Next week your humble Mr. Moderator will be making a site visit to a potential base camp for his Peace Warrior movement. I will be far away from any office desk and my arsenal of electronic devices. Before I leave I’ll be frontloading some topics for discussion and checking in on occasion, but I’m leaving it to YOU to react to coming current events in the world of rock ‘n roll and craft threads for discussion, you know, thought-provoking stuff, man, like our recent Adrian Zmed concert review. Now, more than ever, is the time to grab The Main Stage! Following are imagined scenes from my coming trip and some ways in which you can help keep the rock smack fresh.Continue reading »
It turns out The Hello People were not the only band employing the use of mime in rock ‘n roll. If you’re a regular to the Halls of Rock, I’m sure you know about David Bowie‘s formal mime training. You’ve probably seen this clip.
While researching some performances by the briefly reunited McGuinn, Clark & Hillman I stumbled across this cover of “Almost Saturday Night” by Gene Clark and Carla Olson. As some of you know, I feel The Byrds are one of the most difficult decent ’60s bands for me to like (although I tend to like the Gene Clark-sang jangly hits best). As some of you also know, I don’t readily tune into country music. I do, however, love Creedence Clearwater Revival and indentify with sufferers of Fogerty Syndrome. This laid-back country cover of a solo Fogerty song I discovered through Dave Edmunds‘ balls-to-the-wall cover is very good despite all the hazards, for me, that went into its making. That suggests that the song may be impossible to screw up. I think it’s a combination of the comforting chord progressions, the harmony lines, and the identifiable themes expressed in the lyrics. Have you ever heard a bad cover of “Almost Saturday Night?” Could you imagine one?
Are there other songs you can think of that can’t be screwed up, no matter who covers them and in what style they are covered?
Have you ever heard a second great song by The Lemon Pipers? I don’t think the makers of the fantastic “Green Tambourine” had it in them to crank out even one more great song. “Rice Is Nice” sure ain’t the long-lost, second great Lemon Pipers song!
Recently I checked out some songs by David Essex, other than one of the all-time one-hit wonder smash hits, “Rock On,” a song that still fascinates me as much as it did when I was an 11-year-old boy. Have you ever heard a second great song by David Essex? I thought not. I really wish he’d had it in him to crank out at least one more winner.
What one-hit wonder artist do you most wish could have managed to record at least one more great song? I’m not talking about artists who didn’t manage to have second hits, but those who didn’t have the talent, or whatever, to come close to matching the quality of their lone smash hit.
As a public service, should a Townsperson suggest an artist in this thread that you feel derserves credit for a second great song, please feel free to act on behalf of The Orockle and turn said Townsperson onto a song he or she may not know.
Years ago, when my wife and I were first dating, we ran into one of my old musician friends on a street corner. His long hair and slacker Shaggy Rogers facade hid the fact that he was a gentle, thoughtful guy whose only vice was sweets. After continuing on our way, she said something like, “Band members have this reputation for being tough and cool, but whenever I meet them they’re usually the nicest people in the club.” From 1978 through the 1980s, Penny Rush-Valladares interacted with rock stars galore while running Backstage Cafe, a concert catering company in Kansas City, Missouri. In the process, Penny became a member of the Kansas City rock scene herself. From both the tales on her website, Rock and Roll Stories, and our conversations about her her experiences, it quickly became clear that Penny was among the many nice ones in the rock scene, super nice.
But this hard-working, rock ‘n roll-loving hippie (in the best sense of the term) isn’t beyond dishing more than her patented turkey dinners. In the course of our talk we gain some shocking insights about the likes of Roger Waters, Neil Diamond, and Bob Dylan – not to mention a story about Van Halen that’s more disgusting than I would have thought possible. A key detail about a diminutive purple presence in the ’80s rock scene explains so much, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. In the true spirit of the Halls of Rock, Penny brings a cheerful attitude, a bruised-but-not-beaten sense of idealism, and the willingness to let it all hang out. You won’t run into a Penny on any old street corner.
Penny’s website chronicles some of her earliest rock ‘n roll stories, including her night with The Beatles; we start with her entry into rock ‘n roll catering.
RTH: Can you summarize your work as a rock ‘n roll caterer? How did you get started as a caterer for touring musicians? You were initially based out of a certain venue, right?
Penny: Well, yes and no. I worked out of the Uptown Theatre in the beginning, helping another woman and learning the ropes. But it soon extended out into other venues. It was in its infant stages and we made it up as we went along. Basically we had to come up with a little dressing room food for the artists and some crew dinner for 20 or so guys. The reason I got involved was because I loved going to concerts and wanted to be backstage, so I soon realized there was a need for food and I knew that was something I could do.
It just kept evolving and demands from the artists kept getting more involved and official. A contract “rider” came along, which listed all the particular needs of each act and their food requirements were included. So it didn’t take long for me to start specializing in concert catering. I never wanted to do other kinds of catering, because I was only doing it to be backstage.
