Kent -
The good news is we are heading to Summerfest … the bad
news is we have not moved in about 45 minutes. Check on traffic before you
come. I guess Trump is in town and protesters are blocking the exit ramp.
Mike DeMartino
Hot day for a concert … and even
hotter this weekend! Would have loved to
see the expanded sets but it just wasn’t to be on a Thursday. Report back to us on the concert … if you ever get
there!!! (kk)
This guy made it …
Kent,
I just got back from the Cornerstones of Rock show at
Summerfest. The show started promptly at 4 pm (an on time start is always
appreciated!)
The first set, including the Ides of March (who also backed
up all but the Buckinghams), Jimy Sohns, Cryan’ Shames (Tom Doody, Jim Pilster
and Jeff Rutter), New Colony Six (Ray Graffia, Bruce Mattey and Ronnie Rice),
and Ted Aliotta lasted about an hour and 40 minutes. After a ten minute break,
the Buckinghams took the stage and were in mid-set when my wife and I were
forced to make an early exit at about 6:15. The crowd was near capacity,
impressive for a late afternoon show. As I recall The Ides did six or seven songs,
The Cryan’ Shames did five, The New Colony Six, six, and Jimy Sohns, three. Jimy was forced to sit on the drum platform
the last minute of his third song and was assisted from the stage, looking
distressed (he did not sing GLORIA during this set - not sure if he returned
before the show ended).
I found it interesting that Tom Doody and Jim Pilster each
gave kudos to James Fairs during their set between Cryan’ Shames songs.
The crowd enthusiastically enjoyed the music, with the New Colony
Six set, Ted Aliotta on Lake Shore Drive, and Vehicle seemingly receiving
the loudest cheers, and the stars of the show made a point to make multiple
compliments about Milwaukee.
In sum, the Chicago musical legends put on a great show for
us cheeseheads.
Bob Verbos
I hope Jimy’s doing ok … Sohns and Pilster
have both had health problems of late … and performing that energetic of a show
in this kind of heat would take it out of someone half their age!
Sounds like it was a great show …
and I love the idea of the expanded sets.
(Would love to see the complete set list for this event. Keep in mind The Ides Of March have to learn
ALL of this other material in order to back up the other groups … so I think it’s
great that they’re still looking at ways to improve the show. I wonder if we’ll see any of these changes
when Cornerstones returns to The Arcada Theatre in November.) kk
Kent -
Once again I find
myself wondering the same thing you do!
>>>As
you know, I have been pushing for a little more variety in the Cornerstones
shows … I believe it’ll help to keep those loyal fans who keep coming back
again and again to see the show want to keep coming back even more, with a new
element of surprise added into the mix. Unfortunately,
we’ll miss the Summerfest show but I wish you all the very best of luck … and
hope to catch up with you when Cornerstones returns to The Arcada Theatre in
November. (kk)
I’ve been ignored
after the Skokie PAC show and was never asked to return to the Cornerstones
Live shows. I was told it was due to my
unavailability, but I was open for many of the multiple dates listed. I feel like I’m losing my connection to the
Chicago Music Scene through the efforts of agents and other "unnamed sources"
involved with booking and managing the Cornerstones shows. It bruises my soul to think that my comrades
in Chicago Music have discredited me for my participation in the band’s success
over the years.
My question is WHY? In
the past I have brought us all together to celebrate our musical contributions
as Chicago Musicians. To be SHUT OUT is a personal insult and I will never
forget it.
I know that all this
may not be suitable for your “positive vibe” postings, so please edit it as you
like.
Hope to see you at
Copernicus Center for the Italian American Benefit Concert / Dennis Tufano
“Soundtrack Concert” featuring The Chicago Experience Band and Anthony
Rago on Sept. 23, 2018.
Dennis Tufano
This is a very difficult letter to
post, even in edited form, as I am truly stuck in the middle between ALL of
these great artists who I love dearly and do my best to support. However, I feel that I must be totally honest
here when I say this … (and I know that I’ve said this before) … I had really thought
(and hoped) that you would be involved with some of the Cornerstones shows
whenever and wherever possible and am disappointed to see that this hasn’t been
the case. The Buckinghams can still do
their other 100+ shows a year with the current line up and nobody will miss a
beat … but the Cornerstones Shows are supposed to be something special …
something displaying this incredible era of music when Chicago Rock was
king.
(And I’m sorry, but I’m going to go
even a step further and be brutally honest here for a moment … and really I
don’t care WHAT kind of twisted logic any of you guys throw back at me … can
somebody PLEASE explain to me how … and in what alternative universe … does
Dennis Tufano, who sang EVERY hit The Buckinghams ever had, NOT belong at a Cornerstones Show … but Bruce
Mattey, who was NOT a member of The New Colony Six during their hit-making
years … and never charted a single solitary record in his entire career … DOES?!?!)
It pains me, too, that James Fairs,
a founding member of The Cryan’ Shames, no longer partakes simply because he
wants to re-invent the songs we all know and love so well, rather than perform
them in the style that made them hits in the first place (which is the way the
fans want to hear them.) I just don’t
get it.
Cornerstones is a celebration of
this music. It’s amazing to me that some
fifty years later The Ides Of March are still intact with ALL of its original
members yet nearly all of the other acts on the bill still can’t let 40 year
old wounds heal. Honestly, gimme a break
already … and get real for a second … just how many more Cornerstones shows are
in all of our futures? LET IT
GO!!!!! CELEBRATE THE MUSIC that got you
all here in the first place and let us all share in the moment. This is SO sad … and SO embarrassing! (kk)
On a more positive Cornerstones
note, FH Reader Tom Cuddy tells us that the PBS Television Special (filmed as
part of the on-going Soundstage series) is being re-released for commercial
release now that the fund-raising portion of this item has passed …
Cornerstones
of Rock -- American Garage
Featuring performances by Rick
Derringer and the McCoys, Ides of March, American Breed, Shadows of Knight,
Standells, Cryan’ Shames, New Colony Six, Buckinghams / Dennis Tufano, and
Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah
Recorded live at WTTW’s Grainger Studio in Chicago , IL,
where the groundbreaking music series Soundstage began more than 40 years ago.
The first special in the series will bring together Chicago area’s iconic rock
groups of the 1960s and ‘70s for a once-in-a-lifetime concert special.
Highlights include American Breed’s “Bend Me, Shape Me,” Ides of March, featuring
Dartanyan Brown’s ”Get It On,” the Buckinghams featuring Dennis Tufano’s “Mercy,
Mercy, Mercy” and Rick Derringer and the McCoys’ “Hang On Sloopy.”
Kent:
Do you think this DVD release of the PBS
Cornerstones of Rock concert will feature some bonus songs??? Fingers
crossed!
Tom Cuddy
Honestly, I
doubt it … heck, it’d be nice just to get the whole show! If you remember, when PBS first released the
DVD, “Gloria” had been eliminated from the final cut. How do you feature Jimy Sohns of The Shadows
of Knight and NOT feature their biggest, best-known hit?!?! (The story going
‘round at the time was that they weren’t sure they had copyright clearance to
include it. Hopefully that’s all be
worked out by now!)
UPDATE: Nope!
I just checked the track list on Amazon.com and there are no new bonus
features or alterations to the original DVD as released by PBS a couple of
years ago.
And what’s
with this marketing campaign? The whole
show revolved around our Local Heroes … yet the way it’s being promoted now, it
looks like a Rick Derringer concert!
Derringer and The Standells were featured as “special guests: on a show
that featured The Ides Of March as the “house band,” backing up other
Chicagoland favorites like The Cryan’ Shames, The New Colony Six, The American
Breed, Skip Haynes (OF Aliotta Haynes and Jeremiah and not the whole band as advertised,
as the other lead members had already passed away … sadly, Haynes would join
them within a year, as would Gary Loizzo, lead singer of The American Breed,
who passed away right after this program first aired on PBS) and the previously
mentioned Jimy Sohns. The Buckinghams
performed as a self-contained unit, reuniting current members, led by Carl
Giammarese and Nick Fortuna, with original lead singer Dennis Tufano.
And why are
The Ides Of March identified for performing “Dartanyan Brown’s ‘Get It On’ when, in fact, they backed up EVERYBODY and
performed their OWN hits “Vehicle,” “L.A. Goodbye” and “You Wouldn’t Listen”???
Oh well, I
guess we should just be happy that this thing is FINALLY coming out via a media
that other garage band fan across the country can now enjoy, since this special
did not air in all areas when it was first shown on PBS.
And there are
OTHER Soundstage releases coming out, too …
BMG
has announced plans to roll out the Soundstage Classic Series, featuring for
the first time ever DVD / CD combo packages of live performances by rock band
Heart, folk / pop hit makers America, and the Cornerstones of Rock, featuring
Rick Derringer, Ides of March, American Breed and more. (Release date: June 29)
Heart
Live - With the hits “Magic Man,”
“Dog & Butterfly,” “Crazy on You” and “Barracuda,” among others, Heart
Live is a look at the revolutionary
rock band, Heart, featuring sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, as they bring passion
and energy to an explosive 23-song set that touches on every era of their
awe-inspiring career. Rounding out this definitive live performance are
tracks from their album “Jupiter’s Darling” plus rare covers
of Led Zeppelin’s “Misty Mountain Hop” and Elton John’s “Love Song.”
With
a four-decade history of chart-topping hits, Heart rose to fame in the
mid-1970s with music influenced by hard rock and heavy metal, as well as folk
music. To date, Heart has sold over 35 million records worldwide, including
over 22 million in the United States. They have had 10 top albums on the
Billboard 200 in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2010s. The group was ranked
number 57 on VH1’s ?100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.
America
-- Live in Chicago
Perennial
favorite America began defining the California folk-rock sound nearly forty
years ago when they topped the charts with such massive hits as “Ventura
Highway,” “Only In Your Heart,” “Sister Golden Hair” and “Horse With No Name,”
among others. Years later, these friends, Gerry Buckley and Dewey Bunnell,
are still making music together, touring the world and thrilling audiences with
their timeless sound.
Filmed
before a live audience, America, Live in Chicago is a unique
and intimate performance of the legendary band that defined the early ‘70s folk
sound and ruled the Top 10 charts with their evocative harmonies and acoustic
style musicianship. This memorable 20-song set includes their greatest
hits as well as live versions of “Head and Heart, “ “Till the Sun Comes Up Again”
and “The Last Unicorn” plus a special on-stage appearance by Christopher Cross
on “Lonely People.”
The
performance was captured in High-Definition and Mixed in 5.1 Surround
Sound. The DVD includes a bonus interview with America founders Gerry
Beckley and Dewey Bunnell.
As broadcast on PBS from 1974 through 1985, the legendary
concert series Soundstage presented white-hot rock and pop acts from all over
the world, including artists such as The Temptations, Al Green, Benny Goodman
and Bob Dylan, in one-hour increments. The program resurfaced to immense
acclaim (with the same format) in 2003; one of those concerts, with the popular
1970s pop band America , is featured in this release.
The Soundstage Classic Series features handpicked live
performances from the very best of the Soundstage Series on PBS, spotlighting
artists from all genres of the music world.
I was at the America Soundstage taping and
already own this concert on DVD.
It would be great if they dipped into their
archives to present more of the “vintage” shows from the early days of the
series. Two of my all-time favorites
come from the late ‘70’s … the Barry Manilow show was outstanding, as was the
one that featured Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman, reunited to perform
several of their Guess Who hits together as well as some of their solo
material. (THAT’S the one I’VE been
waiting for for decades!!!) kk
And, speaking of Soundstage Shows, last
week there was some discussion going back and forth about a show taped back in
either 2008 or 2012 (depending on which source you choose to listen to!),
celebrating the music of Jim Peterik.
Besides The Ides Of March … and two former
lead singers of Survivor … the program also featured performances by .38
Special as well as Mickey Thomas and Starship.
I had never seen it before (nor even knew
it existed!) Apparently the program
never officially aired … but AXS TV has been airing at various times in June
and July … and it really is quite an excellent concert. (I will say first that the program has been
HEAVILY edited to fit into a one hour timeframe … so the amount of content as
well as the proper running order of the material presented has been somewhat
compromised … but it definitely is worth seeking out if you get the chance.
Check your local listings (or the AXS TV
website schedule) so you can find out when it’s airing in your area. (I ended up DVR-ing the show Monday Morning
at 10:30 am!) kk
kk:
Are you going to the
Library on Sunday?
A get-together
celebrating the new Dick Biondi documentary you’ve been telling us about …
which will also include a promo screening and some Q&A with the director.
FB
Nope, gonna miss this one, too … but we’re
in regular communication with Pam Pulice, who is putting this whole film
together. (In fact, we’ve been helping
to line up some interviews to be included in the film!)
Details below for those who would like to
attend:
Join Ronnie Rice,
formerly of the New Colony Six,
at 2:00 P.M. this Sunday, July 1st, at the Sulzer Library in Chicago
for a prevue of the Dick Biondi documentary, followed by a Q&A with the
director. Wear your official Dick Biondi Film tee shirt which is available by
scrolling down to the GET MY TEE button on our website: https://www.dickbiondifilm.com/donate/
We're gonna relive those magical WLS
Dick Biondi years with one of rock and roll's legendary artists, Mr. Ronnie Rice!
Pictured from L to R:
Dick Biondi, Ronnie Rice, Dave Fogel, and Greg Brown
