Conference napalm::guitar

I've seen some pretty amazing things on Austin City Limits.  The show is on
educational television (ch 6 or 8 in Colorado Springs) on sunday
afternoons.  One day, I came home and turned on the set and caught the last
half of Eric Johnson. .. Boy I wish I had a tape of that show!.. what I saw
was definiately hot!  (I've since seen him live 3 times, and he is
absolutely on my favorite players list).

Anyway the show is worth checking out.  The styles of the artists featured
varies greatly -- it's interesting to hear music from other areas,
especially when its performed well.

steve

    
    The guy on SNL is named G.L. Smith. He used to play with Hall and
    Oates. He was in GP maybe a year ago.
    
    -Dave

    By any chance do you mean G.E.Smith?  Wasn't (isn't) he married
    to Gilda Radner?

    yeah, G.E. it is. I knew it was G. something! 

    I've always enjoyed the SNL house bands, old (led by Paul Shaefer
    -- sp?) and new.  My only gripe is that I never see them featured
    for more than just a few seconds before commercial breaks.  Maybe
    I just don't watch often enough to catch it, but do they ever give
    that band more time?
    
    >  RE: .1 (I think)
    
    Hear, hear.  Austin City Limits is a great show.  It's one of the
    few that really let you see the people *play*, as opposed to getting
    artsy-fartsy with the video.  As I may have mentioned elsewhere
    in notes, I'm not a particularly big fan of country music (although
    ACL covers more than just country).  But I was fortunate enough to
    catch one of their broadcasts in time to tape it, and wound up with
    one of my favorite acoustic guitar showcases.  To wit, a country-jazz
    special with a bunch of hot players, some of whom surprised me.
    
    Don't ever assume that country crooners can't play the guitar. This
    program featured a guy named Freddy Powers, who was new to me but
    obviously had been around a while.  Although he did some nice picking
    of his own (on an Ovation deep-bowl type), he let his guests do most of
    the hot stuff.  His guests included Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard,
    and a few others whose names escape me at the moment.  For which I am
    ashamed, because they all did some picking that knocks me out every
    time I listen to it -- or try to play along! They do upbeat jazz
    standards such as "Lady Be Good" and some truly nice tunes by various
    country artists.  Besides trading off guitar solos, they have mandolin
    and cornet -- that's right, cornet.  A young kid with great chops and
    feel for dixie-style blues.  And, of course, they all looked as though
    they were just having a great time, which I suspect they were. 
    
    Another nice ACL program featured Bonnie Raitt a couple of years ago,
    with Kim Wilson (of the Fabulous Thunderbirds) as guest. Maybe that was
    more than a couple of years ago, as it was before the T'birds hit it
    big on the pop charts. 
                           
    In this area (Mass./NH), Austin City Limits usually turns up on
    PBS, but (I think) occasionally on cable.  So look for it on Boston's
    Channel 2 or New Hampshire's Channel 11.
    
    Channel 11 has also been known to carry Rockschool (or is it Rock
    School?).  Hosted by Herbie Hancock, each episode in the series focuses
    on a particular style, such as blues or funk.  There's a "house" band
    consisting of guitar, bass, and drums.  Each band member introduces and
    demonstrates a given technique on his/her instrument individually, and
    all join in to put it in context. 
                     
    It's a nice idea, although most of what I've seen so far is fairly
    basic.  Still, it's interesting to watch.  For example, the guitar
    player (Deirdre something-or-other-with-a-British-accent) shows how
    she plays funky rhythm licks in various positions on the guitar
    neck (no, no -- quit chuckling -- I mean *fret* positions).  Then
    they all play it, and you can see how her improvs play off of, and are
    supported by, the other instruments.  And to think I spent all that
    time figuring it out for myself. 
    
    The bass player (somebody-else-with-a-British-accent [sorry I don't
    remember their names]), shows how the funk-slap style is done by
    hammering the knuckle of the thumb against the fingerboard, and then
    the pulling the alternate string with a finger.  Or something like
    that.
    
    But they also feature interviews, though brief, with well known
    musicians.  For example, in the funk entry, they had Mr. Funk himself,
    Larry Graham, bass player for Sly & the Family Stone.  For that matter,
    they also featured Sly's guitarist (whose name escapes me at the moment
    also -- somebody hit me, quick), and each gave an account of his
    stylistic approach.
    
    I haven't seen this program in the listings for some time now, but
    I read somewhere that they're coming out with a bunch of new ones.
    I believe it's also available on videocassette. 
                        
    >  RE: .-1
    >                                  -< GL = GE ? >-
    >
    >  By any chance do you mean G.E.Smith?  Wasn't (isn't) he married
    >  to Gilda Radner?
       
    Dunno about GL versus GE, but he's not married to Gilda Radner.
    At least, not unless he has some kind of arrangement involving Gene
    Wilder. 
    
    sf
    
                                                         
    

	Isn't Gilda Radner is married to Gene Wilder?

	Isn't one of the guitarists of the SNL band Buster Poindexter? 
	Is Smith the bearded guy? Buster did some great duets with 
	what's her face from the Alien(s) movies on the last SNL season.

	Just one of the papparazzi,
	Sudhir

    	I just read in the notes file that Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir,
    of the Grateful Dead, will be appearing on the David Letterman
    show tomorow night, September 17. They will be in New York City
    playing at Madison Square Garden, where they will recieve an
    award for selling 1/4 million tickets at the garden.
    
    	I saw them on the David Letterman show about 5 years ago,
    and they played a couple tunes off the album "For The Faithful",
    formally entitled "Reckoning" under another record label. I have
    to admit, Bob was about as spaced out that night as I've ever
    seen anyone in my life. His attention span seemed to be fixed on
    some cutie in the front row, or some other distraction. Jerry
    ended up doing most of the talking. As spaced out as they are, 
    they fit right in with the David Letterman show which is always
    pretty off the wall anyways.
    
    	While I am on the subject of the Grateful Dead, I'm curious
    as to why this band (which is one of the largest box office
    attractions of all time) has been virtually ignored in this
    notesfile. I realize there is a Grateful Dead notes file out
    there, but most of the people that write/read that file are
    non musicians. I recently wrote a note into that file asking
    for info on the equipment that the Dead are currently using,
    and was surprised at how few replies I got. I know the occult
    nature of this band either turns people on or off totally,
    depending on where your head is at, but aren't there other
    guitar players out there in noteland that appreciate the Dead ?
    People are always putting down the sugar coated, top 40 acts
    like you see on MTV and the like. The Dead can never be accused 
    of that. In all their years of dedicated playing, they have never
    had a top 40 hit. The closest they have ever come was with the
    tune Truckin'. I have been tempted to start a note exclusively
    dealing with the Dead as they fit into the wonderful world of
    guitar playing, but have hesitated because I don't want to be
    labeled as a "Deadhead". The Dead have also inspired a number of
    offshoot bands, including The New Riders of the Purple Sage, 
    Kingfish, The Jerry Garcia Band, Bobby & the Midnights, the
    Rhythm Aces, and Jerry has worked with a host of noteables
    including Merle Saunders, John Kahn, and recently Bob Dylan.
    
    	So what does anyone think ? Does the Dead deserve to have 
    their own guitar notes file ? Don't all write in at once. 
    
    	Sorry for getting off the subject which I believe was
    "Guitars on TV". I should know, I started this file !!
    
    
    						Mark Jacques
    						LM02/Marlboro, Ma.
     
              
    	
    

    
    Re: .7
    
    Actually, their latest single "Touch of Grey" went top 40; didn't
    it go top 10????
    
    Not that that makes them a Top 40 group by any stretch of 
    the imagination....
    
    Personally, their music is too "neutral"....it doesn't get me excited
    but it doesn't make me want to vomit...I can't think of another act
    that affects me that way. 
    
    BTW, what was your equipment question?  

    Ah, nuts...don't have much time at the moment to do this, but just
    can't let this one go by without some kind of reply.
    
    I noticed that, too.  I did come across a reply in some note, to which
    I then replied, having to do with the tuning (or lack thereof) of the
    Dead's guitars when they perform.  I'll reiterate the part of my erply
    (that I recall offhand) that pertains here: I'm into a wide variety of
    music and therefore do not consider myself a "Deadhead" either, but I
    gotta admit I've always dug the Dead, so to speak. Largely for the
    kinds of reasons stated in .7, but also because I just love the feel of
    their stuff.  They combine a lot of influences from folk to country to
    blues to R&B and even jazz. 
    
    Which brings this back into context of the note: Jerry talked about
    those influences and the roots/origins of the band in a recent network
    TV interview.  BTW, .7, thanx for the info on tomorrow's Letterman
    appearance.  I'll try to tape it, though my machine's kinda screwed up
    at the moment.  As spaced out as they have been known to be, Garcia
    turned out to be a great interviewee!  A lot of energy, believe it or
    not, and he's quite articulate and funny -- a strong sense of
    self-deprecating humor, and his insights reflect intelligence.  Don't
    know if I can say the same for Weir, much as I like his music.  Wonder
    what they'd be like if they hadn't fried so many brain cells. 
    
    You're right -- it's time for a Dreadful Great note in this conference.
    You've reminded me of a few points right off the bat, on which I'd like
    to hear other guitarists' opinions.  For example, I wonder how many
    have simply dismissed them as an "occult" druggie band.  As far
    as the occult part goes, I think it's a misperception.  Although
    the very name of the band belies that argument, not to mention the
    infamous cartoons that have accompanied their work, their songs
    really do *not* glorify the occult or death.  Quite the opposite, I
    think, as is evidenced by the recent release "I Will Get By, I Will
    Survive."  An appropriate message to accompany Jerry's return from
    near-death.
    
    Gotta run now, but will see you in the Dead note!
    
    steve
    

    re TV...  If anyone gets BRAVO on their cable system 
    (it's on Citizen's Cable here in Colo Springs) there's
    lots of great concerts and features ( it runs pretty
    heavily to jazz and avant-garde stuff but there's a 
    variety of other stuff as well ).  Wes Montgomery, Stanley
    Jordan, Earl Klugh, etc have been on as well as the great
    One Night with Blue Note series.
    
    Also, consider this another vote for ACL.  Once each year
    they have a "Songwriter's" special.  This year they had a
    female songwriter's special with Emmylou Harris, Rosanne
    Cash, Gail Davies, and Lacy J Dalton.  Good tunes, tasty
    playing and a good time.
    
    re Garcia and the Dead.... Pick up a CD or record called
    Old and In the Way.  You'll find Jerry playing along with
    Peter Rowan, and a bunch of other bluegrass all-stars!
    Amazing stuff and a completely different facet of this guy's
    talent.
    
    Regards
    Doug Dickerson
    

    I think Garcia was trained as a classical guitarist in his youth
    and migrated to whatever you call his style now. Not really rock,
    and not really folk or anything else. Kind of a melting pot.(:^})
    
    Caught the first couple of tunes of the Chet Atkins
    special on HBO, pretty good but I had to go out. I'll have to get to 
    the rest later on.
    
    I tuned into soem cable channel where there was a guy giving lessons
    on how to play slide guitar! I couldn't believe it. Guitar lessons
    on the tube! Unfortunatly I did not note the channel and cannot
    find it in the cable guide. Anyone know what I was watching??
    
    Dave.

    Re. .10, I've already got Old and in the way in my collection.
    Great Album. My favorite version of Wild Horses is on this album.
    This album also served as a first taste of David Grisman, Peter
    Rowan, and Vasar Clements (spelling?) for me. I later went on to
    check out some of David Grisman's other albums and found them all
    excellant.
    
    	As far as Jerry Garcia's background goes, I believe he started
    out as a bluegrass 5 string banjo player. The Dead originally was
    a Jub band that went electric around the time of "the summer of
    love". Being from San Fransisco put them in the perfect place to
    become the ultimate hippies !!!!
                                    
    	I look forward to seeing them on David Letterman tonight. Can't
    help but wonder what songs, if any, they will play, as the band
    is currently doing strictly electric material as apposed to
    Acoustic stuff.
    
    							Mark J.
    
    

    
    I may be wrong but... Sat SNL has Valerie Bertinelli as the host
    with Rober Cray as musical guest.  If this is a repeat...
    
    Midway thru the show she says "I'd like to bring out a friend of
    mine" and sure enough Eddie V jams with the SNL band.
    
    Incredible!  Really a good, cooking tune.  
    Tom
    

    
    I am entering this reply for the second time, as the first time the
    network partner exited on me. Is that anything like coitus interuptous?
    
    Anyways, last night I decided to stay up and watch David Letterman
    despite the fact that I had to come to work this morning. Believe
    me, I paying for it right now. Anyways I caught the tail end of
    Johnny Carson, and to my surprise, his last guest was non other
    than B.B. King. BB played two tunes in his usual style. I can't
    recall the names of either, however the second tune was a neat
    little shuffle, in which he mostly sang, with the band shuffling
    along behind him, followed by his characteristic simple but effec-
    tive soloing. My only complaint was the fact that he ended both
    tunes with the same, shakely executed, solo line, in which he seemed
    to get his fingers caught under the strings. Nonetheless, B.B. is,
    and always will be a legend. If I can play guitar as well as him
    when I'm hitting 60 I will consider myself blessed. 
    
    	The David Letterman show opened with Dave and Jerry Garcia
    playing scrabble. Dave was complaining to Jerry because he put
    down the word truck, and Jerry changed it to Truckin'. Dave insisted
    that Truckin was not a ligitamate word. Jerry said they could always
    play monopoly, as long as he could be the top hat. Dave said it
    was his show and he was the top hat. At this point Jerry asked if
    he was supposed to yell "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night".
    Dave said no, that's a different show.
    
    	The show continued with Jerry jamming with Paul Shaeffer & Co.
    (Spelling?). Dave brought out his first guest, Sugar Ray Leonard,
    and discussed the Haglar fight. Then the idiot who dresses up as
    Marlon Brando came out and made a jerk of himself. Finally, around
    1:00 AM, Dave welcomed Jerry and Bob, playing along with Paul and
    the band. They did one song, "When I paint my masterpiece". A short
    but sweet version with a little bit a Jerry's Mutron sound. Bob
    sang lead, and Jerry accompanied. Then they both sat down and 
    had some small talk with Dave. Bob did a "Parlor trick" that invloved
    four people lifting Jerry out of his seat. Good thing Jerry has
    lost some weight !!
       
    	I have to say that Jerry and Bob looked more alert and coherent
    than this noter has ever seen. The last time they were on Letterman
    (about 5 years ago) Bob looked like he just snorted about 5 grams
    of coke. Last night he looked perfectly straight. To someone unfamiliar
    with the band, the first impression must have been very good. Not
    at all the drug burn outs that they are reputed to be. Jerry's guitar
    is difinately a thing of beuty, and years from now, when Jerry goes
    to that big Red Rocks in the sky, I hope to see this axe on public
    display in some museum, as apposed to hanging on some millionaires'
    wall. One of the things that you don't hear about too much is the
    Grateful Dead's amazing arsenal of equipment, which is certainly
    noteworthy. When I have time later, perhaps next week, I plan to
    start a Grateful Dead/guitar notes file. Not that I want to
    make this notes file into another Dead notes, but I find the 
    Dead notes file is mainly for desperate pleas for tickets and 
    tape traders. My intention is a notes file for guitarists who
    have been inspired to some extent by Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir.
    
    	With the onset of the new T.V. season, I except to see a lot
    of interesting Guitarist's and guitars on T.V. I don't know about
    anyone else, but I welcome the comeback of 50's and early 60's
    music on T.V. radio, and everywhere else. If it keeps up the next
    thing you know we may start to see another psychodelic age like
    we experienced in the mid to late sixties. My only complaint is
    the fact that big business is exploiting the hell out of these
    great old songs. I have mixed emmotions about seeing commercials
    like MacDonald's "Mac Tonight" and the rest of the classic hits
    inspired commercials. Kind of fits into the argument against
    colorization of classic movies, doesn't it ?           
                                   
    
    	Anyone else catch BB, or Bob and Jerry last night ?
    
    
    							Mark J.
                                                	

    Last night I was just getting ready for bed around 1:00 am,
    and turned on the TV to Farm Aid. Who was on my TV screen ?
    Non other than the Dead doing the Dylan tune "Ain't gonna work
    on Maggies Farm no more". Then they started into "Black Peter",
    but the network returned to the announcers about 30 seconds
    into it. This was live from Madison Sqaure Garden where, I
    believe, they are just finishing up a 3 nighter. Sounded
    pretty good. Bob playes slide in Black Peter, backing up 
    Jerry's singing. 
    
    
    	When ever they are in town , they make life interesting !!
    
    						Mark Jacques
    

    Yes, I heard about the Dead but didn't know in time to tape
    it........(I know this has nothing to do with this conferance but!)
    did anyone tape this on to VCR format ? I would love to copy it.
    
    		anyone ?
    
    	Thanks 
    	Chris

================================================================================
Note 354.0                    Les Paul on Letterman                    2 replies
GNERIC::SIEGEL "One, Two, Free Four"                 25 lines   2-OCT-1987 12:41
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Les Paul was a guest on Letterman last night.  As usual, they stuck
    him in the back behind the bassist, and he quietly picked with the
    band during the commercial fade-ins/outs.
    
    Towards the end of the show, Dave introduced him as the inventor
    of the electric guitar, showed an old clip of Les and his wife doing
    a tune, and then let Les and the band jam out a tune.
    
    It was the first time I have ever seen him, so I don't have any
    strong opinions on the man, but he did jam out pretty well.  He
    was really into the song.  Had a couple of nice up-and-down-the-strings
    licks.
    
    Then he went over and talked to Dave.  He explained how he got the
    idea for an electric guitar, and how the shape of his early axes
    evolved from a railroad tie with strings and a pickup to the present.
    He also noted that he was the first person ever to be broadcast on NBC
    TV, in 1939.
    
    Very enjoyable.  It was nice to finally see the guy.
    
    Adam
    
                                                     
================================================================================
Note 354.1                    Les Paul on Letterman                       1 of 2
MORRIS::JACQUES                                      24 lines   2-OCT-1987 13:03
                               -< Les Paul !!! >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    I watched the show too. I thought Les was great. Paul Shaeffer
    said that Les just celebrated his 73rd birthday. For 73, this guy
    can cook. He also has one of the most distinctive sounds/styles
    of anyone. He was playing a beutiful Les Paul. It was set up like
    a Recording model, with LowZ pickups, and all the switches, but
    had a flamed top like a 1959 LP Standard, Wow !!
    
    In the interview, Dave asked him what made the Les Paul guitar so
    special. Les said it was mainly the fact that it was an electric
    solid body that made it special. Les said when he was playing
    one of his first gigs, he fashioned a PA out of a telephone
    mouthpiece, and his mother's radio. Then he decided he needed to
    amplify the guitar so he took a phonograph pickup and shoved it
    into the guitar, and it worked. The resulting pickup had a lot of
    feedback, and sounded scratchy, so he experimented with different
    ways to design pickups. He took a railroad rail, and mounted some
    magnets on it with wire (taken from a telephone) wrapped around
    them, and had a better sound, but who's gonna play a rail. He than
    fashioned his "Log" out of a 4x4, and it evolved into the Les Paul
    of today.
                                 
    	As a point of Pride he also made sure to take credit for some
    of his other inventions such as multitrack recording, and tape delay.

	Has anyone seen a fairly new TV talk show called Way Off Broadway?
	The house band is headed up by Rick Derringer and from what I've
	seen of it is very good.

	What's nice about this show, as opposed to SNL or Letterman, is
	that in almost every show I've seen the band plays a full number
	or at least there is a good musical guest jammin' with them.

	I haven't seen too much of it, but I saw Larry Carlton (one of
	my personal favs) on there last week.  And Richie Havens was on
	this week (not exactly a brilliant instrumentalist [sic] but 
	kind of fun to watch).  And I like Derringer a lot, he's quite 
	flexable (shades of Steve Vai...).

	It's on cable (Lifetime) and some of the smaller syndicated 
	stations.  If you can get it, check it out!

	Greg

    
    ACKERMAN, HEDGES Tonight!
    
    Tonight (Friday the 16th) at 10:00, New Hampshire's Channel 11 carries
    "On Stage at Wolf Trap."  According to TV GUIDE, it's an hour of
    "new-age music" featuring artists from Windham Hill, "a record label
    devoted to the impressionistic sound."  Two guitarists are performing:
    Will Ackerman and Michael Hedges.  Also, the group Shadowfax.
    
    I kinda hate to admit I haven't heard Ackerman or Hedges yet.  I've
    read some rave reviews, though, so will plan to tape this one.
    
    
    BONNIE RAITT (Last week, unfortunately)
    
    Speaking of taping off TV, did anybody out there happen to catch
    (and hopefully tape) "A Rock 'n' Roll Summit" last week??  It ran
    on the Showtime (subscription) channel on Firday, October 9.  I don't 
    know anyone who subscribes to that channel, 'though it wouldn't have
    made much difference at the time.  I didn't know about the broadcast
    'til after the fact, when I happened across a nice picture of Bonnie
    Raitt (in TV Guide) playing slide on her strat. 
    
    The show was taped on July 4, when, according to the mag, Bonnie
    "and other rockers wrapped up a 350-mile U.S.-Soviet Walk for Peace
    with `A Rock 'n' Roll Summit.'"  The outdoor concert was held in
    Moscow and also featured Santana, James Taylor, the Doobie Brothers,
    and the "official" Soviet rock band Autograph.
    
    Now there's a band I'd like to see (Autograph).  I understand they
    do tailored versions of classic hits such as the Beatles' "Back in 
    the U.S.A." and "She Loves You, Da Da Da," and the Zombies' "Tell Her
    Nyet."  [Sorry, that's all the Russian I know, aside from "Glasnost"
    and Smirnoff!]  If you've never heard of Autograph before, it's
    because they were sent on a tour of Siberia after performing the
    Rascals' "People Got to Be Free."  Pressured to release the band
    from exile under the new policy of Glasnost, Soviet officials later 
    dismissed the Siberian tour as "a slight error in communication
    due to language barrier...we thought they said `People Got to Be
    Freezed!'" 
    
    Before I go any further, let me dismiss any false notions about
    information in the above paragraph.  Hard as it may be to believe,
    that seemingly true-to-life account is no more than a figment of
    my somewhat fevered imagination (whaddya want, it's Friday). It's
    true, however, that I'd be interested to hear Autograph, even if
    it's also true that they are the "official" Soviet rock band!
    
    And finally...
    
    
    ERIC CLAPTON 
    
    It's already been noted somewhere in this discussion that Clapton
    performed in Prince Charles' all-star concert for charity, which 
    ran last month on HBO.  An issue of TV Guide (Sept. 19-25) ran a 
    picture of him playing his black strat in that show, along with a 
    write-up that included some interesting quotes.  It's brief, so
    I'll reprint it here (without so much as a hint at permission):
    
              Among the worldclass British pop stars on view in 
         "The Second Annual Prince's Trust All-Star Rock Concert,"
         this month on HBO, is Eric Clapton---regarded by many as the
         premier guitar player of the rock era.  Which players these
         days are in Clapton's league?  "I never look at it in that
         respect," he says.  "I always look at it *with* respect." 
         Then he goes on to name names: "Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmie
         Vaughan are the finest in America.  Buddy Guy [who, along with
         B.B. King, says Clapton, most inspired him] is still the best
         blues player."  Ah, but what about such heavy-metal heroes
         as Edward Van Halen?  "That's not my style," says Clapton.
         That kind of playing is just "gymnastics.  It's too showy." 
    
    

    
    Re: .19
    
    The Prince's Trust concert featured in addition to Clapton, George
    Harrison, Dave Edmunds Level 42's funkmeister Mark King.
    
    Non-guitar personages were Ringo Starr, Phil Collins (I mean, ya
    can't have a concert on the tube without ol' Philbert), Ben E. King
    (???), Elton John...
    
    Also present (am I glad I have a FF on my VCR) Bryan Adams, Paul
    Young..
    
    Wot no Dylan????
    
    I haven't erased my tape yet.

    
    RE: .20
    
    For some reason, my tape deck doesn't pick up HBO, but I saw the
    concert a couple of times.  But I couldn't get a make on the guitar
    Harrison was using.  Not the Strat, but the white acoustic-electric 
    cutaway he played for "Here Comes the Sun."  Do you know what it was?
    
    There were two of them, in fact, but I also don't know who the other
    player was.  The fact that there were two identical white
    acoustic-electric cutaways, as well as a horn section consisting
    primarily of white (and, I assume, fiberglass) horns, leads me to
    believe these instruments were donated for the cause.  Anyone out
    there know about this?
    
    >     Also present (am I glad I have a FF on my VCR) Bryan Adams, Paul
          Young..
    
    Sometimes I wish I could fast forward my TV.
    
    
    >	  I haven't erased my tape yet. 
    
    Maybe you can just erase Bryan Adams and Paul Young.  %^)
    
    

    
    Re: .21
    
    The guitars were Washburns.
    
    The other guitarist was Jeff "I always wanted to be John Lennon"
    Lynne.
    
    

    Re: .22
    
    Thank you!
    
    -steve

    
    Saturday Night Live will have Mick Jagger as the music guest on
    November 14th....
    
    Jeff Beck on guitar!!!!!!!!
    
    ... unless he get's mad at Mick!
    

    re .-1

    Has Jeff re-joined the band?  I'd heard Mick's tour was canceled
    'cause Jeff decided not to go....

    R

Re:.24
	Really ?
	Did someone tape it ?
	And could someone send the tape to Japan ?
	If you'll send,
	off course I'll pay for that you pay to send,and you paid for the tape.

					Hitoshi Oi (Japan R & D center)

    I finally saw one of the PBS rock shows last night. 
    THe first part had the glam rockers, including Bowie
    and Mick Ronson.  Pretty interesting. 
    
    Second part was focused on the funk scene and George
    Clinton.  Good shots of Sly Stone.  And they recognized
    Larry Graham as the original funkmeister of the bass!  And
    I did _not_ know that Bootsie played with James Brown! Very
    cool. That's how he got hip to playing "on the one". 
    
    Makes me want to see the other episodes.  These were
    parts 7 and 8 so it looks like I've missed a few. 
    
    Dave
    

    did anyone see James Brown on the concert for the Rock and Roll hall of
    fame?He is a complete parody of himself now...I mean,Eddi Murphy is 
    better being James Brown than James Brown is.
     I would have liked to have seen last nights shows!
    
    
    
    						ian

    
    RE: PBS Funk show.  Is Sly dead? They had interviews
    with the Family Stone (and some a capella singing), 
    but no Sly.  I seem to remember hearing he had
    some drug problems? 
    
    Also it was interesting to hear George Clinton
    talk about getting P-Funk going.  He said something
    like "The thing with the psychodelic groups at the time
    was the huge _amplifiers_.  So we went into the music store
    and bought all the Marshalls we could!  We had a little
    tiny PA and these big huge Marshalls.  And we wouldn't
    turn down!"  Rock on George. Too bad the show didn't focus 
    a little on the P-Funk (Eddie Hazel?) guitar playing!
    
    Dave                                 

The PBS series on Rock-n-Roll started Sunday night. I watched the first show,and
I'v been in front of the TV every night since. It is the deepest study of rock
I've seen since one of those TV network wannabes (UPN, PTEN, or whatever) did 
last year. The series talks a lot about influences and who influenced who, and
presents it all in an order that makes sense. Would be nice if they would talk
about the guitar (playing, composing, techniques) more.

PBS is advertising a deal and an 800 number to "educators and educational
institutions" for videotape of the full series. Hope I can pass; I didn't get
any blank tape until Tuesday.

re: > G Clinton  "The thing with the psychodelic groups at the time
    > was the huge _amplifiers_.  So we went into the music store
    > and bought all the Marshalls we could!  We had a little


    Reminds me of a bit I read from Peter Wolf of J. Geils fame
    the other day talking about the first time they played the Boston
    Garden.  He said all they had were small amps for clubs, so they
    made these huge speaker like boxes complete with amp cloth in the
    front, and put their little amps inside em so they'd looks like huge
    amps... because they were *supposed* to have huge amps ;-)

    They were psyched till the stage lights went on at the start of the
    show, shined right through those boxes.  "You could see right thru em,
    and see the little amps inside".  ;-)

    /Ken

    I've seen the whole series so far as well.  All the episodes have been
    good, but Tuesday's were the highlight for me.
    
    First hour was the British Blues scene, starting with early Bluesbreaker
    era and culminating with Jimi and Zep.  I'd seen a lot of these clips
    before, like Jimi on the Lulu show where he tunes up in the middle of
    "Wild Thing" (the look on his face is priceless).  The most fascinating
    clip was of a 10 year old (or so) Jimmy Page playing in a skiffle band
    on some British Amateur Hour type TV show.  The host asks him what he'd
    like to do when he grows up and he says something like "biological
    research"; not too far off the mark actually :-)
    
    The second hour was the San Francisco psychedelic era.  Lots of stuff
    here I'd never seen before, like actual video footage from some of the
    early "Acid Tests" or Harry Reasoner interviewing the Dead (on 60
    Minutes perhaps?).  It ends appropriately on a down note with Altamont,
    which more or less slammed the door shut on that scene.
    
    /rick
    

    
    care to enlighten me on what happened at Altamont?
    
    
    						ian

    This series sounds great. I wish an Italian TV network would buy it so
    that I could see it...or at least someone back in the UK so I could get
    my brother to tape it ;-)
    
    Actually, I have seen that clip of Hendrix on the Lulu show on numerous
    occasions - brilliant! If I remember rightly, he interrupts "Wild
    Thing" halfway through, saying "Enough of this rubbish!" and
    immediately counts the band into the intro of "Sunshine Of Your Love"
    by Cream! I wonder how many TV shows today would let artists play
    live, given all the hassles involved.
    
    As regards Sly Stone, I certainly haven't heard any news of him dying
    prematurely. I compilation of his early (pre-San Francisco) material
    was released recently on Ace records. Practically all Sly & the Family
    Stone's albums are worth a listen; I regard him as the Frank Zappa of
    black music. Perhaps not as eccentric as FZ, but every bit as eclectic.
    His music includes elements of R&B, funk, jazz, rock and psychadeli,
    with a thick layer of black politics to boot. His band were all great
    musicians too; IMO, Larry Graham wrote the book on inventive bass-playing.
    
    Dom
    

    Altamont was a nasty scene back in December of 1969 (which literally
    capped off the 60's.
    
    Seems that the Stones announced that they were playing a freebe concert
    in San Fran, and it ended up at Altamont speedway (an old race track).
    They hired the Hells Angels to be security, and the Angels beat the
    shit out of a bunch of people and killed one guy (beat him to death).
    
    Cute, eh??
    

    BB king is on at 9pm tonight. Don't know what channel. And i'm from the
    Ottaw area.
    
    -kev 

    Just a nit... the guy who was killed was stabbed by one of the Angels.

Rock and Roll is a truly great series.  It put
a lot of events in order for me.

I wish I could have watched every night.

How much does it cost to buy it?

    
    About the episode on psychedelic rock... In the interest of decorum, I
    think we should pledge _not_ to discuss Roger McGuin's on-camera
    analysis of the lead riff in "8 Miles High."
    
    JP

    Oh could I please, just one itty bit :-)
    
    McGuinn once said (not on this show) that the Byrds were on tour and
    they had only two tapes to listen to in the bus for months; one was
    a Coltrane tape.  And that's where he got "Eight Miles High" from.
    You be the judge.
    
    For a good summary of Altamont, rent or see the movie "Gimmie Shelter",
    an excellent and frightening semi-documentary of the events and what
    led up to them.
    

re:              <<< Note 339.32 by RICKS::CALCAGNI "salsa shark" >>>

>    here I'd never seen before, like actual video footage from some of the
>    early "Acid Tests" or Harry Reasoner interviewing the Dead (on 60
>    Minutes perhaps?).  It ends appropriately on a down note with Altamont,

    I missed this episode, was watching the Bruins/Gahden finale, but
    Acid Test videos are available from Ken Kesey Productions (I think
    that's the name).  One ends with Garcia using a push broom to clean
    up after the gig ;-)   

    The Harry Reasoner interview must be from "Hippie Temptation", a
    PBS documentary.  Pretty funny clip.  Starts with a bus full of
    older tourists in a bus, with the bus driver explaining the wierd
    sights.

    /Ken

    Yeah, you got it.  Harry kept treating them like the spokesmen for the
    "hippies".  Kinda funny.  And at the same time, as a parent myself now
    I can easily imagine how some parents must have been shocked by it then.
    

Hmmm, I guess I'll have to be the curmudgeon since no one else is.

I've watched the whole series so far, and while there's been a lot of 
interesting material, I think the overall arrangement and editing leaves
a lot to be desired.  Many times they'd be discussing something interesting
and then suddenly switch to a new subject with no segue whatsoever.  I'm
willing to cut them some slack about not talking about everything I thought
should be talked about, as even 10 hours isn't much for such a large
subject.  I *can't*, however, excuse the lousy film-making.

-Hal

    I've seen the Altamont video. It was weird seeing this tape 20
    years after it was made. It made you realize that there was an
    ugly side to 60's pop culture, not just the up side that we normally
    think of. At the beginning of the film, the camera-man was walking
    around the concert filming the hippie people that were hanging out.
    Most looked pretty strung out. There was one BIG biker girl walking
    around the concert completely naked, lot's of bikers, and a cameo
    appearance by Jerry Garcia.  He had HUGE sideburns at the time and
    was hangin' out off stage. Trouble started early in the show with
    lot's of people getting punched out. If I remember correctly, the 
    Stones were on stage doing "Sympathy for the Devil" when a person's
    arm came up and stabbed a guy that was in the front row right near
    the band. This tape marks a low-point in the history of the Stones
    and R&R in general. 
    
    
    
    

    One of The Guitarists fer The JefferSon Airplane got hit in the
    Mouth and Knocked_Out by one of The Hells_Angels.
    
    
    This Movie Shows what A Self_Centered Jerk Jagger can be.
    
      Crazy_Kieth_Is_Kool_Tho_Al

Watching the History of Rock & Roll last night, the PBS station here announced
they were rebroadcasting the whole series again Oct 2 - Oct 6 at 11:00pm each
night. I'm stocking up on videotape.

    > Watching the History of Rock & Roll last night, the PBS station here
    > announced they were rebroadcasting the whole series again Oct 2 - Oct
    > 6 at 11:00pm each night. I'm stocking up on videotape.
    
    So, where is here?  Would this be GBH in Boston by any chance?
    

    It was Marty Balin from the Airplane who got decked by an Angel at
    Altamont; I once heard someone say this was the highlight of the movie
    for them :-)
    
    Besides the ugliness at Altamont, "Gimmie Shelter" includes footage
    from the Stones US tour that led up to it.  This was arguably the
    Stones at their peak as artists and as a live band.  The entire film
    is a great period piece and will give you a real flavor for the times.
    If you haven't seen it, do.
    
    /rick
    

    I read somewhere that the stabbing didn't really occur during
    "Sympathy for the Devil"; Jagger and the filmmaker edited the
    film so it looked like that's what happened. This was to make
    the whole thing more 'dramatic'. Mick was ready to capitalize
    on anything. 
    
    That said, I do agree that the Stones were at their peak when
    Altamont was filmed. Mick Taylor and Keith were a great pair.

    Another vote for The Stones being at their peak (musically, ad
    physically, probably).  As were The Dead, Airplane, etc...  
    
    Especially The Dead, of whom I consider myself somewhat of an expert.  
    :-)

    Add another vote

re: .47

Here is the Baltimore/Washington DC area. The PBS stations are on channels 22
and 26. My apologies for omitting the geographical context.

re: .52

>Here is the Baltimore/Washington DC area. The PBS stations are on channels 22
>and 26. My apologies for omitting the geographical context.

Hey, don't apologize!  Those darn New Englanders do all the time!   :-)

-Hal (also in Baltimore)

    
    I watched the punk slot on the last night, and
    it didn't quite hang together as well as the 
    funk and glam parts.  I always thought of 
    Talking Heads/B52s/Elvis Costello as New Wave
    artists, not punk.  Was David Byrne a punk?  
    I dunno. . .  And Blondie?  How about a commercial 
    category. 
    
    It tried to put the Reggae thing in through the 
    English punk scene, but neglected any mention of
    new ska bands like the Selector, English Beat, 
    Bad Manners.  
    
    It did have some good clips of Patti Smith.  That's a 
    band I would have liked to see. 
    
    Dave
    

    >funk and glam parts.  I always thought of 
    >Talking Heads/B52s/Elvis Costello as New Wave
    >artists, not punk.  Was David Byrne a punk?

I thought that was pretty strange, too...especially that bit
where David Byrne himself talked about Talking Heads as if they
were the same sort of band as the Sex Pistols.  Huh?

Paul

I thought the Sex Pistols concert footage in Texas was amazing.  That tour must
have been concieved in a lunatic asylum.

I guess those were the days before tours got so organized and run like a business

Tim

>    >funk and glam parts.  I always thought of 
>    >Talking Heads/B52s/Elvis Costello as New Wave
>    >artists, not punk.  Was David Byrne a punk?
>
> I thought that was pretty strange, too...especially that bit
> where David Byrne himself talked about Talking Heads as if they
> were the same sort of band as the Sex Pistols.  Huh?

It was all part of the rebelion against the mainstream. 
I listenned to the punk/new wave/hardcore punk/psychedelic punk bands, it seemed
like everyone else was listenning to dance music (Madonna, KC+Sunshine Band)
or else "regular rock" (Journey, Springsting, Bob Seager, Aerosmith).

So the similarities were along cultural lines.  The distinction between
punk and new wave  came later - to my memory.

 ...and today the distinction between punk and mainstream is blurred.

-Paul

WBGH has a very nicely done web site about the series, it
has a lot of interviews and stuff that they wanted to fit 
into the show but didn't have room.

http://www.wgbh.org

re: Note 339.57

>So the similarities were along cultural lines.  The distinction between
>punk and new wave  came later - to my memory.

I was conscious of a sharp distinction between the two when they were
current.  At the time it seemed to me that New Wave was the product of
marketing types who reasoned that the impulse behind punk could make them
some money if they made it a little more palatable to the masses.

'course, at the time, I was working in a disco band to pay the bills, so
my impressions may not be worth much.  8^)

Paul

    Also consider... Television, Talking Heads, Blondie, etc. were all
    already active on the NY Lower East Side scene in the early 70's, before
    the punk explosion in Britain.  The difference is that American radio
    ignored the evolving punk scene here, while British radio did not.
    Talking Heads didn't get significant exposure here till they covered
    an Al Green tune.
    
    I thought the GBH series made a convincing argument that British punk
    was a direct result of these NY influences.
    

    
    The difference between the two? 
    
        Punk: You can't play your instrument. 
    New Wave: Use synths to cover up the fact that you can't play.
    
        Punk: You're wasted on more than four drugs to play your 
              instrument. 
    New Wave: You're only wasted on two.
    
        Punk: Didn't finish school. 
    New Wave: Went to Art school.
    
        Punk: Unconscious.
    New Wave: Conscious only of the environment. 
    
        Punk: "On The Road"   Hope and Crosby film
    New Wave: "On The Road"   Jack Kerouak
     
        Punk: Spit at the audiance.
    New Wave: Spit at the establishment.
    
    
              
    How'd I do?
    
    -Rick. 
           

 >   How'd I do?
sounds like the outside view...

    
    Another great cause of the fiasco at Altamont was Mick Jagger refusing
    to go on stage until after dark.  Apparently, the show was scheduled to
    be in the afternoon, but Mick kept the crowd waiting for hours, which
    only made the situation worse.
    
    Dave