Don't forget to mention the long overdue honor to Mr. Dick Biondi on this Tuesday. Many personalities from the day will be there to say thanks.
Jimmy Pilster / The Cryan' Shames
Yep ... today's the day ... Dick Biondi Way will be dedicated later this afternoon. Unfortunately, we're unable to attend the ceremony ... but if any of our FH Readers are able to be there, please report back to us with complete details!!! (And that goes for all the artists, too!!!) kk
Fans and friends of the legendary Dick Biondi will gather at 2 p.m. Tuesday for Chicago’s official dedication of “Dick Biondi Way” at the northwest corner of East Lake Street and Garland Court. The honorary street designation will salute the Radio Hall of Famer, who recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of his first broadcast on WLS-AM (890). “The Wild I-tralian” is still spinning the oldies from 7 to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday on Citadel Broadcasting WLS-FM (94.7). The location of “Dick Biondi Way” was chosen for its proximity to the 360 North Michigan Avenue building that housed the studios and offices of WLS for decades. -- Robert Feder
Kent ...A little less than 3 years after dumping the faltering "Jack" format and returning to classic hits, WCBS-FM (101.1) is the city's top radio station again. The May Arbitron ratings, released yesterday, show WCBS-FM averaging 6.4% of the audience, compared to 6% for perennial No. 1 WLTW (106.7) WCBS-FM last reached No. 1 in 1996, with its oldies format.
Frank B.
I had just read the same thing. Here in Chicago, Jack-FM scored a 2.2 share ... a far cry from True Oldies' 4.1 rating ... proving again that these guys really didn't know Jack about what Chicagoland wanted in the way of a radio station. Ironically, the two other oldies stations that used to be available on the radio dial continue to stream 24 / 7 online, playing the exact same music they used to play as a radio station, only fully automated and sans deejays. You can still listen to Real Oldies 1690 and Magic 104 on your Internet hook-up! But the biggest oldies news here locally has been the growing playlist of Y103.9 ... it's absolutely unreal. There is literally NOTHING they don't play anymore, from the '50's to the '60's to the '70's to the '80's ... there isn't a day that goes by where I'm not amazed a couple of times by what I'm hearing ... legitimate HIT records that traditional oldies radio has ignored for years. Only problem is their signal is SO weak that you can only pick them up in a specific area ... and that's a real shame. They do, however, ALSO stream 24 / 7 ... so check 'em out online and see what I mean, particularly Jeff James' program ... it's unreal!!! (Links for all three stations are below):
Click here: WRLL-AM
Click here: http://player.play.it/player/player.html?v=5.0.44&id=392&onestat=wjmk2
Click here: Listen Live To WWYW - Y103.9
While finding these weblinks, I also came across a GREAT oldies website called "The Hits Just Keep On Comin'" ... sounds like this guy is into everything that WE'RE into here ... check out his web page if you get a chance:
Click here: The Hits Just Keep On Comin': Real Oldies
Listen to the Music of The Hit Parade Hall of Fame Now ...
Just click on "Hit Parade Radio" button at www.hitparadehalloffame.com
John Rook
I just interviewed all three Tygers for my "Those Were The Days" radio program. They will be a part of my show on July 3rd. The Forgotten Hits Top 40 Summer Countdown will air on Saturday night June 26th, from 6:00 pm-?
Phil Nee - Wrco Fm 100.9
Would love to hear copies of BOTH of those shows, Phil! Thanks! (kk)
And, speaking of The Forgotten Hits All-Time Summer Favorites Countdown, it sounds like DJ Scarlett Hayze has gone back to play the entire Top 100, now that we've posted the complete list on the web page!!!
(Click here: Forgotten Hits - Your All-Time Summer Favorites)
Hello from the veranda!
And the Fun continues!!
TONIGHT LIVE on
http://myrevolutionradio/
beginning at 7 pm ET
we continue with the TOP 100 Countdown of Your FAVORITE SUMMER SONGS!
We ended last night's show on No 68 ("Night Moves" by Bob Seger).
Join me on the veranda to hear No. 67 on down to No. 40!!
Thanks to Kent and www.forgottenhits.com !!
Moochas smoochas darlings!
DJ Scarlett Hayze
From his INSIDE MUSIC MEDIA column, here comes THIS piece of sage radio advice from Jerry Del Colliano:
STUPID RADIO TRICKS:
Would you believe that Radio One fired its entire airstaff at urban adult contemporary WMMJ “Magic 102” in Washington last week?With the exception of the syndicated Tom Joyner show in the mornings, their latest brainstorm is to turn the station into a 24-hour a day iPod with no jocks and “all music all the time”. The only problem is that WMMJ’s virtual "iPod" features the music IT likes and not what YOU necessarily like. Instead of jocks like Olivia Foxx, Suge, Mike Chase, Alvin John Waples and music director and morning show producer Chris Harris on the air live, Radio One thinks listeners will love no jocks and they will love no salaries. Oh, the weekend staff, which must have cost Radio One next to nothing to employ, is also wiped out. Radio One and Done, as I call them, has slithered through consolidation and then the recession as an unremarkable entity and lousy stock investment. If you’re wondering why Radio One could make such a radical move, they apparently slobbered over their recent PPMs in which they ranked second in the DC market. They saw a ratings increase when they told their jocks to shut up. But that's just another stupid radio trick ... it would be a big mistake to think eliminating all live and local jocks will gain listening. Radio is hell bent on turning itself into an iPod. Without live and local, radio IS an iPod of its own making. Most listeners would rather hear their own playlists if foolish owners like Radio One confuse increased ratings with no live and local personalities.
-- Jerry Del Colliano
In light of this article, this poem (submitted by FH Reader Christ Astle) seemed quite timely and relevant:
Dear Media friends:
I betcha you can relate to this on some level. You may have even known Rex Bob ...
Chris Astle
MARK GERMINO REX BOB LOWENSTEIN LYRICS
There's a disc jockey in Hartlanberg
Who works at W.A.N.T.
He puts two or three eggs in him
And he's in your car by 6.00 am
He lives for his job and he accepts his pay
You can call and request 'Lay Lady Lay'
He'll play Stanley Jordan, The 'Dead and Little Feat
And he'll even play the band from the college down the street
And his name is Rex Bob Lowenstein
He's forty-seven, goin' on sixteen
His request line's open, but he'll tell you where to go
If you're dumb enough to ask him why he plays Hank Snow
Well, he tries to keep his talkin' to a minimum
He's a Democrat, he's a Republican
He's an ad man with a great voice, say some
But when he spins those records he's neither one
He'll talk to the truckers on the interstate strip
The housewife and the car dealership
And when his second wife left him for a paper millionaire
He cried unashamedly right on the air
And his name is Rex Bob Lowenstein
He's forty-seven, goin' on sixteen
His request line's open but he makes no bones
About why he plays Madonna after George Jones
Now, one day a man in a pinstriped suit
Took the owner of the station to a restaurant booth
His pitch was simple, "you'll increase your sales"
If you only play the song list we send in the mail."
He guaranteed a larger audience
Less confusion and higher points
"But your drive-time jock won't get to do his thing."
Hey he's not half bad, tell me, what's his name?"
Well his name is Rex Bob Lowenstein
He's frequently heard, but he's seldom seen
His formula's simple and his format's big
"I just play anything, you call and tell me what you dig."
Now Rex Bob David Saul Lowenstein
Quit his job a week later, but before he'd leave
He locked and bolted the control room door
And played smash or trash till they cuffed him on the floor
Well they drug him into court and the judge said, "Rex"
I've got to lock you up, for what I'm not sure yet."
But your boss here says he thinks you're wrapped too tight."
But, by the way thanks for playing 'Moon River' last night"
And his name is Rex Bob Lowenstein
He's a flaming bell inside a tambourine
He could play it all if he was just set free
Just to find what the people WANT
And we just got this email in from our FH Buddy, the recently-retired (yeah right!!! lol) Ronnie Allen:
Kent,
I fully expected my Tommy James show to be my last one for several months. But right after I made my public announcement of my intention to take some extended time off, I received an email from Susan Jacks (formerly of the Poppy Family of "Which Way You Goin' Billy" fame) telling me that she was ready to do a show with me. I could not bring myself to tell her about the "time off" that I was taking. So I said "when would you like to do it." We agreed on May 26 (just about a month ago) and we recorded it then.
I've now posted it on my Radio Page and -- at least for now -- Susan Jacks (and not Tommy James) is my closing act. Many of your readers are aware that Susan had a health crisis earlier this year regarding kidney failure. Her brother Billy, who provided the name for Susan's biggest hit record, provided something much more important back in February. During the show Susan discusses the details leading up to the major event in her life and also brings us up to date on how she is presently doing. We also play several of her great recordings in addition to "Billy."
The radio interview show , recorded exclusively for the Jersey Girls Sing website is on this page: Ronnie's Radio Page
I now intend to continue with my "time off" but I won't make any promises. If things change, you and your readers will be among the first to know.
Thanks again for everything! I still can't get over the tribute that you did to me a few weeks ago. That was so nice of you. It's great to be able to appreciate that when one is alive!
Ronnie
Hey, glad to do it ... it's good radio, featuring the artists and the music that we love. Thanks, Ronnie ... enjoy your next couple of days of retirement!!! (lol) kk
WJQB has this billboard up in Holiday, FL off US 19. I think Scott Shannon will be glad to see this :)
Scott Levison
Pinellas Park, FL
And, speaking of The True Oldies Channel ...
Kent -
I just visited your website for the first time and found it interesting. I've started listening to the True Oldies Channel on my computer and they mentioned your site. I've been searching for stations to listen to since radio is absolutely horrible here in the Greensboro / Winston Salem / High Point market in North Carolina. We had a great oldies station for many years that always got good ratings (Oldies 93.1); but the idiots at entercom ditched it several years ago for country music. We had another station take up the slack and start playing oldies, but they had a poor signal and questionable management. They have just leased the signal to K-Love and are now playing Christian Music. Another station calls itself rock, but they are all talk (no music at all) all morning until 12 noon; and their afternoon and evening playlist is very small.
I also have a suggestion. What about the "other" songs by all of those supposed "one hit wonders" that are not really one hit wonders.
EXAMPLES:
How many people think the Archies are a one hit wonder? When was the last time any station anywhere played Bang-Shang-A-Lang or Jingle Jangle?
Lots of people remember Tossin' and Turnin' by Bobby Lewis, but how many people remember One Track Mind?
There are probably better examples. I would love for somebody to come up with a list.
Edwin Simpson
Greensboro, NC
That was the whole premise behind our "One You Know ... One You Didn't Even Know You Forgot" Weekend on The True Oldies Channel last year ... there are literally HUNDREDS of other examples ... and it's a GREAT excuse to play some things you don't hear every day alongside the ones you do. Seriously, we need to get Scott to run this feature again ...
start emailing scott@trueoldieschannel.com and tell him that you want another Forgotten Hits Weekend ... "One You Know ... One You Didn't Even Know You Forgot"!!! We did about 60-65 of these last time and could EASILY add another 30-40 to "freshen" things up a bit for the next go 'round! Sounds like an awful lot of listeners liked our recent Summer Favorites Countdown ... might be time to strike while the iron is hot!!! (lol) kk
... and, on the LIVE side of things ...
re: HAPPY TOGETHER:
I would love to know if the The Happy Together Tour is coming anywhere in Texas? I saw a similar concert about 12 years ago in Austin and it was the best concert I'd ever been to in my life! Please add me to your list so I can find out when they'll be near us.
Max White
Based on the current information we have (available on The Forgotten Hits Website), I don't see any Texas stops on the list. (They may have already passed through their on the first leg of the tour.) Here are the dates we still show coming up:
July 20th - Glenside, PA
July 21st - Peekskill, NY
July 22nd - Brooklyn, NYJuly 23rd - Gilford, NH
July 24th - Hyannis, MA
July 25th - Cohasset, MA
July 27th - Jacksonville, FL
July 28th - Atlanta, GA
July 29th - Hollywood, FL
July 30th - Daytona Beach, FL
July 31st - Clearwater, FL
(As always, shows are subject to change ... check any of the artists' websites to confirm!)
I also heard something about Scott Shannon coming out to introduce The Buckinghams when the show resumes next month ... will have to gather a few more details on that. (Not sure if this is just for the New York shows or what!) kk
More Micky News ...
We told you that he's got a new album coming out ... and that YOU can play on some of the tracks ... and see him perform it live on his new tour. All VERY cool news indeed! But check out the band line-up for THIS gig!!!
Micky Rocks Congress (watch CSPAN for this)
Television sitcom rocker Mickey Dolenz of the Monkees will be joined by three members of Congress in a Capitol Hill performance designed to boost legislative support for the Performance Rights Act. Dolenz will be appearing in the Capitol Visitor’s Center, and will be joined by a bipartisan set of sidemen, including Joe Crowley (D-NY) on guitar, Tom Rooney (R-FL) on drums and Ted Deutch (D-FL) on keyboard. Event organizers say there will be other surprise guests. The session is scheduled for Wednesday 6/23/10 at 4:30 Eastern.
http://www.rbr.com/radio/25282.html
Dolenz will also perform songs from his upcoming album (A Tribute To Carole King called "King For A Day") on his new tour that begins tonight in San Jacinto. There also will be a free concert at Warner Park in Woodland Hills on August 29th, and a September 26th performance at the Los Angeles County Fair. http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_15284073
That was one of the dates we missed due to our computer snafu ... but you might still be able to catch this CSPAN Clip on YouTube! (kk)
re: AND, IN OTHER MONKEES NEWS ... :
These from Brad Waddel's EXCELLENT Monkees online newsletter "Flexquarters":
Davy Jones is driving across Florida to Busch Gardens, where he's booked to perform three outdoor concerts, at 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. It's raining, the kind of Florida rain you're sure is leaving dents in your hood.
"It's torrential down here now," Jones says in a recent telephone interview. "We'll probably be playing to five people in the park. But it'll be OK. It doesn't matter to me, actually, whether there's 100 or 100,000." We put it out; we go to perform. We always say, You had better be good if you follow Davy Jones. I'm telling you that now, because I'm good." He laughs, and the comment doesn't come across as braggadocio. Then he picks up the conversation and takes it all the way to the amusement park in Tampa. The most popular member of one of the most popular musical groups is in a talkative mood. Jones was the original American idol, the first of four young men picked from auditions for a television show about a struggling rock 'n' roll band. The show was called "The Monkees," and the quartet of the same name rivaled the Beatles for popularity in the late 1960s. As Paul McCartney was the cute Beatle, Jones was the cute Monkee -- only cuter, all 5-foot-3 of him. Now 64, he will perform the Monkees' hits with his band (not the Monkees) as part of the Sixties Spectacular on Saturday at Proctors. Also on the bill are Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits, the Grass Roots and the Capital Region band American Cafe. On the phone, Jones explains all the things he's doing -- finishing an album of standards, writing a musical, singing with symphonies, hosting a PBS show on '60s music, taking care of his horses and, yes, performing concerts.He owns a farm in Beavertown, Pa., but is living now in what he describes as a modest apartment in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with his flamenco-dancing wife Jessica Pacheco, who is half his age. As he talks, he meanders often to a favorite topic: staying grounded in his world of celebrity. "The Monkees went to the mountaintop," he says. "The Monkees opened the door to the world for me. But I didn't ask to be an authority, an example. However, once you become successful, you become better looking, you become more attractive, you become more articulate, you become all of these things that you're not. And if you start believing that, then you've got a major problem." He says he's had no choice but to deal with intrusions. Although it's been 44 years since "The Monkees" premiered on NBC, Jones is still recognizable. "As soon as I leave the house, I become a public commodity," he says. "It's like it never went away. I walk through an airport, and people say, 'Hey, Davy, how are you doing?' When I go to the supermarket, people point at me, and I say, 'Hello, how are you? That's all right. Yeah, no problem.'"I grew up on the street, you know, where I knew everybody, and everybody knew me. And that's what I prefer."
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=915056&category=ARTS
Hall of Fame honors Nesmith, who's always ahead of his time
Michael Nesmith is receiving the Warren Skaaren Lifetime Achievement Award at the 10th annual Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards tonight. This is an award for, as one might imagine, lifetime contribution to movie and film culture. But in Nesmith's case, it might as well be an award for Most Unlikely Career Arc and Ability to Possibly See the Future. Even setting aside his recording career with the Monkees and after and his role producing such iconic movies as "Repo Man," it's a kind of amazing how much Nesmith did before a whole lot of people thought it seemed like a good idea. He learned all about entrepreneurship when his mother invented what became Liquid Paper when Nesmith was 13 and built it up into a multimillion-dollar company. Music on television? He did that twice, once with the Monkees, then again when he invented cable TV show Pop Clips for Nickelodeon, which was sold to Time Warner / Amex and became MTV. Home video? Yeah, he was there, too, with the pioneering distribution company Pacific Arts Video in the 1970s. Exclusive live music performances viewable in a virtual world? He's working on that now with the company Videoranch 3D. Wearing a watch cap year-round the way he did on the Monkees? Oh, yes.That wasn't an act. He wore it to the audition to keep his hair out of his eyes, and the producers — legendary Bert Schneider and future directing legend Bob Rafelson — kept it in the show. "I'm wearing one right now," Nesmith says from his studio in California. Though Nesmith has long been associated with California, he has serious Texas roots. "I'm a fifth-generation Texan," Nesmith said. "My mother was divorced when I was a toddler, and I had a remarkable support system of brilliant aunts and uncles." It was the sort of environment that made him easy with new ideas and different ways of thinking. Nesmith didn't start playing music until he was about 19. "I was coming out of the Air Force and was very drawn to music." He headed to Los Angeles to make it and auditioned for the Monkees, sort of on a lark. Working on the Monkees exposed Nesmith to all sides of filmmaking, but it was production that interested him the most. "I never thought of myself as a director and writer. Those guys are really long-ball hitters," Nesmith said. "But I enjoyed bringing all the different parts together and watching them work." In the mid-1970s, a few years after Nesmith had gone solo and cut a couple of records, he was introduced to something that was common in Europe, but not in the United States. It would change his life. Then it would eventually change everyone else's life. "I remember talking to executives outside of the U.S. who said, 'You have this single "Rio." Over here we make little films to go with the record, and national and state TV stations play them. It's especially helpful to artists who can't tour. Are you interested? Like Liquid Paper, like the Monkees, here was an opportunity to innovate. "The idea of me just standing with my guitar and singing didn't seem right," Nesmith said. He and the director came up with some images, disparate stuff, him dancing with a woman, beaches, outer space. "The director said, 'I don't understand the narrative.' I said, 'I don't either, but let's put them together and see what happens." Now, Nesmith is quick to say he believes in narrative: "In most filmmaking, continuity is preserved at all costs. The storyline is king, as it should be." But once they took the images down to the editing bay and started cutting them together, bingo. "It really was something magic," Nesmith said. "It kind of happened with the Monkees, with Disney, with Busby Berkeley. The film grammar was expressing itself with music in a way that was very natural, as if to say, 'Yes, that is the way that it was supposed to work.' "Then I thought, 'Gee, I wonder if this is science or if we lucked into it? This is something Nesmith believes in — innovation grounded in something real, something solid. Most of the technological and cultural innovations Nesmith has been involved in, from music videos to the home video market, he describes as applied science combined with a little bit of vision. "There was no home video business when I got into it. It was, at most, recycled movies," Nesmith says. "But video was the new grammar, it was how people communicate with each other. When I started 'Pop Clips,' I knew it was going to be very strange for a while. There just weren't that many videos." That is, perhaps, Nesmith's best talent — watching, observing, processing, noticing when the time is right for something. This is what happened when he read Alex Cox's script for "Repo Man," the cult 1984 science-fiction movie set in Southern California's hardcore punk scene. Nesmith was executive producer on the project. "I was impressed by the intensity of (Cox's) intelligence," Nesmith said. "He was just hip and fun and genuinely funny. I was just following along." These days, his baby is Videoranch 3D, an Internet-based space with exclusive live performances at various virtual venues, sort of like Second Life with James McMurtry playing. There isn't anything else quite like it around, which is familiar territory for Nesmith. "It's another long lonely road," Nesmith laughs. "But you know an idea is good when there is something that feels so natural about it. You get swept along with it, but it's very solid. So there's comfort there."
http://www.austin360.com/movies/hall-of-fame-honors-nesmith-whos-always-ahead-339344.html
http://www.examiner.com/x-36158-Austin-Classic-Movies-Examiner~y2010m3d11-2010-Texas-Film-Hall-of-Fame-Awards-Dinner-Tonight-at-Austin-Studios
re: UP-COMING EVENTS:
John Lennon would have turned 70 years of age on October 9th, 2010. On the evening of his birthday, a very special concert event entitled
"Remember Lennon: Imagine 70" will be staged at the Shubert Theater in New Haven, CT. With one of the greatest John Lennon impersonators in existence, a world-class backing band, and audio-visual accompaniment, the show is a respectful tribute recreating the concert John may have performed had he still been with us. Tickets for this event will go on sale to the general public this Monday, June 21 at 9:30am.
For further information, visit the Shubert Box Office, 247 College Street, Downtown New Haven, CT or call 203.562.5666 or 888.736.2663.
Here is your link to order tickets: Don't miss "Remember Lennon: Imagine 70," a unique extraordinary musical theater experience celebrating the music, the memories and the magic of John Lennon. http://www.rememberlennon.com
LEGENDS OF ROCK 'N' ROLL IN CONCERT!
CHARLIE GRACIE: Philly's Original Rock 'n' Roll Star
AND SHIRLEY ALTSON REEVES: Lead Singer of The Shirelles,
will JOIN FORCES on JUNE 30TH at
THE RIDLEY HIGH SCHOOL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER:
Two Shows: 5:30 and 8:00
900 MORTON AVENUE in FOLSOM, PENNSYLVANIA
(Local Doo-Wop Specialists: THE EMERALDS will open the show)
CALL TO RESERVE TICKETS: 1-800 854-5903
Today Ringo Starr launches his 11th All Starr Band tour featuring Edgar Winter, Gary Wright, Richard Page, Wally Palmar, Rick Derringer and Gregg Bissonette.
Hope to see you on the road!
Fans can expect to hear a jukebox worth of classics including Ringo’s “It Don’t Come Easy”, “Photograph”, “Little Help From My Friends”, “Yellow Submarine,” “Octopus’s Garden” as well as selections from his latest release Y NOT (Hip-O / Ume). Ringo will alternate with hits from the All Starr’s including: “Free Ride,” “Frankenstein,” “Broken Wings,” “Kyrie,” “Hang on Sloopy,” “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo,” “Dreamweaver,” “Talking In Your Sleep,” and “What I Like About You.” The tour kicks off June 24 with two nights at Fallsview Casino in Ontario and 11 shows later, on July 7, Ringo will celebrate his 70th birthday with a “Peace & Love” celebration at Noon, followed that evening with a concert at Radio City Music Hall. The North American tour concludes August 7 at Los Angeles’s Greek Theater.
The full itinerary is as follows:
6/24-25/10 Fallsview Casino Niagara, ON
6/26/10 Bethel Woods PAC Bethel, NY
6/27/10 Mohegan Sun Uncasville, CT
6/29/10 Bank Of America Pav. Boston, MA
6/30/10 Westbury Theatre Westbury, NY
7/2/10 State Theatre Easton, PA
7/3/10 Caesars Circus Maximus Atlantic City, NJ
7/5/10 State Theatre New Brunswick, NJ
7/6/10 American Music Theatre Lancaster, PA
7/7/10 Radio City New York, NY
7/9/10 PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Cincinnati, OH
7/10/10 Chastain Park Atlanta, GA
7/11/10 Durham PAC Durham, NC
7/13/10 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL
7/15/10 Hard Rock Arena Hollywood, FL
7/17/10 St Augustine Amph. St Augustine, FL
7/18/10 Beau Rivage Biloxi, MS
7/20/10 Nautica Pavilion Cleveland, OH
7/21/10 Sands PAC Canandaigua, NY
7/23/10 Caesars Windsor, ON Canada
7/24/10 Horseshoe Casino Hammond, IN
7/25/10 Mystic Lake Casino Prior Lake, MN
7/28/10 Jubilee Auditorium Calgary ALB Canada
7/30/10 Northern Quest Casino Spokane, WA
7/31/10 Chateau St Michelle Woodinville, WA
8/1/10 Cuthbert Amphitheatre Eugene, OR
8/3/10 Mountain Winery Saratoga, CA
8/5/10 Agua Caliente Rancho Mirage, CA
8/6/10 Humphrey's San Diego, CA
8/7/10 Greek Theatre Los Angeles, CA
This just in from Jimy Rogers of The Mauds / Blue Road:
BLUE ROAD
SUMMER SHOWS COMING UP!
All shows FREE!
Sunday, July 4 - 2:00 Blue Road in Deerfield
"GandFest" Celebration in Jewett Park
Lifetime Achievement Award to Gary's dad Bob Gand
Music starts at 1 pm (after the parade) featuring Not for Profit, award at 1:45,
Blue Road follows at 2 pm, followed by teen bands Burrows Four and Minor Chaos MAP - click here
Sunday, July 4 - 7:30: Chicago Gold Review
featuring Jimy Rogers - MAUDS, Dennis Tufano - BUCKINGHAMS, Sonny Geraci - OUTSIDERS, Tom Doody and Jim Pilster - CRYAN' SHAMES, Jimmy Sohns - SHADOWS OF KNIGHT
(Gary and Joan will also perform during Jimy's set)
Arlington Heights Frontier Days
www.frontierdays.org/index.html
Sunday July 11 - 2:30 Blue Road - Taste of Westmont
Blue Road kicks off a great afternoon of blues dedicated to the memory of Muddy Waters Followed by Blues Jam (lead by Blue Road) and headliner Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials
Wednesday July 14 - 7:00 p.m. - Blue Road -
Wheeling Summer Concert Series and Pool Party!
Bring the kids, bring your bathing suit, or just come and sit on the comfortable patio at the Wheeling Aquatic Center; 327 W. Dundee Rd. in Wheeling
Great way to break up the work-week!
Admission normally $10 but FREE after 7 pm for this show www.wheelingparkdistrict.com/Aquatics/AC-amenities.htm
You can catch The Buckinghams on Saturday, July 3rd, at the Village of Hoffman Estates Fourth Of July Festival ... the boys are on a short break from the Happy Together Tour and are coming home to celebrate The Fourth Of July with their fans here in Chicago! More details on The Buckinghams' web page!
Eat your hearts out FH readers ... Sunday, there will be a free ... FREE! ... concert at the Boardwalk on Okaloosa Island in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, featuring the Doobie Brothers AND Kenny Loggins! I will be there at sun up! Have a great weekend everyone!
Tokei Two
{Sharon}
Kent,
A quick heads up for very cool show on Sunday, July 4th, at Recreation Park, Arlington Hts.
Frontier Days ... Featuring The Cryan' Shames w/ Jimy Rogers (from The Mauds), Jimy Sohns (from The Shadows Of Knight), Sonny Geraci (lead singer of The Outsiders & Climax) and Dennis Tufano, 'The ORIGINAL Voice of the Buckinghams'! ... and it's all for FREE!!!
Hope to see ya there.
Thanks,
Jimmy "Hooke" Pilster
We're trying to finalize our 4th of July plans right now ... but this one is pretty high up on the list ... a GREAT night of music with a stellar line-up of talent ... hoping to see YOU there, too! (kk)
re: THE SAD STATE OF "LIVE" OLDIES MUSIC THESE DAYS:
Many of the local Chicago-area musicians have been lamenting the "slim pickings" of festival dates for the past few years ... these two emails came a few days apart of each other but definitely echo the same sentiments ... for those of you on the list responsible for booking some of this talent, this may serve as some interesting food for thought. It seems like more and more of the ad listings show nothing but cover and tribute bands ... yet some FINE, original talent is still out there ready, willing and able to perform to a receptive audience. Check this out: (kk)
The music business has been pretty flat. I'm still working society dates, some classical, some jazz, even a few Blues gigs here and there. I'm afraid that most of the work on the "carnival circuit" is all Tribute and Cover bands, or some of the old timers that had a hit or two in the day. Since I prefer to involve myself with more original / creative endeavors, the fests just don't seem to be the correct venues for established horn players, certainly in this town ... in a way, it's sad.
There are so many really talented players that don't get a chance to be heard ... I would imagine that within the next couple of years, there won't be any "live" acts performing ... the festival committees will just hook up an iPod to a sound system, people will drink their beers, and no one will know the difference.
If the major acts are cancelling their tours, could you imagine how many other pros are home practicing in their basements? When a phenomenal horn player graduates from college today, he has nowhere to go ... and that's the truth. We had Rush Street, the Aragon, the teen clubs, tours. Those were great times.
Keep the fire burning,
Quent Lang
Kent,
I've become a bit disillusioned lately about the survival of our preferred music, as represented in Forgotten Hits. Why? My band, Reboot, as you know , plays music of the 50s, 60s and 70s. We have contacted eight booking agents regarding booking our gigs. Several have answered us saying that there is no longer a need, nor many calls for bands that play that music. The others couldn't even bother to answer our inquiry. They claim all their clients want 80s and 90s stuff, primarily rap and hip-hop groups! Or they prefer DJs doing 80s and 90s stuff over live bands in general. I feel like our profession and oldies music is becoming obsolete. I refuse to accept that there is no audience for this music being played by live bands. Is our beloved music really dead for the most part? It seems radio stations that play it are dying and bands doing this music are also struggling to survive.
For me, this is really depressing. I play this music more for the love of it than for the money. I've turned down numerous offers from "original" bands, in order to play the music I grew up with and love the most. Sad, very sad, that this situation exists and is getting worse. It seems the masses just don't care about this music any more.
I pray I'm wrong. But unless we find a booking agent that believes in this music and still wants to promote it, it looks like it may be close to extinction, as far as live bands that play it are concerned. I still believe that the late '50s through the early '70s was the best era in music.
Preston Ritter
(Former drummer of The Electric Prunes and other 60s artists)
Hi Preston!
Ironically, you'll find a very similar letter that I received earlier this week from a former member of The Mauds (a local Chicago blues / rock act), who also played with Wayne Cochran's C.C. Riders back in the late '60's.
Here in Chicago, the trend in live music seems to be nothing but COVER bands and so-called "Tribute" Artists ... bands who PRETEND to be a specific artist ... and I'm telling you, they're EVERYWHERE!!!
Several of the upcoming flyers I received this week promote the likes of The "Fake" Eagles, "Fake" ABBA, "Fake" Styx, "Fake" Journey ... Neil Diamond, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and SO many others are also targeted as "Budget Buys" for promoters of live musical events ... and it's REALLY, really sad. Watered-down versions of these songs is NOT the way we want to remember these artists ... and more and more artists have been cancelling their tours all-together due to lack of ticket sales. Quent Lang goes so far as to say that live music in the future won't even consist of a deejay ... but rather somebody's iPod hooked up to some big-ass speakers ...
That's Entertainment?!?!?
That's why it's so encouraging to hear that specialty oldies shows like "Happy Together Again" Tour are doing so well and selling out venues ... it gives us SOME hope that this music still holds some appeal. (Carole King and James Taylor together in concert was a big ticket draw ... and we've got Donald Fagan of Steely Dan, Michael McDonald of The Doobie Brothers and Boz Scaggs all coming here to perform together ... what a GREAT line-up of artists THAT is ... and these acts rarely come through here anymore ... so seeing all THREE lead vocalists is a REAL treat. By the way, they're billing themselves as "The Dukes Of September Rhythm Revue" ... so if you get a chance to see 'em, be sure to check 'em out ... we would LOVE to go!!!)
Don't give up ... oldies music on the radio is bigger than ever ... the biggest thing is getting the word out there ... some of these "superstar" acts (like The Classic Rock All-Stars, featuring the leaders of four or five successful '60's and '70's band) are still a very hot ticket. Gregg Rolie's new band (featuring some GREAT tributes to Santana) sounds FANTASTIC on record ... wish they were coming through Chi-Town so we could see them live. Even your old partners in crime have reformed The Electric Prunes and are recording a new CD ... so who knows what the future holds! I think that some opportunity still exists to go out and play the hits, the music that we love, and mix in a few new tracks as well to prove that these are still vital, talented musicians ... but you're right ... convincing these young promoters who determine these things ... and weren't even BORN yet when this great music was around ... is getting tougher and tougher. My favorite story of the past few years concerns an agent who thought he was booking Chicagoland legends The New Coronary Six ... and that is NOT a joke!!! (kk)
