The Byrds had a small get together for die-hard fans at the Round House in London on Saturday 25th February 1967.
I was there along with my good friends Tony Poole and Ross McGeeney, both later to find fame with 'Starry Eyed and Laughing', who seven short years later (April 28, 1974) played the Roundhouse alongside Michael Nesmith and Red Rhodes (amongst others). Simple twist of fate!
Back to 1967 however; in true fan style we 'discovered' that the band were staying at the White House Hotel on Regent’s Park in London, so we all strode off and blagged the number of "Mr. McGuinn"'s suite from the front desk. Up we went and had the briefest of conversations with the great man, and emboldened by that knocked on the door opposite to find it answered by the ever voluble David Crosby! Wow, David spent what seemed like hours with us discussing all manner of subjects (I should have said we were 3 spotty faced schoolboys!!) and to this day none of us have forgotten the experience or his kindness.
Saturday, August 30, 2014, 9pm-12am, $5 suggested donation
The Way Station continues their Tribute Series by honoring trailblazers of rock ‘n' roll, The Byrds, by celebrating the 46th anniversary (to the day) of their release of Sweetheart Of The Rodeo on Saturday, August 30th from 9pm-12am.
Performing the entire Legacy Edition of the record will be Jordan Renzi, The Sensational Country Blues Wonders, The Cornell Brothers, Bourbon Express and The DiveBombers. Don't miss a single track as re-imagined by these most reverential performers.
From folk rock to psychedelic hippie pop, The Byrds were pioneers of rock ‘n' roll from the start. However it wasn't until 1968, when they hitched their wagon to Gram Parsons, that they left their indelible mark on American music with their seminal album, Sweetheart of the Rodeo. The traditional forms of folk, bluegrass and gospel laid the foundation for the very first major country rock album, and forged the creation of what became known as “Cosmic American Music”.
Chris Hillman, rock legend
Hall-of-Famer and perhaps best known as co-founder of the The Byrds is
Celebrity Host for Every Now and Then Theatre and Conejo Players
Theatre's world premiere radio presentation of "Wearing Santa's Suit." The show
will air on NewsTalk 1590 KVTA December 24th at 3pm and 9pm, then on December
25th at 7am, 12pm and
8pm.
Based on actual happenings, the production allows you to enter
the mind of Santa as he encounters all types at a harborside art festival,
chamber mixer, private club, radio station listener party, children's shelter,
his next-door neighbor, a panicked girlfriend, and one family's personal
appearance request.
Hillman, a Ventura County resident, is often cited as one of the
early pioneers of the country-rock genre. His past bands include Manassas, The
Desert Rose Band, The Flying Burrito Brothers and Souther-Hillman-Furay. As
Every Now and Then Theatre's chosen Celebrity Host, Hillman will open the show
and set the scene for the hour long broadcast. At the breaks, he takes us back
in time with recorded Christmas comments from Ventura County's children- who are
now adults. Hillman will wrap up the broadcast revealing the ensemble cast,
nearly all of whom played multiple characters.
"Wearing Santa's Suit” was directed by Shawn W. Lanz of
Camarillo. Script and producer was James Wortman of Ventura. Onsite sound
engineer was David Tuomi of Thousand Oaks. Post Sound Producer was Bob Allen
from KVTA. The broadcast was made possible with resources from Barkerductions in
Ventura for equipment, and Goldcoast Broadcasting for air time. CD copies of the
broadcast are made available to cast and crew in trade for donations to KVTA's
Children's Services Fund.
Now in its 24th year, the all-volunteer Every Now and Then
Theatre has won 35 international, national, and local awards for radio drama
excellence. They are now part of the American Radio Archives in Thousand
Oaks. Chris Hillman's website is www.chrishillman.com.
Guitar legend Albert Lee is celebrating
his 70th birthday with a special performance at The Canyon in Agoura Hills, CA
on January 9, 2014.
The show will feature special
guest appearances by Emmylou Harris, Rodney
Crowell, Desert Rose Band (Chris Hillman, Herb
Pedersen, John Jorgenson, Jay Dee Maness, Bill Bryson, Steve Duncan), Peter
Asher, as well as surprise guest appearances. Lee has worked both in the
studio and on tour with many famous musicians from a wide range of genres,
including the Everly Brothers and Eric Clapton. He has also maintained a solo
career of his own and is a noted composer and musical director. In addition to
his 70th Birthday Celebration, Lee's next big projects include a solo
album, documentary and concert project celebrating his illustrious career in
music.
No Other is the
1974 album by Gene Clark, a founding member
of the the Byrds. At the time of
its release, it was viewed as a critical and commercial failure, but over time,
it's become a cult favorite. Next month, that album will be celebrated on a
brief tour where it'll be performed note-for-note by a supergroup featuring Beach House,
plus members of Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, the Walkmen, and
more.
The band will
include Beach House's Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally. Lead vocal duties will
be handled by Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold,
Grizzly Bear's Daniel Rossen, the
Walkmen's Hamilton
Leithauser, Iain Matthews of Plainsong/Fairport Convention, and Legrand. The
rest of the band features Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner, plus members of Lower Dens,
Cass McCombs' band, Celebration, and Mt. Royal.
Beach House
wrote this statement on the album:
Though we
generally love all of his music, we are most infatuated with his 1974 record, No Other. It feels
like a special moment in Gene Clark's songwriting. At first, the overdone,
studio nature of the album feels overbearing: the electric violin, the female
chorus, the bass riffs, the layered guitar sequences. However, with more
listens, Gene Clark's very unique lyrics, voice and spirit become the central
focus. It's one of those records where each time you listen, you love a
different song the most. Every song is nuanced and amazing in its own
way.
Before the
performances, they'll show an edit of a new documentary on Clark and No Other called The Byrd Who Flew
Alone. Check out a trailer for that documentary below. DJ BLT, aka Brad
Truax (Soldiers of Fortune, Black Mountain, Spiritualized), will also open with
a set of music related to No
Other.
No
Other Tour:
01-22
Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer 01-23 Baltimore, MD -
Floristree 01-24
Washington, DC - 9:30 Club 01-25 New York, NY -
Music Hall of Williamsburg
We
were lucky enough to purchase several still sealed copies of Gene
Clark's long deleted (since the late 80s) CD version of his 1977 album
TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY.
This CD was briefly released on Polydor in the USA in the late 80s, and was never re-released on compact disc.
Some copies were sold on eBay for $150,00 + lately.
So get it while you can from us. Just make an offer to
"July of 2013 was very unusual for us…we
stayed home for the whole month. It was time for editing the DVD we’re working
on and the 2 CDs from the live show in Tucson in 2012. We plan on releasing
these discs as a package:
"Roger McGuinn - Stories, Songs
and Friends - 2 CDs and a Bonus DVD”
The live show was recorded for Roger’s
mother’s 102nd birthday and the DVD is snippets from a few of Roger’s
concerts and some conversations with dear friends about Roger’s musical
journey.
We didn’t get the editing finished as soon
as we wanted, because the troubadour I married always puts performing first."
She played with Paul Winter and many other great
musicians.
John York
solo Saturday, November 16,
2013, 7pm The CLAREMONT FORUM $10 advance, $12 at the door in support of the Prison Library Project 586W.
First street, Claremont, CA 91711 tickets:909-626-3066 www.claremontforum.org
