Al K

Excerpts from the Hard Rock Cafe Press Release: C'mon down to The Hard Rock for lunch next Saturday and join us! CLEVELAND'S OWN RASPBERRIES TO DONATE MEMORABILIA TO HARD ROCK' WORLD FAMOUS COLLECTION Orlando, Fla., March 26, 2009—The "Rock 'n' Roll Capital of the World—will be buzzin' with excitement as Hard Rock Cafe Cleveland hosts a special appearance by Cleveland's premiere rock band, Raspberries. Eric Carmen, Wally Bryson, Dave Smalley and Jim Bonfanti will come together on the Hard Rock stage to donate autographed drum heads used while shooting the DVD Raspberries Live On Sunset Strip; a limited edition lithograph of the band signed by each member and tour posters from the band's reunion tour to Hard Rock's world famous memorabilia collection, further immortalizing the band's place in rock history. What: Hard Rock Cafe Cleveland Hosts Special Appearance by Raspberries When: Saturday, April 4, 2009 12:30 p.m. Event begins Where: Hard Rock Cafe Cleveland 230 West Huron Road Cleveland, OH 216-830-7625 Admission: Free, All ages welcome

Also, the list of artists on the website are those acts that are playing at the various public and private events throughout induction week. All of these artists are not playing together at one show, although many of them are on the bill for The Moondog Coronation Ball concert on March 28th. Also, our own "overdub" Billy Sullivan is now a full time member of Peter Noone's band and will be performing at The Moondog Coronation Ball!!!

Here's what I know: It's a private VIP event at the Rock Hall the night before the induction ceremony for the Rock Hall board, the nominating committee, any inductees and Rock Hall guests, the major induction week event sponsors, corporate donors and those who payed the big bucks to attend the ceremony. This event is not open to the public and no tickets are available. AL

yep, Barb, you said it... Jim Bonfanti - slave to fashion!

I just found this thread...so I gotta put my two cents in. When I saw James wearing that shirt, I just chuckled and knew the vibe was somehow being felt by Bernie. Beyond his legendary skill and resume, James Burton is simply one of the kindest sweetest guys I've ever met in this business. Every artist at the Les Paul show was like that, though. They are all just cut from a different cloth than many of today's artists. Each of them would spend as much time as I had to give talking with me. And I soaked it all in. They genuinely seemed to enjoy every minute as much as I did, but I know I enjoyed those minutes MUCH more. Priceless. I was very fortunate to be able to spend a good amount of time during those two days talking with James in particular, and he always made me feel like HE felt it was HIS pleasure to be talking with ME! The photo on this thread sits proudly next to my photo with Rick, another very talented, kind, sweet man, and I'll treasure it forever. Al

Billy...priceless!

PHOTOS: Courtesy Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame And Museum Steve Lukather on lead guitar with Eric on lead vocals. Eric singing a stirring rendition of "It's Been A Long, Long Time." Les Paul, Eric and Slash backstage after the show. Eric poses for a photo with James Burton and Les Paul. Richie Sambora and Eric at the Les Paul Tribute After-Party.

Yes, Wendy...that is THE song. Let the crying continue!

The Manager's report: As the night came to a close, Eric summed it up best to me in one sentence: "It should be illegal to have this much fun!" The show - itself a very complex and challenging undertaking - went off without a hitch (the Rock Hall staff couldn't have been more helpful and accomodating), and there were so many highlights I can't begin to list them all here. So I'll try to give you a sense of the event with the highlights that immediately come to mind: Every artist brought their "A" game, and all egos were left at the door for what was truly a very special, one-of-a-kind night. During rehearsals, sound checks (these cats are such pros - one or two takes at most and their part of the soundcheck was done) and throughout the show, all of the artists truly seemed to be fans of each others music, were humbled by their participation with each other and all seemed to genuinely be in awe of each other and their performances. So many times during the night I stood with various performers as they intently watched - with the utmost respect - their peers do their numbers, and then made it a point to compliment and support each other as the 3 1/2 hour performance went on. Every artist was a consumate pro - they all were SO nice to everyone involved - from the teamsters to the crew to the house band - and showed complete respect both for each other and for the show itself. From an EC / Berries perspective, it was also a pretty special night. I can sum it up in one comment: It was like we were in the EC / Berries version of the "Cheers" bar - everybody knew the band's and Eric's name, and many of the artists were fans and made a point of letting us know it throughout the course of the evening. Richie Sambora and Slash told me that they were BIG Berries fans, and when I gave them copies of "Live On Sunset Strip" they both were sincerely excited to receive the set. Slash in particular expressed his fondness for the band to Eric and I on multiple occasions, was very excited about the reunion, and told me he wanted to come to one the shows last year but had conflicts on the road or in the studio on the show dates. Steve Lukather holds Eric in very high regard, and wasn't shy about letting everyone know it. Lenny Kaye from Patti Smith's band asked me if I could get Eric to sign the set I gave him. He's such a nice guy, a class act and a great guitarist. The CEO of Gibson Guitar was truly excited to see some great Gene Taylor images I gave him of Wally Bryson in all of his glory playing his vintage Flying V and Double Neck. Every performance was an out-of-the-park smash. Just when you thought you'd seen it all, the next number would be every bit as special. Then, to top it off, Les Paul himself told Eric he did a "Beautiful" rendition of one of Les's favorite songs. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hang and perform with such an elite group of some of the most influential performers in the history of popular music - James Burton, Duane Eddy, Lonnie Mack, Dennis Coffey, Barbara Lynn , The Ventures AND Les Paul, along with their contemporary counterparts - Steve Lukather, Jennifer Batten, Lenny Kaye, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Billy Gibbons, Richie Sambora, and Slash...what can I say. It was an amazing experience. No drama. no stress. A great night. I think Eric is still floating on air. Also, I made sure we documented the night with some very cool photo opps, and I'll be sure to share these great images as I get them. That's it for now... Thanks, AL

The webmaster at raspberriesonline.com has alot on his plate and will get the 1st winner announced as soon as he can...thanks for your patience and stay tuned!

Some of Jesse's music is available through his website, www.thebrysongroup.com. You can also send an e-mail to info@thebrysongroup.com to ask about getting a specific song on CD. Al

We've received some great entries, photos and stories...get yours in NOW so you can be the first FAN OF THE MONTH!!!!!

fyi...I just tried it once and got in...must have been those mac/pc gremlins!

Thanks to all, from the hardest workin' manager in the business!

Coming soon to www.raspberriesonline.com is a new feature - the Raspberries "Fan Of The Month". E-mail a picture of yourself NOW to pr@raspberriesonline.com that shows us what the band means to you. Every month we'll put the winning picture on the band's website for all to see! Send your photos NOW!!

Check out the shop at www.raspberriesonline.com for the addition of the recently released high quality Japanese import CD's of all 4 Raspberries albums, at an attractive price!

I think I used to talk like this in the 70's when exiting The Agora, The Mistake and Swingos...

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Correct, AB...no official recordings of the '07 Cleve show were made. This show is gonna go down in the annals of rock history as one of those legendary, mythical concerts where you had to BE there to witness the magic - like the Carnegie Hall show in '73, the 1st reunion show in '04 and the '05 Chicago and NYC shows...

We came into a very, very low quality recording of some excerpts from the State Theatre show and thought you might want to check 'em out. Many of you wondered what "That's Rock And Roll" sounded like at this show, and this will give you a little taste... Go to RASPBERRIESONLINE , in the video section, and click on the "Cleveland Bootleg" video. Enjoy! Al

I've sent a request to my contact at Live Nation who I set up these videos with to see why they can't be viewed outside the U.S. I'll report back as soon as I get an update... Al

Problem solved - go to the www.raspberriesonline.com homepage and you can now click on whichever of the three songs you want to watch. Al

Hey gang... I have to spend 4 nights in Orlando this week and am looking for some good live music bars, clubs or just all around fun places to take myself and some clients...besides those places where you're either lookin' at a big rodent or just feelin' goofy (pun intended) can anyone give me some recommendations? Al

...and a couple of pretty cool unreleased interview clips!