Don_Krider

The new CDUniverse.Com overall Best-Sellers list (the top selling albums on their website) now ranks Raspberries "Live On Sunset Strip" at #15 on its August 16, 2007 chart --- up nine spots from last week's #24 ranking. Again, it's the Deluxe Edition (with the 2 CDs and the 5-song DVD) producing the sales. Don Krider

So you're "Editorial Administrator Jason Nedley" of Cleveland Scene fame. Fascinating. Now the article is #3 among the "most viewed music" articles on the Cleveland Scene site and #1 among the "most commented" on articles in Cleveland Scene. Don Krider

"No, not cheeseburgers, Berry Burgers with cheese. See, it's right there on the menu, next to the Bop-om-doo-don o-mop shoop Tonight Shakes..." Don Krider

If you ever watched Fox-TV's "That '70s Show," Big Star's "In The Streets" was the original theme song. Then Cheap Trick recorded a new version of the tune, renaming it "That 70's Song," for the TV series, which became the new theme song. The Bangles covered Big Star's "September Gurls," too. Alex Chilton had seven Top 40 hits with The Box Tops, but Big Star never charted, for some reason. Don Krider

I wish I had seen that gig, my friend. Don Krider

Count me as a fan of both Alex Chilton bands, Big Star and The Box Tops. My post was meant to show that Farrar appears to not know that the guys in Big Star are fans of Raspberries; that the members of Big Star "get" Raspberries while Farrar writes them off. Don

Hi trindy, That a comedy group made the skit doesn't bother me at all. That Cleveland Scene chose to post it as a reminder of who Michael Stanley is, without mentioning that the video was done by a comedy group, struck me as a below the belt shot --- they could have posted a video of Michael performing one of his songs, in my opinion, which really would have shown people who don't know who Michael is. Just my opinion. Don

You're right, Bernie, I did the "scratch 'n' sniff" test on a recent Cleveland Scene and it stinks!

Man, when I typed "Wuclid Beach Band" earlier I must have been smokin' some Cleveland Scene or something... I, of course, meant the great Euclid Beach Band. It's a real shame the editorial board of Cleveland Scene decided to grab a skit video off TouTube of a guy in a Michael Stanley beard pretending to be Michael Stanley which was conceived on YouTube by a Cleveland act called Last Call Cleveland, and that Cleveland Scene then posted the video with Michael's letter online "to remind" people of who Michael Stanley is. What a jerk thing to do to yet another hometown hero. And Michael Stanley, what a great guy! He's also a guy with the Top 40 cred of "He Can't Love You" (#33 in 1980-81). I think Angelina has a cool idea there --- we could come up with our Top 10 (or Top 100, or Top 1000, by the time we get through with them) Uses For The Cleveland Scene... Don Krider ;-)

I urge everyone to feel free to leave comments on that article's "comments" section --- just above the first comment posted on that page (posted by Hollies65 I believe), after the article, there's a little button that says "write your comment," so let's GIVE 'EM THE RASPBERRIES folks! Don Krider

That Cleveland Scene is trying to increase its FREE circulation is pretty darned obvious now. It says a lot about a newspaper when they have to give it away. Well, Cleveland fans can tell advertisers of their displeasure and ask retailers that carry the publication to stop doing so. I imagine some of those retail outlets and advertisers in Cleveland include people who rocked to Raspberries, The Mods, The Choir, Cyrus Erie, The Quick, Fotomaker, Eric Carmen, Dynmaite, Windfall, The Wuclid Beach band and the other Raspberries-connected music the guys have made over the years. Heck, after that article, I'll bet Bruce Springsteen won't be granting Cleveland Scene any interviews --- he doesn't need to, John Soeder at The Cleveland Plain Dealer (people pay money for that one) is a great supporter of the Cleveland music "scene." Don Krider

jnedley, unusual first post for this site, if you are indeed employed by Cleveland Scene. Probably the quickest way to get at Cleveland Scene over that article is to contact their advertisers. Newspapers live by advertising, and unhappy Cleveland fans can make their opinion of Cleveland Scene known to the people who made that rant of an article possible --- the advertisers who live by the dollars spent by Cleveland fans of Eric and the band. Don Krider

Farrar, who called Big Star "as good as The Beatles," but knocks Raspberries, should read Bernie Hogya and Ken Sharp's "Eric Carmen: Marathon Man" book. On page 114 of that book, Big Star leader Alex Chilton says, "I remember when I first heard Raspberries. The band and I were in a van traveling around, doing some dates, when we first heard 'Go All The Way.' We said, 'These guys are really doing it!' It's a great song." Don Krider http://www.epinions.com/content_393207123588

"Fred, I said, at Weekend At Bernie's, The Rock Stops Here!" Don Krider

Welcome Suzanne!

So some folks say we're a cult living in a cocoon, eh? Well, Raspberries "Live On Sunset Strip" may not have made the Billboard album charts yet (not unusual for a new album; even in the '70s Raspberries sometimes took weeks to enter the Top 200), but get this: when people are searching Billboard.Com to see if the album has charted, Billboard keeps track of that info: 01. Untitled - Korn (Virgin) 02. Finding Forever - Common (Geffen) 03. Wizard, A True Star - Todd Rundgren (Bearsville/Rhino) 04. Live on Sunset Strip - The Raspberries (Rykodisc) 05. Sean Kingston - Sean Kingston Beluga (Heights/Epic) 06. Zeitgeist - The Smashing Pumpkins (WEA Japan) 07. Kill 'Em All - Metallica (Elektra) 08. Curb - Nickelback (Roadrunner) 09. Appetite for Destruction - Guns N' Roses (Geffen) 10. Planet Earth - Prince (Sony) __________ Don Krider

Well, I'm a Music Advisor (they've called us "editor" or "expert" in the past) in both Music and in Musical Instruments for Epinions.Com . Epinions pays for my reviews, which are syndicated to MSNBC, RSS, Ebay and other sites. I was informed that it was fine for me to write for both Epinions and for Amazon, but I might lose my "titles" if I chose to do so, since they are competitors of sorts. I chose to leave my review at Epinions (which pays me) and delete my review at Amazon (which does not pay me). Besides, there are plenty of good reviews on Amazon now. Don Krider

Well said, JohnO. The critic bashing should stop. Most of the critics that have reviewed the album have been very favorable and lumping them (us) all together because one jerk writes a negative review is not fair. There are some major reviewers who are members of this site, who have supported the band from the beginning, and who don't want to be lumped in with this Cleveland Scene guy (just as professional journalists cringe when we get lumped together with tabloid "journalists" --- we HATE those guys; I also cringe when some host of "Entertainment Tonight" or "Access Hollywood" says "as a journalist" and then talks about their "close personal friend" they supposedly are objectively reporting on). There has been support in Cleveland for the band, and in Cleveland Scene in the past. Jim Girard really promoted the band when he was at Cleveland Scene (even writing about Eric in Hit Parader magazine). In the Dec. 7, 1972 issue of Cleveland Scene, Girard (who co-wrote the Euclid Beach band's "There's No Surf In Cleveland" years later), under the headline, "The Raspberries Return!!!," called the band "one of the most piquant, convincing and exciting rock bands of this decade." Bruno Bornino in a 1972 issue of The Cleveland Press (headed "Raspberries Picked To Make It") wrote about how the band's first single, "Don't Want To Say Goodbye," had sold 5,000 copies in Cleveland, making the Top 40 playlists of Cleveland's WIXY. He reviewed their first album, saying, "Raspberries is my pick as the next group to make it big out of Cleveland. With all that talent, they can't miss." In a 1973 issue of The Cleveland Press, under the heading "Raspberries 'Go All The Way' on 'Side III,'" Bornino (again) quotes Capitol Records District Promotion Manager Mike Manocchio as saying that Cleveland "has continually purchased more of the group's records than any other marketing area in the world. All five of the group's hit singles started here." He then notes that "Go All The Way" sold 90,000 copies in the Cleveland district! That same article notes that WMMS in Cleveland had Eric on the air with David Spero for a track-by-track airing of the "Side 3" album. Bruce Balzer (hi, Bruce) in Cleveland Scene's June 28, 1973, issue had a terrific interview with Eric Carmen (the magazine had Eric on the cover, one of many times that happened in the '70s and '80s). In the September 26, 1974, issue of Cleveland Scene, Jim Girard (again) reviewed "Starting Over" and said, "The name Raspberries predicates rock and roll; they've always been among the best in my book." Those Cleveland "critics," and other Cleveland writers, and the sales figures in the Cleveland area tell me there was a lot of support in Cleveland for Raspberries. I believe there still is. Don't let one lousy "critic" make you hate all "critics," folks. Critics are free advertising for any band and they serve a purpose. No two critics are the same --- they're individuals with opinions, just like you and me. And don't forget all the favorable reviews from "critics" because one "Music Editor" at Cleveland Scene writes a negative "review." Don Krider

Neat! Don who is hoping for a "Live On Sunset Strip" avatar...

Let's see, Justin F. Farrar is music editor of Cleveland Scene, and he gets the album title wrong. He uses the words "dudes" and "dude" in a review --- my college journalism professor would have strangled him. He ignores the fact that Cleveland Scene was once one of the band's biggest supporters. I'm done. He's entitled to his opinion. One poorly written "review" by a guy who doesn't like the band, amid dozens of great reviews by people who know what they are talking about, will be little noticed nor long remembered. If nothing else, let that one bad review stimulate our little "cult," as that writer calls us (does he include the 1.3 million people who bought "Go All The Way" or the 50 million people who have bought something with an Eric Carmen song on it among the members of that "cult"?), to promote this album even more. As fans of "Jericho" like Paulie and I will remember, when CBS-TV cancelled that series, thousands of fans shipped "nuts" to the network (based on a word, "nuts," that the American commander at Bastogne said to the German commander who demanded his surrender during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, a saying that was quoted in the series). CBS got so many "nuts" shipped to them that they renewed the series. Perhaps if we shipped baskets of fresh raspberries to Justin F. Farrar at Cleveland Scene we could show our support for the band... might be fun... besides, his writing indicates that he needs more Raspberries in his diet... Don Krider Long live the Raspberries cult, dudes!

Suzanne Michaels started her radio career in 1978 by interning at Cleveland's WMMS, then moving to Reno, Nevada where she did the morning show for 20 years on KOZZ-FM. She has met and interviewed hundreds of artists....her favorites? Eddie, Money, Rod Stewart and The Byrds. Of course, Cleveland's own Raspberries are near and dear to her heart as well! On January 10, 2008, she will begin her 29th year in radio. As KRIM's Station Manager and Morning DJ, Suzanne loves a challenge, and when asked about the best part of her job?......The freedom to promote and play all our talented local musicians. And on her Myspace page she says, "Who I'd like to meet: The Raspberries (Eric, Jim, Dave & Wally)..." Sounds like someone who would love to interview the guys... Don Krider

Over at Amazon.Com, #288 overall, but #1 on their best-selling Power Pop list and #5 on their best-selling "Live" albums list (based on sales from their site). Don Krider

"Bruce, I thought she was just a hot chick, but she can sing, too. Name's Kathy..."

"Tonight, on 'Wild Kingdom,' mating rituals in New Jersey..."

"You know, Jim, you really are the Foxiest Raspberry..."