Listening habits and Favorites of 2015

Well, look at the calendar! It's January 2016. I haven't posted a new blog entry since March of 2015 and before that it was my memories of Joe Cocker when he passed in December 2014.  In mid-December, I began seeing a few favorites of 2015. My old employer and friend Dusty emailed me a list of his favorites for the year.  I put together a playlist of some of my favorites to listen to. I'm not sure how many I came up with.
So, let's take a look at some of my favorites for the year 2015(in no particular order).
Most of the albums I will list for this year are going to be bands or musicians that have been around for years. They are still big in my world and my musical spectrum.

Winery Dogs - Hot Streak

I wrote about these guys back in 2013. The "supergroup" featuring drummer Mike Portnoy, bassist Billy Sheehan and guitarist/vocalist Richie Kotzen. These are musicians that are continually working and they are masters of their individual instruments. But, they put together great songs to back up their musical prowess. There are moments of "look at all we can do on our instruments" to those moments of "We dare you to sing along with these songs."

Toto - XIV

The musicians of the band Toto have always been the creme of studio musicians since the band first formed back in the late 70's. For myself and drummers like me, this was the band that gave us the talent of drummer Jeff Porcaro who passed away in 1992 and was replaced by super-drummer Simon Phillips from 1992-2008. In fact, I thought that Toto was over with. Jeff Porcaro was gone. His brother Mike had been playing bass in the band for years and passed away last year after suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease. But, the band recorded this album with original bassist David Hungate, brother Steve Porcaro and David Paich on keyboards and synth along with vocalist Joseph Williams who sang with the band back in the 80's along with mainstay guitarist extraordinaire Steve "Luke" Lukather and session drummer Keith Carlock. The band is saying that this album felt like a natural follow-up to their 1982 album Toto IV.  This was an album that I kept coming back to for musicality and the overwhelming groove and production. It always hit me just right. This past summer they were on tour with Prog giants Yes (minus late bassist Chris Squire) and actually played here in the southwest in El Paso, TX. I missed the concert. I'm sorry I did.

Vanilla Fudge - Spirit of '67

If you've known me the last 30 years and know my drumming favorites, you know that drummer Carmine Appice is one of my all-time favorites. The first album I ever bought at Dustys Records back in the Spring of 1984 was The Best of Vanilla Fudge.  The band had been reuniting in various forms over the years. One of the musical trademarks of Vanilla Fudge is taking hits of the day and giving it a symphonic, psychedelic and bombastic makeover. They debuted back in the year 1967 with new creative covers of the Supremes' You Keep Me Hangin' On and the Beatles' Eleanor Rigby (among others). In 2015, they made a whole album of new cover songs that were hits the year they debuted(1967)  The album begins with someone introducing them as "These rad dudes from the 60's they're called Vanilla Fudge. They take these arrangements from songs that were big hits and they kind of put their symphonic, psychedelic rock trip to them. This is what's kind of coming." This intro sets up the whole album as they re-interpret songs like Heard it Through the Grapevine, I Can See For Miles, and I'm a Believer.  This album was one I would put on the headphones, listen and play drums along to. For me, listening to Carmine lay down a groove is like hanging out with an old friend.

 Whitesnake -  The Purple Album

As a longtime Deep Purple and Whitesnake fan(all lineups), I enjoyed this album. Whitesnake leader David Coverdale decided for 2015 to pay tribute to the band that originally put him in the spotlight. The story was that he had talked briefly to original Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore after the passing of keyboard master Jon Lord. Apparently, there was talk of working together again. But, it never came to fruition. So, Coverdale and his band Whitesnake decided to do an album of Deep Purple tunes from Coverdale's days in the band and the albums Burn, Stormbringer and Come Taste the Band.  I usually shy away from albums full of covers when you can go to the original albums and listen to those. Part of the excitement I experienced from this album was watching a YouTube web series of Coverdale's "Purple" Memories. The difference with Whitesnake and Deep Purple is that Whitesnake has a dual guitarist where Purple has just one. Both Purple and Whitesnake have featured drummer Ian Paice. This new album features drummer Tommy Aldridge on the album. Aldridge has been a favorite of mine for years. So, to hear him playing these classic Purple tunes is really cool.

Zac Brown Band - Jekyll and Hyde

Once again this year, the Zac Brown Band has made my list for favorites. Their new album Jekyll and Hyde is just a great mix of different genres. From Gospel, Rock, Dance and (of course) Country, this album hits everything. So, as I've said before, it's hard to lump this album and this band into a category of just "Country". If this band had come up in the 70's, they may have been lumped into the genre of Southern Rock. I often look to this album for drumming inspiration from the band's drummer Chris "Sweets" Fryar. He even had a cover feature story this past year in DRUM! magazine. I quickly sent a letter into the magazine and was happy to see it published.

One of the songs that served as inspiration (both musically and spiritually) was the song Remedy.

Sammy Hagar and the Circle - At Your Service

As I wrote in my Favorites of 2013, I talked about Sammy Hagar and his ...and Friends album. Sammy has really seemed like an old friend. I would love to sit down and share a drink and talk with the guy. This past year, he toured with his new band known as "The Circle" which features his longtime Van Halen buddy Michael Anthony on bass, his longtime guitarist Vic Johnson and drummer Jason Bonham. Let's just say I was happy with this lineup. I continue to be a huge fan of Jason Bonham and his drumming. He's only a year older than me and he continues to inspire me behind the drumkit. To me, he seemed like the perfect addition to Sammy's solo band. Since Sammy's former drummers Denny Carmassi from Montrose and Alex Van Halen were obviously influenced by Jason's dad John "Bonzo" Bonham, it's only natural that the legacy of the Bonham name continue playing with a solid act like Sammy Hagar with 40 years of recorded history. This live album tackles songs from Sammy's years in Montrose, his solo career, Van Halen and they even cover some classic Led Zeppelin tracks too. So, the setlist was exactly what I wanted to hear with a band that continues a sound that isn't heard much anymore. In mid-December, Sammy announced that a DVD would be released of this recording. Add that to my wishlist.

Jeff Lynne's ELO - Alone in the Universe

During last year's Grammy Awards broadcast, Ed Sheeran appeared with one of my childhood favorite bands The Electric Light Orchestra AKA ELO. The Grammy crowd was on their feet dancing and even Paul McCartney was singing along to Evil Woman.  So, one of the music stories I was following this last year was the return and release of Jeff Lynne's ELO and the album Alone in the Universe. There was a pre-release album listening available a week before its release. I listened and anticipated it. I took it in. It didn't light me on fire like Fire on High or any other of the band's legacy recordings. But, some of the nostalgia associated with this band gave me cause to give the album repeated spins. Even the lead single brought back memories as Jeff sang about When I Was a Boy.

Vintage Trouble - 1 Hopeful Rd. 

I'm not sure where I heard of this band Vintage Trouble. Perhaps it was website specializing in Classic Rock. Maybe it was cover feature on the band's drummer in DRUM! magazine again. The album is soulful, rocking, funky and everything that tickles my musical funny bone. Great album from great band that's worth the listen.

These were the albums that hit me big time for the year of 2015. Another few albums that I've had some interest and have given them a couple listens.
David Gilmour - Rattle That Lock

Another solo outing from Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour. I liked this album. But, I felt the need to go back, enjoy and listen to some of his past solo albums. So, I really haven't given Rattle That Lock a good listen yet.

Dead Daisies - Revolucion

A Classic Rock band comprised of former members of bands like Guns N' Roses, Whitesnake and Motley Crue. Bassist Marco Mendoza(Whitesnake) Dizzy Reed(GN'R) and onetime Crue vocalist John Corabi made up this rocking band that toured the world opening up for such bands as Whitesnake and KISS. Drummer Brian Tichy played drums live with the band too. The one thing that sparked my interest was a cover of Cactus cover of Willie Dixon's Evil.

My biggest favorites of the year were the deluxe reissues of Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti, Presence, In Through the Out Door, and Coda.  With added sound fidelity and sound levels on this batch, it was a pleasure to dial up these songs on my MP3 player and play along on the drums. 

Musically, this year has been a busy one. I am currently playing with 2 gigging bands. One is a Blues/Rock combo known as The Morgan Brothers Band and the other is a local Country artist Vince Alten. Vince has recorded a few of his original songs in Nashville and the band he put together here in New Mexico is a really top-notch group of musicians. I'll even put up a link to the band playing a recent anniversary event at the local music store. We're planning for bigger and better things for both bands in 2016.

Happy New Year and here's to new music in 2016.

Kansas–Leftoverture and other Miracles out of Nowhere

I’ve been looking over my last bit of blog entries and I haven’t written a new one in the last 2 months.  What albums are sparking memories in me? Why isn’t anything jumping out at me? What happened to this passion I had for writing these posts? Is this what it’s like to have “writer’s block”?  Then, I saw a trailer for an upcoming documentary for a band that has been a longtime favorite of mine and this band originated from (and is named after) a state that neighbored my own home state. I’m talking about the band known as Kansas. The album I’ll be talking about is the 1976 album Leftoverture.

First of all, I want to let you know that in this blog entry I’m going to touch on things of my own spiritual life and my Christian beliefs. If that turns you off, I’m sorry. It’s a part of who I am. Where did I first hear this band? When was I first exposed to this music? For this, I go back to my childhood at about the age of 9 or 10 years old. I remember one night going shopping with my sisters. That night, I believe we went to KMart. This was odd because my dad was the manager of a locally owned department store. So, we very rarely went to other stores to buy things like this. I think my sister Connie bought the album Point of Know Return which was the album after the Leftoverture.  I’m guessing she was a fan of the song Dust in the Wind.

Through my older sisters, I remember hearing Carry On My Wayward Son on FM radio in the those years around 1976-1977.  But, what still sticks out in my mind was the TV movie trailer for the 1977 Henry Winkler film Heroes.  In my own personal history, I was a big movie watcher at this point.  My friend Brad and I would go to the movies practically every Saturday.  Of course, Henry Winkler was known to many TV audiences as “The Fonz” on the ABC Sitcom Happy Days.   But, he was an actor that I admired at that point in my young life.  I remember seeing the ad and hearing the music of Kansas and Carry On My Wayward Son in that trailer.  Before I wrote this blog, I looked online and tried to see if I could find that trailer. I had read that there was some legal issues with use of the song. But, I found the trailer. I’m posting it as part of this blog. But, it’s hard to say how long it will be up on YouTube and available to see.

1977 movie Heroes. Starring Henry Winkler, Sally Field and Harrison Ford

I’m not sure if there was ever an album copy of Leftoverture in the house growing up. I do know that the copy of Point of Know Return got played by my sister Connie and eventually made it to the cupboard of albums that were to go into Mom’s Garage Sales. I grabbed quite a few of the different albums from that group in the cupboard.  So, I added this little seed to my growing collection of music.

Fast forward to my teen years and my burgeoning obsession with music and drums. I had bought myself a set of drums and I was exploring all kinds of styles of music and drummers.  I wanted to play drums but I didn’t want my parents to worry about what kind of stuff I was listening to. During our summer family vacation in 1982, I came across an article about the band Kansas and guitarist Kerry Livgren in a Contemporary Christian Music magazine. The story was basically how Kerry Livgren had accepted Jesus as his savior and wanted his music to be a reflection of that.  The result was the 1982 album Vinyl Confessions.  I bought this album on cassette and it was one of a few cassettes that was with me constantly in the early age of walkmans and personal cassette players.  What I hadn’t realized was that original vocalist Steve Walsh had left the band and that another singer by the name of John Elefante was singing lead. At the time, I didn’t know the members of this band. I knew that Phil Ehart was the drummer from ads I had seen of him for Ludwig drums (or was it Slingerland?) Although the Vinyl Confessions album was not the multi-platinum seller like their albums of the 70’s, I would remain a fan.  But, after I bought the Vinyl Confessions album, I was eager to explore other albums of the band. At one point, I bought a “2-in-1” cassette that featured both the Leftoverture album and the Point of Know Return album.

Now I had another Kansas album(actually 2) in my collection. So, I would often put on the headphones and listen this cassette as well. In fact, during my senior year of high school, I was living with my older sister, her husband and my (under a year old) niece. I was in the downstairs and they were upstairs.  As most know with infants, they don’t sleep full nights their first year of life. So, during those nights where my niece was screaming and crying (and not sleeping), I would throw on the headphones and listen to something to try and lull myself back to sleep. At the time, I felt that the music of Kansas was less heavy than the music of Van Halen and Def Leppard that was my usual diet of music at the time. So, I would usually listen to Leftoverture start off with Carry On Wayward Son and then I would drift off into sleep during the rest of the album.

Carry On Live (2009)

The album proceeds into song like The Wall and What’s on My Mind and then into the fourth song that has (over the years) become a favorite of mine. The song is Miracles Out of Nowhere.

Another live performance from 2009.

Through listening to this album on my headphones and sleeping while it played, I’m guessing it became engrained in my subconscious. So, when I would revisit this album in my college years and later in my adult life, it would feel like an old friend I had known once before.

The band would regroup with vocalist Steve Walsh in 1986 with the album Power. But, this time around bassist Dave Hope and Kerry Livgren were not included in the lineup. Instead, Dixie Dregs guitarist Steve Morse recorded the next album Power.  I remember an acquaintance commenting how this album was better and was relieved that Kansas had gotten away from their “Christian” themed stuff.  I myself felt somewhat saddened that Livgren wasn’t in the band anymore.

In the mid to late 80’s, it became common for record companies and artists to release box sets of collected works. In the early 90’s, Sony/Columbia released a Kansas Box set of sorts. It was only 2 discs and I was wanting more. I remember reading that this compilation had been put together by a list of songs that had been voted on by die-hard fans of the band. There wasn’t a lot from the Livgren “born again” years and I felt disappointed. But, I bought it anyway. I still came back to the Leftoverture album again and again.

In the age of social media and Facebook statuses, I took it upon myself to educate my friends and family on “This Day in Music” and other pop culture and I would usually post a video by a band or artist on their respective birthdays. I would look up on various “on this day” websites and Wikipedia to find out the birthdates on different days.  I’d look for different musician’s names that I was familiar with. When I came across Kerry Livgren’s birthday, I did a search for Kansas and Kerry Livgren.  One day, I came across a video of Kerry giving a testimony of his faith and his Christian journey.  I was touched by this story and it stuck with me.

As the months would pass, I’d continue to post videos by some of my favorite  bands. When it would come to post a video for Kansas, I would try and post a live video and maybe make it a song that was a little lesser known. I wanted to post something other than Carry on My Wayward Son  and Dust in the Wind. The other song that I kept coming back to was Miracles Out of Nowhere.

In the Fall of 2012, my son’s mother told me that she and her husband were planning on moving to the El Paso and Southern New Mexico area from our home state of Nebraska. They had also wanted me to move and continue to be in the life of our (then 8 year old) son. This was a no-brainer.  I just wanted to be wherever my son was. To see him and spend time with him on a regular basis and be in his life was of the utmost importance to me. She was lucky and applied for work and found a job within a few weeks time. They had moved by Thanksgiving of 2012 and I was left to find work and move on my own.  I would apply for so many jobs online and hoping to find work. If I received any calls, they would usually end up with the employer asking me, “When can you be down here?” and my answer would usually be “Whenever you hire me.”  I became distraught, frustrated and saddened by the miles and time away from my son. I missed him so bad. I was crying my eyes out on my way to work, before I went to bed and whenever the thought of my son came into my head(which was often).  I’m told that the Bible says that when we “cry out” that God hears us. As I said, I was doing a lot of crying. So, God must have heard me.

Through the centuries, we have heard stories of people saying that God talked to them. But, it’s usually in a story from the Bible. If someone in modern times says that God talked to them, we think they are crazy.  But, if we quiet our mind and listen, God will speak to us in a way that we understand.  Why am I talking about my son and my faith in a blog about the music of  Kansas? Because on  February 4th, 2013, I believe that God spoke to me and comforted me through a couple of Kansas lyrics.

I was working on a gear forge press at a factory in Kearney Nebraska. I had taken this job because I needed work and was hoping to move back to Kearney where I had lived before my divorce.  In this factory, the workers are required to wear protective ear plugs because the machines are that loud and are damaging to the ears without. I was working 2nd shift(PM) and running a press one night. My thoughts drifted to thoughts of my son so far away and how I wanted to be near him (yet again).  Then, the lyrics for Kansas’ Miracles Out of Nowhere started repeating in my ears.

Here I am just waiting for a sign
Asking questions, learning all the time
It's always here, it's always there
It's just love, and miracles out of nowhere
It's so simple right before your eyes
If you'll look through this disguise
It's always here, it's always there
It's just love and miracles out of nowhere

and then the final chorus changes a bit.

Here I am, I'm sure to see a sign
All my life I knew that it was mine
It's always here, it's always there
It's just love and miracles out of nowhere

I stood at that press and the lyrics continued to ring through my ears and my brain. I thought to myself, “Why is this song going through my head? Why is the LYRICS to this song going through my head? I’m a drummer. I listen to the drums and the instruments. I hardly ever pay attention to the lyrics…especially for this band.”

Then, the lyrics for Carry On My Wayward Son started going in my head.

Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know
On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune, but I hear the voices say
Carry on my wayward son,
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more

I continued to work on the press and began to dissect the lyrics for this one. “On a Stormy sea of moving emotion. Tossed about I’m like a ship on the ocean”  That is how I felt. I was nothing but a “Stormy sea of moving emotion” and I thought about the story where Christ calmed the waters as his disciples were at sea.  I hear the voices(God) say….Carry on my Wayward Son…lay your weary head to rest and don’t you cry no more.  I thought to myself, looked up and wondered, “Did God just talk to me through a Kansas lyric?” and “What will people think if I tell them that God spoke to me in a classic rock lyric?” So, I wrote it down in a journal (with many ideas for this blog) and sat on it. I talked to my friend Pastor Scott Murrish about this. I reasoned that God knows that I’m such a music fanatic and I’m so passionate about it that he would pick a way to communicate with me in a way that I would understand. I asked Scott if he believed that this was possible and he wholeheartedly believed….and I wasn’t crazy.

This past week, I started a study in “Practicing Listening to God” at the church where I play for drums for the Praise band.  I shared my story of the Kansas songs and lyrics and the Pastor asked if I wanted to share this story with the church this Sunday.  I was more than happy to share in my own way. So, Today, I shared this story with the church and the response I got was not ‘You’re crazy for thinking God talked to you through a song.” It was a positive and an outpouring of love and support.  Some of my fellow musicians told me of songs that had touched them as well in a spiritual way. I even had a member of the church offer to make some copies of some of Kerry Livgren’s solo work too. I find it funny and amusing that for months I had wanted to share this story of Faith with the church. I felt called to share. I just didn’t know how I would go about doing it. 

Kansas will occasionally reunite with Kerry Livgren for anniversary concerts and various projects. The band will release their documentary Miracles Out of Nowhere on a DVD/CD combo on March 23rd. I have pre-ordered my copy and I eagerly await. I think about how this band has affected my life with the memories and through the music on a level more than just a band I love. But, music that affected my life and my faith as well.

The Song that started it for me!

Joe Cocker - May 20, 1944 - December 22, 2014

Today I found out of the passing of a true Rock n’ Roll original – Mr. Joe Cocker! As I found out the news on my lunch break, I began to reflect on those Joe Cocker moments of my life and how I became familiar with this unmistakable and individual talent. 

How did I “discover” Joe Cocker? I can’t remember how I first figured out who he was. It was a series of events. After seeing footage of Joe Cocker in the 60’s and 70’s, I think I would be safe to say that my older sisters were probably not fans of Joe in those years. I remember hearing bits of You Are So Beautiful as a kid. But, I think I heard of Joe Cocker when John Belushi did his stunning impression of Joe Cocker and his rendition of the Beatles’ A Little Help From My Friends on the early years of Saturday Night Live.  I don’t think it was until Joe Cocker appeared with Jennifer Warnes on the Grammy Awards in 1983 to perform their duet Up Where We Belong that I finally figured out who he was.

I remember initially thinking that this guy with the weird movements acts a lot like the caricature that John Belushi had done. As I soon learned, this WAS the guy that Belushi was imitating/paying tribute to. 

It wasn’t until I entered college and my good friend Shaun insisted we watch the movie version of the Woodstock Music Festival during the PBS Labor Day pledge weekend. In those days, the TV’s with Cable were only in the main lounge and the separate floors. So, we sat in the main lounge of Mantor Hall and watched as these classic artists ran through the sets. When Joe Cocker came on, I listened to these lyrics of a song I had known for years known as the Beatles’ With a Little Help From My Friends.   The pattern and melody of the song was different and yet fresh.  I finally made the connection to John Belushi and Joe Cocker.  At first, I didn’t understand why he acted like he did when he sang.  As the 80’s progressed and my love of music grew, I didn’t care how he acted onstage. He sounded fantastic. His definitive raspy belting voice was hard to deny. I began to love and respect the rocky raspiness of Joe Cocker.  Even my love of Led Zeppelin crossed paths with Joe Cocker as Jimmy Page played guitar on the studio version of With a Little Help From My Friends.

In 1986, the Mickey Rourke/Kim Basinger movie 9 1/2 Weeks used Joe’s version of the Randy Newman song You Can Leave Your Hat On.  This song was predominantly featured in the movie and actually was in some heavy rotation on MTV.  Years later, my friends in the Kearney cover band Fear of Flying added You Can Leave Your Hat On  to their set. One night as the band played, I sat in front of the stage and began miming my own version of the John Belushi /Joe Cocker impression. It got big laughs. At one gig, I asked the keyboard player Jon Coleman if they could play it. He said they would play it if I got up and sang it in my Joe Cocker impression.  I agreed even if I couldn’t remember all the words.  But, until the band played the song, I sat in the back of the bar with his (then) wife and his in-laws and they kept buying me drinks. So, I eventually performed it drunkenly with all the spastic Joe Cocker mannerism as well. Also, this gig happened to be in my childhood hometown of North Platte Nebraska. My childhood friend Mick played drums and his parents came to see him play. But, when I got up and did my Joe Cocker impression and rendition of You Can Leave Your Hat On, Mick’s parents didn’t know whether I they should applaud me or feel bad because I was moving in a spastic Joe Cocker moves. Mick’s brother Dan had to explain that I was doing an impression of Joe Cocker and that I really didn’t sing like that.

In the summer of 1990, my fellow Dustys Records employee Jayson Obrecht called me to ask if I was interested in tickets to see Stevie Ray Vaughan at Fiddler’s Green in Denver with Joe Cocker in mid July. As a huge SRV fan, I obviously said yes.  Joe Cocker was incredible to hear. Many of the songs were so well played. His band was fantastic including the outrageous bassist TM Stevens. At one point, Joe made the comment to the audience that he broken a couple ribs recently before the concert and to excuse him if he winced a bit.  I remember thinking “I don’t think anyone is going to notice” just because of his onstage movements.

When I finally bought my own stereo system along with a CD player, one of my earliest CD purchases was Joe Cocker Live and With a Little Help From My Friends.  It wouldn’t be long until these songs would become some all-time favorites.

One of those songs that became a favorite would be the song Feelin’ Alright written by Dave Mason. The live album starts out with that song I love the percussion on it with congas laying down a funky groove and soulfulness of the song.

Win

Of course, this song is classic for a historic pairing of both Joe Cocker and his imitator John Belushi on Saturday Night Live. Apparently, the story was that John Belushi had the wardrobe and costume department make an identical outfit for John to the one that Joe Cocker would wear on the show. I still love this clip.

As I heard the news of Joe Cocker’s passing and his battle with lung cancer, I thought about the history of Rock and Soul singers and belters.  In today’s world of American Idol and The Voice, Joe Cocker probably would never make it in today’s world of popular music where an individual vocal style isn’t celebrated as opposed to how a singer appears and how they are made up for the audience.

Joe Cocker, you were one of a kind and you’ll be missed!

Bruce Springsteen–Born to Run (and in the U.S.A.)

As I write this, Today (September 23rd) is Bruce Springsteen’s birthday. As long as I’ve written entries for my blog, I’ve toyed with idea of writing one for Springsteen.  But, I never felt like I was a huge fan or expert or authority of any kind to write about Bruce Springsteen AKA “The Boss”.  In this blog, I will recall how I became familiar with the music of Springsteen, my favorite album of his and the friends that I associate when I hear his music.

I guess I first came to know of Bruce Springsteen around 1978-79 when ABC-TV ran a show called “The History of Rock and Roll” on a Friday night. I remember spending the night at a friend’s house as we watched this. Everyone was included from Elvis, Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry in the 50’s to the Beatles, the Stones and Jimi Hendrix in the 60’s. When it came to highlight groups of the 70’s, I don’t remember a lot on that broadcast except for this guy that had been heralded as the NEW voice of Rock and Roll. They played a very long clip of this guy known as Bruce Springsteen. This became a name that I continued to hear on and off for years to come. In 1982, Springsteen released his album named after my home state Nebraska. It sparked my interest a little. But, at the time, my interests in rock were of a heavier nature and with drummers that were a little more bombastic. 
Then, in 1984, Bruce Springsteen was just plain hard to ignore.  I remember walking into the record store that I spent most of my high school years at one afternoon. It was about a week or so before Born in the USA had been released. The owner of the record store quickly asked me, “Are you gonna get the new Springsteen album next week?”  As I said, I was a big fan of heavier guitar and loud bombastic drums like Van Halen. Springsteen was just something that didn’t interest me.  The extent of my Springsteen knowledge included a brief bit that Robin Williams did in his act as “Elmer Fudd sings Bruce Springsteen”. In the days of MTV, soon Bruce was ubiquitous and EVERYWHERE!  The video for Dancing in the Dark was in heavy rotation with a young Courtney Cox dancing around with New Jersey’s new favorite son. 

…kinda silly…but I love how Max’s snare drum sounds.

This video just seemed very silly with Bruce dancing around. I thought he was some kind of big rock guy and this just seemed really pop oriented. I wouldn’t say I had any dislike for him. I just didn’t understand all the hoopla. It seemed like every MTV news update had something about Bruce on tour, Bruce’s new video etc etc. But, I do remember when MTV debuted the video for Bruce’s homage to the Glory Days,  I remember loving so much about the song.

My fellow Dustys’ employees and I used to talk about what artists would we talk about when we talk about the music of the 80’s. We joked about people like Michael Jackson, Madonna and Prince. Then, someone would say, “What about Springsteen?”
One of my early college roommates was a vocal music major and just didn’t get the whole attraction of Springsteen because he obviously didn’t have any formal vocal training. When Bruce’s live box set was released in 1986, The record stores were absolutely filled with this collection. My roommate used to joke that he couldn’t believe so many people would want this. But, as I would make my weekly and daily trips to Dustys, I found something intangible that I liked about this music. I couldn’t put my finger on it. But, something about the sound of Bruce and the E Street band was getting to me.  In 1986-87, Joan Jett recorded the song Light of Day for the movie of the same name featuring herself and Michael J. Fox. I loved that song and I soon found out that the song was written by Bruce Springsteen. My fellow employees at Dustys were obvious fans of the Boss. So, I began to hear more and more and my respect for Bruce as a songwriter grew as well.

Joan Jett singing Springsteen with Michael J Fox

Joan Jett and Bruce Springsteen doing a duet

Forrest and I used to stand at the counter of Dustys and page through the Rolling Stone Record Guide. One of the Springsteen albums that was highlighted is the 1975 album Born to Run.  At this point, I started raiding Dustys’ used LP rack for some gems that sparked my interest. I found that Born to Run and The River were the two albums that sparked my listening palette.  I would drop the needle on those albums and soon I would take away so much from the E Street band’s collective sound. Bruce received a lot of praise as a live performer and “The Big Man” Clarence Clemons became a celebrity and personality in his own right.
In the Fall of 1989, I met my lifelong friend Matt Krogmeier who is a music lover and is a HUGE Springsteen fan. Matt and I would hang out at the college radio station. We would sit in the production studios and the on-air studios talking music and he would pull out Springsteen tracks and play them for me and he would play air guitar and air drums and his love and energy for everything Springsteen was palpable. Years later, I would ask Matt to make his own “Greatest Hits” CD of Springsteen for me. He eventually sent me 3 discs.

For me, Born to Run is Springsteen’s masterpiece.  It opens with Thunder Road and then into Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, Night, Backstreets, Jungleland and (of course) the title track Born to Run.  The band is strong from Clarence’s saxophone, the Mighty Max Weinberg on drums, Garry Talent on bass, Roy Bittan on piano and Danny Federici on organ.  The complete band makes a fantastic sound together that is a unique signature sound.  The great thing about this band is they really sound like no other.   I know it should also be mentioned about Little Steven Van Zandt and his backing vocals.
After I’m finished being amazed by the aural magnitude of these musicians, I dig into the lyrical content. Bruce weaves stories about growing up as a teen in the Rock and Roll America of the 50’s and 60’s.  Springsteen has said that he wanted this album to sound like “Roy Orbison singing Bob Dylan and produced by Phil Spector”
Lyrics that transport you as the story tells:

“The screen door slams, Mary's dress waves
Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays
Roy Orbison singing for the lonely
Hey that's me and I want you only
Don't turn me home again
I just can't face myself alone againDon't run back inside, darling you know just what I'm here for
So you're scared and you're thinking that maybe we ain't that young anymore
Show a little faith, there's magic in the night
You ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright
Oh and that's alright with me”

and of course the title track:

“In the day we sweat it out on the streets of a runaway American dream
At night we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines
Sprung from cages on Highway 9, chrome-wheeled, fuel-injected, and stepping out over the line
Whoah baby, this town rips the bones from your back, it's a death trap
It's a suicide rap, we gotta get out while we're young
'Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run”

Lastly, is the iconic images of this album cover of Bruce and Clarence. Clarence has his sax and Bruce has that iconic Fender Telecaster. He
Years later, another college friend – Mark Pracht and I were on a road trip together and we had put in a copy of Springsteen’s Greatest Hits album. We had lengthy conversations about the album, the song selections and various other things.  Mark and I had become great friends and our musical tastes had grown. When I met Mark, he was big into the Rolling Stones, Beatles and the Who. I moved away and suddenly Mark was into Guns N’ Roses and Metallica. Then, of course it grew into many different artists. Mark eventually moved to Omaha in the late 90’s and then eventually moved to Chicago.  Mark and I would have a few phone conversations through the years. Mark would tell me about some music he’d been writing and how inspired he had been from the work of Bruce Springsteen.  Now, Mark was a huge fan of Springsteen and had seen him numerous times in a live setting.  He even did a series of album reviews on Springsteen’s albums on his own blog.
Now, When I listen to a Springsteen album, I usually think of both Mark and Matt. I think of my brethren from my days at Dustys Records.  Somehow, we connect this music of our youth and our life with the music that touched the people in our lives and hence we are connected to these people through our memories. Even now, as I listen to Born to Run, I’m reminded of so many people that have experienced similar stories and can relate to the lyrics “getting out while we’re young” and “tramps like us”
In the end, it’s about the vision, the drive and the songwriting of a man born on September 23, 1949 named Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOSS!

Deep Purple–Perfect Strangers

Released on October 29th 1984, the Deep Purple album Perfect Strangers was a reunion of the classic Deep Purple lineup featuring Ian Gillan on vocals, Roger Glover on bass, and the foundation of Jon Lord on keyboards, Ritchie Blackmore on guitar and Ian Paice on drums.  This was a big music event for me and what would become one of my favorite bands of all time.  It’s hard to believe that it all happened 30 years ago.

It was the Fall of 1984, I had started my senior of high school and my parents and my brother had moved from our longtime hometown of North Platte Nebraska to Hastings Nebraska which was about 150 miles away(or about a 3 hour drive). I elected to stay in North Platte and finish my high school years. My older sister, her husband and my barely year old niece moved into the upstairs and I stayed in my teenage man-cave downstairs.  I wasn’t a rebellious teenage kid. I had a part-time job bagging and stocking groceries in a local grocery store. I was active in various music groups in school and church activities as well.  If I had any vices, it was spending time and money at local record stores.  I was spending my part-time income on records, tapes and rock magazines like Hit Parader and Circus magazine. Another big event in the Fall of 1984 was that the town of North Platte received MTV on their basic cable service. As I write this now, it doesn’t seem like such a big deal. But, it really was. I had read about this channel that played 24 hours of music videos. Up to that point, if you wanted to see music videos, you had to wait for NBC’s Friday Night Videos or TBS’s Night Tracks. The problem was that this channel that I wanted to see wasn’t available in my house because my parents hadn’t subscribed to cable TV.  They had subscribed in their new home in Hastings. But, I was in North Platte.  So, I spent a lot of time at my friend Kent’s house. I remember hanging out at his house and seeing such videos like Hall & Oates’ You’re Out of Touch, Sammy Hagar’s I Can’t Drive 55 and one that seemed to have a lot of buzz about it was Deep Purple’s Perfect Strangers. The reason for the buzz behind this video was because of the reunion of the classic Mark II lineup.

The video had me mesmerized. From the opening shot of the clouds and various aerial shots and then these cars pulling up a country drive followed by quick glimpses of the 5 smiling members starting with Ritchie, John, Ian Gillan, Ian Paice and then Roger Glover. Jon Lord’s Hammond organ swirls as the song progresses as Ian Paice’s drums pulsate. The band is seen playing, recording, socializing, drinking and even playing football(That’s British for soccer). Looking back, this was my introduction to who the band was and the various members. I was hooked.
I didn’t know what to expect from this album. The extent of my Deep Purple knowledge was limited to Smoke on the Water and the album Machine Head. If you read my blog on that album, you know that it had a big impact on me. But, I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t have any preconceived notions about how this album should sound.  I don’t remember if I bought the album the day it was released or soon thereafter. I did buy my first copy on cassette(I’ve owned a few different copies of it)  I do remember buying it on a Tuesday and the next day, my friend Aaron Koch and I made a trip to Kearney for the High School Senior visitation day for (then known as) Kearney State College. I had decided in that Spring before that I wanted to attend college there because of the music department at Kearney and I had discovered the great Dustys Records that Spring as well. Aaron and I jumped in his Trans Am or Camaro that Wednesday morning and I asked him to put in the Perfect Strangers cassette. So, we headed down the interstate 80 to Kearney listening to this album. I don’t think this album had the kind of impact on Aaron as it did on me. This album(for me) became THE album of my senior year.
The album was a soundtrack of sorts for that year. I loved the video for Perfect Strangers. I didn’t really know what a “groove” was or what it meant to play a “groove” at the time. But, Ian Paice’s drumming reeled me in and somehow I felt it with his playing. The second single or video that was released was for track 1 on the album known as Knocking at Your Back Door. At the time, I didn’t get the meaning of the song lyrics until some time later. I do remember the video being some kind of artsy Sci-Fi setting where “Civilization is discovered years after the Holocaust”. In the video, we see a bunch helmeted individuals coming across a bunch of musical instruments buried as well as recording equipment and video monitors that eventually get turned on and we finally see concert footage of the band playing the song. It’s really kind of a silly little video. But, this was the early years of 80’s music video. So, the “storyline” of the video is a little hokey. Perhaps it’s a good thing they didn’t follow the suggestive lyrics instead. Deep Purple were a band that had succeeded in the 70’s without the benefit of this marketing tool known as music video.

There was so much great music on the album for me. Of course, there are detractors that say “Oh this wasn’t the Deep Purple of 70’s.” No, it was the Deep Purple of the 80’s. They had all gone on to different projects. Ian Gillan formed his own solo band simply known as Gillan and eventually replaced Ronnie James Dio in Black Sabbath after a drunken agreement with Sabbath’s Tony Iommi.  Ritchie Blackmore had formed his band Rainbow that introduced Ronnie James Dio, Graham Bonnet and Joe Lynn Turner as lead singers for that band. Bassist Roger Glover had returned to playing with Blackmore in  Rainbow during the early 80’s. Paice and Lord went on to play with David Coverdale in Whitesnake in the late 70’s. Paice even played with guitar great Gary Moore in his time between Whitesnake and the reformed Purple. So, they had taken all the experiences that had and brought them to the table in that 1984 reunion.
My love for record stores was in full swing at this time. I think I made a point to stop at the local record on my way to work (almost) every day. I would pick up my rock magazines and I remember seeing a layout in Circus magazine where a bunch of current rock drummers talked about their drumming influences and a couple of those drummers (like Alex Van Halen and Bobby Blotzer of Ratt) listed Ian Paice as a drumming influence. This only validated that this was a drummer I wanted to know more of and (of course) I did.
This cassette always seemed to be with me. I loved it from point A to point B. In fact, in my Senior English class we were assigned to write a bit of poetry and I went to the lyrics for the song Wasted Sunsets. The opening line says:

The day is gone when the angels come to stay

By the Winter of 85, I knew that this school year was almost over and the “Day would be gone” and I wouldn’t see many of these people ever again. So, I took that first line and used it as an inspiration. I may have used “The Day is gone” as the opening line of the poem. In fact, this may be confession that I used the song lyric as an inspiration. I didn’t see a lot of those people ever again because I loaded up my car and moved the day after graduation that day in late May of 1985.  I still remember some of those last days between Senior classes and the Graduation ceremony hanging out with friends and I had turned on a couple of friends to the sounds of Deep Purple. Years later, when I would fill out one of those silly profiles on a classmates website or another social website, the question would be asked “What group/album reminds you of your Senior year of High School?” This is the first one that always comes to mind and yet it never appears on the list of multiple choices.

Somewhere down the line, I ended up obtaining a promo poster for Perfect Strangers.  I proudly hung it in my new room at the new house in Hastings and I have a few pictures of myself sitting behind my drums and my DP poster displayed proudly behind me.  I would follow Deep Purple and even years later I bought a Video cassette of the videos from this era including songs from their 1987 album House of Blue Light.  One of the videos that was included on this tape was a live version of the song Nobody’s Home.  I’m not sure if I had ever seen the video broadcast on MTV back in the day.

But, it would prompt me to pull out this album once again and relive so many of the memories I’ve written about in this blog. I eventually bought an LP and 2 CD copies of this album.  The album was remastered in the late 90’s and the sound quality was much better than the CD quality I had purchased in the early 90’s. I dial up this album very often on my MP3 player and throw some earphones on and take it all in again and again as the memories come flooding back.
In the Fall of 2013, Eagle Rock video released Deep Purple – Perfect Strangers Live on DVD with a live show from that tour in Sydney Australia. I quickly found the DVD and the video quality is excellent and the playing is top notch as well.  This was the era of Deep Purple that snagged me up and reeled me in. As the lyrics of the title track say:

Can you remember …Remember my name
As I flow through your life
A thousand oceans I have flown
And cold spirits of ice
All my life
I AM THE ECHO OF YOUR PAST

So, it’s been 30 years since I first experienced this album. It has flown through my life and and it is definitely the echo of my past. But, the echoes and memories are ones that will stay with me forever in the music.

The Knack–Get the Knack …and then some!

Have you ever had an album that you listened to in your younger days and then fast forward another 10-12 years and you haven’t listened to it at all in those in-between years. At the time of it’s release, it was a platinum seller. Then, it was soon panned by critics.  Years later, this album comes across your path and you hesitantly put it on and you remember every note, every guitar lick and every lyric of the entire album. The album then haunts you for years. You’re not sure whether or not you want to add it to your current catalog of music because of the criticism. This happened to me with the album from 1979 known as Get the Knack~

In the late 70’s, I was a huge Star Wars fan and not a big music fan. My sisters obviously were fans of the disco craze of the 70’s. So, I knew a few artists from their collections and that era. But, I still had my finger on pop culture through the teen magazines my sister bought along with scholastic books pre-teen magazines like Dynamite and Bananas magazines.

My friends and I would frequent the Mall and various stores in our pre-teen life.  I remember one of my friends buying a 45 single of the Chipmunks singing Crazy Little Thing Called Love from Queen. Sometime after that I bought an 8-track version of an album called Chipmunk Punk. 

Now this contained the high sped up vocals of Alvin, Simon and Theodore singing hits like Refugee from Tom Petty, Call Me from Blondie, and My Sharona from the Knack. Strange enough, I came to know a lot of these songs rather well. In fact, 3 of the songs on this novelty record were to be on the album that would be engrained in my subconscious for years. Along with The Knack’s My Sharona, this also featured versions of the Knack’s songs Frustrated and Good Girls Don’t

At the time, my sister Kathy began signing up for the various “record clubs” you would find in various magazines.  So, I think somehow she ended up with two copies(on 8-track) of Get the Knack.  From there, I was given a copy or a took that extra copy. I don’t remember exactly. All I remember is that I was soon listening to every song on this 8-track.  I would clean my room every Saturday morning listening to this and the songs and lyrics would become solidified in my mind and memories.

 

Of course, the song that most people knew and still consider as their “One Hit Wonder” is My Sharona.  The song was ubiquitous and it was a big hit. With most big hits, it’s only a matter of time before the general public who bought and played and requested that song decide they don’t like it and begin to turn on it.  I didn’t follow the trends then(and I don’t really now either). But, The Knack had signed to Capitol records. The Beatles US distribution was through Capitol as well. If you look at the back cover of the Get the Knack album, the band is positioned and dressed in a simple black & white attire much like those lovable moptops from Liverpool.  The album sold millions and soon they became compared to the Beatles as well. It doesn’t take long before someone is bound to become offended by the comparison and the backlash begins.  Suddenly, from what I was reading was that it didn’t take long and the Knack wasn’t as popular as they once were and it wasn’t considered cool to like the Knack.

Fast forward to the late 80’s (1988-89). I’m working at Dustys Records and a customer comes in to sell a used CD copy of Get the Knack.  I begin thinking, “I haven’t heard this in ages.”  I slip the CD into the store stereo system and all the words and songs and rhythms come flooding back. I may have even started singing along to this as well.  I think both Bob and Forrest (fellow misfit employees) look at me and they make a sarcastic comment along the lines of “So, I take it you may have heard this before.”  At that point, I couldn’t deny this music from my past. I didn’t buy the CD at that point. But, it was surely on my mind to own it again someday. 

In the early 90’s, The Knack attempted to make a comeback with the album Serious Fun on Charisma records which was a subsidiary of a EMI/Capitol. While I worked at the Dustys store in Grand Island Nebraska, We either received a promo copy of the CD or we opened for in-store play. I thought it was filled with some great power-pop songs.  I actually talked to drummer Billy Ward that played on the album this past Fall(2013) at a drum clinic in San Antonio. Apparently, the album was set to be a big comeback. But, Charisma records ended up having some financial issues and all promotional support for the band suddenly dried up and the comeback never happened.

During my time living in Omaha from 1991-1994, I would make a habit of visiting the Dirt Cheap Recycled Sounds store in the Old Market section of town.  Around this time, the Ben Stiller movie Reality Bites featured a scene where Winona Ryder’s character and friends are dancing around a convenience store to the song My Sharona.  I had picked up a copy of the Dixie Dregs live reunion album Bring ‘Em Back Alive and on their song Take it Off The Top, the band incorporates a medley of different classic rock songs like Mississippi Queen, Freebird, and My Sharona.   One of my trips to Dirt Cheap, I found a used copy of Get the Knack on an LP. I snatched it up and threw it on the turntable and dropped the needle on it. Soon thereafter, I was singing along and playing air drums to this album once again. 

From that point on, I wouldn’t deny my love for this album. By the mid to late 90’s, it was cool to like the Knack. My friends in the cover band Fear of Flying from Central Nebraska used to play My Sharona as part of their set. It was always a big hit with the crowds that came out to see them. In the age of the internet, I like to look up some of the acts that I had grown up listening to. I don’t remember how I found it. But, I found a link for the original Knack drummer Bruce Gary.  It suddenly occurred that a lot of what he played was very influential in just great rock and power pop drumming….and it was fun to play too. In the age of social media, I love to share videos of the music and artists I seem to be tuned into on any given day. A few years back, I found some videos of the Knack playing some of the lesser known songs on the album.  In the comments for the video I had posted, I had a couple of comments from some of my fellow drummer friends that had fond memories of some great playing on that debut album.  I always had loved the album and the band in my own way. So, it was refreshing to have that confirmation from my friends and fellow musicians. 

Drummer Bruce Gary was the original with the band. He had played with Jack Bruce and Albert Collins. So, he had a lot of high profile gigs under his belt before he became the drummer of the Knack.  Drummer Pat Torpey of Mr. Big had actually been a member of the Knack just before he got the gig playing with Mr Big.  Former Zappa drummer Terry Bozzio even cut an album with the Knack called ZOOM.  Of course, I mentioned Billy Ward earlier.  His career has spanned work with Joan Osborne, BB King and Ace Frehley.  So, the drumming pedigree featured in this band has had some impressive credits as well.  But, to go back to that original drumming that Bruce Gary laid down is signature. After all, he came up with that drum intro that even non-drummers can identify and play as well. 

I love the rapid fire drum fills and the guitar riffs of Berton Averre as well. From songs like She’s So Selfish, Siamese Twins(the Monkey and Me) to Good Girls Don’t and Heartbeat, this whole album just rocks me and transports to a time when I started to discover popular music and the drums as well. 

Unfortunately, drummer Bruce Gary passed away in 2006 after suffering from non-Hodkin lymphoma and leader and songwriter Doug Fieger battled cancer and passed away in 2010.  Thus ends any chance of a classic Knack reunion.A couple months ago, I came across a documentary on the band narrated by Runaways singer Cherie Curie. This documentary talked about the album, the shot to stardom and the celebrity endorsements.  Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones praised Get the Knack  and claims it’s a favorite album of his. Before the band was signed to Capitol records, they were joined onstage at a club in Los Angeles by “The Boss” himself Bruce Springsteen.  They even joke about how there weren’t any record labels interested in them until news got out that Springsteen had jammed with them onstage. Then suddenly, they all wanted to sign them.

So, they may have shot to the top of the charts. They may be known as a “one-hit wonder”. But, that is for the people look for the hits and don’t see the whole album as a musical statement. They may have fell from the top of music charts and popular tastes as fast as they arrived. All I know is that I loved this album when I was 12 years old and now I still love and will proudly admit it now that I’m …..uhhhhhhh not 12 years old any more and I still love it.