I was driving in my car, listening to CNN on the satellite, and there was a gentleman saying that all the protesters, those at the No Kings rallies, those at the Black Lives Matter demonstrations, were the same people…a small subset of the population made up of those on the extreme left who should be ignored, because they don’t represent America. As a matter of fact, he went on to say they were UNAMERICAN!
He was not being histrionic, nor was he exasperated, rather he was stating his message in a grandfatherly way, kind of like Ronald Reagan saying “there you go again…”
And I’m thinking of how the right has defined so many things in America.
California is a hellhole, so bad that you’d better not leave the house because of the homeless population, and there are trans kids all over the schools and taxes are too high and why would anybody live there?
But it’s not only California… The Republicans have had a years-long campaign of denigrating, of labeling negatively, unions, mail-in voting, welfare…never mind taxes. To the point where taxes are now anathema even on the left. What am I getting for my damn money! And I could do a better job of disbursing it. (This is the claim of the richest class…how did that work out with DOGE? Where cuts were made by AI, enforced by those wet behind the ears with no insight. This has been well-documented, but if you only follow the arguments on cable news, the argumentative sites you go to online, you may not know this.)
The enemy is the elite, the university, the takers… They’ve all been demonized to the point where unless you’re a member of these groups, you too believe it.
So what do the Democrats stand for?
WE’RE ANTI-TRUMP!
But that’s not enough, not if you want people to believe in you, there must be more. There used to be a party platform, those are now meaningless exercises. Furthermore, many old Democrats are disillusioned by the party and have now become independents.
Used to be clear prior to the nineties, you knew what Democrats stood for:
1. The working man (and woman!)
Not a hard concept. But so many of these people are now Republicans. Because they were overlooked by the Democrats. The party was run by economic grifters trying to get closer to the money. Can you say EPSTEIN? Irrelevant of whether they were on the right or left, what we learned was the rich want to hang with other people with status and benefit from those relationships and the entire enterprise is encased in a cone of silence. But if you’re a working person?
You have no access. Even worse, you have no access to the best educational institutions, because the elite has locked them up with not only legacies and donations, but enrichment programs and…
So who is looking out for you?
You could say George Soros, but the right has labeled him to the point where just uttering his name makes people wince, he’s toxic…the Democrats never rose to defend him, for fear the right’s labeling of him would rub off on them.
2. Unions
The right has completely changed the narrative, unions are evil. The tide turned with the air traffic controllers being excised by Reagan in the eighties. If anybody goes on strike… Oh, they’re overpaid and selfish. Yup, these teachers educating your kids. Meanwhile, the company has you on part time, oftentimes with split hours, so you get no benefits. As for health insurance, it’s got “Obama” in the name. Only it doesn’t! The right slapped the Affordable Care Act with the moniker Obamacare to ensure negative perception. But it’s even worse, there’s the code word “Democrat” party as opposed to “Democratic.” The only person I’ve seen stand up to this is Bill Maher, and he is anything but warm and fuzzy, and therefore not changing minds as much as elected officials who could blow back every time they hear this label. It’s like being called a pejorative on the schoolyard. You can either walk away or punch back. But the Democrats stand there and take it.
3.Social safety net
Are there some people breaking the rules, getting undeserved pay? Of course, hell, there are people in Congress, our President is breaking rules constantly. But the truth is the system works quite well. I don’t care who your parents are, whether they’re drug addicts or not working, children deserve to have food on their plate and a roof over their head. Just like we believe when you experience a national disaster, you can count on the government to come rescue you, to a degree anyway. But now even that is in question. And, if you don’t take care of those at the bottom, they undercut the entire society. They not only camp in your streets, they break into your home and… Even if your house is behind a gate and you fly private…do you want to live in constant fear, do you really want to be this isolated from the population?
4. Taxes
Our nation runs on them, but they’re a dirty word. Even worse, the richer you are the less you proportionately pay, if you pay at all. As for corporations, many don’t even pay taxes, irrelevant of the statutory rate. But they’ve convinced us of the trickle down theory. Yeah, like if you caddy for a fat cat in your town he’ll tip you…exactly how much? It’s a pittance compared to the bank account of the player, even of the price it costs to get out on the course and play!
Where is the campaign stating that taxes pay for road upkeep, the police and fire departments, national defense… Does the public really want those to be kneecapped?
5. Reasonability
The Democratic party is supposed to be a big tent, but the end result has become no one can say no to anybody. Trans good, but tell me again why we should have trans women in women’s sports? How this even became an issue… There are very few of these people anyway. But come on, I’m not tall enough to play in the NBA, I don’t ask for a waiver. I didn’t go to medical school, I can’t practice medicine. Even Martina Navratilova came out against trans women in women’s tennis. But those who’ve never even played the game know better. It’s a matter of principle. Really? And if you don’t agree with this you’re excoriated, said to be unenlightened. Yes, I’ll say that trans women should be able to use the women’s bathroom, but… The most salient point here is the right has made a major issue out of something quite minor. Where are the elected officials on the left stating how few people are actually involved? Rather they just take the line that it should be allowed. People are reasonable, if you reason with them.
6. We’re all in it together
Ain’t that a laugh. The wealthy elite want nothing to do with the great unwashed, they have contempt for them. And the working and underclasses know this, which is one of the reasons they voted for Trump. It’s not about the issues so much as it is a matter of principle. I don’t care if you’re the smartest kid in the class, I can even handle you being rich, but if you’re lording it over me, being an a**hole, I’m against you in principle.
7. The rich don’t rule
Look at all those tech titans who used to be Democrats who are now Trumpers. Because their wallet comes first, not the public. To let these people make policy for the nation is anathema.
8. Public school
We should all start out equally, on the same foot. And we should fund our institutions accordingly. But the right calls them “government schools” and goes on and on how bad they are and wans government money for their private schools, which in many cases are anything but neutral. I won’t say they’re madrassas, but so many are religious and…
9. Sacrifice for the greater good
Today everybody is out for themselves, as for the rest of the people…SCREW ‘EM! You’re dumb if you don’t bend the rules. I’m out for myself and if in the process you’re hurt, or you fall behind, it’s your own damn fault. The right has convinced so many that it’s the poor’s fault that they’re economically challenged. I won’t even bother to refute this, it’s self-evident it is wrong, but many regular people now believe this.
10. We’re all in it together.
Income inequality is the scourge of our nation. And rather than hide with their riches, the wealthy say THEY EARNED IT! Exactly how? By creating a product that the public or government buys? Without a customer, without the population at large, you’re dead on arrival, you’ve got nothing.
Meanwhile, those “in power” on the left tell us their hands are tied and to trust the system. Yeah, the same system that is not giving me my FEMA money, the same one that took away my benefit so I can no longer afford health insurance? Go to the ER…yeah, like the public doesn’t pay anyway.
As for elections… Believe in the same process that Trump denied in 2020 and is still denying, never mind pardoning the January 6th protesters?
The left says “watcha gonna do…” And then does nothing. The right turns over the table with impunity.
Never mind the left being the party of science, of innovation, it’s the right that wants to return to the past. But we’ve got old officials who don’t understand the new technology and it’s laughable. It’s the Democrats who should kick the oldsters aside and let the youngsters in. We live in a completely changed world and in Congress they act like it’s 1926. Or maybe even 1826.
So you stand for something, or you stand for nothing.
Religion had it right, with the Ten Commandments.
And then you had the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
We know what the Republicans stand for, but the Democrats? It’s amorphous at best.
This is not rocket science. You could come up with a platform and hammer it. But that would mean you might piss off some people in your own party by speaking the truth. You might antagonize lobbyists. Elected officials are the absolute worst…they’re supposed to represent their constituencies, but it’s been proven time and again that they’re only out for themselves.
But how come I know all of the above and those in control of the Democratic party do not?
Because they’ve got their heads so far up their a**es that they’re out of touch. They’re just hoping that Trump alienates the public so much that they’ll gain some power. This is like trying to win a boxing match without throwing a punch. It’s fruitless.
Now I’ve known Chris for a long time. He takes his music seriously and is especially knowledgeable about country for a guy who started out in rock. I’d describe his personality as mild. But not this piece, he’s positively OUTRAGED!
About six weeks ago my shrink asked me about a piece I wrote that resonated with my audience, that he himself had read. He asked me what made it different. I thought about it for a while and then I said it was WARM!
Hmm…
Ever since then I’ve been trying to replicate that tone.
No, let me put it differently. I’m known for being angry, outraged. And why am I so pissed-off?
Well, some would say I’m frustrated with my position in the game. That I wish I had more status or more money or more power…
Others would just say it’s my raw personality.
I’d add in my father… He was always cutting through the B.S., he would not accept anything at face value. And the only person who can go from zero to one hundred as fast is my older sister.
And…
I was talking to a musician the other day, he couldn’t say anything negative about anybody, for fear he’d lose out on a future job.
Then there are those who repeat misinformation, or need to believe they’re always right, unable to admit they might be wrong. This makes it hard to learn, but their main goal is to fit into their designated group, and to do that you cannot rock the boat. That is not me, I’m more of a lone wolf, once again at this late date I can see I’m the son of my father.
So a few days back I saw the “30 Greatest Living American Songwriters” article in the “New York Times” app. I wasn’t expecting much, then again, it is the “New York Times.” The same “Times” that is bending over backwards to be pro-Palestinian, even though its majordomo is Jewish. And the anti-tech spin, the denigration of social media, the playing to its educated, upper middle class audience drives me wild. It’s self-reinforcing delusion.
And when it comes to music…
I know some of these writers, one especially, is a self-satisfied overeducated hip-hop fan. Funny how it’s the white men who are all in on hip-hop, busy analyzing it and boosting it in a way that those in the culture, those who make it, do not. Are they drawn to the edgy danger, that is so far from their roots, that they would never truly get close to? I don’t know, but I expected to see a number of hip-hop writers. Then again, when I think of songwriters… Lyrics are important, but if you’re sampling or someone else is creating the beats are you truly a songwriter? I mean you’re a lyricists…but I don’t want to get too deep into the weeds here.
But this is the “New York Times.”
Now a year ago, the paper published a list of the “100 Best Movies of the 21st Century”: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/movies/best-movies-21st-century.html
Notice what they did here, they did not say the 100 best movies of ALL TIME, but just those of the past 25 years. And how many of those can compete with “Citizen Kane” and “Gone With the Wind,” never mind “The Godfather.” Close to none, I’d say.
So, if the “Times” had done a similar article about the best 21st century songwriters, I would have expected a lot of the entries on this list, a lot of less than greats. Because I won’t say that we haven’t had that spirit here since 1969, but I will say maybe since 1999.
But NO! They had to include the whole kit and kaboodle, the only caveat being that the songwriter still be alive.
So I peruse the list for the one and only, probably America’s greatest living songwriter, Paul Simon, and he is there, thank god. But I will say that the list of his five essential songs is almost laughable. Is there anybody, I dear say ANYBODY, who thinks “Bernadette” and “The Sacred Harp” are amongst Paul’s greatest? Ever hear of “Mrs. Robinson”? How about “America” or even “Sound of Silence”? Never mind “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” Simon wrote those Simon & Garfunkel songs. And I could name a bunch of solo songs better than those two, if not the whole five!
Which begs two questions… Are the people making this list truly familiar with Simon’s work? And, are they just trying to appear hip, in classic rock scribe fashion, showing that the reader’s taste sucks and their obscure choices are better?
And, in Willman’s article, you’ll see that they solicited the opinions of performers. But that’s a completely different ball of wax. Critics are their own special category, and if you’re deferring to the people who make the music, you’ve got no self-respect. And it’s not like there’s a mathematical formula that created the final list… No, it was adjusted by the writers/critics. About as transparent as the legendary Grammy nominations decided by secret committees.
But who the f*ck cares.
I don’t.
But Willman’s piece… I mean if this guy can be outraged…
Is this clickbait?
No, the “Times’ doesn’t specialize in this. The “Times” believes it’s the definitive statement, but in this case it absolutely is not.
And then you’ve got the “Washington Post.” I want to cancel my subscription, but I don’t want to cut off a news source that fills me in here and there. But the editorials have done a 180, it’s now a right wing viewpoint. Bezos and the rest of these billionaires, like Sergey Brin, even Tim Cook, just want to kiss Trump’s ass.
And the “Wall Street Journal”‘s editorial/opinion pages have always skewed right, there’s very little there with a contrary opinion. But at least it doesn’t affect the reporting. And then there was this piece in the “Journal,” the antithesis of the left wing Jonathan Haidt/anti-social media mind-set of the “Times” and its readers:
“The Timeless Fear of Corrupting the Youth – From Socrates to social media, society has always worried about protecting the young. But the latest ruling about Meta and YouTube overlooks the upsides of free speech.”
I hate when the left runs on emotions instead of facts.
Just like I hate it when the left is driven by the most extreme viewpoints of those in the party. That’s right, they’re anti-Israel. But as a Jew, one must ask, how much of this is based on raw antisemitism? They killed 30,000 dissidents in Iran, hung people, and there are crickets on campus. But when the Jews, god forbid, that powerful state the size of New Jersey, kills anybody? It’s a shonda!
Sure, Netanyahu is no picnic, but a Jew can’t even say anything out loud in support of Israel, you know to keep it to yourself. In a world that “is run by Jews.” Really?
So, there’s no there there, no center of authority.
And let’s not even address Fox News, never mind Trump himself.
It’s a veritable circus in D.C. Melania criticizing Kimmel for a joke and… Did she ever read any of Trump’s posts, reveling in the death of his enemies?
So what’s a poor boy to do?
Definitely not play in a rock and roll band. These are no longer outsiders, thinking for themselves, unafraid to stand up to groupthink. No, they’re part of the group! They’re sellouts, brands, in it for the money. At least Frank Zappa joked about this.
So we live in a world of constant outrage. With everybody defending their position, whether right or wrong.
I mean Chris Willman’s pissed that Randy Newman was excluded from this list. I’ll throw a spanner in the works, how about Don Henley? He and his compatriots own the biggest selling album of all time. But Don is not warm and fuzzy and critics, even the Dude, hate the Eagles, but come on…
I could list plenty more, but I won’t.
I mean this is not the 1800s, all these record stills exist, are easily playable on streaming services, so just because they’re old they should be overlooked, so the “Times” can look hip?
Everybody’s worried about their image, the perception… Truth takes a back seat.
You can complain all day, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. Trump does what he wants, testing limits all the time, and the Democrats keep saying their hands are tied. Ain’t that laughable.
I guess John Lennon had it right back in 1970:
“I just believe in me, Yoko and me, and that’s reality”
Because:
“The dream is over”
We used to depend upon culture to inform the public, move the discussion forward, but certainly in music that power has been abdicated.
Hell, I’m quoting a song from “John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band,” not quite a commercial stiff, but far from a raging success. That was George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass.” Or Stephen Stills’s solo debut. And where in the hell is he on this list? “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” is better than anything most of the people on it have ever written.
But he’s old, and we know the youth must be lionized. And money eclipses everything.
Although it didn’t used to.
Get it right, and it’s for the ages.
Play the game, play to the audience, and it’s a momentary success.
Then again, no one is playing the long game anymore. Because everybody is questioning whether the game will even continue.
Or to paraphrase George Carlin, another seer from the past, SAVE YOURSELF!
Bob, John Mayall never used my service to find musicians but his wife’s all female band “Maggie Mayall and the Cadillacs” used me several times. Anyway, Sammy, Mayall’s 10 year old son, (this was in 2005) was on my kid’s Little League baseball team. John would attend most every game in Woodland Hills, always sitting by himself in a fold-up chair he brought, never sitting in the bleachers with the rest of us. Maybe he thought he would be recognized but I doubt if any of the baseball parents knew who he was. But I did.
Sterling Howard, founder/owner
https://www.MusiciansContact.com
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From: Richard Gottehrer
Subject: Re: Mike Vernon
Hi Bob
He was a producer…. he produced records with Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac and Stan Webb’s Chicken Shack (the eventual combination of which formed the basis of the legendary Fleetwood Mac), Savoy Brown, 10 Years After, and “Hocus Pocus” by Focus, the first major hit that Seymour and I released on Sire.
Mike’s greatness and contribution to the industry stemmed from his understanding of history and his desire to revive an awareness of the music form that had the greatest impact on contemporary rock music……The Blues.
Mike and his brother Richard started a label called, Blue Horizon to find and record legendary blues artists from an earlier time. Some they found were… Victoria Spivey, Otis Spann, Buhhka White and Chapion Jack Dupree. That’s where we come in.
Mike was making a record with Champion Jack at the Decca Studios in London and Seymour happened to be there. Jack had been promised $200 for the session and wanted to be paid before recording but Mike didn’t have the cash. Seymour volunteered to pay it and that began our relationship with Mike Vernon.
It led to Sire buying half of Blue Horizon and helping the label become a leader in bringing renewed attention to the blues and developing hits with Fleetwood Mac, Chicken Shack and the solo hit by Christine Perfect, “I’d Rather Go Blind,” originally recorded by Etta James on Chess.
Another interesting memory is when Seymour and I received our revenue share from the success of “Albatross.” We bought a small Brownstone on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, painted it blue and named it Blue Horizon House. That of course became the office of Sire Records as well. Those were great times.
Mike Vernon should be remembered and celebrated but that’s generally not how it goes once you’re gone. Seymour should also be remembered for the great things he did: not just for the music he brought to us but for his love and understanding of what came before.
Each new generation seems to live in the moment, which is good, but those who remember and understand history and value the past become the Great Producers.
Final note: Blue Horizon still exists as part of Fat Possum Records a great contemporary label that understands history and just happens to be distributed by The Orchard.
Richard Gottehrer
(Founder), The Orchard
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From: Harvey Goldsmith
Subject: RE: Re-Donald Tarlton
Donald was a friend and colleague.
One day I arrived in my office to find a young person sitting at reception.
I went to my office and phoned reception to see who this person was.
He came into my office and gave me a note:
Dear Harvey,
This is Norman please look after him.
Donald.
Norman was Norman Perry
He lived in my house for 6 months and I taught everything about the business.
His brother in-law Riley O Connor arrived and duly did the same.
When their visas were up, I went to Donald and Michael Cohl and told them to set up Norman/Riley in Vancouver as they did not have a presence in that city.
Riley continues to be a great Canadian Promoter.
Norman does merchandising after helping to buy my merchandising company Brockum for Michael.
A fun golfer, a raconteur, but most importantly a brilliant promoter with the best sense of humour.
They do not make them like that anymore .He will be sorely missed.
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From: Stephen Budd
Subject: Re: Mike Vernon
Hi Bob,
I just wanted to drop you a note after reading your beautiful piece about Mike Vernon. I’ve copied Mike’s two daughters here in case they haven’t seen your piece, I’m sure they’ll really appreciate it.
I had the privilege of managing Mike as a record producer for over 15 years in his later career, after being introduced to him by Gus Dudgeon, who was Mike’s engineer in those early Decca Studios days before going on to an extraordinary career himself.
Mike really was an extraordinary music man.
His love of the blues, his knack for drawing out such special performances, and his ability to blend those British blues savants with psychedelic-tinged rock — along with the huge respect he commanded from the musicians he worked with, will stay with people for a long time.
As a kid, I remember buying Hocus Pocus as a 7”, it was thrilling then, and still is now. Mike also played in (with Pete Wingfield) and produced the UK funk band Olympic Runners, another act I loved as a teen, who had a hit with the theme from The Bitch and several others on both sides of the pond, rare for those days.
As Mike once said: “Barry Hammond, the engineer, would always keep a 2-track quarter-inch tape running to catch us jamming between takes, then we’d use that as the basis for the next track. It was painless; we made album after album that way. It only took a couple of weeks out of the year, and we were selling records. For the first few years the band were completely anonymous, people assumed we were a US act…”
On a personal level, he was also one of the easiest clients I’ve ever had, always charming, slightly bashful but fun, thoughtful, and incredibly generous with his time and connections. Only recently he called me about Martha Velez, whom he had worked with back in the 70s, as she needed a bit of guidance.
Veléz released her debut on the Sire/Blue Horizon label in 1969. The backing musicians included Eric Clapton, Stan Webb (Chicken Shack), and Paul Kossoff (Free) on guitar; Christine McVie (Fleetwood Mac) on keyboards; Jack Bruce on bass; Mitch Mitchell (The Jimi Hendrix Experience) on drums; and Brian Auger on organ, a line-up that speaks as much to Mike’s pulling power as a producer as it does to Martha’s extraordinary voice.
That was very Mike, always looking out for people.
He was endlessly enthusiastic about new artists too, particularly those coming from the blues, though as you rightly say, his work reached far beyond that.
I was also good friends with Seymour, who used to tell me great stories about those early Blue Horizon days with Mike and Richard, and his sharp focus on what was happening across the UK scene at the time.
I’ll leave you with the wonderful Bloodstone in The Midnight Special who Mike also found and produced..
Regards
Stephen Budd
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From: Phil Ernst
Subject: Nick Lowe
Back in 1983 (? it was a long time ago), I was a newly promoted agent at boutique agency ATI struggling with the demands of booking club shows across my sprawling territory (basically every state east of the Mississippi) with more senior agents impatiently and stridently demanding dates for their baby bands at a pace I was failing miserably to keep up with at a time when the then vibrant club circuit was a viable first step for many artists to launch their careers. We had a fantastic roster of acts I loved and a great team of agents I admired and feared equally but the pace was brutal and I lived an ever increasing spiral of fear (of failure, of not getting the right deals for the acts, of getting screamed at – yet again – by one of my more senior colleagues, on and on). One busy day when I was seriously considering packing it in for a more uh sedate way of making a living (like at the insurance company I’d spent a quiet 10 months at during a gap year I’d had between high school and college), the intercom on my desk spat out the dulcet tones of one of my then biggest tormentors, Marsha Vlasic, demanding I come to her office IMMEDIATELY!!! With the sick feeling in my stomach I’d come to know so well churning to life, I got out from behind my desk and made my way down to her office, fearing another verbal beat down. When I got there I saw she wasn’t alone and was amazed and excited when her guest got up, extended his hand, and said with a smile “Hello, Phil. I’m Nick Lowe”. He went on to tell me that having just concluded his club tour he’d insisted to Marsha that he needed to meet me to THANK ME (!!!) for the hard work I’d done on the shows I’d booked for him and the care I’d exhibited in making sure the venues were appropriate, ticket prices correct, and a great experience was going to be had for Nick and his stellar band (had just seen them at The Ritz and they were fantastic!) every night of the tour. I left Marsha’s office with a new sense of purpose and a belief that maybe I actually COULD do the work after all – Nick Lowe’s kind words and thoughtfulness helped propel me to an amazing 40 year career across many facets of the live touring business. Your story about Nick brilliantly captured many of the elements that made him an important figure back in those days; just wanted to add a bit about him as a caring person. And how about Marsha? A dynamic agent then and still one today and a person I admire and respect for her fierce dedication to her artists and relevance across decades – no easy accomplishment.
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From: Paul Flattery
Subject: Re: Switchboard Susan
Re: Nick Lowe.
Back in the 70s, I was part of the then-fledgling music video scene in England – we called them “pop promos.” We didn’t have a lot of production money in those days and did a lot of “cheap and cheerfuls” where we rented a studio already equipped with lights and (video) cameras. We rented them for three hours – 2 hours to “set and light” the artist/band, and then one hour to shoot. Editing (on 2″ tape back then) was really expensive, so usually we shot it so that the artist walked away with a finished video of the song. One such video was “Little Hitler” for Nick Lowe. We had done Elvis Costello’s “Pump It Up” and “Chelsea” for manager Jake Rivieria and Radar Records, and he asked us to do Nick’s follow-up to “I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass.” It was a very simple, inconsequential shoot, notable only for the fact that when Nick showed up he thought we were shooting a different song – the title of which escapes me. He was bemused but nonchalantly went through the song a few times on camera. It wasn’t a hit and I haven’t managed to find the video on the vast internet yet.
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From: Marty Walsh
Subject: Re: Summer Breeze
Hi Bob so glad to see this newsletter. Seals and Crofts got my career started. I got the road gig in 76 and continuing through 77. Getting that gig said something about your skill set. It gave us musicians who got that gig credibility. I owe Jimmy and Dash a lot. My first A list sessions were an their records. Summer kBreeze? You are right, just a wonderful song and certainly timeless.
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From: Donny Kutzbach
Subject: Re: Summer Breeze
Bob,
“Summer Breeze” has transcended generations the old fashioned way: licensing for use in film and TV.
Although I knew the song from hearing it on AM and oldies radio in the back seat of my parents’ cars during the 70s and 80s, it became especially meaningful to me with its use near the end of Linklater’s “Dazed and Confused.” My wife and our Gen Z kids have repeatedly watched the 2015 remake of Vacation and it’s part of a pretty fun bit with Chris Hemsworth.
It was (oddly) in last year’s Tron: Aries which I did not see coming. It has been used perfectly in Freaks and Geeks, Better Call Saul and a few other significant TV series.
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Subject: Re: The Rules
Right on, Bob. My son is a first year law student at a nationally recognized law school. He shared with me that when he went to his first test, he thought something was wrong because the classroom had so many more empty seats than he was used to.
He soon found out that the rest of the class was in another room taking their exam.
Right at 40% of his law school class had received an accommodation for extended time on all tests.
Good grief.
Charles Barber
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From: Greg McLoughlin
Subject: Re: The Route To Modern Success
Good one.
For quite some time people were telling me I needed to be putting my stuff on TikTok, but I was really uncomfortable with short form.
On my YouTube show, I perform for an hour as if I am on stage and it truly feels like I am inside.
Then one week one of my followers in turkey put a short clip of my YouTube show in her social media story and I messaged her asking how she did that, and she told me she used “screen recording” on her iPHone.
Voila, the light went off in my head, and I started clipping out short clips of my livestream and putting out one TikTok Video per day, from my livestreams.
In time I realized I needed more visual variety, and somehow I easily got comfortable making regular short form videos.
I’ve stayed consistent with this approach, one video per day, and its actually going great, I’ve got a small army of supporters growing on the platform.
Plenty of hateful comments (which I see a good sign).
Anyway, yes, not ignoring the medium anymore. In fact, its been super fun and rewarding.
And last night at an open mic in Western Jersey a young kid approached me and said, “While you were on stage I was saying to myself, where do I know that guy from, and then I was like, he’s the one who plays solo bass on TikTok!” Said a friend sent him a video of mine after seeing me do a show in Asbury Park and he’d been following me since.
Yes, a million micro-steps, no one big moment. But I feel it.
LIFER. Gregory McLoughlin
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From: Andre’ Cholmondeley
Subject: Re: Prairie Prince-This Week’s Podcast
Fantastic this will be a good one
my good buddy prairie
I toured a lot with Todd last year so I had the pleasure of many fun hangs with PP. What a legend. And a wonderful human being. I’m sure you talked a bunch about him drumming on XTC‘s biggest album skylarking but also on about four other XTC albums/EPs. And of course you know all about his excellent new Colours album
Fun facts maybe you covered:
He’s an old friend of Al Kooper, who of course produced the first Tubes album
The Tubes went to Japan on a ship (!!) around 1971 and were there for a couple months playing every day at the world‘s fair. I mean you can’t make this sh*t up.
Prairie was the first DRUMMER in Journey. I’m sure you talked about that.
He has a great band called THE MISTAKES with Mike Keneally, Henry Kaiser and Andy West, formerly of the Dixie Dregs
He plays on the legendary “my life in the bush of ghosts” by Brian Eno and David Byrne
Besides being a brilliant visual artist and set designer, who’s done stuff for Bette Midler, Vegas shows etc.
Thank you
Andre´Cholmondeley
Tech. Production. Tour Support
Pat Metheny World Tour 2025
Todd Rundgren US/EU Tour 2025
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From: Hugo Burnham
Subject: Re: The Billy Idol Movie
I loved Generation X. Saw them a bunch of times back in the day. Then a few years later, I hooked up with Derwood – first as a drummer with a band that went nowhere, then as the first manager for Westworld. He’s a songwriting genius…wrote ‘Dancing With Myself’…never got the credit. We’re still friends after all these years- he sat in with G4 at Pappy And Harriet’s last summer (he lives out there)….a great moment for us both.
But Billy did his thing so well….hooking up with Stevens was a stroke of genius….whoever put that together.
We’re still alive. Beating the odds, Baby!
H
xx
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Subject: Re: Ticketmaster/Harry Styles/Scalpers
Thanks, Bob. As usual, lots of info that many I know refuse to acknowledge. Give me TM any day of the week. The site works. Yes, there will always be outliers and issues, and they’ve deployed plenty of sharp elbows over the years (especially when they were private), but overall, they’re fine now. Oh no, a judge has decided I’ve been overcharged a whopping $1.72/ticket. I know something was standing between me and a down payment on a house….
Anyway, wanna talk about AXS/AEG, the conglomerate that arguably stands to gain the most from a TM/LN breakup? I’ve been tracking the cost of my tickets for years, fees included. In general, AXS fees are higher, not to mention they’ve played along with some venues that seem to be scamming customers. In 2022, I bought a ticket for a show at Minneapolis’s famed First Avenue. AXS insisted on adding a $3 “green fee” to the charge because I asked for a physical ticket, on top of the $10 shipping fee to have the ticket sent via First Class mail. (That’s, what, $9 worth of cream?) Fees were almost 40% with that green fee (almost 30% without it) and 80% once you factored in shipping. Where did that green fee go? You tell me! I’ve searched high & low for any mention of this online. Nothing.
Of course, I managed to get a ticket. I’ve tried to purchase a few hot on-sales on AXS this year. AXS has become borderline unusable for such sales. On a laptop? Sometimes, it thinks I’m a bot. On a cell phone? Sometimes, it thinks I’m a bot. I have to have my laptop and cell phone with me, and the cell phone has to bounce between cell data and wifi data. Usually, one combination or another eventually works. Usually. People who whine about TM and have never used AXS are gonna be in for an extremely rude awakening if TM loses significant market share and AXS picks it up.
Oh yeah, and a couple of years ago, SeeTickets/Eventim had two Jack White club shows in Texas go on sale at the same time, around 2 PM on a weekday. The site completely sh*t the bed. I lucked out and somehow managed to get a ticket to my preferred show after 30 minutes of non-stop web site failures, including tickets disappearing from my basket. That’s just two club shows! Am I supposed to believe Eventim can handle the next pop tart’s stadium mega-tour? They can’t even handle a couple of hot club shows!
So, yeah, careful what you wish for. You might just get it.
Douglas Roark
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From: Paul Lohr
Subject: RE: I Love You
Oh man Bob… this made my day. I am a REALLY big fan of Climax Blues Band! Whilst living and going to high school in Southeast Pennsylvania, and on summer break, I went to see Uriah Heep in concert at The Spectrum in Philly in August of 1974. I had never heard of them, but Climax Blues Band was the opening act (and Manfred Mann’s Earth Band was the middle act.) I was blown away, and went out and bought the double album FM/Live shortly thereafter, from Wonderland Records in Newark Delaware, the go-to vinyl/headshop in the Tri-State area… you know, rows and rows of albums, black light Alice in Wonderland and Jimi Hendrix posters on the wall, and the usual array of bongs and rolling papers in the glass-and-aluminum display cases. I was probably wearing my David Bowie Diamond Dogs T-shirt that day! In short order I became a fan of Peter Haycock and his slide guitar playing, and was happy and validated to read of Bonnie Raitt singing his praises. I loved his instrumental “Country Hat” and spent hours in my bedroom wearing out the grooves on the album trying to learn that song! I think WMMR in Philly was playing selections from other albums, and after pretty much memorizing FM/Live, I eagerly awaited the release of Stamp Album, as it has the studio version of “I Am Constant” on it. Albums cost about three bucks back then. I went down the rabbit hole and started looking for their import albums from England, and learned that they were originally known as The Climax Chicago Blues Band, but dropped “Chicago” around 1970. I quickly got caught up on all the back catalog releases and bought each new album for a while. 1976’s Gold Plated is perhaps my favorite album of theirs, as it has that funky vibe to it which really resonates with me. The cover also featured an image of Haycock playing his custom gold plated Veleno guitar, which I still think is a bad-ass axe! And despite the band having a “Top 40” hit from that album (which can often tarnish a band’s image in the eyes of teenage hipsters,) I continued to turn friends on to them, and bought their subsequent albums until about 1979. (My college years were 1976 – 1980, and that’s when I became a Deadhead, and a “taper” and cassette trader, and was fortunate enough to have befriended taper Joani Walker; so I went down another rabbit hole for a while and didn’t buy a lot of vinyl then, as I was devouring hours and hours of “Joani Boards.”)
“I Love You” is indeed a lovely song, but I preferred the bite and swagger and groove and rock of their more upbeat songs… “Hey Mama” from the “Tightly Knit” album, for example, would often be included in my mix tapes… that bad-ass guitar intro just jumps right out of the speakers and grabs you like an electric fence! Real to Reel was their last album that I bought, so I only new of “I Love You” from the radio. And I soon enjoyed the convenience of CDs, despite their lack of warmth, but I didn’t own any Climax Blues Band CDs, and then my vinyl collection got ruined in a flooded basement… And then along came Spotify, where you can go back down Memory Lane any time that you want. And I wanted to listen to Gold Plated. And then FM/Live. And then Sense of Direction. And everything else CBB.
I didn’t learn of Haycock’s death until a while after the fact. Something compelled me to do a search… maybe looking to see if they were going on tour… and I distinctly remember exclaiming out loud “Oh No!” And my wife saying “What’s wrong??” And me replying “Peter Haycock is dead!” And Mary saying “Who is Peter Haycock?!” Sigh… He died from a heart attack in October of 2013 at the much-too-young age of 62. Pete’s gone, my vinyl collection is gone, but the music is still “Rollin’ Home.”
Sincerely,
Paul
Paul Lohr, Owner/Agent
New Frontier Touring
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From: Simon Napier-Bell
Subject: Re: Mike Vernon
Bob – re the Yardbirds. “Over Under Sideways Down” was written by the group and the guitar lick was played by Jeff Beck. It was the lead track from the group’s only studio album Roger the Engineer. Jimmy Page didn’t join the group till later – the first Yardbirds record he played on – together with Jeff – was “Happenings Ten Years Ago”. They also both played on the track featured in Blow-Up.
Best
SIMON
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From: Terry Flood
Subject: Donald K Donald
Hi Bob
After reading the replies to your Donald K Donald Tribute as well as the many others from posts and Entertainment outlets I realized that very few people knew about the early years leading up to Donald success.
I think that many of your readers will find it quite interesting how he turned his love of music into a successful world wide career
He did it little investment but with his bigger than life personality,his love of music,,his determination to be successful, and most of all his business genius .
Donald was born to become a major player in the entertainment business
His love of music, his natural ability to get along with anyone, his salesmanship, his love of the spotlight and the microphone and most of all his genius for the business.
As a teenager he took over his best friend’s record hop as a DJ Shortly after he had a weekly radio show where he played the hits of the day. That lasted until the Beatles released their first single “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”
Donald liked the song so much he played it 14 times in a row which ended his radio DJ career.
Donald started booking local bands mostly into high schools
This is where I came into the picture. In 1967 I had started a teenage discotheque. Donald came by to sell me on booking
bands in addition to just playing RnB records. No one can say no to a Donald sales pitch so we now had bands at Snoopy’s discotheque which led to him offering to be a partner in the business. Luckily I agreed to what would become the best business decision I would ever make. I was now in for the ride of my life with Donald K Donald
The next move for Donald was to become a promoter so we put a little money into booking a couple of up and coming British groups into small venues. Then Donald received the break he needed to get into the big time The main promoter for major acts that would fill the Montreal Forum was Sam Gesser who was used to booking act like Frank Sinatra, etc.However with Rock becoming big business Sam was now promoting acts like Janus Joplin. Donald would often help Sam with the shows and was with him at the side of the stage for her Forum show. During the show Janus came to the side where Donald and Sam were and proceeded to throw up splattering Sam’s nice suit and shoes.
Sam turned to Donald and said
“This rock business is not for me please take it over.”
This was all Donald had to hear.
However we didn’t have the kind of money necessary for the big time promoting business.
But this was not going to stop Donald
He came up with a genius plan. He would approach the three Molson brothers who owned the Forum and the Canadians and sell them on his plan. Donald would perform the duties of a promoter but instead of just paying a fee for the facility he would partner with the Forum on the show’s profits. The Forum would pay the artist advance and put the advertising on their account. After the show settlement the profits would be split 50/50. This brilliant arrangement along with his genius, his salesmanship, his ability to relate to the artist, their management, the agents, and his devoted staff propelled him to the top of the world wide music business .
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From: Lawrence Gowan
Re: Donald Tarlton
In 1999 when Styx decided to look for a new lead singer a number of people suggested a guy named Gowan who we were not familiar with so of course I called the Master of Canada and friend of mine and Tommy and JY the one and only Donald K Donald. I asked who this Gowan guy was and he said that Gowan was the artist he had put on our sold out arena show in Montreal. We all remembered adding a solo piano player to the bill and also thinking how will that work to 15,000 rock fans. But we trusted Donald explicitly and of course it worked. Donald told me at the time that he always thought Lawrence should be in a band like Styx and he was right. He just knew what worked and how to connect the dots. The World of Donald K Donald was a wonderful place to be a part of.
Donald K. Donald had an amazing gift of foresight. To categorize him simply as a “promoter” would be a terrible understatement. Donald was a master at connecting with people and boosting their careers overnight. We met in 1985. “Larger than life” in every aspect, I remember his big wide grin as he popped champagne corks after a successful show. Donald K significantly helped to catapult the close relationship I’ve enjoyed with the Quebecois audience since the 1980’s.
Therefore, true to form, in the late 1990’s DKD was the first in a series of dominoes that lead to my joining Styx.
After 12 years of promoting the Gowan shows, one morning in 1997 he called me with a suggestion: “Instead of playing the venue you’re booked for in June, I’d like you to open for Styx at the new Montréal Forum.” (now known as the Bell Centre) My ego spoke first as I declined, sighting the fact that I was touring entirely solo-piano at the time and also hadn’t “opened” for anyone in Canada since early 1985. He kindly reminded me that the last act he’d had me open for (Supertramp) at the old Forum, lead to my headlining at that venue by the end of ‘85. He said, “Now you’ve got to play the new building” and added, “This will be good for you”. Time and again he showed an uncanny knack for being right.
Merci pour tout, tellement beaucoup, DKD!
Gowan
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From: oko shio
Subject: Re: Re-Donald Tarlton
Hi Bob,
Thanks for this and always being around. I am/was Donald’s CFO for all these years. Just an FYI that we have change his www.dkd.com site so people can add their tributes there and family will see them then share with the world.
Again, thanks for these memories.
Those were the days!
Thank you!
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From: Paul Brammer
Subject: Re: Bettye LaVette-This Week’s Podcast
Ive listened to every episode and this one was maybe the best of the best.
And the best part is the last 26 minutes, the after interview conversation.
I love when guests don’t let you sign off so quickly.
Keep up the good work! Mazel!
Paul
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From: John Branca
Bob thank you for your column on Michael. Your views are well taken and important. One thing you left out. No one has ever had any evidence that Michael did anything inappropriate, only the allegations of people seeking money. Leaving Neverland was not a documentary, it was a well acted, well choreographed fictional hit piece that has objectively verifiable falsehoods stated by the accusers. And the director Dan Reed never bothered to talk to anybody else because he did not want the truth he wanted his 15 minutes. Unlike Harvey Weinstein or Robert Kelly or many others, there were not dozens of accusers and there are no videos or documentary evidence. Those of us who knew Michael know he was incapable of committing the acts these people accuse him of. The laws of defamation do not protect the deceased, and the current accusers defended him throughout his lifetime, they only changed the story when it was safe to do so in an attempt to collect money.
