When I was about 14, my first job was selling t-shirts at the Canadian National Exhibition during their annual late August run. Back then customers got to choose the t-shirt and the decal that goes on it along with what ever message they wanted pressed on the back. I'd slide the shirt onto a rubber pad, centre the decal and then lock the iron press in place. Voila! A brand new customized t-shirt.
Most of what we sold that summer were Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper T's. But a few times a week I'd get a request for that one weird logo with the skulls and guns for a band called Lynyrd Skynyrd. I had no idea who the band was and I certainly couldn't pronounce the name. The summer ended and I got paid which was all I cared about (though it was much less than I thought I would get).
A couple of years later I started working for CPI handing out their Cheap Thrills magazine at concerts. The big perk was getting into concerts for free! One night the Doobie Brothers headlined Maple Leaf Gardens and Lynyrd Skynyrd opened the show. By the time the final notes of the triple guitar solo at the end of "Free Bird" melded with the din of the audience, I was already out of the arena and on my way to sam the Record man to by the band's latest record, One More From The Road. I hopped on the subway and headed home. I never saw the Doobies that night.
Once I got the record home I put it on the stereo and immediately became a huge fan. I got out my guitar and started to learn "Saturday Night Special," "Gimme Three Steps," "Sweet Home Alabama" and, of course, "Free Bird." I became one of those people that tried to spread the gospel. The next summer, on the eve of the release of Street Survivors, I headed to Rich Stadium where the original line-up performed on one of those giant bills (Ted Nugent, Blue Oyster Cult, Starz, Aerosmith).
I made sure I bought Street Survivors the day it came out. When tickets went on sale for the band's first Maple Leaf Gardens headlining show, I made sure I had tickets in hand. And then came the painful news of the crash that killed Ronnie Van Zandt, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines. Just like that, Lynyrd Skynyrd was through.
In the ensuing years I bought or paid attention to whatever music came from each of the surviving members. Some of it was good and some of it wasn't so good. None of it captured the original magic of Lynyrd Skynyrd.
In the late 80's the band reformed and started touring but I was looking for the real thing and didn't pay too much attention. That was until the early 90's when Warner became affiliated with the band through Capricorn Records. They came to Toronto to play the Kingswood Music Theatre and I finally had a chance to tell the band my story. At the end of the story they invited me to watch the show from the side of the stage which is, to this day, one of the great highlights of my rock 'n' roll life. To be standing next to Gary Rossington's amp during "Free Bird" is priceless.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Friday, April 13, 2007
The El Mocambo
There was a period of time in the mid-seventies when my friends and I would go see bands at the El Mocambo on a pretty regular basis. We'd always show up early enough to get ourselves great seats right up front. Although I didn't drink, I felt an obligation to order a beer so that the wait staff wouldn't bug me. I nursed those babies all night long.
I didn't see the Stones there but my friends did. Then there was the night that Cheap Trick played Toronto for the first time and Rick Neilsen stuck his guitar through the roof and left it hanging there. CHUM FM used to tape tons of shows in those days. If you can get your hands on the bootleg, it was a pretty amazing show. The band played three sets a night for two night and the way I remember it, "Hello There" was the only song they performed more than once.
I'm remembering the night The Runaways played two sets. Cherie Curry wasn't in the band anymore. Joan Jett sang lead. In between shows they took off for the CBC to appear on the Peter Gzowski show.
There's an infamous story about Elvis Costello's first Toronto show. The line-up went down the block and yet he was able to walk by the crowds and into the club without anyone noticing.
Judas Priest played the club with a full arsenal of amps set up against the back wall. How we never lost our hearing that night is a minor miracle.
My personal favourite was Starz. Everyone has a guilty pleasure to differentiate themselves from their friends. Mine was Starz. The band was in Toronto to record their fourth album (Coliseum Rock) and ended up heading over to the El Mo for their first and only Toronto shows. The night was bliss...for me.
The El Mocambo is booking bands again and the place still has a vibe though it probably will never regain the aura it once had.
I didn't see the Stones there but my friends did. Then there was the night that Cheap Trick played Toronto for the first time and Rick Neilsen stuck his guitar through the roof and left it hanging there. CHUM FM used to tape tons of shows in those days. If you can get your hands on the bootleg, it was a pretty amazing show. The band played three sets a night for two night and the way I remember it, "Hello There" was the only song they performed more than once.
I'm remembering the night The Runaways played two sets. Cherie Curry wasn't in the band anymore. Joan Jett sang lead. In between shows they took off for the CBC to appear on the Peter Gzowski show.
There's an infamous story about Elvis Costello's first Toronto show. The line-up went down the block and yet he was able to walk by the crowds and into the club without anyone noticing.
Judas Priest played the club with a full arsenal of amps set up against the back wall. How we never lost our hearing that night is a minor miracle.
My personal favourite was Starz. Everyone has a guilty pleasure to differentiate themselves from their friends. Mine was Starz. The band was in Toronto to record their fourth album (Coliseum Rock) and ended up heading over to the El Mo for their first and only Toronto shows. The night was bliss...for me.
The El Mocambo is booking bands again and the place still has a vibe though it probably will never regain the aura it once had.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
There ain't no army helicopter that can stop rock and roll!
We've been busy with the Juno Awards for the past couple of weeks we has kept me from logging on. I think that this year marked my 23rd consecutive Juno Awards. Here are some memories:
Gordon Lightfoot nervously pacing around waiting to be inducted by Bob Dylan into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. A cigarette was dangling from his mouth with ashes dripping onto his red velvet jacket.
I was in the meeting where they announced that they had secured Milli Vanilli as a performer. I've always been a bit of a s--t disturber and wasn't shy to raise my voice in protest. Apparently I was the only person in the room that had heard the rumours that Milli Vanilli didn't really sing on their album. They ended up performing.
One of the proudest moments of my career was when my endless faxes of Maestro Fresh West landed him a performance slot on the show making him the first hip hop artist to be seen on the Junos.
Getting to talk with Joe Perry backstage in Vancouver. Everyone was preening all over Steven Tyler (remember when he said "A Lie Us" instead of Alias?) so I got quality time with Uncle Joe.
Standing at the side of the stage at the Hummingbird Centre and congratulating a very young Alanis on her best New Artist Juno.
Oh and there was that great one with Sebastian Bach! The show had just ended and we were leaving the theatre. Sebastian walked in front of our Prime Minister at the time, Kim Campbell, who made some comment about using army helicopters to get him out of her way. Bach turned to her and said "There ain't no army helicopter that can stop rock and roll!" Classic.
Gordon Lightfoot nervously pacing around waiting to be inducted by Bob Dylan into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. A cigarette was dangling from his mouth with ashes dripping onto his red velvet jacket.
I was in the meeting where they announced that they had secured Milli Vanilli as a performer. I've always been a bit of a s--t disturber and wasn't shy to raise my voice in protest. Apparently I was the only person in the room that had heard the rumours that Milli Vanilli didn't really sing on their album. They ended up performing.
One of the proudest moments of my career was when my endless faxes of Maestro Fresh West landed him a performance slot on the show making him the first hip hop artist to be seen on the Junos.
Getting to talk with Joe Perry backstage in Vancouver. Everyone was preening all over Steven Tyler (remember when he said "A Lie Us" instead of Alias?) so I got quality time with Uncle Joe.
Standing at the side of the stage at the Hummingbird Centre and congratulating a very young Alanis on her best New Artist Juno.
Oh and there was that great one with Sebastian Bach! The show had just ended and we were leaving the theatre. Sebastian walked in front of our Prime Minister at the time, Kim Campbell, who made some comment about using army helicopters to get him out of her way. Bach turned to her and said "There ain't no army helicopter that can stop rock and roll!" Classic.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Crash & Burn
Oh the mid 70's and the birth of punk. I remember it well.
It started inauspiciously. A short article in Circus Magazine heralded the impending release of the debut album by The Ramones. They said it only cost the band a few thousand dollars to make, contain a shitload of songs but clocked in at under 30 minutes and was filled with unrelenting, guitar-driven rock and roll. I bought in and bought the album the day it came out. The disappointment is still fresh in my mind. As much as I liked "Beat On The Brat" and "Judy Is A Punk Rocker," I still needed guitar solos. I thought it sucked.
Six months later I knew much more about the Punk movement and had read about The Ramones' influential shows at The Roundhouse in London. I gained an appreciation for what was going on and when my sister announced her own impending trip to England, I handed her a list of singles that I wanted her to bring back. She returned from the UK with an amended stack. The Sex Pistols singles were banned from sale and weren't available but the guy behind the counter recommended this new group, The Clash, and sold her their first single, "1977." I was not disappointed.
By the following Halloween we had heard the debut from The Damned but were particularly anxious for the release of Never Mind The Bollocks. I bought the import (with it's florescent pink cover) and ended up spinning it over and over again at my sister's Halloween party. The natives were restless and it was the perfect tonic for the evening.
The punk scene in Toronto was flourishing now. The Diodes opened their own club called Crash and Burn that was in the basement of my dad's sock factory. The Viletones tried to be this city's Sex Pistols with Steven Leckie doing his best Sid Vicious impersonation. But, try as he might, he just came across as a big poseur. The Poles were our Siouxsie and the Banshees and Teenage Head did their best Damned impersonation thanks to Frankie Venom.
Bowie played piano in the shadows while Iggy owned the stage at The Field House at Seneca College. Blondie opened the show. But the last great punk show in Toronto had to be the night The Ramones played the New Yorker on the Rocket To Russia tour. The Deadboys opened the show and Stiv Bators threw up his beer mid-set. We Gabba Gabba Hey'd the night away.
It started with The Ramones and it ended with The Ramones. Don't let anyone tell you any different.
It started inauspiciously. A short article in Circus Magazine heralded the impending release of the debut album by The Ramones. They said it only cost the band a few thousand dollars to make, contain a shitload of songs but clocked in at under 30 minutes and was filled with unrelenting, guitar-driven rock and roll. I bought in and bought the album the day it came out. The disappointment is still fresh in my mind. As much as I liked "Beat On The Brat" and "Judy Is A Punk Rocker," I still needed guitar solos. I thought it sucked.
Six months later I knew much more about the Punk movement and had read about The Ramones' influential shows at The Roundhouse in London. I gained an appreciation for what was going on and when my sister announced her own impending trip to England, I handed her a list of singles that I wanted her to bring back. She returned from the UK with an amended stack. The Sex Pistols singles were banned from sale and weren't available but the guy behind the counter recommended this new group, The Clash, and sold her their first single, "1977." I was not disappointed.
By the following Halloween we had heard the debut from The Damned but were particularly anxious for the release of Never Mind The Bollocks. I bought the import (with it's florescent pink cover) and ended up spinning it over and over again at my sister's Halloween party. The natives were restless and it was the perfect tonic for the evening.
The punk scene in Toronto was flourishing now. The Diodes opened their own club called Crash and Burn that was in the basement of my dad's sock factory. The Viletones tried to be this city's Sex Pistols with Steven Leckie doing his best Sid Vicious impersonation. But, try as he might, he just came across as a big poseur. The Poles were our Siouxsie and the Banshees and Teenage Head did their best Damned impersonation thanks to Frankie Venom.
Bowie played piano in the shadows while Iggy owned the stage at The Field House at Seneca College. Blondie opened the show. But the last great punk show in Toronto had to be the night The Ramones played the New Yorker on the Rocket To Russia tour. The Deadboys opened the show and Stiv Bators threw up his beer mid-set. We Gabba Gabba Hey'd the night away.
It started with The Ramones and it ended with The Ramones. Don't let anyone tell you any different.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Monday, March 5, 2007
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
The advance of the new Wilco album showed up yesterday afternoon. It's FUCKING BRILLIANT! I can't wait to read how critics describe it. It is FUCKING UNBELIEVABLE! I will not taint your impressions with my own comparisons but I will say that rock and roll is alive and well and living in Jeff Tweedy's soul!
Stay tuned for more information...
Stay tuned for more information...
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