And Then There Was One

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GQ

Guitarist Paul Kantner of the Jefferson Airplane and the Jefferson Starship has died at the age of 74. Mr. Kantner was touring with the latest incarnation of the Jefferson Starship right up until recently and last played in the New York area at the NYCB Theatre at Westbury and B.B. King’s in New York City. I was supposed to go to the Westbury gig but had accidentally triple booked myself that night and ended up seeing the Gregg Allman Band at City Winery.

I have seen the Jefferson Starship back in the 70’s when Grace Slick led the vocals and more recently at The Paramount a couple of years ago when the 70 plus year old Kantner rocked out in his psychedelic spandex pants with Cathy Richardson doing her own best take on the Jefferson Airplane classics.

Paul Kantner may not be a household word or the first person that many would think of regarding the Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship but he was the undeniable musical and inspirational leader of the groups that performed and recorded for decades since the 1960’s.

The old rockers are passing away at an increasingly alarming and sobering rate. The local oldies station no longer plays the hits from the 50’s or eve 60’s bot now play Fleetwood Mac and The Romantics.

Joe Cocker, Ben Keith, Bobby Keys, David Bowie, Glenn Frey, Clarence Clemens, Paul Kantner and the list goes on and on.

God gave Rock and Roll to you……..

Long Live Rock

GQ

i’m listening to “The River” tour concert recorded on 01/19/2016 in Chicago on Sirius satellite radio prior to heading to New York City for the now first of two shows (thanks to the Blizzard of 2016) at Madison Square Garden.

I do find it odd that Bruce would sing a Jackson Browne tune in honor of the recently departed Glenn Frey but in any event it’s a nice rendition of “Take It Easy”.

“The River” has always been my favorite Springsteen album, as there is so much great music on this classic double album recently blown up to a massive box set, so I am looking forward to seeing the band in an arena setting for this somewhat brief tour.

Born to Run

GQ

Eagles founding member Glenn Frey died today at the age of 67. Another rock and roll great passes and it would appear that the latest Eagles farewell tour was indeed their last.

Take It Easy

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GQ

The legendary record producer Tony Visconti takes his “authorized” David Bowie tribute band Holy Holy to The Paramount tonight to perform David Bowie’s “The Man Who Saved the World” in its entirety.

Visconti famously produced many of David Bowie’s albums including the just released “Black Star” and also projects for the band T.Rex. 

Holy Holy performed at the Highline Ballroom on David Bowie’s birthday January 8th just days before his death and the crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to him on FaceTime.

Mr.Visconti played at the City Winery last year with TV Show and played a varied mix of songs to include many of the great glam rock tunes that he had producied through the years.

An inexpensive night of rock and roll classics performed by excellent musicians close to the source at a great venue is not a bad investment of time and funds after the NFL playoffs wind down this afternoon.A nostalgic night of classic rock music is on tap in Huntigton, Long Island tonight; rock out to the tunes of the late great David Bowie.

Tickets remain on sale.

Let’s Dance

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GQ

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is an odd entity. I’ve visited the Rock and Roll Hsll of Fame in Cleveland and I would recommend that any fan of rock and roll check out the extraordinary collection of memorabilia and exhibits. If you find yourself in Cleveland for any reason, it is a great way to spend the day . However, the fan voting and the television special that is the induction ceremony has become embarrassing. 

While the Hall of Fame induction has rejuvenated the careers of acts such as Heart, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, and now Cheap Trick, it has become obvious through the years that the Hall of Fame “committee”, for what it is, is primarily trying to create a mix of acts that will draw the greatest interest to the widest possible television audience. How else could Donna Summer, Madonna, and now, inexplicably, Janet Jackson be included as nominees while the Moody Blues watch from the sidelines. The pop sensation Janet Jackson is touring this summer so I am somewhat surprised that she was not inducted this go round but with a possible two year tour on deck her odds would appear to be good for next year. Who next,  the uber talented Justin Timberlake; a great talent but not “rock and roll”? 

The innovative band Chicago thankfully finally got its due, prior to their 50th anniversary next year as the original members are getting up in age and are in varying degrees of health. Chicago can apparently thank its extraordinarily loyal fan base for voting in large numbers. 

Progressive rock is still being ignored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as Yes was passed over and  sadly the legendary Yes bass player, and original member, Chris Squier recently passed away so the eventual Yes induction someday will have a bit of a somber tone when it should happen. 

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame business is thriving, and for the inductees the marketing possibilities are endless, but let’s stop diversifying and watering down the rock and roll brand for the sake of television ratings. The Hall of Fame committee should induct the legendary and deserving “rock and roll” performers and give them their moment in the spotlight while they are still with us to enjoy the acclaim.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on April 8th, 2016.

While we are on the topic of rock royalty, the David Bowie tributes continue. As I listen to Bowie’s version of “Across the Universe” during Breakfast with the Beatles on Q104.3 FM in New York, I am reading how Bruce Springsteen honored David Bowie on the opening date if his The River tour in Pittsburgh last night. Bowie recorded one of Springsteen’s songs before Bruce got famous and he went down to Philadelphia to visit Bowie during the recording of the Young Americans album which contained the John Lennon classic “Across the Universe”. 

As we have quickly come full circle, I will leave you with a plug for the completely and instantly sold out Music of David Bowie shows scheduled for Carnegie Hall  on March 31 and, due to popular demand, at Radio City Music Hall on April 1, 2016.

A Day in the Life

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GQ

Early this morning I learned that David Bowie had died after a battle with cancer. I had known that Bowie was not in the best of health for several years now from an apparent heart condition but his passing was still a shock. On January 8 David had reached his 69th birthday and released a well received album of new music of which I saw the video for  “Blackstar” the other night. David obviously still had it right up until the end as the video was as mesmerizing as any of his best 80’s MTV inspired work.

David Bowie was always a favorite of mine but I only saw him in concert a few times. The Station to Station tour, which the Stages live album came about from, and the Glass Spiders  stadium tour was the other. My wife and I also saw David Bowie on Broadway starring in The Elephant Man play.

If anyone ever asked I would always say that my three favorite artists were Neil Young, Lou Reed, and David Bowie. True artists challenge their audiences and take them along on their adventurous sonic ride. Bowie was that type of artist. In an era when album cover art actually meant something, and all you knew of your favorite artists was what you could find in the rock music magazines, Bowie was an enigma; an other worldly renaissance man who rocked. Rest in Peace David Jones. 

Let’s Dance

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GQ

I already broke my New Year’s resolution of getting my blog on everyday but here I go. The year ended with the Gov’t Mule show at the Beacon Theatre where Warren Haynes and friends played over three hours on the first of a two night stand with “Sugaree”, “I Shall Be Released”, and the Allman Brothers Band “Dreams” being the highlights.

A week before the Mule show, on Christmas Eve eve, I caught the Kenny Rogers’ annual Christmas show at NYCB Theatre at Westbury. Kenny Rogers is a true entertainer with a zillion radio hits from the 70’s and beyond, going back to his First Edition days in the 60’s. The clearly hobbled Mr. Rogers, fresh off a knee replacement, is at his best when chatting with the audience between songs; his self deprecating sense of humor included joking about and playing his Gambler inspired Geico commercial. Kenny Rogers said he has played Westbury for over thirty years but that this was the last time as he will embark on a farewell tour next year. He is an easy guy to like and is well worth a check in when he rolls through your town next year.

Dark Side of the Mule

Happy New Year

Rock on!

GQ