LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APRIL 9, 2020…ON THIS DAY IN 1970, PAUL MCCARTNEY OFFICIALLY QUIT THE BEATLES. THE NEWS WAS ANNOUNCED TO THE WORLD THE NEXT DAY. THIS IS A GREAT INTERVIEW WITH MCCARTNEY FROM THE CBC (THE CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WHERE MCARTNEY TOUCHES ON WHY THE BEATLES BROKE UP AND HIS THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS CONCERNING JOHN LENNON AND THE DEATH OF JOHN LENNON.
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APRIL 9, 2020…IT WAS ON THIS DATE 16 YEARS AGO VINCE NEIL PLED NO CONTEST TO BATTERY CHARGES THAT HE ASSUALTED A PROSTITUTE AT THE MOONLIGHT BUNNY RANCH JUST OUTSIDE CARSON CITY NEVADA.
THE PROSTITUTE, ANDREA “TRIXXXIE BLUE” TERRY WAS QUOTED AS SAYING IT COMES TO A POINT WHEN YOU THINK “It doesn’t matter how much I like their music and a girl has gotta get paid “
ACCORDING TO A SUBSEQUENT CIVIL LAWSUIT FILED BY “TRIXXXIE BLUE” THE INCIDENT OCCURRED JULY 10 ,2003 AT THE BUNNYRANCH WHEN NEIL “grabbed her by the neck, pushed her against a window sill, and then pulled her to the floor after Terry refused to let her and another prostitute have sex with Neil until he paid $4,000 for each woman”.
THE OWNER OF THE MOONLIGHT BUNNY RANCH WAS ALSO NAMED IN THE SUIT. THE SUIT STATED: “Hof was negligent because he didn’t call police and because the panic button/intercom in her room wasn’t working.”
IN RESPONSE, HOFF SAID HE WAS: “Confident Terry will lose in court because he thinks she made up the story about the assault. Neil was at the brothel at his request to sign autographs and take pictures a day after performing with the band Poison in Reno. While at the brothel, Terry brought Neil to a room, and soon thereafter another prostitute came to him saying that Terry would not let Neil leave.”
HOF SAID HE WENT INTO THE ROOM AND: “I saw her with her hands on his shoulders not letting him go. In my opinion Vince Neil did nothing wrong, She was an opportunist.” HOF ADDED: “even if Neil did go with Terry to have sex, Terry would have known that Neil would not have to pay for her services. We don’t charge celebrities, we pay the girls ourselves.” THE CIVIL ISSUE WAS SETTLED OUT OF COURT
HERE’S VINCE WITH THE ‘CRUE’
Hey all you Cool Cats and Kittens, it’s Chasta Baskin.
Listen to Lamont and Tonelli’s new song about social distancing and encouraging to stand back during the Shelter In Place because of Coronavirus pandemic.
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APRIL 8, 2020…IT WAS FORTY SIX YEARS AGO PAUL MCCARTNEY RELEASED THE SINGLE ‘BAND ON THE RUN’. IT WAS THE FIRST SINGLE TO THE ALBUM OF THE SAME NAME, AND IT’S AN ALBUM THAT IN SIR PAUL’S OWN WORDS IS “HIS BEST POST BEATLES WORK.” ‘BAND ON THE RUN’ IS ONE OF MCCARTNEY’S LONGEST SINGLES AT 5:09. THE SONG-WIDE THEME IS ONE OF FREEDOM AND ESCAPE.
MCCARTNEY WROTE THIS SONG IN RESPONSE TO DRUG LAWS THAT CRIMINALIZED HIM AND HIS FRIENDS. HE EXPLAINED IN AN INTERVIEW SHORTLY AFTER THE RELEASE OF THE SINGLE: “We’re not criminals ,We just would rather do this than hit the booze – which had been a traditional way to do it. We felt that this was a better move.The basic idea about the band on the run is a kind of prison escape. At the beginning of the album the guy is stuck inside four walls, and eventually breaks out.”
ONE THING THAT INSPIRED MCCARTNEY FOR BREAKING OUT AND GAINING FREEDOM WAS A STATEMENT GEORGE HARRISON MADE DURING A MEETING WITH EXECUTIVES AT THE BEATLES APPLE RECORDS, WHEN GEORGE HARRISON COMPLAINED “If I ever get out of this house.” MCCARTNEY REMEMBERED THE STATEMENT AND USED IT IN THIS SONG. PAUL ALSO USED A MEDLEY OF THREE DISTINCT DIFFERENT SONGS THAT VARY IN STYLE FOR ‘BAND ON THE RUN’. THE BEATLES DID THIS A LOT ON THEIR ALBUMS, BEING IT PROVIDED A WAY TO USE UNFINISHED SONGS. BOTH THE SONG AND ALBUM WERE RECORDED UNDER TRYING CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ORIGINAL DEMOS FOR THIS AND OTHER TRACKS ON ‘BAND ON THE RUN’ WERE STOLEN SHORTLY AFTER THE WINGS ARRIVED IN LAGOS NIGERIA TO BEGIN RECORDING OF THE ALBUM. THE ALBUM WAS RECORDED WITH MCCARTNEY, HIS WIFE LINDA, AND GUITARIST DENNY LAINE. IN AN INTERVIEW MCCARTNEY DID IN 2005 MACCARTNEY DESCRIBED THE PROCESS:“I was on drums and guitar a lot, mainly because the drummer decided to leave the group the night before and one of the guitar players decided not to come! So we got that solo element into an otherwise ‘produced’ album.”
THE SINGLE BAND ON THE RUN WAS AN INTERNATIONAL CHART SUCCESS. IN THE U.S. IT SOLD OVER A MILLION COPIES IN 1974, AND WAS A NUMBER ONE SONG ON THE CHARTS. THIS IS AMAZING…HERE’S FOOTAGE OF MCCARTNEY IN THE STUDIO WITH REHEARSALS. IT WAS PART OF A RARELY SEEN “ROCKUMENTARY” MADE BY PAUL MCCARTNEY AND THE WINGS AT ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS IN 1974. THE FILM FEATURES THE GROUP PLAYING LIVE AND DOING VOICE OVERDUBS, AND EACH MEMBER TALKING ABOUT THEIR MUSICAL EXPERIENCES UP TO THAT POINT.
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APRIL 8, 2020…IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE IT WAS 42 YEARS AGO JOURNEY RELEASED THE SINGLE ‘WHEEL IN THE SKY’. THIS WAS THE FIRST SINGLE THE GROUP RELEASED FROM THE ALBUM ‘INFINITY’ THE SONG WAS WRITTEN BY ROBERT FLEISHMAN, NEAL SCHON, AND DIANNE VALORY. DIANNE VALORY WAS BASSIST ROSS VALORY’S WIFE, AND WROTE A POEM CALLED “WHEELS IN MY MIND”. ROBERT FLEISCHMAN THE GROUP’S LEAD SINGER AT THE TIME, WROTE NEW LYRICS, AND NEAL SCHON WROTE THE MELODY ON AN ACOUSTIC GUITAR IN THE BACK SEAT OF A STATION WAGON WHILE THE BAND WAS DRIVING BETWEEN SHOWS. THE THING THAT I LIKE IS THE STEVE PERRY ENDED UP REPLACING FLEISHMAN A COUPLE OF WEEKS LATER WHEN IT CAME TIME TO WORK ON THE SONG IN THE STUDIO, AND THIS ENDED UP BEING THE FIRST SINGLE ISSUED WITH PERRY AS THE LEAD VOCALIST OF THE BAND, AND WAS ALSO THE FIRST SINGLE TO CHART FOR THE GROUP. HERE’S JOURNEY CIRCA 1978 WITH ‘WHEEL IN THE SKY’
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APRIL 8, 2020…DAMN THIS WAS A GREAT DAY IN 1975 !! FORTY FIVE YEARS AGO AEROSMITH RELEASED THEIR THIRD ALBUM ‘TOYS IN THE ATTIC’. THIS RECORD MARKED A GIGANTIC LEAP FORWARD FOR AEROSMITH, IN TERMS OF WRITING AS WELL AS PERFORMANCE. THE ALBUM WAS FUELED BY THE SUCCESS OF ‘SWEET EMOTION’ ‘WALK THIS WAY’(AEROSMITH’S BIGGEST HIT TO THAT POINT) AND A TREMENDOUS COVER OF ‘BIG TEN-INCH RECORD.’ THIS RECORD MARKED THE POINT OF NO RETURN FOR AEROSMITH, SETTING THEM UP FOR THE SUPERSTAR STATUS THEY CONTINUE TO ENJOY. IN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY “WALK THIS WAY” JOE PERRY TALKED ABOUT WHERE THE BAND WAS AT DURING THE MAKING OF THIS ALBUM: “Our first two albums were basically comprised of songs we’d been playing for years live in the clubs. With Toys, we started from scratch. Making this record, we learned to be recording artists and write songs on a deadline. In the process, we began to see just what Aerosmith could accomplish. With everyone throwing in ideas, Toys was our breakthrough. That breakthrough was facilitated by Jack Douglas… In the studio he moved into the slot of the sixth member of the band.”
‘TOYS’ IS THE BAND’S MOST SUCCESSFUL ALBUM IN THE UNITED STATES WITH OVER 8 MILLION COPIES SOLD. “ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE” HAS RANKED ‘TOYS IN THE ATTIC’ AS #229 ON THEIR LIST OF THE “500 GREATEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME.” HERE’S AN EPIC LIVE VERSION OF ‘SWEET EMOTION’ ( ALL 7 GLORIOUS MINUTES)
Tonelli makes a perfect John Finlay from Tiger King.
Lamont and Tonelli present “Real Corona Heroes” saluting the Nation’s Firefighters who are working their asses off during the Shelter In Place. Thank you for your help during these tough times.
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APRIL 7, 2020…THE BAND RELEASED THEIR 13TH ALBUM ‘THE LAST WALTZ’. THIS IS A MONUMENTAL TRIPLE ALBUM THAT DOCUMENTED THE GROUP’S “FAREWELL” CONCERT. THE ACTUAL SHOW TOOK PLACE THANKSGIVING DAY 1976 AT BILL GRAHAM’S WINTERLAND BALLROOM. FIVE THOUSAND PEOPLE ACTUALLY HAD THANKSGIVING DINNER WITH THE BAND AT THE EVENT. THE BAND WAS ACTUALLY JOINED BY A LITANY OF SPECIAL GUESTS, INCLUDING MUDDY WATERS, ERIC CLAPTON, RINGO STARR, VAN MORRISON, DR JOHN, EMMY LOU HARRIS, NEIL YOUNG, RONNIE WOOD, JONI MITCHELL AND NEIL DIAMOND. THE CONCERT WAS ALSO SHOT AND RELEASED AS A DOCUMENTARY BY MARTIN SCORSESE.
HERE’S THE FULL CONCERT FROM THE WINTERLAND BALLROOM