#33 The Lost King... Buddy Holly

Buddy Holly was lost to us at such an early age that the majority of his legend is pure speculation. He was so incredibly talented that his brief career before his untimely death inspired pretty much all of rock and roll that came after him. Whereas Elvis was often denounced for stealing black music and calling it his own to gain his fame, Holly had crafted his brand of guitar rock and roll that was totally his own. With his trademark hiccuping vocals and his extremely talented guitar playing, Buddy Holly had begun revolutionizing popular music from the moment he laid his first track down. The legend that grew after his death was based on the endless speculation of what height he would have climbed to had his career not been cut so short. I am of the mind to agree with those people and I think had he survived he would have surpassed Elvis many times over and been known as the king of Rock. Quite a good deal of Elvis's image was his look, whereas Holly was sort of nerdy looking, with his curly hair and large horn rimmed glasses. Buddy Holly crafted his popularity with nothing but his incredible talent and he was so young when he died I think that his talent was only increasing when he was taken from us.

Buddy Holly was born in 1936 in Lubbock Texas. He came from a family of musicians who encouraged him in that direction at a very young age. By age 5 he had already won a talent show for his singing and he had begun playing the guitar as well as the piano and the violin. In 1955, Buddy saw Elvis perform, an event that helped him to realize music was getting to a point where he could begin to create the music he wanted to. Less then six months after seeing Elvis perform, Holly was sharing the bill with him and his career had begun to take off like a rocket. over the next few years Holly would release just 3 albums before his death in 1959 at age 22. These three albums are recognized as some of the most influential works in rock history. Buddy was the first white musician who wrote, performed and produced his own works. With his band the Crickets, he was one of the first white musicians to ever play the Apollo theatre in New York. When he toured the UK in 1958, Keith Richards was in the audience and seeing Buddy perform Not Fade Away was one of the biggest influences in Richards' life. Keith would later say "Everyone in rock is influenced by Holly". Two nights before Holly's death, 17 year old Bob Dylan saw him perform in Duluth from the front row. He later stated that Holly stood a few feet away from him and at one moment looked right at him, a moment that profoundly affected him in later years (Dylan mentioned this during his Grammy acceptance speech for his Time Out of Mind record).

Holly's influence still abounds today in more genre's then rock. He pretty much invented the rock band standard of two guitars, bass and drums. His lyrics showed the beginning of a much deeper and richer talent that sadly never got a chance to be shown. His instrumentation was incredibly complex for the day including instruments such as the Celesta that were usually not used in rock and roll. Sadly, after a show in February of 1959, Holly died in a plane crash on his way to another performance. With him on the plane were fellow musicians Richie Valens and 'The Big Bopper'. Their deaths were forever immortalized in rock history as 'The day the music died'. Many record executives at the time believed that Holly's death would create a ripple effect and that rock and roll would be buried with him. As a result, the next few years saw a much fewer number of record contracts being given to rock and roll groups. People were so shocked at his death that many began spreading rumours that it was a conspiracy and that the government or the mob had ordered Holly's death.

50 years after Holly's death, his legend is still inspiring musicians and his music is still seeing sales. Buddy was the part of the first group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of fame. In my own personal opinion, Buddy Holly was the greatest of the fifties rockers. I have always enjoyed his music and it stands alone as good music, not just as nostalgia rock. Some of his tracks sound like they could have been written today, which might also speak to the revival of older styles of rock that has been occurring lately. If you have heard of Buddy Holly but have never given him a really solid listen then I suggest you do so. Start out with tracks like 'Rave on' and 'Peggy Sue'. If you dig it, then try some of the accoustic stuff from his later work, it is really quite good.

Here is one of the only videos of Buddy Holly in performance. Live in 1957,

#27 Free Falling with Tom Petty

Tom Petty has known he that he wanted to be a musician since the age of ten when his uncle introduced him to Elvis. He might be a bit younger then the other greats and he might have missed the sixties, but throughout the last thirty years, Tom has been proving that he can rock the world with the best of them. After receiving only minor success with his first band Mudcrutch in the early 70's, Tom was reluctant to set out on his solo career after the group's demise. It wasn't until some of his former band mates helped him form The Heartbreakers in 1976 that he really took off . I have always thought he was extremely talented both lyrically and instrumentally. Throughout his career, he has played lead and rhythm guitar, bass guitar, piano, harmonica and even the drums. His career outside of his work with the Heartbreakers has been a whirlwind of success both as a solo artist and then in the late 80's as a member of the fabled super group The Traveling Willburys. That is quite the resume for the last fourty years of rock that Tom Petty has been a part of.

One of the things I love about his music is it's consistency. You know what your getting into when you throw on a Tom Petty album. He has a knack for creating straight forward, unpretentious nostalgia rock. This unique yet nostalgic form of rock helped catapult him to fame in the late 70's when traditional rock fans had begun feeling alienated by all the punk and new wave that was cropping up. To these fans, Tom sort of became their standard bearer, keeping the rock they believed in alive. He channels that type of rock that hearkened back to the stones, the Beatles and the Searchers. It is easy to see why he makes the music that he does when you look at his influences. Aside from meeting Elvis, Tom says that his greatest musical influence was when he was a kid and he watched the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan show. Also, one of his first guitar tutors was Don Felder (who would later become a member of the Eagles). I think this love of the classics helps keep Tom modest and humble. He is seemingly the everyman of rock and as a result he is much loved by fans, critics and peers alike.

Petty has long been a opponent of the over bearing record companies and has often clashed in legal battles with them when they have attempted to go behind his back. Shortly before Tom release the album'Hard Promises' he was informed that MCA was going to be increasing the cost of their artists cd's in what they called their 'Superstar Pricing'. Tom threatened to cancel the album's release and was going to change the album's name to '8.98' (the original price of his and other artists releases through MCA). Eventually MCA saw that he was not going to back down and they changed the pricing back for Petty's work. This was thought to be the inspiration for future song 'Won't Back Down' which he released on the 'Full Moon Fever' album. Strangely enough, that song was then later used by George W. Bush in his 2000 presidential campaign until Tom Petty heard about it and immediately launched a cease and desist lawsuit against the presidential candidate.

I saw Tom Petty at the Pemberton Music Festival in 2008 and he blew me away. I have always been a fan but I had no idea that he was so good to see live. His band was rocking and he jumped right into 'You Wreck Me' which is one of my fave tracks of his. I would easily recomend seeing his show to anyone on the fence about it. He packs in the hits and puts on a show that is easily worth the ticket price. In fact, for all of you in BC, he is playing GM place on June 6th with Joe Cocker as the opening act. I think I am going to get tickets because that sounds like a show not to miss. For anyone in the States, or back in eastern Canada, check his show out because he will be touring your areas with Crosby Stills and Nash.


The Facts:
-Three solo albums, two with the Traveling Willburys, and ten with the Heartbreakers, with the 11th coming out next month.
-In 2002 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
-In 2002 he also appeared on the Simpsons in the fantastic episode where Homer goes to rock and roll fantasy camp.
-In 1987 Tom Petty's house was burned down by an arsonist, costing him over one million dollars in damage.


My Fave Album:
-I think it would have to be 1989's Full Moon Fever. This was Tom's first solo album and it is fantastic. If you look at the track listing for this album you can see that there really isn't a weak track on the entire record. In fact, the album is often referred to by many critics as a minor masterpiece. This album has Free Falling, I won't back down, runnin down a dream and Yer so bad to name just a few. If you haven't heard any of these you are probably living under a rock somewhere but if you really haven't and you seem to enjoy Tom Petty, then I highly suggest this album to start with.

Dig this clip. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers doing 'Don't Come Around Here No More'. I love this video, when you watch it you will know why. Enjoy! see you guys monday. Remember I will post a new playlist tomorrow!
-Tosho


here is a clip from the Pemberton Festival 2008 that I was at. It is a bit long and Tom doesnt come on stage until 2:52 but you can get a sense of the shows energy when he does hit the stage. (Oh and I was front row for this) Enjoy!

#18 The one, the only, Bob Dylan

If you have never heard of Bob Dylan you should probably just go back to the moon or wherever you have been hiding over the last fifty years. Bob Dylan, often called the Father of Folk Rock, is generally recognized as one of the top 3 American writers of all time and named as the top solo musician in Rock History. His performing career spans over five decades and his discography extends from the early sixties and contains over 30 albums and counting. Artists like John Lennon, Paul McCartney, David Bowie and Tom Waits have publicly stated that Dylan has profoundly affected his career. There are universities in the USA that teach degree programs in Dylanology. In 2008 the Pulitzer Prize committee invented a prize just for Dylan for what they called his 'profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power.'The man is one of the greatest rock icons of all time--even if you aren't much of a fan you can't really deny that.

I am going to write a different sort of article on Bob because there are books that could fill a room on him and I don't have a degree in Dylanology.

I first started getting into Bob Dylan when I was about 13. I was watching the new documentary series 'The Beatles Anthology' (a fantastic series by the way) and I saw a segment where the Beatles professed how much they loved the music of Dylan and how much he influenced them early on. That influence is clearly felt on albums like 'Help' ("Hide Your Love Away") and Rubber Soul ("Norwegian Wood"). Getting this kind of high praise from the Beatles was more then enough motivation for me to start checking out Dylan's work. I started out right from the beginning with his self titled debut album from 1962; he had already been touring the coffee house scenes for over 3 years at the time of the record's release. From there I dove in hungrily with albums like 'The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan' (1963) and 'Highway 61 Revisited' (1965). Those are two of my favorite albums in all of music. The lyrics are amazing! If you took away the music the songs would stand alone as beautiful poetry. After getting into those two albums I was hooked and have loved Dylan since.

I first got to see Dylan in 2007 in Victoria, BC. This was in the middle of his Modern Times tour. The show was brilliant and Dylan was in top form that night, belting out classics such as "Maggie's Farm" and, one of my personal faves, "Don't Think Twice It's Alright". It blew my mind and has totally solidified me as a Dylan fan.

In October of 2008 I got to see him again in Victoria, BC and this time I got to meet him in person! I was working as a medic at the Save On Foods Arena and I figured the chance at meeting Dylan was well worth the risk of being fired so I snuck backstage and managed to introduce myself to him. I got to talk to him for a few minutes which mostly consisted of me trying to refrain from shouting out "I'M NOT WORTHY!". He asked me if my name was connected to Peter Tosh and I told him how my parents were huge reggae music fans. I made a quick exit soon after thanking him immensely for the opportunity to meet him and his staff gave me a sweet pin with the tour insignia on it that I still wear on my jacket to this day. In person Dylan seemed like a really down to earth guy for the most part. I was actually a bit surprised by that, seeing as the man is a living legend.

What really surprised me was that a lot of people walked out halfway through the show. The local rag (Times Colonist) gave the show a horrible review saying how bad Dylan sounded and that he should stop touring as he doesn't have what he used to. I haven't read anything in that paper in years and have sent them many letters stating that I think their music reviewer should be fired for incompetence--Bob Dylan gets a crap review but Def Lepporard or Cher or Brian Addams get glowing reviews? Clearly this man is going to Rock and Roll Hell for that one. Give me a break people, that show was dynamite! Bob was in top form and the backing band rocked the house down. The only people that were disappointed were those that showed up somehow expecting the 25 year old version of Dylan to hit the stage..... Well maybe after that miracle he would have introduced John Lennon back from the dead for a one-night-only duet. Personally, I love the fact that he can mix things up and perform the songs differently all the time. How boring would it be for him to do his old songs exactly the same for over 40 years? To those who said "boo hoo he didnt play the guitar?": who cares?! He is a singer above all and he sung every song that night. Its not like seeing a Jimi Hendrix concert and having Jimi play piano all night.
If nothing else, this concert was WELL worth the fifty dollar price of admission just for his awesome version of "Stuck Inside of Mobile".

The Facts:
-Bob was born Robert Allen Zimmerman.
-He has toured almost continuously since 1980 in what is commonly referred to as "The Never Ending Tour".
-Bob has won 11 Grammys, an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a Pulitzer and a score of other awards including two Honorary Doctorates of Music
-Bob was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.
-His son Jakob went on to form the band The Wallflowers and is perhaps the most successful of any rock star's offspring.

My Fave Album:
-My fave Bob Dylan album changes all the time. Lately, it has been 1975's Blood On The Tracks. It was his 15th album and was partially recorded back in Dylan's home in Minnesota. The record is a bit darker then usual with the lyrics mostly revolving around heartache, anger, and loneliness. Dylan has rarely commented on this album but it is said by Dylan researchers that the songs came from his personal troubles at the time, such as the separation from his wife Sara. It is an amazing record and has some of Dylan's best work on it including: "Simple Twist of Fate", "Shelter from the Storm" and "Tangled up in Blue". This really is one of those albums that is solid gold from start to finish. I can't say enough good stuff about how much I dig this album. If you haven't dug it yet, then I highly suggest you go out and do so.



I love this early music video from 1965 for "Subterranean Homesick Blues":

#15 All aboard the Led Zeppelin

On 12 January 1969 Led Zeppelin released their first album to generally negative reviews but huge commercial success at the same time. It was pretty clear that the fans knew something that the critics didn't. For the time, this was something of an enigma. All the reviewers thought that Led Zeppelin had no future and at the same time they were dominating the airwaves and filling stadiums at a rapid pace. Over the years many of those critics have changed their minds and have admitted that Led Zeppelin consisted of more then 'Big hair and Bigger guitar solos'. Now, in 2010, Led Zeppelin is considered one of the greatest Rock bands in history. The band consisted of Jimmy Page (lead guitar), Robert Plant (lead vocals), John Paul Jones (bass guitar, keyboards) and John Bonham (drums, percussion). They brilliantly crafted a sound that combined the fiery intensity of hard rock with the depth and soul of the American Blues greats. Led Zeppelin exploded into the 70's, practically redefining rock in the process. Their massive impact has extended through the years since they disbanded, influencing countless musicians from all over the world of Rock. Then and now, Led Zeppelin are one of the legendary bands for the ages. Their almost mystical power to evoke primal passions and their intense ability at creating musical and lyrical genius have kept fans wanting more for almost 40 years. The combination of Jimmy Page’s powerful, layered guitar work, Robert Plant’s trademark piercing vocals, John Paul Jones’ melodic bass playing and beautiful keyboard work, and of course, John Bonham’s epic, animalistic drumming (his style actually influenced Jim Henson to create the character 'Animal', the drummer on the Muppet show). Being so jam packed with talent definitely made them a band whose musical magic that has proved enchanting and irresistible.

When Jimi Page formed the band in 1968, his friend Keith Moon (of The Who) remarked that such a band 'would go down like a Lead Zeppelin' which of course gave Page the idea for what to name his new band. I thought it was cool when I read that Page intentionally misspelled the name as Led Zeppelin so that fans wouldn't mispronounce the name. It is one of those moments of Rock irony that the career of Led Zeppelin would be the exact opposite of what Moon had remarked. To me that stands up there with the record executive who turned down The Beatles, saying "No thanks, guitar groups are on the way out". In the 70's, Led Zeppelin became so huge that they were dubbed 'The Biggest Band In The World' and were often called the 'Beatles of the 70's' (something page would always deny, stating "Our music sounds nothing like theirs").

Time To Party:

The 70's saw them becoming incredibly rich and famous all over the globe. Their antics on tour began to become the stuff of myth and legends and what we now would consider the stereotypical Rock Star behavior. They traveled from gig to gig aboard a Jet airliner they renamed 'The Starship'. Rumors spread like wildfire about how they would rent out entire flors of their hotels and always trash their rooms, throwing Tv's out of the high windows. The debauchery was getting so ridiculous that they began to be banned for life from certain higher class hotels around the world. One story told how John Bonham rode a motorcycle down one of the hallways of a hotel during a massive hotel party. The passionate energy that the music was steeped in probably helped to create this mythic vision of Led Zeppelin as the rowdiest rockers in the world. They were crafting that famous slogan of 'Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll' and were living and breathing it as they took over the world with their loud, powerful music.
Sadly, the partying lifestyle took its toll and on the 24th of September 1980, John Bonham was found dead after having aspirated on his own vomit as a result of severe alcohol abuse. The surviving members of Led Zeppelin disbanded and released a statement saying "We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend and the deep respect we have for his family, together with the sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were."


The Facts:
-Between 1969 and 1971 they released four of the greatest Rock albums in history (Led Zeppelin 1-4)
-Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and won the Grammy lifetime achievement award in 2005.
-Page was accused of plagiarism in the way he used material from the old Blues musicians of the American south. Over the years many have questioned the authenticity and identification in the music of Led Zeppelin (spawning the Homer Simpson quote "Look honey, there goes Jimmy Page, the greatest thief of American black music that ever walked the earth").
-Eight albums and one released after Bonham's death form the backbone of the Led Zeppelin discography.


Fave Album:
-My fave would be the infamous album with no name that was released in late 1971. This infamous album featured four symbols on the inner sleeve, each chosen by a member of the group to signify himself. Jimi Page explained that the cover art was intended to bring out a city/country dichotomy that had initially surfaced on their previous album, 'Led Zeppelin III'.
"It represented the change in the balance which was going on. There was the old countryman and the blocks of flats being knocked down. It was just a way of saying that we should look after the earth, not rape and pillage it. The cover was supposed to be something that was for other people to savour rather than for me to actually spell everything out, which would make the whole thing rather disappointing on that level of your own personal adventure into the music."

I think that is pretty well said in my opinion. This album is quite simply one of the most awesome albums in Rock. Every track on this album is pure gold and to have an album like that, where each track is so amazing, is pretty rare in any genre of music. The album bolts right out of the starting gate with the pumped up rocker 'Black Dog'. From there it carries right on into another explosive rocker 'Rock and Roll' before switching things up a bit and diving into a fantasy epic right out of Middle Earth with the folk rock tale 'The Battle of Evermore'. It finishes side one with a song that is arguably one of the greatest songs of the last hundred years, Led Zeppelin's opus 'Stairway to Heaven'. This song has been played so many times that many people can't stand it anymore and has been talked about to death so if you want to know more check out Stairway to Heaven. Just when you think it can't get any better, Side two begins with 'The Misty Mountain Hop', which is one of my fave Zep tracks (I totally dig Plant's vocals in this song). From there you get to hear one of the greatest drum intros ever as 'Four Sticks' begins. The next track 'Going to California' is mellow and beautiful. If you close your eyes, you can picture Robert Plant sitting on a stool with a smoke and a glass of wine, conjuring up this tale of the search for love like some sort of musical shaman (it's rumored that he wrote it about Joni Mitchell whom he and page were totally infatuated with at the time). The album closes with the only admitted cover song of the record 'When the Levee Breaks'. It was originally a blues song from the twenties that was written about the great flood of 1929 in Mississippi. This song starts off with another fantastic drum intro by John Bonham except this intro has way more power and kick to it. It sounds as if he is beating his drums half to death in the pursuit of perfection (which he achieves here). The harmonica on this track is staggering in its blues filled intensity, helping to give the song that extra something that turns it from good to great.


See you all on Monday and thanks for dropping by!

-Tosho



Here is an awesome live version of 'Going to California'

#14 Neil Young, The Godfather of Grunge

Neil Young is not only an artist, he is a force upon the world of music. Since his breakthrough performances as a member of 'The Buffalo Springfield' back in 1966. He has forged a career that is deeply personal and often politically outspoken. His distinctive guitar work and unique tenor voice stand out front in all of his songs. Along with artists such as Bob Dylan and Tom Waits, Neil is one of those singers who you just instantly recognize. Since his debut he has grown immensely as an artist experimenting widely with differing music styles, from swing, jazz and rockabilly blues, to electronic music, industrial, alternative country and grunge. Young's profound influence on the emerging grunge scene caused critics to dub him "the Godfather of Grunge".

A Bit Of History:
After growing up in small town Manitoba, Neil migrated to Toronto, where he started getting popular as a folk singer on the Coffee house circuit. He soon migrated to a more Rocking sound and played with a few different bands over the next few years including groups such as the Squires and the Mynah Birds (a group centered around future funk rocker Rick James). Also in the Mynah Birds was Bassist Bruce Palmer who would join Neil in Buffalo Springfield. Stephen Stills met Neil in Toronto in 1966 and convinced him he should move to California to join their new group that Stills was creating with fellow guitarist Richie Furay. Neil agreed and brought Palmer with him and a short time later Buffalo Springfield was born. This was really one of the first super groups in Rock and Roll. The group contained such an uncontainable pool of talent that few were surprised when they broke up only two years later to pursue solo careers. Stills, Young and Furay were all fantastic song writers, talented guitarists and unique sounding vocalists. Throughout his career, Neil has rejoined Stephen Stills on a number of projects including the band 'Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young' and 'The Stills-Young Band' as well as assisting each other on many of their various solo albums.


With Crazy Horse:
To discuss Neil Young you have to at least touch on Crazy Horse. Throughout his career Neil has released twenty albums with Crazy Horse. He has said in an interview that his work with Crazy Horse was “the essence of my musical life. This is the core, the smoldering thing I come back to over and over again....If I had never done anything else, the Crazy Horse stuff would just stand on its own.”
Neil had known musicians Danny Whitten, Billy Talbot, and Ralph Molina (of the band 'The Rockets') for about a year or so before he bumped into them again and asked them to form his backing trio. They accepted soon after and he gave them the name 'Crazy Horse'. With them, Neil crafted some of the best work of his career including 1969's 'Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere' and partially on his 1970 album 'After the Goldrush'.
Whitten's death from a heroin O.D in 1972, mere days after being fired from the band because of his substance abuse problem had a profound affect on Neil. He was quoted saying "It blew my mind. Fucking blew my mind. I loved Danny. I felt responsible. And from there, I had to go right out on this huge tour of huge arenas. I was very nervous and ... insecure."
It took Neil years to get over the death of Whitten. His next three albums were all very dark and crafted around themes such as the hollowness of the music buisness and of commercial success as well as the tolls exacted by hard drug use, specifically Whitten's death from heroin. Eventually, Neil and the surviving members of Crazy Horse decided to carry on and released their first of many albums sans Whitten, with 1975's 'Zuma'.



Beyond:
Neil Young's solo career over the last forty years has been all over the musical map. He showed us his darker side in the 70's and his experimental side in the 80's. He brought it all back home in the 90's and is now bigger then ever in 2010. Neil has found himself (albeit somewhat reluctantly) as a living icon of Rock and Roll. One thing I have always really enjoyed about Neil's music is that when he creates an album, he does so because he feels the need to make that particular album. He has never cared about how well the albums sell or are received by critics. This mindset has often led him down some strange roads that lose some fans along the way, but overall it has made him a better artist and has given him fans throughout many genres of music.


The Facts:
- Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Twice! Once in 1995 for his solo work and again in 1997 for his work with Buffalo Springfield.
- Neil has directed five film under his pseudonym Bernard Shakey.
- His solo discography alone includes 33 studio albums, and six live albums which makes him one of the most prolific artists in Rock History.



My Fave Album:

-I would have to say my fave album is 1970's 'After the Goldrush'. Most of the album was recorded at a make-shift basement studio in Young's California home. Initially he dreamed it up as a project to merge CSNY with Crazy Horse although in the end Crazy Horse appears minimally on the album and only Stephen Stills is present from CSNY. The album was not very well received critically back in 1970 but over the years has become known as one of Neil's best albums as well as one of the greatest albums in Rock History. Songs such as 'After the Goldrush', 'Southern Man' and 'Don't Let it Bring You Down' contain some of Neil's best lyrics in my opinion and they are all sung so beautifully that in parts his voice is almost other-worldly. The combo of Whitten, Young and Stills sharing vocals on tracks such as 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart' and 'Till the Morning Comes' are sweet vocal bliss! This album is a Rock classic and is perfect to listen to while having tea on a rainy day or if you are just in the mood for something a bit more mellow but still want that power that comes from a beautiful Rock record.

Cheers folks, until next time we meet.

-Tosho


Here is a sweet live segment of Neil from 1971. He interacts with the crowd a bit then jumps into an outstanding version of 'Don't Let It Bring You Down'

#11 The Hidden Legends... The Kinks

When the Kinks first landed on the British music scene in 1964, they were following on the heels of groups like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones but they were delving further into a frontier of Rock and Roll that was years ahead of its time. The Kinks were one of the early pioneers of both the Hard Rock and Heavy Metal genres. Throughout the years the band has changed members quite often except for brothers Ray and Dave Davies who formed the core of the group. The group initially consisted of Ray (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Dave (lead guitar, vocals), Pete Quaife (bass guitar, backup vocals), and Mick Avory (drums and percussion).The Davies brothers, while both being musical geniuses, were legendary for their never ending battles and constant fighting. They practically wrote the book on feuding brothers in a rock band decades before Oasis.

The decades long feud aside, Ray Davies is almost indisputably rock's most literate, witty and insightful songwriter, while Dave Davies on the other hand, is renowned for his edgy hard-rock style guitar playing many years before hard rock had really begun to surface. This incredibly tight band had so much talent that it went to their heads rather quickly and egos began to clash with often disastrous results as early as 1965. One of the more famous incidents involved Dave and Mick Avory getting into a fight on stage one night in Cardiff in 1965. After running through a ramped up version of "You Really Got Me", Davies insulted Avory and kicked over his drum set. Avory responded by hitting Davies in the back of the head with his hi-hat stand, rendering him unconscious, before fleeing from the scene, fearing that he had killed his band mate. Luckily, Davies lived and was taken to Cardiff Royal Infirmary, where he received 16 stitches to his head. These types of on stage violence, especially the ones between Ray and Dave (often degrading into on stage brawls), resulted in The Kinks becoming victims of a 1965 blacklist by the American Federation of Musicians.

This inability to tour America during the height of the 'British Invasion' kept them from attaining the vast commercial success of groups like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who. This inability was a shame because it kept them in a sort of underground status for much of the mid sixties but definitely contributed to the growing cult following of The Kinks. Partly because of this, The Kinks remain unique among the first wave of the British Invasion bands. It is interesting if you think about it that The Beatles broke up because they couldn’t remain together. The Rolling Stones and The Who stayed together because they couldn’t afford to break up. Within the Kinks, the battling brothers Davies seemingly stayed together out of spite for each other, and to spite the radio stations that all but ignored the band after its initial string of AM hits. It was possibly this inability to cross over into America that contributed to the new direction the band started to take later in 1965 and early 1966. Whereas before there were the pulverizing rocker songs like the pre-punk 'You Really Got Me' and 'All Day And All Of The Night' which were full of primal energy combined with the berserk fury of Dave Davies’ guitar, there were now songs that began to feature lyrics rich in social commentary, and a unique tone of every day life in English village life.

These trends continued into 1968, with the band even retiring from touring in order to focus on their studio work much like the Beatles had done in 1966. This move resulted in the release of legendary album 'The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society' which was a concept album and sort of the Kinks answer to 'Sgt Pepper' by The Beatles. While initially selling under 100,000 copies, it has gone on to become their greatest selling album and is recognized as one of the greatest concept albums of all time. The release of this album signaled a shift towards concept albums with increasingly story driven themes on their future releases during the rest of their thirty year span. Over the years, having gone from rowdy hit makers of the mid sixties to late Sixties cult heroes to bonafide arena-filling rock stars in the Seventies and Eighties, the Kinks are back to being a little under most peoples radar and have returned to their position as cult icons in the world of Rock.


The Facts:

- The Kinks remain the only band from the original British invasion with all the original members still alive.
-The career of The Kinks spanned more than 30 years between 1964 and 1996. In that time the group released 25 studio albums and had dozens of hit singles.
-All of the original members of The Kinks were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
-Rumors have been spreading since late 2008 that a Kinks reunion is in the works.... stay tuned in regards to that. I will let you know more as it develops.

My Fave Album:

- I would have to say my fave album is Lola. It is a really solid album from start to finish and the satire and scathing views on the music industry are awesome. From tracks such as 'The Moneygoround' about the greed in the music business having little to do with the music, to the epic song of road life and travel in 'This Time Tomorrow' to the phenomenal track 'Lola' which is without a doubt the most famous song about a romantic encounter with a transvestite in all of Rock history. That being said, every track on the album is gold and it is a very easy to recommend album.


Enjoy this awesome live version of 'Lola'!
see you folks tomorrow for new posts!
-Tosho

10# The Only Band That Ever Mattered... The Clash

"The Clash are the only band that ever mattered" recited more then a few famous music critics. This incredulous statement is very true in many ways. The Clash were Joe Strummer (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Mick Jones (lead guitar, vocals), Paul Simonon (bass, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals) and Nicky "Topper" Headon (drums, percussion).While the Sex Pistols may have been the first Punk Rock group in the UK, it was The Clash that dominated the genre. If you are a serious punk rock fan, then you usually end up in one of the camps of the three godfathers of Punk Rock: The Clash, The Sex Pistols, and the Ramones. Honorable mention goes to groups like Iggy and the Stooges and Patty Smith. Why were the Clash so good?

The Clash Exploded onto the scene in 1976 with one of the greatest albums of all time. The self titled 'The Clash' is absolute Punk Rock Genius. The pure essence of the speed freak brain of punk with the tinniest most frantic guitars ever trapped on vinyl. When this album was released, lives were changed beyond recognition by it. Aside from being the 'Beatles of Punk Rock', they also showed their clear mastery of other genres as well. Their cover of 'Police and Thieves' showed that they could rock to the Reggae groove better then most bands. If you listen to the track, it is an amazingly good track. Simonon's bass line that pounds through the song like lightning bolts is by far the funkiest and most addictive bass line I have ever heard. The drum intro instantly affects you and makes you start air drumming uncontrollably. Mick Jones' guitar licks are as sticky as glue and reverberate and distort with that pure garage band style punk that we know and love.

It is so rare in music that a group of people this talented get together to make music. It's like if Beethoven had decided to write music with Mozart, with Chopin hanging out on the session for laughs. The Clash attack you from every angle, leaving you so musically stunned you are not even sure what has just happened to you. Joe Strummer, often referred to as Punk's poet laureate spits out his lyrics with such venom and energy that you become hypnotized as if you were staring into the cobra eyes of the punk gods themselves. Strummer's phenomenal lyrics were matched perfectly by Mick Jones' talent for instrumentation and his ability with a guitar. They were quite a legendary team and are definitely up there with Lennon/McCartney and Jagger/Richards. In fact they are so talented that you often forget the other guys. Headon is quite simply one of the greatest drummers I have ever heard. You can hear his awesome beats and rhythm rocking the song along at every turn, he anticipates the grooves being shot out from the machine gun of Simonon's Bass guitar and the two of them together form one of the greatest rhythm sections in Rock.

Lyrically, the band's music was often charged by a quite left leaning ideology. Joe Strummer, in particular, was a committed leftist. The Clash are credited with pioneering the advocacy of radical politics in punk rock. Like many early punk bands, The Clash protested against monarchy and aristocracy. However, unlike many of their peers, The Clash rejected the nihilism apparent in most of the other groups. Instead, they found solidarity with a number of contemporary liberation movements and were involved with such groups as the Anti-Nazi League which struck a chord within Strummer in particular (his brother who had always sided with Neo-Nazi groups in the UK, became estranged from the rest of the family and eventually committed suicide in 1970). In April 1978, The Clash headlined the Rock Against Racism concert in London's Victoria Park for an estimated 80,000 people.


The Facts:

- In the ten years they were together (1976-1986) they released six albums containing some of the greatest Punk Rock that has ever been.
- The first album (The Clash) is often regarded as the blueprint of all Punk Rock that would come after.
- Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.
- Having disbanded nearly six years earlier, The Clash scored their first #1 U.K. single with a reissued “Should I Stay or Should I Go.”


Fave Album:

-This might not come as a surprise if you have read the rest of this article. I am going to have to admit that their first album 'The Clash' is my fave. This explosive record was cut in three weekends and released in the UK in April 1977. It included such punk-rock anthems as “White Riot,” (which is one of the most amazing punk songs I've ever heard), “I’m So Bored With the U.S.A.” and “London’s Burning.” Their reworking of Junior Murvin’s reggae classic “Police & Thieves” is the historic signpost between the punk and reggae communities. The Clash has been called “archetypal, resplendent punk,” and it was one of those paradigm-shifting albums that forever altered the course of rock. Ironically, it was not initially released by the band’s American label, Epic, which deemed it “too crude.” (As a further irony, the label would later sticker Clash releases with the praise that started this article: “The Only Band That Matters.”) Word of mouth and favorable press made The Clash one of the best-selling imports in history and Epic released a bastardized version of the album in 1979.



Enjoy this little medley that took place in Manchester, UK in 1977. This is some fantastic stuff. The prime example of why these guys were the greatest Punk Rock band in history. The fiery intensity is a sight to see. Strummer in particular appears about to explode in parts... ENJOY!

Feel free to leave any comments.

#6 Canada's House Band, The Tragically Hip

In Canada we pride ourselves on our distinctiveness and our unique identity in regards to the rest of this world. Canada has Maple Syrup, Tuques, Kraft Dinner, Canadian Beer, and the Tragically Hip.

Growing up in Canada over the last twenty years, you tend to develop a soft spot for these five small town boys from Kingston, Ontario. If Canada was like its joking stereotype with one small city and the rest of the country just open land and scattered farms and igloo's, then when all of us Canadians gathered each Friday night in downtown Canada to have some fun at the bar drinking our Canuck beer, The Tragically Hip would be the house band that would take the stage in between periods of the Hockey game.

Getting their name from the 1981 movie 'Elephant Parts' starring Michael Nesmith (of the Monkies), 'The Hip' as they are more affectionatley referred to, all attended the same high school together but didn't officially form the band until 1983. The band got their start touring the demanding southern Ontario club circuit and became a favourite on this scene very quickly playing mostly cover tunes with a few originals thrown in that sounded like covers. They consist of: Gordon Downie (lead vocals and guitar), Paul Langlois (guitar and vocals), Rob Baker (guitar), Gord Sinclair (bass guitar and vocals), and Johnny Fay (drums). Gordon Downie supplies the fantastic lyrics that have made The Hip legendary across Canada.

The songs they have created speak of what it is to be Canadian, with influences from Canadian folk legends, historical moments, hockey, and almost every other aspect of our culture. Downie's writing of such myths and stories about life in small town Canada have helped build that image that is known from Vancouver to St. Johns. We all feel like the Hip are 'Our Band' in a way. The music of the Hip is very distinctively Canadian, which may be a reason why they have never really seemed to catch on south of the border, but is also the reason that Canadians have stood by them for so long. We can all see ourselves in it. They are singing about Our culture and they are doing it with intelligence and eloquence with an introspective feel that we can all appreciate.

The Hip soon became known for their energetic and often very improvisational live performances. Downie often strays from the song lyrics to rant to the audience or wander off into fictitious monologues and lunatic conversations about the microphone stand or the crowd itself as if the whole audience were a friend or lover or child. His maddening fits that sometimes include hacking and bashing the microphone stand to pieces are perfectly contrasted by the fact that the band keeps up with him and anticipates his apparent lunacy without missing the beat for a second and then merging back into the song perfectly with him down the line. A live Hip show is really something to see. You can see the visible stress making him sweat buckets and turn his face a fiery red as if he were about to explode from the power of the music. Rob Baker shreds that guitar with fiery intensity, seldom smiling, and completely focussed on his instrument. The man is a real pro, it's really impressive how his guitar licks are so integral to the songs but not up front taking away from the other instrumentation. The fact that they have known each other since childhood is easily visible on stage, and the audience can clearly see that these 5 guys love playing music together, which is really cool after almost 30 years together and counting. Their latest album released in April of '09 entitled 'We Are The Same' debuted at #1 on the Canadian Music charts. I hope we continue to see and hear the Hip for a long time to come because when it gets right down to it, when your having a few beers at the bar watching the hockey game, you gotta have some hip thrown in to top off the night.

The Facts:

-They also hold the record for most number one albums on the Canadian Albums Chart with a total of eight reaching the pole position.
-Over 14 Juno Awards between 1990 and 2009
-Twelve Studio Albums and a Live Album since 1987
-Fantastic party music, goes great with beer.

My Fave Album:

While I have to admit I really dig most of their discography, one album definitely stands out for me. 'Phantom Power' released in 1998, is a totally dynamite album. From start to finish it blends that fantastic canadian party rock sound with softer folk songs rich with imagery. The whole thing feels like a really complete piece of music, not just a bunch of tracks thrown together for marketing purposes or contractual obligations. It won the Juno for best rock album and it's single 'Bobcaygeon' won single of the year. It is in my opinion one of their greatest works to date. Songs like 'Something On' and 'Poets' are catchy and have a great beat as well as fantastic pieces of writing from Downie. The band recorded the song 'Something On' while stuck in the studio during the infamous ice storm of 1998 that brought havoc to much of North-Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec and the North-Eastern United States. This had an effect on the lyrical creation within the song, such as:
:"Outside there's hectic action
The ice is covering the trees
And one of em's interconnecting,
With my Chevrolet Caprice."

'Bocaygeon', the single that won them the Juno that year, is a terrific song about love in small town Canada and the choices that we have to sometimes make in our lives. It is beautiful lyrically, and has simple yet wonderfully rich melodies that make it one of the most famous and best-loved songs the band has recorded.

# 5 Horror stories meet Hard Rock with White Zombie

Alright, I know what you are about to say to me.

"Tosh, White Zombie is NOT rock!"

Well you are wrong my friends. White Zombie was founded in 1985 by writer, vocalist, and graphic artist, Rob Zombie. Back then White Zombie was riding the forefront of the new Post-Punk revival called Noise-Rock which had its roots as far back as the 1960's. Here is a quick intro into what exactly Noise Rock is defined as.

NOISE ROCK: This sub-genre which came to strength in the late 70's early 80's makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of the rock that we know, but incorporates dissonance, wild feedback and extreme distortion and also frequently discards what is considered usual songwriting conventions. Noise Rock groups have a confrontational performance style which mirrors the aggression often found throughout their music. The roots of Noise Rock go back to bands like Hendrix, The Who, Neil Young, and the Velvet Underground.

White Zombie in particular was very heavily influenced by earlier Noise Rock bands such as the Butthole Surfers and Blag Flag. Their first studio album 'Soul Crusher' (1987) was loud, fast and full of angst. You can feel echoes of bands like MC5 in between the notes on this album and while it met with little commercial success it was given high praise by other musicians including Iggy Pop and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth. Kurt Cobain praised this early period of White Zombie as one of the biggest influences of his career. This album was also the start of Rob using old horror 'b movie' sound clips in the tracks, which became a signature of White Zombie's sound in later albums. Interestingly, Rob chose to write songs that had no basis in real life unlike most musicians who write about themselves or their place in the world. Rob chose to write songs like horror movies or old spooky stories. It was all about creating a new experience in rock and roll. This love of creation poured out into everything else that Rob would do in his later career. He often did all the art included with their albums and would as time go by go more and more over board in terms of set design for their live shows. I remember seeing him solo as Rob Zombie, in Vancouver when he had first started out solo on the Hellbilly Deluxe tour, and still to this day I have never seen so much theatrics at a rock show. Huge twenty foot stilt monsters, strippers descending on ropes from the ceiling, him painted up like a Zombie monster cruising around the stage in a devil mobile go cart contraption. I remember thinking 'Now THIS is ROCK!' to myself in between explosions of fire balls that kept leaping up out of the stage front.

As time went by, White Zombie started moving further out into the realms beyond rock into Metal but they still kept experimental artistic influences, fusing their past into their future creating what would be known as Groove-Metal, or Funk Metal. Its great stuff and their is nothing in Rock or Metal quite like the rich Grooves and fast furious pace that are found in White Zombie. White Zombie was only active between 1985 and 1998 but in between released some of the most terrific and strange sounds ever to grace our ears. Songs with titles such as: "Die Zombie Die"; "Welcome to Planet Motherfucker"; "Super Charger Heaven"; and "El Phantasmo and the Chicken-Run Blast-O-Rama" are just a few of the examples of Rob's great songwriting ability. A great track from their early days is "Black Sunshine" that the band had Iggy Pop come into the studio to help out on (he does the fantastic intro). Unfortunatley in 1998 Rob dissolved the band in order to go solo as Rob Zombie although shortly after he released the epic work that was the fantastic album "Hellbilly Deluxe" which is one of my fave albums of all time. Pure story rock that is as fun as dressing up and going to a Halloween party full of psychedelic crazies.

The Facts:
-The band got its name from the Movie of the same name starring Bela Lugosi (1932)
-Only 2 mainstream albums in their 13 year timespan; La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1 (1992) and Astro-Creep: 2000 - Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head (1995) which was often just referred to as Astro-Creep 2000
-Rob drew the entire peyote scene in the movie 'Beavis and Butthead do America'


My Fave Album:

-It would have to be the Astro-Creep 2000. I have loved that album since I was 15 (and in my rebellious phase). There has never been a better way to rebel against your parents then to buy an album cover with zombie punks on it, not to mention track names like: 'Blood, Milk, and Sky'; 'I, Zombie'; 'Grease Paint and Monkey Brains'; and 'More Human Then Human'.
-It has some of my fave songs they ever did. 'More Human Then Human' and 'Super Charger Heaven' are some amazing tracks and the whole album is just a lot of fun. A great album to drive by or to throw on when you need to pump things up a bit. It may seem to some people like "Devil Music" but to anyone who is a grown up and has a rational mind White Zombie is just a lot of fun and no deep meaning, that's why Rob wrote it like that, its just like stories, it has no basis on life, in fact in real life Rob is quite soft spoken and is a vegetarian folks. Its the same as Alice Cooper or Black Sabbath. Its for a show, its to make music more then music. Its all about creating the experience.


Dig this track, and check for Iggy doing the intro.
-Taker easy folks thanks for reading.

#4 A Long Strange Trip with The Grateful Dead

Behold, the pioneers of psychedelic space cowboy jam-rock!

Seriously though, what could you possibly say to describe the Grateful Dead. They flawlessly combine rock with folk, country, bluegrass, blues, jazz, psychedelia, even a little reggae and they take it all and push it through the meat grinder and beam it out into space. Space is accurate because they really did take music where it had never been before. Their musical influences were so varying between them that their live shows often became monstrous jam sessions. Each of them adding different bits here and there like musical warlocks creating some vast brew to hypnotize their audience.

I won't even get into much of their history because to talk about the history of the dead you have to get into the entire 60's phenomenon that was San Francisco in the mid to late sixties. If you want to know more about them I suggest reading the book "Living with the Dead" by Rock Skully and David Dalton or the book Living With The Dead by Dennis McNally. Or you can always check out their wiki the Grateful Dead. The Dead were part of the force behind it all. Their early music (in the mid 1960s) was part of the process of establishing what 'Psychedelic' was, but theirs was essentially a 'street party' form of it. They developed their new sounds as a result of meeting Ken Kesey in Palo Alto and subsequently becoming the house band for the Acid Tests he staged. This 'Acid Rock' sound began to take shape and by the late 60's had fueled there journey to become the phenomenon that was and is The Grateful Dead.

I first got into the dead as an early teen, but gave up on them mostly because they seemed too country. But after growing up a bit and expanding my musical horizons, not to mention taking more then my share of psychedelics, I began to let go of my old musical prejudices with a little help from some older friends that were into the classics. I also read that book by Rock Skully about them and it was such an awesome story that I had to get into them more. One of the things I love about the Dead is that they can save your life. If you are having a bad time, suffering heart break, feeling alone, or even having a really bad drug trip, The Grateful Dead can quite literally save you. That's one of the reasons they have the sound they have. They learned to play this way at Kesey's Acid Tests and they would play to keep people from going insane, though they would often let you go a little crazy before bringing it all back home.

These guys can play anything and were guided for the majority of the last 40 years by Jerry Garcia, or as he was sometimes known, 'Papa Jerry'. Jerry was one of the greatest 'Gods of Rock' that there has ever been (Ranking 13 on Rolling Stones 100 Greatest Guitarist of all time).
Other reasons to dig the Dead include: They had two drummers playing at once; Terrific base lines that weave beautifully through the songs; some of the most beautiful and ranging vocal performance of songs giving lots of range depending on the mood of the track; Outstanding keyboard work that offers some of the best work I have ever heard in rock and roll; and ENOURMOUS instrumental solos that would often be improvisatory jam sessions live on stage that would sometimes go on for more then a half hour before launching back into the song like they had never left it.

The Facts:

-22 official albums between 1967 and 1990
-A lyricist you never saw. Robert Hunter wrote most of their lyrics often with help from Jerry or one of the others.
-One of the only bands so good they created their own sub-culture (see Dead Heads)
-FREE BOOTLEGS! go to (http://www.archive.org/details/GratefulDead). I recommend the mid to late 70's thats my fave Dead era. This site is awesome and is testimony to the deadication of the fans

My Fave Album:

-It would have to be American Beauty (1970) which is also usually regarded as their studio masterpiece.
-It was their Fifth album, but really the one where they began exploring the folk rock sounds they had begun with 'Working Man's Dead' the year before.
-Stand out tracks for me include: Box of Rain (A beautiful song by Hunter and Lesh); Friend of the Devil (one of my all time favorite Grateful Dead songs); and Ripple (stunningly beautiful folk song infused with a touch of the glow of the 60's)

-Also, I have to mention for live albums, I really enjoy 'The Closing of Winterland' (1978) its a 3 set show that has some of my favorite versions of songs such as: Scarlet Begonias; Fire on the Mountain; and Playing in the Band.

#3 Ladies and Gentlemen....... The Band

The world of rock has some of the craziest band names ever seen, but there was one band so infamous even at its inception that they decided on simply being known as 'THE BAND'.
The Band Consisted of Levon Helm (drums, mandolin, guitar, bass guitar, vocals); Robbie Robertson (guitar, piano, vocals); Richard Manuel (piano, harmonica, drums, saxophone, organ, vocals); Garth Hudson (organ, piano, clavinet, accordion, synthesizer, saxophone); and Rick Danko (bass guitar, violin, trombone, vocals).
Fusion is a word that describes them. The melting pot of all musical genres, the joining of American and Canadian musicians into musical harmony. Combining Old Country, Blues, and Early Rock sounds and mixing it all with a touch of Motown and adding their own brand new sounds to it, The Band got their start as backing bands for acts such as Ronnie Hawk, and later, Bob Dylan.

The Band were all extremely talented multi-instrumentalists often taking turns at the various positions on stage, but are definitely notable for being one of the first rock bands to have the drummer as the lead singer. Levon Helm the drummer of The Band, is what got me into their music. The only American in The Band, his Southern drawl and gruff country man voice adds perfect contrast to the rest of the groups vocals. This was relatively new to rock. Sure we had Ringo, but Levon takes singing lead while still drumming at a complex rhythm to a whole new level. Critic Jon Carroll famously declared that Helm was "the only drummer who can make you cry."
Garth Hudson's mastery of the Lowrey Organ is one of the things that really gave The Band their sound. During that amazing organ intro to their hit 'Chest Fever' you can hear Hudson's primal mastery of his instrument. In each note, you can feel him reaching back to the ancient beginnings of music itself for inspiration. I have never heard anyone play the keys quite like Garth Hudson.
Robbie Robertson's fantastic guitar playing and knack for writing song lyrics full of ancient Americana and nostalgia is fully evident on tracks like 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down' and 'The Weight'.
Rick Danko started playing music from the time he was six years old and it. By seventeen he had already been performing for five years and he managed to get himself booked as the opening act for the Hawks. Levon and Ronnie Hawkins were so impressed by young Danko that Hawkins asked him to be their new rhythm guitarist. Soon after, Hawkins fired his current bassist and told Danko to learn bass so he could be their bass player. His percussive, melodic bass-playing style became an integral part of the group's sound as they grew and left the Hawks to become The Band.
Richard Manuel was the wild man of the group and was troubled with alcohol-related problems and chronic substance abuse. This aside, his Ray Charles-like vocals and complex keyboard rhythms gave the group the final tough that they needed to become The Band.

I had heard of The Band throughout my early life but my parents never gave them the airplay that was in the early days mostly devoted to bands like The Beatles; The Wailers; The Who; Pink Floyd; and The Clash. There were always the radio hits like 'The Weight' and 'Chest Fever' but I never seemed to get into them. This was probably because in my youth they might have seemed "Too Country". I would suppose that I got into The Band via the Grateful Dead. As I learned to appreciate the Dead, I really learned to appreciate that side of rock that contains folk, country and bluegrass. Since getting into the Dead, I have gotten into the actual genres of Folk, and Old Country and Old Bluegrass.

A turning point for me with The Band was seeing them in performances on the dvd release of 'Festival Express' which was a tour of the Dead, Janis Joplin and The Band among many others, across Canada on a train in 1970 (Fantastic dvd by the way I highly recommend it.) My total devotion to The Band occurred when I watched the Film of their final concert from 1976 called "The Last Waltz" Directed by Martin Scorsese. If you are on the fence about The Band, please check out the Last Waltz, it will blow your mind how tight of a band they were.

The Facts:
-The Grooves... They've got them in abundance!
-A Tight, fantastic Five piece band. They play like they have telepathic communication
-In 1989 The Band were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame
-Only 6 studio albums exist from their 8 years as "The Band" but a GREAT 6!
-A partially re-united Band participated in former Pink Floyd leader Roger Waters ' The Wall Live in Berlin concert in 1990 (sans Robertson and Manuel)

My Fave Album:
-"Music From Big Pink" A Classic album 5 stars in my book
-Highlights for me include "The Weight", and "I shall be Released" (co-written by Dylan)

#2 Pink Floyd

If there is one band that has as strong of an influence on rock and roll, it would have to be Pink Floyd. With their psychedelic mischief and experimentation with sound, Pink Floyd is an essential band to anyone’s collection.

In the early days, Pink Floyd didn’t start off as musicians. Roger Waters and Nick Mason started as architects and would form a band with fellow student Richard Wright. They tossed about many different names and followed the path most college/university bands follow.

It wasn’t until 1963 when Syd Barrett, Roger Waters childhood friend, moved to London and joined the band. At the time, the band was called The Tea Set. Barrett came up with the name The Pink Floyd Sound by combining the names of two blues musicians, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council, after discovering another band called Tea Set.

From there, The Pink Floyd Sound continued its exploration with sound and visual stimulation while the psychedelic movement continued to grow around them. In March of 1967, the then named Pink Floyd, released their first single “Arnold Layne” In August of that same year, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn was released. This marked the first album Pink Floyd released. Come 1968, Syd Barrett’s writing methods had become so convoluted that the rest of Pink Floyd had asked Syd’s Cambridge Tech colleague, David Gilmour, to officially replace Syd. After that, well as they say, the rest is history.

How Pink Floyd has influenced me:

Well seriously, how hasn’t this band influenced me and its other listeners. The amount of ingenuity in their sound and song structure has made a fair amount of their albums, let alone songs, timeless. From using an eight part track with Atom Heart Mother and various sounds, like the sound of clocks chiming in Time on The Dark Side of the Moon, there was just no end to the creative genius that was Pink Floyd.

Where I was lost was after Roger Waters had left the band. From there, sure some songs are worth listening to, but on the whole it was just never the same.

My Favorite Album:

Honestly, my favorite album would have to be Meddle. From the album cover, to just the creativity throughout the entire album, I thought this was one of their crowning achievements. Opening with One of These Days, which in my opinion, was one of their first songs to really mix in the ambience with their psychedelic rock in a perfectly orchestrated track, to San Tropez, to the epically long Echoes, this album just had it all.

In closing, there is just so much to say about how awesome Pink Floyd are and really, we haven’t even touched on either of their masterpieces. If you have something to add, drop us a line! We’d love to hear your comments. Until next time we meet.

- J-Bong

Tosho’s two cents:

I completely agree about the Floyd. Pink Floyd is one of the greatest music groups in history. One of my earliest memories of hearing them was being like 3 years old and sitting in my living room having my dad play me dark side of the moon All The Time! I love Pink Floyd so much I don’t even want to write more about them, just listen to them!!! WHATS NOT TO LOVE?

Tosho’s Favorite Album:

It has got to be Dark Side of the Moon, not to be a band wagon jumper, but because of the early childhood memories of it. I was lucky enough to see Roger Waters perform the entire DSOTM a few years ago, and it was the single greatest concert of my life. That being said, J-Bong is correct, Meddle is THE BOMB! You gotta love Meddle.

#1 In the Beginning, there were BEATLES

I doubt anyone could have even guessed that in July of 1957, the meeting of 16 year old John Lennon and 15 year old Paul McCartney would have the kind of explosive impact upon Music, and cultures around the world that would soon follow these two young lads. The Beatles officially formed in 1960 and soon became one of the most successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of music. The group consisted of John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals).

Today, 50 years later, The Beatles remain one of the top selling acts in the world, almost 40 years after they disbanded. Their album "Beatles 1" features virtually every #1 single released in the UK and USA from 1962 to 1970. Despite being issued on the 30th anniversary of the band's breakup, it was their first compilation available on one CD. 1 was a critical success, and became a blockbuster phenomenon, the biggest selling album of the 2000s. They have been awarded 6 Diamond Albums, as well as 24 Multi Platinum Albums, 39 Platinum Albums and 45 Gold Albums in the United States alone. They have won an Oscar, 7 Grammys and have occupied the number one spot on the UK charts more then any other group in History. This doesn't mean everything however; we all know that the Jonas Brothers or Britany Spears can each sell a million records. And yet, they will never impact the world or affect us as deeply as the Beatles. As I sat here trying to decide what to write, I thought I would mention that if you go to google, and type "Why do we love the beatles so much?" you get back about 8,770,000 pages.

For me, I have always had the Beatles as a part of my life. I have deep childhood memories that I can't even remember clearly but I remember infant memories, sounds, smells, etc. Of those sounds, there often consisted the Fab Four. Their music touches my soul and I can often find a Beatles track to suit any mood I might be in. Their voices reach straight into me and their message of Love and Peace have always influenced who I am in this life. They broke up over a decade before I was born but to this day they are my favorites and still a big influence on my life. You can hear on each track how they are playing in near perfect unison. The awesome thing about the Beatles: they were each amazingly talented in their own right, yet they came together as one. Everyone who loves the Beatles generally has a favorite member and it totally divides people into camps, like being asked about your political leanings. Being asked "Are you a John guy or a Paul guy?" is no light question.
For myself, I'm definitely a Lennon fan but I love them all.


The Facts:

-If you haven't heard of them, you have most likely been living under a rock on the far side of the moon for the last 50 years.
-Genius songwriting both lyrically and instrumentally.
-4 reasons: John, George, Ringo and Paul
-They took popular music to a new untouched level (see Beatlemania)
-Bootlegs Galore! The Beatles may be one of the most heavily bootlegged bands of all time (almost every single session/home recording/interview/live track that ever was exists in bootleg form)

Fave Album:

"So Tosh, whats your fave album?"

I would usually say that I can't choose just one, but for this entry I will try. It's a tie between Rubber Soul and Revolver. George Harrison once said that he thought the two separate albums should have been a single double album, and that's kind of how I like to look at it too--they are really best thought of as part one and part two.


Rubber Soul (1965)

The Facts:
-The Beatles 6th album.
-Recorded in just under four weeks
- #5 on Rolling Stone Mag, "500 greatest albums of all time" list

I love this album, the pure mellow feel of acoustics and groove abound on this album. From Harrison's budding interest in the east (i.e: his Sitar playing on "Norwegian Wood") to Lennon's move from producing love songs to producing more philosophically orientated songs ("Nowhere Man" was one of the first of such, and a big classic), to McCartney showing a bit of his darker side (his reaction to the dissatisfaction in his relationship with his then girlfriend expressed in "I'm Looking Through You")
Not to mention the album has "In my life" which is usually regarded as one of the finest songs of the modern era. The entire album is golden from front to back, and always an enjoyable listen.


Revolver (1966)

The Facts:
-instantly went to number one and stayed there on the charts for 7 weeks.
-marked a more electric feel to their music.
-released shortly before their last tour.

The Beatles explode out of the gate on this album, firing out a scathing satire of "the man" with the infamous "Taxman" a great example of Harrison's budding songwriting talent.
"Eleanor Rigby" is one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs I have ever heard, and "Tomorrow Never Knows" is Lennon beginning to explore his psychedelic future, and shows his reading of the Tibetan Book of the Dead.
Revolver is often cited as one of the greatest albums of all time, and one of the most innovative for the Beatles. It heralded the end of their touring days and the beginning of their middle period, leading up to the massive album Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band

I could go on of course, every Beatles album holds more for me then the one before it, and the bootlegs would be a blog unto itself. Any comments are appreciated as always.
Thanks folks; stay tuned for the next blog in this series where we continue to explore the amazing gift that is music.

As they say:
'All you need is Love'



-Tosho