#Creedence Clearwater Revival concert poster

[pavel-1975]

[appealingtonobody]

[retropopcult]

1971

[rockandrollpicsandthings]

Creedence Clearwater Revival, great artwork on this concert poster for a show in Vancouver BC

[illustraction]

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL San Francisco concert poster (1968) - The EYE POPPIN’ ART OF RICK GRIFFIN (Part 2/10)

Out of all the great concert posters designed by RICK GRIFFIN  this one designed for CCR’s 1968 Fillmore West shows (BG 137 in the Bill Graham Fillmore Series) is among my favorite

Griffin and the est of the Big 5 knew well ow to use Art and advertising and turn it upside down to create counter culture images that would appeal to an appreciative audience. Here Griffin used the “laughing cow’ dairy brand to create an instant classic image for John Fogerty’s band.

Another masterpieces from the BIG FIVE’s most ‘out there’ Artist who left us too soon

All our RICK GRIFFIN posters are here

ALL our CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL POSTERS ARE HERE

If you like this entry, check the other 9 parts of this week’s Blog as well as our Blog Archives

All our NEW POSTERS are here

All our ON SALE posters are here

The poster above courtesy of ILLUSTRACTION GALLERY

[howaminotinthestrokesyet]

From Green River to Nirvana to Bush: A Brief History of Grunge

The origin of the term grunge, which means either repugnant or dirty came from most likely a Sub Pop music catalog to describe an EP released by the band Green River in 1987. “Gritty vocals, roaring Marshall amps, ultra-loose GRUNGE that destroyed the morals of a generation". The term grunge had been used since the 1960’s to describe an array of bands, but this was the first time the term had been applied to any music out of Seattle. One of the reasons the music coming out of Seattle sounded so dirty or sludgy came for a very practical reason. Most of these groups did not have very much money, which meant when creating new songs in the studio these artists could not spend the money they did not have on cleaning up the sound. The scene of Seattle first came from two colleges, Evergreen State and the University of Washington, which brought about the hugely popular radio station KAOS, where Nirvana would actually play in 1987. Many major bands that came out of Seattle like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden hated the term. One primary reason was the fact that it stereotyped these bands into one generic genre as even these three specific groups were vastly different from one another. Nirvana was pop punk, Pearl Jam embodied classic rock, and Soundgarden turned out to be much more metal. Ben Shepherd of Soundgarden would say he hated the term and did not want to be associated with it. Many musicians from Seattle all the way down the line never referred to grunge in any manner whatsoever. Rolling Stone would say that there did not exist any clear definition of what defined grunge as it covered a bunch of bands that were very different from each other.

The start of early grunge in Seattle began when Black Flag came to town in 1984. They were the poster child for hardcore punk at the time. Black Flag’s album My War was huge in terms of Seattle’s sound as it took elements of metal and traditional rock, then slowed it down. Steve Turner of Mudhoney would later comment. “A lot of other people around the country hated the fact that Black Flag slowed down ... but up here it was really great ... we were like 'Yay!' They were weird and fucked-up sounding." One of the people that went to these Black Flag shows was Buzz Osbourne, lead singer of local group the Melvins. After seeing Black Flag, he began writing riffs for his own band that were much slower and heavier. This became the very beginning of Northwest grunge, which producer Jack Endino called slowed down punk rock. Seattle musician Leighton Breezer would describe it as essentially playing punk rock backwards. Another key ingredient to grunge’s development came in the infusion of metal elements with the greatest influence being Black Sabbath. One approach for these early bands was to take a metal riff, then play it backwards with a ton of feedback, while screaming lyrics on top of it. Another other source of the grunge sound came with indie rock, which should not be discounted because it brought that pop melody into the equation. A huge influence on this emerged with Sonic Youth. Other artists included Pixies and Dinosaur Jr. Kurt Cobain identified with the former in particular as he noted in a Rolling Stone interview, "I connected with that band so heavily that I should have been in that band—or at least a Pixies cover band. We used their sense of dynamics, being soft and quiet and then loud and hard." These artists did seem to embrace the ugly aspect of the music as they loved to pen dark lyrics mirroring society at the time. This stood in stark contrast to the mainstream sex, drugs and rock and roll of the hair metal coming out of Los Angeles. The Seattle bands would even take things from so called cheesy rock bands like Kiss. Buzz Osbourne would say they would steal from the ridiculous rock bands too seeing what they could get away with all the time. Rock writer Kyle Anderson would say this about grunge when reviewing Sixteen Stone from Bush. “The twelve songs on Sixteen Stone sound exactly be like what grunge is supposed to sound like, while the whole point of grunge was that it didn't really sound like anything, including itself. Just consider how many different bands and styles of music have been shoved under the "grunge" header in this discography alone, and you realize that grunge is probably the most ill-defined genre of music in history."

Certain artists prior to bands like the Melvins and Green River heavily influenced that Seattle sound including Here Are The Sonics, released in 1965 by The Sonics.[153] Neil Young's albums Rust Never Sleeps (1979) and Ragged Glory (1990). Neil Young symbolized everything that grunge and Seattle seemed to represent including plaid flannels and distorted guitar. He would even have Pearl Jam act as his backing band for the 1995 album Mirror Ball. These groups were soon labeled proto-grunge. Other artists included Elvis Costello, the Stooges, Led Zeppelin, and Creedence Clearwater Revival for their respective 1970’s and 1980’s albums. Another effect on the development of the sound came in the city of Seattle itself as it flew below the radar when compared with other cities. Sub Pop’s Jonathan Poneman would say in an interview. “Seattle was a perfect example of a secondary city with an active music scene that was completely ignored by an American media fixated on Los Angeles and New York [City]." Everything about the style that would become associated with Seattle came out of necessity, not really any choice. Trucker hats, pawnshop clothes, cheap guitar all sprung from the fact that Seattle in fact was a very poor town. For his part, Kurt Cobain when Nevermind went number one was actually living in his car. Local post-punk bands also had an effect on what eventually became the grunge bands of the late eighties such as The Fartz, The U-Men, 10 Minute Warning, The Accüsed, and the Fastbacks. Yet, one must note there existed a differential between these groups and those that came to define early grunge.

The very first grunge record has been regularly referred to as Come on Down from Green River. The band would later split up with half the group later forming Pearl Jam and the other half creating Mudhoney. Another release that hugely helped along the development of the Seattle sound was in the Deep Six compilation featuring tracks from six bands: Green River, Soundgarden, Melvins, Malfunkshun, Skin Yard, and The U-Men. Jack Endino would make this observation about the release at the time. “People just said, 'Well, what kind of music is this? This isn't metal, it's not punk, What is it?' ... People went 'Eureka! These bands all have something in common.'" Later around the same time, Sub Pop released a similar compilation, along with a new EP from Green River, Dry As a Bone. The effect of the Sub Pop label had everything to do with the Seattle sound too because of their heavy commitment to cleverly selling the brand to the rest of the world as one of the greatest regional music scenes in the history of the world. The early concerts sponsored by the label were not attended by very many people, but Sub Pop’s photographer made it look like the concert of the year. Their marketing was top notch when it came to letting the rest of the world know there was something incredible happening in Seattle. Sub Pop was not alone in spearheading the indie movement in the Pacific Northwest, but other labels released new music including C/Z Records, Estrus Records, EMpTy Records and PopLlama Records. In the late 1980’s, Jonathan Poneman of Sub Pop asked Everett True to write about the local Seattle music scene for Melody Maker. This article gave Seattle some of the first mainstream national exposure besides word of mouth. According to Charles R. Cross, the bands that embodied the grunge sound more than anyone else were not just Nirvana or Pearl Jam, but groups like Tad, Mudhoney, Blood Circus. Sub Pop actually looked to Mudhoney to be the breakout band from their label allowing Nirvana to leave without much protest.

The negative issue with such exposure became that new groups began to move to Seattle hoping to be discovered while claiming to be an authentic local group, when in reality they were not. Steve Turner would say, “It was really bad. Pretend bands were popping up here, things weren't coming from where we were coming from." The first group to sign to a major label was Soundgarden, followed by Alice In Chains and Screaming Trees soon after. Unfortunately, this really signaled the end of a truly independent local music scene, but the major labels coming to Washington state was probably inevitable.

The major label signings were expected but when Nirvana released Nevermind, the repercussions were in no way contemplated in any way whatsoever. The success of the record changed everything because it made what would become alternative music able to be sold as merchandise and in a cultural sense. Michael Azerrad said it represented "a sea-change in rock music" in which the entire country said we are done with hair metal. We want something a bit more realistic when it comes to our music. The newfound popularity of grunge made it possible for other niche audiences to consider the potential financially and culturally for their music to be successful. A more current example may be seen in dubstep and EDM. Pearl Jam would be the first beneficiaries of Nirvana’s lightning bolt, no pun intended. Jeff Ament and Stone Goddard, formerly of Green River and Mother Lovebone, had joined forces with a California surfer by the name of Eddie Vedder. People tend to forget that Pearl Jam’s seminal album Ten was actually released a month before Nevermind. By 1992, the entire country had embraced everything Seattle including Pearl Jam, Temple of the Dog, Soundgarden, and Alice In Chains. Journalists were starting to call the city the “New Liverpool.” Cameron Crowe even made a film centered around Seattle entitled Singles, which featured a fictitious band with Eddie Vedder as their drummer. The fashion fads of grunge did not go unnoticed to corporate America as knit caps and flannels would increase in price very quickly. Entertainment Weekly made this observation in 1993. “There hasn't been this kind of exploitation of a subculture since the media discovered hippies in the '60s". One could now see grunge being sold in the form of all kinds of products including an official grunge air freshener.

There do exist some characteristics of the grunge sound itself that people did agree upon, but much like the term itself there are open debates as well. As noted previously, the electric guitar had represented a dirty sound, hence the name grunge. There existed a heavy emphasis on distortion through the use of stompbox pedals with very large amplifiers connected to them. The other major characteristic that defined grunge besides distortion was loudness. Some critics have dismissed the artistry within grudge as merely noise, not anything else. Another effect utilized by grunge was the guitarists use of the Wah Wah pedal as evidenced by Pearl Jam, the Screaming Trees, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains. The controversial and debatable aspect of the guitar is the question of whether the popularity of the music helped to kill the guitar solo. Most of grunge’s guitarists despised the shredding solos made famous in the 1980’s by such musicians as Eddie Van Halen. Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains would say that guitar solos should serve as a complement to the song, not its own entity. Will Byers of the Guardian wrote an article that argued grunge’s guitarists like Kurt Cobain helped to effectively kill the guitar solo in popular music. Unlike classic artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and others from Seattle had very little interest in mastering the instrument. The Soundgarden guitarist would even say that he got bored doing solos, so he just filled it with fuzz and distortion anyway. The argument does fall apart a little bit when you look at the entire breadth of grunge at the time because Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready and the Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan have been consistently referred to as some of the most influential guitarists in the entire decade. The production was also similar in approach as it heavily emphasized low cost, which always meant a low fi sound. For the band Mudhoney, they had to tell the record label to decrease the budget for one of their albums because they did not need to spend that much. The two important producers were Jack Endino and Steve Albini. They both took a very hands off approach to producing with very little to do with remastered effects and mixing. They both believed that the job of the producer was to simply record the music, but not impede in any way creatively for the artist. For example, In Utero was recorded in the same room with the entire band, while most mainstream producers would have recorded it separately then combined them on a multi track recorder. That approach would often give off a very live feel to a grunge release from the recording studio. Many bands simply wanted to replicate the sound energy from their live shows. A grunge concert was defined by bands who jumped, thrashed, and screamed on stage, while most of the audience would mosh or slam dance. The artists would never use any visual aids, props, or special effects to enhance the experience, but instead you were simply seeing essentially a local band. Dave Rimmer would write about the philosophy behind any true grunge show. It seemed “for Cobain, and lots of kids like him, rock & roll ... threw down a dare: Can you be pure enough, day after day, year after year, to prove your authenticity, to live up to the music ... And if you can't, can you live with being a poseur, a phony, a sellout?"

One of the negative aspects associated with grunge came in the question of how prevalent overall did heroin play in the lives of the artists. Not only did Kurt Cobain suffer from heroin addiction, but other artists did as well from that era including Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots, Evan Dando of the Lemonheads, Jimmy Chamberlain of Smashing Pumpkins, Courtney Love of Hole, and Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees. The comparison was made to the hippies of the 1960’s, who had embraced marijuana. The grunge musicians of the 1990’s seemed to look to heroin while in the city of Seattle. The downer effects of the drug represented what the lyrics told you about how these artists were feeling, self-hatred, nihilism. By taking heroin, someone could hide themselves from the world avoiding any sense of reality. The drug would take many casualties along the way including Andrew Wood of Mother Lovebone, Cobain, the keyboardist for the Smashing Pumpkins, Layne Staley of Alice in Chains, and later the bassist for the band Hole. One group that almost beat Nirvana to the punch of making it on a national basis was Mother Lovebone. Their lead singer Andrew Wood tragically died of a heroin overdose right before their debut album Green Apple was set to be released. They represented the number one band throughout the local Seattle music scene at the time. After his death, the remaining members of Mother Love Bone, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, and Eddie Vedder joined up to create the tribute band for the late singer, Temple of the Dog. One of the first times fans heard Eddie Vedder on record was not Pearl Jam’s Ten, but actually Temple of the Dog. Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard did eventually join up with Vedder to form Pearl Jam. Courtney Love would a later comment that she thought heroin was easier to get in Seattle, than it was in Los Angeles or San Francisco. Yet, Daniel House of C/Z Records would argue that the idea of Seattle being a mecca for heroin was simply not true. He said the prevalence of the drug was no worse than any other American city in the country, while magazines like Rolling Stone contended that marijuana and MDMA seemed to be more likely the drug of choice for these artists.

Another important characteristic of grunge was is the active role that women played as musicians, as well as promoters of the movement. These groups included acts such as L7, Lunachicks, Dickless, 7 Year Bitch, The Gits, Courtney Love's band Hole (and Love's other 1990s groups), and Babes in Toyland. VH1 writer Dan Baker would comment that L7 were an “all-female grunge band [that] emanated from the fertile L.A. underground scene and [which] had strong ties with ... Black Flag and could match any male band in attitude and volume." The lead singer of the all girl band Bikini Kill Katherine Hanna would help to start the feminist punk underground movement called Riotgrrrl in the Pacific Northwest out of Olympia, Washington. This social and political movement began to embrace some of the same qualities found within grunge music. Singer Hanna was also the person that coined the phrase Smells Like Teen Spirit as Cobain had dated her drummer Toby Vail for a time. Coincidentally, she would later go onto marry Adam Horowitz of the Beastie Boys.

By late 1992, there began a strong backlash against anything referred to as grunge. Both Damon Albarn and Billy Corgan of Blur and Smashing Pumpkins respectively would say at their live shows, “Fuck grunge.” Kurt Cobain would say in an interview that being famous was the last thing he ever wanted to be. Along with a return to their punk roots, Nirvana’s album In Utero subtly was intentionally “abrasive” as a form of protest against the entire grunge trend. Despite their efforts, the album still went number one in its first week of release. Everything grunge related saw incredible success including groups like Candlebox, Soundgarden, and Alice In Chains, as they all released records that saw platinum achievement very quickly. As LA looked for the next Motley Crue in the 1980’s, record labels now began to look for the next Nirvana. Some of these second wave groups included Stone Temple Pilots, Veruca Salt, and Toadies. Unfortunately, Stone Temple Pilots were called out in the press for jumping on the bandwagon that was the Seattle sound. Their biggest flaw came in being from Los Angeles, not Seattle. Another group that suffered from this backlash was represented with Bush, who released their second album in 1994, Razorblade Suitcase. Chuck Klosterman would write, “Bush was a good band who just happened to signal the beginning of the end; ultimately, they would become the grunge Warrant.” The exact death of grunge has been debated as to a precise date, but one of the biggest factors came when Pearl Jam and Soundgarden began to fade from view for a time. Another huge issue came with the death of Hole’s bassist from a heroin overdose. This just brought up memories from Kurt Cobain’s tragic death as his widow was lead singer of the group. Jason Heller of the av club would write the the final nail in grunge’s coffin actually came in the release of In Utero in 1993. He argued that once his angst became commercial, then it was time to leave the scene. Nirvana had made the scene, and they obviously ended it. Billy Corgan would say after the death of Cobain in an interview, “The party’s over.”

[wigmonster]

dave has canonically seen a pearl jam concert. he hates canadian reggae/rap musician snow. he hates limp bizkit. he could not immediately identify "africa" by toto, calling it a duran duran song at first

one of them owns/owned at least one whitesnake tape (since dave played "here i go again" on his boombox at the beginning of book 1)

we know john fucking HATES creedence clearwater revival. he likes at least one prince song. i feel in my bones hes a tool fan.

i have no clue about amy. my heart says she likes vocaloid. Oh in book one she has a poster for vnv nation on her bedroom door, and "posters [...] for bands [dave] had never heard of" so she could listen to literally anything

in a universe not too far off from our own, john is a ska fan. imagine him listening to operation ivy and streetlight manifesto. its pretty easy right.

[certifieddepressed-blog]

Creedence Clearwater Revival

[hudsonrhine]

Vintage CCR concert poster

[donnahinkleystaceytroy]

Ike & Tina Turner Hot Pink Day-Glo Concert Poster (1970) An original advertising window card for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue at the Seattle Center Arena on Friday, May 8, 1970. This poster is special for a number of reasons, most obviously being its bright florescent Day-Glo colors of pink, orange and yellow. Throw in black & white and you have a five-color, wickedly dynamic poster board for one of the most exciting performers in 60’s & 70’s rock. (“Lyman” is the only credit given for the poster’s artwork.) Besides its visual appeal, this poster also has a robust composition, being an inch wider, half-an-inch taller and much thicker than most other standard 14x22’s. It was made by the Washington Poster Co. (credited in the lower left white margin), a company known for making extra-thick boards in the Pacific Northwest in the late 60’s and early 70’s, perhaps to withstand all the rain. “Northwest Releasing & KOL Present,” the poster says. “Ike & Tina Turner Revue,” with Tina being such an obvious breakout star that there was no reason to picture anyone else… much like Janis Joplin a couple of years ahead of her. “Seattle Center Arena, Fri. May 8 - 8:30 PM. Tickets: Bon Marche & Suburban Outlets.” This poster was printed using Day-Glo florescent inks, which really stand out in broad daylight. And then those inks take on a whole new appearance under a blacklight, those purple tube-lights that became all the rage in head shops and hippie pads in the late Sixties. Check out the additional photo of this poster under a blacklight, it adds quite a wow factor. Amazing how the yellow lettering turns to bright green, the pink turns to orange and the orange to a dull yellow! This poster measures 15" x 22.5" and is in gorgeous Near Mint condition. It would be straight mint except for one small pair of staple holes in each corner, barely visible. There’s also one corner bump, a small ink smudge on the bottom margin, and the tiniest brown mark above Tina’s right shoulder. This is all just full disclosure stuff; it’s a museum-quality specimen. COA from Heritage Auctions. More Information: 1969 was the year that Ike & Tina opened for the Rolling Stones’ landmark tour of America, and 1970 was the year they decided to backburner R&B songs, which Tina was tiring of, for rock & roll covers. The result was a charting single with the Beatles’ “Come Together,” a Top 40 hit with Sly & the Family Stone’s “I Want to Take You Higher,” and the recording of a Top 5 smash with Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary.” What a time for the duo, and for Tina! shorturl.at/ahDS7

[junerecords]

THIS WEEK’S USED ARRIVALS

This Week’s Noteworthy Used LP Arrivals Alice Cooper - Easy Action Alice Cooper - Love It To Death The Allman Brothers Band - Brothers & Sisters Bauhaus - The Sky’s Gone Out LP + 12” (Original Pressing) David Bowie - Changes One David Bowie - “Heroes” (Original Pressing) David Bowie - …Ziggy Stardust… (UK Original With Inner Sleeve) Kate Bush - The Kick Inside (Original Pressing) The Byrds - Fifth Dimension Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band - Clear Spot (Original Pressing w/ Poly Sleeve) Johnny Cash - Ring Of Fire: The Best Of… Eric Clapton - Journeyman Dennis Coffey - Finger Lickin Good (Original Pressing) Leonard Cohen - Songs Of… (With Lyric Sheet) Leonard Cohen - Various Positions (Original Pressing) Tony Cook - … Reality Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True Creedence Clearwater Revival - Will & The Poor Boys (Original Pressing) CSNY - Déja Vu (Original Pressing) Miles Davis - At Fillmore 2LP (Original Pressing) Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler - Best Of… 2LP Faces - Ooh La La (US Original, Gimmick Cover) Funk Inc. - Priced To Sell (US Original) Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway 2LP (Original Pressing) Genesis - Seconds Out 2LP (UK Original) Monk Higgins - Dance To The Disco Sax Of… (US Original) Lynn Hope - And His Tenor Sax… (Jamaican Import) The Incredible String Band - The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter (US Original) Keith Jarrett - Expectations 2LP (Original Pressing) Keith Jarrett - The Köln Concert 2LP Lynyrd Skynyrd - Second Coming Bob Marley & The Wailers - Babylon By Bus 2LP (Original Pressing) Bob Marley & The Wailers - Rastaman Vibration (Original Pressing) Bob Marley & The Wailers - Uprising (US Original) Fred McDowell - Keep Your Lamp Trimmed & Burning (US Original) Jack McDuff - Sophisticated Funk (US Original) Jackie Mittoo - Hot Blood (UK Original) Van Morrison - Moondance Morphine - Cure For Pain 2LP The Music Machine - Turn On (Original Pressing) Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson Nucleus - Nucleus (Original Pressing) Mary Margaret O’Hara - Miss America Ohio Players - Pleasure Pet Shop Boys - Introspective Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon (With Posters) Oscar Peterson Trio - Night Train (Original Pressing) Paulette Reaves - Secret Lover (US Original) Redd Holt Unlimited - The Other Side Of The Moon… (US Original) Steve Reich - Octet / Music For A Large Ensemble (US Original) REM - Lifes Rich Pageant The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers Todd Rundgren - Runt Rush - A Farewell To Kings (Original Pressing) The Soft Machine - The Soft Machine (Original Pressing, Uncensored Cover) Steely Dan - Aja (CDN. Only Yellow Vinyl) Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic (US Original) Supertramp - Indelibly Stamped Supertramp - Supertramp Traffic - The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys (UK Original) Visitors - Poet’s End Bunny Wailer - Dubdisco Vol. 2 (Jamaican Original) Muddy Waters - The Real Folk Blues (Original Pressing) Joy White - Sentimental Reasons Neil Young - On The Beach (Original Pressing) Neil Young - Time Fades Away (Original Pressing With Poster) Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Rust Never Sleeps V/A - Quad Star Revolution *plus many more…

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: The Feelies’ Stanley Demeski

Forty years ago, some young men from Haledon New Jersey started a rock band named after an Aldous Huxley reference. The Feelies shared influences (the Stooges, the Modern Lovers, the Velvet Underground, the Rolling Stones) and ultimately stages with the punk bands that played at CBGBs and other clubs across the river in New York, but never a sound. Their white-knuckled guitar rave-ups propelled terse tales of suburban anxiety and musical transcendence stood out from the rest of the Stiff Records line-up at least as much as the fact that they were American and the rest of the line-up wasn’t. After their first LP Crazy Rhythms the rhythm section quit and guitarists Glenn Mercer and Bill Millions recruited drummer Stanley Demeski, percussionist Dave Weckerman, and bassist Brenda Sauter, who have been with the Feelies ever since. Since Feelies time encompasses long dormant phases, Demeski, who provides our Listed today, has also had time for stints in Luna, Speed The Plough, Winter Hours, and East Of Venus. The Feelies just released In Between, their first album in six years; Bill Meyer’s review of it for Dusted notes, “The Feelies may tell small tales and play like they’re living in them, but it all rings true.”

Demeski had this to say about his list: I’ve done these before, mostly on stupid Facebook, so I’ll use the “10 LP’s that influenced my playing and general taste in music” theme for this one. I’m going to try to go in chronological order.

1. The Beatles – Beatles ‘65

I was born in 1960 and I had 2 older siblings. My brother was 6 years older than me and my sister was 5 years older, so my sister got to experience Beatlemania pretty well. She had the “I Want To Hold Your Hand” 45 and various others but this was the 1st Beatle LP in our house. The UK version is my favorite Beatles LP. It’s really the first time I got to hear Ringo play in various styles. Some of the lessons learned here: Rim Shots rule, keep steady time and consistent volume, and be careful how you use the cymbal “wash”. I rarely use it but when Ringo did it usually sounded great. This LP was probably also my first exposure to Chuck Berry and maybe Carl Perkins too, but I think Elvis's version of “Blue Suede Shoes” may have been around our house since my mom is a big Elvis fan.

2. The Rolling Stones – Through the Past, Darkly

I started to think I should play drums somewhere during my 3rd grade school year. They had an “introduction to concert band instruments” program and the poster that showed the snare drum sold me on it. And cowbells really caught my ear. Around the summer of 1969 you had “Spinning Wheel” by Blood, Sweat and Tears, “Down on the Corner” by Creedence Clearwater Revival and “Honky Tonk Women” by the Rolling Stones all featuring cowbell. The last song is the one that really put me over the top. As soon as I got a drum set a few years later, the first addition was a cowbell. And I got this LP and played along to it as much as possible. To this day I pretty much play the drum fills from “Dandelion” over and over in my playing. One of my biggest drum tributes is I took the drum intro to “Honky Tonk Women” and used it in a song on the 3rd Luna LP. Not the cowbell intro, the part where the actual drum set comes in. I though it was real obvious. No one's ever noticed it.

3. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Cosmo’s Factory

I got this pretty close to when it came out. In those days there were usually local record stores and I got this at one. It has several hits, expanded jams, and no filler in my opinion, plus some cowbell thrown in for good measure. Doug Clifford is another huge influence on me. Great drum sound, perfect time and feel, and again, the source of many of the drum fills I use in my playing. “Again Today” from Feelies LP #5 is my tribute to Mr. Clifford. The feel I play is all his, channeled through me to the best of my abilities.

4. The Doors – 13 / LA Woman

I kind of have to pair these up. I always loved the Doors singles on the radio. When “LA Woman” was current I think it was around the same time Jim Morrison died and they probably put out the 13 greatest hits collection to capitalize on that event as well. This was right around the time I was first starting to be able to actually play simple beats on the drum set. My mom took a friend and I on a day trip to Seaside Heights NJ one Sunday early in the fall that year. It was officially off-season but many stands were still open and I won both of these LP’s on one of those “spin the wheel” stands. I spent a lot of time learning various feels, fills and just beats in general from these two records. John Densmore is still one of my favorite drummers in spite of getting a bit creeped out by some of his statements from his first book. Many of my younger bandmates and just fellow music people hate the band and I can understand having problems with the “poetry” stuff. I love The Doors. Honorable mention would be The Matrix Tapes but I didn’t get my 1st boot of those shows until about 4 years later.

5. Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band – Lick My Decals Off, Baby

This was a real eye opener. I guess it was early 1972 or so and my older brother and some of his friends came home from high school and started paying records. One of his friends insisted I hear this. Well, it was different to say the least. One of the things it really showed me was you didn’t have to play conventional drum parts. Sure, I couldn’t tell what they were playing but it opened up the possibilities. It features not one but two of my favorite drummers. I was home “sick” from school shortly afterwards and my mom announced she was going to the store and I asked her to buy it for me. To my surprise, she did. 

6. Lou Reed – Transformer

My friend’s older brother played this for us on the first really good stereo system I ever heard, shortly after it came out. I was vaguely familiar with Lou and the Velvet Underground a little before this but this was my first official exposure. Not only did it sound great hi-fi wise but the subject matter and attitude were very new to me. And very eye-opening since I was 12 or 13. It made me start buying his following LPs and led me to the VU.

7. Iggy and The Stooges – Raw Power

I got this pretty close to when it came out but I do remember passing it up several times. My mom was big on “going to the store” and I spent a lot of time in department stores during my childhood and early teen years. I kept spotting this at the record department at Two Guys department store in Harrison NJ (though we always called it Two Guys in Kearney, the town Harrison bordered). Anyway one night she dragged me there, I wandered over to the record department and decided it was time. It was pretty different than most music I had heard up until then and it’s not my favorite Stooges LP (I prefer the psychedelic Stooges to the heavy metal Stooges). But it rocked in an ever increasingly mellow early 70’s, it was menacing and they sounded like the “meant it” which was missing from much of the current rock music of that time. I wish the drums were louder. And on the UK cassette mix my friend introduced me to years later, they are.

8. The New York Dolls – New York Dolls

I got this pretty soon after if came out. It did take awhile to sink in, I think partly because I’m not a real fan of the Johnny Thunders kind of heavy metal guitar sound and at the time I thought David Johansen was just imitating Mick Jagger. It also seemed like real simple music at a time when prog rock was big. But what really changed my mind was when I tried to play along to it. It was not an easy task. After that I became a huge Jerry Nolan fan, so much so that I pretty much played his drum part for “Vietnamese Baby” for a song on Here Before. Now I think of this as a near perfect record.

9. Roxy Music – Stranded / Brian Eno – Here Come the Warm Jets

I have to pair these up too. I think of them almost as volumes 1&2 of the same LP. I got Stranded shortly after I graduated 8th grade so it will alway be a summer LP to me. I think I got the Eno LP that fall so same thing, different season for that LP. I became a huge Paul Thompson fan due to these 2 LPs as well as a Phil Manzanera fan. These 2 LPs made me feel there was still some hope for rock music to be new, interesting and exciting. Paul Thompson is kind of a John Bonham type drummer playing music that’s fun.

10. The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground & Nico

I got this the summer between 8th grade and high school too. It was a pivotal time for me to say the least. Most people my age were listening to Bowie at best but I kind of dismissed him until Low. I was probably the only kid in my freshman class who had this for better or worse. It’s another example of realizing you don’t have to play standard drum beats. It made me appreciate repetition and simplicity. Years later when band #2 opened for them I finally got to see what Maureen Tucker played on those songs.

11. The Modern Lovers – The Modern Lovers

I got this as soon as it came out too, mostly because they kept on hyping the “pending release” of it in Creem magazine. I could, and still do, really identify with the suburban life subject matter, and having a positive feeling about the past but not wanting to live in it. I’ve met all the original band members with the exception of, ironically, David Robinson, and John Felice if you want to include him. There’s still time. Another record I consider to be perfect.

12. Television – Marquee Moon

Another LP I waited to be released due to the hype in Creem magazine and got as soon as I could. I was 16 at the time, we’re talking the height of a boring music era and this was exactly what I needed. It was around this time when I started thinking I needed to play original music rather than slag it out in cover bands. It was a few years until I actually did, but this was the big motivator. They were from NY (so pretty local since I’m from Northern NJ), they looked like rock stars but not in a “pretty” way, and it was high-energy guitar based rock music. Billy Ficca is one of the greatest drummers ever and while I can’t play like him he’s given me a large amount of inspiration.

[americanahighways]

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Willy Braun made a distinction that explains a lot about the state of today’s music business when he introduced the first of two songs from Reckless Kelly’s most recent studio album at a concert last week.

“I say it’s the new album,” Braun said before breaking into “The Champ,” a song from 2016’s Sunset Motel. “But it’s not new anymore. It’s the current album.”

After a prolific near decade on the Sugar Hill and Yep Roc labels, the Austin-based group joined the DIY movement in 2011 when it formed No Big Deal Records. Since, they have released only three albums, a single and a 20th anniversary edition of their 1997 debut, Millican.

These days, Reckless Kelly spends the majority of its time playing live, mostly in Texas and Oklahoma, where they have a devoted and loyal following that follows them from small bars to clubs and midsize theatres. To boost income, they sell autographed posters — doesn’t everyone? — and offer exclusive meet-and-greets that include a four-song acoustic set before the show.

And, three or four times a year, they venture out on short tours concentrated in different parts of the country, such as the one that stopped at City Winery in Washington, D.C., last week.

In an almost two-hour show with songs that spanned Reckless Kelly’s 22-year career and included a variety of well-chosen covers, the five-piece group demonstrated yet again that they are a formidable stage presence deserving of a larger audience.

The show started with Braun playing solo on a cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Blues Run the Game.” He was joined by the rest of the band for “Desolation Angels,” which was followed in succession by a lovely “Back Around,” “Detroit or Buffalo,” and “Mirage” before Braun’s pre-“Champ” story.

At that point, the entire show took a turn, starting with a terrific version of “Volcano,” also from “Sunset Motel” that served as a reminder that “Mother Nature bats last,” in Braun’s words. After a brief sidestep to cover Marah’s “Round Eye Blues,” the band moved into the meet of its mid-2000s catalogue with “Break My Heart Tonight” and “Wicked Twisted Road,” the latter of which had the now standing audience singing along to the chorus.

Next, guitarist David Abeyta contributed a cover of Slaid Cleaves’ “One Good Year,” which he said the band asked him to start singing after it “got me through a real tough time.” Then Cody Braun took over for “Wild Western Wind Blown Band,” playing the instrumental at 110 mph as the audience clapped along

While Cody Braun, playing fiddle and mandolin, and Abeyta provided many of the musical highlights with their interludes, Jay Miller on bass and Jay Nazz on drums showed repeatedly that they are the backbone of the group, making sure things are running smoothly.

The final third of the show was devoted to songs any RK fan would appreciate, including their cover of Richard Thompson’s “1952 Vincent Black Lightning,” the beautiful “Seven Night in Eire,” and “Nobody’s Baby.” Why “Vancouver” and “Crazy Eddie’s Last Hurrah,” the last two songs played before the encore, were not mainstream hits perplexes me.

Jeff Crosby, who opened the show with his band The Refugees, joined Reckless Kelly on stage for the two-song encore. After performing Tom Petty’s “Two Gunslingers” during the meet-and-greet acoustic show with Crosby, they returned to Petty’s catalogue for a ear-rattling version of “Listen to Her Heart” and then concluded the show with “Fortunate Son.”

Willie Braun quipped he’d been waiting to play the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic all night, not surprising given that today’s politics make even less sense than the music business. And that pent up anticipation did not disappoint, providing one of those stand-on-the-speakers moments that makes you love a great live band all the more.  Check for tour dates and music, here:  https://www.recklesskelly.com/ and for Jeff Crosby, here: https://www.jeffcrosbymusic.com/

Show Review: Reckless Kelly Was Formidable Stage Presence at DC's City Winery @recklesskelly @missingpiecegrp @jeffcrosbymusic Willy Braun made a distinction that explains a lot about the state of today’s music business when he introduced the first of two songs from Reckless Kelly’s most recent studio album at a concert last week.

[lexi-tyler]

Classic Rock Posters | Classic Rock: Creedence Clearwater Revival in Canada Concert Poster ...

[junerecords]

THIS WEEK’S USED ARRIVALS

Ryan Adams - Demolition Alexisonfire - Crisis The Beatles - Something New Bent Wind - Sussex Big Youth - Screaming Target (UK Import) Black Uhuru - The Dub Factor Broken Social Scene - Feel Good Lost Dennis Brown - Visions Of (JAM Original) Jeff Buckley - Grace Jimmy Cliff - The Power And The Glory Coldplay - Parachutes Constantines - Shine A Light Creedence Clearwater Revival - Green River Creedence Clearwater Revival - Willy And The Poor Boys D’Angelo And The Vanguard - Black Messiah Miles Davis Quintet - Relaxin’ With Miles Davis - In Concert, Philharmonic Hall New York Miles Davis - Live At The Plugged Nickel Miles Davis - Miles Davis (United Artists) Death From Above - Heads Up (Original - Black Vinyl) Destroyer - Kaputt Die Zimmermanner - Anja (UK Original) Donald Byrd - Fuego Bob Dylan - At Budokan (2LP Original Pressing w/ Poster) Bob Dylan & The Band - Before The Flood Brian Eno - Before And After Science (CDN Original) Roky Erickson - Don’t Slander Me (US Original) Eric’s Trip - Love Tara Fleetwood Mac - Heroes Are Hard To Find Fuhrs Frohling - Strings (German Original) Egberto Gismonti & Academia De Dancas - Sanfona Steve Gunn - Way Out Weather Helios Creed - The Last Laugh (US Original) Jurassic-5 - Jurassic 5 (Original EU Pressing) Kings Go Forth - The Outsiders Are Bach King Tuff - King Tuff KMFDM - UAIOE Life Force - Life Force (Original Pressing) Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will Pink Floyd - The Wall (1979 CDN Original) Pleasure - Accept No Substitutes (US Original) R.E.M. - Green Sam Roberts - The Inhuman Condition Sam Roberts - We Were Born In A Falme (2003 Original Sealed) Rolling Stones - Jamming With Edward Roxy Music - Better Than Food Rush -  Caress Of Steel (CDN Original) Rush - Moving Pictures (CDN Original) Rush - All The World’s A Stage Rush - Permanent Waves (CDN Original) Scorcher - Sweetness Is My Weakness Sebadoh - Bakesale Sloan - Between The Briges (Original Pressing) Mike Snow - Happy To You Soft Machine - Bundles (UK Original) Television - Adventure (UK Import) The Tragically Hip - Up To Here (Original Pressing) Maylee Todd - Escapology U2 - The Unforgettable Fire Washed Out - Within And Without

*plus many more…