John Henry Bonham “Bonzo” – 30 Years Gone September 25, 1980

As I write this, it is Saturday September 25th 2010.  Drummers everywhere are aware of this day as the thirtieth anniversary of the day that Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham passed from this earth. In the past 30 years, Bonzo has become revered by many as perhaps the greatest rock drummer ever.  I’m sure some will dispute it.  I won’t be one of them. I personally put Bonzo at the top of my list of favorite drummers all the time.  How did I find out about John Bonham and the work of Led Zeppelin? That is what I’d like to write about tonight.

Of course, I’ve written a blog on the first two Led Zeppelin albums.  How I got to that point is yet another story.  When I first picked up the drums as my instrument of choice, I just liked the primal pounding sound and feel it made. But, I also became familiar with a certain celebrity drummer that I shared a birthday with.  That would be Richard Starkey AKA Ringo Starr.  I became increasingly serious about drums and I was able to buy my first set of drums.  A friend of the family named Jerry L was about 3 years older than me and happened to give drum lessons. Jerry had helped me with a few rudimentary things for my audition for the “Varsity” band at North Platte High School. Once I got my own drumset,  Jerry got me started on some technique books.  One of the first books he had me study out of was Carmine Appice’s Realistic Rock book.  I don’t know what it was about Carmine. But, I found him and his book to be really cool. He had pictures of himself behind his big Ludwig double bass kit. He included a sound sheet of himself playing the various parts. Lastly, he had a list of his recording credits and discography. On the last page of the 1981 edition was an ad for his solo album called Rockers. At this point, I had begun frequenting local record stores in North Platte. There was a store called Daley(or Daily) Records and I found Carmine’s album, I just thought it was the greatest thing. The drums were big in the mix and he had 3 drum instrumentals on the album. In the liner notes, Carmine dedicated this solo album to “Loving Memory of my dear friend..John Bonham”. 
I also started reading more articles on drummers and the one name that kept coming up was John Bonham. Two that I remember reading articles in Musician magazine were with the band Foreigner and drummer Dennis Elliot mentioned one of his influences was Bonham. That’s rather coincidental because (in 2005) John Bonham’s son (and drummer)Jason Bonham was instrumental in resurrecting Foreigner with leader/guitarist Mick Jones.  The other was Go-Go’s drummer Gina Schock as she mentioned Bonzo as an influence. In the early 80’s, I would read practically every rock magazine I could get my hands on. I would read articles in Rolling Stone, Hit Parader, Circus, Musician, and Modern Drummer.  Obviously, in circles of Rock drummers in the 80’s, Bonzo’s name was highly regarded as greatness.  In the July 1984 issue, Modern Drummer did a tribute issue for John Bonham. For the article, the magazine talked to drummers like Dave Mattacks from the Fairport Convention and Carmine Appice too.  At the time, I was still wrapped up in everything involving Carmine Appice.  In the article, he talks about the first Zeppelin tour where the band opened up for Carmine’s band Vanilla Fudge. Carmine was very impressed with the first Zeppelin album and Bonzo’s drumming, that he was able to secure a Ludwig sponsorship for him. Carmine’s other quote was that “I was Bonzo’s hero!”  Well, for many, that was a bit far for Carmine to take credit for Bonham’s style.  But, I have read over the past 30 years from various sources including the 3 surviving members of Zeppelin that…yes John did listen to Carmine and yes..he was one of Bonzo’s drumming influences. He was also a fan of Motown and James Brown and others.
I even remember that someone in my high school newspaper wrote a quick review of Zeppelin’s album CODA  that was released a few years after they had disbanded. She basically said…”if you like the drums, you’ll like this song especially the song 'Bonzo’s Montreux” I ended up buying it on a cassette and enjoyed the drumming on it. I found a lot of Carmine’s bass drum techniques similar to the ones on the album. I also remember (during my senior year) that a friend of mine I had known for years saying “Have you ever heard the end of the song Rock and Roll by Led Zeppelin?” I hadn’t and we promptly cued it up on somebody’s walkman.  WOW!! …this just seemed like the ultimate in a drumming outro. One that I would always try to imitate and play in cover bands for years to come.  It wasn’t until later that I bought the fourth album that song appeared on. I bought Led Zeppelin II a few days before my high school graduation and thought that the solo piece Moby Dick was fantastic. The toms rang out as he played with his bare hands and then struck them with such a powerful force with sticks.  I was well on my way to becoming a fan. During my freshman year of college, I had been driving home on every other weekend when the marching band wasn’t required to play for the fall football home games.  One weekend, some friends decided to go across campus to a place called VTO(or Video Take Out) and rent some movies. In the 1984 MD article, they had mentioned the Led Zeppelin concert film The Song Remains the Same.  So, we rented a copy of the concert film. We rented some other stuff that night. But, this is about Bonzo. I knew a lot of the songs in the movie. Most of them were from the first 4 albums. There was also stuff from the album Houses of the Holy which was one of the albums I didn’t own….yet. It was late when we got around to watching TSRS.  But, we were young and we had to see how Bonzo performed that drum solo in Moby Dick. It truly was awesome to watch and I still like to try a little bare handed soloing myself. 
As the decades changed from the 80’s to the 90’s, I was still enraptured with everything Led Zeppelin.  In the early 90’s, My brother Mike and I were in Lincoln and I bought a Led Zeppelin/John Bonham shirt and he bought a Led Zeppelin/John Paul Jones t-shirt.  As I became more of a fan of Zeppelin, I had influenced my brother and he had become a fan too. By the end of the 90’s, I actually owned up to 3 shirts that were John “Bonzo” Bonham t-shirts.  I met a few drummers through the years that were envious of my shirt. I actually bought it from Joe Voda’s Drum City in Omaha Nebraska.
I am still a big fan of John Bonham and his playing. In recent interviews, Carmine Appice still tells the story of getting Bonzo his Ludwig endorsement.  His quote to Ludwig was “I think this band (Led Zeppelin) is going to be big”…Carmine then says “that’s the understatement of four decades”
In 2003, Jimmy Page and producer Kevin Shirley remastered old live bootleg tapes(both audio and video) and released two packages. One was How the West was Won on CD and a two DVD package simply titled Led Zeppelin.  I wrote a review on Amazon.com in which my basic wrap-up of the DVD is that…for years, Zeppelin fans have always wanted more…Well…This is MORE!  Even as I watched the DVD, there was something to just amazing to hear and see from the power that Bonzo had behind the kit. Even my ex-wife thought his playing was incredible and couldn’t believe he was doing all those things with only one bass drum. It’s an intangible thing that I can’t describe. It’s something that gets me revved up when I hear it and inspires me to play too.
At the time of these special releases, the surviving members did interviews with the mainstream press. I recall Jimmy Page telling the Today show that this was music made by four different individuals.  This band was made of four different guys with four distinct personalities and when John Bonham died, that didn’t want to continue without him.  That’s what many people in today’s music world don’t understand.  Some say “Why didn’t they just get another drummer?”  Because, they respected the memory of their friend first and didn’t want to do it without him.  Yes, they have reunited since then with different drummers including John’s son Jason.  Jason is a favorite drummer of mine. He’s a very solid drummer and he and I are very close in age.  But, he’s still a different person (and drummer) than his dad.  I completely respect the integrity of the band for not regrouping with another drummer(even if it is Jason Bonham). It’s not about just replacing a drummer.  Drummers (and musicians alike) are humans and our own individual talents are what we bring to the table and the collective of a band.
In 2007, a special issue by DRUM! magazine called Traps..the Art of Drumming did an issue on John Bonham. They talked about the drummer and his rise to fame and a special bit on his personal life as a man who struggled with being a world renowned drummer and suffered from a bit of stage fright. According to the article and his son Jason,

People assumed he was the man they saw onstage, but actually he was very shy and reserved, very introspective,
The John Bonham who people watched up on stage every night needed alcohol to have that kind of bravado.

Robert Plant says,

He was a big, warm softy who often got swamped by the absolute remoteness inside the goldfish bowl.  Often that was very sad for all of us, but I think he felt it most of all, which kind of accented his vulnerability. He loathed the whole rock and roll circus. The thing he loved most of all was just (to) get on those drums and show everybody how it should be done……
…..The essence of Bonham is what he didn’t play rather than what he did play – what he left out.”

This article was an insight that (for me) showed that he was a man..only a man. He played the drums, loved his friends and family. His friends and family remember him as a man. But, for John Bonham…his influence as a drummer will be known for a long time to come for future stick wielding rhythmatists and musicians alike.

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Derek & Dominos-Layla and other Assorted Love Songs

Love lost….Unattainable love….forbidden love…Heartbreak…obsession…infatuation….enamored…envy….pleas for understanding
……and expressing all this in a musical statement.
Never have I been so moved by an album and a musical cry for love in a musical statement. The story of a man longing for the wife of one his friends. He writes an unforgettable song to her. He eventually gets this woman of his dreams and eventually marries her.   How romantic right?  I once thought so.  Years pass into their marriage. He pushes her away, keeps her off his tours, cheats on her and eventually fathers a child with another woman.
Never have I had a stir of contradictory emotions about what seemed like a perfect musical statement.  I’m talking about Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominos(AKA Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, Bobby Whitlock, Jim Gordon and Carl Radle)

Through my early infatuation with Eddie Van Halen and his love of early Clapton(mostly Cream), I sought out everything Clapton.  I had read about the landmark recording that Eric did with Duane Allman on dual guitars. I had been working at Dustys and decided to make the purchase of this double LP.  I bought it and dubbed it to a cassette for portable listening purposes. It was a double album that times in at about 77 minutes long. At first, I only had heard the title song of Layla and that is the next to last track on the album. So, you either fast forward to that song or you just take in the whole album the way it was meant to be listened to.
Well, I had it available in a portable format. So, as I would walk to class or drive across town to campus, I would take all of this in. It didn’t take long that I was really into it. But, something happened as I listened to this.  The blues of the album was so strong that I felt myself relating to the music contained within.  When you get to songs called Have You Ever Loved a Woman? and Why Does Love have to Hurt So Bad?,  you start to think about past girlfriends and lovers. It had been a year or so after a relationship had ended with a past girlfriend. At first, I was glad she was out of my life. But, she had returned to the boyfriend she had dumped to be with me. In fact, they are still together and have a family of their own.  At the time, I was longing for that companionship and… well…. the intimacy.  Truthfully, she was probably my first love and now she wasn’t mine any more.  Did I still have feelings for her?  Probably?….definitely?…..ABSOLUTELY!  I still saw her around campus. Some of her friends were still telling me stories about her and him. I said I didn’t care. But, I did. But, then again, I had a tendency to get myself all wound up about it and proceed to have a little pity party for myself. 
I had seen the MTV Rockumentary on Eric Clapton and how he told the story of writing the Layla song and the entire album with Derek and the Dominos.  He had met Pattie Boyd Harrison who was the wife of Beatle George Harrison.  He fell crazy head over heels in love with her. He wrote her letters to let her know how he felt. She rebuffed him and his advances and he fell into the throes of heroin addiction. He recorded the album with the band from his days with Delaney and Bonnie and Friends. So, Eric was the only Englishman in a band of American musicians.  After this rejection from Pattie, he poured his heart into the music of this album. He eventually included slide guitarist Duane Allman to the recording sessions and musical magic happened.  All of this somehow resonated for me as I felt lonely and longed for the former girlfriend myself. I felt a kinship to Clapton. 
According to 1001 Albums:

Clapton’s masterstroke was recruiting Duane Allman as a guest player: Allman’s slide guitar on the title track screamed like a train coming off the rails over one of rock’s most memorable riffs

Even producer Tom Dowd’s quote from the book said:

I walked out of the studio and said ‘That’s the best goddamned record I’ve made in 10 years’

I would listen to the album from start to finish and every song had something that a lonely heartbroken man in his early 20’s could relate to. (Even men out of their 20’s can relate too)

I looked away and she ran away from me today
I’m such a lonely man
It came as no surprise to me
That she’d leave me in misery
It seemed like only yesterday
She made a vow that she’d never walk away
Bell Bottom BluesI don’t want to fade away
Give me one more day please
I don’t want to fade away
In your heart I long to stay

Have you ever loved a Woman may not have been written by Clapton but he sure made it his own. Especially when the lyrics even allude to be “in love” with another man’s wife.
Little Wing …for me was really cool as I discovered an alternate cover of the Hendrix masterpiece. I had played the Hendrix version over and over both as a drummer and a music lover.
Too Late:
It’s Too Late. She’s gone!
Once again, I thought this was a Clapton/Derek and the Dominos original. Truthfully, I just found out a few weeks ago that this was actually a lesser known Buddy Holly and the Crickets tune from their only album in 1957 called The “Chirping” Crickets. I was sampling through some Buddy Holly albums and played this song and I did that “I know this song only it’s performed by another artist…….who is that other artist?”
This whole album just seemed like a great study in the blues as it was steeped in heartbreak and loss. Keyboardist and Vocalist Bobby Whitlock compliments Clapton vocally while the rest of the band (drummer Jim Gordon and Bassist Carl Radle) locks in.
Sadly, Clapton fell into heroin addiction for years after this album. He suffered from the loss of his grandfather(who he considered as a father) and his friend Jimi Hendrix who passed away 8 days after they had cut the new version of Little Wing. Duane Allman died a year later in a motorcycle accident. Bassist Carl Radle actually toured with Clapton’s band from 1974-1978 and died in 1980 of a kidney infection. Drummer Jim Gordon has long been revered by studio drummers as a peer of Jim Keltner and Steve Gadd and a strong influence on Jeff Porcaro. He also played with artists as diverse as Joe Cocker, Steely Dan, Harry Nilsson, Frank Zappa, George Harrison, Rickie Lee Jones and Alice Cooper.  But, in 1983, Jim brutally murdered his mother and is currently serving a life sentence at a series of correction facilities in California. He’s been denied parole twice.
Of course, the showpiece and classic track on the album is the title song – Layla.

What do you do when you get lonely?
and No One’s waiting by your side
You’ve been running and hiding much too long
You Know it’s just your foolish pride

Clapton and Allman are interacting so well with each other. It’s the stuff legends are made of. It’s a shame there is no live recorded performance of the two legends playing this together.  But, a few years back, Clapton employed Derek Trucks on slide guitar in his touring band.  Derek is actually the nephew of Allman Brothers’ drummer Butch Trucks.  It was reported a few years back that (with Derek in the band) Clapton was playing the entire Layla album in concert.

The great story I like to tell about this album and the title track is that one summer morning during my college years, I was lounging around my apartment and made my way to the bathroom. I decided to cue up my cassette copy for some listening music during my shower. I cued up the title track that runs at 7:07.  I found that this song is the perfect shower song.  I told my ex-wife about that years later.  If I ever tell her I was listening to Layla , She then asks me if I was taking a shower. 
Clapton later recorded a different acoustic version of Layla on his Unplugged album.  He definitely puts a different spin to it. I also remember a Vh1 collaboration that Clapton did with Dr. John for a definite funky version of the same song. I still like that version as a different version. But, then again, I like New Orleans style rhythms too.
Last year, I read both Clapton’s biography and Pattie’s biography – Wonderful Tonight.  As I read Pattie’s book, I felt disillusioned by the romantic story that had followed this song over the years.  She eventually left George Harrison. She was ignored by Clapton and banned from joining him on the road as he cheated on her. He eventually fathered his son Conor with another woman and that ended their marriage.
I still enjoy the music. But, I have discovered that the hero worship that I bestow on these artists are nothing but hollow admiration for someone who’s struggling to make it through life like the rest of us.  But, I am forever thankful for the music that resonates in those times of something to lift you up.

 

 

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Jimi Hendrix - 40 years gone- September 18th 1970

This past week, many music websites and media outlets have been talking about that today is the 40th anniversary of the passing of Jimi Hendrix. Music Radar website has had memories and stories from Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Steve Vai about what Hendrix means to them.
A friend of mine emailed me a link to an NPR story on Jimi and asked if I was going to write anything today since it was the 40th Anniversary. I actually wrote something up back in July about Jimi Hendrix and the three "Experience" albums. So, I'm posting a link to that blog.
But, in memory of Jimi, I'd like to say that the music of Jimi Hendrix was an absolute game changer for me as a music fan and a drummer. I met a guitar player named Carl Hanson who was a Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix fanatic. He had asked me to play drums with him for a blues trio he was putting together called "Bluesberry Stew".  When we started jamming and we did lots of that, it was the first time that I found the almighty "groove" and my playing switched from the formal drum education of rudiments and time signatures into just plain feeling the music and applying what I knew into my instrument. I still get excited listening to Jimi. There was an energy to his playing.  He took the blues and rock and jazz and put it in a "stew" together and it came out as the most aurally stimulating music that musicians and music lovers still revere.
In the spring of 1992, I saw the band Arc Angels at the Ranch Bowl in Omaha. The band featured guitarists Doyle Bramhall II and Charlie Sexton along with Stevie Ray Vaughan's rhythm section of Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon.  That night, they played a song that wasn't on their album called Angel. It would be later that I realized it was a Jimi Hendrix song that had been released after his death. That song is a beautiful song and still a favorite of mine.

I was only 3 years old when Jimi died. So, I had no idea who he was until many years later. It's amusing that he only lived to the age of 27 and his music and the stories of Jimi have lived on for 40 years after his death.
Thank you Jimi for your music you gave us!

My music and memory blog from July 2010

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B.B. King - Live At The Regal

Live at the RegalAs I’m writing this, it is September 16th, 2010.  That means it’s Riley B. King’s 85th birthday! …or as most know him as B.B. KING!  By all accounts, he’s one of the only living true blue Delta bluesman left aside from maybe Buddy Guy! I’ve written about Muddy Waters. I’m gearing up to write up something on John Lee Hooker. So, tonight I’ll talk about the long lasting “King of the Blues” himself.

For many of the people of my peer group, most of us didn’t really get much exposure to BB King until the concert film U2’s Rattle and Hum.  He had obviously been around and made his mark on many guitar players and blues aficionados. I actually came across an old episode of Sanford and Son that he had guested on in the 70’s.  I’m sure as a kid I probably saw BB King on such appearances as Johnny Carson, Mike Douglas or Flip Wilson. He’s also listed as a guest performer on shows by the Captain & Tennille, Helen Reddy and Crystal Gayle too. So, he obviously did a round of the variety shows of the day too. 
As I write this, I realize I “discovered” a lot of different artists after I was in college. Of course, working for a record store had a big part in that too.  I remember after I had moved out of North Platte(moved to Hastings and spent at year in school at Kearney) an older friend of mine in North Platte asked me, “So, what kind of NEW or Old music have you discovered now that you’re in college?”  I shrugged it off and said, “nothing much that I already didn’t know about.”…. Looking back, like many of us do, I realize I didn’t know as much as I thought I did. I knew more than most. But, then again, most people weren’t die hard music junkies like myself.
When ZZ Top became mainstream big in the early to mid 80’s, I became a big fan. So big that I began to dig into the old catalog and the history of the band.  One of the things they stated was the band came up with the name “ZZ Top” to make it sound like an old blues singer’s name like BB King.  In fact, in the early days of booking the band, they were mistaken for an old blues artist as opposed to a rocking blues trio of white boys from Texas. …or at least I think that’s how the story went. Well, ZZ Top is another blog(I promise). So, back to B.B.
Obviously, I had spent a lot of times in record stores and the record departments of department stores growing up. As my interest in the blues grew in the late 80’s, the more I became more familiar with B.B. King.  I had been listening to those white interpreters of the blues like Zeppelin and Jeff Beck and Clapton.  So, I was familiar with B.B. too. Probably the most identifiable songs that B.B. has ever performed is The Thrill is Gone.  It’s been used in movies and TV. In fact, I remember seeing a performance of BB in the MIchelle Pfeiffer/Jeff Goldblum 1985 movie Into the Night.  In fact, that may have been the first time I actually “noticed” BB King in a greater sense.  I have actually seen footage of BB perform The Thrill is Gone (seperately) with Clapton, Gary Moore, and the Doobie Brothers’ Jeff (Skunk) Baxter.
But, I honestly think that BB’s collaboration with U2 on their song When Love Comes to Town catapulted his career another step up and put his name, image and music into the public consciousness.  Many people who were U2 fans admitted to liking the song and BB fans acknowledged this pairing as a great piece too.  When U2 released the album Rattle and Hum, I was working at Dustys and Forrest, Bob and myself were really into the album. Forrest was the resident U2 fanatic. The 3 of us thought this was an incredible album.  I honestly remember Dusty telling Forrest that it was OK but the BB King song was the best on the album.  In that moment, Forrest seemed a little hurt that Dusty didn’t like it as much as he did. But, he couldn’t deny how great the BB King duet was.
I added BB King to a list of artists that I wanted to hear more from. So, I bought an early “Best of “ LP and the Live at the Regal album.  At first, I would listen to it casually.  The album definitely captures the excitement that BB would exude to the audience. You can tell by this recording that the audience is fired up and BB has got them going. From the opening of Everyday I Have the Blues to Sweet Little Angel, He is an electrified bluesman worthy of his “royal” name.  His personality shines through as he relates to every man on How Blue can You Get?

If you know the lyrics and have seen this performed and happened to be a man…You can relate more than we want to admit.

I’ve been down hearted baby
ever since the day we met
I said I’ve been down hearted baby
ever since the day we met
our love is nothing but the blues
baby, how blue can you get?
You’re evil when I’m with you, baby
and you’re jealous when we’re apart
I said You’re evil when I’m with you, baby
and you’re jealous when we’re apart
how blue can you get baby
the answer is right here in my heart
I gave you a brand new Ford
But you said: I want a Cadillac
I bought you a ten dollar dinner
and you said: thanks for the snack
I let you live in my pent house
you said it just a shack
I gave seven children
and now you wanna give them back
I said I’ve been down hearted baby
ever since the day we met
our love is nothing but the blues
baby, how blue can you get?

In 1994, I saw BB King on a Blues package tour that featured a Muddy Waters Tribute band, Dr. John, Little Feat and wrapping up the night…BB King. It was truly a great show and I saw so many great musicians in one night.  I would really like to see BB another time before he dies.
In 2000, BB King paired up with probably his most devout follower- Eric Clapton on the album Riding with the King.  I have listened to this album many many times. It’s great to hear Eric and BB trade off licks. The clarity of the recordings when I first heard it was so good, it felt like they were picking away in my living room. Here’s the review I wrote on Amazon at the time! I was over-the-top excited about this album
For me, I love the deep baritone blues vocals of Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. But, the voice of BB King is the only original Delta bluesman (aside from maybe Buddy Guy) still carrying on the music of the blues. That’s not to say that the music of the blues is dead. But, BB King is definitely one of the forefathers that the blues disciples will always look up to.
It will definitely be a sad day when BB passes away. But, right now, Let us celebrate the 85 years of life and music he’s given us.

Chicago Transit Authority

How often do you (or someone else) ask "Do you know what time it is?" All the time! Right? How often does someone answer back "Does anybody really know what time it is......Does anybody care.....About Time?"
....If so, I can't imagine why!
I have testified for a long time that my earliest memories of music of my childhood were Johnny Cash on TV, my sisters listening to the Beatles, and the Jackson 5 on American Bandstand. But, recently I have added the memory of hearing Chicago playing on AM radio in the family station wagon coming home from grocery shopping.

In the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, the only album listed by the band Chicago is their debut Chicago Transit Authority. So, I will spend my time recollecting about a great band and their legacy that started with this album.
Chicago is a band I don't ever remember being introduced to. I just remember the music being around.
I’ve said earlier that I grew up with 3 older sisters listening to pop music around the house and on the radio. I don’t know which sister owned the Chicago albums. But, I do remember hearing it and then discovering it on my own.  Later, I discovered that my oldest sister Pam had a vinyl copy of the original Chicago Transit Authority.  I should probably ask her if that is indeed hers or if it belonged to my brother-in-law Steve.
In my teen years, I would go through a downstairs cupboard where my sisters would put their old albums for Mom to put on sale for her Garage Sales.  When I first started exploring new tastes for music(or old albums), I came across two albums in the “Garage Sale” cupboard.  The two albums were Chicago V and Chicago IX: Greatest Hits 69-74.  Coincidentally, Chicago (as a band) was enjoying a resurgence in popularity in the early 80’s. So, I was educating myself on an old band that was making a comeback.  By this time, original guitarist Terry Kath was gone from the band after an accidental suicide.  Bassist/vocalist Peter Cetera had slimmed down, cut his hair and beard and looked much different than in the liner notes of Chicago V and the accompanying band poster.  But, The band Chicago was always known as a “Faceless” band. People know the iconic logo of Chicago and maybe not the members of the band. But, in the MTV influenced image conscious era of the 80’s, Peter Cetera became the face for the band.
Back to the copy of Chicago V…This was really an interesting album to me. Of course, the hit that I knew off the album was Saturday in the Park.  I also would listen non-stop to the Chicago IX Greatest Hits album too. So, I became very familiar with the songs on there from 25 or 6 to 4 and Beginnings to Colour my World and Feeling Stronger Everyday. I was young enough when Chicago hit that I never understood the innovative nature of this band. It wasn't innovative to me. It was just there. I’ve watched the episode of VH1’s Behind the Music many times and the band has said that they wanted to be like the Beatles with a horn section. Looking back at the time of their early releases, They really were very inventive infusing horns and pop/rock melodies. Even in my hair-metal and hard rocking days of High School and College, I still paid attention to the music of Chicago.  Through 1984-1990, they were more power ballad oriented and seemed more appropriate for slow dancing at school dances. Even the NP Homecoming committee adopted a ballad title for our Fall Homecoming dance: “Winning: a Hard Habit to Break”.  We lost the game!
As I entered college and started discovering older music, I still seemed drawn to the music of “classic” Chicago.  It really is hard to resist the guitar riff to the original version of 25 or 6 to 4.  I remember putting on my Greatest Hits LP and realizing I knew (and Liked) every song on it. The respect of my music loving peers and partners at Dustys had grown to the point where what we liked or didn’t like just didn’t matter. We just respected what the other guy was listening to…even if we were getting tired of it.
After college, my sister-Pam got me to come out to Colorado for a weekend to see the reunited Doobie Brothers at Red Rocks. So, I started looking at these bands from that era a little more seriously. I eventually bought the Sony issued box set called Group Portrait.  It really concentrated on the early years and I was looking more for the hits. So, I got rid of it. Looking back, I would probably really enjoy it now.  In the mid 90’s, Both Chicago and the Doobie Brothers began to tour together. I thought that I really had a blast at the Doobies concert and I do like Chicago too. So, the band soon were on my “Bucket List” of bands I’d like to see. Then I began to catch about every GMA and Today show appearance the band would make. Because, they would usually play a classic tune. Then, I caught them on an episode of A&E’s Live By Request.  They played a bunch of songs from their catalog spanning from the late 60’s to the 90’s. You know what, I loved those songs and I still have that show on a VHS tape. Soon, I was a full blown fan. This was a truly great band that had gotten pigeon holed as a ballads band in the 80’s. But, I didn’t care.  They sounded great to me.
In the summer of 2002, I turned 35 years old….and so did the band Chicago(or so the press release read).  Rhino records released a double CD called The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning.  Disc one was the classic music of the 60’s and 70’s and the Disc two was some of the stuff from the late 70’s and the bulk of the hits from the 80’s and early 90’s. This was more of a Chicago sampler that I was looking for. I soon had it ripped to my computer at work and soon was listening to it daily. My boss was not a Chicago fan and I think would turn down my computer speakers when I would leave the room. The jazzy drumming of original drummer Danny Seraphine had me wrapped up. It was jazz and rock together. It had the swing of Buddy Rich and then pop songs that snared you like the Beatles.
Then, in the summer of 2008, it was announced that the band would be playing the Hall County fair in Grand Island. I was pumped and was able to get a couple of free tickets from the sales manager at my job at the TV Station.  I asked my ex-wife if she was interested in going to the concert with me. We’re actually very civil with each other and have a common love for music. But, she told me that she wasn’t a big fan of the band. So, I looked elsewhere. I contacted my college buddy Scott M who I had reconnected with shortly after my marriage had fallen apart. It was nice to have a friend in Scott who was now a Pastor.  But, Scott and I were music and classic rock fans.  So, Scott and I went to the concert and just soaked it all in.  I loved the concert and my respect for the band grew on so many levels and Scott and I walked away with a great memory for us to share as friends. I even got the setlist from the guys at the soundboard as a souvenir.
About this time, original drummer Danny Seraphine had returned to the music business after being fired by the band(or voted out of the band) in 1990.  He had put together a band called California Transit Authority or CTA.  The name of the band was in reference to the Chicago band’s original name-Chicago Transit Authority. The band had shortened the name because of legal matters from the city of Chicago.  At this time, Pepsi was including codes with their bottle caps to redeem for Amazon.com downloads. So, I drank lots of Pepsi and downloaded the CTA album – Full Circle. It probably cost me more to buy all those Pepsis that it would have to just pay for the album. But, I didn't care. The album contained new versions of old Chicago songs Introduction, South California Purples, Make Me Smile, Colour My World, I’m a Man and a live recording of 25 or 6 to 4. 

I had no recollection of hearing Introduction or South California Purples.  But, I was definitely becoming a big fan. That album is still one of my favorites.
When I started looking through the 1001 Albums book, I started looking at the songs on the album and then downloaded the album to realize that I already knew the majority of this album.  What a great debut this album is from the soulful guitar and vocals of Terry Kath to the biting horns of Lee Loughnane, Walt Parazaider and James Pankow. 
It starts with Introduction. Then, into an extended version of Does Anybody Really Know What Time it is? Track 3 is the great song by keyboardist Robert Lamm known as Beginnings.  Question 67 and 68 is next featuring the fantastic high tenor voice of Peter Cetera who many have forgotten was also a world class bassist too. Also featured is the original version of South California Purples and a cover of the Spencer Davis group’s I’m a Man written by Steve Winwood.
Definitely a great debut by a great band!  My observations of this band is that (in the beginning) the band would line up on stage together as if they were a cohesive team working together for the music and the brotherhood of the band.  The current lineup of the band only includes 3 original members…Keyboardist/vocalist Robert Lamm and the horn trio of Parazaider, Loughnane and Pankow.  Terry Kath on Guitar killed himself.  Peter Cetera struck out on a solo career after the success of Chicago 17 and drummer Danny Seraphine was voted out of the band in 1990.  The band is still great. But, I’m just a little nostalgic for the original lineup.
By the way, at my former job I used to ask my co-worker and college buddy Scott(aka Scooter) “Does anybody know what time it is?”  He would almost always respond singing “Does anybody really care…..(high falsetto) ABOUT TIME!” So, Yes..that actually happened and on a daily basis too.

Stevie Ray Vaughan - 20 years gone August 27, 1990

There are certain events in human history that people remember where they were when they heard the news of the event. Many people remember the events of November 22, 1963, December 8th, 1980, June 5th 1968. Monday August 27th 1990, was a sad day for me and many of my music loving friends that they will always remember. That was the day blues rock guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan died.

The dates listed above are dates where a prominent figure was killed by an assailant. Stevie wasn't assassinated. He didn't die of a drug overdose. Stevie was killed in a helicopter accident after playing a gig with Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, and Robert Cray in East Troy, Wisconsin. I had just seen Stevie Ray Vaughan and Joe Cocker at Fiddler's Green in Denver only a month and 11 days before. It was a great gig. Stevie played awesome and I was on a musical high.
I had been working at Dustys that summer and I was also doing an airshift at the college radio station on the Kearney State College (now UNK) campus. In fact, I had asked one of my fellow college DJs(Rufus) to cover my shift the day after the concert because I would be getting back late(or early the next morning).  Rufus(on air name) and I graduated from college on the same day in early August 1990. But, we were still committed to our college radio station. In fact, we both volunteered to man the board when classes resumed in late August. I believe that this was the Monday morning that classes had resumed. I was running the board when Rufus walked in and asked me if I had heard about Stevie dying. I believe I looked at him and probably said, "Shut the fuck up!....don't joke about stuff like that!" or something along those lines. He was quick to inform that he wasn't joking and he was serious. He either showed me the Associated Press wire or I went and found it myself. Soon my music and blues loving buddies were calling me to see if I had found out.
I was scheduled to work at Dustys at noon that day. I quickly grabbed all of my SRV LP's and went to work just wanting to the play music that had given me so much joy. But, unfortunately, Dusty had decided that day to finally get rid of the turntable that we had for in-store play. He had decided to get a check/credit card reader....and since we had closed out LPs about a year before there was no use for LP's any more in the store.  I hadn't made the change to CDs yet. So, what would I listen to all afternoon? Well, I think we had a copy of Stevie's final album In Step on CD for in-store play. My friend Matt had stopped in the store for a bit. He may have asked me if I had heard about SRV or something along those lines etc. He told me he would be on the college radio for the evening shift. So, I gave him my handful of Stevie Ray LPs to play for his evening air shift as a tribute show. I called Jayson at the Grand Island store to see how he was doing. Jayson and I had gone to Denver together to see Stevie and had bonded as friends after the event. As most of us who had grown up in the 80's would say...we were just "Bummed"!...
My friends Jake and Kevin invited me over to their place for a beer in honor of Stevie. Stevie had overcome drug and alcohol addiction a few years earlier. So, it did seem a little odd. But, Kevin is from Texas and he had brought back some Lone Star beer. So, it seemed okay with Texas beer. Later that night, we went to see the back to school concert with the band(our friends) the Untold. I think the band wanted (or was asked) to play a song in honor of Stevie. But, they really didn't know any of his songs. So, they may have played either Hendrix's Red House or Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb.  Once again, an odd choice for an artist who had overcome addiction.
For me, Stevie had brought me a lot of joy through the grooving blues from Texas. I had grown in my drumming by playing SRV and Jimi Hendrix with Carl Hanson only a couple years earlier (see my blog on Jimi Hendrix).  The fact that Stevie had been at the end of his rope through drugs and alcohol and had come back sober was an incredible accomplishment.  The real tragedy was that he only recorded one album clean and sober.(1989's In Step)  For me, I miss that there will never be any more "new" music from Stevie. If you've ever seen the Austin City Limits performances of SRV, It's obvious that with his sobriety, he gained a whole new confidence and performed so much better and I am sad that we won't see any more. Of course, there have been bluesy guitarist out of Texas that people have wanted to say "he's the next Stevie Ray Vaughan". But, he was one of a kind and they'll never be another.

About 11 years ago, I came across the "official Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble" website. One of the things that was listed on the website was "an open letter from Martha Vaughan". It was a note that Stevie's mom wrote about his struggles with addiction and how his Christian faith was instrumental in his recovery. I was moved by the note. There was an email address to email her. So, I did and she actually replied to it. I was down on myself at the time. She basically told me to keep faith. I sent her a thank you and wished her a Merry Christmas (1999) and she replied with

Dave,
Thank you for the beautiful card and the words! I really appreciate knowing that my letter touched your life! That is an answer to my prayers! And I know that Stevie is smiling that big smile knowing his life has touched another person, for I know that was his goal in life! Have a Happy and Prosperous and Blessed New Year and Millennium! Sincerely,

Martha Vaughan

Boston

Two of the blogs I've written in the past couple months have been about bands that are definite fan favorites but(in my non conformist nature) I refused to admit that I actually liked. I have written about the Stones and AC/DC. These are two bands that I really didn't get into on a regular basis. In the past year, I've come to appreciate (and love) another band. This band was named after an east coast city known for TV shows like Cheers and the home of prestigious colleges like Harvard and Yale and (for musicians) Berklee College of Music. The album and music of this band was the masterwork of a guitarist named Tom Scholz. Obviously, I'm talking the band Boston.

If you've ever been in a car with me and the radio is on, first that's rare because I hardly listen to classic rock radio. When I am listening to music, that's something I want to control. I want to listen to what I want to hear and I don't want the radio to "dictate" what I'll be listening to. Classic Rock radio is full of acts and artists that we can get tired of.  Some may get sick of Zeppelin or Aerosmith or Van Halen. There are two acts that I've grown sick of hearing on classic FM radio is Bob Seger and Boston. For years, I've heard bits and pieces of it on radio, from my peers and everywhere in between.
The self-titled album by the band Boston has long been a classic rock radio staple. I still remember some of my fellow classmates talking about this album way back in my sixth grade class in 1979. As I have researched the history of this band, the original album was released in August 1976.  This was an album that 11-12 year old boys knew about. It was something we could like that wasn't as "dangerous" looking to our parents like KISS was. Then, we grew into older kids and had new favorite bands. But, for many, Boston (especially the 1st album) was still a classic album.

I first discovered Dustys Records in my junior year of high school on a trip to Kearney State College for District Music contest,  I had no idea how much that store would mean to me and would definitely "loom large in my legend". Many weekends of my senior year were spent on the road driving to Hastings from North Platte to see my parents who had moved there early in the school year. I would always find a way to detour into Kearney and stop at Dustys on my drive to Hastings to buy a new music for the trip(usually on cassette). When I started my college years in the fall of 1985,  I was there constantly. I had auditioned for the KSC Jazz-Rock Ensemble and didn't make the group. But, many of my friends had. So, after Marching Band rehearsal, they would go to Jazz-Rock rehearsal and I would spend about an hour or so at Dustys and then back to campus to eat supper at the college cafeteria. In fact, any time I was bored (no matter the reason), I would probably find a reason to go to Dustys.
One night, I jokingly said to the guys on third floor Mantor Hall, "Hey, I'm heading down to Dustys! I feel like buying something. What should I get?"  One of the guys said, "Ted Nugent Double Live Gonzos" and another said "YOU GOTTA HAVE BOSTON!".........wait a minute.  I "gotta have" Boston?  I realize it's only an expression. But, I don't like people telling me I "gotta have" anything. Especially when it comes to the music I'm listening to.  From there, I was resistant to Boston and the greatness that my group of peers had bestowed on this album from 1976.

Looking back, I was somewhat interested in the band. In 1984, Between albums, guitarist Barry Goodreau formed a band called Orion the Hunter. The band actually featured future Boston vocalist Fran Cosmo on lead vocals and original vocalist Brad Delp on backing vocals.  Of course, the reason I bought it was because of the drummer who was longtime Heart drummer Michael DeRosier keeping time for this "just another band outta Boston".  This album is still a long time favorite and a guilty pleasure from the 80's. The production (especially the "drum sound") is very 80's sounding.

In the fall of 1986, there was a big hubbub about Boston's third album finally being released. It was called Third Stage.  It was released on MCA records where the first two had been on CBS Records. Looking back, the time between albums is not such a big deal. But, the band's second album Don't Look Back had been released in 1978.  That means it had been 8 years before the band had released any new music. Which means the grade school kids that loved Boston were now college aged kids and this legendary band was releasing new music. I was dating a girl at the time and she owned a cassette copy of that album. Let's just say we did a lot of making out to that album. I kept telling myself I wanted to own Third Stage. But, after awhile, the songs were constantly on the radio and my tastes in music were getting heavier and heavier. It just didn't seem like a must -have music purchase.  Also, the relationship with that girlfriend didn't last and the music was a reminder of a relationship gone by.

After college, I was working at the Dustys Records store in Grand Island NE. I had rented a small house on a local farmer's land south of town. So, I usually had about a 15 minute commute into GI. So, I would usually have some music to listen to. One night, as I drove home(listening to the radio), I caught a bit of a song that really sounded cool...very prog rock sounding. At first, I thought, "is this Rush...No wait...Yes?....I have all the Rush and a good portion of Yes albums...who is this!"  I talked to my girlfriend at the time and my coworker-Jayson and they said it was Boston! It was the intro part of Long Time known as Foreplay.  Sure enough, it's listed on the CD cover as Foreplay/Long Time.  I had heard Long Time. But, I don't think I had ever heard the amazing intro known as Foreplay in its entirety. So...the seeds of interest started. It was something I liked and might possibly get into. But, it still wasn't enough to get me to own the albums. My mindset at the time was "it's on classic rock radio in constant rotation. I can turn on the radio anytime and hear this stuff."

I kept that mentality for years. In the early/mid 90s, Vocalist Brad Delp and Barry Goodreau joined forces again in a band called RTZ. From all reports that I heard....well it sounds like Boston. Which, to me, was the ultimate in blandness. In June of 1994, I moved back to Kearney and was back working for Dusty again. One of the big new releases that came out that summer was the new Boston album called Walk On. I wasn't that interested. But there was definite customer interest and from all reports there was new singer that sounded a lot like Brad Delp. I have recently found out it was Fran Cosmo that I had enjoyed from Orion the Hunter. I still had resisted the original self-titled album. I was still cussing at classic rock radio because I wanted to anything but Boston. Then, in 2007, the news came that singer Brad Delp had died of a suicide. I was listening to a podcast by music insider Bob Lefsetz and he was talking about how he had tried resisting the music of Boston and the vocals of Brad Delp. Now it became obvious, I had to stop trying to "not" liking it and give it a listen. No doubt, this music had some great guitar licks, riffs and hooks. Also at this time, bands like Journey were trying to find singers to replace their former singers with vocalists that imitate their longtime singer for the "classic" or "legacy" sound. A news statement was released that vocalist Michael Sweet of the 80's Christian band Stryper had decided to become a member of Boston and sing the Brad Delp parts. They also found a vocalist via the internet and youtube singing songs a la Brad Delp. For years, I had heard the critics refer to Boston as a part of "corporate rock" along with bands like Styx, Foreigner, Reo Speedwagon and Journey like it was a bad thing. I actually spent my early teen years as a fan of most of these bands. Then I read an interview with mastermind Tom Scholz on classicrockrevisited.com. He was upset with the label of "corporate rock" that he had been burdened with. After all, he had basically produced the first album by himself in his basement. He had also sued CBS records between the second album and the Third Stage album. That seems like someone rising up AGAINST the corporation. Hmmmm....maybe it's time to have a listen.
About a year ago, my old friend Cory helped me secure a job with the Ashley Furniture homestore in Grand Island. Cory and I had met through a mutual friend named Marty G. Marty and I had been in a couple of bands that never made it past the garage jamming stage and a couple of local battle of the bands. In fact, Cory had actually sang for us in one of those bands. Cory had his laptop computer one day and he basically said if there were any albums on his laptop that I didn't have I could copy them to my MP3 player. Lo and behold, there was the first Boston album and I figured "might as well...I might actually like it". Well, I did and I really like it. I knew every song and they all sound great. The vocal harmonies are incredibly chilling(especially at the right volume levels) and Scholz's guitar layering is absolutely outstanding. I still find it hard to look at the artists on my mp3 player and think "I wanna hear Boston!" But, when I do, the smile on my face appears and I think what a music snob I was. As Trey from South Park says in the Rush documentary "then you're just being an old dickhead". Obviously, he's referring to Rush. But, I've learned that goes for a lot of bands that have been deemed unhip by critics and the "accepted" music press.
The thing that hit me like a ton of bricks is the opening lyric to More Than a Feeling that resonates with music fans of all ages:

I looked out this morning and the sun was gone

Turned on some music to start my day

I lost myself in a familiar song

I closed my eyes and I slipped away

It's more than a feeling

When I hear that old song they used to play

(More than a feeling)

I begin dreaming
(More than a feeling)

'Til I see Marianne walk away

I see my Marianne walkin' away

When I'm tired and thinking cold

I hide in my music, forget the day

And dream of a girl I used to know

I closed my eyes and she slipped away

She slipped away

For me, the simple thought of starting your day with music is part of the smile I start the day with. It's the frustration I spend trying to find something to lift me up. It's the constant battle to find the rhythm and groove that makes life(and traffic) move smoother, faster and makes the universe feel just right! It's the end of the day solution for decompression from a stressful day!....and I slipped away!!

1976