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old school

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old school

old school

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Had my radio tuned to Paul McCartney and his tight, outa sight band last night @ the Hwood Bowl. Words fail to convey the performance as well as the experience of the night. The band is world class w few peers. The emotions of that large crowd was electric as tears of joy and remembrance of time past flowed freely and the crowd sang all the songs as they danced, young and old. The 'Old Man', Sir Paul was a gracious host and seemed to have a ball still bringing down the house. So glad I saw him before I die.

CrewC

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Jim Gilchrist
Jim Gilchrist

The Rolling Stones are on my radio today, in honor of Charlie Watts' 74th birthday.  

daniel
daniel
mono
mono

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Scott Smith

Scott Smith

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Hey Crew:

Great story. Reminds me of my days back in the Motor City in the late 1960's/early 70'.s. Before working in film, I got my trial by fire in rock & roll, and

while I don't really want to go back to those days, I got some great stories out of the experience. Wouldn't trade them for anything.

I recall doing work for groups like Sly & the Family Stone at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit when I was around 16 years old. If I only knew then where things were headed...

I probably still know every chord of those songs you mentioned...

--Scott

In the fall of 1966 my band mates and I played our 1st gig at the Red Barn. This was a frat house at Cal State Fullerton that was an old barn at the edge of a orange grove next to the school. We were 14 n 15 years old and couldn't even drive, so my dad loaded up the Chevy station wagon with our gear and took us there. It was a warm Thursday night as the Santa Anna winds were blowing and we were pumped up. This was so much cooler than playing the roller rink where the Rubber Band 1st got paid. I don't know what my dad was thinking, but the guys were drinking beer like it was water and it wasn't even dark yet.

When we played we always played  3 songs from a group and then 3 from another and so on. We always started with the Stone's "Get off of my Cloud", then "All over Now", and the "Around n Around"... We would then do the Yardbirds version of "I'm a Man", "For your Love", and "Heart full of Soul"... We never did the Beatles because we couldn't sing that well and their songs were harder than the 3 chord progressions we were capable of.

  This night started out the same, but after "I'm a Man", this drunk lug who had to be 350lb's took our main mic and wanted us to do "Gloria". Well this was our finisher so we knew it alright, but no one was about to tell this dude no. So we did it as he slaughtered it, but like all drunk karoke singers, thought he was great. Then he wanted "Louie Louie", so we played it. Then "Gloria" again. Finally he went for another beer and we went on with our set. Well he came back every 20 or so minutes and We/He did Louie Louie n Gloria. Must of done this 6 times over the night. We never took a break. By the time we quit, my ears were ringing and I never wanted to play those songs again.

My dad was outside as we loaded our gear and here comes Bluto the drunk and he stars telling my dad how good we were and how cool he was to let us play as he took a leak in the bush's the whole time we loaded up. Seemed like 5 minutes or longer that he pee'd. That feat alone is what we talked about for months. We learned much that night, but mostly to give the people what they want.

CrewC

old school

old school

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Hey Scott, I have made friends w many who came out here from Michigan. Seems like a breeding ground for people with the soul of music in their DNA. Our band loved MoTown, but we couldn't pull it off. Closest we got was Rufas Thomas' "Walkin the Dog"... but he was 'Mussel Shoals', way south of you guys. We did do "Little Latin Lupe Lu" by the great Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. Outstanding group. Love that drum beat. Did/do you play guitar or keyboards? I am a average drummer, but a above average lover of music. I bet you have some stories.....

CrewC

  • 2 weeks later...
Scott Smith

Scott Smith

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Hey Crew:

Rufas Thomas-wow, that takes me back too. Love the Muscle Shoals sound- wish I had discovered it earlier. Had the opportunity to work with some of those guys later in my career, like Steve Cropper and Donald Dunn.

Mitch Ryder was an icon in Detroit. I can't tell you the effect a song like Latin Lupe Lu had on a crowd of teenagers suffering through their hormonal crises. I feel blessed to have grown up listening to his music, as well as working with him on a few occasions in the early '70's. I think I still have some 2 track rough mixes of some of those gigs lurking somewhere. Have no idea where the multi-tracks ended up. (Unfortunately, his voice wasn't always up to the task at hand. He was never one to hold out at a gig, and would always give his all, to his long-term detriment)

I played both drums and a bit of guitar back in the day, but usually don't embarrass myself with that stuff, except at wrap parties after consuming too much alcohol (fortunately, most people don't remember too much the next day!).

If you're interested in a view of Motown history from the trenches, you might want to check out Ralph Terrana's book "The Road Through Motown". Although it has it's share of typos and a few inaccuracies, he captures the spirit of the times, having been there when it happened.

--Scott

Hey Scott, I have made friends w many who came out here from Michigan. Seems like a breeding ground for people with the soul of music in their DNA. Our band loved MoTown, but we couldn't pull it off. Closest we got was Rufas Thomas' "Walkin the Dog"... but he was 'Mussel Shoals', way south of you guys. We did do "Little Latin Lupe Lu" by the great Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. Outstanding group. Love that drum beat. Did/do you play guitar or keyboards? I am a average drummer, but a above average lover of music. I bet you have some stories.....

CrewC

Jim Gilchrist

Jim Gilchrist

Posted
Posted

Thanks Vin. Good find.

And from me as well, Vin, since the early '90's (I think) Atkins/Knopfler album "Neck & Neck" is a favorite of mine. I haven't listened to it in far too long.

Best regards,

Jim

soundtrane

soundtrane

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Thanks Jim!

And now for one of my earliest favourites.... Just after school, into college, did not have a VHS player at home, had a friend with one and maybe two or three tapes. One was this, and i think we must have watched it hundreds of times. The whole film, summer holiday afternoons.... Never thought i would have anything to do with cinema then... :)

old school

old school

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Hey Scott, Jeff related Cameron Crowe's theory of 'Definitive Listening' and I believe it is true as we all have such strong connections to our personal histories and the soundtrack is a strong component of it. Seems like your history is fully enveloped in music. Hope you have digitized those tapes, I would dig hearing those someday. BTW, speaking of Rufus Thomas, we got into some trouble with our bass players mom because she thought "Walking the Dog" was a dirty song. We had no idea, but we always played it when we got a gig.

  Vin, good stuff. This is what I like about YouTube. I have seen G, B, & U a 1000 times and still love it and the music. Hope all is well.

CrewC

Scott Smith

Scott Smith

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Hey Crew:

Yeah, I've got a whole pile of stuff that needs to be digitized, including 16 track masters from some Hank Williams Jr. recordings we did in the early seventies.

Will have to listen to the lyrics to "Walking the Dog" again. Maybe your bass player's mom was right!

And just to show that all this old stuff never dies, I was listening to Terri Gross on Fresh Air last week, where she was interviewing Peter Wolf from the J. Geils Band. When she asked him what his favorite album with the group was, he replied that it was without a doubt the recording of "Full House", which we did at the Cinderella Ballroom in Detroit back in April  of 1972. I just about fell out of my chair...

BTW, he has a fascinating history, most of which I never knew about. The guy has been around...

--Scott

Hey Scott, Jeff related Cameron Crowe's theory of 'Definitive Listening' and I believe it is true as we all have such strong connections to our personal histories and the soundtrack is a strong component of it. Seems like your history is fully enveloped in music. Hope you have digitized those tapes, I would dig hearing those someday. BTW, speaking of Rufus Thomas, we got into some trouble with our bass players mom because she thought "Walking the Dog" was a dirty song. We had no idea, but we always played it when we got a gig.

  Vin, good stuff. This is what I like about YouTube. I have seen G, B, & U a 1000 times and still love it and the music. Hope all is well.

CrewC

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