LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MAY 22, 2019…IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE TODAY IS THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF STP RELEASING THE SINGLE ‘BIG EMPTY’.

IN THIS SONG, LEAD SINGER SCOTT WEILAND LAYS OUT A SERIES OF IMAGES THAT FORM A VAGUE STORY INVOLVING A CAR, A CIGARETTE AND A CONVERSATION. WEILAND EXPLAINED THAT MANY OF HIS LYRICS ARE PUT TOGETHER FROM VARIOUS IMAGES THAT POP INTO HIS MIND, AND IT’S UP TO THE LISTENER TO PIECE THEM TOGETHER. WEILAND ALSO ONCE SAID THAT ‘BIG EMPTY’ WAS ALSO “ABOUT ABOUT F***KING IN THE BACKSEAT OF YOUR CAR.”

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS WROTE THIS SONG FOR THE 1994 MOVIE “THE CROW”

AND IT FIRST APPEARED ON THE MOVIE’S SOUNDTRACK. STP LIKED THE SONG ENOUGH TO LATER INCLUDE IT ON THEIR OWN ALBUM ‘PURPLE.’

A BIT OF TRIVIA CONCERNING THE SONG. IT WAS ORIGINALLY TITLED ‘ONLY DYING’ BUT WHEN THE STAR OF THE MOVIE BRANDON LEE WAS ACCIDENTALLY KILLED DURING FILMING, STP CHANGED THE TITLE OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE ACTOR.

‘BIG EMPTY’ WON AN MTV AWARD FOR BEST SONG FROM A MOVIE.

SURPRISINGLY, THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW STP SONGS TO BE RELEASE WITHOUT A MUSIC VIDEO. HERE’S A GREAT LIVE VERSION.

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MAY 22, 2019…32 YEARS AGO.

THE DOOBIES PLAYED THE SHORELINE AMPHITHEATRE FOR THEIR 87 REUNION TOUR .

THE GROUP BROKE UP 5 YEARS EARLIER IN 1982. THOSE WERE THE MICHAEL MCDONALD DOOBIES. THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE “ROCKING” VERSION OF THE DOOBIES WAS TOM JOHNSTON, AND HE LEFT IN 1975.

THE MINI REUNION WAS COMPRISED OF ONLY 10 SHOWS IN AMERICA, AND 1 IN RUSSIA! THE RE-UNION DOOBIES FEATURED TOM JOHNSTON BACK IN THE FOLD, AND HAVE INCLUDED HIM EVER SINCE, WITH THE OCCASIONAL APPEARANCE FROM MICHAEL MCDONALD.

ACCORDING TO SETLIST.COM THIS WHAT WAS PLAYED AT THE SHORELINE AMPHITHEATRE ON MAY 22,1987.

1. Rockin' Down the Highway
2. Jesus Is Just Alright
   Minute by Minute
3. Echoes of Love
4. One Step Closer
5. Nobody
6. Neal's Fandango
7. Real Love
8. Down in the Track
9. What a Fool Believes
   Dark Eyed Cajun Woman
10. Slat Key Soquel Rag
11. South City Midnight Lady
12. Steamer Lane Breakdown
13. You Belong to Me
14. Long Train Runnin'
15. Sweet Maxine
16. It Keeps You Runnin'
17. Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)
    Dependin' on You
18. Takin' It to the Streets
19. China Grove
20. Black Water
21. Without You
22. Listen to the Music

THE SHOW IN RUSSIA WAS PART OF BILL GRAHAM’S ROCK ‘N’ ROLL SUMMIT FESTIVAL IN MOSCOW.

THE DOOBIES APPEAR AT THE 29 MINUTE MARK OF THIS VIDEO. pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/10/a-rock-n-roll-summit-full-concert.html

JY of Styx calls Chasta from the road to discuss the upcoming show, tour life, what he would be doing if he weren't a rockstar, his thoughts on Styx tribute bands and he gives advice to struggling musicians.

Styx will be coming to Wente Vineyards in Livermore on July 30th, 2019; where all this week you can win! Just make sure your listening to Chasta weekdays from 10am - 3pm on 107.7 FM. To purchase tickets, visit www.wentevineyards.com

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MAY 21, 2019…IT WAS 46 YEARS AGO TODAY DEEP PURPLE RELEASED THE SINGLE ‘SMOKE ON THE WATER.’ SURPRISINGLY, THE BAND DID NOT THINK THE SONG WAS A HIT, AND RELEASED 2 OTHER SONGS FROM THE GROUP’S 1972 ALBUM ‘MACHINE HEAD’ AS SINGLES (‘NEVER BEFORE’ & ‘HIGHWAY STAR’). HOWEVER, A YEAR LATER IN 1993, TE RECORD COMPANY RELEASE ‘SMOKE ON THE WATER’ AND IT TOOK OFF. THE SONG HAS BEEN RANKED AS # 494 IN “ROLLING STONE” MAGAZINE’S LIST OF THE TOP 500 SONGS OF ALL-TIME, AND AS HIGH AS NUMBER 4 AS ONE OF THE GREATEST GUITAR RIFFS OF ALL-TIME BY “TOTAL GUITAR” MAGAZINE.

THE SINGLE HAS SOLD CLOSE TO A COMBINED 2 ½ MILLION COPIES AND DOWNLOADS.

ON THE STRENGTH OF ‘SMOKE ON THE WATER’ THE ALBUM ‘MACHINE HEAD’ WAS BY FAR THE BAND’S MOST SUCCESSFUL RECORD COMMERCIALLY. IT STAYED ON THE AMERICAN CHARTS FOR A TOTAL OF 118 WEEKS AND SOLD OVER 2 MILLION COPIES IN AMERICA AND 5 MILLION COPIES WORLDWIDE.

THE ALBUM WAS RECORDED UNDER INCREDIBLE CONDITIONS. THE BAND WAS IN SWITZERLAND TO RECORD MACHINE HEAD RIGHT AFTER A FRANK ZAPPA CONCERT, BUT SOMEONE FIRED A FLARE GUN AT THE CEILING DURING THE ZAPPA SHOW AND IT SET THE PLACE ON FIRE. DEEP PURPLE WAS IN THE AUDIENCE FOR THE SHOW, AND LEAD SINGER IAN GILLAN RECALLS 2 FLARES BEING SHOT OFF BY SOMEONE SITTING BEHIND HIM WHICH LANDED IN THE TOP CORNER OF THE BUILDING AND QUICKLY SET IT ON FIRE. FRANK ZAPPA STOPPED THE SHOW AND HELPED ENSURE AN ORDERLY EXIT.

THE REST OF THE BAND WAS ACROSS THE STREET AND WATCHED THE FIRE FROM A NEARBY RESTAURANT, AND WHEN THE FIRE DIED DOWN, A LAYER OF SMOKE COVERED LAKE GENEVA, WHICH THE CASINO OVERLOOKED. THE IMAGE GAVE ROGER GLOVER THE IDEA FOR A SONG TITLE ‘SMOKE ON THE WATER’, AND GILLAN WROTE THE LYRICS FOR THE SONG TO RECORD ON MACHINE HEAD.

HERE’S WHAT I CONSIDER THE GREATEST RIFF IN ROCK, DEEP PURPLE PERFORMING ‘SMOKE ON THE WATER’

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MAY 21, 2019…ELEVEN YEARS AGO SANTANA ROCKED THE FILLMORE. IT WAS PART OF SANTANA’S 2008 “MULTI-DIMENSIONAL WARRIOR TOUR.” HE PLAYED 2 SETS FOR THE CROWD AND AN ENCORE ! ACCORDING TO SETLIST.COM THIS IS WHAT THE FANS SAW AT THE FILLMORE.

1. Set 1:
2. Peace / Jin-go-lo-ba
3. Life Is for Living
4. Everybody's Everything
5. Batuka
6. No One to Depend On
7. Victory Is Won
8. El farol
9. Love Is You
10. I Love You Much Too Much
11. Shape Shifter
12. Day of Celebration
13. Right On / Umi Says
14. Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen
15. Oye como va
16. Spartacus / Smooth / Dame tu amor
17. Novus
19. Set 2:
20. Lord's Prayer
21. Sun ra
22. Brotherhood
23. Open Invitation
24. Somewhere in Heaven
25. I Believe It's Time
26. Serpents and Doves
27. Maria Maria
28. Foo Foo
29. Corazón espinado
30. Praise
33. Encore:
34. Soul Sacrifice
35. Angel Chant
36. Into the Night

HERE IS OUTSTANDING EARLY CONCERT FOOTAGE OF SANTANA (FROM 1970)

DO YOURSELF A FAVOR, SIT BACK, FIRE UP A FATTIE, AND ENJOY.

photo thanks-Xavier Badosa

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MAY 20, 2019…SIX YEARS AGO THE KEYBOARDIST FOR THE DOORS RAY MANZAREK DIED AT THE AGE OF 74. MANZAREK AND JIM MORRISON CO-FOUNDED THE GROUP, AND RECORDED ON EVERY TRACK OF ALL EIGHT DOORS ALBUMS. BOTH MET IN FILM SCHOOL AT UCLA BUT DIDN’T FORM A BAND WHILE IN SCHOOL. FORTY DAYS AFTER FINISHING SCHOOL, AND THINKING THEY HAD GONE THEIR SEPARATE WAYS, MANZAREK AND MORRISON MET BY CHANCE AT VENICE BEACH. MORRISON SAID HE HAD WRITTEN SOME SONGS AND MANZAREK WANTED TO HEAR THEM. MORRISON SANG ROUGH VERSIONS OF 3 SONGS AND THE TWO CO-FOUNDED

THE DOORS ON THE SPOT.

HERE ARE THE DOORS PERFORMING GLORIA

photo thanks-Fabricio Rodrigues Oliveira

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MAY 20, 2019…22 YEARS AGO THE FOO FIGHTERS RELEASED ‘THE COLOUR AND THE SHAPE.’ EVEN THOUGH IT IS OFFICIALLY THE SECOND FOO FIGHTERS ALBUM, IT’S ACTUALLY THE FIRST FOO’S ALBUM TO FEATURE AN ACTUAL BAND. THE DEBUT FOO FIGHTERS ALBUM WAS A GLORIFIED DAVE GROHL SOLO PROJECT.

‘THE COLOUR AND THE SHAPE’ SOLD OVER 2 MILLION COPIES, AND WAS DRIVEN BY TRACKS LIKE ‘EVERLONG’ ‘MY HERO’ AND ‘MONKEY WRENCH.’

IT WAS ALSO NOMINATED FOR A GRAMMY AWARD IN 1998 FOR ‘THE BEST ROCK ALBUM.’

HERE ARE 10 THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ‘THE COLOUR AND THE SHAPE.’

1. The Colour and the Shape has old more more than any other album in the band’s extensive catalog.

2. “My Hero,” the first of the album’s songs to be played live, debuted in concert nearly two years before album was released.

3. “Enough Space” was written because the band needed a good set-opener for their 1995 European tour.

4. Gil Norton pushed Grohl to write more meaningful songs than those he’d written for the first album.

5. The initial sessions for the album were “a bad experience” – especially for drummer William Goldsmith – and produced little in the way of usable material.

6. “Everlong” began life as “a Sonic Youth rip-off.”

7. Most of the finished tracks were re-recorded at a Grandmaster Recorders, a Hollywood studio that previously birthed massive albums by the Black Crowes, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Stevie Wonder.

8. Goldsmith left the band after learning that Grohl had re-recorded most of his drum parts behind his back.

9. The album’s title was inspired by a bowling pin that the band’s tour manager purchased at a thrift shop.

10. Pat Smear wanted to leave the band before the album was even released – though he eventually stuck around until they could find a suitable replacement.

HERE’S ONE OF THE TRULY GREAT SONGS ON THE CD

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MAY 20, 2019…FOUR YEARS AGO IT WAS DAVID LETTERMAN’S LAST “LATE SHOW”. THE SPECIAL MUSICAL GUEST? THE FOO FIGHTERS.

THE FOO FIGHTERS PLAYED THE SONG ‘EVERLONG’ OVER A TOUCHING MONTAGE OF OLD LETTERMAN CLIPS. THE LATE-NITE LEGEND AND THE BAND MIGHT SEEM LIKE AN UNLIKELY PAIR, BUT THEY SHARE A LONG HISTORY TOGETHER.

EVER SINCE LETTERMAN GAVE THEM THEIR TV DEBUT BACK IN 1995,HE AND THE “FIGHTERS OF FOO”AS HE CALLS THEM, HAVE BEEN CLOSE FRIENDS.

HERE ARE THE FOO FIGHTERS WITH THE LAST SONG PLAYED ON THE LATE SHOW

photo thanks-Broadway Tour

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MAY 19, 2019…AEROSMITH RELEASED THE SINGLE SWEET EMOTION ON THIS DATE IN 1975. THIS WAS THE SINGLE THAT STARTED A STRING OF SUCCESS FOR THE GROUP THAT LASTED THROUGH THE REST OF THE 70’S AND EARLY 80’S. IRONICALLY, STEVEN TYLER WROTE THIS SONG ABOUT HOW FRUSTRATED HE WAS WITH THE BAND. THE GROUP WAS DOING A LOT OF DRUGS AT THE TIME AND TENSIONS OFTEN RAN HIGH, ESPECIALLY BETWEEN TYLER AND JOE PERRY.

TYLER ATTRIBUTES THE FIRST LINES:

“Talk about things that nobody cares, wearing out things that nobody wears”

TO JOE PERRY’S GIRLFRIEND AT THE TIME ELISSA, AND TO ONE INCIDENT IN PARTICULAR. ONE NIGHT WHEN TYLER WENT TO PERRY’S HOTEL ROOM LOOKING FOR SOME HEROIN PERRY AND ELISSA SENT HIM AWAY, REFUSING TO SHARE THEIR DRUGS.

IN THE AEROSMITH AUTOBIOGRAPHY ‘WALK THIS WAY” TYLER SAID THESE LINES WERE HIS:

“Angry side talking,” and adds that when he wrote the lyrics, “Can’t say baby where I’ll be in a year ,” HE WAS THINKING, “but it will be at at least 1000 miles away from you!”

THE MUSIC WAS BASED ON A BASS LINE TOM HAMILTON CAME UP WITH.

TYLER WROTE THE LYRICS(PERRY WAS KNOWN AS “MR. SWEET EMOTION”)

AND THEY PUT THE SONG TOGETHER IN A JAM SESSION.

THIS WAS THE FIRST SINGLE RELEASED FROM THE ALBUM ‘TOYS IN THE ATTIC.’ THE SONG STILL REMAINS POPULAR TO THIS DAY WITH OVER 3 MILLION DIGITAL DOWNLOADS

THIS IS THE OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR ‘SWEET EMOTION.’