Steepwater Interview

Steepwater

Life on the Road

Big festivals

Striptease Acts and Riding the Mule


Steepwater is Chicago born and bred. They have seen what the Windy City can do to talented aspiring musicians. It can fool you into thinking you are on your way and then before you realize, the mean streets have gobbled you up and spit you out, more fodder for the machine. This three piece monster rock & roll band knows all about the empty promises of the man and have broken away from the shackles of major labels and high powered management to forge an identity as a gifted touring band that lives by its own muse. By insisting on doing it their way they have toured with some of the greats in the business from Buddy Guy and Gov’t Mule to Bon Jovi and Cheap Trick. It’s a dream without boundaries.




You are a great live band, everything is right in the pocket - great songs, singing, music - the whole package. How long did it take to "find" your voice, your own distinct style?

Jeff Massey: Well thank you.........I really feel like we had a distinct sound since day one. Obviously we have influences and you can hear it in our music, but we put our own stamp on it. To be honest with ya, I'm not really sure how that happens. To really answer your question though, it's been a continual process of writing songs, recording and touring ....hard to really pinpoint exactly when and how we found our own voice, but I think it's there for sure. If ya stick together and play music, you believe in that whole idea of having your own voice evolves over the years.


You've toured all over the states and overseas to huge crowds. What brings you to White's Bar? Is there a certain charm in playing an intimate club

Jeff Massey: Well, sure. We do all types of shows ranging from big festivals to small clubs. The people that come to WHITE'S appreciate what we do, so of course we are going to have a good time and continue to come back – that’s the great thing about performing.....there is such a variety of circumstances as far as where you might be playing from one day to the next..I think it keeps the whole deal more interesting.

What is your favorite Steepwater CD? Why?

Jeff Massey: Hmmm....well if I had to pick probably LIVE AT DOUBLE DOOR. As much as we love making studio records, the live record really captures what we are about....touring and playing. I think we really captured a great performance with this one...

FROM Joe winters: ~ I dig REVELATION SUNDAY the most, solely because of the memories of actually recording it. My father had recently passed away, and the band convened at my brother Jim's house on Lake Michigan in Indiana, where we set up a studio and took a shot at producing an independent record (along with my bro) that would see release all over the world a year later. My brother and I had been through a lot together around that time, and I think it was a great creative outlet for us to be able to do something together like record a Steepwater disc. We had talked about doing something like that for years. Not to mention, my brother's living had an incredible sound and vibe to play drums in ~ hard wood floors, high ceilings, brick wall. I felt comfortable there. Although, I will say that our new CD that's coming out later this year is my favorite disc musically that we have recorded yet. Gonna be a monster of a record!


Massey's guitar work is both powerful and sensitive. It seems that you go beyond technique to develop your own craft, using harmony and melody as well as your great slide work. Did you have a mentor? Who inspired you?

Jeff Massey: Well I could make a list a mile long! JIMMY PAGE was my first inspiration,...I’ve always admired the ''jack of all trades''guitar players. I like dabbling in different styles and blending it all into your own thing. He is the master of that concept, as well as being able to write good songs. Hearing FREDDY KING for the first time was a big eye opener,..DUANE ALLMAN, ROBERT JOHNSON etc...the list goes on. Also, I had a couple really great teachers when I first started out that shared a lot of great info that I still use today.......it's endless. Gotta absorb whatever you can, whenever you can.

The rhythm section is so strategic in a three piece and yours is rock solid, hammer of the gods tight as a vise. Do you use any prompts to signify changes e.g., hand or arm signals, a look, a sharp drum roll etc

FROM Joe Winters: ~ Thank you for the nice compliment. I think that because Tod and I have been playing together so long, we just sort know what each other are going to do quite often, and it sort of just happens naturally. It's like instinct with us. We basically learned how to play together pretty young, so a lot of the phrasing that we use to form fills, etc is often the same. Of course it's not always fool-proof, but that's beauty of playing live music and leaving it open to some interpretive playing - you never know what's going to happen! Sometimes it's like magical, and other times not quite as perfect, but we try to stay in the moment with it, so each gig is original to itself, for better or worse...


You've toured or performed with many legendary performers such as Buddy Guy, Gov't Mule, Cheap Trick. Do you prefer playing with blues bands or rock bands, pop bands...Bon Jovi?

Jeff Massey: It doesn't matter to us as long as the band is good people...nothing worse than dealing with assholes when your trying to do a show. And, truthfully, that doesn't happen very often. We've met a lot great people on the road and we love playing with other groups.

FROM Joe Winters: ~ it's always more fun when you play with bands that you dig, no matter what the genre. If we could play with AC/DC or The Rolling Stones, I would be all about it, because they are a couple of my favorites. Maybe someday? In the meantime there are a bunch of cool "undiscovered" independent bands that are some of my favorite bands to play with too, like Super 400 from Albany, NY ~ Healing Sixes from Indianapolis, IN ~ and The Muggs from Detroit. We run into so many cool bands, it's insane!


Do you have a particular touring story/memory that stands out for you?


Jeff Massey: Oh man which one....The most recent crazy road story would be the guy that lost control of his car on a major expressway and managed to ram right into us, knocking our trailer on its side and sending us across three lanes of oncoming traffic! We all survived without a scratch.....amazing! There wasn’t very much damage to our musical gear either, although we did have to get a new vehicle. We felt lucky to be a live after that one. Hmm…what else. Oh yeah...how about the festival we played in northern SPAIN with a live sex/striptease show between bands, right on the stage! Don't see that everyday. There's a million stories....


You had several songs placed on television (My Name is Earl, Friday Night Lights) and in the Disney Film Invincible. How difficult is it to get a song placed or purchased?

Jeff Massey: Well, we got lucky enough to have a manager at the time that had publishing ties. Like anything else, it's about who you know when it comes to these matters. Without a publisher helping out, it can be very difficult to get a song used for anything.


You have all the goods, Steepwater is a great band. Why haven't you hit the big time?

Jeff Massey: Well thanks again. I wouldn't know how to answer that. What's the big time? Selling a million records? Playing stadiums......oh wait...I guess that would be the big time! As long as we have a fan base and places to do our thing, we are content. We are happy to be able to do perform music for a living.......not everyone can say that. It takes a lotta work on any level and we are happy to be able to do what we do.

FROM Joe Winters: ~ Good Question! If we knew the answer, maybe we might have by now . Like everything in life, the music biz is all about timing. When the stars align just right, it might be your time. Until then, just gotta keep on keepin' on...


You've been hard at it since '99. What do you attribute to your longevity? Your popularity?

Jeff Massey: It comes from a love for playing music. We feel like we get better every record, every show, there's a new experience around the corner at all times in this business. None of us want to give that up. We still like making music together. If we weren't enjoying ourselves, we would call it quits...


A Musician's life, especially when you are in a touring band, can be very hard. What keeps you going?

Jeff Massey: Again, it’s the music. If you don't like traveling you'll never last - that's a given. It takes a certain breed to be a touring musician, but the payoff is being able to go on a stage and express yourself and let off some steam. .I couldn't imagine not being able to do that. I think my head would explode!!!


Any last comments?

Jeff Massey: Thank you for the interview! And thanks to everybody who supports the band. We will have a new studio record this summer and then it's more gigs! WWW.STEEPWATER.COM

FROM Joe Winters: ~ Thank you for writing about & supporting independent bands like ours! Your help & cooperation is vital in the success of what we do, and we certainly appreciate it. CHEERS!

--Steepwater will perform @ White’s Bar on Thursday July 14th wsg Brody & the Busch Road Trio and Tony B & The Couch Band. Show starts at 9pm.

Steepwater

Life on the Road

Big festivals

Striptease Acts and Riding the Mule

Steepwater is Chicago born and bred. They have seen what the Windy City can do to talented aspiring musicians. It can fool you into thinking you are on your way and then before you realize, the mean streets have gobbled you up and spit you out, more fodder for the machine. This three piece monster rock & roll band knows all about the empty promises of the man and have broken away from the shackles of major labels and high powered management to forge an identity as a gifted touring band that lives by its own muse. By insisting on doing it their way they have toured with some of the greats in the business from Buddy Guy and Gov’t Mule to Bon Jovi and Cheap Trick. It’s a dream without boundaries.




You are a great live band, everything is right in the pocket - great songs, singing, music - the whole package. How long did it take to "find" your voice, your own distinct style?

Jeff Massey: Well thank you.........I really feel like we had a distinct sound since day one. Obviously we have influences and you can hear it in our music, but we put our own stamp on it. To be honest with ya, I'm not really sure how that happens. To really answer your question though, it's been a continual process of writing songs, recording and touring ....hard to really pinpoint exactly when and how we found our own voice, but I think it's there for sure. If ya stick together and play music, you believe in that whole idea of having your own voice evolves over the years.


You've toured all over the states and overseas to huge crowds. What brings you to White's Bar? Is there a certain charm in playing an intimate club?

Jeff Massey: Well, sure. We do all types of shows ranging from big festivals to small clubs. The people that come to WHITE'S appreciate what we do, so of course we are going to have a good time and continue to come back – that’s the great thing about performing.....there is such a variety of circumstances as far as where you might be playing from one day to the next..I think it keeps the whole deal more interesting.

What is your favorite Steepwater CD? Why?

Jeff Massey: Hmmm....well if I had to pick probably LIVE AT DOUBLE DOOR. As much as we love making studio records, the live record really captures what we are about....touring and playing. I think we really captured a great performance with this one...

FROM Joe winters: ~ I dig REVELATION SUNDAY the most, solely because of the memories of actually recording it. My father had recently passed away, and the band convened at my brother Jim's house on Lake Michigan in Indiana, where we set up a studio and took a shot at producing an independent record (along with my bro) that would see release all over the world a year later. My brother and I had been through a lot together around that time, and I think it was a great creative outlet for us to be able to do something together like record a Steepwater disc. We had talked about doing something like that for years. Not to mention, my brother's living had an incredible sound and vibe to play drums in ~ hard wood floors, high ceilings, brick wall. I felt comfortable there. Although, I will say that our new CD that's coming out later this year is my favorite disc musically that we have recorded yet. Gonna be a monster of a record!


Massey's guitar work is both powerful and sensitive. It seems that you go beyond technique to develop your own craft, using harmony and melody as well as your great slide work. Did you have a mentor? Who inspired you?

Jeff Massey: Well I could make a list a mile long! JIMMY PAGE was my first inspiration,...I’ve always admired the ''jack of all trades''guitar players. I like dabbling in different styles and blending it all into your own thing. He is the master of that concept, as well as being able to write good songs. Hearing FREDDY KING for the first time was a big eye opener,..DUANE ALLMAN, ROBERT JOHNSON etc...the list goes on. Also, I had a couple really great teachers when I first started out that shared a lot of great info that I still use today.......it's endless. Gotta absorb whatever you can, whenever you can.

The rhythm section is so strategic in a three piece and yours is rock solid, hammer of the gods tight as a vise. Do you use any prompts to signify changes e.g., hand or arm signals, a look, a sharp drum roll etc

FROM Joe Winters: ~ Thank you for the nice compliment. I think that because Tod and I have been playing together so long, we just sort know what each other are going to do quite often, and it sort of just happens naturally. It's like instinct with us. We basically learned how to play together pretty young, so a lot of the phrasing that we use to form fills, etc is often the same. Of course it's not always fool-proof, but that's beauty of playing live music and leaving it open to some interpretive playing - you never know what's going to happen! Sometimes it's like magical, and other times not quite as perfect, but we try to stay in the moment with it, so each gig is original to itself, for better or worse...


You've toured or performed with many legendary performers such as Buddy Guy, Gov't Mule, Cheap Trick. Do you prefer playing with blues bands or rock bands, pop bands...Bon Jovi?

Jeff Massey: It doesn't matter to us as long as the band is good people...nothing worse than dealing with assholes when your trying to do a show. And, truthfully, that doesn't happen very often. We've met a lot great people on the road and we love playing with other groups.

FROM Joe Winters: ~ it's always more fun when you play with bands that you dig, no matter what the genre. If we could play with AC/DC or The Rolling Stones, I would be all about it, because they are a couple of my favorites. Maybe someday? In the meantime there are a bunch of cool "undiscovered" independent bands that are some of my favorite bands to play with too, like Super 400 from Albany, NY ~ Healing Sixes from Indianapolis, IN ~ and The Muggs from Detroit. We run into so many cool bands, it's insane!


Do you have a particular touring story/memory that stands out for you?

Jeff Massey: Oh man which one....The most recent crazy road story would be the guy that lost control of his car on a major expressway and managed to ram right into us, knocking our trailer on its side and sending us across three lanes of oncoming traffic! We all survived without a scratch.....amazing! There wasn’t very much damage to our musical gear either, although we did have to get a new vehicle. We felt lucky to be a live after that one. Hmm…what else. Oh yeah...how about the festival we played in northern SPAIN with a live sex/striptease show between bands, right on the stage! Don't see that everyday. There's a million stories....


You had several songs placed on television (My Name is Earl, Friday Night Lights) and in the Disney Film Invincible. How difficult is it to get a song placed or purchased?

Jeff Massey: Well, we got lucky enough to have a manager at the time that had publishing ties. Like anything else, it's about who you know when it comes to these matters. Without a publisher helping out, it can be very difficult to get a song used for anything.


You have all the goods, Steepwater is a great band. Why haven't you hit the big time?

Jeff Massey: Well thanks again. I wouldn't know how to answer that. What's the big time? Selling a million records? Playing stadiums......oh wait...I guess that would be the big time! As long as we have a fan base and places to do our thing, we are content. We are happy to be able to do perform music for a living.......not everyone can say that. It takes a lotta work on any level and we are happy to be able to do what we do.

FROM Joe Winters: ~ Good Question! If we knew the answer, maybe we might have by now . Like everything in life, the music biz is all about timing. When the stars align just right, it might be your time. Until then, just gotta keep on keepin' on...


You've been hard at it since '99. What do you attribute to your longevity? Your popularity?

Jeff Massey: It comes from a love for playing music. We feel like we get better every record, every show, there's a new experience around the corner at all times in this business. None of us want to give that up. We still like making music together. If we weren't enjoying ourselves, we would call it quits...


A Musician's life, especially when you are in a touring band, can be very hard. What keeps you going?

Jeff Massey: Again, it’s the music. If you don't like traveling you'll never last - that's a given. It takes a certain breed to be a touring musician, but the payoff is being able to go on a stage and express yourself and let off some steam. .I couldn't imagine not being able to do that. I think my head would explode!!!


Any last comments?

Jeff Massey: Thank you for the interview! And thanks to everybody who supports the band. We will have a new studio record this summer and then it's more gigs! WWW.STEEPWATER.COM

FROM Joe Winters: ~ Thank you for writing about & supporting independent bands like ours! Your help & cooperation is vital in the success of what we do, and we certainly appreciate it. CHEERS!

--Steepwater will perform @ White’s Bar on Thursday July 14th wsg Brody & the Busch Road Trio and Tony B & The Couch Band. Show starts at 9pm.

Peace
Bo White

Ben Cohen & the Free Music Fest

The FreeMusic Fest

Beautiful Sounds
&
Good Vibrations

Ben Cohen is a Music Freak who talks the talk and backs it up with action. Cohen is not content to sit on his laurels while popular music is co-opted and recycled by evil empires such as Disney or anyone who owns a piece of Justin Bieber. Music and the Arts are relegated to dumps and landfills of our broken dreams and recycled to an indifferent and uninformed public. It’s as if all that is original and truly creative is lost in space and imploding like a bright star disappearing into black hole. It’s people like Ben Cohen and the folks at DStreet Entertainment that care enough to preserve our cultural heritage and pass it down to our children. Cohen and his tribe are like Zen warriors pulling back the arrow that cannot be sent, ego-less free spirits giving away music. It’s a labor of love.


This is the 4rh Annual Free Music Fest. Have you been part of this event since its inception?
How did you get involved?
I’ve been a part of FreeMusic since 2007, the very beginning.
Basically, the original idea behind FreeMusic Fest was just to get a bunch of our friend’s bands together on a stage for one day. We had no idea it was going to turn into the event that we have now!


You are part of D Street Entertainment Foundation. Can you tell me about it?
Joining Dstreet was probably one of the best things I’ve ever done. I’ve really learned a lot working with them. Dstreet’s mission is to improve the quality of life through the support of the musical arts. We focus on education, community service, and the art of entertainment. You can find us backstage at the Pig Gig, Relay for Life, plus we organize our own community events, such as Parkapalooza.


What was the inspiration for the Free Music Fest?
Free music. Original music. There really aren’t a lot of events in our area that celebrate original music on the scale that we hope to reach. It’s amazing to me just how many talented musicians are in our area, and it seems like they only have opportunities to perform in a bar or club. I’m hoping that through FreeMusic Fest we can help these musicians reach a wider audience than they would be able to reach under other circumstances.



What is your mission? Your purpose?
My mission and the mission of Phoenix Productions is to provide Mid-Michigan with the finest in live entertainment available. Through FreeMusic Fest we’re able to provide the community with an all age’s original music event unlike anything else our area has to offer. We provide the bands a venue that exposes them to hundreds of potential new fans, plus we’re able to structure the event in a way that allows us to give back to the community, this year through the Just for Kids Foundation.





Is anything really free?
Absolutely! Some of the best things in life are free, right? A warm summer day, a great park, spending time with your friends or family…and at FreeMusic Fest you get all of that plus some of the best live music around!



You have some great support for the event - State Farm Insurance , Graff Chevrolet , 360 Mainstreet, Pats Food Center in Freeland, The Joe 97.3 and Phoenix Productions - how were you able to get such a great team of sponsors?
Don’t forget about Magic Bean Café and Family First Credit Union!
We’ve been really lucky to get all the support that we have. The concept of FreeMusic is something that’s pretty easy to get behind and as a team we’re able to offer an event on a much larger level than I would be able to do on my own. Over the years some of our sponsors have changed but they all have had one thing in common, community awareness. We all understand that FreeMusic Fest is more than just a concert, it’s an opportunity. Its an opportunity to be a part of something bigger than all of us. To give back to the community that has given so much to us



The event will raise funds through Disc Golf Tournament. How did you choose the Just for Kids Foundation?
The Disc Golf Tournament has added a whole new dimension to the festival. Its two rounds of 18 holes and the prize packages we’ve assembled this year are just amazing! Tittabawassee Park has one of the best courses in the area and you can hear the bands throughout the entire park so you don’t miss a minute of the music! Being involved with a couple non-profit organizations myself (Dstreet Entertainment and Creative 360), I always keep an eye on what other organizations are doing for the community. I stumbled upon Just for Kids online one day and thought, “I really like what these guys are doing!” I attended one of their events, met members of their board and made my decision. Last year’s tournament raised funds and food for both The Shelterhouse and Open Door of Midland. Through the Just for Kids Foundation we will be able to impact children and their families from all over the Great Lakes Bay Region!


This is such a well organized event. Whio is on the Free Music Fest Board? When do you start planning? How many volunteers are involved?
FMF is mainly organized by Phoenix Productions. I handle most aspects of the event and my wife Heather manages the website and any design work. She also doubles as the fest photographer. Raymond Benaway directs the “Making Change through Chains” disc golf tournament. Ray has become an invaluable part of the FreeMusic team! The MCTC tournament gives us a great opportunity to utilize the entire park, and a fun and interactive way to raise money for charity!
The art fair is new to FreeMusic Fest and that’s run by Rodney Whittcopp of Michigan Crafts and Shows. And we’ve been lucky enough to get some great support from members of our community. Tim Boychuck, Lisa Kusey-Rechsteiner, Kimberly Megoran, Jeanne Lesinski…I could go on and on…
When do we start planning? I’ve already got some things in the works for 2012! FreeMusic Fest is an all year thing for me.



How difficult is it to get the community involved? Freeland seems to be pretty progressive in terms of supporting artistic events for the public
The local community has been amazing! In the last couple of years, they’ve really gotten behind what we’re trying to do. Freeland’s grocery store, Pat’s Food Center, even hosts a coloring contest for the kids...it’s a lot of fun seeing the kids come up on stage to get their prizes!
And Family First Credit Union joined the team this year too. I think the community supports what we’re doing because, in a way, what we’re doing supports the community.


You have a great afternoon lineup for the event from singer/songwriters such as Amelia Jo, Jeff Yantz, Dan Vaillancourt and Bob Hausler to great bands that pop and rock such as the Banana Convention, The Hand-Me-Downs,Jimmy & the Growlers and Empty Canvas and those ever lovin' jazzmasters the Chromatic Effect. And the evening lineup is “take me home and make me like it” outstanding - Finding Clyde, Dave Kellan Galactic Sherpas and the incredible Maybe August. This represents a world class body of music for the people. How did you choose the acts? Did you get on bended knee and offer alms to Chad Cunningham?

We’ve had some great bands on the FreeMusic stage over the years, and this year is no different! I actually get a lot of emails from bands interested in playing and it’s pretty difficult to narrow it down to the 10-15 that that we have each year. Michigan really has a lot of great original music to choose from! I’m amazed every year by the caliber of talent that we’re able to get together for the festival and it seems like it just keeps getting better and better! This year’s lineup is non-stop awesome from start to finish! I encourage everyone to make it out to FreeMusic Fest early this year so they don’t miss a minute of these great performances



Besides 15 musical performances, the event includes over 50 vendors with food, an Art Fair and a Kids Corner. This gives the event an exciting cultural diversity that is also family friendly. Is this your intent? Is it any wonder that Billboard Magazine listed the Fest as one of the top 5 free music events in Michigan?
We want to be sure that FreeMusic Fest offers something for everyone. We also want to make sure that there’s enough for everyone to do all day! There are plenty of things to keep the kids busy, from bounce houses to face painters plus the great playground the park has. For the adults, there’s an art fair to stroll through, disc golf to play, plenty of vendors to visit, Joe FM is hosting some games and, of course, great live music too!

Peace
Bo White

2nd System Wins the Battle; Loses the War

2nd System
Lucky Breaks and Last Mistakes

2nd System has confounded critics and fans alike. They have attitude that’s up front and in your face like Dick Cheney (remember him?) responding with “so what” to a reported that had the gall to suggest the public didn’t like his Bush era policies. Unlike Cheney, 2nd system boldly steps up where most bands refuse to go. They follow their own muse and always tell the truth except when they don’t. They have been rockin’ mid-Michigan since 1999 and have gone through band members like Linda Lovelace blowing her lines. This year 2nd System won the award for Best Metal Band in an impressive field that included such heavy hitters as Hokori, Neighborhood Muscle, and Ominous. It seemed like the perfect opportunity for the band to take it up a notch or two and expand their touring schedule and sell their new CD Improper Ganda. It’s a great record that boasts a dynamic full-bodied sound and a surrealistic cover filled with a misty fog, obscure background images and a well dressed Lion-headed dude. The singers were vocal opposites who created a dialectic between darkness and light; lies and truth. So, instead of capitalizing on all this attention, the band implodes and disappears like a bright star rushing toward a black hole. The talented one-armed lead guitarist Don Lajiness turned in his walking papers to complete his college degree and further develop his interest in new wave classical music. Now it’s up to band leader Derek Fisher to re-energize the band and find the missing piece. It’s a Shel Silverstein metaphor for coming face-to-face with a personal truth and finally realizing that the truth even at its most disturbing is better than protecting the lie. Here’s to 2nd System; a great band with a checkered past, a long road ahead and some unfinished business.

Brett Mitchell - Wins Big @ the Review Awards Show

And the Winner Is…
Brett Mitchell & the Giant Ghost
Falling Apart at The Seams

It comes as a bit of a surprise that Brett Mitchell and his band garnered the two BIGGEST honors @ The Review Awards Banquet. Best Rock Band and Best CD release. Rock is dead, anyway, so the category is suspect and Brett, well he can rock with the best of them but he’s more of a pop rocker like Eric Carmen than say, Arcade Fire. Mitchell can write big ballads and pop songs but then add layers of hard rockin’ guitar courtesy of the incredibly gifted Rick Manges. Brett is no slouch either. He not only fronts the band on guitar and vocals but he will take his turn on the drums, laying it down while he works the harp. It’s a dynamic stage show that can never quite be captured in the studio. The band’s stellar musicianship and professionalism are wrapped around Brett like a warm coat. These cats are gonna make sure Mitchell sounds good. If not, Jan Hecht will whip them into shape. In an era where most local bands do not hire managers and agents, Mitchell was savvy enough to land Hecht. She makes a difference and her efforts to advance Mitchell have yielded spectacular results.

When asked about the awards, bassist Bill Hall was circumspect, “To win both was a real surprise. There was stiff competition and we play out of town a lot. So I had never seen many of the bands we were up against. We are real busy and thanks to Jan we do over 100 dates a year. I did see Thick As Thieves and they’re great. I was happy for Brett, I’m just trying to back him any way I can.

Brett Mitchell was surprised as well. “We were playing Diamond Jims in Midland when Jan came in after leaving the Review Awards show. She never said anything at first so I thought ‘oh, well, we didn’t win’ and then she walked up to the microphone and told everyone we got Best CD and Best Rock Band. It was sweet. I was surprised ‘cos there’s a lot of great rock bands out there. Bill would say we’re not rock, we are medium rock. It reminds me of a phrase used on the television show Futurama, in which they labeled certain forms of modern music as vaguely focused alternative rock.”

As for the bands mounting popularity, Hall feels that the band has developed its true identity. It’s about our tightness and dynamics within the band. We’ve been together for over three years and we can read each other’s minds. We know what the others are going to do next by a facial expression, a nod, word or flick of a hand. Brett’s diversity is a big plus. He can play several different instruments, all at the same time. But I have to give kudos to our manager Jan, she paves the road ahead of us, deals with all the logistics and makes it all work. She is the glue that holds it all together.

Mitchell has another view, “The Internet has really helped. I always thought I had the same 10 fans until I opened up a Facebook page. I’d like to think our new album had something to do with it. Andy (Reed) and I put a lot of work into it. I think playing 10 times a month and spreading the gigs out to all four corners of Michigan and beyond is going to help spread the word

Hall is reflective about the future. “There’s a lot of possibilities. I hope Brett sells one of songs and makes the big time. Anything can happen at this point. We are looking for that lucky break.”
Mitchell agrees, “We are trying to place our music into commercials or the Indie Movie scene. It’s a strategy that has promise…a number of bands we know are moving in that direction. Internet radio is emerging as a force. Recently I interviewed with a station out of New York. We came close a couple of times. Gone are the days of signing a three record deal and getting major label financing and support. I’ll never be the flavor of the month but I hope to get some songs placed. I’d like to get involved with Michigan’s Festival circuit.

Peace
Bo White

Tim Avram - Review Awards Winner

Tim Avram’s Elastic Fantastic, Auto-erotic, Folk-Rock & Roll Vision
Our Saving Grace
Modern Spirituals with One Foot in Hell

Tim Avram is a tattooed and spanked “take me home and make me like it” punk rocker disguised as an under the radar country roots musician, a wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing. For the last nine years, Avram has fronted various incarnations of the last great punk band - The Mongrels. It may be surprising to some but to me it makes perfect sense that Avram grew up learning the mandolin from Zydeco Ziggie while grandma played the banjo as she spit chew tobacco and drooled a gooey stream of unseemly profanity. Yep country punk was born.

Avram is philosophical when asked his reaction to winning the nomination for best solo singer, “Ahh…yeah. Hmm. I don’t expect anything ever. You never know. I can’t always tell if the audience likes it or not during a show, the applause can be…polite. It’s hard to tell if people appreciate what you’re doing when you’re doing what you want to do - not playing songs they want to hear and playing my songs and hoping they like it.”

As for the future Avram has modest yet big plans. “Well, I just want to get this CD out. I’ve been working on it for months. I’m recording with Sean Drysdale of the Banana Convention. He does all the mixing and he gets the sound right. He’s making it amazing. I’m playing the guitars, banjo, mandolin, lap steel, and drums. Sean works the bass, plays an old accordion and sprinkles awesome on everything. The working title is “The EP”. I feel that naming the CD is the last piece in the process. The most difficult thing for me is being able to say, “I think that one is done.” You are putting your own stamp on the music when you play all the instruments. It forces you to say “this song is done.” This is a folk album …I think. It’s got some traditional 20th century simplicity to it.”

Avram picked five songs out of notebook of ‘how many’ he wrote. He used songs that fit together well in a cohesive musical statement that builds on the theme of loneliness. It’s a Tom Waits inspired form of neo-realism in which every song tells a story.

The disc opens with Danny O’ Dell a stark narrative about a lock up and dirty turn-keys and prison goons who spit out threats with a sneer. But it’s a cruel fate when life outside can be much worse.

There are electric and acoustic versions of Lover – same obscure lyrics but a different energy that shades meaning. Avram sings “The bridges in this town are good for jumping off an awkward rhyme that repeats itself.” If that’s not obscure enough the bridge is even more elusive, “Pack of 25’s with a cowboy on the side/love is not as tough as he thinks he is.” But Avram assures us that “flirting with the reverend never made it any better/’cos this time I’m not F****** around.”

The sounds of thunder and rain help create the emotional inner landscape of 5 Ton Kill. Accordion splashes and minor chord musings color the aural landscape. The music is cast in sepia tones that beckon you inside to feel the loneliness wash over in a silent mist. This is a ghost story, a wife waiting for her soldier to come home. He never makes it back

Work is an in your face polemic on modern man’s relationship to technology and the cold reality of declining cities, broken families and the ascendance of hegemony and never ending war . The sparse minimalist arrangement - acoustic guitar, popping bass lines and mandolin is the perfect vehicle to convey Avram’s understated horror. The family moves to where the auto jobs are “down to St Johns” and in a “flick of a switch now they’re making bombs.” WORK, WORK, WORK.”

The lyricism of END is a masterful . Here Avram connects personal images with universal themes through metaphorical images of “babies born on Easter and never wondering why” and “floods, hurricanes and snow in July”. He sings about an old sidewinder in the belly of hell, a time when people danced, and making it back to Saginaw. He’s seen “this and that and other things too” and just chalked it up to life on the road as a touring musician. Sometimes the loneliness sneaks up on you.

This is new millennium soul music that is in stark contrast to the business controlled Living Dead music business that is connected to life supports by flash drives that control and disseminate bread and circuses to a public quaking with eternal ennui while being spoon fed pharmaceutical solutions to problems that don’t exist… or not.

Pick it up and Pass it on
Peace
Bo White

Me, The Mob, And The Music
One Helluva Ride
With
Tommy James and the Shondells

Tommy James has always been an enigma to me, a second tier sixties artist with a trunk full of hits and a boat load of critical condemnation. Although he achieved astounding success he never quite hit the big leagues with acts like the Who, The Doors, Moody Blues, Kinks, and the Beach Boys and though he flirted with big-time success (George Harrison even wrote a few songs specifically for James), he never achieved the stratospheric rock god status of the Beatles, Stones and Dylan. Tommy James & the Shondells were great like the Turtles were great, no small praise as both of these underrated bands could sing with incredible range and harmony, play their own instruments and write melodic pop songs that sometimes verged on psychedelic perfection.

I remember when Hanky Panky became a smash hit in 1966. It was an unassuming slice of garage rock heaven that was high on primitive cool and had a touch of reverb to give it a slight echo effect. It had a minimalist vibe like Question Mark & the Mysterians 96 Tears, though James’s ham fisted lead guitar couldn’t compete with those 32nd note organ riffs that the Mysterians used to propel their one and only #1 hit. At the time I thought Tommy James was no match with this odd Question Mark dude who wore shades and chased wildebeasts. A few years later both the Shondells and the Mysterians released Do Something to Me. Tommy James had a chart hit with it. Question Mark did not - and the Mysterians eventually receded into obscurity, the fate of most sixties rockers.

The story of Hanky Panky alone is worth the price of admission. It is the tale of a Phoenix rising from the ashes to become a shining star. It an incredible tale of dumb luck that evokes a Bacon-esque link to unlikely alliances. It probably couldn’t happen today. James recorded Hanky Panky in 1964 on the small independent SNAP label owned by Jack Douglas. James was making waves playing Elks Clubs and Legion halls in Niles Michigan and selling boxfuls of the record. But by 1965, James realized that those big 50,000 watt radio stations in Detroit and Chicago were not picking it up and it was clear to him that Hanky Panky was “not gonna fly”. But in April 1966, James got a call from a co-worker at the Spin-It Record Shop. He told James that Douglas was trying to find him and that Hanky Panky was the #1 record in Pittsburg. It changed his life forever.

As the story goes a DJ by the name of Bob Mack plucked the 45rpm out of a used record bin and started playing it at his teen dances. It was the most requested record in town and the crowd response was outrageous. The original disc was bootlegged, picked up by Fenway Distributers and sold throughout Pittsburg and nearby counties. It was a monster hit. Sensing this was the chance of a lifetime; James hopped into a car and drove straight down I-80 to his destiny. Bob Mack and James joined forces to find a new group of Shondells. They proceeded to scour the clubs in and around Pittsburg and eventually discovered a gifted band at the Thunderbird Lounge called the Raconteurs. After a few rehearsals with James, they realized they had a true leader with a great voice. They jumped at this uncommon opportunity. The rest is a history that can never be repeated as record companies no longer scour regional markets as they once did in the sixties.

This is a memoir with several twists. Tommy James ended up signing a contract with Roulette Records. It was like signing a pact with the devil, a real life godfather of rock & roll by the name of Morris Levy. Levy founded Roulette Records in 1956 and he quickly learned the value of claiming publishing rights. He allegedly claimed authorship of several early rock & roll songs that he did not write, including Frankie Lymon’s “Why Do Fools Fall In Love”, Lee Dorsey’s “Ya Ya”, The Riviera’s California Sun and others. This practice allowed Levy to become one of the wealthiest record executives in the biz. It is alleged that he had ties to the Genovese crime family. In fact, James delayed the completion of this book until after Vinnie “the Chin” Gigante passed away in 2005.

James explains that the contract he had with Roulette was similar to many of contracts at the time in that most of the publishing went to Roulette and royalties were never paid to the artists. This was true for Tommy James. Instead of getting regular royalty checks for the sales of his hits, James had to rely on Levy’s unpredictable largesse. If Levy was in a good mood, he would instruct his assistant to cut James a check for ten grand or even buy him a house. Otherwise Levy might yell and scream and threaten James life. Levy would insist that James had no royalties because of the production/recording costs and living expenses that Roulette covered. Levy exercised complete control over his artists through unpredictable transfers of money and the threat of violence. Intimidation was his forte.

In this modest 225 page memoir, James is able to tell his story, warts and all, through intersecting plot lines and partially filled spaces that nonetheless detail his music (the hits) and the creative process while titillating us with stories from the dark side. He never digs very deep and that may be all well and good. The sad tale of drug and alcohol abuse and infidelity/promiscuity is pretty familiar in the lore of sixties/seventies rock & roll. Women were never liberated and free love was more of a male dominated ruse. Get it while you’re hot brother. In an exercise of doing/undoing James reveals episodes of Levy’s vicious underworld of crime and violence and then describes Levy’s fatherly love, generosity and affection. It seems Levy borrowed the art of building loyalty following episodes of intimidation - breaking you down and building you back up. It’s a military science for those who like control. It appears to be similar to the Stockholm syndrome in which the victim ends up aligning with the aggressor.

It is interesting that James seems defensive about critiques of his songs, especially the earlier pop hits such as its Only Love, I Think We’re Alone Now, and Mirage. He disagrees with the critics and feels he’s been misunderstood and grouses that others borrowed his riffs and used them to create hybrid music for pre-teens called “Bubblegum.” He points to the year 1968 when Kasenetz and Katz formed Buddha records and co-opted his music – rhythms and chord progressions - and used them on songs like Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, Down at Lulus, and Indian Giver. Well…it’s a fine line to draw in the sand. Personally, I like bubblegum music and I’m not so quick to jettison that label - though it no longer carries much underground cool. There was a time in the eighties and nineties when punk bands played songs by the Monkees, Ohio Express and the Archies - and I loved it!

I was especially appreciative that James brought the reader inside for a glimpse (remember, not very deep) of the creative process on some of his greatest songs – Mony Mony, Crystal Blue Persuasion, Crimson and Clover, Sweet Cherry Wine (his only protest song), Ball of Fire, and Draggin’ the Line.

Ultimately all of the major players in this memoir are given a balanced review of their strengths and contributions as well as their warts and failings - Tommy James included. This makes the book more memorable and more human…especially for James. He is no angel and he admits to knowing exactly what he was doing and who he was dealing with when he signed his pact with the devil. He learned to look the other way and knew when he could push and when he should walk away. It may have saved his career …and his life

I saw Tommy James perform for the very first time at Pine Knob in the late seventies. He opened for Franki Valli and the Four Seasons. Valli was stiff and perfunctory, sounding more like a lounge lizard than an early rock & roll hero. He even said something like, “this is for all the lovely ladies here tonight,” before singing “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.” Yeech. But Tommy James was right on the mark. He sang well and the band was incredible. He stole the show.

I saw him a second time in 1985 at the Saginaw Civic Center. He was in a package tour produced by Chrysler to raise funds for the restoration of the Statue of Liberty. It was a one-of-kind iconoclastic show featuring Tommy James & the Shondells with Don Ciccone of the Critters, the original Four Tops led by the irresistible baritone of Levi Tubbs, the Temptations with Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin (the original lead singers), Spirit with Randy California, Ed Cassidy and Jay Ferguson, and Mark Lindsey (lead singer of Paul Revere & the Raiders) backed by Spirit!
It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to shine and each band hit their mark with a bulls-eye. Tommy James’ note perfect muscular performance was right on par with the other rock and soul icons on the bill. It is a flawless and forgotten gem never to be repeated.
It was pure magic.

Me & the Mob and the Music is a must read for anyone who loves the music of the sixties and seventies and wants to learn more about the underside of a very corrupt business. The book is published by Scribner Press, A Division of Simon & Shuster Inc. You can purchase it locally @ Barnes & Noble.

Peace
Bo White