frankenberrie

That's funny, I was only half paying attention, and didn't notice that! It's great how one song can continue on forever.

They also play the Blitzkreig Bop at Yankees games, and the Ramones families have been trying for years to get some royalties.

A version that sounds like a duet was just on the CBS series, twice. they picked up the tune a couple lines before the drum break. Still a few minutes left, maybe more to come?

Hi Darlene, and thanks, I do come by and lurk every couple weeks still, and try and keep up with the posts:) I was hoping this was an old post at first, dragged up, sad to see it's not the case. Too many of my favorite artists have self destructed too young. Eric, if you never read it, get Johnny Cash's biography Man In Black. Sobering stuff, great read. He made it thru the demons and became even stronger thru his work. That's what you need to do, start the woodshedding and write your way thru your problems and ordeal, you've never had a problem getting real and showing emotion before, maybe this past year will inspire your greatest works ever.

Eric, I hadnt been here in a while and just found out about all this. First, It totally sucks to lose your dad, mine died after over a year in the hospital battling lung cancer from smoking 4 packs a day. It still hurts 10 years later, but I think about him and try to make him proud every day. Whenever I say the Lord's prayer, "our father who art in heaven" gets me everytime. It's a pain that will never end, and can't hide from it with drugs or booze. I hope that if this is the case you can find a way to make peace with his passing. Second, maybe it's time to get back to work on music seriously! Maybe spending the hours daily struggling with writing will help you occupy the empty hours. You certainly have enough things to write about. Everyone here cares about your well being, reading this thread felt like an intervention in progress. I hope you find the strength to fight this and rally to even greater heights, while I might have stirred the pot a lot in the past, this is no time to be throwing darts. My best friend's father was an alcoholic, and his kids never had a real relationship with the man until he stopped drinking, at which point he became the loving father to his already grown children, I hope you don't miss the chance with yours. If you can't kick the habit for yourself, do it for your kids. Don't worry about public opinion, it's what's inside you that counts. You are about to embark on the toughest journey of your life, and I wish you the best. If you had the strength to become a performer and suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, I know you have it in you to kick the bottle. Best Wishes, Mike

I like the "special letter" she brings when applying for the job, but throws away when she gets a look at Newman & his staff! I loved this film so much I watched it twice in a week.

Don't know if this was mentioned here before, but there's a great black comedy film To Die For, with Nicole Kidman, she has her hubby murdered, and at his funeral, she sets a boom box on a tombstone, and boom boom ba boom, All By Myself starts blasting out from the drum break on! Pretty funny scene!

I think it's too late to escape the type casting already, she's just a commodity to her TV producers, and they are plastering her all over everything. She's stuck with it, might as well roll along until the road ends like her Achy Breaky dad did. At least she'll maybe get .10 cents on the dollar of what she's making for producers, managers & record labels. Nowadays TV contracts are written for 7 years, with minor built in pay rises, so she's basically stuck until they decide to drop her. Or she can go the Elizabeth Berkeley/ Anne Hawthorne route, and try to do risque roles, once she's 18. Didn't work for them, though.

Johnny Bongiovi can thank his lucky stars his uncle Tony used to let him sweep up at the Record Plant, and record there in off hours. Of course, he never gave him any credit, nor paid him back for the thousands of hours of time or reels of tape:) He admitted in a recent interview to selling drugs until the band took off. The funny thing at a Bongiovi concert is the girls that are stuck in the 80s, with the big hair and spandex, my sister went to see them for free last year and had some great stories about the crowd afterwards! Like I said, Hannah is a disposable hero, next year this time, the only place you'll see her face is at Big Lots and the Dollar Tree. At least she was smart enough to tour during the writer strike.

Hollies, on the same night, with the regular sets both bands play live, I'd choose the Raspberries too:) Seen Trick way more times, plus they have been playing almost the same show since the 70s! I wish the Berries could/would do what Trick did though, and play a multi night show, with each night featuring one LP in it's entirety & then the hits. Trick did that in the mid 90s, what a tour, songs I never expected to hear live.Starz did the same thing a couple years back, 2 nights Starzfest, and played the first 2 LPs with the original lineup, and the last 2 nights with the later era lineup. And as a bonus, they did a Stories set each night with Ian Lloyd.

Hey, I'm not saying the Raspberries might not be better than those bands, I'm just saying they were bands of the time that had much more success commercially then the Berries, but they still struggle to draw, at prices substantially lower than the Berries charge. Might be fairer to compare the Berries to the NY Dolls, both majorly influential acts that broke up in the 70s without a ton of commercial success. But the Dolls get the street cred of being called "Punk godfathers" and outdraw the Berries. However, they are also committed to working full time as a band, have one recent LP, and this year recording another and also a live LP is on the way. And tickets for the current tour are $17-25. The real money in rock right now is on the European/Japanese festival circuit, and I don't think the Berries could or would subject themselves to that kind of show. Stripped down bands like Iggy or the Dolls can get away with it, but the Berries would suffer at the hands of limited soundchecks, using unfamiliar gear & short sets. I think in some ways the Berries hurt themselves by not releasing the full show DVD separately commercially, as music on DVD right now way outsells CDs. And people seeing the band would win over new fans. You can't really compare the Berries to the Stones or Macca, both have had mega millions in sales over the years, and I think Zeppelin's upcoming tour will blow away Miley Cyrus' ticket prices & sales. If/when that happens, I predict you will see $1000 tickets from the box office.

Eric said it all in the other thread. We live in a youth driven culture, with a 5 minute attention span. Entertainment nowadays is driven by cel phone & ipod. Yesterday's hero? Dogmeat. Look at Britney Spears. Just 3 years ago, top of the world, ma! Today? a punchline on Leno, an episode of cops. Lindsay Lohan? Who? Hannah Montana better enjoy her year at the top, by this time next year, she's roadkill. By the time she's 18, a footnote. Remember her dad? Billy Ray What? And you expect the Me generation of the 70s, most of whom are now grandparents and struggling working 2 jobs to make ends meet to care about a band they liked 30 years ago? Contemporaries of the Raspberries, like Cheap Trick and Blue Oyster Cult, both multi platinum artists have a hard time selling a couple hundred tix, how in reality could you expect the Raspberries to fare any better? Be grateful for what you've seen, and pray for more miracles to come. The only forward motion for them is with new recordings, the best bet is to give away tracks for free to every producer in Hollywood, and light candles that they use one in a film & it catches on.

Darlene, that was a beautiful post, and why I always enjoyed playing, that special feeling you can't describe when the audience & the band are all in the moment & loving each other.

They could never get the kind of money they want opening for a tour, and I would think most other acts wouldn't appreciate getting blown off the stage night after night.

Of course the way around that is billing... The Raspberries featuring: Eric Carmen , Wally Bryson, Dave Smalley, Jim Bonfanti