They Said What??
“The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.“
- Hunter S. Thompson
They Said What??
“Those stadium shows may possibly be the most extravagant and expensive (production-wise) ever: $40 million to build the stage and, having done the math, we estimate 200 semi trucks crisscrossing Europe for the duration. It could be professional envy speaking here, but it sure looks like, well, overkill, and just a wee bit out of balance given all the starving people in Africa and all. Or maybe it’s the fact that we were booted off our Letterman spot so U2 could keep their exclusive week-long run that’s making me less than charitable? Take your pick — but thanks, guys!“
–David Byrne on the U2′s tour
Can’t say I disagree, David.
Bob Dylan — “Shelter From The Storm”
From the Rolling Thunder Revue in Fort Collins, CO (5/23/76). This song perfectly epitomizes “Blood On The Tracks” to me. Gorgeous lyrics, in fact you can’t get more poignant. Beautiful, just beautiful.
‘Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood
When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud
I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
And if I pass this way again, you can rest assured
I’ll always do my best for her, on that I give my word
In a world of steel-eyed death, and men who are fighting to be warm.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
Not a word was spoke between us, there was little risk involved
Everything up to that point had been left unresolved.
Try imagining a place where it’s always safe and warm.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail,
Poisoned in the bushes an’ blown out on the trail,
Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
Suddenly I turned around and she was standin’ there
With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair.
She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
Now there’s a wall between us, somethin’ there’s been lost
I took too much for granted, got my signals crossed.
Just to think that it all began on a long-forgotten morn.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
Well, the deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount
But nothing really matters much, it’s doom alone that counts
And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
I’ve heard newborn babies wailin’ like a mournin’ dove
And old men with broken teeth stranded without love.
Do I understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn?
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes
I bargained for salvation an’ they gave me a lethal dose.
I offered up my innocence and got repaid with scorn.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
Well, I’m livin’ in a foreign country but I’m bound to cross the line
Beauty walks a razor’s edge, someday I’ll make it mine.
If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born.
“Come in,” she said,
“I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
“This is Red Rocks! This is ‘The Edge’!”
Here’s Welcome To Now‘s take on the ’96 Red Rocks run, complete with downloads:
Skip ahead 18 years from the Dead’s 78′ run discussed here yesterday – into a new generation, new scene, new band – and check out this magical 4-night Phish run (!) at Red Rocks in the summer of 96′. These shows happen just as the Phish scene is exploding, from a minority phenomenon to a household name. The fanbase is growing and taking on a culture and language of its own. For instance, the crowd initiates an audience chant in Harry Hood through fliers passed out before the show – this ritual remains today and you’ll hear it any Hood post 96′. You can really feel the excitement coming out of this newly blooming community in these shows – the band and the audience are locked in and just mutually lifting the scene to a higher level. (more…)
Click here to follow all the weekend’s action on YEMBlog‘s twitter page.
Fleetwood Mac With Paul Butterfield — San Francisco, CA (6/9/1968)
I was listening to this again today, as I had my trusty iPod on shuffle, and I must say this is a smokin’ show. Don’t expect Lindsay and Stevie, this Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green, man. Translation, this is blooze. Pre-FM radio mega-stardom that is synonymous with Fleetwood Mac’s 70′s output was in the future and Peter Green was the man. He is truly one of the great, overlooked and almost forgotten guitarists. Green has struggled with schizophrenia for decades. This is a great place to start for unintiated.(This is a repost from August 2008)
CD#1
June 9, 1968 first set
01 [cuts in] Madison Blues 4:31
02 My BabyÕs Gone 6:00
03 My BabyÕs Skinny 4:48
04 Worried Dream 9:57
05 Dust My Broom 4:32
06 Got To Move 3:00
07 Worried Mind 4:41
08 instrumental 10:29
09 Have You Ever Loved A Woman? 7:58
10 Lazy Poker Blues 4:49
CD#2
June 9, 1968 second set 36:44
01 [cuts in] Stop MessinÕ ÔRound [with Paul Butterfield] 2:12
02 I Loved Another Woman [with Paul Butterfield] 7:03
03 I Believe [with Paul Butterfield] 5:17
04 The Sun Is Shining [with Paul Butterfield] 6:27
05 Long Tall Sally [with Paul Butterfield] 4:53
06 Willie & The Hand Jive 4:04
07 > Tuti Frutti 3:02
08 thanks by Peter Green, announcer band intros + crowd noise before encore 0:32
09 Ready Teddy [cut] 3:16
June 7 or 8, 1968 S.F. Carousel Ballroom
10 [cuts in] I Need Your Love So Bad 1:46
11 I Believe 4:59
12 Shake Your Moneymaker 9:12
13 Ready Teddy 2:30
14 Peter Green says thanks, announcer outro + crowd noise 0:19
Peter Green – guitar, vocals
John McVie – bass
Mick Fleetwood – drums
Jeremy Spencer – guitar, vocals
Paul Butterfield – harp (where noted)
Maplewood Feels Good
The Brooklyn based quartet, Maplewood is a breath of sage infused fresh air. Their 2005 debut album conjures up images of driving west in a land yacht convertible under a desert sky — an ice cold Mexican beer between your legs, L.A. bound. Produced by Bryce Goggin (Phish, Oysterhead, Pavement), it’s a hidden gem that would make Gram Parsons and like-minded 70′s alt-country musicians proud. You’ll hear a little Buffalo Springfield here and a little America there, some Crosby inspired “Cowboy Movie” with a dash of mid-80′s R.E.M. and a pinch of Ween’s country/western phase, yet they are uniquely their own band. Music with twang, yet also with bite. Not surprisingly, America has taken to playing the Maplewood penned song, “Indian Summer” in concert.
I recently sat down with Craig Schoen, guitarist/songwriter to discuss the debut album, as well as the new album, Yeti Boombox, which will be released on August 4th.
MSD: Where did the name Maplewood originate?
CS: If I remember correctly, it comes from a couple of things. Mark’s wife is from Maplewood NJ, but I think there was something else involved other than New Jersey, I hope (there is).
MSD: Tell me a little about the guys in the band and the roles they play within.
CS: Well Mark Rozzo, Ira Elliot and I have been playing together in various line-ups under various names for years in NYC. Mark and I’s first band, 44, had a drummer named Lee Wall, who joined Luna. I think Bryce Goggin hooked us up with Ira who was and is with Nada Surf. Ira has played with me in various projects, along with Mark’s band Champale for a few years. Just a fabulous guy and drummer so it’s great when he has the time. As far as Steve Koester goes, he’s from the midwest, in the band Two Dark Birds, and his own band Koester which was on David Lowery’s label Pitch-a-Tent with Champale. Mark kind of floated the idea of Maplewood to Steve and we just started recording with the idea to do the softest rock since Bread and it sort of took
on a life of its own. Before we knew it, we had a whole record where Ira was playing drums, Mark 12-string, Steve various guitars and myself playing bass and guitar, and we were recording and mixing the whole thing. At this point, we are basically a team of three songwriters who just simply love playing and hanging with one another. We each bring in a few tunes, arrange them together and record. Not much rehearsal, just conceptual writing so to speak for Maplewood. All of us do vastly different things, so it’s pretty easy to write for Maplewood, especially now after a few years. Bottom line is when you are fortunate to be around players such as these, it makes things pretty easy.
MSD: Assuming that you’d categorize Maplewood as alt-country, who are your influences within the genre? I know Hendrix dubbed CSN as “twinkling desert sky music”, would you say that that applies to Maplewood?
CS: Yeah, if you include CSN, America and the Burrito Brothers as alt-country i guess that’s the vibe we wanted. We always strive for good writing, lots of harmonies, and kind of taking you back to AM radio. Kind of what you might remember hearing in your parents’ car on the radio. Sweet harmonies, driving in Cali, when music was guilty fun. Dessert sky sounds right, after all we have a bunch of tunes that conjure up Joshua Tree Nat. Park and the canyons outside of LA.
MSD: I know that you are proficient in different genres. What challenges do you face, going from playing rock to “canyon rock?”
CS: I would say the most difficult and enjoyable thing is that you can not fake “canyon rock,” so to speak. Not if you want to pull it off live. You have to be able to sing and harmonize, all the time, while not filling in too much space around it so as not to overwhelm the vocals. There is a fine line between between cheese and sweetness in our genre; it makes it fun.
MSD: I’ve immensely enjoyed Maplewood’s debut album. What are your thoughts on it?
CS: I hold it very close to my heart simply because of how it evolved. Everything, for the most part was done in my studio at all hours of the night kind of flying blindly towards this goal of as sweet and soft as we can get. I think we all got what we wanted from it, probably a hell of a lot more than we expected, but safe to say we are still very into it and really focused us into what we were about. I spent so much time on the first record kind of grasping engineering and mixing as a whole, and trying to create and make it sound like i remembered records from the 70′s sounding like. I remember we would take records and compare sounds when we were mixing. Certain America tunes, Bread tunes simply a/b ing them in comparison to our mixes. I really wanted to make it sound like a lush record by just the quality of the players and arrangements, and without all of the studio BS.
MSD: To me, it seems to have a fluidity and cohesiveness. Intentional? What was it like working with Bryce?
CS: We really lucked out with the fluidity because the three of us come from very different writing perspectives. I always say to Mark and Steve that we are kind of the perfect pairing of songwriters, besides the fact that we like each other very much. Mark is the hook machine, Steve is the lyrical machine, and I’m the sound machine. I think if you pay attention to each of the songs and listen closely, you can tell who wrote what and where it’s coming from, however the mesh of the three works very well.As far as Bryce goes, I moved to New York, worked at a studio and hoped to meet Bryce, mostly because of Crooked Rain, and was fortunate enough to meet him while he was doing Spacehog’s first record. Mark, Bryce and I became friends and Bryce helped us with demos, and slowly but surely became the superstar that he is, so when we can use him we always will. He’s one of the best engineers I’ve ever worked with period. Super focused, super intense, and best to let him do his thing.
MSD: It seems to be an honest album, meaning there isn’t much studio trickery and mostly traditional instrumentation.
CS: Yeah mostly traditional instruments no samples or loops or anything. The new record has some mellotron, chamberlain stuff and more pedal steel, some piano, but that’s about it.
MSD: Who plays pedal steel on the album?
CS: Allan Weatherhead plays the pedal steel on the record. One of our Richmond buddies who plays with Sparklehorse and is quite the engineer himself. Also, Don Piper does some lap steel as well and some harmonies on the new record. Don is another uber-talent.
MSD: The new album comes out next week. What challenges did you face in the production? How does it differ from the first?
CS: Mostly that we don’t all live in NYC anymore, but other than that nothing. the new record has been a pretty painless, albeit fast, process. We know what we want and usually know how to get it. I think just a slight growth in knowing who we are, and I hope a progression towards a completely serendipitous identity. I’ve really begun to appreciate the new record for very different reasons since it’s completion. I feel very lucky to have such great people and player around. It made my job of mixing relatively easy. Yet the new record is a little less thick with everything, it has a sparseness that I really love.
MSD: Any guest musicians on the Yeti Boombox?
CS: Gerry from America, Allan from Sparklehorse and Don Piper.
MSD: What’s on the horizon for Maplewood?
CS: Touring Europe in the fall hopefully spreading the word of soft-rock everywhere!
We will be following up with more info on Maplewood in the upcoming weeks.
“Indian Summer”:
Woodstock poster couple still together
Here’s a sweet story about Woodstock, which is quickly approaching its 40th anniversary. The couple that was on the iconic Woodstock album cover and movie poster are still together, after meeting only 3 months before the event. Click here to read about how they met and what they’re up to now.
Chuck Berry — San Francisco, CA (3/19/67)
School Days
Little Sixteen
Memphis
The Vagabond’s House
Let It Rock
My Ding-A-Ling
Reelin’ And A Rockin’
Roll Over Beethoven
Bonsoir Cherie
Johnny B. Goode
Promised Land
CS&N — 4+20>Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
From Dick Cavett’s show right after Woodstock and then into 1982.
R.I.P. — Mama Cass (1941-1974)
35 years ago today, “Mama Cass” or Ellen Naomi Cohen or Cass Elliott (of the Mamas and Papas) died of a heart attack in her sleep. Police noted a half eaten sandwich by her bedside and surmised that she may have choked on the sandwich. This was incorrect, but an entire generation of fans and media still seem to think this was her cause of death. Cass was staying in a flat in a flat in London that was owned by Harry Nilsson, which would sadly be the site of another rock star death four years later. Who would die in the same room? Who you wonder, who(m) you ask. Well, it was none other than Who drummer, Keith Moon.
Here are the Mamas and the Papas from Monterey in ’67:
Michael Franti from the hospital
Feel better Michael!
42 Years ago today…
The Doors hit paydirt when their Krieger penned single, “Light My Fire” went to #1 on the charts and stayed for three weeks. A little info on the song:
Once The Doors debut album was cut, Elektra’s marketing and promotion departments went into over drive, as they were pushing the pride of their label, the “new and exciting Doors”. Morrison was to be the cover boy for The Doors and he was sent directly to celebrity hair stylist, Jay Sebring (to be brutally murdered by Charles Manson’s minions 30 months later) for an Alexander The Great-inspired haircut. The Doors hit the circuit, ready to set the world on (cough, cough) fire. (more…)
Bob Dylan — From The Crash (43 Years ago today)
Something happened on July 29, 1966. The New York Times broke the news a few days later: Dylan had been in a motorcycle accident and would be canceling his concert at the Yale Bowl. If you ever wondered whether rumors spread before the Internet, the answer is yes: fans traded stories that Dylan was horribly scarred, paraplegic, insane, or even dead. These stories proved not to be true, but one thing was certain: he was gone.
Dylan spent the next nine months in seclusion in upstate New York; as he recovered, he and the Band made the much-bootlegged music that would ultimately be released as The Basement Tapes. He didn’t put out a new album until 1968, the deliberately low-key John Wesley Harding. So what actually went down that July day? It’s fuzzy, but the gist appears to be that Dylan visited the home of his manager Albert Grossman in Bearsville, New York. Dylan picked up an old Triumph 55 motorcycle and was planning to ride it to a nearby repair shop.
As he left the property, however, he took a spill. The way he told the story in 1967: “The back wheel locked up, I think. I lost control, swerving from left to right. Next thing I know I was in someplace I never heard of—Middletown, I think—with my face cut up so I got some scars and my neck busted up pretty good.” The official story at the time was that he broke some vertebrae in the neck, was knocked unconscious, and was in critical condition for a week.
Later, however, witnesses—including Albert Grossman’s wife, Sally, famous as the girl on the cover of Bringing It All Back Home—would tell the tale differently. Apparently, Dylan had poor eyesight and was notorious for his lack of skill on the bike; as he left the Grossman property, he just lost his balance and fell off his motorcycle in an undignified fashion. Although he could have been driven to a nearby hospital, he was instead taken to a doctor who was an hour away.
Rumors circulated that he was secretly in rehab for drug addiction, but the accident appears to have been genuine, if not as serious as reported. Afterwards, people spotted Dylan in a neck brace; friends reported that he took up swimming and received ultrasound treatment.
So why did Dylan check out for so long, then? By 1966, Dylan was not just hailed as the voice of a generation, he was expected to lead folk and rock fans in a new direction with every album, and very possibly, redefine contemporary society as a hippie utopia. Plus, Dylan had been going virtually nonstop for a long time: he released five records in just over two years, from 1964 to early 1966. He had a full tour of sixty concerts scheduled, plus a contract renegotiation with Columbia Records. Fans and biographers have long assumed that Dylan seized on his injuries—real, if not as serious as reported—as an opportunity to step away from his white-hot celebrity and the pressure that came along with it.
Dylan said as much himself in 2004, in Volume One of his excellent autobiography, Chronicles: “I had been in a motorcycle accident and I’d been hurt, but I recovered. Truth was that I wanted to get out of the rat race.”
‘Spinning In Their Grave’
Here’s a good article on the collapse of the music magazine. It makes me very sad. Out of habit, I still subscribe to Rolling Stone, although I’ve thought RS went downhill back in the early 90′s. Click here to read about the decline of the music industry and music trade publications.
Delaney & Bonnie & Friends — “Poor Elijah” and “I Don’t Know Why”
And what talented friends they are! Featured here are Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Steve Cropper, Dave Mason, Rita Coolidge, etc., etc. Do they look like they’re having fun or what?
The phan onslaught of ’96 (Morrison, CO)
As the Phish Red Rocks show approach, perhaps the good people of Morrison, CO need to watch this vintage clip of Phish’s last visit to the legendary venue and revisit the havoc it wreaked on the locals. Then again, maybe not. Why subject yourself to the horror and shock of Phish fans coming to your town (and wanting to party down).
Joni Mitchell — “Big Yellow Taxi”
From 1970.
Red Rocks Tips and Jedi Mind Tricks
The second leg of Phish’s summer tour kicks off on Thursday night at Red Rocks in tiny Morrison, Colorado and anticipation is building to a fever pitch for those attending the four-night stand at the historic venue. For those of us who aren’t familiar with Red Rocks, our friend The Joker of the Coventry Blog put together a fantastic list of tips and tricks you should read. (more…)
Happy Birthday — Mike Bloomfield
Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Electric Flag guitarist, Mike Bloomfield would have turned 66 today. His legendary fret work was featured on such albums as PBBB’s East-West, EF’s Long Time Runnin’ and Super Session with Al Kooper. Bloomfield died of a drug overdose in 1981.
Here’s a Mike, Muddy, Junior Wells and a whole slew of blues musicians.
Here’s a show featuring Paul Butterfield with aid from Mike. Click here.
36 Years ago today…
The Allman Brothers Band, The Grateful Dead and The Band held what many estimated as the largest outdoor rock show. Over 150,000 tickets were sold, but over 600,000 devotees showed. The festival actually started on the 27th, as the band’s sounchecked in front of a live audience, including the Dead’s two set marathon “soundcheck”. Here’s more info from Wiki.
Ray LaMontagne announces Fall ’09 tour
Jambase.com:
Ray LaMontagne announced his North American fall tour schedule today, starting with two dates with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra on October 15 in North Bethesda, MD followed by an October 16 show at Meyeroff Symphony Hall. Following the orchestra shows, LaMontagne’s next dates will offer a polar opposite experience in which the Maine singer-songwriter will play stripped-down solo acoustic shows, starting November 1 at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre. (more info and dates…)
Here’s Ray with one of our favorites of his, “Empty” at the BBC:
Stephen’s Giraffe Shirt
If you follow the site, you’ve probably noticed a lot of Crosby, Stills & Nash (& Young) lately, specifically Stills. Well, we are going to be seeing them in a couple of weeks and I am beyond excited for the show. I think the band’s work over the past 40 years puts them in the living legends category. They were actually the first band to book and tour a true stadium tour, back in ’74. On a personal note, we had the band at our wedding learn and play Stills’ “How Far” (off of his Manassas album) at our wedding reception, so it has some sentimental significance to us. Anyway, here’s a cool little story about a gift from a fan that the artist actually liked and a nice tip of the hat to Steve. Suite Lorraine:
After buying my ticket online to the Pittsburgh CSNY concert a couple months ago, I was perusing a sewing website and noticed a material with tan and brown giraffes on a black background. Stephen Stills popped into my head. The Still Small Voice said, “Stephen would like that.” I bought five yards of it without knowing why. (more…)
