Greetings y’all! I hope you caught Mick Jagger’s performance with Jeff Beck on Saturday Night Live. It was truly inspired! Look it up on Hulu or You Tube. You won’t be sorry!
This week, inspired by last week’s article about Duck Dunn, I’m going to start a new series about lesser known luminaries in the world of music who nevertheless, consistently rubbed shoulders with rock and roll royalty! This will not run every week, but it will be a recurrent theme that will resurface from time to time. The first in the series will focus on Billy Preston.
Billy was a child prodigy who went on to record with both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, who respected Billy so much that he was given his own segment on the Stones’ tours in the 1970’s. In the middle of their set, Billy performed 2 of his songs backed by The Rolling Stones! The Beatles gave him a label credit on “Get Back”, which featured Preston, and was released as “The Beatles with Billy Preston”. Billy was the only person ever to be credited on a Beatles’ record! (Music historian note: Yes, I know there were the Tony Sheridan records, but those were Tony Sheridan releases, not Beatles’ records).
In fact, Billy was widely considered the “real” Fifth Beatle, and there were rumors at the time that he was given full group membership status! What definitely is known is that most of the group favored making Billy a member, but Paul famously vetoed it by saying, “It’s bad enough with four”! Either way, he went on to have featured credited roles on “The White Album”, “Abbey Road”, “Let It Be”, and many Beatle solo records! He was playing with The Lads at their last performance on the Apple Records rooftop! He also had featured roles in The Concert for Bangladesh, The Concert for George, and numerous Beatle solo tours!
Billy had known The Beatles since Hamburg, where they met while Billy was on tour with Little Richard, and when they started Apple Records, Billy was the first artist they signed! The band on his first George Harrison produced Apple record consisted of Clapton and Harrison on guitars, Keith Richard on bass, and Ginger Baker on drums!
Billy was a child prodigy who received his early musical education in his mother’s church, and by the age of 10, he was regularly backing Gospel stars like Mahalia Jackson and James Cleveland! By 12 he was appearing in movies and TV! As a young man, he was mentored by Ray Charles, who called him his successor! And he more than proves he’s up to the task with his performance of “Double Oh Soul”, backed by Charles and his band, in the opening scene of the documentary film, “Before the Music Dies”, a performance that you MUST catch! Google it! It’s the first scene and it takes less than five minutes. The rest of the film is good, but I’ll bet it takes you a while to watch it, because you’ll be replaying Billy’s performance over and over again! It simply is one of the greatest musical performances ever, by anyone, and is in the same league as anything Otis, Jagger, James Brown, Iggy, or Tina Turner ever did! As a young man, he was a regular on the 60’s network rock TV show, “Shindig” and was the musical guest in the premier episode of the first season of “Saturday Night Live”. He continued to find work in the movie business, and scored the Sidney Poitier movie, “They Call me Mister Tibbs”, with Quincy Jones!
His friendship with The Beatles led him to The Rolling Stones, who employed Billy’s talents on the classic albums, “Sticky Fingers” and “Exile on Main Street”, as well as “Goat’s Head Soup”, It’s Only Rock and Roll”. “Black and Blue”, “Tattoo You”, and “Bridges to Babylon”! During his career, Billy toured or recorded with Eric Clapton, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Bob Dylan, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Stevie Winwood, Johnny Cash, Jeff Beck, Elton John, Joni Mitchell, The Funk Brothers, Sly and the Family Stone, Jackson 5, Sammy Davis Jr., Aretha, and more, in addition to the previously mentioned musical luminaries! In 2006, Billy climbed out of his deathbed to record a part for The Red Hot Chili Peppers “Stadium Arcadian” album!
A prolific writer, Billy wrote “You are so Beautiful” which was a huge hit for Joe Cocker. He also had a string of hits under his own name, million sellers all, and won two GRAMMY’s in the process!
His influence was such that Miles Davis recorded a song called “Billy Preston” in 1974! He gave Stephen Stills the phrase, “If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with”! He was invited to join The Band in 1991, and did complete one tour with them, but never got to record with them.
Personal problems threatened to derail his career in the 1990’s and he became gravely ill in 2001. In his twilight years, he was still scoring movies and TV shows like “Two and a Half Men”, “Desperate Housewives”, “The Simpsons”, “Inglourious Basterds” and “Rush Hour 2”.
Billy Preston passed away in 2006, just short of his 60th birthday.
This week’s live music picks are as follows:
Wednesday, May 23 – STEVIE WINWOOD at The Beacon Theater and guitar wunderkind, KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD at City Winery, both in Manhattan.
Friday, May 25 – SONS OF CREAM, featuring the offspring of Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce, and Peter Townsend bring their act to BB King’s and DYLANFEST 2012 is at Irving Plaza, also both in Manhattan. Don’t know who’s booked at Dylanfest, but it promises to be interesting, and you never know who might show up!
Saturday, May 26 – In the city, lead singer of The New York Dolls, DAVID JOHANSEN, aka Buster Poindexter, returns to the Highline Ballroom, and upstate, guitar whiz ARLEN ROTH rolls into the Towne Crier in Pauling.
Sunday, May 27 – The only show in town tonight is The CKS BAND at Club Helsinki in Hudson, featuring Bruce Katz and Scott Sherrard from Gregg Allman’s Band, and Randy Ciarlante from The Levon Helm Band.
Tuesday, May 29 – RAVI COLTRANE, the son of John and Alice Coltrane, who has developed into a phenomenal horn player in his own right, is at Birdland in Manhattan.
Thursday, May 31 – MOUNTAIN JAM kicks off at Hunter Mountain, and continues through the weekend.
Happy Memorial Day! Stay safe!
Just as we were going to press I got the news that Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Honoree, Donald “Duck” Dunn, had passed away in his sleep after a double show at Tokyo’s Blue Note night club. Duck, as he was known to all, (including his teachers back in school), was best known as a member of Booker T and The M.G.s, the house band at Stax Records, who backed every artist on the label, live and in the recording studio! Stax artists included Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Eddie Floyd, Wilson Pickett (technically on Atlantic, the parent label), Rufus and Carla Thomas, and Albert King, and Booker T and The M.G.s (which was short for “Memphis Group”), also had several hits under their own name and others. After The MGs broke up in the early 1970’s, Dunn went on to record with Muddy Waters, Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, Willie Dixon, Freddie King, John Fogerty, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Rod Stewart, Tom Petty, and Woodstock’s own Levon Helm (in The RCO All Stars)! And that’s just a partial list! In 1980, he joined The Blues Brothers, touring, recording, and playing himself in both films, where he delivered the memorable line, “We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline”! Dunn was in Japan touring with his old bandmate, guitarist Steve Cropper, and label mate, Eddie Floyd (“Knock on Wood”). He was 70. The world has lost one of the real all time greats! More info at www.duckdunn.com. The Rolling Stones are reportedly rehearsing in New Jersey for their 50th anniversary tour. Mick is hosting Saturday Night Live this week, and rumours are flying about the band joining him, but my guess is they are just that – rumours! Still, it should be better than the average SNL, which is to say it might not suck, but it probably won’t be very funny. “Oh yeah, life goes on long after the thrill of living is gone”! Here are my live music picks for this week. Thursday, May 17 – The week starts with a bang with three great shows, all in the city. JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE, Steve’s son, and a fine artist in his own right, is at Webster Hall. RAY WYLIE HUBBARD, best known for his song, “Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mothers”, is at Joe’s Pub. And LEE “SCRATCH” PERRY, legendary Reggae producer and artist, who has worked with Bob Marley, Max Romeo, Junior Murvin, The Heptones, Keith Richards, The Beastie Boys, The Clash, and many more, is at The Gramercy Theater. Perry produced almost all of The Wailers and Bob Marley’s albums, and is probably the most prolific Reggae producer who ever lived! Friday, May 18 – My friend, GARY LUCAS, whom The Village Voice calls a “monster guitarist”, is at The Bell House in Brooklyn. Gary was the guitarist with Captain Beefheart and has worked with just about everyone in the business. I’ve brought him to the Hudson Valley three times, including the grand opening of my original store in Shokan, and a memorable show at The Bearsville Theater with Talking Head, Jerry Harrison. Info at www.garylucas.com. COLLECTIVE SOUL, a band I’ve always kind of liked without getting real into, is at Irving Plaza in Manhattan, and up in Woodstock, The Bearsville Theater celebrates Bob Dylan’s birthday with a SOUNDOUT FOR THE WOODSTOCK DAY SCHOOL. Hosted by Happy Traum, booked artists include Donald Fagen, Larry Campbell, Amy Helm, Teresa Williams, Aaron Freeman (Ween), and more. Info at www.bearsvilletheater.com. Saturday, May 19 – Three great shows tonight! JOEY RAMONE’S BIRTHDAY BASH, an annual event that’s always great, where you never know who might show up, is at Webster Hall this year. PAUL WELLER, the force behind The Jam, and one of our finest songwriters and artists, is at the Best Buy Theater. And multi-instrumentalist DAVID LINDLEY, best known as Jackson Browne’s guitarist for many years, is at The Towne Crier in Pauling Sunday, May 20 – The great DARLENE LOVE, who sang on just about every Phil Spector production during Phil’s golden years, is at Joe’s Pub tonight. Monday, May 21 – CHICKENFOOT, the supergroup made up of the guitarist’s guitarist, Joe Satriani, former Van Halen bassist and singer Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar, and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer, Chad Smith, pulls into the Beacon Theater in Manhattan. This is a particularly stand out week, with just about every show a great one, but this is my Pick of the Week! However, JACK WHITE is also at Roseland Ballroom tonight and tomorrow. Jack is sometimes inconsistent, but also sometimes great! Tuesday, May 22 – The great and vastly underrated guitarist, SLASH, is at Irving Plaza. If you like your Rock n Roll hard and fast, this is a must see! Also tonight, alt-rock band, GARBAGE is at Webster Hall, and JACK WHITE concludes his dates at Roseland Ballroom. Wednesday, May 23 – STEVIE WINWOOD closes out the week at The Beacon Theater, prior to next week’s headlining appearance at Mountain Jam. Wow! What a week! This is the most exciting week in music that I can remember for a very long time. Enjoy yourselves. After all, “life is like a beanstalk, isn’t it?”.
Greetings all! It’s late, past my deadline, I’m tired, there’s not much of anything new and exciting (other than Reservoir Music’s move to a new and exciting location at 711 Route 28), and not much live music to recommend this week, so I’ll just say goodnight and see you next week! Psych! Actually, all true, except the last part. So, I’m gonna be brief and to the point.
Bob Dylan will be receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest civilian honor given by the United States! President Bush gave this award to guys like Paul Bremmer, the overseer of the Iraq reconstruction. Obama’s giving it to Dylan! Other recipients this Spring will be Shimon Peres, President of Israel (two Jews blues?); Toni Morrison, the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winning novelist; Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State under President Clinton; John Glenn, the first American in outer space; retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, and 7 other luminaries. They’re in pretty good company! I’m sure Obama will want to sing with Bob, the only question is, will it be “Blowin’ in the Wind”, “Chimes of Freedom”, “The Times They are A-Changing” or “Mister Tambourine Man”. Time will tell! I’m voting for “Tombstone Blues”!
The offerings of live musical faire this week actually is kind of slim, but here it is.
Thursday, May 10 – For upstaters, SARAH LEE GUTHRIE AND JOHNNY IRION will be at The Bearsville Theater in Woodstock. Sarah Lee is Arlo’s daughter and, obviously, Woody’s granddaughter. Johnny is her husband and musical collaborator. They’re quite good, as you might imagine. If you’re in the city and you like Rock n Roll, I highly recommend MARK LANEGAN, the former frontman of Screaming Trees, one of my favorite 90’s rock bands, who’s at Webster Hall.
Friday, May 11 – Again, we’ve got one good show if you’re upstate, one if you’re downstate. At The Falcon in Marlborough, the ED PALERMO BIG BAND will be performing the music of Paul Butterfield and Mike Bloomfield, and some damn good music it is! At the Brooklyn Bowl, extended Grateful Dead family guitarist STEVE KIMOCK has teamed up with Parliament/Funkadelic keyboard player, BERNIE WORRELL, and an all star band, for what promises to be an extremely interesting juxtaposition of talent.
Saturday, May 12 – Concluding our weekend pairings of upstate and downstate shows this weekend, THE MAHAVISHNU PROJECT returns to The Bearsville Theater, playing the jazz fusion music of John McLaughlin, Jeff Beck, Jan Hammer, and Billy Cobham. (What, no Tony Williams? LOL). And Austin’s own Americana rockers, RECKLESS KELLY, pull in to The Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan.
Sunday, May 13 – Well, I think we’ve found this week’s Pick of the Week! It’s just gotta be the great, the immortal, the icon, the great American, WILLIE NELSON!!! That’s right, Willie’s comin’ to Kingston at UPAC!! This is just what we need, coming fast on the heels of the loss of our own great, immortal, American icon, Levon Helm! Maybe Willie can make us feel good again!
Tuesday, May 15 – Another American icon rides in to The Highline Ballroom in Manhattan for a very rare appearance. He’s getting long in the tooth, so who knows how many more there will be, but the Brooklyn Cowboy, RAMBLIN’ JACK ELLIOTT, is a man who influenced Bob Dylan, and therefore, a generation or three! His daughter made a fine documentary on Ramblin’ Jack a few years ago, and I haven’t heard of any live performances for at least ten years, so this is special!
Wednesday and Thursday, May 16 & 17 – WILLIE NELSON bestows his grace upon his downstate fans with an appearance at The Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ. Nuff said!
I just wanna conclude by reprinting the lyrics to a song written as a tribute to Levon by TJ in the Hills of Woodstock, which I think captures the spirit of the man quite well. Here ‘tis.
Levon Helm, Levon Helm, These hills won't be the same, without Levon Helm
Levon Helm, Levon Helm, These hills won't be the same, without Levon Helm
Rice Puddin and "hand jive" Willy
Country Blues Gospel and Rockabilly
Green Coke bottles stacked from the ceiling to the floor
You spit in the eye of that wolf at your door
Levon Helm, Levon Helm, These hills won't be the same, without Levon Helm
Levon Helm, Levon Helm, There'll never be another, like Levon Helm
From poppin wheelies on that ole tractor
To Hollywood, bein an Actor
Founding Father of Americana
Ya never did anything, ya didn't wanna
Levon Helm, Levon Helm, These hills won't be the same, without Levon Helm
Levon Helm, Levon Helm, nobody banged that drum like , Levon Helm
Always your own man, your own master
A voice as unique as that cowbell Telecaster
Friends in every state of this land
Playin with Bob and Muddy and The Band
Levon Helm, Levon Helm, there'll never be another like Levon Helm
Levon Helm, Levon Helm, nobody sang a song like, Levon Helm
These hills, won't be the same without Levon Helm
Have a great week. More later!
Last week’s Levon Helm viewing/funeral for the fans was a sad and somber affair, but at least it was closure. The shock of realizing you would never see him again was somewhat offset by, well, seeing him again!
Levon’s casket was layed out, closed, on the Ramble stage, next to his drums, as it should be, and when you filed past you could see a slide show of photos of Levon being displayed on a large screen. I’m sure if you stayed there long enough, there’d have been all sorts of pictures, including ones of Levon on stage. There’d have to be! But when I got to the designated spot, the part of the slideshow that was playing was all pictures of Levon with his grandson, Lavon. The joy in that man’s eyes was so evident in those pictures! He always had that, but this was something special! He obviously loved that little boy and got so much joy from him! It was amazing and beautiful to see, and it made me so happy that in his final years, besides the historic comeback he engineered, with the help of manager, Barbara O’Brian, he also got to have this beautiful personal happiness! And how lucky Lavon was to have got to spend time with the world’s coolest grandpa!
But now that he is gone, I predict that his fame, his popularity as a recording artist and actor, and his legend as an American and international cultural icon will grow larger than life! And I really hope that The Levon Helm Band will carry on. They are simply too good to pass with Levon! The band has become adept at singing most of the songs in the repertoire in the years Levon battled cancer and his voice fell victim to it. They could simply carry on! They have the perfect drummer to fill the giant chair Levon vacated in Randy Ciarlante, who also is a singing drummer, like Levon, who also has a great, soulful voice, like Levon, who has a similar drumming style to Levon’s, who previously was a member of The Band, and who was already in The LHB playing double drums with Levon! The Levon Helm Band is one of the greatest musical units, and one of the greatest personal accomplishments, in musical history! Play on! Please?
They could continue on as The Levon Helm Band. After all, they are The Levon Helm Band. But that could confuse people who might somehow think that Levon, himself, is actually appearing, so I have a suggestion for the name of the Levonless Levon Helm Band – Live on! Or some combination or permutation thereof. Maybe The Live on Band, or Live on Helm Band. I don’t know. You know, something like that. Whaddya think? I think I like it. Ask me again next week and I’ll tell you for sure. Anyway, the important thing is just for this great rockin’ band, and the amazing music it plays, to live on under any name! I hope Larry and Amy agree.
I’m not really recommending much live music this week. I’m still real depressed about Levon. And all of the good music this week’s in the city. Well, maybe not all. There were a lot of shows this week that normally would have been weekly picks, but I just still didn’t feel like recommending anything, so I skipped all but the best. And the local bands that I do like (you know who you are) never send me their gigs (hint hint) so it’s hard to pick ‘em!
Thursday, May 3 – CHARLIE MUSSLEWHITE AND JOHN HAMMOND JR. at BB King’s. Two Blues legends on a double bill.
Friday, May 4 – JUNIOR MURVIN, who did the original “Police and Thieves”, which The Clash covered, is at BB King’s. At least, I think it’s Junior Murvin. It’s billed as “Junior Marvin”, but I’m assuming that’s a typo.
The RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS have become one of our best, most innovative, and smartest bands around. Tonight they start a two day run at The Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, which, of course, concludes tomorrow, Saturday, May 5.
Tuesday, May 8 – This event at BB King’s is being billed as “A TRIBUTE TO LEVON HELM WITH THE THE BAND BAND”. Get it? The, The Band, Band. These guys do the catalog of The Band, and they do it very well, and tonight should be a very special night worth traveling for
Wednesday, May 9 – THE BEACH BOYS are doing a 50th anniversary tour this summer WITH Brian Wilson. To me, that’s exciting. Tonight they’re at The Beacon Theater.
May next week be better than the last two.
| |  photo by Ahron R. Foster |
Last Tuesday was not a good day! As I was getting ready to leave for work, my daughter called to tell me her mother had died. A half hour later, on my way to the store, my car died and then burned up. Two hours later, a friend called to tell me Levon had only a couple of days to live!
As bad as the other stuff was, hearing the news about Levon was like getting sucker punched in the gut! He was so full of life, and after seeming to beat back the cancer, it seemed like he could never die, but death comes to us all, eventually, and April 19th was Levon’s time!
My 35 year relationship with The Band started back in 1978, when Emmett Grogan’s cousin introduced me to Rick Danko. Rick and I became fast friends, and after that, whenever Rick played, I was usually there! We talked about making movies and music together, but after the first night, when we sang together, Rick and I never did get a chance to work together. We sure did have a lot of good times though! After a while, it was inevitable that Rick would introduce me to Levon, Richard, and Garth, and I also became fast friends with Richard, and particularly Levon.
We saw each other often, over the years, and when I decided to move to the Hudson Valley, Levon told me where he thought were good places to live. During a very bad time in my life, he helped me out immensely, because, he said, “That’s what friends do”. When I was recovering from said traumatic event a few years later, I told Levon that he was my role model in my recovery. After all, he had recovered, it seemed, from so many traumatic events – cancer, bankruptcy, The Barn burning down, Rick and Richard’s deaths – and now he was on the road that brought him three Grammys and a major career comeback, before his untimely death last week. He was inspirational, in so many ways! Levon was the kind of guy who’d slip you a hundred bucks if he ran into you and thought you needed a helping hand!
His down home folk wisdom never ceased to amuse me. Who doesn’t love and understand a phrase like, “Even a blind chicken gets a peck of corn once in a while”? He had the ability to cut right to the heart of the matter with a simple phrase. His sense of humor always made me laugh and we always had a great time together!
And musically, he practically invented what became known as Americana music. He embodied it! On any given night, you could hear Blues, Rock n Roll, Country, R n B, Folk, and Dixieland music at one of his shows, but it all blended into Band/Levon Helm music. Only the cream of the crop can cover all those bases authentically – The Beatles, The Stones, Dave Edmunds and Rockpile, Bob Dylan, Elvis. You get the picture. He was in THAT kind of company! And they all knew it! Clapton broke up Cream after he heard The Band, and, in his book, writes of wanting to join The Band when he came to Woodstock! Bruce Springsteen said of Levon, “You get used to hearing versions of the thing. Levon IS the thing!”.
The band he put together in his final years is every bit as good as The Band, and it would be so sad to see it end here. The Levon Helm Band deserves to live on!
Anytime an American icon passes, it’s a sad day, but when it’s an old personal friend and a man who gave so much to the world, as Levon did, it’s hard to get through the day! His charity work was mammoth. He was always doing benefits for schools, fire fighters, cops, political candidates, and other worthy causes. His Kid’s Rambles touched the lives of many.
I’m just glad he was able to have the resurgence he did before the end. The three Grammys, the Americana Music Association awards, the high paying gigs, and the mobs of adoring fans. At least he went out on a high note! The sad part for me is that I never got to say goodbye and I’ll never see him again. Never hear that Arkansas accent tellin’ it like it is. Never hear that one of a kind voice sing “Rag Mama Rag” again. Never hear him lay down a backbeat with simplicity and grace.
But I will have my memories! Memories of the private times we shared, the Rambles, the kindness he extended to everyone, and the music. The glorious music! The music that will live as long as there are people to hear it! Godspeed my friend!
THERE WILL BE NO LIVE MUSIC PICKS THIS WEEK. THE MUSIC DIED AGAIN LAST WEEK WITH LEVON HELM. NOT TO WORRY THOUGH, THE MUSIC WILL BE REBORN NEXT WEEK.
Greetings, and welcome to my favorite time of the year! Reservoir Music is moved (to 711 Route 28 in Kingston), so I’m back this week with a full length column. Since I took a short break from writing to move the store, y’all might not know that this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies were held over the past weekend. This year’s inductees in the “Performer” category were Guns n Roses, Small Faces/Faces, Donovan, Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Laura Nyro. The great Freddie King made it in the “Early Influence” category. “Sidemen” inducted this year included Tom Dowd, Cosimo Matassa, Glyn Johns, and Don Kirshner. Also in the “Performer” category, backing bands The Blue Caps, Crickets, Midnighters, Miracles, Famous Flames, and Comets were inducted.
Last year at this time, in my column of March 17th, 2011, I wrote a column called “The Top Ten Bands that should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but Aren’t”. I wrote this particular column in response to last year’s class of inductees, who I felt were particularly weak. Three of those on my list, Guns n Roses, Donovan, and Small Faces/Faces were inducted this year. A fourth, Tom Dowd, is a talent I have championed for many years. So I feel a little bit vindicated, but I’m still looking for the rest of my list, which was Love, T Rex, Gram Parsons, Little Feat, J. Geils Band, Joe Cocker, and Johnny Winter.
In other music news, the classic Bob Dylan album, “Blood on the Tracks”, is being made into a movie. I always thought that album played like a movie, but I’ll bet the movie sucks, unless they put a vampire in it! The subject matter is usually better in song than stage, but, of course, I reserve judgment until seen!
And sadly, Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb is reportedly in a coma and not expected to live more than a couple more days. He’s been fighting cancer.
So I guess we’re up to this week’s live music picks. Here they are.
Wednesday, April 18 – It’s the final night for FURTHER at The Beacon Theater in Manhattan. They’ll be back this Summer though, so, not to worry. A few blocks further downtown, PAUL SIMON is getting together with his two friends from Nawlins, WYNTON MARSALAS and AARON NEVILLE, at Rose Hall in the Time/Warner Center. Should be a real uptown getdown!
Thursday, April 19 – The WOODSTOCK WRITERS FESTIVAL kicks off tonight with a Rock n Roll Story Slam at Oriole 9 in Woodstock. Many more events are planned for the entire weekend. The one I’m interested in is Augusten Burroughs at The Bearsville Theater Saturday night. Full schedule and more info at www.woodstockwritersfestival.com.
Friday, April 20 – This week is really a great week for music, and tonight, if you’re downstate, is a real beaut! Local resident, GRAHAM PARKER, is at City Winery with his current backing band, THE FIGGS, Americana hero, JOHN PRINE, is at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ, and Texas rockers, LUCERO, are at Webster Hall in Manhattan. Graham Parker with a full band is one of the rockin’est performers you’ll ever see! (And he’s real good solo too!). John Prine is one of our best songwriters. And Lucero just rocks! Catch one of ‘em if you’re in the city!
Saturday, April 21 - The Wellmont is on some kind of roll this weekend! They’re following last night’s John Prine show with SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY tonight and Allison Krause on Sunday! Whatta weekend! The aforementioned AUGUSTEN BURROUGHS, author of “Running with Scissors” and other books, will be holding court at The Bearsville Theater, and PATTI ROTHBERG is at Market Market in Rosendale. I’ve heard mixed reports about Patti’s live shows, but if she does “Dirt”, it’s worth the price of admission.
Sunday, April 22 – The Wellmont continues it’s roll with ALLISON KRAUSE AND UNION STATION featuring JERRY DOUGLAS. Douglas is considered the best Dobro picker around, Allison’s a great singer, and the rest of the band is top notch too! One of the premier Bluegrass/ Newgrass groups around! THE AVETT BROTHERS is a band that I just have been unable to get into. My friends from BR 549 toured with them before they were big and they told me about them back then. Critics love ‘em. Fans love ‘em. So far, I don’t really get it. But everyone says they’re great, so make up your own mind! At The Palace Theater, Albany.
Monday, April 23 – The Incomparable GYPSY KINGS bring their troupe to The Beacon Theater in Manhattan.
Please keep my dear friend, Buddy Cage, in your prayers and meditations. Buddy was just diagnosed with cancer and will be undergoing chemo soon. Buddy was the pedal steel guitarist who for The New Riders of the Purple Sage for most of their career, after taking over from Jerry Garcia early on, and also was a member of my band, The Brooklyn Cowboys, amongst many other impressive credits, not the least of which is Bob Dylan’s “Blood on the Tracks”. Get well soon pal!
Have a great week! It’s good to be back!
Greetings, and welcome back to Reservoir Music Notes! I haven’t been on Facebook, I haven’t written my column, and I’ve been pulling 18 hour days for the past three weeks while moving my store, Reservoir Music, a few miles down the road! As of this writing, we are fully in our new location, 711 Route 28, Kingston, NY 12401. I kept the phone numbers. Call at 845-657-6127 or email to reservoirmusic@gmail.com. I am so happy to be in my new location! It’s like night and day, hot and cold, porter and wagoner, the difference between the vibe at my new place versus the old. The old location was good to me, but this one promises to take it to another level! It’s like I got a new lease on life! I can’t wait to get here every morning and I don’t wanna leave at night! I’m really enjoying what I do again! Y’all should stop by and you’ll see what I’m talking about! I look forward to greeting you at my new establishment. This is gonna be a minimalized blog this week. It’s not that I have nothing to say. It’s that my head just stopped spinning from the last three weeks of moving and getting reorganized, and I still need one more week to return to normal, so there won’t be any live music picks this week. Yer on yer own! I will say, though, that Further, Springsteen, and NRBQ are all gonna be around this week and next, so, maybe it’s time for an arena show! NRBQ, BTW, are not playing an arena! Enjoy your week, and I’ll see you back here next week with a full length piece of my mind! Thanks for reading!
Greetings all and welcome to another week of Reservoir Music Notes. Boy am I in a frenzy! I mentioned last week that Reservoir Music is moving to 711 Route 28, just east of the Hickory Barbecue, and the preparations have my head spinning! And we haven’t even started to actually move yet! Stop by our original spot at 3179 Route 28 in the next two weeks for great moving sale bargains! I’m lowballing anything I don’t have to move. As you might have guessed from my live music picks from two weeks ago, and the picture I ran with last week’s column online (at www.reservoirmusiccenter.com and www.hvmusic.com), I went down to the city to see my old friend’s in Bobby Keys and The Sufferin’ Bastards, and they did not disappoint! For those of you who somehow missed my column from two weeks ago, or just plain don’t know who Bobby Keys is, he’s the sax player from a little combo called The Rolling Stones. Never an official member of the group, Bobby has nevertheless played on every Stones’ album since 1969 (except for a brief leave of absence from 1975 to 1979) and has been on every Stones’ tour since 1970! But that’s far from all! Bobby also played the immortal sax part on John Lennon’s “Whatever gets you Through the Night”, George Harrison’s “What is Life”, and the blazing sax solo on Dion’s “The Wanderer”. In his spare time, he also guested on albums by The Who, Delaney and Bonnie, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Harry Nilsson, Leo Sayer, Ringo Starr, Carly Simon, Dr. John, Marvin Gaye, Lynrd Skynrd, Faces, and other albums with members of The Beatles! Plus he played the baritone sax part on Elvis’ “Return to Sender”! And really, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The guy hit the road with Bobby Vee in 1956 at the age of 15, joined Buddy Holly within a year, and never looked back! Bobby Keys has been a touring musician at the highest levels of the music world since 1956! Is there anyone he hasn’t played with? Well, anyway, we went down there and the opening act seemed pretty good until Bobby and his troupe of top shelf musician’s started their set. The band included members of The Georgia Satellites, John Fogerty Band, Lynrd Sknrd, The Black Crowes, and The Brooklyn Cowboys, and they rocked their way through a selection of Bobby Keys’ greatest hits – “Brown Sugar”, “Whatever gets you Through the Night”, “The Wanderer”, “Can’t you Hear me Knockin’”, “What is Life” and many, many more. A splendid time was had by all! And speaking of The Rolling Stones, word has it that their 50th anniversary tour will be postponed until 2013. Apparently, Charlie didn’t join up until ’63, so that’s their official birthday! In other Stones’ news, Mick and Keith both stuck their toes in the water last month, Keith performing with Eric Clapton and others for the “Howling for Hubert” benefit at The Apollo Theater, and Mick by playing at The White House for President Obama’s tribute to The Blues. Really Mick, The White House? While Keith was at The Apollo? Well, therein lies the keys to their separate personalities! Anyway, we’d better get busy with this week’s live music picks, cause it’s a busy week for music! Dear readers, did you know that there are approximately 350 - 400 musical events each week in the New York City area alone? That’s not even counting the Hudson Valley and the Capital Region, all of which I must report on in order to keep my readers informed! That’s a lot of sortin’ just to come up with the dozen or so shows I recommend, but I do it because I care! So, here we go. Thursday, March 22 – Peaking band THE BLACK KEYS are at Madison Square Garden, and the MARLEY BROTHERS, Stephen, Damian, and Julian are at the Best Buy Theater in Times Square. Up in the Hudson Valley, way up, Pete Jacobs and his band of Berklee students, DIRTY BLIND, open for JEFFERSON STARSHIP at The Oneonta Theater. Friday, March 23 – Tonight it would be nice to be able to split oneself into two or three people to catch all the great music happening this evening. BERNIE WORRELL, major player in the ParliaFunkadelicment thang and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, brings his BERNIE WORRELL ORCHESTRA with special guest Jimmy Destri from Blondie, into The Brooklyn Bowl. Besides his historic work with Parliament-Funkadelic, Bernie’s played and recorded with Talking Heads, Public Image, Ltd., Keith Richards, and a whole host of A-list others. If you’re nearby, go! FIONA APPLE is at The Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight. I love Fiona Apple! Her song “Criminal” is a desert island disc for me! Frontman RHETT MILLER of Americana group The Old 97’s stops in at the City Winery and CITIZEN COPE, one of the better newer, younger artists of the last decade, makes his first appearance at Carnegie Hall. Moving upstate, we have Woodstock’s own LEVON HELM at the Tarrytown Music Hall for the first of two nights. Continuing up the Hudson, ALEXIS P. SUTER returns to The Falcon in Marlborough, and at The Bearsville Theater the OFFICIAL BLUES BROTHERS REVUE, endorsed by John Belushi’s widow, brings their mix of comedy and RnB to Woodstock. Finally, up in Hudson, AVONDALE AIRFORCE pulls into Club Helsinki. Now, I’ve never heard this band, but Peter Aaron knows his music, so this should be at the very least, pretty good. Saturday, March 24 – LEVON finishes his weekend at Tarrytown Music Hall, SIMONE FELICE BAND is at The Falcon, and THE FAB FAUX are at The Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ. Also, at The Bearsville Theater, the REGGAE SPRING JAM DANCE PARTY, featuring a mix of live bands and DJ’s, will dub the house. Sunday, March 25 – Legendary reggae group, TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS are at The Brooklyn Bowl for the first of two shows. Monday, March 26 – The lovely and talented FIONA APPLE brings her show to The Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan. I already told you that I love her! Tuesday, March 27 – TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS are back at The Brooklyn Bowl for a second night, and BB King’s will be hosting a CELEBRATION OF SUN RECORDS 60th ANNIVERSARY featuring ROBERT GORDON and the band from the Broadway show, MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET. And of course, THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND is still at The Beacon Theater in Manhattan, finishing up their annual three week run this week. The weather is beautiful and the nights are rockin, so get out and support live music. Have a great week!
 Bobby Keys and The Sufferin' Bastards at The Highline Ballroom, 3-11-12. Band members include Dan Baird (Georgia Satellites), Steve Gorman (Black Crowes), and Michael Webb (John Fogerty, Brooklyn Cowboys).
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