Billy K.

I was in Wales last week for the Pete Ham/Badfinger events. There was a "Blue Plaque" unveiled at the railway station.....the original, pre-Badfinger, the Iveys, were named after Ivey Place, the plaza connected to the station. For those of you who don't know what the "Blue Plaque" is, it is a marker of historical significance in the United Kingdom. Lots of scientists, politicials, and other notable figures, and sites of historical events are marked. The majority of these are in London.....this is the first in Wales. The plaque not only lists Ham, but also the other members of both the Iveys and Badfinger. Ham and drummer Mike Gibbins were Swansea natives. (And as I found out, Bonnie Tyler's home town too.) An acoustic performance by local musicians was done outdoors before the plaque unveiling ceremony. Petera Ham, his daughter, unveiled it. No celebrities of note showed, but Olivia Harrison(George's widow) and Chris Thomas(famed reggae producer, who had produced Badfinger early in his career) sent messages that they regretted being unable to come, and these messages were read. The main concert was at the Grand theater, which was built in 1897, and holds about 1000 people. Excellent facilty!! Some local artists did open up the main event.....in fact, the opening song was a Mike Gibbins tune "My Heart Goes Out".....but by and large, mostly tunes that Ham wrote, or co-wrote. The main group consisted of former Badfinger member Bob Jackson, who was one of the main organizers of the event. The bassist from the Fortunes, and the drummer from the Specials were also part of the group, among other. Original Iveys members Ron Griffiths and Dave Jenkins came up for a few songs. Jackson's daughter came up for one song. Yes, Bob Jackson did acknowledge the Raspberries and other power pop bands, while mentioning Badfinger's legacy. Afterwards, there was a collection of money at the exits, for the youth suicide prevention organization PAPYRUS. Jackson and some of the other musicians had an acoustic session at a local pub, a few hours after the show. The following day, there was also a ceremony at the cemetery. Pete finally got a headstone after all of these years. The new 2-CD set of Ham's 1966-67 demos came out earlier in the week.

Hugh McCracken, who played some guitar sessions for Eric, as well as many other artists passed away yesterday. Although he was part of the New York recording session scene, he was actually a native of Youngstown, OH.

Avril Lavigne played a shopping mall in Seattle a few years ago. But that was sort of a "make-up" from the previous gig.....when on a multi-artist bill at the Tacoma Dome, she didn't feel well, and only played three songs.

Actually, I was more concerned about Peter, having cancer and all.....and it was Davy that dies.....

I would have John sing "Oh Darling" because originally Paul had John in mind.....and perhaps have Paul do "Beautiful Boy", to trade....

No HOF of any kind for Frank Sinatra to be in. That is sad, considering what he's done for popular music.

Yes, Rush occupies an interesting corner in music. As musicians, they are much more proficient than most rockers. Yet, at the same time, they are not caught into the "snobbishness and/or blatently showing off" traps that a number of jazz musicians get themselves into. Rush's lyrics are totally different than just about anybody else's.....there is a general lack of romance/sex, partying, politics, religion, dance lyrics, etc...they do topics that other bands won't touch....and still be able to pull it off. I don't think most other artists would do a song about Tom Sawyer, or Bastille Day, and get away with it. Additionally, they are still only three people on the stage, and make the most of it.

Yes, Edwards/Rogers were a great team, and with drummer Tony Thompson(who people seem to forget about)made an almost unbeatable rhythm unit. The singers did well, but nothing really distinctive. A lot of singers could have been able to pull it off just as well. The songwriting......well, the weak point, but you've got to remember, it's mindless dance music.

Which is more than most lists...

Well, it's been a while since I've been on the board...many of you I have kept in contact with by other means(i.e. e-mails, Facebook, etc), but there are still some that I haven't and I missed. For some unknown reason, my password at EC.com has been rejected.....usually would have been no problem fixing by re-setting it.......but in all cases, I get a new password, and then I still would not get in. It was a bit futile dealing with this, and that is why I have not been on for a while. Needless to say, I wanted to get this deal fixed.....and it is now finally working....thanks, Bernie!!

Happy Birthday, Jim!!

Just curious....who owns the Roulette records catalog these days???

Who are the other musicians?

Checked the information on their site......the show is called "Poptopia Highway", and runs from 830-1030pm on Fridays. Lon Palmer is the host. The shows, customarily, open with "Get Back" and close with Macca's "Singalong Junk", as I find out from the playlist archives. On 1/22, the Berries version of "I Saw the Light" was played, followed by Spoon's version. To give you some examples of what other artists do get played: Elvis Costello, Pixies, Julian Lennon, Todd Rundgren, The Who, Mott the Hoople, Bowie, Ringo, Cheap Trick, Wilco, Scarlett Johansen(??), Keith Richards, Joe Jackson, Harper Simon, Foo Fighters......

Fieger also sang lead on a couple of tracks on Was(Not Was)' "Born to Laugh at Tornadoes" album. A real odd combination of lead vocals on this album....the obscure(but good)Sweet Pea Atkinson was on there....with Mel Torme, Ozzy Osbourne and Mitch Ryder....talk about a cast of characters!! The song "Smile" from this album, with Fieger as the front man, is a fun, pleasant, song....

Many independent/community/college stations have specialty programming....such as ethnic(i.e. KBCS runs two hours of Hawaiian music on Saturday morning), blues, local bands etc....... Happened to be listening to KSER 90.7(Everett WA), and sure enough, they were mentioning that there would be a dedicated "Power Pop" show aired on a regular basis. This is the first time that I ever heard of any program dedicated to Power Pop. I presume we will be hearing some Raspberries on this show. Should be interesting to see what exactly they play.

Is it still legal in Mexico??

A few decent ones, here and there. But hands down, it's been the worst in many, and perhaps the worst of all time, in my opinion. The 30s/40s had a long string of great big band tunes. The 50s started off dismally, offering mostly ballads and novelty tunes, but suffering in anything "up-tempo"....until rock and roll reversed it, a few years into the Sixties, seventies, eighties.....all great, and there is a great case for each, of which was the best. Nineties...not as good as before...but certainly better than what was to come.

Art of Science and Sound Alan Parson now has a new website....this is with educational material concerning recording, available for download.

Dhani Harrison's Opinion on Bands

In the new issue of "Guitar Player" which has Kiss on the cover, also has an article on Ace and his recent solo effort.

Joan Jett Melody Maker A reissue of the guitar made famous by Joan Jett(and previously owned by some Eric guy........)

Dee Anthony, manager to Peter Frampton, Dies

Had a salad, and then some macaroni and cheese. The mac and cheese was on sale atthe store, but I did add a few other things....cut up a red pepper in small pieces, and also cut up some black olives and onions. Nothing like spicing it up!

There is a fair possibility I may be moving back. I like Seattle, but they are cutting down hours at work, since there are now less flights operating out of here. Plus there are some family issues that require me to come down often. So, who knows, I may move back in the next year or two....