundraiser. The benefit will be held at the historic Rockefeller Building in Cleveland Hts and will feature Northeast Ohio’s own Abbey Road Band playing the music of the Beatles. There will also be a silent auction featuring some one of a kind items including unique Beatles items, a behind the scenes tour of the Rock Hall, Live Nation concert tickets, and tickets to see Ringo Starr at Nautica this summer!. Come on out and enjoy a great night. Contact ROAM for tickets at 216-321-9353.
Did you know that Cleveland has a new rock station, or let me refrain that, more like a “new station” that seems like an “old station”. V107.3 is a throwback to the glory days of radio in Cleveland when it was locally owned and programmed for our listening. Wow how unique! It’s nice to tune in and hear a local station play a variety of music where a playlist can go from Lyle Lovett to Marley to Wild Horses to Derek Trucks to Bowie to King Of Leon to Van Morrison to Dropkick Murphy’s. The ecletic mix is definitely a memory of another great radio station in our past. Keep up the good work John, Ric and Lonnie. You got a listener here.
Speaking of radio. I was sent this video of my favorite DJ, Dusty Street back in her days at KTIM in the San Francisco area in the 70’s. Gotta love Dusty! Check out the video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0ZUOc-bqiI
Have you been checking out Alex Bevan’s live streaming concerts he’s been doing on the internet lately? Alex is doing them usually on Fridays at noon and it’s like going to the old Coffee Break Concerts without leaving your couch! Alex sounds great and it’s fun to listen to an artist just playing music and enjoying the moment. Check out Alex at his website http://www.ncweb.com/ent/alex/ to find his next concert.
Remember that line from the movie Eight Men Out? The young kid looks up at “Shoeless” Joe Jackson with tears in his eyes as word of him being involved in the fixing of the World Series. Fade to the present and the part of the tearful young kid will now be played by yours truly.
Say It Aint So Joe!
Mine doesn’t have anything to do with baseball, or the World Series, or gamblers fixing games (no that was last week in Vegas when I swore the dice were fixed against me playing craps!). No mine has to do with the band Aerosmith and the rumor being floated out there that Billy Idol is going to replace Stephen Tyler.
Say It Aint So Joe!
Billy Idol in Aerosmith?
Say It Aint’ So Joe!
Look I like Billy Idol or at least I liked Billy Idol in the 80’s and especially when he parodies himself in bad Adam Sandler movies now but as the vocals of Aerosmith.
Sorry No Joe!
Why do bands feel it necessary to continue on wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy past their expiration date. I mean do you drink milk wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy past the expiration date?
What do I mean?
Look I don’t have a problem if a band continues with their core playing their music for what seems like forever (IE: The Rolling Stones) or if a band reinvents themselves with a new singer or a new sound. Take for example (for us older folks) Fleetwood Mac. In the late 60’s and early 70’s Fleetwood Mac was a ballsy blues rock band with Peter Green leading the way but members left over time and Mick Fleetwood and John McVie took another direction with the band and added Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham creating a totally different band with a totally different sound and created a more successful band. A newer example is Van Halen when they replaced David Lee Roth with Sammy Hagar. A new band with a new sound and they produced successful albums. Other bands have done it also. Genesis, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple are other examples of bands that changed singers and recreated the band and it worked for the most part.
Why were these examples okay but I hate the idea of Billy Idol leading Aerosmith? I’ll tell you why, its not like they are going to reinvent Aerosmith at this late stage of the game and create a dynamic catalog of “New Aerosmith” albums. No they are going the way of Queen when they rehashed some of the greatest music created in the seventies with Paul Rogers pretending to be Freddie Mercury.
Simply it didn’t work. When I see Paul Rogers on stage I don’t want to hear him do a poor imitation of Freddie. I want to him hear belt out the songs of Free and Bad Company. See I like Paul Rogers and I like his voice but not this way. Now don’t get me started on the rumors of Adam Lambert might be taking up the Freddie torch with Queen, that will be a story here all its own!
Back in 2005 I got to go to see both David Gilmour and Roger Waters on their tours. Both did Pink Floyd songs as well as their solo works. You know what even though I thought Roger was a better concert and he definitely seemed to be having more fun playing the tunes, David is the voice of Pink Floyd and the songs when played by him resonated more to me.
You can’t replace a voice like that, period. The more iconic the band, the worse it is.
Look this isn't just a rant against Aerosmith doing this. Seriously do the other members of Aerosmith, Queen, Journey, ELO, etc need the money? Do they need the women? Do they need their ego’s stroked that bad? Okay maybe all three but do we want to hear it, not me.
These bands go from being Rock Hall legends to bad “tribute” bands. Now don’t get me wrong, I like good tribute bands at times (Fab Faux, Wish You Were Here for example) but I don’t want to see Joe Perry leading one.
This weeks story isn't going to be funny, in fact it is going to be short, serious and to the point.
If you have seen any of the nightly news programs this past week you know why.
An entire country has been devastated by a natural disaster.
I'm not worried about the leadership of the country or the politics of the nation but the images of children, homeless, parentless, injured beyond belief, well that makes me take notice and want to do something. Anything.....
These people of Haiti, need our help.
If you can please give.
Don't know how? Click on one of the links below to find out more.
Yea!!! Open that champagne up…(I keep hearing that song in my head from The Flintstones – “Happy Anniversary, Happy Anniversary, Happpppppppppy Anniversary”)
What started as just a list of the concerts I attended over the decades has turned into really a phenomenon.
Seriously, I never would have thought it.
I can’t count the number of people I have ran into this past year that has told me “I love reading your stuff” or “whenever I get nostalgic for home I check out your site” or “do you think your f______ funny?” Okay that last one comes from some of the people I have criticized over the year and yea I do think I am funny at times…so there!
Like I said, this started as a lark. I was bored over the holidays and started writing down the bands and shows I had seen when my wife (or as she is known here in many stories, Mrs Bear) told me I should put it on the web. After I got done looking at her like she had an elbow growing out of her forehead, she told me “I think people would get a kick out of reading about the old shows.” Little did I know, she was right (as she will often say , she usually is!).
This little website started like a snowball rolling down a hill. Before I knew it, I’m getting emails from people telling me about the shows they saw. People started sending me lists of shows, ticket stubs, concert programs, photos they took and the best ones were the little stories they wrote about the shows. I didn’t even know how they found me, but they did.
Then I started just writing down my thoughts on music and putting them on the site and man….as the great American writer, philosopher and man about town Michael Heaton (you like that build up don't you Michael!) told me, “you want to get people in an uproar, write about music” and wow was he right. I can write a story in the morning and by noon, have a hundred emails either slamming me or saying “you’re a genius!” (okay maybe no one ever called me a genius but when they do agree with me my mind sort of glazes over and morphs it into that). It is very cool to hear from people that use the site for reference for projects or books or to see a story of mine referenced on a blog or a bands site somewhere around the world (that internet is an amazing thing, thank you Al Gore).
Who would have thought….not me that’s for sure!
It is amazing how strong people feel about music. Know that old saying “never talk politics or religion at a party”, go ahead and add music to that list. You know what, that’s what makes this fun. I love sitting around with a beer and just talking music with people and the site allows me to sit around and talk music with thousands and thousands of people at one time that I never would have the chance to do so. I love it when people email me and tell me their stories, they tell me why a certain band should be in the Rock Hall, they tell me how they are turning their children onto certain music or how they picked up the old guitar in the corner and are now playing it, they tell me how bad radio is, they tell me how good radio is (okay they may be nuts), they tell me what great cd (or album) they just got and I need to listen to it, they tell me their complaints about concerts, they tell me I have to see this local band at this bar and hundreds of other things they want to talk about.
I have become the Dr. Phil of music, only with hair!
There are a lot of people I have to thank for getting me here and I know I’m going to forget a ton of them but here goes nothing. I want to thank John Gorman who was pumping my site on his before I even knew John had one (check out the great WMMS “Buzzard” blog of John’s), Matt from addictedtovinyl.com (another great site) who answered all of my endless questions about blogs, websites, etc and shared a few beers doing what else “talking music”. Brian (brokenheadphones.com) for keeping me up on indie and metal, Jim Clevo for supplying me with endless issues of Scene’s from the 70’s and catching my mistakes on the site, Dusty (the best DJ on the air, hands down) for her encouraging emails on my stories, thank you for reading my stuff!, Bob The Cop (a familiar character in my stories and the biggest ABBA fan I know…just kidding Bob) for being like the little devil on my shoulder calling me out, Alex Bevan for being a friend and keeping the music going, Reena and Margaret from the Rock Hall for including me in the party, Rick and Kathy for so many beers around the fire doing what else “talking music” (do you see a trend here beer + music), Barry Gabel (the hardest working man in show business!), Elise from the House Of Blues, Eroc for a couple of the best shows I saw this year,, the always cool Jonah Koslan, Scott from the Artful Dodger fansite who was one of the first to help out and turned me onto Roger Cline And Peacemakers!, Roger Cline for throwing me props, Ann Thompson from afterthegig.com, Kevin and Sheela from ROAM (a great organization to get involved with), Dave W. and Dave H. for all the Michael Stanley info, Dom for ….the trend again…all the great beer and music talk, Janet Macoska for allowing me to use some of her amazing photos, Oprah for being my role model (okay just kidding..seeing if your paying attention), Jimmy from The Winchester Tavern for the great shows and putting me on the air, Greg Rollie, Michael Carabello, Susan Tedeschi, Carolyn Wonderland, Ray Benson and the others for great quotes from the interviews this year, to Shannon, Joanna, Brooke, Janiece, Matt and the rest of the great folks I met at the Art and Craft Shows where I showed my rock poster designs this year (thanks for the warm welcome), my boy Rick from Sony for being a great friend, and all of the friends on Facebook that keep me going with their support and comments and are quick to post them (I love that from you guys!). Some of the more active were Angelle, Leslie, Michelle, Perry, Rhonda, Elaine, Denise, Donna, Danny, Rick, Linda, Pat, Deb, Chuck, Dawn, Ro, Joe, Lisa, Rik, Ted, Billy, Rick, Laura, Chuck, Jim, Roger, and Melissa (okay I know I missed a few…hundred) I could always count on you guys and gals. Alan and Sarah for putting up with me and of course the biggest thank you has to go to Mrs Bear for putting up with my sitting at a computer typing all night, using her in stories, making fun of her for liking American Idol, and for giving me the idea and inspiration to do this and for being my best friend for 30+ years. Love ya..
This year has been a blast and here is too many more good times shared with you my friends.
Hard to believe isn"t it. Bear saying the inductees are not that bad. Don"t rush to judgment here, it could have been better, much much better but the voters could only vote for who the nominating committee sent over. 
Right now one of the biggest acts out there is Dustin Lieber. (What, hold on a minute someone is yelling at me. That’s not his name? It’s what? Justin Bieber, really? Does it really matter, in a couple of years won’t we be calling him “what’s his name” anyway?) Okay back to my story, JUSTIN BIEBER (is that better?) is right now the hottest thing out there and the only thing he is missing on his resume is talent.
Oh don’t give me that crap of, “Taylor Swift doesn’t belong in that group, she is a superstar, she writes her songs, she’s great” No she is not. She is a very cute girl with a guitar with a very limited voice range and once celebrities learn to stop dating her she will have very little to write about. Period, argument over.
Would that work today?
Based on the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Foundation’s own criteria for nomination, I said it last year (
Our only hope is the voters. The supposedly largest block of voters is the past inductees of the hall. Hopefully the Ozzy’s of the Rock Hall have more votes than the Madonna’s of the Hall.
That says it all…… 
When Jackson came back it was with his full band and they were perfect for this show. They never overwhelmed the songs, they were the perfect accompaniment for a Jackson Browne show. He started the show with selections off his 2008 album “Time The Conqueror” and even though I didn’t really know the songs more than a once over, I found myself right into a groove, head bobbing and enjoying the moment. It’s like I said earlier, Jackson is like that old pair of Levi’s, just comfortable.
It’s nice to go to a show and when the house lights go down the headliner knocks it out of the park with the very first song and that’s exactly what CSN did as they launched into “Woodstock”. For the next two plus hours the audience were treated to one of the iconic musical histories entrenched with idealism that stretched from Laurel Canyon to Woodstock.
The voices, they still have it. The harmonies as always were beautiful but the strength they showed when they took the lead, was at times surprising. David Crosby showed that strength when he belted, and I mean belted out “I Almost Cut My Hair” you would have thought he was twenty years old again and rallying against the establishment! Don’t get me wrong there was a couple of rough spots especially when a moth flew into Stephen Stills mouth when he was singing Neil Young’s classic “Long May You Run” and he must have swallowed it as his voice broke a little through the song. The one thing that really stuck with me throughout the night was how good a guitarist Stills really is. He might be one of the most overlooked lead guitarist of rock and roll.
Saturday at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus I had the pleasure of listening to Carole King and James Taylor play hit after hit after hit for nearly 3 hours and I wished it could have gone on longer.
You know I just don’t see a reunion tour of Justin and Miley in 40 years and I’m happier for it.
If I was Alice Cooper I would be on the phone tomorrow saying “Meryl I got this idea for a movie called Welcome To My Nightmare, you would be the lead. A lot of music, snakes, and guillotines. It could be huge!”
What started as just a list of the concerts I attended over the decades has turned into really a phenomenon. 
