Archives: July 2004

Hi TommieGirl:

Sorry I missed you too! (Still on PDT here, LOL!) Yes, the weather certainly was amazing. I don't understand why it's called the "wet coast" -- we didn't see a drop of rain!

Hi there -

Sorry I missed you at the Emerald Queen, Anita! Gerry said it wasn't by much! Great show, as usual. (Agreed about the EQ acoustics, BTW.) Glad you enjoyed your trip - the northwest does have its moments - and you had a wonderful week for it weatherwise!

Was good to chat on Wednedsay! AmGirl, Madolyn, Nancy, Jessica and all - I hope to see you next time. Deb, you're in my thoughts.

TommieGirl

Hi everyone, just got in from our week out in Seattle, Victoria and Vancouver. What a beautiful part of the world, I recommend it if you get the chance to visit the northwest. We saw stunning gardens in Victoria, went whale watching near the San Juan Islands, and saw incredible fireworks in Vancouver. And, oh yes, we saw that band America at the Emerald Queen Casino. My review and a couple of pics are at the link below.

http://www.venturahighway.com/fanreviews.php?ID=109

...I was responding to what was initially said which was "near the equipment". I think most folks would agree that "TOUCHING THE EQUIPMENT" is an entirely different matter than being "near the equipment".

EE ~ Thanks for the correction that the flowers were three roses which are not what most folks would consider to be a "bouquet", I do agree. I just thought the technical definition was a bit interesting.

Regarding what was mentioned here earlier about "Love Comes Without Warning" being from "The Lonely Guy" soundtrack, I remember quite well seeing the LP listed in a music store catalog under LPs by America... wrongly listed, of course, since one song doesn't make it an America album. Nonetheless, it was there. I thought it was a new America LP so I had the store order it for me. When it arrived, I was SO disappointed to see that it wasn't an America LP at all. I declined the album never knowing until I came to this website that the record contained a song sung by America/Gerry. I would have bought the LP just for the one song had I known it at the time.

Merrian-Webster dictionary: bouquet - flowers picked and fastened together in a bunch

It's my understanding that Dewey had a few things to say to security that night after the show as told to me by another bystander who was also there.

Jumping on stage is one thing- you are right it's security's baby, but TOUCH THE EQUIPMENT???? Naw I can't see Pete letting anyone get away with that!

Actually it wasn't a bouquet of roses, it was mmore like 3 Roses actually. As seen by a bystander who was actually there...

>>>A "rabid" fan (yes, 'bats' do sometimes become infected with rabies...hee, hee) gained her way on stage to present Dew with a bouquet of roses following the playing of "Three Roses". Again, that was security's responsibility to have prohibited that from happening

Rob,

Thanks for bringing this news to the chat folder. I was unaware of the "America connection". Very sad that his flame has now been extinquished. Whether it was his Academy Award winning score for "The Omen" or anything in between the early work on the "The Twilight Zone","The Planet of the Apes" series, "Papillon" "A Patch of Blue", "Rudy", or Disney's "Mulan", Jerry Goldsmith's body of work is a testament to his brilliance and genius as a composer. His musical talents in motion pictures will be greatly missed.

Sergio

<<...but can you seriously imagine that PETE would let anyone near the equipment with out doing something about it. I can't!>>

If a fan were to jump up on stage, I don't think it's Pete's responsibility to prohibit such a thing from happening since he's the equipment manager/guitar tech and especially since he's behind the band just off stage. It's security's responsibility to prohibit such a thing from happening, in my opinion, anyway.

As far as imagining anyone gaining access near the equipment or even worse, near D&G while they're performing on stage, yes, I CAN imagine such a thing because it happened.

A "rabid" fan (yes, 'bats' do sometimes become infected with rabies...hee, hee) gained her way on stage to present Dew with a bouquet of roses following the playing of "Three Roses". Again, that was security's responsibility to have prohibited that from happening.

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 31, 2004

58 years ago - Bob Welch, guitarist and vocalist for Fleetwood Mac, is born, as is singer Gary Lewis. (1946)

46 years ago - Bill Berry, guitarist and vocalist for R.E.M., is born. (1958)

40 years ago - Another Rolling Stones concert and another riot is provoked. However, this time the show in Belfast, Northern Ireland is stopped after only 12 minutes. (1964)

35 years ago - A Moscow police chief reports that thousands of Moscow telephone booths have been made inoperable by thieves who have stolen phone parts in order to convert their acoustic guitars to electric. (1969)

33 years ago - The second night of the Who's first of two '71 U.S. tours is marked with tragedy when a 22 year old security guard is stabbed at New York's Forest Hills Stadium. (1971)

33 years ago - James Taylor's "You've Got A Friend" hits #1 on the chart. (1971)

32 years ago - The group Chicago receives a gold record for its first number one album, "Chicago V." One of the songs,"Saturday in the Park," reaches number three in September. (1972)

28 years ago - Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear The Reaper" and Orleans' "Still The One" are released. (1976)

25 years ago - James Taylor plays a free concert in New York's Central Park to help the city's campaign to restore the park's Sheep Meadow. (1979)

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Orleans - Still The One

We've been together since way back when
Sometimes I never want to see you again
But I want you to know, after all these years
You're still the one I want whisperin' in my ear

You're still the one -- I want to talk to in bed
Still the one -- that turns my head
We're still having fun, and you're still the one

I looked at your face every day
But I never saw it 'til I went away
When winter came, I just wanted to go (wanted to go)
Deep in the desert, I longed for the snow

You're still the one -- that makes me laugh
Still the one -- that's my better half
We're still having fun, and you're still the one
You're still the one -- that makes me strong
Still the one -- I want to take along
We're still having fun, and you're still the one (yes you are)

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Nair

My neighbor found out that her dog could hardly hear, so she took it to the veterinarian. He found out that the problem was hair in its ears, so he cleaned both of its ears out and the dog could hear fine.

The vet told the lady if she wanted to keep this from recurring, she should go to the store and get some "Nair" hair remover and rub it in its ears once a month.

The lady goes to the drug store and gets some "Nair" hair remover. At the register the druggist tells her, "If you're going to use this under your arms, don't use deodorant for a few days." The lady says, "I'm not using it under my arms."

The druggist says, "Oh. Well, if you're using it on your legs, don't shave for a couple days."

The lady says, "I'm not using it on my legs either. If you must know, I am using it on my schnauzer."

The druggist says, "Well, then, stay off your bicycle for a week. "

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Whoa, jump back Loretta, it's the weekend. Saw Randy Johnson pitch maybe his last game last night for the D'backs here in Denver. Glad to say, he lost to the Rockies, 4 to 1. Sometimes, good things happen for a reason.

Enjoy the weekend.

RO

>>a guy jumped up on stage for "Horse" and joined in with a guitar and backup vocals. My husband and I thought he was a rabid fan or something, and that the band was too polite to do anything about it!<<

Maybe Dewey and Gerry are too polite, but can you seriously imagine that PETE would let anyone near the equipment with out doing something about it? I can't!

Thanks Steve for your reply, much appreciated.

Just supporting what you said about the friendliness of the band, when I met Dewey and Willie after a concert in Sydney a few years ago , they couldn't have been more approachable. In fact, I think it was their Road Manager, came back into the dressing room a couple of times to tell Dewey that they had to get going. I looked around and we were the only people left in the room. Everyone was waiting for them at the lifts. I nice to know that, not only are they great musicians but decent people as well.

Regards Bluey.

That song and Last Two To Dance should have been included on the box set. I mean, what in hell's the point of having a box set if not to include rare songs like those?

I'm sure it was a rights issue, though. Just like there were no songs from Oxygen. Smart marketing on Oxygen's part, too, to have all the potential buyers of the box set not realize that America had an album out called Human Nature. If you owned a record company, the last thing you'd want to do is promote one of the records on your label. After all, you run the risk that people might run out and buy it.

KevinS.

I just thought I would mention the recent passing of film producer Jerry Goldsmith. I thought some of you might be interested to know about it because he had worked with America on their "Love Comes Without Warning" for the soundtrack to The Lonely Guy in the mid-80s.

I also was listening to this song recently and thought it was a pretty good song., I had never really paid much attention to it before. It seems like maybe they were going for an eighties-styled sequel to "Lonely People". It certainly was an appropriate song for the film. It would make a nice inclusion if America ever decides to put out a Rarities CD of all songs that were not included on their existing studio albums. Hope everyone had a good week and is ready for a summer weekend. It's been very nice reading the reviews for recent shows, thanks to those who write them and the playlists as I've said before.
Rob L

Thanks so much for the explanation of the set list. I appreciate that very much. I guess I will have to dig up Silent Letter and get my fix!!
I hope to see a show one of these CA tours that includes something from Silent Letter. It has been a long time since we have heard Greenhouse live too. A girl can dream...

Is including a special guest on guitar for "Horse" something they do rather frequently? I haven't [unfortunately!] seen them but once this year (the only other time was in '86), and when I saw them in Cohasset, MA, at the end of June, a guy jumped up on stage for "Horse" and joined in with a guitar and backup vocals. My husband and I thought he was a rabid fan or something, and that the band was too polite to do anything about it! But since I've read more about their shows, I realize it was probably a planned event. My husband and I both thought that Gerry was looking at the guy with an odd expression, but in hindsight, he was probably just wanting to make sure that the guy was all set w/ his equipment, etc.

How nice that America is so in touch with their fans -- their exceptional music and performing aside, no wonder they have such a loyal and dedicated base!

-- Madolyn

Essential, Robin Trower.DanC

Recieved Joe's CD yesterday and promptly slapped it on. I wish I had a fraction of your talent Joe. It sounds awesome. Thanks again for thinking of me and keep me on your mailing list. What a stress reliever these renditions are.DanC.

Thank you Nina....it was a special night. I saw "America" and "Three dog night" together years ago, in Provo, Utah. It was a good show...but, last night was the best. Even better for Steve !!
Mark M

Steve, you're right about "dedications". Judging from all the shows I've seen over the years, America rarely dedicates their songs to anyone...except Gerry's "Thank you, Daisy" at the conclusion of "Daisy Jane"! (We're told no real Daisy exists so I guess it doesn't really count!?) So the dedication to the soldier's wife at the Layton show is very special indeed! Just another example of how classy "our boys" are! They consistently surround themselves with wonderful, kind people like Pete, Erin, and the "missing" Bill Crook...who help(ed) fans' dreams come true! Judging from recent posts, I think some dreams have come true VERY recently! Congrats SteveL and Mark M!

America rocked for 1 hour plus with all of the classic songs. They were into it.Three Dog Night was second and memorable. Sorry didn't have the hub's digital with me. This will have to last me until Birchmere on Oct 1 & 2. Got to listen to Joe's CD. Later.....

Jenna, the only other time I've been on stage for the encore was in August of 2002 (click here to see some photos of the concert and of me on stage). I was really nervous that time but the guys did a great job of making me feel comfortable once the song started. I really wasn't nervous this time because I've been through it once before, but it was still a thrill!

Way to go Steve! (and Mark too) What a great honor and it must've been fun. Hope you weren't too nervous? Has it been a while since you've been on stage for the encore?

Jen

It's not very often that America dedicates a song to someone during a concert but they did it last night and it was rather emotional. To put it into perspective, you have to understand what happened before the show started. A local DJ and the promoter were on the stage to thank the sponsors and to draw some names of some winners. After that they thanked all of the military personnel who were there and asked all of them and the employees at nearby Hill Air Force Base to stand. They were given a thunderous round of applause and then applauded one more time after they sat down. The patriotic feelings run very strong around here (and probably everywhere).

About a week ago Captain Jeff Dula posted a note on the VenturaHighway.com message board. He is an army engineer stationed in Baghdad, Iraq and he bought his wife 3rd row tickets to the Layton concert. Since he couldn't attend it with her, he asked if Daisy Jane could be dedicated to her. Erin responded asking for Captain Dula's wife's name and some other information. He sent the information to Erin and she printed it out and put it on Gerry's piano before the concert.

Normally during the concert Dewey announces that Gerry writes the love songs and then Gerry starts playing Daisy Jane. Last night Dewey made the announcement and then Gerry mentioned that they don't usually do dedications but they had a special dedication from Captain Jeff Dula in Baghdad to his wife (I can't remember her name at the moment). A cheer went up from the crowd and I would have loved to have seen the look on Mrs. Dula's face.

Captain Dula posted a note this morning thanking America for giving his wife one of the coolest experiences she has ever had. As he put it, he knows that 'she really does love me'.

That was a great part of the show. Gerry and Dewey were very talkative between songs and they said many of the usual things, but they added quite a few new things I haven't heard before. One of my favorite times was when Gerry threw an America t-shirt into the audience and a big guy stood up in front of a cute girl and grabbed it. Gerry had a good time making fun of the guy who got the t-shirt instead of the "hottie". I guess you had to be there to get it.

Hi Karen L
It was a very fun night...and the high will last for awhile I'm sure.
America is all I have listend to today. Mark M

Steve
They were very cordial. They didn't just take the CD and sign it for me, Dewey asked me my name and took time to say thank you. Gerry also said "Thank you Mark". I was impressed that they treated everyone like it matters to them...as I am sure it does.
Mark M

Erin, Gerry, Dewey, Willie, Rich, Michael, Pete, and Jeff all made me and my family feel very welcome at the Layton show. Thanks so much to all of you. When Gerry first invited me to play the encore with them he said something like, "by the time we get to that number we need all the help we can get". He was joking, of course, because that's one of the songs that everyone in the audience is waiting for and they always do a great job. When I realized Gerry was serious with the invitation, I accepted and the guys made me feel very comfortable on stage. As I mentioned in a previous post, it was fun to share the microphone with Woodzy and to see the crowd's reaction at the Horse dip. When it was all over and I was walking back to my car with my guitar, a couple of fans who had just come from the signing table with Gerry and Dewey saw me and told me what a great show "we" had done. I told them thanks realizing that the congratulations really went to the band and the crew, not to me. Still, it was a lot of fun being with America if only for a few minutes.

Click here to see the view #1 from the webmaster's camera of Dewey, Gerry, Willie, and Steve
Click here to see the view #2 from the webmaster's camera of Willie, Steve, and Michael
Click here to see the view #3 from the webmaster's camera of Dewey, Gerry, Willie, Steve, and Michael

I love mysteries and from clues I have been given in recent posts I deduce that:

If I want to hear "All My LIfe" ever, live, I will have to be reallly really quiet ( I can do that Miss Mary Ann on "Romper Room" taught me how!)

and if I want to get anything signed I will have to travel out of state ( ah the sacrifices we fans make I gotta tell ya!)

Not driving anywhere far today, but Joe's cd will be in the player while I am doing a pile of dreaeded housework.

Have a great weekend everyone!

A few minutes after the concert ended, Gerry and Dewey went to a table where a hundred or more people were lined up to greet them and get their autograph. Erin told me that they had signed autographs for over an hour in Tacoma and it looked like it would be the same in Layton. The venue was completely full for the show and I'm guessing there were about 2,000 people in attendance. My family and I waited for about a half hour so we could say goodbye to Gerry and Dewey but the line was still pretty long so we told Erin to tell them goodbye for us. As we started to leave Gerry and Dewey noticed us and took a quick break to shake our hands and bid us farewell. I'm sure that you have all noticed it, but it still amazes me how genuine and cordial Dewey and Gerry are. I saw them sign autographs and visit with quite a few people as I was waiting to leave and they took time to find out about each person and make them feel very welcome. It didn't matter if it was younger teenagers or older grandparents (like me!). I'm very impressed that they can do this after 30+ years of being on the road. Kudos to both of them!

Click here to see the view from the webmaster's camera of Gerry and Dewey signing a hat for a fan

I had a lot of fun playing "Horse With No Name" with the band and sharing the microphone with Woodzy. Doing the Horse "dip" was a blast, especially seeing the reaction that it got from the audience. After the show my wife and I were talking with Michael and she noticed what cool boots he had on. The first photo taken of Woodzy and I didn't show his boots so I took a closeup afterwards.

Click here to see the view from the webmaster's camera of Steve and Michael
Click here to see a closeup of Michael's boots

Nanci, I guess nobody asked for the set lists last night because after everyone had gone and Pete was cleaning up, I pulled all 3 of them off the stage. I'll try to scan one of them in later (hopefully within a week or two) and post it with some other concert photos. The Layton set list also had several songs crossed off. The entire list represents all of the songs that the band MIGHT play during any given show. Time constraints and other factors determine which songs will be played each night. Before the concert last night Dewey and Gerry were discussing whether or not they were going to play "Baby It's Up To You". About then Erin walked in with the set lists and said that it had been crossed off (along with some others that were crossed off). I asked them if there was a chance Gerry would play "All My Life" and Erin said there's always a chance. Then Gerry said a lot of factors determine whether or not he would play it including the amount of time left, the mood of the audience, etc. For example, if the crowd was in a frenzy and hooping and hollering for the encore, it doesn't always fit to have Gerry walk out and play a gentle classic like "All My Life" (I know, you're all thinking to the contrary). Anyway, since Mark has already posted the set list, you know that he didn't play "All My Life". Nevertheless, it was a great concert and the guys sounded fantastic. My wife mentioned that Rich's high harmonies were perfect and she got to tell that to him face-to-face after the show.

I hope that kind of answers some of your questions, Nanci.

Hey there,
went to the HOB show and my husband got the set list. The orignal list had a few songs crossed out with a black marker. one was All My Life and the other was To Each His Own. just wondering if those were intended for a longer show somewhere or why they did not play them I know Robyn told us she begged for All My Life, as I was keeping my fingers crossed myself! The setlist was identical to Utah
Nanci

A week ago at the House of Blues concert in Anaheim I mentioned to Willie that my son was taking up drums and that we would be thrilled if he could have one of Willie's used drum sticks. Willie said that he didn't have any at that time but he might have a used pair by the time he played in Layton. After the Layton concert I was standing backstage and Willie walked in and handed me a pair of very well worn drumsticks. Willie puts a lot of effort into every show and the wear and tear on the sticks is evidence of that. A big thanks to Willie for his generosity!

Click here to see a picture of Steve and Willie with his drum sticks.
Click here to see a close up view of the drum sticks.

Last night after the concert I asked Rich about the flute-like instrument that he plays during the first part of The Last Unicorn. He said that it is called a tenor penny whistle and while it is similar to a recorder, it is different and more difficult to play. A recorder has extra holes near the bottom of the "tube" and it is played by putting the tips of the fingers over the holes. The penny whistle is played by putting the middle parts of the fingers over the holes, and that's one of the things that makes it more difficult. Being a tenor penny whistle it is an octave lower than a regular penny whistle and it's perfect for the intro to Unicorn. Rich mentioned that the penny whistle is very durable and can be disassembled which makes it travel well. He also jokingly said it comes in handy as a defensive weapon (he called it his light saber).

Click here to see a picture of Steve and Rich with his tenor penny whistle.

Steve, on the Homecoming DVD, all the tracks on the playlist differ from the original releases. Are they old takes or updated remakes?

Good question Bluey. If you go to the Homecoming (DVD-Audio) web page on the America Fans web site, I think you'll find all or at least part of the answer to your question. The Rhino Homecoming [DVD-Audio] web page gives even more information. Basically, it says that the DVD-Audio release was remixed from the original multitrack master tapes. I hope that helps.

My copy of Joe's "Homemade America" arrived while I was on vacation in California last week so I didn't get to hear it until this week. That's not totally true, because I've been listening to the MP3's at work every week since Joe posted them and I knew the order that he was going to put them on the CD so I kind of had it already. I agree with Johnny, Sergio, and others who have posted that it's a great CD. Very relaxing and makes you want to tap your foot and sing along. Very cool CD cover, too (now we know what Joe looks like).

Joe tells me that he's just about ready to begin volume 2. I can hardly wait!

Click here to see the view from Gerry's hotel window in Layton, UT.

I'll have a few photos to post and more to say about the concert a little later today.

--SteveL

Good morning and happy Friday all!

Johnny, I am looking forward to my copy of "Homemade". Glad you are enjoying it. I hope I get it before I go on my upcoming road trip...

I listened to the greatest hits of the late great Jim Croce this morning. What a great and unique talent he was...

Sir Joe

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 30, 2004

50 years ago - Elvis Presley makes his professional debut in Memphis. It's his first concert to be advertised. (1954)

34 years ago - Remember the Power Ridge Rock Festival in Connecticut that was cancelled by local authorities? Over 30,000 people show up even though police have barricaded all roads leading up to the fesitval for two hours. Utilities to the site are cut off and the crowd parties on. Doctors report over 800 cases of bad drug reactions. (1970)

34 years ago - The Rolling Stones fire Allen Klein as their manager. (1970)

29 years ago - The Charlie Daniels Band, one of the U.S.' popular exponents of Southern style boogie rock, earns it first gold record for "Fire on the Mountain." (1975)

17 years ago - David Bowie plays the first show of his "Glass Spider" tour in Philadelphia. (1987)

12 years ago - Many Motown stars gathered for a memorial service for Mary Wells, who died of cancer at the age of 49. Smokey Robinson sang a medley of Wells' hits. (1992)

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Charlie Daniels - Devil Went Down to Georgia

The devil went down to Georgia, he was lookin' for a soul to steal.
He was in a bind 'cuz he was way behind and he was willin' to make a deal.
When he came accross this young man sawin' on a fiddle and playin' it hot.
And the devil jumped up on a hickory stump and said, "Boy, let me tell you what."
I guess you didn't know it, but I'm a fiddle player, too.
And if you care to take a dare, I'll make a bet with you.
Now, you play a pretty good fiddle, boy, but give the devil his due.
I'll bet a fiddle of gold against your soul, 'cuz I think I'm better than you.

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Don't Mess With Mother Narture

Towards the end of the golf course, Dave hit his ball into the woods and found it in a patch of pretty yellow buttercups. Trying to get his ball back in play, he ended up thrashing just about every buttercup in the patch.

All of a sudden.....POOF!! In a flash and puff of smoke, a little old woman appeared. She said, "I'm Mother Nature! Do you know how long it took me to make those buttercups? Just for doing what you have done, you won't have any butter for your popcorn for the rest of your life: better still, you won't have any butter for your toast for the rest of your life....... As a matter of fact, you'll never have any butter for anything the rest of your life!!!!! Then POOF!......she was gone!

After Dave recovered from the shock, he hollered for his friend, "Fred, where are you?"

Fred yells back "I'm over here in the pussy willows."
Dave shouts back, "DON'T SWING, Fred; for the love of
God, DON'T SWING!!"

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TGIF everyone, have a great weekend.

RO

"Homemade" - Joe Doyle (aka "Joe D'Man")

Received Joe's CD yesterday in the mail. What an incredible job Joe has done. I'm REALLY impressed! I especially like "Little Darling" having never heard the melody before. It's like hearing a new "America" song.

Hi Mark M. - I'm so glad you had a great time at the America concert and that you got to meet them! I think it is so great that they have had the time so often lately to meet the fans - it means so much to us. It sure must have been neat to see Steve on stage with them!

Enjoy your America "high", as we call it!

Karen

Love Jim Croce...would love to see that, thanks.
Mark M

I just got home from the "Layton Utah" show !! What a great show tonight! The only slight disapointment about it, is they didn't play anything from "Human nature". Very small disapointment accually.
It was just "America" with no opening band....I loved that !
Play list:
Riverside
Ventura highway
You can do magic
Don't cross the river
Daisy Jane
Last Unicorn
Company
Three rose's
I need you
Nowhere man
Tin man
The border
Woman tonight
Only in your heart
California dreamin'
Lonely people
Survival
Hangover
Never be lonely
Sandman
Sister golden hair
Horse with no name
They were rockin' tonight!
I was hoping to meet Steve, but didn't get a chance. Steve got up on stage and played guitar with the band on "Horse".
After the show, they signed autographs...I finely got to meet them and shake hands with them. I have waited for that moment for 30 years !!
I took my "Encore" CD with me just in case I might get it signed. They signed "To Mark...Dewey Bunnell, Gerry Beckley" !! Hey,it was my first...ok? lol
A night I will not likley forget. :)
Mar M.

To SteveL: Steve, on the Homecoming DVD, all the tracks on the playlist differ from the original releases. Are they old takes or updated remakes? It doesn't say on the inner sleeve! I doubt that Dan's songs would be updated but the others seem to have a different, more mature sound, particularly "Ventura Highway". I enjoy listening to all the tracks, it's just like having an new CD, "The Greatest Hits of Homecoming".
Actually I really enjoy listening to up-dated or revised studio songs as well as "live" tracks to any kind of music. The Beatles did it with "Revolution" and with others tracks when they went solo. Roy Orbison did a whole album, "In Dreams" where he redid all of his all hits. LRB and a great many artists have done the same over the years.

If a CD was possible, I would imagine that many America fans would enjoy hearing different studio versions of their favourite songs, as is the case on this DVD.

Thanks, Bluey.

and Mr Croce was a hell of a storyteller too, I have heard some of his presong preamble and laughed out loud. How great it would have been to be in HIS classroom ( he taught HS, I believe)

RC - funny you should mention Jim Croce, I was just listening to a JC cd today! I love his music. I recently bought the DVD "Have You Heard: Jim Croce Live" which is an awesome collection of live performances. Jim was an incredible singer, songwriter & guitarist who left us way too soon and too young. I hope to catch that PBS show.

Sheldon

I am still awaiting an AMERICA Sound Stage, syndicated thru out the PBS network. It would be a great launch to a new CD.

Try to borrow a keyboard from someone and see if it actually is the keyboard.

Hi Everyone,
Hope everyone is having a good summer.

I was checking my tv guide and I noticed on Mon. 8/2 my local PBS station is showing an hour program titled "The Legacy of Jim Croce". It doesn't state that its a new program but I don't recall it being shown before. It's scheduled to follow the John Denver Wildlife Concert.
The listing says.....Performance footage of singer songwriter Jim Croce who had 8 Top 40's singles in a two year span before he died in a plane crash at age 30.....
I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to see him perform live when he was just starting to tour.

If you're a Croce fan (or even J.Denver fan for that matter) Check your listings for the month of Aug to see if it's being shown in your area.

Also regarding PBS... For those of us waiting for the Dan Fogelberg Soundstage performance, it's scheduled to premier in Aug, but if the schedule continues to follow the list, it won't be till the end of Aug, or early Sept. Will update when the notification comes in.

Take Care,
RC

Madolyn, I'm not sure how old Destry is (I try not to delve into their personal lives). I'm guessing she's somewhere in the 10-13 range but I'm not very good at guessing ages.

Hi Nina, A big "hello" to you too! Glad to see you're back on line and good luck with the new modem, great idea to let a professional repair it. My home pc has about 4-5 keys or letters that are "stuck" or just broken so it's tough to access anything... I'll have to deliver it to a professional to fix as well since I'm so techno- challenged.

Hope you're enjoying some time off this Summer away from school? If you ever want to come wash my windows I'd be glad to pay you and I don't have that many!

"High in the City" - great song! But maybe you're right... probably a good idea to wait till the Convention's over to head into the city. I hear it's pretty crazy there with so many Democrats invading that place. I recently picked up the Live album from "77 that a few mentioned here, great to hear "Hollywood" and "Sergeant Darkness" live. Has some old gems on it that haven't been played a lot lately.

Jen

Rich may have said it was an alto recorder or something like that.
Perhaps Steve will find out when he sees them in Layton.

Actually, they were both done at CVS. To send the film out seemed to work the best (cd). Have fun!

How old is Dewey's new stepdaughter -- is this a teeny little kid or a young adult? I'm just trying to picture the scene!

Yes, I agree that Rich played a recorder -- that's what it seemed to be when I saw them perform the song in Cohasset.

Shari, that really stinks that "Three Roses" was cut from the set! I would have been very sad about that. When I first saw them in '86, I told my girlfriend who went to the show with me that "I would give THIS TOOTH [pointing at my right front tooth] for them to play 'Three Roses'" (not realizing that it was something they played a lot). When they played it, my friend turned to me and said, "Where's that tooth of yours now?!" Luckily no one held me to it. ;o)

-- Madolyn

HI ShariL, I hope you will take the time to post the set list as well. I was at the concert as well, but didn't managed to get the set list. Thanks,

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 29, 2004

58 years ago - REO Speedwagon keyboardist Neal Doughty is born. (1946)

51 years ago - Geddy Lee, bassist and vocals for Rush, was born (1953)

48 years ago - Bruce Springsteen's wife, E Street Band guitarist and vocalist Patty Scialia celebrates a birthday. (1956)

45 years ago - The Isley Brothers record "Shout." (1959)

43 years ago - Dick Clark premieres his summer stage show, the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars, at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City. (1961)

41 years ago - After a four year hiatus, the Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island reopens. Those getting thumbs-up from the crowd include Joan Baez, Peter, Paul & Mary and Bob Dylan. (1963)

41 years ago - Peter, Paul and Mary's "Blowin' In The Wind" is released. (1963)

39 years ago - The Beatles film "Help!" debuts at London's Pavillion Theatre. Another sell-out crowd attends while critics are bemused. (1965)

38 years ago - Bob Dylan crashes his Triumph 55 motorcycle while riding near Woodstock, New York. He is sent to Middletown Hospital with several broken neck vertebrae, a concussion and cuts on his face and scalp. He remains in serious condition for a week suffering mild amnesia, paralysis and internal injuries for about a month. The rumor mill begins with Dylan in a coma, becoming a vegetable, never performing again, dodging the draft, passing on or lost his mind due to drug use. (1966)

37 years ago - The Temptations' "You're My Everything" is released. (1967)

36 years ago - The Byrds leave on their tour of South Africa without Gram Parsons. He refuses to set foot in a country where apartheid is official policy. (1968)

34 years ago - The Rolling Stones' contract with Decca Records has expired and they're talking about starting their own label. They inform their business manager, Allen Klein, that "neither he nor ABKCO Industries have any authority to negotiate recording contracts on their behalf." (1970)

31 years ago - Led Zeppelin, in the middle of a very successful U.S. tour, are the victims of one of the largest cash thefts in New York City. $180,000 is taken from the band's deposit box at the Drake Hotel. The money is mostly cash receipts from the first of two night at Madison Square Garden. (1973)

30 years ago - Mama Cass Elliot, a one-time member of the Mama's & Papa's, dies in London. A postmortem the following day shows she died as a result of choking on a sandwich and from inhaling her own vomit. It's later revealed that she suffered a heart attack. She was 32. (1974)

28 years ago - Eric Clapton begins his first tour of Britain in five years. He stays three weeks, starting off at Hempstead's Pavillion Theatre. (1976)

26 years ago - Earth, Wind & Fire enter the soul chart with their version of the Beatles "Got to Get You into My Life," from the "Sgt. Pepper" soundtrack. It makes it to number one for a week in September. (1978)

26 years ago - Kenny Loggins "Whenever I Call You Friend" is released. (1978)

24 years ago - David Bowie makes his theatrical debut as the title role in "The Elephant Man." Bowie will leave the Denver production and take the lead role in the New York production on Broadway. The critical reaction was favorable. (1980)

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Peter, Paul & Mary - Blowin' In The Wind

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you can call him a man?
Yes 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many times maust a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes 'n' how many ears must one man have
Befor ehe can hear people cry?
Yes 'n' how many deaths will it take 'til he knows
That too many people have died?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

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Touché

A mechanic was removing a cylinder head from the motor of a Harley motorcycle when he spotted a well-known heart surgeon in his shop.
The surgeon was there waiting for the service manager to look at his bike when the mechanic shouted across the garage, "Hey Doc, can I ask you a question?"

The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag and asked, "So Doc, look at this engine. I open its heart, take the valves out, repair any damage, and then put them back in, and when I finish, it works just like new. So, how come I get such a small salary and you get the really big bucks, when you and I are doing basically the same work?"

The surgeon paused, leaned over and whispered to him,
"Try doing it with the engine running."

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There is nothing wrong with America that what is right with America can't fix.

Happy TGIAF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RO

Hi Shari, good to hear from you again. Here are the answers to some of your questions.

Dewey's new step daughter is Destry and she was also at the House of Blues concert with her friend (I can't recall the friend's name at the moment). They sat by me the first part of the show so I got to meet them and I found out that the friend had moved back east and was visiting with Destry. Nick is a friend of Joe Beckley's and I got to meet him and Joe before the concert. I believe they got to do a little bit of Disneyland earlier in the day before the show started.

I'm pretty sure the instrument that Rich plays at the beginning of The Last Unicorn is a recorder. He showed it to me and that's what it looked like to me.

Hi, all.
You 'oldsters' will recognize my name, but it's been quite a while since I posted so I'll be new to some of you! Don't even get here much to check what's going on, but good to see a number of familiar names are still here.
Another great concert last Friday night at the greatest venue in the world, Humphrey's by the Bay in San Diego. 11th consecutive year for America to appear, and this year was again sold out.
Poco opened. They played a few songs from a new cd they have just put out and they were pretty good.
Our guys played from 8:30 to 10:00, but still cut 5 numbers from the set list. They cut To Each His Own, Three Roses, Baby It's Up To You, and only did Horse for the encore, leaving out All My Life (DARN IT!) and Everyone I Meet.
Horse encore brought out Dewey's new step daughter and her little friend, and a boy they called Nick. Couldn't figure out who he was. Jim, do you know? or Matt? Matt was not there, unfortunately. Haven't seen him in a while and was hoping to.
Woodzy's little guy wouldn't come out, despite much coaxing.
I also like having Last Unicorn back in the line up. They played it a few years back. Rich plays the opening music, it looked like on a recorder. Maybe Nance could tell you for sure, her seats were closer than mine.
Thanks to Jim for grabbing the set list for me, again. I was flipping out during the concert because someone yelled out a request, and Gerry said, "we have to follow the list, see?" and tore his list off his keyboard and threw it out into the audience. I said to my husband, "he can't do that, that's my list!"
Luckily for me Jim thought to get the one from the front for me instead.
Nance, great to see you, as always. I'll email you so we can finish our conversation.
I have to agree with other posts that the guys seemed very relaxed and really enjoying themselves. After 30 years, that's an awesome thing! Take good care, don't let the bugs bite.
ShariL in San Diego <><

Thanks Kristal
That is good info !! Where did you get them done on the computer disc? I assume a different location the second time?
I will have a great time tomorrow night...thanks!
Mark M
Marek M

Hi all! Am thrilled to be back on-line at home! (Bones...how could I have doubted you?!?) Let's see how long it lasts! I have such bad luck with computers; but this time brought in a "professional" to fix the problem...so here's hoping all systems are go! Now, I don't have to wait until school starts to catch up with "America" news! Great to see the Opera House DVD is not far from our collective clutches. Also, wonderful to hear about people's concert experiences.

A BIG "hello" to all the fellow fans I met at Mohegun Sun earlier this month....I had a great time with you all...Leah & hubby, Jen, Anita! Wish we could do it all again soon, but no more New England shows this year...darn it! (I'm still hoping for Topsfield Fair! Who do I plead with? Erin? Make it happen, girl! I make lovely quilts; did I tell you that?! What's your favorite color?)

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer (and vacations?)! I've spent mine mostly cleaning the nooks and crannies I can't get to during the school year! I've got stripping curtains and window washing down to an art! When you live in a big, old Victorian house you can't avoid windows...25 of them! Moser called on her way through Massachusetts heading to Maine...that girl certainly is mobile! She'll be "lost" without a computer for a week!

Have been listening to some of my "less listened to" America albums lately...looking for forgotten gems. Settled on "High in the City" for replaying. Like that song! Makes me want to head into Boston and mix with the city folk! (Big convention in town right now though...maybe I should stay home?!)

Mark - FYI - I do not own a digital camera, and I have gotten my pictures put on to a disc. In our area, one of the local drug stores - CVS. Last year, after the Hershey show - I had photos put onto a 3 1/2" disc, and the quality is was not very good. This was done by the in store service in one hour and cost approximately $3.95 + developing. Just recently I had the photos put on a computer disc and they turned out great. They had to send the photos out and it took about 2 days. I think it cost either $12.00 or $14.00 and was well worth it.

Good luck and have fun at the concert!

Kristal

Sharp eye there Mark. Will have to email my source & give em heck. Tx 4 the thumbs up on the posts. My own little way of giving back to the community.

Email me and I can get you some more info about the Last Two To Dance song.
americafann@yahoo.com

"Jet Airliner" (#8 in 1977) by Steve Miller is from his Book of Dreams album, not Fly Like an Eagle.

Btw, I really enjoy these posts Red Oak! Thanks for posting them.

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 28, 2004

59 years ago - Richard Wright, keyboardist for Pink Floyd, is born. (1945)

55 years ago - Simon Kirke, drummer for Bad Company and Free, is born (1949)

47 years ago - Jerry Lee Lewis makes his television debut on "The Steve Allen Show." Lewis is booked for two more appearances. (1957)

46 years ago - Billboard reports on a claim from the Esso Research Center "...tuning in rock & roll music on a car radio can cost a motorist money," because the rhythm can cause a driver to unconsciously jiggle the gas pedal, thus wasting fuel. (1958)

42 years ago - Tommy Roe's "Sheila" enters the Hot 100 at #93. It will top the charts by September 1. (1962)

34 years ago - Mick Jagger makes his acting debut in the title role of "Ned Kelly." The film opens today. (1970)

31 years ago - One of the largest rock festivals of all time is held at the Watkins Glen raceway. More than 600,000 show up for one day of music with the Grateful Dead, the Band and the Allman Brothers. (1973)

31 years ago - Grand Funk Railroad's "We're An American Band" is released. (1973)

28 years ago - Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like an Eagle" goes gold, on its way to platinum. The album features huge hits as the title track (which makes it to number two), "Rock'n Me" (goes number one later in the year), "Jet Airliner" (#8 in 1977) and "Take the Money and Run" (#11 this month). (1976)

25 years ago - Ted Nugent, Journey, Aerosmith and Thin Lizzy headline the World Series of Rock at Cleveland Stadium. (1979)

17 years ago - The Beatles sue Nike and Capitol Records over the use of "Revolution" in shoe commercials. (1987)

11 years ago - 10,000 Maniacs play their last show with lead singer Natalie Merchant. Merchant leaves the group to pursue a solo career. (1993)

9 years ago - Jimi Hendrix' father James Al Hendrix wins back the rights to his son's name, likeness, image and music after a number of compaines had profited from them over the years. (1995)

5 years ago - Pete Townshend plays at the Supper Club in New York to showcase his upcoming album, Pete Townshend Live: A Benefit For Maryville Academy. Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder joins Townshend on stage to perform a number of songs including "Magic Bus," "Heart To Hang Onto" and the Pearl Jam classic, "Better Man." (1999)

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Steve Miller - Rock N Me

I went from Phoenix, Arizona
All the way to Tacoma
Philadelphia, Atlanta, L.A.
Northern California where the girls are warm
So I could be with my sweet baby, yeah

Keep on a rock'n me baby
Keep on a rock'n me baby
Keep on a rock'n me baby
Keep on a rock'n me baby
Baby, baby, baby
Keep on rock'n
Rock'n me baby
Keep on a rock'n
Rock'n me baby

Don't get suspicious
Now don't be suspicious
Babe, you know you are a friend of mine
And you know that it's true
That all the things that I do
Are gonna come back to you in your sweeet time

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Poor Jesse

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, on his way home from work at City Hall, came to a dead halt in traffic on the Van Ryan Expressway and thought to himself, "Wow, this traffic seems worse than usual. Nothing's moving at all."

He noticed a State Trooper walking back and forth between the lines of cars, so he rolled down his window and asked, "Officer, I'm Mayor Richard M. Daley, what's the problem; what's holding everything up?"

The trooper replied, "It's the Reverend Jesse Jackson. He's so depressed about the thought of everyone knowing about his extramarital affair, his illegitimate children, and his misappropriation of funds, and his shakedown of corporations that he stopped his car in the middle of the expressway and is threatening to douse himself with gasoline and set himself on fire.

He says the country and his congregation are blaming him for his infidelity and doesn't know if he can live with the shame and embarrassment. The people in the halted cars along the expressway are taking up a collection for him."

"Oh really," replied Mayor Daley. "How much have they collected for the Reverend so far?"

"About 300 gallons," said the trooper, "but they're still siphoning."

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Happy Hump Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do something worth remembering today............

RO

Hi Margaret!Listening to Grand Cayman right now! Wow, didnt know you guys were headed to England! We are still trying to get to Sydney, tho next week my sister arrives here! Great story; thanks for sharing!

Good to hear from you too Jenna! Yesss... I'm loving every minute of this weather... in the mid eighties again today. All of my friends are melting. They think I'm out of my mind, but I'm soaking up every bit of heat and sun I can get before the inevitable rain comes back!

"Nowhere Man" was fantastic. This was my second concert and it was every bit as good as the first. The powers that be at the Emerald Queen say that they aim to have America back every year, and I hope they play "Til The Sun Comes Up Again" on their next pass! Love that song...

I'm going to be online tomorrow night - hope to see you there!

TommieGirl

We have recently returned from a trip to England. It has taken quite a while to catch up on all the news. The concert reviews and views from the hotel windows have been great. It was also wonderful to see concrete evidence of the long-anticipated Sydney DVD. The “Now you can take your very comfortable front row seat at the Sydney Opera House” line holds special meaning for us.
While in England we had a few America-related experiences. The first two happened in Yorkshire. Three years ago we went to Newton Under Roseberry but were unable to see Roseberry Topping due to thick fog. This time, as we headed off across the moors, we had a fine day and saw it clearly and got some good photos. On the way into Harrogate we passed an Air Force Base and wondered if this was the reason for Dewey’s place of birth.
Finally, on our last full day in England we discovered a very good book, CD and DVD shop in Bath. They had two Highway Box Sets. The interesting thing was that they were a different format to ours. The book had a soft cover and slipped into a sleeve attached to the inside of the spine of the box set cover, whereas the cover of the box set forms the cover of the book in ours. The book was missing from one of the copies. It was 30 pounds and the complete set was 37 pounds.

Joan
I think they should just start over and just keep going!! What do you think? One more round for the fans ! lol
Mark M

Thanks Karen L,
I had heard that you can get photo's put on a disc...and was concidering that very thing. But knowing that it's cheaper to get it done at the time of developing them, is a good thing to know ! Thanks.
I sure hope they have an autograph signing after....I will take a pen and a CD cover, just in case. Seems like some of you, have got to meet them, talk to them and in some case's are fairly friendly with them !! That would be great ! (but, an autograph is good too). lol
Mark M

That's right, Joan - yes we do! I'm hoping to get there too - and that's saying a lot because it's the second day of school for my boys.

I could hardly believe my eyes when I read the dates for concerts today--another chance to see "America" in Wisconsin in "2004"! What wonderful news! That makes four concerts this year! I can't wait and I certainly am going to try to attend. Wisconsin absolutely loves "America"!

Hi Mark M.! I don't have a digital camera either, but a few months ago I noticed that the store (grocery store, as a matter of fact!) where I have my films developed offers to put the pictures on a CD as well, for $1.99 extra if ordered when the film is turned in. (Much more expensive to decide to do it later.) I went to two America concerts in June and was able to post pictures because of this. I'm not sure how common this is, but if you're interested, you might want to find out if a photo processing place near you offers that service. Don't feel you have to, but we love to see everyone's concert pictures! Either way, have a GREAT time at the show!

Karen

Karen L, Thanks for asking. Actually the record producer was only the tip of the iceberg and not even close to being the most unusual thing that happened on my vacation. When I get a free minute and get caught up on everything here (I have been gone for nearly 2 weeks) I try to get the opportunity to post about a few of them.

Thanks - I did know about the lyrics page. But didn't realize that songs not included on cds were included. Thanks again.

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 27, 2004

49 years ago - Chuck Berry's first hit record, "Maybellene" enters the R&B chart. (1955)

49 years ago - Billboard claims that only two singing stars can be considered guaranteed hitmakers these days: Nat King Cole and country star Webb Pierce. (1955)

47 years ago - The Bobbette's first and only Top Forty single, "Mr. Lee" enters the pop charts. The tune is about the trio's high school principal. (1957)

30 years ago - Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" is released. (1974)

28 years ago - Bruce Springsteen sues his manager Mike Appel in Manhatten's U.S. Distrcit Court for fraud and breach of contract. The lawsuit is over his lack of artistic and financial freedom.Two days later, Appel counters with a suit in New York Supreme Court. Lititgation drags on for a year, putting a temporary halt on Springsteen's rock & roll career. (1976)

28 years ago - John Lennon receives his green card, granting him permanent residency status in the U.S. His fight to obtain the card had begun four years earlier. (1976)

28 years ago - Tina Turner files for divorce from Ike. (1976)

27 years ago - Led Zeppelin's U.S. tour ends abruptly with seven dates to go when vocalist Robert Plant's six year old son Karac dies unexpectedly of a respiratory ailment in England. (1977)

25 years ago - Alice Cooper's Indian art store in Scottsdale, Arizona is hit by a firebomb. Gone are $200,000 worth of artifacts and some of Cooper's gold records, which were stored in the back. Cooper said maybe a "disco-music freak" was responsible because he had been making some anti disco remarks. (1979)

20 years ago - Prince's first movie, "Purple Rain" opens nationally. (1984)

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Horse Race Track

A group of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders, accompanied by two female teachers, went on a field trip to the local racetrack to learn about thoroughbred horses and the supporting industry, but mostly to see the horses.

When it was time to take the children to the bathroom, it was decided that the girls would go with one teacher and the boys would go with the other.

The teacher assigned to the boys was waiting outside the men's room
when one of the boys came out and told her that none of them
could reach the urinal.

Having no choice, she went inside, helped the boys with their
pants, and began hoisting the little boys up one by one--
holding onto their "weewees" to direct the flow away from their clothes.

As she lifted one, she couldn't help but notice that he was unusually well endowed. Trying not to show that she was staring, the teacher said, "You must be in the 5th."

"No, ma'am," he replied. "I'm the jockey riding Silver Arrow in the 4th but thanks for the lift."

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Chuck Berry - Maybellene

Maybellene, why can't you be true?
Oh Maybellene, why can't you be true?
You've started back doing the things you used to do.

The Cadillac pulled up ahead of the Ford,
the Ford got hot and wouldn't do no more.
It then got cloudy and it started to rain,
I tooted my horn for a passin' lead
the rain water blowin' all under my hood,
I knew that was doin' my motor good.

Maybellene, why can't you be true?
Oh Maybellene, why can't you be true?
You've started back doing the things you used to do.

The motor cooled down, the heat went down
and that's when I heard that highway sound.
The Cadillac a-sittin' like a ton of lead
a hundred and ten a half a mile ahead.
The Cadillac lookin' like it's sittin' still
and I caught Maybellene at the top of the hill.

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Karen L, nice that you used "Annie's Song" for your wedding. I miss John Denver, wish he was still living.

Nancy H, hope you didn't get lockjaw today at the dentist's office. You have to be able to bump those gums in your work, ha.

Have a terrific Tuesday.............

RO

Hi TommieGirl, nice to hear from you! Yeah, isn't it great to hear "Survival" "The Last Unicorn" and "Nowhere Man" They're really fantastic additions to the set. You're having quite a heat wave in Seattle lately, hope it cools down... although maybe not if you're loooving the hot weather.

Jen

Shirley ~ Did you know that you may read about "Last Two To Dance" by going to the home page and selecting "SONGS" at the top and then finding the song title. Next, scroll to the bottom of the song's lyrics. There you will find a little more about the song and I think maybe what Dewey had to say about it. Perhaps, though, you may already know all of this.

ROTF Lovely view, Gerry! Let's hear it for Fife!

Hellooo, all! I don't know how many of you still remember me - I almost never get to post anymore - but wanted to let you know that the concert at the Emerald Queen was AWESOME as usual. There were a couple of songs deleted from the playlist (I did miss "To Each His Own"), but the additions were grand. Great to hear "Survival" and "The Last Unicorn" live! Dewey's dad was in the audience, as last year, and Dewey was in fine form.

Got my shirt signed after the show - when I told Dewey and Gerry that I was going to come home and post, Gerry said, "The chat room? Who are you?" I told him, and he said, "Oh, yes! We read it..." and told me that I had just missed Anita. :( One of these days I'm going to get to meet someone from the chat board! In any case, I had a blast. Once again, guys, thank you.

I hope everyone is enjoying summer (Almost 100 degrees in the Seattle area last week - Loooving it!). Sorry I haven't been around for a while... I should have a little more time to post now - but that's another story. :)

Til next time,
TommieGirl

Just 3 more days until "America" night here !! The venue in Layton is small, up close and personal....so it will be great !!
I watched the "Germany" DVD Tonight, to get it going early. I'm sure I will take some pic's, but I don't have a digital camera yet. :(
Have a good night all, Mark M.

Hi Traveler - I don't know the answer to your question, but I'd like to hear about the things that happened to you on your vacation! Was there more, besides the record producer? I remember your story about Brutus the Skydiving Dog, which was fun to hear! Karen

Thanks, Red Oak - I especially enjoyed the lyrics to "Annie's Song". I've always loved John Denver's music. I know Moser is on vacation and will catch up with your post eventually, but I hope she doesn't mind me mentioning that one night at live chat we got on the subject of songs we had as part of our weddings. Turned out both of us had "Annie's Song". (Though I never got to hear it at mine because it was sung just before the ceremony, the wedding party was waiting in the church basement, and it was so noisy I couldn't hear it. It didn't get captured on the video either.)

Anyway, speaking of John Denver - not sure if PBS broadcasts are the same in all regions, but our local public television guide features a show, "John Denver: The Wildlife Concert" that will be on Sat., Aug. 7 at 8 p.m. (central time), repeating Aug. 10 at 8:30 p.m. (central). Another thing - I thought Austin City Limits always used to be on our local PBS channel on Saturday nights at 9:00, but it wasn't last Saturday. I even checked at 8:00. Didn't get to see the Jayhawks. Guess I'll have to pay more attention to the tv schedule so I catch these things. (Maybe this answers my question about PBS broadcasts in the different regions.)

Also, I liked the Memorandum from Management - the company I work for is going through a contract dispute (management vs. union) right now and it has not been fun. Humor always helps me anyway, so I just might have to keep a copy of your memo close by until we get through this.

Speaking of getting through things, only a few more America concerts and then we have to endure the entire month of August without any shows, VFTHW pics, reviews and photos. It's a good thing their new DVD will be available soon!

Karen

Thanks, Mark, for the information on "Last Two to Dance." I agree that it should've been included on the Highway set.

HI All,

I am back from my California trip. Boy, did I have a blast. While I didn't have "Brutus the Skydiving Dog" as a seat companion, lots of other bizarre things happened when I was on vacation.

(So here is the question for the musically informed.) While waiting for the bus to Seaworld, some guy claimed to be a well-know record producer & gave me his business card and all. (I am not planning on using his services, just simply wondering if he is really what and who he claims to be. After all, it isn't as if anyone in California would ever claim to be more important than they really are. Am I being a wee bit sarcastic folks?) His name was Robert Pifher, and said he used to be known in the industry as Dr. Techno but know producers as JHHP Records. Has anyone out there actually heard of him?

Click here to see the view from Gerry's hotel window in Dover, DE.

I don't know of any others that have done it with 3 either?
Jack Bruce & Eric clapton done it with "Cream" in "sunshine of your love"
Robert Lamm & Peter Cetera with "Chicago" in "Dialogue"

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 26, 2004

62 years ago - Dobie Gray(Drift Away) is born. (1942)

61 years ago - Mick Jagger, lead singer for the Rolling Stones, was born. (1943)

55 years ago - Roger Taylor, drummer for Queen, was born. (1949)

41 years ago - Motown Records release "Mickey's Monkey" by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. It peaks at number three on the R&B charts and number eight on the pop chart. (1963)

36 years ago - The Rolling Stones miss the scheduled release date for their album Beggar's Banquet because of their record label's objection to the album's cover design, which featured a graffiti-covered bathroom wall. Mick Jagger was incensed. It was also the first album on which Jagger played guitar. (1968)

30 years ago - John Denver earns a gold record for his all-time biggest hit, "Annie's Song." The song was written about his wife, who later divorced him. (1974)

29 years ago - Nat King Cole's daughter, Natalie, debuts on the music charts with "This Will Be." It makes it to number six on pop charts and number one on the R&B. (1975)

28 years ago - Ted Nugent receives a gold record for his sixth, self-titled album. It includes "Hey Baby" and "Dog Eat Dog." (1976)

27 years ago - Elvis Costello is arrested while performing outside the London Hilton where a CBS Records sales conference is being held. Costello was trying to audition for a U.S. record deal. Costello was taken to the station and fined five British pounds. CBS execs invite Costello back for an audtion. (1977)

25 years ago - An article in Rolling Stone says promotional videotapes are "the newest selling tool in rock." It mentions David Bowie's "Boys and Keep Swinging" and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." (1979)

25 years ago - A revised version of the Clash's debut album is released in the States. This comes 2 years after the disc had been issued in their native Britain. (1979)

18 years ago - Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" tops the U.S. singles charts for one week. (1986)

12 years ago - Kiss guitarist Paul Stanley marries model Pamela Bowen in Los Angeles. (1992)

12 years ago - Singer Mary Wells, known for her hits "My Guy" and "You Beat Me To The Punch," dies of cancer at age 49.

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John Denver - Annie's Song

You fill up my senses
Like a night in a forest
Like the mountains in springtime
Like a walk in the rain
Like a storm in the desert
Like a sleepy blue ocean
You fill up my senses
Come fill me again

Come let me love you
Let me give my life to you
Let me drown in your laughter
Let me die in your arms
Let me lay down beside you
Let me always be with you
Come let me love you

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M E M O R A N D U M

Dear Staff,

ATTIRE: It is advised that you come to work dressed according to your salary. If we see you wearing Prada sneakers & carrying a Gucci bag we assume you are doing well financially and therefore you do not need a raise. If you dress poorly, you need to learn to manage your money better, so that you may buy nicer clothes and therefore you do not need a raise. If you dress in-between, you are right where you need to be and therefore you do not need a raise.

PERSONAL DAYS: Each employee will receive 104 personal days a year. They are called Saturday & Sunday.

LUNCH BREAK: Skinny people get 30 minutes for lunch as they need to eat more so that they can look healthy. Normal size people get 15 minutes for lunch to get a balanced meal to maintain their average figure. Fat people get 5 minutes for lunch, because that's all the time needed to drink a SlimFast and take a diet pill.

SICK DAYS: We will no longer accept a doctor statement as proof of sickness. If you are able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to work.

RESTROOM USE: Entirely too much time is being spent in the restroom. There is now a strict 3-minute time limit in the stalls. At the end of three minutes, an alarm will sound, the toilet paper roll will retract, the stall door will open and a picture will be taken. After your second offense, your picture will be posted on the company bulletin board under the "Chronic Offenders" category.

SURGERY: As long as you are an employee here, you need all your organs. You should not consider removing anything. We hired you intact. To have something removed constitutes a breach of employment.

Thank you for your loyalty to our company. We are here to provide a positive employment experience. Therefore, all questions, comments, concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations, insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplation, consternation and input should be directed elsewhere.

Have a nice week!
MANAGEMENT

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Have a splendid Monday and think about how lucky you are.

RO

sorry I meant to say The Beatles- "A Hard Day's Night" instead of "Help" Bluey.

Thanks everyone for your imput about your favourite albums, absolutely no room for criticism about any of them taking center stage. I basically selected their first album because, to me, no America concert could be complete without SANDMAN. In fact, after it's last performance at the Sydney Opera House, I would even go for far as to suggest it should now be their encore! I personally believe that "Horse" should be second last and "Sandman" last. When you get the upcoming DVD, have a look at the performance and audience reaction and then we'll argue.

Like most of you, I have been to a least 6 concerts in OZ and I really enjoy hearing new songs that unfortunately only get played on that tour. I understand that the band only has a certain timeframe to rehearse and do the shows. Two of these songs that stand out for me over the years are "From a Moving Train" and "See How The Love Goes". Very good songs, excellently performed.

****BRAIN TEASER****
How many ORIGINAL groups have recorded songs where their three(3) lead singers have all sung individually on verses/chorus on the same song?
(EXCLUDING: Manufactured groups such as The Travelling Wilburys, The Highwaymen or groups that introduce each member, i.e. The Floaters-"Float On" for the purpose of the song/story)

A lot of groups combined two (2) main singers, i.e. The Beatles - John/Paul on "Help" and "A Day In The Life", The Bee Gess - Barry and Robin Gibb on "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" etc but the only group that I know of that has combined three (3) is AMERICA on "Woman Tonight", "Head and Heart", "Story of a Teenager" etc.

Start racking your brains ladies!!!!!


Bluey.

The music was written by a Italians, Giacobbe and Cutugno. Gerry and Dewey wrote the lyrics. It was released as a single around 1990 or 1991 in Italy. I don't know if it was a hit in Italy or not. I was disappointed that it didn't show-up on the Highway box set or the Definitive CD. But perhaps their were licensing issues such as those for the Human Nature material.

Bluey - great question! I would go with Homecoming, not a bad song in the bunch, plus it has two of my personal favorites "To Each His Own" & "Moon Song".

Which brings another question to mind. I have probably listened to my America albums hundreds of times and just recently "re-discovered" a song which I had always liked, but for some reason I had never considered a favorite. It's like I heard this song in a whole new way and found myself hitting the replay button over & over again. Have any of you ever had this happen? My new favorite is... Moon Song. I just love this song -- it is peaceful, I love the guitar, the harmonies, everything!

Ya'll have a great Monday.

Kim

Can anyone give me the information on "Last Two to Dance" from the sound clips? Who wrote it, when it was recorded, etc.

This will be quick as I am posting on a friends computer - my computer died two weeks ago and I am seriously missing this site! We are also in the process of moving to our very first house in Long Island (finally!) so I won't be up and running for a few weeks. Until then I will check in when I can in between packing - but I just wanted to say hi and add that I caught an awesome show last night in a beautiful place in Long Island called the Planting Fields Arboretum - it is an outdoor venue in the middle of an arboretum that is just beautiful. I saw the Benoit-Freeman project (David Benoit and Russ Freeman from the Rippingtons) with special guest David Pack. He sings background vocals on many David Benoit instrumentals. Yes I am also a Smooth Jazz fan, and David Benoit has always been my piano inspiration. Anyway, David Pack performed some of his hits too (You're the Biggest Part of Me, and You're the Only Woman) and mentioned that he has a new album coming out early next year with special guests that included - yes - Dewey Bunnell. (Don't worry, I gave a yell from all of us!) If there are any other smooth jazz fans out there, this CD is a follow-up from their first collaberation and they are just magical together. The first Benoit-Freeman project CD is one of my all time favorites and a must have. OK, gotta go - its horrible not having a computer! AHHHHHH!

I have that one as well....great pick!

Jackson Browne "Running on Empty" a unique live recording of previously unreleased songs. I love it. I always listen for Kunkel's stick to break in "You love the Thunder". Magic.

Good morning
I was listening to one of my favorite live CD's this morning, "Waiting for Columbus" by "Little feat". This is a gem! Such classic's as "all that you dream" "oh Atlanta" "Time loves a hero" "spanish moon" "willin'" "skin it back".
Just hoping some of you might share one (or more)of your favorite live recordings?
I love live CD's....if you can make music magic live, you are a true entertainer.
Mark M.

Bisous from France 2 U, Nancy.
Hope to join you guys soon in the chat room. it's been a long while, indeed. Keep me posted, please.
Gen.

Me Again ~~ Just hit the replay button on Christmas In Calirfornia again, and Gerry just sang my favorite line, It's Christmas time again In California For Sure :) Sing it Gerry ~ Gerry ~ Gerry :)

Hey Red ~~ Jeff just called from Ohio and I said to him, where is the race today and who is on the Pole.... well he told me the race is up in New Hampshire and that Ryan Newman (My Honey Rusty's racing partner) is on the Pole ~~ ALRIGHT Gooooooo Rusty & Ryan, will Tony behave himself today... Poor Tony, why don't they leave him alone, I just love his inside Fire... I picture that Rusty & Dale Earnhart was much like Tony as younger drivers.... :)

My other ooops was in my song lyrics... I was trying to type as fast as Gerry was singing... and I put the Warm Air in his hair, when it actually should be ~~~ Heading on down the Coast over Surf & Sand the Warm Wind in his Hair, make No mistake it's here, holiday fun, good cheer, it's Christmas time again, in California wooo ooooooh~~~

Ooooh I forget this too ~~ Bluey ~~ I too was gonna say Highway.. as my choice of Album to be performed... but I wanted to be sure that if they read our ramblins about this, that they wouldn't think we were being too greedy, and as others have said, regarding Hourglass, these songs are such Hidden Gems and I for one would love for them to be heard live at a show!

All done ~ I think ~~ See ya, Nancy :)

Gerry is singing ~~ It's beginning to look alot like Christmas here.... sing along now everyone!!!!! :)

Hi Everyone ~~ Not soooo Sunny Sunday here, kinda on the chilly side too!

WOW Gerry ~~ They sure do have these Motorhomes and (are those big rigs without the trailers in the other lot?) parked like sardines in a can... Whoever accomplished this task must be one heck of a Parking attendant! ~~ Hmmm not your everyday normal VFTHW pic for sure! :) ~~ Just a wonderin here, is this part of Washington close to where Mt Ranier is? Wouldn't it be awesome to have a Hotel window with a view of this off in the distant??? I hope one day to get to see Mt Ranier from a window plane! I have heard that it is quite breathtaking! :)

Hi there Steve L ~~ Thanks for sharing more of your shows happenings... and Yes You Did Mention In your post with the Pics of you and Gerry & Matt & the birthday cake that you had gotten to meet with Erin and her boss Jim Morey and that it was his 60th b'day and that you got to have some cake too... What a Neat happening to get to take in on your vacation... Thanks for sharing this with us! :) Enjoy the rest of your vacation!

Oooooh Red ~ Red ~ Red ~~ Oooooh boy... thanks for the pre visual you gave me for my dentist app. this teus... I am switching to a new dentist and as a matter of fact I was thinking that the dentist I was going to graduated the year before me from high school, I was kinda apprehensive when I went there on the 13th for my check up and wondered how he would look now... well he seemed shorter and yes his hair was grey and the top of his head was bald... he wouldn't really know me, cause I had only known him from a friend of mine that was in his class. It ended up my checkup was scheduled with his nephew that is much younger than he and Woooo he sure is good lookin, I guess I was lucky he didn't look at me and say "were you one of my teachers in high school" hahahhahah I have to go on teusday now for a root canal.... OUCH OUCH OUCH.... I am gonna have to focus on his ooh soo nice brown eyes to get me through this! ~~~ Thanks for your post today, as usual you are right on the Money! And I just gotta say I loved your choice of song lyrics for today, such an Inviting Sunday Morning song! :) :) ;) ~~ Listen to some great songs today and where is the Nascar race... is it at Dover today??? Hmmm who is on the pole, with the hubby and my sons not here, this weekend, ESPN hasn't been on the tv for 2 days now, Wow I gotta mark this one down for sure! :)

Hi there Gen ~~~ Sooo nice to hear from you, great that you have been taking in some Muse show's... Summer is just a tick tick tocking away huh! I too love Matt's song "Over You" such a Hauntingly Beautiful spell it can put on me... I took a listen to Grundge... and yeppers right on the money Matt, You sure do know how to mix your musical talents up nicely... thanks gen for shedding light on my wondering on who was doing the singing on this, nice to hear Bryce's voice... I like the song, it is really rockin! I can appreciate the vastness of Matt's talent, I think it is sooo neat how he ties all of the music styles in together. :) Take care Gen :)

Mo & NancyM ~~ Enjoy your vacations! :)

Hi Anita ~~ Looking forward to hearing about the wash show and I hope you got some pics to share with us.

Oooh Mark M ~~ I hope you will get some pics at the Utah show this week to share with us!

Hmmm ~~ I did watch the Jayhawks last night... it was neat to see and hear them sing these songs... I was hoping they would have sung Blue Sky but nooo such luck, they did sing "Blue" tho.... I gotta agree with what this lead singer said... that their music is a mixture, it can either take on a pop sound or a country sound that they mix them together... I like that about them! I really don't care for this guy's glasses tho! Sorry!!!! shouldn't have said that huh ~ TMI Ouch!

Have a good day all! See ya, Nancy :) ~~ Gonna pop in my Holiday Harmony cd now... and sing along with Gerry & Dewey!!!! I am glad it isn't winter tho.... :)

~~~~ Awwww Look out kids its that time of year when Ole Santa's on his way, don't look now, but the top is down on his candy apple sleigh, heading on down the Coast Over Surf and Sand the Warm Air in His Hair, make now mistake it's here, holiday fun, good cheer, it's Christmas time again in California Woooo ooooh ~~~ How I could handle being in Calif right about now! :) :) :)

Did you mention whose birthday cake you guys were eating?

Hi Johnny. I thought I mentioned that it was Jim Morey's 60th birthday but maybe I didn't. I was rather rushed when I posted that note. Jim is Erin's boss (owner of Morey Management Group) and good friend of Gerry and Dewey.

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 25, 2004

61 years ago - Jim McCarty, drummer for the Yarbirds, was born. (1943)

56 years ago - Steve Goodman (The City of New Orleans) is born. (1948)

40 years ago - Billboard reports England has a hot new band. The Animals debut single "House of the Rising Sun" entered the U.K. chart at #16. The next week, it's at #3 and seven days later it's number one. To promote the group in the U.S., disc jockeys were sent boxes of animal crackers wrapped with special promotional material. (1964)

39 years ago - Bob Dylan breaks out his electric guitar and "plugs-in" for the very first time at the Newport Jazz Festival. His reception is, let's just say, less than enthusiastic. (1965)

38 years ago - In San Francisco, the Rolling Stones perform their last U.S. concert with Brian Jones. (1966)

37 years ago - The Beatles and other U.K. rock groups urge the British government to legalize marijuana. Their comments are made in a London Times advertisement signed by all four of the Beatles. (1967)

35 years ago - Neil Young makes his first appearance with Crosby, Stills and Nash at New York's Fillmore East. (1969)

34 years ago - Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4" is released. (1970)

33 years ago - The Beach Boys make a return with the release of their album "Surf's Up." It hits #29 which is their highest charting LP in four years. (1971)

24 years ago - KISS introduce their new drummer, Eric Carr, at a concert at the Paladium in New York City. Carr, who wears fox make-up, replaces Peter Criss, who was made up as a cat. (1980)

24 years ago - AC\DC releases "Back In Black," their first album with Brian Johnson as lead singer. (1980)

14 years ago - Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa become parents to son Evan James. (1990)

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City Of New Orleans - written by Steve Goodman

Riding on the City of New Orleans,
Illinois Central Monday morning rail
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders,
Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail.
All along the southbound odyssey
The train pulls out at Kankakee
Rolls along past houses, farms and fields.
Passin' trains that have no names,
Freight yards full of old black men
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles.

CHORUS:
Good morning America how are you?
Don't you know me I'm your native son,
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans,
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.

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GETTING OLDER: One woman's short story.

Have you been guilty of looking at others your own age and thinking ... surely I cannot look that old? If so, you may enjoy this short story.

While waiting for my first appointment in the reception room of a new
dentist, I noticed his certificate, which bore his full name. Suddenly, I remembered that a tall, handsome boy with the same name had been in my high school class some 30 years ago. Upon seeing him, however, I quickly discarded any such thought.

This balding, gray-haired man with the deeply lined face was way too
old to have been my classmate. After he had examined my teeth, I asked him if he had attended the local high school. "Yes," he replied!

"When did you graduate?" I asked.

He answered, "In 1971. Why?"

"You were in my class!" I exclaimed.

He looked at me closely and then the SOB asked,
"What did you teach?"

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Have a great day all..............

RO

Scary. But thanks.
Gen.

Haha! No i don't... because Hat Trick is still my fave album. It so rocks - for most of the songs (I agree on ML however)...and I'd die to hear 'She's gonna let you down' live.
Gen.

Hey Kevin!
I LOVE you for saying that !!!
And for liking 'Over You'... lol

Gen.

Check out "Captain and Tenilles greatest hits" You might enjoy that version more? :)
Karen L, You think you have a computer addiction? It's 1:00 am and Im still up and at it ! lol

If I had to vote for one album to be played live, it would be Hat Trick. I could drink a few beers beforehand, and pee during Muskrat Love.

KevinS.

LOL, What a great view !!

OMG!

Click here to see the view from Gerry's hotel window in Fife, WA.

Yeah, Lucked out. Will be at Ocean City Maryland tomorrow through Friday, only 1 hour drive from the fair. I got a front row seat for $15.00 and It's with Three Dog Night. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.

To SteveL...I just knew someone would pick HIGHWAY!!!! Somehow I think they would definitely have to take an Intermission for that concert or maybe come back the following week to finish it.

Thanks everyone, Bluey

(N>B> SteveL..."And Forever" isn't on HIGHWAY. I'd be spewing if they didn't sing that after all the rest!)

What a great song.

Nancy, thank you for the info about Edwin McCain. I really love that song!! As I mentioned I don't know anything else about him other than I think he is on some of VH1's I Love the 70's, 80's type segments. When I'm flipping thru the TV channels I catch pieces of those shows and have seen him commenting on the trends of the times. I'll check out his website and try to tune in on July 31st.~~~Cathy

Tx Robyn for the review of the HOB concert... Glad you all had such a great time - including matt & bryce inspite of the security staff...
Was myself drowned in sound and enjoying Muse's incredible talent in another astounding and so PRO performance at the Nîmes festival... and well... 'withdrawal' is a word I can use too today... have to wait until the end of August to get my Muse fix again. Hahaha.


Oh and thanks everyone for the beautiful pics here and there. Made me really wish i could attend another America show soon. Crossing fingers.

Have a great week-end all.
Gen.

Mo wrote: <<Matt's songs: I don't like Over You. I do like Grudge. I am willing to give Over You a few more chances to grow on me but at this point, my thought is it is way too depressing for me. Take those lyrics, stir in a little Prozac, and call me in the morning!!>>

Funny my feeling is quite the opposite. Grudge doesn't have much impact on me, except for bryce's voice which I hadn't heard before and find good indeed... but Over You sounds irresistibly great to my ears. Truly adore it for all the reasons Robyn mentions...
This said, i also second Robyn and wish you a great vacation time Mo! :-)

Gen.

It must look like I'm just sitting in front of the computer all day! I'm actually giving the kitchen a thorough cleaning, but to break the monotony I check in at the folder between sections of the kitchen. Helps get through a dull task! The boys are watching something on tv or I'd put in a CD - it's just that our noises compete. This way at least one of our forms of entertainment is quiet. Although, if the PC weren't in the kitchen, I'd get my work done more quickly (lol)!

Anyway, Johnny - I'm not sure exactly what "Call of the Wild" is about. I agree about the sound of it; that's one of the reasons I love it - the guitar intro and ending sound especially great! I always thought it was about a guy feeling lonesome for his girl and he's trying to reach her by phone but she's not there to answer. Now that you mention it though, your thought also puts a whole new meaning to the lines, "Nights are forever, the days linger on, standing in silence, time lasts so long." Although, it almost sounds too upbeat to be about the homeless, don't you think? But, it could be. Hmmm - we might never know, unless someone can ask Gerry someday.

Karen

Johnny, thanks for the help....I will check that out guy ! Mark M

If you have "The Grand Cayman concert" (and I'm sure you all DO)Gerry, is clearly singing "the world don't owe me no livin').
Until I got that CD, I thought it was the other way too.
Mark M

Hi there, Mark - regarding, "The world don't owe me no livin'" - I was just going by memory when I typed that a little while ago, so I just checked the "lyrics" section of Steve's site here, and they say, "I said the world don't owe me no living". I kind of abbreviated it, but that's bascially it. Once I finally learned what the lyrics were some time ago, I guess they stuck with me because I struggled with that line for so long! Glad to know it isn't just me. But what a great song, huh? I hope they never stop playing that one at their shows.

Made a typo, meant to say

You mean they are really singing "The world don't owe me no livin'" in Riverside?????

Like Karen I always thought it was "The world don't come in a live in'"

Since they are a duo now, I would want to hear "Hourglass", which I think is their best album as a duo. If they ever reunited with Dan, then my vote would go for "Homecoming."

You mean they aren't really singing "The world don't owe me no livin'" in Riverside?????

Karen ~ Like you, I think "Call Of The Wild" is a great song. The acoustic sound makes it sound special, imo. It has the feel that it could easily fit on "Homecoming".

I do have a question about a couple of the lyrics though that maybe you or others can explain. Is the part about "I'm wearing/Someone else's clothes/I needed" about being homeless? It's not crystal clear to me but that's my impression.

Come save me
From things I shouldn't know
I'm wearing
Someone else's clothes
I needed
Singing like a child
I hear the call of the wild

Mark M ~ Concerning the chanting at the end of "Moon Song", the answer may be found by going to the home page and clicking on "Songs" at the top. Find "Moon Song" and the explanation is at the bottom.

Harbor. Now off sailing on my cruise...

Hello, Bluey! I might give you a different answer on another day about the favorite album to have America do a concert of, but today I'm thinking "Hourglass". I love "Call of the Wild" and "Garden of Peace" just to name a couple songs, and some people here were requesting "Young Moon" not long ago, I think. Besides, in their current/recent set lists, it is one album they don't seem to be playing anything from.

Hi Madolyn - I always had trouble understanding the Riverside line and thought it was something similar - I thought it was, "The world don't come in a live-in" (of course that makes no sense), instead of "The world don't owe me no livin'". I sure love that song, though! And this one - go ahead and laugh: I was entering 8th grade when "You Can Do Magic" was on the charts and thought it kind of sounded like "Karen, you come to me" instead of "Again you come to me". I pretty much knew better, even then, but had fun thinking it sounded like my name in the song. What 8th grade girl wouldn't want their name in a popular song? Whew - now that did take bravery for me to admit that (lol)!

Thank you to Nancy H., Jimbob and Moser also for your thoughts on the Last Dance song! It was fun to hear everyone's opinions. I've wondered about it for years and never asked about it until now.

Karen

Gerry mentioned it was Jm Morey's Birthday so I think it was probably his cake, although he might have shared the occasion with Woodz- who like the rest of the guys was in rare form Thursday night. I went to work tired but happy on Friday!

My mis heard lyric " teh oceaan is a desert with it's life underground and the perfectest skies above"

ok cut me some slack I was only 12 and given Dewey's rather loose play with the English language it is entirely possible.....

And, HAPPY BELATED to mB as well! Perhaps it was in celebration for both.

SteveL ~ Did you mention whose birthday cake you guys were eating? If so, I missed it. I assume it was for Woodz. If so, HAPPY BELATED to him!!!

If like Rich, Woodz probably doesn't read the folder but once or twice a month if even that. Hopefully, Gerry will tell him that a number of us send/sent our warmest wishes for his special day!

For the Doobies Brothers' record, it is still very strange what Knudsen said if heard correctly because Johnston and Simmons were present before Knudsen was. The four original members were Johnston, Simmons, John Hartman and Dave Shogren. As I understand it, Knudsen joined them a few years later to create their fourth album, "What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits". So, go figure, regarding Knudsen's comment. Maybe it's a case of "one toke over the (fault) line".

Madolyn ~ I, too, thought the lyrics were, "The world don't call me no live-in". I thought that for years until I joined here about six years ago and read the lyrics.

I'm also a Steely Dan fan but mainly of their 70s music which was their best in my opinion. As you probably know (although a few here may not nor do they care...LOL), like Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Michael McDonald was also a member of Steely Dan. I believe the two were bandmates during the same period which was of course before they became bandmates again as members of the Doobies.

Bluey ~ I would select to hear a "Hearts" concert. As a duo concert, I'd select the songs from "Alibi".

Sir Joe ~ I do believe as you mentioned that it was, indeed, Gene Autry singing "Frosty The Snowman" back in the early 60s. I had never thought about it until you mentioned it.


(Howdy Jimbob!)

WHAT?? you don't like "Over You"?????? that's it you're outta the TeaArmy ( lol) seriously I love that song. Matt's voice, the keyboards, the way the vocals build, sure the suject is depressing but I love the song!
Have a great vacation Mo!

Madolyn, I will have to come up with some misheard lyrics...I know I have some.
My question for anyone that can answer this is along the same lines...What are they saying in all that very creative, kind of sounds backwards chanting at the end of "Moon song"?
Mark M

I'd have them play "Highway" (all 3 CD's in the box set)!

I just received my copy of the Central Park DVD from DVD Brazil. The company took my order and shipped quickly. The packaging is nice, and there is, for extras, a photo gallery which consists of shots we've all seen I think. The show plays more like a mini-feature with some California location shots. Standouts here, I think, are "Here" "All Night" "Hollywood" and short interview as an intro. This will hold you over 'til the Australia concert, if you desire to get it.

This is my last chance for a week to post (no applauding, please) as I am in Mass on my way to Maine for a week at the beach...with no computer. I'm not sure how I will cope. By the time we go on vacation next year, I hope to have a laptop. It's a sad, sorry life I lead.

Another form of withdrawal is setting in as well. I've been to my last America show for the summer and won't get another dose until October. I will have to rely on others' reviews and photos, so keep those coming, please. Can't wait 'til Birchmere...with Hoot and CFTS. Look out Alexandria, the girls are back in town!!

RO, I am looking forward to Aug. 29th in Syracuse for my first ever Henley concert. Your reviews have me thinking it will be a great show. I snuck that one in on Jeff. He didn't know about that little purchase until the tickets showed up in the mail. Luckily, he's pretty easy to get along with and is looking forward to the show as well.

Bluey, that is a great idea from Eric Clapton to play a whole album. I would love to see a concert like that. My fave of his is Slow Hand. That would be priceless to see. If I were to choose an America album to see performed in its entirety, it would be Homecoming. Hearts is my fave album but Homecoming would be a better choice for a live performance I think. Good question, thanks.

Matt's songs: I don't like Over You. I do like Grudge. I am willing to give Over You a few more chances to grow on me but at this point, my thought is it is way too depressing for me. Take those lyrics, stir in a little Prozac, and call me in the morning!!

Steve, great photos. Thanks for sharing. That roving Webmaster can just turn up anywhere!!

Regarding Last Dance: I'm convinced it is Gerry on BG vocals but the world may never know. Great line of discussion KL. It's been a fun topic.

Have a great week everyone. Don't miss me too much!!
Moser

For the longest time, I thought these were the lyrics that were being sung:

"I understand you take money from a man that goes by the name of the sandman"
"Three roses were born with you in mind"
"When I'm Sam-spinnin' round round-round-round"
"Carrie, have you seen better days"
And here's my silliest favorite: "I said the world don't call me no live-in"

Any others you all are brave enough to share? ;o)

-- Madolyn

Nancy wrote: my most favorite Doobie Bros. was and is Michael McDonald

My favorite Doobie Bro. is Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. I'm a huge Steely Dan fan (they're at the top with America of my list of very favorite bands), and I liked the era of the band best when Skunk was involved with them.

-- Madolyn

"Homecoming" of course and with a special guest appearance by Dan Peek. Wouldn't it be nice...:o)

I would go with "Homecomming" cause it rocks ! I would love to hear "Moon song" and "Cornwall blank" live. The first time I saw "America" when I was still in high school.......they played "Moon song". It's the best biker song in my opinion. Except for maybe "Steppenwolfs" "Born to be wild".

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 24, 2004

***************** HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIM KELLY *******************

44 years ago - The Ventures "Walk Don't Run" enters the pop chart and at the same times introduces the intrumental surf sound to rock & roll. The song will peak at #2. (1960)

40 years ago - Fans overreact to a Rolling Stones concert in Blackpool, England. Police are summoned when a riot ensues. (1964)

39 years ago - The Beach Boys' "California Girls" is released. (1965)

38 years ago - The New York Times reports that British Prime Minister Harold Wilson was present at the re-opening of Liverpool's Cavern Club. Bankruptcy had closed the doors but thousands of Beatles fans signed a petition requesting Wilson to reopen the club. (1966)

37 years ago - Jefferson Airplane's second album "Surrealistic Pillow" is certified gold thanks to the top ten hits, "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit." (1967)

33 years ago - "Get it On" by T-Rex is number one in the U.K. The group has a tougher time in the U.S. where the record is known as "Bang a Gong." It climbs to #10 and is their only smash hit. (1971)

28 years ago - Elton John, who had already achieved stardom in the United States, had his first hit in the U.K. -- "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" with Kiki Dee. (1976)

28 years ago - Hall & Oates' "She's Gone" is released. (1976)

26 years ago - The movie "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," starring Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees, opens in New York City. It doesn't do well at all at the box-office nor with the critics. (1978)

25 years ago - Little Richard -- billed as the Reverend Richard Penniman -- spoke to a revival meeting in San Francisco about the dangers of rock & roll. (1979)

22 years ago - Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger," the theme song of Sylvester Stallone's "Rocky III," climbs to number one on the U.S. pop charts. (1982)

20 years ago - Several people collapsed from heat exhaustion during a concert by Huey Lewis and the News at the North Dakota State Fair. (1984)

17 years ago - The movie biography of Richie Valens -- "La Bamba" opens. The film starred Lou Diamond Phillips as Valens. It also features Marshall Crenshaw and Brian Setzer. (1987)

14 years ago - A wrongful death trial involving Judas Priest opens in Reno, Nevada. Parents had charged in a lawsuit that the band's "Stained Class" album contained subliminal messages that drove two teen-agers to attempt suicide. The judge eventually cleared the group. (1990)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

The Beach Boys - California Girls

Well East coast girls are hip
I really dig those styles they wear
And the Southern girls with the way they talk
They knock me out when I'm down there

The Mid-West farmer's daughters really make you feel alright
And the Northern girls with the way they kiss
They keep their boyfriends warm at night

I wish they all could be California
I wish they all could be California
I wish they all could be California girls

The West coast has the sunshine
And the girls all get so tanned
I dig a french bikini on Hawaii island
Dolls by a palm tree in the sand

I been all around this great big world
And I seen all kinds of girls
Yeah, but I couldn't wait to get back in the states
Back to the cutest girls in the world

---------------------------------------------------------------------

New Bra

A scientist from LSU has invented a bra that keeps women's breasts from jiggling and prevents the nipples from pushing through the fabric when cold weather sets in.

At a news conference announcing the invention, a large group of men took the scientist outside and kicked the crap out of him...

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Hope everyone has a terrrrrrrific weekend and support your local "Boys of Summer." I can feel Syracuse starting to rock in anticipation of August 29th.

RO

I was sorry Matt and Bryce had such a hard time getting in to the HOB! Again I had a great time! Nice to talk to Steve, even just for that short bit. I agree that if you don't like hard thraher type music that some of the things will not appeal to you, persoanlly I LOVE IT. I also love the sweet piano ballad "over you" It is destined to be a huge hit IMHO. Everyone I force to listen to it ;) loves it!

Jimbo
On the "Tom Petty" thing....I kinda think Tom sounds much like Gerry, when he sings in a higher pitch. (maybe I'm the only one that thinks it?) :) I have "Wild flowers" as well, and it is excelent !!

Hi Everybody ~~ Beautiful Sunny Saturday morning here! The kinda day that brings another song to me that I have loved from the 1st hear Christopher Cross's "Sailing" The great big cotton ball clouds are sailing in a german blue~eyes sky for sure! :)

Okay ~ Okay ~ Okay ~~ Duh Nancy ~ You sure set yourself up for this "Doobie" Brother Oooops... goes to show it is better to just post on 1 ramblin hahahha ~~ Yes Johnny OF COURSE Tom Johnston & Patrick Simmons are still with the current touring Doobie Brothers, I should have said that Keith said that he is the oldest member of the 3 being that he joined the band before the other 2 original members did, he wasn't the first drummer for the Doobie's he joined in October of 1973, as for who he replaced, I have no Idea... my most favorite Doobie Bros. was and is Michael McDonald, it would be great to see him play along with them again one day! ~~ LOL on your Re Subject Line Visual!

Hi there Steve L & Matt soooo neat to get to see this pic of Gerry, Steve L & Matt, WOW Steve L! Thanks for sharing these pics with us. Nice to see a post from You Matt ~~ Keep on kickin butt at your gigs, and I will be sure and check out your new TEA tshirts and buttons. :)

Hi there Cathy R ~~ Upon seeing your post and you mentioning Edwin McCain's song "I Could Not Ask For More" ~~ Yeppers ADD this song to my list of 1st time LOVE songs, I also like his song "I'll Beeeee", did ya know that Edwin has a new cd that was just released the week of 6-22-04 and it is called "Scream & Whisper" the song "Say Anything" was picked for the first released song, I think I may have been lucky enough to click on the Sirius channel that played this song... I remember listening to the song first and then thought that sounds like Edwin M sooo I hurried and checked out the song info on the tv screen and sure enough it was Edwin singing this song called "Say Anything" He also has a song that I had never heard before that was on his album from 2001, I love to go to the music e~ greet songs on the American Greetings.com site... and I did find a really nice Hidden Gem of Edwin's, it had the word Heart in the title.. if you wanna read more about Edwin just go to his site www.edwinmccain.com I was checking it out late last night and there is alot there to keep you busy! Oooooh and one more thing, he is gonna be on the CBS Early Morning News Show on Saturday July 31st, you can betcha I am gonna be checking that out! ~~ Enjoy! Nice to hear from you Cathy! :)

Thanks Mark M ~~ Hmmm ~~ In regards to you saying that I must be One Heck Of a Typist ~~ I do LOVE to TYPE and Yes I am Known for my OOOOooh soooo Lonnnnnnnng Posts and for my Many Oooooops & Bloops, and let me just add to that I haven't been Blessed with the Greatest of Singing voices, but my Fingertips surely do Love to sing my Heart out for Me... Thanks for clearing up the Utah Pioneer Holiday wonderin for me .... Not sure why our software tech would say it was celebrated last monday tho... :) In case I don't get to post again before you see them next week, Have a Great Time and get Ready to Leave the show walking on Cloud 10, sooo neat that this will be your 10th time seeing them, what I love about them, each time seeing AMERICA is like a 1st For Me Always!!!!! :)

Cheers Jimmmmmbob & Bluey ~~ Nice to hear from you both... Thanks Jimmmmm for sharing your Blackbush Airport memories... too much ~~ hi there Andrew, pretty neat your search bringing you here to the AMERICA chat folder and too much that Jimmmmm was able to shed some light on this time news for you! :) ~~ Jimmmmmm now I see why You like Tom Petty's song "Last Dance With Mary Jane" sooo much, it is quite an Addicting song... Late Late Late last night I was listening to the Sirius Mellow Bridge Songs channel and boy was I getting to hear some Hidden Gems for sure... among them were AMERICA's Ventura Hwy, Tom Petty's "Face In A Crowd", and Stevie Nicks "You Can Talk To Me", also Instant Smiles came my way Upon hearing The Eagles early day gem "Try and Love Again" and I also want to mention they played Steely Dan's not sooo known hit "Brooklyn Bridge" ~~ WoW I haven't heard that song for Ages... I sure was sent off into Deeep Dreamland with some great songs! :) ;)

Hmmm ~~ Great Question Bluey ~~ Let me see, I thought this would be a Piece of Cake picking 1 album in entirety to hear at a show... but it's not Easy at all, that is what I have always LOVED the Most about discovering AMERICA's albums... they all are my fave's.... but on my mind right now at this very instance is the album "Hourglass" it would be great to hear these Hidden Gems have the Spotlight for a Whole Show!!!! I just gotta say that I too love the very first AMERICA album... the early albums are etched in my Memory Banks & Heart FOREVER!!!! :)

Hi there Kristal ~~ Yeppers I too will take a Listen to Holiday Harmony tomorrow to celebrate Christmas in July! I have said it many times before, it doesn't have to be Xmas time for me to enjoy the Sparkling Jewels on the Holiday Harmony cd... :) :) :)

Okay Enough Ramblin ~~~ Gotta get now.. and besides that I think Red's Post should be up for today, sooo I am Anxious to read it... Take care all & Once again a Big Happy Birthday Wish to Jim Kelly from England, it is soooo great knowing that sooo many others around the World love AMERICA's music as much as I do! :)

~~~Fascination with the Light in your hair, Celebration, nothing else can compare, An Invitation to Share My Life with YOU, Stepping Forward reaching out for YOUR Hand, hear the music of the sea on the sand, like a Vision rising out of the BLUE, Looking Like a Young Moon in the Heavens, Mother to the stars ~~~ WOW I could let my fingertips sing this WHOLE Song, Ooooooh how Much I LOVE this song... Hurry ~ Hurry Trav and whoever else was at the Humphrey's show, come share a bit of the Magic with us all!!!! :) Sing it for me again and again Dewey & Gerry :)

Johnny, I thought the same thing when I read that too.As far as I recall, Patrick Simmons has been with the band from the start.
Also I would think there would be some legal problems without at least one of them using "The Doobie brother" name. Much like "CCR" went to "revisited" rather than "Revival".
Mark M

Joe,
I just want to Thank You for the CD, it's GREAT!
I've started a new job on the railroad, it's been a very stressful wk., I have been just drained.......it was nice to come home,lean back & relax, & enjoy this wonderful CD. You have good timing!
THANX AGAIN!
From a moving train (literally!),
EDDY

Still on vacation in Huntington Beach... but I have a few more minutes to talk about the House of Blues experience.

The security there was as extreme as I've ever seen it at a concert. Matt and Bryce Soderberg (who make up the new band "Tea") barely made it in for the show along with some other friends of Matt's because the security didn't believe who he was (even after looking up Matt's web site and seeing the picture of him). I think that one of them was named John Fields who is a producer (is that right Matt?). Nice guys, all of them!

Anyway, I was talking to Matt about the last song he posted on the TeaArmy.com web site ("Over You") and how much I really liked it. He let me know that he has posted a new song called "Grudge" to listen to. I've only listened to it once and it's tough for me to make a judgment after only one listen, but if you like Matt's other songs, I think you'll really like this one. Here's a direct link to Tea's media web page so you can listen to both songs. Feel free to post your thoughts here. Matt said it's OK to praise it or to flame it. He wants to know what people REALLY think about it.

I mentioned to Matt that I really liked some of the songs on his "Songs of My Wasted Youth" CD and others were a little too hard for me. He said that he wanted to give a broad spectrum of songs on that album which is exactly what he accomplished. After my first listen of "Grudge" I would say that it's a little more on the hard side, but a good song, nonetheless. Let me know what you think about it.

--SteveL in southern Cal

Hi everyone. Reading about the Doobies reminded about the America/Beach Boys/Doobies Brothers concert that was to be held at the Sydney Entertainment Centre a few years ago. Doobies, for some reason, pulled out and was replaced by a local act, Richard "Ralph" Clapton, who is a big act over here. The entire show was excellent.

Speaking of Clapton, because he is so well known over here for his albums, to appease his die-hard fans, he started doing shows where he would perform one of his albums in full plus a few other hits. For instance he would announce that his next list of gigs would be "Goodbye Tiger" tour and then proceed to do every track from that album (which had a couple of my favourite "not released as singles" tracks on it) and just a couple of his other hits. The people attended the concerts in droves because they knew they weren't going to get the same concert playlist and of course, get to hear their album favourites sung live.

WHICH BRINGS US TO THE QUESTION:

If you were given the opportunity to pick one America album to be performed complete and live, what would be your choice?

My personal choice : AMERICA (1st and, in my opinion, best)


Regards Bluey.

In 1989 I was living in house not far from London with a guy who was best mates with Graham Parker, who by then was residing in New York. He told me Parker toured with America as their support act some time before. In my 12 months in England that was the only time I ever heard them mentioned. Although, then, as now, I was totally into them, and scoured every music store I could find. Oh, and Ive mentioned this before, I think; saw Doobies, with Tom in 1995. Amazing how that band were so good with him, and then McDonald! And as for Tom Petty; LOVE Mary Janes Last Dance! Never thought it was Gerry though. Tom moves in different circles I think. His album Wild Flowers is superb! Wonderful harmonies, acoustic guitars.

LOL.DanC.

Or... maybe Knudsen said he currently has only one doobie left. : )

<<He [Keith Knudsen] said he is the only Doobie left...>>

Huh? I thought the current line-up was original members Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons along with past and present members Mike Hossack, John McFee, and Knudsen.

Seeing a Doobies concert with Knudsen as the drummer without Johnston or Simmons in the band would be like seeing America with Willie and two other lead vocalists replacing Dewey and Gerry. So, surely there must be a mistake in what Knudsen was thought to have said, no?

Pet Sounds. DanC.

Neat topic!
Too many to mention but here are a few:
"You're My Best Friend" - Queen
"Isn't It Time" - The Babys
"Woman" - John Lennon
"I Need You" - America - (Love them all, this is my very favorite.)
"Saturday in the Park" - Chicago
"Time in a Bottle" - Jim Croce
"I Saw the Light" - Todd Rundgren - (Someone else mentioned this one.)
"Superstition" - Stevie Wonder
"Tears of a Clown" - Smokey Robinson
"Over You" - Tea (Love that so much, Matt~~can't wait to hear more!!)
"What Child is This" (tune of Greensleeves) - (Loved to sing this in chorus~~my favorite Christmas song).

These next two songs stick with me, don't even know what else these artists sing~~just love the songs.
"Jackie Blue" - Ozark Mountain Daredevils - I remember this from high school, great song that has stayed in my head~~wasn't sure who sang it, but took a wild guess and was correct.)
"I Could Not Ask for More" - Edwin McCain - (Took quite a few listens on the radio to find out the artist~~really love this song. Is anyone else familiar with his other music?)
Cathy

Nancy
You must be a heck of a typest, to type all that too everyone here! It might take me all day to type that much? :)
I don't know why the people you needed to get in touch with in Utah would be closed last monday? Tomorrow is "pioneer day". Most agencys that reconize it at all, took today off. I just happen to work for the state, and got a break today.
Mark M

it was a really cool surprise getting to see steve there... super nice guy. thank you for the pic.

mB

Nostalga,
Assistant in office went to Clapton Concert last night. I remembered a night back 23 years (approx) where I went to see Dylan, Clapton, Joan Armatrading, Graham Parker and the Rumor and Lake. I googled Blackbush and got to this site, anyone else go?
It was not far from my home. I read a bunch of postings and London was alive with concerts. It was easy on the club scene to see and meet everyone, Queen, Bryan Ferry, Phil Collins, The Police. They all went to the clubs.
Memories from the past.












0

I don't have a computer at home and am unable to chat on the Sunday chat....
However.... Sunday just happens to be July 25th. Lets all celebrate Christmas in July by dusting off "Holiday Harmony"!! No matter what you are doing on Sunday, put it in and sing a note or two.

Unfortunately, this means it will only be 5 months until Christmas.
Where has this year and the summer gone??
At least we will have a good excuse for playing Christmas music on July 25th!

Have a great weekend ~ Kristal

Great pictures SteveL - I don't think I knew what you looked like until now. It is always great to finally see a face to match a name. Also great shot of mB - I think that is the closest picture I have ever seen of him (cut-ie) ;0). Seems like a great venue - have a blast.

Steve, great that you got to the House of Blues to see the band, sounds like it was fantastic! Nice pictures, too. I hope they're not too strict about pictures at the Emerald Queen tomorrow night. Will post a review if I get a chance.

Mark,

I agree the Beach Boys have a great rock n' roll rendition of "Frosty the Snowman" and so does Brenda Lee and The Ronettes in the legendary Phil Spector Christmas album. In fact, the America version on Holiday Harmony is somewhat reminiscent of that one. I think the original "Frosty the Snowman" was performed by Gene Autry. Can anyone comfirm?

Anyway,given the stifling heat outside on this hot July day, it's kind of comforting to think about Frosty.:o)

Sergio

Guess that's why they call it the "Blues", Robyn

I'm still on vacation in southern California so this is going to be short and sweet. Last night I made it to the House of Blues concert in Anaheim and it was absolutely fantastic. I don't think I've ever heard a better sound system and Jeff Worrell (sp?) did a great job with the sound. Thanks to Jim Nakao for giving me a ride to the concert and to Erin, Pete, and the band for their hospitality. It was amazing watching them set up, do the sound checks, and etc. I also got to meet Jim Morey (Erin's boss) who was celebrating his 60th birthday. He seems like a great guy.

Evan and Jaron were a good opening act but they talked a little too much for my liking. I got to meet Robyn and Valynda before the show and we talked for a couple of minutes.

The House of Blues was very strict about not allowing photos so I don't have any pictures of the concert but I do have a few before and after. Click on the links below to see the view from the webmasters camera:

Front view of the venue
Me with "The Professor" Doug Suman
Me with Rich Campbell eating some birthday cake
Me with Gerry and Matt

Hi Hooo Everyone :) Hmmm ~ For my Friday Morning Jam I listened to my DJ Friend Brian interview Keith (The Doobie Bros. Drummer for the last 31 years) on air, The Doobie's are doing an outdoor show tomorrow at the Seven Springs Ampitheatre. Keith said that they do close to 90 shows a year and most of them being summer shows, he said the rest of the year is time spent with their families and the everyday normal things. When asked what the reason was that they have been around sooooo lonnnnnng and what keeps their fans coming back to the shows, he said that they enjoy their time up on the stage, he said they add a bit of fun to the shows along with a few of their songs that may have not been in the top 10, but would be familiar to the fans. He said they have a very loyal fan base and that they are thankful for all the years of support. He said that he is the only original Doobie left... he said he joined them as drummer, in Oct 73.... I really enjoyed the Ease in this Keith's voice, he sounds like a really neat Guy. ~ Then my dj friend played one of my all time Doobie Bros hits... Listen to the Music ~~ That got my day started with a smile, cause as you all should know I do LOVE to Listen to My Music 24-7... :) :) :)

Well it has been Forever since I have Posted and I have had Posts in my head, but Never got to Post them, so I will try to attempt to catch up in a Not sooooo Lonnnnnnnnnng Ramblin here!

Hi Robyn ~~ I am glad to hear your Ticket dilemma worked out alright and that you got to see the show from the edge of the stage, that had to be fun ~~ Neat that you and Valynda and Nanci were able to meet and share the gift of preshow excitement.. I am really curious about Evan & Jaron, I like all of their songs, could you share some of the song titles you heard by them, and I would love to hear what you think about their new CD, cool you getting one and them siging it... I didn't even know they had a new cd out. Thanks :) ~~ I too love Matt's new song he shared with us on his site... it is kinda a sad song, but he sings it soooo Sincerely and that is one of Matt's most likeable Qualities... I love to hit the replay button on it for sure! ~~ Too much Gerry having a new TEA t-shirt on... hmmm what a nice advertising method huh! :) I hope some of your pics come out, I would love to see your pics.

Thanks A BUNCH Mo & NancyM for sharing your pics from the Turning Stone show last week. I really enjoyed seeing all of them and I must say that I am very curious about the one pic that NancyM has titled Having Fun!, I noticed Mo also captured a close pic of Gerry with this out of the world NICE SMILE and I would love if you guys would share with me what is behind this smile... Email me please !!!! :) Thanks for sharing the Playlist with us Mo and sooo great you getting to hear All My Life again.. I am Hoping too that when I do get to see them again, that I will get to hear this Gem as well! ~~ By the Happy Smiles and Twinklin Eyes in your pics, I can tell I MISSED OUT on a very special evening for sure...

Hi Karen ~~ I have been hitting the replay button on Tom Petty's "Last Dance with Mary Jane" song and here are some of my Late Thoughts on this song.. The very beginnig of this song reminds me of a AMERICA song.. and my Busy Busy Crazy Mind won't bring the song title to me... I also can hear the song Sweet Home Alabama in this music at times, as well as a touch of the Rolling Stones sound, I just gotta say that this song spells out the magic of the Southern Comfort Rock songs sound... I really get a Kick out of Tom's Lyrics them leave me with some pretty crazy Visuals! I can see the part where you think you can hear Gerry doing the backing Vocals, and I can relate with what would make you think this was Gerry. ~~ Anyway thanks for bringing this song up, I had always wanted to hear it!

Hey there Mark M ~~ Just a wonderin here, was there a Holiday celebrated there in Utah this past Monday, was it called something like Pioneer day? Upon you mentioning that you have another day off cause of a holiday, this brought this wondering back to my mind... The software company that works with my new credit union is based there in Utah and they weren't in last monday to help out with a system glitch..

Hmmm Joe Doyle's CD hasn't arrived in my Mail Yet... Boooo Hoooo,neither has my son's new cell phone... Mr Mailman, what ooooooh what could be delaying these things???? I hope mine didn't get lost! I have been waiting for it to come!

Thanks Steve O for the laugh and smile you brought to me when I read that your daughters had you play Disco Duck on and Candy Man ~~ tooo much, both of these songs are Classics in their own rites huh!!!! :)

Hey there Robl ~~ I really could list a million songs for ones that I loved from the first time hearing them... but I will limit myself here... the first one that came to my mind is Gerry's song "Kiss of Life" and upon thinking of this song I had to play it and hit the replay button... another of Gerry's is "Houses in White" this song just caught my wonderins immediately... Dewey's Garden of Peace, Young Moon & You Girl, Dan's These Brown Eyes, Don't Cry Baby, Missing You (Chelsea's song), Hmmm Dido's songs "Resting Here With You (the Roswell tv show theme song) and also her song "The Thank You Song" ~~ Sarah McLachlan's "Building a Mystery", The Eagles "I Can't Tell You Why" and "Love will Keep Me Alive", Don Henley's "Boy's of Summer" Phil Collins "Hold On My Heart", Tears for Fear "Advice For the Young at Heart", Michael Jackson's song "Billy Jean", The Monkees Cheer Up Sleepy Jean, Fleetwood Mac's songs... too many of them to seperately list, Ooooooh noooo I am starting to get carried away, sooo many great songs can be listed here! :)

Thanks Allesandra for the Italian article and for translating it for us. I enjoyed reading it! ~~ I too agree they should get AMERICA to play for this music festival.

Ooooh DanC ~~ Nice to hear you had a great time at the Fogerty show, and I knew when Johnny posted that the Jayhawks were gonna be on Austin City Limits this saturday night, that you definitely would be checking it out.. I too hope to get to see this!

Well Mo my ramblins on this subject is really late, but the day that you posted it I had done something I normally nerver do at all. I had lunch at a small cafe all by myself... it was a nice part of my 9 hour workday.. I ordered the Turkey\Bacon club sandwich on rye toast with mayo on the side, I must admit it was the quietest lunch I have ever had LOL! ~~ Also about 2 weeks ago I was at TGi Friday's and I ordered their Chicken Breast sauteed in white cheese & wine sauce with angel hair pasta that had these little green sprouts there were quite tasty and bacon and mushrooms... I am normally not one to try new dishes, but this was one new dish that I really enjoyed trying. :)

Okay Last but definitely not Least ~~ You are More Than Welcome Reddddd ~~ I am soooo happy that you are enjoying these great songs! Thank you for all of your history posts this week and as usual I am loving your tie in lyrics, keep them a coming my way! :) ;) ~~ I second your saying to Traveler "Have a Great time at the show tonight" How I would love to be there for this show!

Windwave Oooooh Windwave can you hear me now, are you going to the show tonight... and Jimnak have you spotted Steve L yet, By chance is he there for the show tonight too and will get to join them for the Horse dip again! I hope sooooooo! :) :) :)

Have a great weekend all and I want to extend Happy Birthday wishes to one of our die hard Fan Friend Jim Kelly from England, Have a Great day tomorrow Jim, I Hope it is filled with all that makes you Happiest! See ya, Nancy :)

~~~ How can I last another night alone without you, sooo far away, and missing all the things that you do, if I could hold you in my arms for just one minute of tonight, I know I'd say the words I find sooo hard to make it right, each night away from you I seee, all the things you really mean to me, LOVE is the BRIDGE that Links our Hearts, keepin Us Close when We're Apart, I always knew right from the start, Love is the Bridge that runs from Heart to Heart ~~ Sing it LRB :) ;)

Hey Trav ~~ Let us Know if You get to Hear Mad Dog tonight!!!!! Sing it for her please Gerry! Hey Dewey ~~ I hope the Moon is shining bright on this Humphrey's show setting... how about singing Young Moon, that would be pure AMERICA Heaven at its best!!!! :) ;)

I see that they are advertising the Sydney Concert DVD on Venturahighway.com. The cover looks really nice. Can't wait to get it.

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 23, 2004

57 years ago - Singer David Essex is born. (1947)

42 years ago - The American Communications satellite, Telstar, makes its first trans-Atlantic transmission which inspires British record producer Joe Meek to pen "Telstar." The instrumental tune is recorded later in the week by the Toronados. The song becomes a big hit. (1962)

35 years ago - James Brown walks out of L.A. Mayor Sam Yorty's office when the mayor fails to show up at 10 a.m. as promised. Yorty was going to present Brown with a proclamation declaring James Brown Day. (1969)

34 years ago - Pressure from the community and the local government persuades a New Haven, Connecticut district court to rule against the Powder Ridge Rock Festival. It's decided that the festival would create a public nuisance and can't be held even though over 18,000 tickets have all ready been sold. Acts like Chuck Berry, Led Zeppelin and Janis Joplin are notified of a ban on their appearance at the site. The crowds come anyway. (1970)

27 years ago - Led Zeppelin's drummer, John Bonham, manager Peter Grant and two secuirty guards are arrested backstage at the Oakland Coliseum. They were charged with battery after allegedly beating up three employees of Bill Graham, the groups Oakland concert promoter. After pleading guilty to misdemeanors, the accused settle out of court for two million dollars. (1977)

27 years ago - Foreigner's "Cold As Ice" is released. (1977)

24 years ago - Former Grateful Dead keyboardist, Keith Godchaux dies of injuries sustained in a car accident in Marin County, California. (1980)

23 years ago - Billy Squier earns his first gold album. He has a big hit with his second solo record, "Don't Say No." (1981)

14 years ago - Production begins on the film, "Falling From Grace", which marks John Mellencamp's acting and directing debut. (1990)

12 years ago - Bruce Springsteen opens his first U.S. tour since 1988 at The Brendan Byrne arena in the Meadowlands complex in New Jersey. The Boss plays 10 sold out shows in the 21,000 seat arena, with some of the shows going until 1AM. (1992)

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The Curtain Rods

She spent the first day packing her belongings into boxes, crates and suitcases.

On the second day, she had the movers come and collect her things.

On the third day, she sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining room table by candlelight, put on some soft background music, and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar, and a bottle of Chardonnay.

When she had finished, she went into each and every room and
deposited a few half-eaten shrimp shells, dipped in caviar, into
the hollow of the curtain rods. She then cleaned up the kitchen and left.

When the husband returned with his new girlfriend, all was bliss
for the first few days. Then slowly, the house began to smell.
They tried everything; cleaning and mopping and airing the place
out. Vents were checked for dead rodents, and carpets were steam
cleaned. Air fresheners were hung everywhere.

Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, during
which they had to move out for a few days, and in the end they
even paid to replace the expensive wool carpeting.

Nothing worked. People stopped coming over to visit...
Repairmen refused to work in the house...The maid quit...

Finally, they could not take the stench any longer and decided to
move.

A month later, even though they had cut their price in half, they
could not find a buyer for their stinky house. Word got out, and
eventually, even the local realtors refused to return their calls.

Finally, they had to borrow a huge sum of money from the bank to
purchase a new place.

The ex-wife called the man, and asked how things were going. He
told her the saga of the rotting house. She listened politely, and
said that she missed her old home terribly, and would be willing to
reduce her divorce settlement in exchange for getting the house back...

Knowing his ex-wife had no idea how bad the smell was, he agreed
on price that was about 1/10th of what the house had been
worth...But only if she were to sign the papers that very day. She
agreed, and within the hour, his lawyers delivered the paperwork.
A week later, the man and his new girlfriend stood smirking as
they watched the moving company pack everything to take to their
new home...

including the curtain rods.

I LOVE A HAPPY ENDING, DON'T YOU????

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Curiosity (Killed The Cat) - LRB

Sometimes I think I'm just a crazy cat,
running around don't know where it's at,
getting confused with my way of life,
that's when you say now you cut that jive.

Right now, right now.

You keep this flame I have alit in me,
and with this cat it's curiosity,
that keeps me hanging on night and day,
surprisingly again I hear you say.

Guess what, guess what.

Curiosity killed the cat,
I'm telling you I know where it's at,
love is everywhere to be found,
open your eyes and look around.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

TGIF and Traveler, have a blast 2nite at the show.

I also want to extend a big thank you to Jim Kelly(you'll know why) for making work easier to tolerate.

RO

Evan and Jaron Half a dozen. I was really impressed with them last night.

Hey Julie
I acually have the day off because tomorrow is a holiday here in Utah.
"Logins & Messina" are playing as I write this. "Best of friends"
Mark M

Johnny
I looked up "The Jayhawks" on the internet...they do have a number of CD's, so they must be worthwhile. If I can I will watch "Austin city limits" saterday.
"The Beach Boys" have a great rendition of "Frosty the snowman". Is that who the unkown artist might be?
Mark M

Ric Ocasek - Quick Change World

On a sunny and mellow Friday morning drive into work I listened to "The Best of James Taylor", the new career spanning 20 song compilation of his hits. Great collection of songs like "Shower the People", "Fire and Rain", "You've Got a Friend", "Long Ago and Far Away", "Up On A Roof" and so many more...

Best of Bowie

I've been listening to XM's "IT" feature as they roll through the 80's playing a majority of the Top 40 hits. They're currently in 1987. However,my girls had me play them "Disco Duck" on the way to daycare this morning,followed by Sammy Davis' "Candy Man",LOL!

Squeeze's - Piccadilly Collection (featuring the very cool song, "Annie Get Your Gun")

America - Hat Trick
Truly a classic

Robyn, I'm soooo glad you got to go! And right up at the stage, great! I'm sure it couldn't get better. You must be in heaven. Too bad no meet and greet, tho. Sounds like you had a fantastic time!!

Mr. Blue Eyes on "Sh-Boom" and "Mr. Sandman".

Fountains of Wayne, "Welcome Interstate Managers."

Tom Petty's "Full Moon Fever"

Rainy Dreary Friday A.M. But TGIF. Got Robert Lamm singing alot of Chicago's Greatest Hits to me...Who's helping you commute to work?

Joe rocks!

I was leaning my arms on the stage. I can't remember being this close to the action--at least for America- in a long time. Riverside started up as the curtain was being drawn back. It sounded great. I will not evaluate each and every song but some of the highlights are:

during Ventura Highway, Willie Leacox ACTUALLY cracked half a smile.

At one point Dewey forgot to change guitars and Pete came up behind him and ahemmed to get his attention while he was talking. He was so flustered he could not get his pater straight. That was pretty funny.

Gerry took of his jacket to reveal a nifty new TEA t-shirt. Gotta have one. I was wearing my Tea button, which I got at Rusty's I told a lot of people about the band (Tea) and sent them to the website. I pointed to the button during the show but it is very small and I doubt the band knew what the heck it was.
The show was INCREDIBLE! The band was as loose and as happy as I have seen them in a long time. Because I have been totally stressed out lately I really enjoyed the opportunity to yell, sing, dance and generally act silly. One question. How the heck does Rich Campbell manage to look so cool, so neat and crisp under the lights running around like he does. Ah one of life's mysteries.

Nice to hear No Where Man. Gerry tossed a tshirt into the audience causing a small feeding frenzy. Woodz was his usual playful but professional self. The band looked like they were having a great time.

Bones to pick--

No "All My life" I was bummed but did not really expect it.

No meet-and greet. I get kind of envious of the East Coast Fans who get to meet with the band afterward. C'mon you guys, sign some MErch for your LA fans! ( Climbing off the soap box)

Anyway nice to see Bryce Sonderberg from Tea and AM radio. We talked with him at the end of the night. As I have said, Bryce is a nice guy and very talented. Someone asked for his autograph while I was talking to him. And once again, someone yelled his name to get him to come backstage. Bryce said it was the first time he had seen the band. He loved it.

It was a great show and a nice night. We snuck some pics but I don't think they came out. ah well....

Hmm, this may be a two part review I have a lot to say about tonight's show.

First of all let me fess up as to how I got my tix replaced. I lied. sort of. When I spoke with the guy at Ticketmaster I simply said "I do not have my tickets" which was true, but why was something I did not offer up. So when I got to the ticket office and they could not FIND my tix, I panicked. But I had the copy of my ticketmaster order and all the proper ID so they printed me a set. Relief!

We went to eat at the HOB ( oh yeah I made dinner reservations to get in ahead of the crowd, which was nice) Traffic was dreadful. It took us 1 1/2 hours to get about 50 miles. I was worried but we got there in good time. We ran into Kaumyar, the former drummer for mB and currently playing for Big City Rock. Nice to see him and meet his mom, briefly.

We went into the club and after much discussion, decided to go downstairs and stand next to the stage. Mind you I was wearing four inch platform shoes but hey I wanted to see the band up close and personal. and I did! I found myself standing between Nanci, who will probably post the set list she was keeping ( we were playing Name that tune-lol) and Valerie ( Valynda) and her two sisters. We stood there for almost an hour laughing and talking before the opening act Evan and Jaron. Boy was I impressed, as were a lot of people around us Nice guys ( one woman called out "eye candy" to them causing them to blush mightly) they had a very easy manner with the audience and with each other. We even bough their cd which they graciously signed. Then it was time for the main event...

Very interesting and fun question, Bruce. By the way, like Sir Joe, I tried listening to your song awhile back. I even made a special trip to the public library for that purpose since I can't listen to any music on my computer. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to listen to it at the library either. It wouldn't download.

Regarding "1st Time Listens", I have three songs that I really liked the first time I heard them and they were during the same time period...41 years ago! Two of the songs are the Beatles'. They're: "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You". The other is by an unknown artist. The song is "Frosty The Snowman", man. Haa-haa. I loved the three songs when I first heard them back in the 1st or 2nd grade. The two Beatles songs are still major favorites. I've learned to outgrow the third one, but I enjoyed it immensely as an adult while listening to it on "Holiday Harmony".

Mark M ~ About The Jayhawks, I'm not knowledgeable about them; I have only two of their CDs. They were strongly recommended here by KevinS who probably knows more about them and their music than most anyone here, I would guess. I purchased "Hollywood Town Hall" which I like. It was following by my purchase of their CD, "Sound Of Lies", which I didn't like as well but it's still enjoyable. I would classify their music as country-rock. It definitely has the sound of both. I can't think of another band who is similar but maybe someone else here can.

Alessandra,

Thanks for translating the article & for your all your efforts since you said you're not a professional translator. Interesting items too such as when they said they thought of themselves as the acoustic version of the Eagles. I take the minutes for Board meetings and like Karen... I have to constantly translate all the acronyms they use into English. We have so many acronymns it seems like a foreign language... and actually have to use a company dictionary figure them all out. So thanks for your efforts, you too Bruno! By the way, I caught some of the San Remo Festival at a local bar a while back, and it was a little boring if I can remember correctly. Yeah, it would be great if America was invited to be the guest act next year instead of Lionel Ritchie! I'd watch a lot more of it!

Ciao,
Jen

I put a spell on you - CCR. Simply awesome.

Bruce,

I join Robsl in thanking you for this fun suggestion! I could post a list that would be in the hundreds, given I go waaay back, and that I am a rock/pop music "aficionado" as you and others are too. However, I will just post a dozen from my "Love at first Listen" list with "when and where" I heard it:o)

Ventura Highway"-America, heard it at age 20 in New Orleans
"Runaway"- Del Shannon, heard it at age 9 in Rome, NY.
"Don't Be Cruel"- Elvis Presley, heard it at age 6 in Cuba in 1958!
"And I Love Her"- The Beatles, heard it at age 11 in Miami
"Under the Boardwalk"- The Drifters, heard it at age 12 in Donelson, Tenn.
"I Saw the Light"- Todd Rundgren, heard it at age 20 in New Orleans
"One of These Nights"-The Eagles, heard it at age 23 in New Orleans
"American Pie"-Don McLean, heard it at age 20 in New Orleans
"It's Too Late"- Carole King, heard it at age 19 in New Orleans
"Up on the Roof"- James Taylor, heard it at age 27 (surpasses the Drifter's version heard at age 10)in New Orleans
"Look What You've Done To me"- Boz Scaggs, heard it at age 29 in New Orleans
"Colour My World"- Chicago, heard it at age 19 in New Orleans
"The Game of Love"- Santana with Michelle Branch, heard it at age 51 in Baton Rouge, and amazingly made me feel young again, even if just for a fleeting moment.

With regards to your music, I did not comment on your music back then because I did not hear it. My computer at the time was not working properly. Perhaps the link will be available again and I can attempt to listen to it with my new computer.

Sir Joe

Great question, Bruce! There are so many songs I seem to have loved forever, but I can't really remember hearing them for the first time so I'd just be guessing. Here's a few I can think of that I'm sure about loving them the first time I heard them:

- Call of the Wild (America - Gerry)
- Ventura Highway (America - Dewey)
- Lonely People (America - Dan)
- You're The One For Me (Tracy Chapman)- *remembered that one thanks to seeing Rob mention another Tracy Chapman song* - it's got such a happy little beat going on; anyone else familiar with it?
- Closer To Fine (Indigo Girls)
- U2's version of Everlasting Love
- Beautiful Day (U2)

Hi Mark M. - I'd better leave it up to someone else here who knows more about the Jayhawks to fill you in on them. All I know is they have great sounding harmony, and I really like "Save It For A Rainy Day" enough to want to hear more. Seems to me they had another hit last year but I can't remember the name of it. For some reason, the music stores around me don't seem to have their CD(s) so I'll have to try to order their CD, "Rainy Day Music" one of these days!

Hey, on another note - I honestly thought of the same song you did when I first read "TWST"! Just thought I'd mention our little naming scheme when the song titles are too long to type out over again - lol! I'm sure you're right about the other similarities - that's pretty neat!

About the "shivers up and down my spine" - it's from Woman Tonight, but I can never remember if that is a Dan song or a Gerry song either. I just looked it up in my Highway set, and it appears that it is a Dan song! I don't know why I can never keep that straight - it's the only America song I have that trouble with.

Karen

Yep, ditto, Joe. Thanks very much. Great job and very generous of you.
Moser

I also received Joe's CD, and it is very nicely done indeed! You sure put a lot of thought and care into creating this, Joe. I'll be listening to this one a lot, that's for sure!! Thank you!

Finally had a chance to listen to Joe's Cd today,and not once but twice back to back. First off,thanks Joe for making it available to all the America fans here. Simply put,a stunning tribute to the guys. The kind of disc I want to keep in my car for my own singing purposes(not that I'm any good at it,LOL!)Its a fun disk,and your attention to detail is very impressive. I thought the track listing was good too--a broad mix of the guys music,and not just the standard "obvious" big hits. Sure,we get "Tin Man" and "Ventura Highway",but your inclusion of some of the lesser-known tracks is much appreciated by me,and I'm sure others on this site. 2 thumbs up for the music here! Outstanding!

Wow....I can't think of a better night? (except,an evening with Sandra B and Mark m);)

Bruce, how about "IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND/GORDON LIGHTFOOT"
"25 OR 6 TO 4/CHICAGO"
Mark m

Johnny & Karen L
All this talk about "The Jayhawks" has me wondering...who they are? What kind of music do they make? I just might be watching the special to find out ! Unless it's the night of the "America" concert.....which is one week from tonight !!
I see that I was wrong on the "twst" thing. Karen L the song he is talking about is one of "The Beatles" best compositions. "McCartneys" live version with the guitar solo at the end, still sends shivers down my spine! "I get the shivers up and down my spine" . Is that a "Dan Peek" line or "Gerry Beckly"?
Anyway the ironic thing is I thought of "Twist and shout". I just thought about the opening of Both "twist and shout" and "never be lonely" and the sound a lot alike ! The guitar riffs are strangly simular and the up tempo beat. I was thinking of the wrong song...but, he was still very right! lol It just struck me as kinda strange..... Mark M.

Rob, I should have said EXCEPT AMERICA re: my suggestion. I mean, otherwise there will be a lot of LONG LISTS posted here! =) As far as your compliment on my song, I really appreciate it. To be totally honest, Steve posted it (HIS idea) and no one commented, so I figured people must have thought it was so bad they didn't want to say anything. But then one person posted a compliment and someone else then e-mailed me and said it was "great". So that made me feel better. I just searched the archive and tried to access it, but the link doesn't work anymore. Oh yeah, I got Joe's CD and it's really good! Very cool hearing all those instrumental versions of AMERICA tunes. Good job Joe!

"Can't Let Go"
Lucinda Williams

<<no JESSE was singing that, orignally, not me!>>

I knew that! See what moving all those PAGES does?

As recently requested, and also by myself over a year ago, still wondering if there are any more America/Beatles encounter stories other than that given by Dan Peek on his site. Surely the guys all shared a smoke at one time or another... just would love to hear about where or when. Don't be shy.

no JESSE was singing that, orignally, not me! As for moving too many books, yeah I think so. We had twenty six building projects this go around, which included adding five more branches to our system. I like to say I can move them in my sleep-- and probably have!

Sausage Grill? Where they watch the squirrels go by? Someone has been moving a few too many books for one's lifetime, it seems. Gotta get out there sometime, I do. LOL

Several months ago, I was moving the West Hollywood library which is now on Sunset. Guess what was nearby? Right, the Sunset Grill. Couldn't get that song out of my head for DAYS. That and the fact that my frind's son Jesse who was about four at the time used to sing "Let's go down to the Sausage Grill....."

Thanks for the time of day, RO... In the early 90's I took my son to a Henley concert in Orlando. Like with Danae, it was his first real concert ever. Sunset Grill (and Boys of Summer) are burned into our brains forever, and it was one of those bonding kinda things. Awesome.

Gr8 lyrics urself there TT, very poignant.

Thanks for the reminder, Red... I can relate at this moment

Chewin' on a piece of cheese, scrollin' down the fo-ll-der...
Havin' a drink, thinkin' 'bout my li-ii-ver

(really was and still am... Mild Longhorn Style Colby)

Happy Birthday, Mr. Henley!

Let’s go down to the Sunset Grill
Watch the working girls go by
Watch the basket people walk around and mumble
And gaze out at the auburn sky
Maybe we’ll leave come springtime
Meanwhile, have another beer
What would we do without all these jerks anyway?
Besides, all our friends are here

Wednesday Morning

Hi everybody,
I love that topic, that you suggested Bruce. I'm trying to think back for some examples of stuff that I liked the first time that I heard it. Let me see...
Oh and just to put a disclaimer, America songs mostly wouldnt fit this category because I have been hearing most America songs since I was as young as i can remember, probably two or three, both of my parents are big fans of America and they used to play their albums quite a bit.)
So let me think... okay...
"Give Me One Reason" Tracy Chapman
"Intergalactic" Beastie Boys
"How to Disappear Completely" Radiohead
"Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" Sly and the Family Stone (even though this was many years old when i first heard it, i still loved it right away)
"My City of Ruins" Bruce Springsteen
"Town and Country" by America (loved it right away)
"Quattro (World Drifts In)" Calexico
"Kentucky Rain" Elvis Presley
"If You Really Love Me" Stevie Wonder
"Proof" Paul Simon
"96 Tears" Question Mark and the Mysterians and......
"Daysleeper" REM
Again, I loved the idea for topic of songs I liked the first time I heard them. I'm sure I will probably think of more after I post this.
Oh, also wanted to let you know , Bruce, that your song "Every Time I Look Into Your Eyes" is really good, and I am glad to have gotten the chance to hear it through this folder. Best of luck to you in music as you continue to record and write songs. You definitely have a talent that there aren't many people who have.
Rob L
Take care everyone.

Thanks for your help Bruce! I am so happy to have my ticket dilema solved you just don't know!

As for songs I loved the first time I heard them-- there are lots but the one's that come to mind Paula Cole's "where have all the cowboys gone?" and "over You" by Tea ( mB's group--and if you haven't heard it I strongly suggest you do, this song is wonderful!!!!)

Robyn, good for you getting those tickets! See? You had nothing to lose by trying! As far as the Jayhawks, I had never heard of them until I was watching Conan- or Leno- last winter- and suddenly I heard "Save It For A Rainy Day". I immediately liked it. Then I got their latest album. Now I'm a fan of theirs and will definitely watch "Austin City Limits" Saturday. Hey, how about this one- can each of you name a song that you immediately liked the FIRST time you heard it? That's tough- a lot of times a song has to "grow on me", but sometimes I like a song the first time I hear it. Here are some more that I immediately liked: "Last Night" (The Strokes), "This Kiss" (Faith Hill) "Heart of The Matter" (Don Henley) "Complicated" (Avril Lavigne)

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 22, 2004

57 years ago - Don Henley, drummer and vocalist for the Eagles, is born. (1947)

41 years ago - The Beatles' first U.S. album, "Introducing The Beatles" is released by Vee-Jay. (1963)

39 years ago - Rolling Stones Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Bill Wyman appear in a London courtroom and are found guilty of "insulting behavior" for urinating against a London gas station wall. They are fined five pounds each. (1965)

37 years ago - Vanilla Fudge makes its concert debut in New York. (1967)

35 years ago - Aretha Franklin is arrested for disorderly conduct after creating a disturbance in a Detroit parking lot. (1969) She sideswiped the valet with her chest.

33 years ago Thirteen days after lead singer Jim Morrison passes on, the Doors are awarded a gold album for "L.A. Woman." The L.P. included "Lover Her Madly" and "Riders on the Storm." (1971)

32 years ago - The variety show, "The Bobby Darin Amusement Company" premieres on CBS. (1972)

32 years ago - The Who's "Join Together" is released. (1972)

27 years ago - Elvis Costello's first album, "My Aim Is True" is released in Britain. It will be released later in the year in the States. (1977)

25 years ago - Little Richard, known as Reverend Richard Penniman, speaks at a revival meeting in North Richmond, CA. He warns the congregation about the evils of rock & roll music and declares, "If God can save an old homosexual like me, he can save anybody." (1979)

24 years ago - It's announced that the Allman Brothers have signed with Clive Davis' label, Arista. (1980)

21 years ago - Diana Ross performs a concert in New York's Central Park. A show the night before was rained out. (1983)

8 years ago - INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence and girlfriend Paula Yates become parents to daughter Heavenly Hiranni Tigerlily. (1996)

7 years ago - Elton John and Sting were among the mourners at designer Gianni Versace's funeral in Milan, Italy. Versace was murdered the previous week in front of his Miami Beach home. Elton and Sting sang an arrangement of Psalm 23 and then Elton broke down after standing by the altar for 15 minutes. (1997)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Today is the B'day of Don Henley, one of rock's best singers & songwriters. Also, he is a member of one of the greatest rock bands ever assembled, the EAGLES. I'd like to salute Mr. henley with the following lyrics:

Don Henley - The Boys Of Summer

I never will forget those nights.
I wonder if it was a dream.
Remember how you made me crazy,
Remember how I made you scream.
Now I don't understand what
Happened to our love.
But, baby, I'm gonna get you back,
I'm gonna show you what I'm made of.

But I can see you,
Your brown skin shining in the sun.
I see you walking real slow and you're
Smiling at everyone.
And I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone.

Such a great song in concert..........

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Liver & Cheese -

Three handsome male dogs are walking down the street when they see a beautiful, enticing, female Poodle.

The three male dogs fall all over themselves in an effort to be the one to reach her first, but end up arriving in front of her at the same time.

The males are speechless before her beauty, slobbering on themselves and hoping for just a glance from her in return.

Aware of her charms and her obvious effect on the three suitors, she decides to be kind and tells them, "The first one who can use the words 'liver' and 'cheese' together in an imaginative, intelligent sentence can go out with me."

The sturdy, muscular black Lab speaks up quickly and says, "I love liver and cheese."

"Oh, how childish," said the Poodle. "That shows no imagination or intelligence whatsoever."

She turns to the tall, shiny Golden Retriever and says "How well can you do?"

"Um. I HATE liver and cheese," blurts the Golden Retriever.

"My, my," said the Poodle. "I guess it's hopeless. That's just as dumb as the Lab's sentence."

She then turns to the last of the three dogs and says, "How about you, little guy?"

The last of the three, tiny in stature but big in fame and finesse, is the Taco Bell Chihuahua.

He gives her a smile, a sly wink, turns to the Golden Retriever and the Lab and says .......

( Scroll down .....)




"Liver alone. Cheese mine."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the music, Nancy, appreciate your effort.

Take care all......

RO

Alessandra,

I was not being critical of you when I talked about the translation. I thought that the magazine had probably gotten it wrong or that militant did not have the same meaning in Italian as it does in English. I think most people in the US think of protesters or even terrorists when the word militant is used to describe somebody. Thank you very much for translating the article. I know it took some time and effort on your part, and I enjoyed reading it!

LOVE the Jayhawks, "Save It For A Rainy Day" song and have been meaning to get the CD - "Rainy Day Music", is it? I'll try to watch!

Mark M. - Wow, I'm so glad I was actually able to answer your question in a helpful way. I thought maybe I had made more out of The Beatles/America connection than there really was. I'm also glad Johnny threw in the info about "Things We Said Today" - I didn't know about that. (When I first read Johnny's line about "TWST" I thought of "Twist & Shout" too, but I'm thinking it's short for "Things We Said Today". Mark M., we do that a lot around here - Horse With No Name is HWNN, Sister Golden Hair is SGH. And they think we have a lot of acronyms at the office I work at!) Johnny, I'm not familiar with that song (will probably recognize it when I hear it though) but will try to find it and give it a listen. I love "Never Be Lonely" so will probably like TWST too! Only one week until your America concert, Mark M. - right?!

I better get going. Took a few vacation days for family time and home improvement projects that I'm actually excited about. Have to make the most of the day (and take advantage of my husband having the time set aside to help with the to-do list).

Karen

This "other" will be watching for sure.DanC.

McCartney in 2002 at the United Center in Chicago. Followed by America in Peoria, 1983(?)DanC.

Johnny, I think youare right about "twist and shout" and "Never be lonely". They really do sound simular. I did notice that "Nowhere man" was in the line up of songs someone had mentiond. I never realized they (America)were doing as many covers as they do. Other than"Caifornia dreaming" I have never heard any other covers by them.
I hope they do "Nowhere man" here next week...I'd love to here it !
Mark M

Mark, macchiefs, Johnny it’s true: something got lost in the translation!
As for “Catholic”, yes my mistake!!! I should have written “Christian”.
The article actually says “militant”, but I can’t tell what the author really meant by that. In Italian the word “militant” identify someone who is actively involved or take part in a project, organization or movement.
For sure GB or DB (it doesn’t say who was being interviewed) used different words, “militante” is Mr Lodetti's interpretation ....“militant” is mine...and probably something got lost in translation!
I’m not a professional translator so there might be other misinterpretations in my English version. Be patient with me!!!
Anyway, to me the strange thing in this article is America watching Sanremo Festival. Did they really watch it? Hmmm. I don't know. It’s the most boring broadcast of all time!!!! (…unless they are playing!).
Ciao
Ale

Kevin, NancyH, and others ~ I see that the Jayhawks will be sharing the hour's performance this coming Saturday night on "Austin City Limits". I plan to watch (and record).

Mark M and Karen ~ D&G have also covered the Beatles' "Things We Said Today". As someone here previously mentioned (maybe Andy or Eddy?), "TWST" does have somewhat of a similar sound to Gerry's "Never Be Lonely" or at least I think so and that's definitely a good thing (the similar sound, that is).

I would love to see forgerty ! He has been here or is comming here soon. If he hasn't already been, I might go yet. :)
I have his live CD, and it is very good....one of the best.

Hi Karen L
Thanks for the connections you mentioned....cause for some reason, I didn't know all of that? You would think I would...and have often wonderd why they never made any kind of connection, since they did record some in Abby road studios. As much as I have studied these 2 bands, I somehow have missed somethings ! lol Thank you, I have only been on this site for a few days and Im already more America wise....and loving it!
I hope you get a chance to see the "concert for George"...I cryed thru much of it the first time I saw it. "These brown eyes of mine, they've been doing some powerful crying" (ok, blue)
Robyn, this will be my 10th America concert....and they are always worth the time and money spent. I would travel to see them if I had a good chance. I drove from Salt lake city to Las Vegas to see Paul McCartney, and it was wonderful! I think the traveling makes it even better. Mark M

Best show you ever saw???

Saw John Fogerty tonight and what a great show. Just good solid rock n roll. He hasn't lost a thing in his voice and his pickin' still kicks it. He also seems to truly appreciate his fans and I like that a lot. One of my top 5 shows of all time.DanC.

I always go with adventure/variety and sometimes I regret it.DanC.

Wow, now I can see why some of you do the "catch-up" posts! Twice this week I've been away from the chat folder for about 24 hours, and a lot happens! (That's really good, though! Lots of fun conversation going on!)

HOB - That's great news, Robyn!! I hope you have a really fun night out! Please tell us all about it as soon as possible.

Mo - I always order the southwest chicken salad at Applebee's, so I guess I'm in the category that sticks with what they know! Did they play "Southern Cross" at the CSN show? I love that song! Also, good point about the Traveling Wilburys. I wonder what Gerry's Wilbury name would be?

Hi Cathy Rink! Nice to hear from you, and thanks for your input on the Petty songs.

Mark M. - about the America/Beatles connections, I'm not as knowledgeable as some here. I've learned a lot from this chat folder but have only been around here a little over a year. All I know is, as you mentioned, they both had George Martin as their producer. Also, America met The Beatles at least once (maybe much more, for all I know) - because last year when they sang The Beatles' "I Need You" song during their concerts, Gerry talked about meeting George Harrison and kind of apologizing that they also had a song by the same title and George said something like, "That's ok, we copied it from someone else." Now America is doing "Nowhere Man" as part of their show. So that's about all I know. America obviously thinks quite a lot of The Beatles, and I read somewhere that Tom Petty did as well even in his earlier years. I have to check out the Concert for George soon - haven't had a chance to see it yet.

Red Oak - Cat Stevens is one of my other most favorites, and Peace Train is such a cool song. I can't even imagine getting to see Cat Stevens and America in concert the same night when they toured together. (And you are right about the Q-Tips! I'm sure that is what they were originally designed for! Go figure.)

Danae - tell us about your concert experience, ok?

There - that's about all there is to my two cents worth for now. Karen

Enjoy the Doors! I want to see your review here

in the Musikladen video, it appears Dan is nursing one gnarly hangover ( or as it is called in German a "katzenjammer") That and the lack of preparation that they were allowed probablyy contributed to Gerry's looking less than sunny. At one point Dewey asks if they can do a song over and he is told by someone off camera to keep going.

I have seen them at leaast a dozen ( or more) times They never fail to be wonderful. Enjoy!

Hey Robyn !!! That is way cool!! Hope the Utah concert will be as sweet as yours ! Mark M

Way to go, Robyn!!

That is wonderful news! Have a *terrific* time. I'm so glad this has turned around so nicely for you! :o)

-- Madolyn

Robyn, Yay! or yeah!!! Ticketmaster isn't so heartless afterall. So glad they made an exception and gave you tickets. I bet it'll be packed. By the way, did you cry possibly? sometimes it actually works.

Jen

Robyn, I'm so glad you got your tickets. Enjoy the show. Tell us all about it.~~Cathy

AMERICA's performance will be their homecoming show for 2004. It will be BIG, VERY BIG. Rumor has it that even Steven Lowry has been spotted in & around the Huntington Beach area, likely looking for Anaheim.

I talked to a nice person at Ticketmaster and my tix will be at the box office!!!!!! Can you say YEAH?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thanks to everyone who gave me a suggestion or some kind words. YOU GUYS ROCK! ( am i happy?? oh YES!)

Moser, the P=Pevar (Jeff Pevar). I'm not a rabid fan -- I have CPR's first album, and it's okay (the big hit "Morrison" is great). I love CSN[Y]. Here's CPR's website: http://www.crosbycpr.com/

Yes, I still live in Boston! I went to the Cohasset show earlier this month. Next time I see America, I will plan to stay after the show and properly meet the fellers, maybe get a photo with them.

Oh, and another thing -- I rented the Musik Laden DVD from NetFlix -- the 1975 performance. I was struck by how Gerry looks really great now; he was always handsome, but I dunno -- maybe it was a combination of a bad hair day for him and unforgiving video lighting -- anyway, I think he looks better now than in that particular video. Also, it was odd to see him so serious and almost moody, given that he's so smiley now. Dewey was very cute in the video. I'm a Dewey girl. ;o)

-- Madolyn

Moser
I usually order #23 at my favorite Chineese restaraunt...it's great ! It has all of my favorite entree's.
Than one night I went for #5 !! lol I am back to # 23...what group do you think I am in?
Mark M.

Thanks Johnny....that right there is something I didn't know.
Thank you to Dan.....Mark M

YES! That's his name. Cool. I did not know that. (Fortunately for Crosby, Stills, as well as Nash, I am only obsessive-compulsive about one band. I, therefore, don't know much about CSN other than I like to listen to their music.)

Two questions:
What does the P in CPR stand for?

Do you still live near Boston? Great town that town.

Another one that was a very pretty acoustic piece was written by the keyboard player, James-somebody.

Was it James Raymond? If so, that's David Crosby's long-lost biological son (he was adopted by another family at birth) -- they found each other several years back and now are in the band CPR together (R for Raymond).

I first saw America in the mid-80s perform as a warm-up act to Steven Stills at Great Woods outside Boston. It was a great show.

-- Madolyn

Most of the time I'll get the #1 off of the Mickey D's menu but sometimes I live it up and get the #2 and might even Super size it.
Hope this helps Mo.

Moser, if you always order the same thing at a restaurant, how do you know if there’s anything ELSE that’s good? You gotta take a chance sometime! As far as my name, here’s what happened: For years, I would get phone calls asking, “Is this Bruce Martin?” uh, yeah—I said—“Is this Bruce Martin the photographer?” uh, no. So this would go on and on…then one day I decided to create a unique identity. I decided to use my entire legal name on just about everything. So I then became the only person in the New York City tri-state area to have this name. Actually, I may even be the only one in the USA to have the name! So that’s why I have three names. But my friends just call me “Bruce”. They also sometimes call me other things that would not be suitable to print here! =)

Topic 1: Your quote, "I go through life with this philosophy: If you have nothing to lose, go for it! Try it- it works!"

I so totally agree with that. It never hurts to ask. Or, as my mother's more eloquent saying goes, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
Speaking of the woman, she celebrates her 75th birthday today. Happy, happy Mum. (As if she'd read this. Right.) Unfortunately, I think that saying was one that she taught us but didn't apply to her own life. I guess it was in hope of wanting something better for her kids.

Topic 2: I try to apply the 'nothing ventured, nothing gained' concept in everything except ordering off of a menu. My theory here is when you find something good, stick with it. Which, I've explained to my husband, is why I still like him after all these years and why America is still my favorite band. Jeff on the other hand always picks something different from the menu. This worries me on many levels....

Topic 3: Your name is unique. It's a 'three first names' name. That kind of name is rare. I've only known two other people in my life with such a name. My mum before marriage was Mary Lou Hellein (pronounced like Helen). And my freshman boyfriend was Michael David Richard. It didn't last long between us. He quickly moved up the social ladder of dating when the eventual homecoming queen started to notice him. It was my first personal proof that gentlemen prefer blondes. I think I may get over it soon.

Can you tell I have something I'm trying to put off doing??!! Well, it's either ramble on here or graze through the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets. Forgive me while I save calories by being LONG WINDED.

Okay. I'm done...where's the Hershey's bars?

Nice photos Mo!! You and NancyM have great perma-grins ;0)

Sorry about that double post! Since Steve is on vacation, I guess it will just have to sit there.

ROBYN: OK, re: your lost tickets, first off, do this from now on- as soon as you get tickets, photocopy them. Then keep the tickets separate from the copies. When you attend the event, take along the copies also, but don't carry them together with the originals- i.e. put the originals in your pocketbook and the copies in your shoe! Here's why- if you lose or destroy the originals, you have a shot at still getting in by showing the copies. Now, here's what I would suggest concerning your present dilemma: IF you know the seat & row numbers, why not call the venue and speak with a manager? Try to get as far up the food chain as you can when you call, i.e. you want to get further up than the person at the ticket window. If you live near the venue, go in person. Plead your case- that you accidentally destroyed the tix but since you know the exact info, could they please admit you anyway. Tell them that since the tix were destroyed, they can be assured that no one else will be showing up to sit there. If they say no, start crying (even more effective in person) If you have kids, bring them with you. (tell them to cry too!) You never know- lots of people might feel real sorry for you and give in. But this must be done in advance- I wouldn’t recommend trying this the evening of the concert. Look at it this way- what do you have to LOSE by trying? NOTHING! In general, I go through life with this philosophy: If you have nothing to lose, go for it! Try it- it works! MOSER: As far as your restaurant question, I eat at restaurants very often, and although I order my “regular stuff” lots of the time, I also commonly just spontaneously order whatever I feel like having at that moment. At my favorite restaurant (the one where I’ve been eating since 1975) I never even look at the menu- I just tell them what I want, and they make it. That’s one of the reasons it’s my favorite place. I despise restaurants that say “no substitutions”. At my favorite place, the waiter doesn’t even lift an eyebrow- they just take the order with a smi le and bring me what I want! Now that’s my kind of restaurant!!!

ROBYN: OK, re: your lost tickets, first off, do this from now on- as soon as you get tickets, photocopy them. Then keep the tickets separate from the copies. When you attend the event, take along the copies also, but don't carry them together with the originals- i.e. put the originals in your pocketbook and the copies in your shoe! Here's why- if you lose or destroy the originals, you have a shot at still getting in by showing the copies. Now, here's what I would suggest concerning your present dilemma: IF you know the seat & row numbers, why not call the venue and speak with a manager? Try to get as far up the food chain as you can when you call, i.e. you want to get further up than the person at the ticket window. If you live near the venue, go in person. Plead your case- that you accidentally destroyed the tix but since you know the exact info, could they please admit you anyway. Tell them that since the tix were destroyed, they can be assured that no one else will be showing up to sit there. If they say no, start crying (even more effective in person) If you have kids, bring them with you. (tell them to cry too!) You never know- lots of people might feel real sorry for you and give in. But this must be done in advance- I wouldn’t recommend trying this the evening of the concert. Look at it this way- what do you have to LOSE by trying? NOTHING! In general, I go through life with this philosophy: If you have nothing to lose, go for it! Try it- it works! MOSER: As far as your restaurant question, I eat at restaurants very often, and although I order my “regular stuff” lots of the time, I also commonly just spontaneously order whatever I feel like having at that moment. At my favorite restaurant (the one where I’ve been eating since 1975) I never even look at the menu- I just tell them what I want, and they make it. That’s one of the reasons it’s my favorite place. I despise restaurants that say “no substitutions”. At my favorite place, the waiter doesn’t even lift an eyebrow- they just take the order with a smi le and bring me what I want! Now that’s my kind of restaurant!!!

It will be held tomorrow! In 26 or so hours I will be at Lycabettus watching the Doors!
I'm really excited! i've never been to a concert before, so I'm much more excited.
It's a pity that my first concert wasn't one of America...
I still haven't decided what to paint. (My teacher gave me a big canvas on the last day of school to paint something by september). I bought some art books but I still haven't found what I'm looking for. Dad suggested that I shoud make something like expressionism or impressionism, but it's difficult. Can you help? It would be perfect if I had to make a wallpaper...

Mo, your pics were just great. Really, why does Gerry take off his glasses when he wants to read something? Can't he see close with them?

Excellent photos, Nancy M. Thank you for sharing them. I especially love the one you've titled, "Having fun!" Woodz and Gerry look like they're cracking each other up. Great shot.
I thought I had missed a song in the setlist. How could I forget Woman Tonight? Thanks.

I'm sure the interview was translated at least twice. Gerry and Dewey probably answered questions in English, then the magazine translated it into Italian. Then Alessandra translated it back into English (btw, thank you very much Alessandra!). So it would not be surprising if it were a little off and "devout Christian" or something like it ended up as "militant Catholic." It is not a big deal.

I have noticed that Eurpoean press and critics sometimes refer to America's music as "country-rock." What we in the US call folk-rock, is often lumped into the country-rock category overseas. While America had some country sounding songs, like "Don't Cross The River" and "Old Virginia" they weren't nearly as country influenced as groups like the Eagles.

Are you the kind of person who orders "the usual" off the menu in your favorite restaurant or the kind of person who always tries a different dish for adventure/variety?

This is an ongoing discussion in our house. As you can tell, we are easily amused!! Just curious about other folks.

RO--
Maybe Q-tips are meant to clean "woobies" out of belly buttons, eh?
By the way, you crack me up. Thanks.
Moser

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 21, 2004

57 years ago Singer Cat Stevens was born. (1947)

48 years ago - Billboard calls Elvis Presley "the most controversial entertainer since Liberace." The article also notes that Ed Sullivan, who once said Presley would never appear on his show, just signed the singer for three appearances. (1956)

33 years ago - Carole King receives a gold album for "Tapestry." (1971)

32 years ago - Rod Stewart releases "Never a Dull Moment." The album peaks at number two and has two top 40 hits, "You Wear it Well" and a re-make of Jimi Hendrix's "Angel." (1972)

25 years ago - Genesis' first album in over two years, "Duke," goes gold. The LP makes it up to #11 and gives the group their first major hit, "Turn It On Again." (1979)

25 years ago - Robert Palmer's "Bad Case Of Loving You" is released. (1979)

24 years ago - The Grateful Dead's Keith Godchaux is injured in a car accident. He dies two days later. (1980)

17 years ago - Guns 'n Roses release their debut album, "Appetite For Destruction." (1987)

15 years ago - Weird Al Yankovic's first movie, "UHF" opens. (1989)

14 years ago - Roger Waters performs "The Wall" at Potsdamer Platz, Germany -- the site of the former Berlin Wall. Other artists making guest appearances included Cyndi Lauper, Joni Mitchell, Bryan Adams and Phil Collins. At the end of the concert, a mock wall made of plastic foam fell. Proceeds from ticket sales went to an international fund for disaster relief. (1990)

14 years ago - BBC's Radio One apologizes to listeners after Madonna repeatedly cursed during a live concert broadcast. (1990)

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Cat Stevens - Peace Train

Now I've been happy lately
Thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be
Something good has begun
I've been smiling lately
Dreaming about the world as one
And I believe it could be
Something good's bound to come

For out on the edge of darkness
There runs the peace train
Peace train take this country
Come take me home again

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Cowboy Boots

Am elderly couple, Ray & Bessie, are "snowbirds" in Texas. Ray had always wanted a pair of authentic cowboy boots. Seeing them on sale one day, he buys them, and wears them home walking proudly. He walks into the house and says to his wife: "Notice anything different about me?" Bessie looks him over, "Nope."

Frustrated, Ray storms off into the bathroom, undresses, and walks back into the room completely naked except for the cowboy boots. Again, he asks, a little louder this time, "Notice anything DIFFERENT NOW?"

Bessie looks up & says, "Ray, what's different? It's hanging down today, it was hanging down yesterday, and it'll be hanging down again tomorrow.

Furious, Ray yells, "AND DO YOU KNOW WHY IT IS HANGING DOWN, BESSIE?" IT'S HANGING DOWN BECAUSE IT'S LOOKING AT MY NEW BOOTS!!!!!" To which Bessie replies, "Shoulda bought a hat, Ray. Shoulda bought a hat."

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Happy Hump Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Her are some upcoming shows for Little River Band:

7/21/04 - Calumet Theater in Calument, Michigan
7/22/04 - Lumberjack Days in Stillwater, Minnesota
7/23/04 - Rosebud Casino in Valentine, Nebraska

Catch em if you can, they are tremendous. Australia can have Shorrock, Goble & Beetles. I'll take this group of singers & players anyday.

The new CD for LRB is called "Test of Time." It can be purchased at their shows or thru their website, www.littleriverband.com.

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If you're not supposed to stick Q-tips in your ear, what the hell are they for?

RO

Thanks Alessandra for posting the America article. I, too, thought the term "militant Catholic" was quite interesting and would like to know if you think its due to a translation "error". Does anyone know if there is even such a thing as a "militant Catholic"? Interesting, too, in my opinion was D or G being asked about country music. I saw on CMT last month that the Eagles were being credited for the current country-rock sound due to the Eagles' music in the 70s.

Karen ~ The only "CRY BABY" playing in my house is Dan's "Don't CRY BABY". : )

Mark M ~ Here's a trivia tidbit that Dan Peek kindly shared with us: The cow bell used on "In The Country" is the same one used on the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine"!

You missed "Woman Tonight", Mo, between The Border and Only in Your Heart.
I've also posted some photos from Turning Stone on VH.com and http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/America_BeckleyandBunnell/. I've put them in both places since my photos don't always upload on VH. I'll check out your new ones, too, Mo.
Robyn, I feel soooo bad for you! Go anyway. Maybe Gerry nad Dewey will get you in!

Robyn, sorry about you ticket problems.
I hope I can brighten up your day just a little bit by sending you two "America at the Sydney Opera House" tickets with stubs for the concert held on 30 January,2004 plus the newspaper promotional poster. (attach them to the new DVD when you get it).

Could you e-mail me your details. That's of course if you want them!

JUST DON'T TRY AND GET A REFUND, THEY WERE WELL AND TRUELY USED.

Regards Bluey.

Bluey.

Friday's Setlist At Turning Stone
(I think I may have missed one here.)
Riverside
VH
Magic
Don't Cross
DJ
Last Unicorn
Company (major rocker)
Three Carnations (from the little girl)
I Need You
Nowhere Man
Tin Man
Border
Only In Your Heart
Calif Dreamin'
Lonely Peops
Survival
Hangover
Never Be Lonely
Sandman (Standing ovation)
SGH
All My Life (Just Gerry)
Horse
My photos for Turning Stone can be found at http://www.pbase.com/moser
Take a look at the other new gallery there. If anyone has any photos to contribute to that gallery, I would appreciate you sending them to me.

I read a couple days back, where someone mentioned a connection between America and the Beatles. I know about them living in England, and about producer George Martin.
I was wondering if there was more? I love both of these bands equaly even tho they are as differnt as night and day.
Other than the above connections...is there more?
Mark M

Speaking of Tom Petty, The Traveling Wilbury's, and Gerry Beckley--why wasn't Gerry a Wilbury? He would have been a perfect fit.

Major bummer, dude...or is it dudette??
Sorry to hear that Robyn. You better look for the Bushmill's.

Robyn, I'm sorry to hear the bad news and that Ticketmeiser won't replace them either. They can be so heartless. I've experienced similar things before when I've lost plane tickets (or Giants tickets.) You've had to wait too long, maybe you could make it to San Diego in a few days? I'd be depressed too. I am so sorry for you, I feel like writing you a check! Hope things get better in time.

Jen

Robyn, how terrible that your tickets were thrown away. I'm always afraid that something like that will happen to me with the plain envelopes that Ticketmeister sends them in. It doesn't hurt to call them again, maybe you'll be able to get replacements. Good luck. You also mentioned that things have been rough. Sure hope things get better very soon.~~~Cathy

KarenL, I also am a fan of Tom Petty and have several of his CD's and tapes. I pulled out my greatest hits CD and listened to it. My ears do hear a similarity between Gerry's voice and the background vocals on that song. I never noticed it before. I also gave "House of Cards" another listen and for me that song also has the same type of feeling as Tom Petty's music. It's interesting. I always enjoy listening to Tom Petty. I also love the work he did with the Traveling Wilburys. He did a concert about a year or so ago near my hometown but I was unable to attend. It would be great to see him live.~~~Cathy

Karen L., I have several Tom Petty albums....including a Live CD, and a live DVD. I have to be honest....I haven't heard a bad song in the bunch. His preformances on the "Concert for George" are outstanding as well.
Im a fan of great rock and roll...many artists. America and the Beatles are the best, but Mr. Petty is for sure one of the greats !
Mark M

I meant to say HAS anyone else seen this movie?

Oh Robyn, I'm so sorry to hear about what happened to your tickets. Those TicketMaster envelopes are purposely made to look plain and unimportant, aren't they? No wonder they got thrown out. I can relate about how an America concert has more than once come at a time when I really needed it! I hope you get a streak of GOOD luck going for you now! KL

Johnny - if & when you do give that Tom Petty song a listen, please keep in mind that I have a very UNtrained music ear. (I don't even sing in church!) Maybe others who know what to listen for would know right away it wasn't Gerry B.

Mark M. - you know, I always liked many of Tom Petty's songs but never put them all together and realized how MANY good ones there are! My most favorites are: "Learning to Fly", "Runnin' Down A Dream", "The Waiting" (is the hardest part), "Free Fallin'", "Mary Jane's Last Dance" - but there are many other really good ones, too! Anyway, it was Nancy H. that posted the "Free Fallin'" lyrics and capitalized AMERICA in that line. Right on, Nancy H.! Maybe not exactly what Mr. Petty intended, but didn't Dewey say we could put our own meaning/imagery to songs?

Mo - nice of you to clue everyone in on this! My hub, Mike, was flipping thru the channels and came upon this just as it was starting, not realizing the G. Beckley connection. He pointed it out because it had Johnny Depp in it (we've enjoyed a few Depp movies lately). I knew right away it had to be the Sh'Boom & Mr. Sandman movie. This is the first time we saw it - pretty entertaining! That "Hatchet Face" character though - my goodness! And for once, Depp wasn't playing the MOST eccentric character (as opposed to his roles in Edward Scissorhands and Pirates of the Caribbean)! Lots of interesting characters in that movie. It was a fun way to wind down at the end of a Monday. Mike really enjoyed it, too - said he liked it's "quirkiness". Have anyone else out there seen this movie?

Yeah I suppose I could buy another pair, but my cash flow is rather limited so I guess it's just the way my luck has been flowing.

Thanks!

Robyn, that is a real bum thing !! I feel so bad for you. :( I can still purchase tickets for the Utah show...you just have to get here!
Im sure it's not the same as the HBO Concert...but, hey it's all I got. Sorry for that bit of bad luck.
Mark

Thanks Moser, for the chuckle in an otherwise blah day. You crack me up.

<<Anyone know if they are directly reachable?>>
Gerry checks in with me weekly. What do you need to know?






Just kidding.
Maybe in my next life.

I tried to ask a question to Gerry & Dewey on the venturahighway.com website, but it keeps telling me there's a form missing when I click the submit button. Anyone know if they are directly reachable?

Thank you for asking, Rob. They played 3/4's of the songs from the "So Far" CD. We hoped to hear 'Find The Cost Of Freedom' and 'Our House' but didn't. These two were notably missing because Jeff had expected to hear 'Our House' and Molly was hoping to hear, "...the Mother Earth song." They also played 'Carry On,' 'Dark Star,' 'Southern Cross,' 'Almost Cut My Hair,' 'Marrakesh Express,' and other good ones that I don't recall. There were at least 3 songs from the forthcoming CD. I'm not sure of the names of each though I think one was called 'Jesus of Rio.' I think that's new, perhaps not. They sang another new one by Crosby about the Enron debacle, "an angry rocker" as he called it. Another one that was a very pretty acoustic piece was written by the keyboard player, James-somebody. And the other one that I think was new was something like "Don't Dig Here." It was also good. It sounds like the CD will be a decent one.
The great moments of the evening happened throughout the show but especially toward the end when most of the crowd was on their feet clapping and singing along. At some points, the band would stop singing and just let the crowd belt it out.
Nash's and Crosby's voices are still quite good. Stills' is shot. But, man, he can play. It was definitely a great concert and well worth the price of the lawn tickets we had.
The crowd represented probably four generations and all kinds of personalities. It was a nice mix of people. Molly asked Jeff what was burning when a certain suspicious cloud wafted through the air. He briefly explained.
A couple of funny observations were that Nash was in his bare feet on stage. And, the parking lot was full of expensive cars. I find both of those things very funny.
This was the first time for us to attend a show at The Finger Lakes Performing Arts Center. It's one of the best amphitheaters I've been to because the lawn is perfect seating because of its slope. It was a beautiful night which was lucky considering all the rain we've had lately. The finger-nail moon overhead and the mountains silhouetted by the sunset made for a picturesque setting.

Only one question remains: When will America play this awesome summer time venue?

Robyn, you are living my worst nightmare. I tend to be an obssesive ticket checker for fear I am going to either a) lose or b) forget the ever important tickets! Whenever we are heading to a concert or on a trip, my heart always does a little flip flop every time I time think about the tickets and I have to check to make sure (again) that I have them.

You have my deepest sympathy!!!

Kim

Might be because these are General Admission Tickets. I am totally bummed, to say the least.

Many times, literal translations from one language to another can result in the intended meaning being confused or lost. This is what most likely occured in this case.

I think something must have gotten lost in the translation. I can't see Gerry or Dewey "Now he is a militant Catholic" about Dan. I don't believe Dan is Catholic and certainly not militant. Perhaps a better translation would have been "Now he is a strong Christian" or "dedicated Christian" or something like that.

I don't mean to be critical. I certainly thank you very much for all the work involved in translating the article. I found it very interesting to read. It seems that America is more popular in Italy than in America.

Robyn, sorry to hear that TM won't replace your tickets. I was surprised to hear this, as I had the same thing happen recently, and they printed new tickets for me to pick up at the box office. I guess every venue has different rules.

Hi Moser,
That's awesome that you got to see CSN. They are definitely one of the best bands out there, and they are sometimes associates of America (or at least they hung out as it says in Dan's online autobiography). They're definitely brothers in acoustic guitar with the guys from America. I got a chance to see CSNY at the Fleet Center a couple years ago in Boston, 2002 i think, and they were very good. What songs did they play, any particular great moments you might wanna share?
Hope everyone is making their way through the week well,
Rob L

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 20, 2004

59 years ago - John Lodge (the Moody Blues)was born. (1945)

57 years ago - Carlos Santana, guitarist and vocalist for Santana, was born. (1947)

49 years ago - Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony is born. (1955)

41 years ago - Ex-Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell is born. (1963)

41 years ago - Jan & Dean's "Surf City" tops the singles chart just two weeks after its release. (1963)

40 years ago - The Beatles released two records this week: "And I Love Her" backed with "If I Fell" and "I'll Cry Instead" with "I'm Happy Just to Dance" on the other side. (1964)

39 years ago - Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" is released by Columbia records. The disc turns out to be his biggest hit ever climbing to number two on the U.S. pop chart and number four in the U.K. (1965)

39 years ago - Kama Sutra Records releases the Lovin' Spoonful's first record, "Do You Believe in Magic." It will reach #9 on the pop chart. (1965)

37 years ago - Jerry Lee Lewis returns to the scene of his May 1958 demise -- England. He discovers there are a few English rock & rollers willing to forgive and actually never deserted him. His shows are well attended and reviews favorable. (1967)

36 years ago - Jane Asher announces on national British TV show, "Dee Time," that her engagement to Paul McCartney was off. McCartney reportedly was watching and was surprised by the news. (1968)

36 years ago - Iron Butterfly's "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida", featuring the 17-minute title track with one of the longest drum solos in rock history debuts on the U.S. charts. (1968)

36 years ago - Cream's "Wheels Of Fire" LP enters the chart. It hits #1 and features the single "White Room." (1968)

30 years ago - Bob Dylan's "Before the Flood" LP enters the chart as does The Grateful Dead's "Grateful Dead From The Mars Hotel." (1974)

30 years ago - Joey Ramone steps out from behind the drum kit and becomes the lead vocalist for The Ramones. (1974)

29 years ago - "Miami" Steve Van Zandt performs for the first time in concert as a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band in Providence, Rhode Island. (1975)

27 years ago - Gary Kellgren, operator and part owner of two of the most popular recording studios on the West coast, the Los Angeles Record Plant and the Sausalito Record Plant, drowns in a Hollywood swimming pool. He had engineered and produced albums by Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Rod Stewart, Barbara Streisand and Sly & the Family Stone. He was 38. (1977)

25 years ago - E.L.O. takes out advertisements in magazines dedicating the release of "Don't Bring Me Down" to NASA's Skylab project. (1979)

19 years ago - Sting's solo debut, "The Dream of the Blue Turtles" enters the album charts. The LP features the hits, "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" and "Fortress Around Your Heart." (1985)

19 years ago - Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart's remake of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready" peaks at #48 on the chart. (1985)

18 years ago - Van Halen's manager Ed Leffler is beaten up by an unknown assailant in a Dallas hotel elevator. He is hospitalized. (1986)

18 years ago - "Sid and Nancy", a film biography of the Sex Pistols, premieres in London. Gary Oldman plays Sid Vicious. (1986)

18 years ago - Santana celebrates their 20th anniversary at a concert in San Francisco that features a jam with all previous members of the band. (1986)

17 years ago - Production wraps on Prince's third movie, "Sign O' The Times" in Minneapolis. (1987)

17 years ago - Mick Jagger shoots the video for his solo hit, "Let's Work" in New York. (1987)

13 years ago - Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers' "Into The Great Wide Open" LP enters the chart. (1991)

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Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone

Once upon a time you dressed so fine
Threw bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People called said beware doll, you're bound to fall
You thought they were all kidding you
You used to laugh about
People who were hanging out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging your next meal

How does it feel, how does it feel?
To be on your own, without a home
Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone

You've gone to the finest schools, alright miss lonely
but you know you only used to get juiced in it
Nobody's ever taught you how to live out on the street
And now you're gonna have to get used to it
You say you never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He's not selling any alibies
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And say do you want to make a deal?

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Cheer up Bluey, old mate;-)

Getting older is like visiting an all-you-can-eat buffet. What should be hot is cold, what should be firm is limp, and the buns are bigger than anything else on the menu.

Actually you can have a healthy sex life well into your later years, assuming you can stand the sight of people your age naked.

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Stop and smell the roses and have a good day.........

RO

I have only one thing to say about last night's CSN show: They played for 2 and 1/2 hours. Played. That does not include the intermission. Two and a half hours.

A new CD from Crosby and Nash will be out in 12 days.

Weel after tearing my house apart and looking everywhere it seems that my HOB tickets were recycled along with a bit of junk mail!!!! I am TOTALLY BUMMED as Ticketmeiser will not replace them. Given what is going on in my life-- I won't bore you with the details, it's just a little rocky right now- I was really looking forward to seeing them.
If you are going, have a good time for me!

It makes me sick reading about how young you people are! I feel like I'm you Dad. There are people actually living who were born before 1950. We live longer in Oz, I think. I think I'll take a nap. Bluey.

Hi all,
Almost three months ago, Bruno Mautone asked me to translate several America newspaper articles published while they were touring here in Italy. Some of those articles had been already posted by Steve and Johnny (I think Bruno got tired to wait for my translations!! – Sorry Bruno!!). Anyway another one is here.
I uploaded the original article on http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/America_BeckleyandBunnell/ and below is the English version. I did my best. Hope you’ll enjoy it.

IL GIORNALE – 10 MARCH 2004 – PG. 32

Author: Antonio Lodetti

COUNTRY-ROCK

America: we are old but kids still love us
Legendary Californian rock-band is going to play live tonight in Rome, then they will continue their European tour. “We perform over 100 shows a year”

Californian sun was calling for 1968’s veterans who were looking for new horizons after the collapse of hippie’s dream. Bob Dylan, The Birds, Grateful Dead had already disoriented the pure-rock followers steering to the simplicity of bucolic sounds. The only choice was to follow them. At the starting line of this new country-rock there are successful groups like Crosby Still Nash & Young, Eagles, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and sophisticated America. After five records between 1971 and 1975 America became a glorious hit-record-charts machine. Elaborate vocal entanglements, acoustic guitars, dreamy tunes, a pinch of sweetness: here are the winning ingredients. The delicate A Horse with no name reached the top of international charts ousting Neal Young’s Hearts of Gold.
Ventura Highway, Only In Your Heart, Lonely People, Sister Golden Hair are some of their timeless classics. While we debate about the future of Sanremo Festival’s old glories, America is still alive and kicking (Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley are still in the band, Dan Peek left them to follow a religious sect) with their honest homemade records (Human Nature) and successful tours. After the performance at the Olympia, they arrive in Italy where tonight they’ll be playing at the “Santa Cecilia Auditorium” in Rome. This is the first concert of their sold-out Italian tour.
Q: The “old guard” never gives up.
A: That’s right, music is the elixir of life, it gives us great satisfaction. Maybe we aren’t the same rock-stars we used to be, but we perform over 100 shows a year in front of thousands of people. Two years ago we released an anthology of our best tracks and it topped the international charts. Now we are going to conquer Europe.
Q: How did you start in 1971?
A: We consider ourselves California’s sons, but we started as emigrants. We used to sing about the West Coast’s sun in the foggy London.
Q: A Horse with no name was your breakthrough hit, wasn’t it?
A: Country-rock has shaken up the musical-scene. It brought back music to a more traditional sound.
Q: Making a comparison between you and other artists, David Crosby for instance, you have been the most sunny characters of the West Coast.
A: We basically are quiet persons and it reflects in our songs. This doesn’t mean that we are shallow. The West Coast musical-scene gathers several different situations. This is its strength. Jerry Garcia was freakish , Neil Young and Joni Mitchell – both from Canada – are very introspective. We focus on more lively and melodic tunes, we are the acoustic version of Eagles.
Q: Nowadays country-music is on the decline.
A: No, the point is that it’s hard to sell millions of records of country-music as well for rock. Next to mythical icons like James Taylor or Neal Young, there are young and very talented musicians like John Mayer.
Q: Would you define your music as “nostalgic”?
A: As long as we give emotion to listeners, there will be no nostalgia. Songs are our strength. When I’m asked what’s the secret of our success I answer: songs, good songs that stand up to time and fashions. Today we are used to listen to dance and pop music, or to an overnight success that breaks the hits and a month later nobody will remember.
Q: When Dan Peek decided to leave was it a problem for you?
A: It would have been if Dan had decided to stay. Now he is a militant Catholic. He says he feels reborn, he wasn’t able to reconcile his religious faith with his musical career any more.
Q: After all these years of success, what pushes you to go on?
A: You can’t ask a painter or a scientist to stop creating. In the music business, at the age of 50, you are considered to be done for. However I think inspiration is ageless, it’s your attitude of mind that changes.
Q: A few years ago you performed “Survival” at Sanremo Festival, what do you think about it?
A: It’s an amazing festival that makes Italians go crazy anywhere in the world. In Los Angeles there are pubs and places where you can exclusively listen to Sanremo Compilation and Zucchero songs. This year I have followed the Festival on TV. I’ve appreciated Linda, but I didn’t like the songs as well the competition format. Maybe next year instead of Lionel Richie as guest act, you may have America.

Alessandra

Garbonzo beans would be my second guess Johnny. :)
Karen....Thanks for checking the credits, I think that clears up the mystery? I still have to listen to the song tho, to get my own opinion, right? Mark

Hi Karen L.
I really thought since it was a guy driving...Green bay seemed like a good shot ! lol
I am glad you like the Tom Petty CD, now that you bought it ! With Mr. Petty...you can't go wrong. I was kinda struck by another letter I read earlier, that the line from the song "Free fallin'" has the line "she loves America too" I never thought of it as anything but patriotic....kinda cool the new way! lol Who pointed that out anyway? Good thought! Mark

"Green Bay", huh, Mark M??? I guess then that "Garbanzo Beans" is out of the running. : ) I agree; I think it's probably "Green Bay". That makes the most sense to me out of the possibilities mentioned here.

Bluey ~ Concerning the selection of "AMERIKA" as an alternative license plate, I had thought about that, but I was worried that someone might think I was taking a swipe at America (USA) with the letter change. Anyway, I think "NOBODY" is quite funny and is oh so appropriate especially the way some prestige plate owners take such pride in letting others know who they are or what is one of their great interests.

Karen ~ You have me very curious about the background vocals on the Tom Petty song you mentioned. I look forward to hearing it someday soon just to hear the similarity.

Cry Baby is on WE network right now if you're looking for somethin' to do.

If you want to get the above dvd cheaper, here's another site from which to order it:
http://raremovieimports.com/AMERICA.HTML

I have this poster, sent from Australia, with no creasings or crinklings and believe me this is a gem--really beautiful. The Atlantic City Beach Party poster also is very beautifully done.

Mark M., I was almost going to ask you to shed some light on my question for us after I read your post that you have this CD! Then it ended up that I ran an errand to Circuit City on my lunch hour today. I didn't find what I went there for; but not wanting to waste a trip, I checked out the CDs and came across the Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Greatest Hits CD and bought it. Unfortunately, there is no mention of Gerry or America that I can see - so I guess it wasn't him after all. Here are the credits:

Tom Petty - Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards
Mike Campbell - Lead Guitar, Keyboards, Bass
Benmont Tench - Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Stan Lynch - Drums, Backing Vocals
Howie Epstein - Bass, Backing Vocals

Jeff Lynne appears courtesy of Reprise Records
George Harrison appears courtesy of Dark Horse Records
David A. Stewart appears courtesy of RCA Records, Inc.
Ron Blair - Bass

What about the harmonica? There's a picture of a sheet (there's probably a name for it) that shows information about recording "Mary Jane's Last Dance", and it appears that Tom Petty himself played the harmonica. Looks like the song title was going to be "Indiana Girl" at one point.

So, now we know! Oh well, I still really like the CD and wanted it anyway. Learned a little in the process, too!

Karen

Hi Mark M. - "Green Bay"! I love it! I'd vote for that one. Karen

Me and the fam are headed out to see CSN tonight. Just for grins and giggles, I'm wearing my America Tour 2003 shirt. A girl has to be loyal!

Just received and listened to this CD, as recommended by Steve O. Good call, Steve! Overall, the quality of this CD is great. A few notes. As a Muskrat Love detractor, I almost like this version; it's more mellow than the studio cut. Old Man Took is more energetic and upbeat than the studio version; this would be a great addition to the live show. Also reminds me how much I miss Amber Cascades live. Very pretty version of To Each His Own as well. Great version of SGH with the piano. I second Steve's recommendation: this is a must for all America aficionados.

Thanks to the big group who turned up last night to listen to Encore. I will be out west next Sunday and will miss the listening party, but if anyone wants to carry on in my absence, go for it and have fun!

I recently gave a copy of Butterfly Boucher's debut CD, "Flutterby," to an acquaintance who I think has similar musical interests. Then, in the naggingly familiar self-conscious, second-guessing nature of humans, I was thinking I shouldn't have. So, in an effort to reassure myself that this music is worthy of recommendation, I started to listen to it over and over (again) and to look for others' opinions as well. Hence, if you are inclined, please reference the link below to read a favorable yet fair review of the CD. I am particularly soothed by its content as I had some of these very same thoughts about the music.
I can't remember if I told this story before or not, forgive me if I have. I first heard Butterfly as one of the opening acts for Bare Naked Ladies when they played here in Rochester in late Winter. She played five or so songs with only her own guitar as accompaniment--sometimes acoustic, sometimes electric. These songs were worthy enough to make the trip from my seat out to the merch table to buy a CD for $15. That in itself is saying something. I'm not easily sold on new music (except if your name is Beckley or Bunnell). Ms. Boucher was gracious enough to speak to and sign CD's for those who cared to wait in line. In my 60 seconds or so, I remember saying, "You're pretty good." In hindsight, I am embarrassed to admit I thought she was only pretty good. But, in my defense, it usually takes quite a few listens for me to truly like something. So, 'pretty good' after a 30-minute solo set is really something to me. After listening to the CD, which clearly blew me away, pretty good sounded like an absolute insult.
I also mentioned that her voice reminded me of early Aimee Mann. That mirrors one of the comments of the following reviewer who compares Boucher to both Mann and Chrissy Hynde as well as other non-fluff female rock musicians of another era.
Another comment from reviewer Gary Glauber that I totally relate to is that of thinking he'd found sort of a hidden gem and then realized how quickly Boucher is catching on. I, too, thought I had found someone who would bloom into prominence in a few years or so, selfishly thinking I'd get to say, "See I told you so." But if you're paying attention, you'll find she is on the Shrek 2 soundtrack singing a cover of a Bowie song. In addition to that, her song, 'Life Is Short,' from this CD was used at the start of a new ABC-TV show which aired last night. Way to go Butterfly. It’s great to see someone with some talent get some attention.
Take a listen to some of the songs on iTunes if you have a few minutes. You won’t regret it.
Here’s the review link, you’ll have to scroll down a bit: http://www.fufkin.com/columns/glauber/06_04_glauber_rev_06_04.htm
If you’ve made it down this far, thanks for listening to this off topic subject,
Moser

Im sure that those initials could be a lot of things. Personaly, I think it was for "Green Bay".

Mark, it's Love Comes Without Warning. You can check out many of the band's outside projects in the archives at the link below.

http://www.kingbiscuit.com/america/outside.htm

What song is on "The Lonely Guy" soundtrack?

I'm not sure if i missed the info (so excuse me in advance) but I guess 'worldwide release' means the DVD is encoded 'region 0, no? hope it is...

Gen.

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 19, 2004

57 years ago - Bernie Leadon, guitarist for the Eagles and Queen guitarist Brian May are born. (1947)

56 years ago - Keith Godchaux, keyboard player for the Grateful Dead, celebrates a birthday. (1948)

50 years ago - Elvis' first single was released by Sun Records. It was "That's All Right" b/w "Blue Moon of Kentucky." (7/19)

35 years ago - The Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women" is released. (1969)

35 years ago - The Spencer Davis group breaks up. (1969)

32 years ago - Five members of the Rolling Stones entourage, including Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are picked-up in Warwick, Rhode Island on charges of assualt and obstructing police. This follows an altercation with a newspaper photographer. All plead guilty and are released. The Stones are four hours late to their concert in Boston.

31 years ago - Clarence White of the Byrds is buried in California. A couple of days before, he was hit by a suspected drunk driver outside a Palmdale, California nightclub. He was 29. (1973)

29 years ago - "Listen To What The Man Said" by Wings hits #1 on the singles chart. (1975)

29 years ago - Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion" peaks at #36 on the singles chart. (1975)

28 years ago - Deep Purple breaks up. (1976)

29 years ago - Orleans' "Dance With Me" is released. (1975)

24 years ago - Billy Joel's "It's Still Rock & Roll To Me" hits #1. (1980)

24 years ago - Elton John's "Little Jeannie" hits #3 on the singles chart. (1980)

24 years ago - The Grateful Dead's "Alabama Getaway" peaks at #68 on the singles chart. (1980)

24 years ago - Jackson Browne's "Hold Out" enters the album chart. (1980)

24 years ago - Queen's "The Game" LP enters the chart. It features the #1 hits, "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Another One Bites The Dust." (1980)

24 years ago - The Rolling Stones "Emotional Rescue" LP enters the album chart. It eventually hits #1 for 7 weeks. (1980)

23 years ago - "Roy Orbison Day" is celebrated in Odessa, Texas. (1981)

18 years ago - "Dreams" by Van Halen peaks at #22 on the singles chart. Robert Palmer's "Hyperactive" peaks at #33 on the singles chart. Genesis' "Invisible Touch" hits #1 on the singles chart. (1986)

18 years ago - The "Ruthless People" soundtrack enters the album chart. It features the Billy Joel hit, "Modern Woman." (1986)

13 years ago - Former Guns n' Roses drummer Steven Adler filed a lawsuit against the band. He claimed the other members had forced him to use heroin, then made him quit the band while he tried to kick his drug habit. (1991)

9 years ago - Elvis Presley's former doctor Dr. George Nichopoulous, loses his medical license for being "too liberal" in prescribing addicitive drugs. (1995)

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Billy Joel - Its Still Rock And Roll To Me

What's the matter with the clothes I'm wearing?
"Can't you tell that your tie's too wide?"
Maybe I should buy some old tab collars?
"Welcome back to the age of jive.
Where have you been hidin' out lately, honey?
You can't dress trashy till you spend a lot of money."
Everybody's talkin' 'bout the new sound
Funny, but it's still rock and roll to me

What's the matter with the car I'm driving?
"Can't you tell that it's out of style?"
Should I get a set of while wall tires?
"Are you gonna cruise the miracle mile?
Nowadays you can't be too sentimental
Your best bet's a true baby blue Continental."
Hot funk, cool punk, even if it's old junk
It's still rock and roll to me

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Maxine, That Grand Old Girl

1. Maxine on "Driver Safety" - "I can't use the cell phone in the car. I have to keep hands free for making gestures."
2. Maxine on "Life" - "Life is like an oven. It burns my buns."
3. Maxine on "Housework" - "I do my housework in the nude. It gives me an incentive to clean the mirrors ASAP."
4. Maxine on "Lawn Care" - "The key to a nice looking lawn is a good mower. I recommend one who is muscular and shirtless."
5. Maxine on the "Perfect Man" - "All I'm looking for is a guy who'll do what I want, when I want, for as long as I want, and then go away. Or wait nearby, like a Dust Buster, charged up and ready when needed."
6. Maxine on "Work" - "My performance at work has really improved over the years. Now I can nail a co-worker with a paper clip shot from a rubber band at 20 yards."
7. Maxine on "The Technology Revolution" - "My idea of rebooting is kicking somebody in the butt twice."
8. Maxine on "Aging" - "Take every birthday with a grain of salt. This works much better if the salt accompanies a large margarita."

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I know it's Monday, but hang in there, there are better days ahead.

RO

Yeah, If I can find where my kids put my tix. My dd and her friend, my other dd lol "cleaned" the living room, recycled a bunch of things and I fear my HOB tickets went with them!

The subject of the DVD release came up at Sunday chat last night. The questions at hand were--when? and where? In other words, will it be released in the US as well as in Australia? If so, concurrently or later in the US?
The article that Steve O has referenced for us doesn't shed any light on the 'when?' but I noticed this chestnut of info as far as the 'where?' part is concerned: "America Live at the Sydney Opera House is being filmed for a worldwide release."
So, even if the release in the US is later than the Australian release, it seems it will happen at some point.
Patience, Grasshopper. (Not one of my many virtues I must say.)

Thanks for the article, SteveO.

Hey Virginia, cool license plate. I wouldn't have even thought of Gordon Biersch even though I've had dinner there a few times. (They tend to specialize in small portions... you can still be hungry even after eating dinner.)

Jen

I will turn 49 in March....to answer your question. Looks like we are around the same age.
Mark M

hey! is anyone else going to the concert this thursday (july22) at the HOB in anaheim?! i am so excited to finally get to hear america live....it will be my first time!!! yippie! :)

This site is great, Im learning alot from everyone just reading everyones messages.I will have to get out my Tom Pettys greatest hits and check out Mary Jane.
In reply to my favorite America Albums, songs and memorbila.....Album:Homecomming...I can never hear it enough.
Songs:Three roses, Moon song,Windwave, Company,Sergeant darkness, young moon/Hope, Wheels are turning....there are soooo many !
I have an autogrphed ticket stub from the concert in Park city Utah, when they were their with the Beach boys in 94 I believe? From Gerry.
A tee shirt from the 87-88 tour.I have 2 dvd's..."The best of Musikladen" And recently a concert dvd called "ohne filter/musik.pur" from Germany.
I can't wait to see them in Layton in about 10 days ! This will be my 10th America concert. Mark

Gordon Birsch is a resturant/microbrewery

Yep it is Late, just had to add my Birthday wishes to Woodzy & Matt ~~ I wish you both the Best, I Hope the Year ahead is Good to you both and that all of your Hopes & Dreams come to Be! ~~ Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you dear Matt & Woodzy, Happy Birthday to Youuuuuuu! From Meeeee :)

Hi there SteveO ~~ Thanks for sharing this neat artile from Australia.. Hmmmm ~~ The part where it says about the advantages of doing this DVD digitally, has me really curious to see just what Surprises are to be found on this DVD! ~~ I just wanted to let you know I haven't been able to read your weekly column the last 2 weeks.. my home puter is down and I can't access my server email account... I will enjoy getting to read them soon I hope! ~~ Mmmm ~~ I read your post about The Little River Band touring here in the US, I was just wondering if you have visited www.littleriverband.com lately? If you haven't you should go and give the new song clips from their new CD "Test of Time" a listen too... I found them to be fresh and upbeat, I will be interested to hear these songs in full.. I really like "Enlighten Me", Now & Forever,& Should I Go.. It is ashame that the original members of LRB couldn't come to an agreement and tour together once again. I am enjoying hitting the replay button on Disc 2 of my LRB "Reminiscing" cd collection. It would be neat to see LRB on Sept 5th at the Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pa, to hear them do their new songs as well as my favorite older songs. :)

Cheers Bluey ~~ Aha having LRB touring this way in the US is better than not having their songs heard. I was aware of the other original members playing under their last names.. thanks for your tips on their solor efforts, I will have to check them out when I get time. ~~~ Keep on enjoying your AMERICA Homecoming DVD as well as Central Park Live show... I for sure Love Hitting the Replay button on Both of these Gems. I am soooooo Looking Forward to Hitting the replay button on the Sydney Live DVD!

Hi there Virginia ~~ Nice to hear from you, I happened to catch a glimpse of the Tour de France tour on the sports and You came to my mind. How is your bike riding tours going soo far this summer? I hope the Rain Clouds will move on, in August, when you head to PA for your ride there. ~~ Hmmm I would do a Double Take on this GB RULZ license plate too. For Sure Gerry would come to my mind in seeing this! :)

Welcome Aboard Mark M ~~ I too have been a Fan of this great Group known as AMERICA right from Horse with No Name, I am from Pennsylvania and I am Hoping they will head my way again soon for a show. ~~ As for meeting other fans at shows, it is Always Fun to Meet Others that have the Same Feelings about these songs as I do. I would Love to One Day get to attend a Big Fan Get Together.. I sure have Made some Special Lifetime Friends in finding this site and chat folder. Have fun at the show in Utah and be sure and come back and share your bit of AMERICA Heaven with us! :)

Karen L & Mark & Anita ~~ I haven't had time to dig up Tom Petty's song "Last Dance with MaryJane", I must say tho, I am really curious to hear it. I know I have said it often before... that I really enjoy getting to find out the connections and songs worked on by many of my favorite music artists... and Yeppers Karen L, I always find away to tie in my love for AMERICA in lyric lines.. :)

Thanks Red for your Daily Dose of neat info and this Peggy Sue story is 2222222222 Much, thanks for the Smiles! Time to start a Brand New Week! ~~~ Hmmm I'd be willing to bet anyone with the name Peggy Sue would be allowed to sit on your lap also! ;)

Hmmm ~ Yesterday as I was cleaning this and that, before our company got back from their reunion, I had on the Sirius 70's channel, and they have a countdown on each saturday & sunday.. yesterday I finally got to catch some of this.. they were featuring the year 1977 and I heard some well known songs as well as some not soo known.. do any of you here remember Peter McCann's song "Do You Want to Make Love" and then there was Bad Company's "I Feel Like Makin Love" (I hope I have these song titles matched up right)??? :) I also heard Barry Manilow sing his nice song "Looks Like We Made It" and also Andy Gibb's "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" which gave me a Hankerin to listen to his and the Bee Gee's songs tonight as I did my 2nd Qtr. Taxes... It is such a Shame he died sooo Young, I bet there were many more songs waiting to be sung by him. ~~ WOW ~~ I think it is neat that He & Victoria Principal found each other too! ~~ Well I am getting sooooo Tired and I got another lonnnnnnng day ahead of me tomorrow... sooo I am off to my Dreams now! Nitey Nite all, Nancy :) ;)

~~ I can make you mine, taste your lips of wine, any time of day, only trouble is, geeee wiz, I'm dreamin my life away, I need you sooo, that I could die, I Love You Soooo, and that is Why, Whenever I Wannnnnt YOU ~ All I Have to Doooooo Is Dream Dreammmmm Dreammmmm ~~~ Sing it once again for me Andy & Victoria :) ;) ~~~ Hmmmmm ~~ I would love to hear Gerry sing this song!

Thanks Johnny and KevinS for your replies. Johnny, why don't you try "AMERIKA".

Firstly, in my last message I meant to say that the modified version of the 1982 King Biscuit CD was recently released here in Oz (not 1985).

Just to satisfy my curiosity about the STUDIO version of "California Dreamin'", would anybody know if that song was released in any of your US albums, apart from HIGHWAY -30 YEARS? Apart from the 1982 King Biscuit and Highway CDs, I haven't got that track on anything.


Many thanks Bluey.

Bluey ~ I've seen the America in Australia tour poster you mentioned. Yes Sir, it's a beauty for sure! If anyone is interested in seeing it if you haven't, you may do so by going to eBay and searching for completed listing #3824876144. The poster went unsold with an opening bid of $7.32 (US) plus the same additional amount as the shipping cost. I think the mention of possible crinkles in the poster probably killed the sale.

Kevin ~ Regarding your 2 mentioned LPs for sale, we wouldn't want to take advantage of you, you know. : )

Virginia ~ Maybe "GB" stands for "Game Boy" or "Great Britain"??? Who really knows, I suppose. I didn't recognize the name of the person you mentioned but that's no surprise. I don't know a lot of artists or famous people these days especially if they're of the younger generation.

Last year I wanted to order "AMERICA" as a New Mexico prestige plate for myself, but it was already taken. My license registration renews next month. I've decided instead to go with a more fitting one. I'm goin' for "NOBODY". hee-hee

I have that LP too. And I have the soundtrack LP of The Lonely Guy.

Both rare, indeed. Both for sale. Starting bid: $22,500 (two for $30,000).

KevinS.

WOW - amazing! Thanks, Anita! I was occasionally checking the venturahighway.com site back in '98 but certainly hadn't found my way here yet! I found some posts from around 3/17/98 on the subject; and as I was hoping, it turned out that other people have also thought the chorus of "Mary Jane's Last Dance" sounds like Gerry, (maybe also Dewey?).

In fact, someone went on to say that Gerry's "House of Cards" reminds them of Tom Petty's music! Reading that made me think, "oh YEAH - it DOES, come to think of it!", but I promptly put in the Van Go Gan CD just to be sure. There is definitely a similarity, I would say! Especially to Tom's "Into the Great Wide Open" song.

My husband also mentioned that America and Tom Petty have something in common - George Harrison. Tom & George were in The Traveling Wilburys band together, and George played guitar on at least one (for all I know, maybe more) of Tom Petty's songs - "Into the Great Wide Open" - I hope I have that right. (We all know America has a few Beatles/George Harrison connections as well. : )

Now, some more trivial things that probably don't mean a thing - but I think are fun: Tom sings a line about "Ventura Boulevard" in the song, "Free Falling" is it? And - not long ago, I think NancyH posted some lyrics to that song and she emphasized the word AMERICA in the line, "She's a good girl, loves her mama, loves Jesus, and America too . . . ". Funny, Nancy - I've always added my own meaning (same as yours) to that line too! (America, the band.)

I couldn't see where a conclusion had ever been reached as to whether or not it is Gerry/and Dewey doing background vocals in the Mary Jane song, but even if it's not them - hey, maybe it shoulda' been! (lol) It also sounds like a pretty mean harmonica in that song. I thought it would be cool if Gerry did the harmonica and background vocals.

Thanks for entertaining my curiousity on this! : )
Karen

G'Day johnny, good to hear from you. The reason why I mention this soundtrack is because, in Australia, the only place you can find the "California Dreamin'" (America version) song is on the HIGHWAY-30 Years of America list. When my son was in the US a couple of years ago, he got me the 1982 King Biscuit Flower Hour CD "America...In Concert" which contains "California Dreamin". I have about 24 America CDs in my collection (replacing all my vinyls except for this soundtrack-no CD available) Considering that Dewey and Gerry sang and produced the song for the 1978 movie, I thought the 1985 "America In Concert" would have had the track. As I said, I can't find the CD listing anywhere. I noticed last year that they finally released the 1985 King Biscuit CD in Australia but with a slightly different format.

Apart from the album, I have my trusty old ex-rental "America .. Live in Central Park" video, the "Homecoming" DVD and lastly, the original and official Ticketek America 2004 Australian tour poster. If you haven't seen it, maybe SteveL could get it put on the site. Without a doubt the best promotional advertisement for a band I have ever seen. It has the America In Concert logo placed over the view of a sunset desert with cactus, trees, clouds and desert mounds, all done in burnt orange, black, mauve and red colourings.

I read that Dewey and Gerry get out and meet the fans after the shows, selling merchandise etc. That's great..I haven't seen them doing it over here yet but considering the sell-outs they have, then having to pack up and move on, perhaps they just didn't have the time. Hope that changes.

Hope you enjoy the coming DVD.

Bluey.

Well You never can tell Virginia!

I had a really nice thing happen the other day. I was leaving the parking lot at the library and I stopped to ransom my vehicle. In the booth was the attendant I refer to as " the unhappiest person on earth" because she is always scowling. I had Riverside playing , fairly loud of course, as is my custom with that song. It was just starting up, she leaned out to hand me my change, smiled and said "nice music"

Saw this license plate yesterday on a car on a freeway in San Jose:

GB RULZ

A man was driving, so my first thought was he's probably a Gordon Biersh fan, but you never know...

Karen, apparently there was some speculation on this same subject back in March 1998 on the chat folder. If you go to the archives, you can check it out.

Thank you, Mark! I really appreciate your thoughts on that song. If I ever do find out who it is we're actually hearing, I'll let you know! Karen

I found a story on the Sydney DVD thats worth sharing. If you'd like to check it out,go and visit this link. If I come across anything additional,I will let you know.

http://www.undercover.com.au/news/2004/20040130_america.html

I'd say this IS the 'local' fan club. The only other fan from Utah that I can think of besides, of course, SteveL is Mike Bunn who occasionally posts here but maybe only two or three times a year, anymore.

While I'm here, here is the difference between how the US 8-track of "Homecoming" lists the songs versus the one from England:

PROGRAM 1...

US: Ventura Highway, Don't Cross The River, Till The Sun Comes Up Again

England: Ventura Highway, To Each His Own, California Revisited (Part 1)

PROGRAM 2...

US: To Each His Own, California Revisited, Only In Your Heart (Beg.)

England: California Revisited (Conclusion), Moon Song, Only In Your Heart

PROGRAM 3...

US: Only In Your Heart (Concl.), Moon Song, Saturn Nights

England: Cornwall Blank, Head & Heart

PROGRAM 4...

US: Cornwall Blank, Head & Heart

England: Till The Sun Comes Up Again, Don't Cross The River, Saturn Nights

Happy birthday, Woodzy! Would've wished you an early one Friday but didn't catch you later on.
Also, a happy belated one to mB!
Red, loved it as usual!
Catch up with the gang later on the chat...Encore!

I agree Karen. From the first time I heard "Last Dance With Mary Jane" I thought it was America doing the background vocals. I have no idea if it is or not, but it sure sounds like them to me.

I don't know of any formal America fan clubs, but there is at least one other America fan in Utah, Steve L the gentleman who runs this web page.

Age 48, huh, Mark M? Did you turn 48 or will you be 49 this year? Just curious since I, too, am 48 having had a birthday just last month. By the way, welcome aboard from me, too. What are your favorite America LPs/CDs and songs? Do you have any America memorabilia? If so, please tell us what.

Bluey ~ Besides your unique "California Dreaming" LP with the America mention on the front cover, what else might you own America-wise that might be of interest to us?

Has anyone seen or own an 8-track tape of "Homecoming" with the photo on the front being the INSIDE photo of the "Homecoming" album cover? I have one from England that I purchased about a year or two ago. I had never seen that before until that time.

I worked on this for a while then got away from it. It's not as complete as I originally had in mind but it's as complete as it's ever gonna get. So, here, finally is the photo gallery of other people's pictures of some of my favorite rock musicians. I lovingly call it Rock Icons: A Comparative Study. Please feel free to browse it at your leasure. http://www.pbase.com/moser/rock_icons

G'Day Mark, great to hacve you on board. Unlike Moser,I live a little further away from your location, just a short drive down the road and then a relaxing swim to a tiny island called Australia.

My only claim to fame to readers of this chat-line is that I have attended all AMERICA Sydney concerts held over the last billion years, met some of the boys in the band and lastly, I think I possess the only vinyl LP of the "California Dreaming" soundtrack, blazingly advertising on the front cover that AMERICA sing the title track. I'm positive that, like Elvis Presley's rare golden jumpsuit or his pink Cadillac convertible, there is absolutely not another LP of it's kind on the face of this planet. I wouldn't sell it for anything.....unless... I got a good offer from somebody who would love and care for it (the money isn't important, I wish I could give it away for free, but sadly...so.. no checks, no IOUs, no Bank of Education checks, no "the checks in the mail" or promises from the Democrats.

Welcome.
Bluey.

Anyone that has info on a Utah fan club....I would like to hear from you. :)
Mark M.

It does rain here...in fact there was some flooding yesterday in areas of the state.
Im just recently divorced and need to start my life over. Im finding that somewhat difficult at 48 ! lol But, I figured what better way than to find people that share the same intrests as myself.....America!
I hope to meet some local people, just hoping to find some fun activitys with some good people.
Mark M.

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 18, 2004

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WOODZ, WHICHEVER ONE IT IS. MAY YOU HAVE MANY MORE.

61 years ago - Bobby Sherman is born. (1943)

53 years ago - Glen Hughes(Village People) is born. (1951)

51 years ago - Elvis Presley records "My Happiness" as a gift for his mother. It was his first recording. (1953)

44 years ago - Hank Ballard and the Midnighters releases "The Twist." The song didn't become a hit until later in the year when Chubby Checker covered it. (1960)

44 years ago - Elvis Presley's "It's Now Or Never" is released. (1960)

40 years ago - The Beatles "A Hard Days Night" is released. The album features two #1 hits, "Can't Buy Me Love" and the title track. (1964)

40 years ago - The Rolling Stones first hit, a cover of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" peaks at #48. (1964)

38 years ago - Bobby Fuller, the leader of the Bobby Fuller Four, is found dead in his car in Los Angeles. No conclusive cause of his death was ever established. (1966)

36 years ago - Hugh Masekela receives his only gold record for the instrumental "Grazing in the Grass." (1968)

36 years ago - The Grateful Dead release their 2nd album, "Anthem of the Sun." (1968)

34 years ago - "Blood, Sweat & Tears 3" enters the album charts. (1970)

34 years ago - Pink Floyd and Deep Purple play a free concert at London's Hyde Park. (1970)

26 years ago - The star of "Saturday Night Fever" and "Grease", actor John Travolta, garners his first number one with "You're the One That I Want." He sung it with his "Grease" partner, Olivia Newton-John. It's awarded a platinum on this date. (1978)

26 years ago - Once a member of Stealers Wheel, Gerry Rafferty earns a gold record for "Baker Street." (1978)

24 years ago - Billy Joel's "Glass Houses" tops the album chart. (1980)

23 years ago - Santana's "Winning" peaks at #17 on the singles chart. (1981)

9 years ago - Neil Young and his manager Elliot Roberts form their own record label, Vapor Records. (1995)

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Peggy Sue -

It's the summer of 1957 and Bobby goes to pick up his date, Peggy Sue. Bobby's a pretty hip guy with his own car and a duck tail hairdo. When he goes to the front door, Peggy Sue's father answers and invites him in.

"Peggy Sue's not ready yet, so why don't you have a seat?" Peggy Sue's father asks Bobby what they are planning to do. Bobby replies politely that they will probably just go to the malt shop or to a drive-in-movie.

Peggy Sue's father responds, "Why don't you kids go out and shag? I hear all of the kids are doing it." Naturally this came as a surprise to Bobby and he says "Whaaaaaaat?" "Yeah," says Peggy Sue's father, "We know that Peggy Sue really likes shagging; why she would shag all night if we let her."

Bobby's eyes light up and smiles from ear to ear. Immediately, he has revised the plans for the evening. A few minutes later, Peggy Sue comes downstairs in her little poodle skirt and her saddle shoes and announces that she's ready to go.

Almost breathless with anticipation, Bobby escorts his date out the
front door while Dad is saying, "Have a good evening kids," with a small wink for Bobby.

About 20 minutes later, a thoroughly disheveled Peggy Sue rushes back into the house, slams the door behind her and screams at her
father: "DAMMIT DADDY! THE TWIST!!!! IT'S CALLED THE TWIST.

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Bobby Fuller Four - I Fought The Law

I'm breakin' rocks in the hot sun
I fought the law and the law won
I fought the law and the law won

I needed money 'cause I had none
I fought the law and the law won
I fought the law and the law won

I left my baby and I feel so sad
I guess my race is run
But she's the best girl I've ever had
I fought the law and the law won
I fought the law and the law won

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THAT'S ALL FOLKS

RO

Howdy Mark M.,
Welcome to the fave meeting place of America fanatics. I'm an East Coaster so won't be at Layton, Utah but I'm sure you'll meet a few others who will. Steve Lowry, who is the creator and all-around guru of this site, is a Utahian so maybe he will be there. I think he may be on vacation this week so you might hear from him a bit later. But then again, I think he's connected via a laptop so if it's a rainy vacation, you might hear sooner!! Perhaps people out west don't have rainy vacations. I'm not sure. It's always a gamble on this side of the world.
Yadda, yadda, yadda sorry to ramble.
If you haven't had a chance to already, be sure to cruise through the gazillions of pages on this site. It's full of great stuff and seemingly endless info, photos, and soundclips...an America fan's hog heaven. Enjoy!
Welcome aboard,
Moser

Hey, I just joined up on this site and Im looking forward to meeting other fans of America. I have been a fan since they apeared on the charts with "a horse with no name".
I also just purchased a ticket for the Layton, Utah show. Are there any other people going to the show? I would love to hear from you ! Even if your not...talk to me. :)

check out the review and pics from tonite's show. Fun set. Matt and Bryce are very talented and well matched

By special request, tonight's listening party will feature Encore, and we might have to hit that replay button for "Hell's on Fire"!!! Hope you can join us, 10PM EDT, 7PM PDT.

Erin has added another show to the list: September 2, Milwaukee Summerfest - Potowatomi Stage.

Hi Dave,

I'm happy to see that you got front row center seats for the Monmouth concert. I went on their website, but I didn't see any mention of the concert. How did you get the tickets?

Part of the reason I want to go is that I also hope to hear some new material at this concert.

Mark

Oh, wow, this one definitely was the best I ever saw! The guys looked really happy and jumpy. Great sound. They played 23 songs which included The Last Unicorn and a beautiful encore by Mr. Beckley of All My Life. Gerry and Dewey sat for a signing afterwards. Thank you, Gerry and Dewey!
Met Mo and her hubby- you are sooo nice! And more thank you's to Erin, Pete (for the guitar picks, thank you!), and Willie. Nice talking to you! Everyone I met really made this one special!
Hope to see everyone again at West Long Branch in October.

I agree David and many thanks to Joe!! I also got the cd, it was a great gift to get mixed in among the many bills. What a great/high quality fantastic sound and so great to finally hear them all in one cd. Joe thanks so much for your generosity, talent & creativity! Joe, you're just amazing and a one-man band. I better get around to opening those bills soon! Looking forward to a volume 2 at some point... but hope you take a long needed break. (Yeah, nice photo of what you do best.)

Jen

Engaged in "relations", rather. : )

By the way, I see on Dan Peek's website that he is having a $7 sale on his CDs!

<<Regarding the identity of the father of my twins. Child A was fathered by [name removed]. I am unsure as to the identity of the father of child B, but I believe he was conceived on the same night.>>

As bizarre as the above statement may sound, it is a true possibility. A number of years ago, on the front cover of either "The Family Weekly" or "Parade" (one of those thin weekly 'magazines' that comes with the Sunday morning newspaper) was the photo of a lady and her story within who had given birth to twins of two different races. One son was white and the either was black. Well, half black, anyway. The mother confessed that she had engaged in relates with two different military men within a couple of hours. One man was white and the other was black. The article explained that one of her eggs was fertilized by the white military fellow while another egg was fertilized by the black military man.

Regarding the daughter believed to have been conceived at Euro Disney, yeah, that Euro Mickey is quite the player! That puts a whole new meaning to "Of Mice and [wo]Men".

Joe's CD came today and not only is it great but it's a pleasure to find a guy like that who doesn't do it for the money (after all he sent it free) but rather for the love of music. Joe I got it, I played it and I enjoyed it. Many thanks. PS now we have a face to put to it too!
D

Bones! Bones! Bones!





Maybe we should have a BonesFans.com website...wink, wink.

Leah is not online this summer, but has asked to post her thoughts from the Mohegan Sun show:

It was a great concert, Gerry and Dewey, Woodzy, Willie and Rich were great too! Thank you Pete and Erin, you both were so nice as usual. I'm glad the guys loved Nina's chocolate chip cookies. By the way I was glad to meet more of the fan club. It was nice to talk to: Nina, Anita, Jen, Marcia, Frank, Billy, Tony and Deb. Most of all . . . I was introduced to the handsome Bones! You are a gentleman and I am glad I met you. I hope to see you again at another concert. -- Leah

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 17, 2004

62 years ago - Spencer Davis is born. (1942)

43 years ago - Motown Records releases The Supremes' first single, "Buttered Popcorn" with "Who's Loving You" on the flip side. The record fails to chart. (1961)

39 years ago - James Brown's "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" enters the pop and R&B charts. It will hit #8 on the pop and #1 on the R&B charts. (1965)

39 years ago - The Miracles' "Tracks of My Tears" is released. (1965)

39 years ago - Them's "Here Comes The Night" is released. (1965)

39 years ago - The Byrds' LP "Mr. Tambourine Man" enters the charts. (1965)

37 years ago - The Jimi Hendrix Experience opens for The Monkees at The Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in New York. (1967)

36 years ago - The Beatles animated movie, "Yellow Submarine" debuts in London at the Pavilion Theatre. John, Paul and George attend the screening. (1968)

33 years ago - Blood, Sweat and Tears' "B,S&T 4" enters the album charts. (1971)

30 years ago - The Moody Blues open up their own studio in London. It was the first studio designed for quadrophonic recording. (1974)

29 years ago - Ringo Starr and Maureen Cox divorce. She died in 1994. (1975)

28 years ago - The Rolling Stones' "Hot Stuff" single peaks at #50. (1976)

28 years ago - ELO's "OLE ELO" LP enters the charts. (1976)

28 years ago - The Beach Boys "15 Big Ones" makes it to the LP chart where it floats right to #8 and is certified gold in September. (1976)

28 years ago - Heart's "Magic Man" is released. (1976)

22 years ago - Frank Zappa and his 14 year old daughter Moon Unit have a novelty hit with "Valley Girl." It debuts at #75. Val-speak makes its way to commercials and network television. (Remember the CBS sitcom, "Square Pegs"?) (1982)

22 years ago - "Going To A Go-Go" by the Rolling Stones peaks at #25 on the singles chart. (1982)

22 years ago - Chicago's "Chicago 16" album enters the chart. The album featured the #1 hit "Hard To Say I'm Sorry." (7/17)

13 years ago - A revamped Lynyrd Skynyrd opens their world tour in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (1991)

13 years ago - James Brown is honored by his home state of Georgia for his comeback following a two year prison term. (1991)

8 years ago - Chas Chandler, who was bassist for the Animals as well as Jimi Hendrix's manager, dies in a British hospital at age 57. He had been undergoing tests related to an aortic aneurysm. (1996)

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Child Support Agency Paternity Responses

The following are all replies that have been included on Child Support Agency forms in the section for listing father's details:

I am unsure as to the identity of the father of my child as I was being sick out of a window when taken unexpectedly from behind. I can provide you with a list of names of men that I think were at the party if this helps.

I don't know the identity of the father of my daughter. He drives a BMW that now has a hole made by my stiletto in one of the door panels. Perhaps you can contact BMW service stations in this area and see if he's had it replaced.

I have never had sex with a man. I am awaiting a letter from the Pope confirming that my son's conception was immaculate and that he is Christ risen again.

I cannot tell you the name of child A's dad as he informs me that to do so would blow his cover and that would have cataclysmic implications for the economy. I am torn between doing right by you and right by my country. Please advise.

From the dates it seems that my daughter was conceived at Euro Disney. Maybe it really is the Magic Kingdom.

Regarding the identity of the father of my twins. Child A was fathered by [name removed]. I am unsure as to the identity of the father of child B, but I believe that he was conceived on the same night.

[name given] is the father of child A. If you do catch up with him can you ask him what he did with my AC/DC CDs?

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Them(Van Morrison) - Gloria

Like to tell you 'bout my baby, you know she comes around,
Just 'bout five feet four a-from her head to the ground.
You know she comes around here just about midnight,
She make me feel so good, Lord, she make me feel all right.
And her name is G-L-O-R-I,

G-L-O-R-I-A GLORIA
G-L-O-R-I-A GLORIA
I'm gonna shout it all night GLORIA
I'm gonna shout it every day, GLORIA
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.

She comes around here just about midnight, ha
She make me feel so good, Lord, I wanna say she make me feel all right.
Comes a-walkin' down my street, then she comes up to my house,
She knock upon my door and then she comes to my room,
Yeah an' she make me feel all right,

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Anyone named GLORIA can sit on my lap anytime!!!!!!!!!!

BTW, LRB is in Horton, Kansas today at the Golden Eagle Casino. Catch em if you can, you won't be disappointed.

Have a great weekend all..................

Red Oak

Happy Birthday, mB! Also, Happy Birthday to Michael Woods! His day is tomorrow - July 18, according to the bios.

KL

My Mo,
Just for the record, Matt was born in 1979.
Hope everyone is well.
Gen.

I saw Mr. 29 tonight and he mentioned that it's Matt's birthday. So, happy birthday mB. I wonder if Matt's favorite number is the sum of 0+7+1+6+1+9+7+? The question mark being, of course, because I don't know what year he was born. But I'm sort of doubting it anyway since he is "29jr" and I don't think the last number in the sum is -2!!

By the way, the show at Turning Stone tonight was...

...you guessed it...

...the best show I ever saw.

Happy Weekend,
Moser

0+9+1+2+1+9+5+2 = 29

Above is what a very lonely America fan does on a Friday night. I badly need a life; I do know it! : )

Come save me
From things I shouldn't do
I need you
Every word is true
No answer [but one]
At numbers I have 'dialed'
I hear the call of the wild

Do you all see it? I bet GLB does. Ain't it wild?

Learning how to fly? Guess you're "Jet Boy Blue". Yes, go to the Layton, UT, concert--at Atlantic City, they were just awesome--then give a detailed report.

Steve Lowry, will you be going to the Layton concert? If so, please be on the lookout for this Brother Golden Hair called Zachary Chowgule.

Hi all - I too was a little disappointed to get the "short set" at Westbury! The LONG set goes too fast! But we were able to say hello to Gerry and Dewey before the show and get to take some pictures and autographs - they are nicer every time! I will post them as soon as possible - we had great seats - first row - and I don't mind seeing their "backs" at all =-) I have to agree with other reviews, the guys seemed to be in a really great mood, and the fans really loved it. I even brought my brother who was in from Vegas and he is now going to see them there when he gets home. Anyway, Mark & David - I will be at Monmouth too - Row B - center, so I will definitely say hello. That would be awesome to hear some new music first hand!

One funny thing happened to me at the show - I was talking to a girl at the back door, someone I had met on line when I bought the tickets, and we were talking about where we lived - I told her that I had just bought a house in Wantagh. Turns out that I bought her aunt's house that she practically grew up in. What are the odds? Is this a small world or what!

Hope you guys at Verona are having a great time!

Do any of you know if Gerry Beckley has ever worked with Tom Petty? For years, every time I hear "Mary Jane's Last Dance", I think I hear Gerry doing the background vocals during the chorus. Finally a week or two ago I decided I'd try to look it up. I couldn't find any information on the internet on who does the background vocals. I checked out the Greatest Hits CD from the library, but the cover is a photocopy and doesn't have any of the song information at all. Looked for the CD in the music dept. of a department store we happened to be in tonight (because I really like the CD and want to buy it) - but they didn't have it. Maybe I'll just have to order it or try to stop at an actual music store next week. Anyway, my husband doesn't think it is Gerry, but I thought I'd run it by all of you to see if anyone knows who it is. At least it would be interesting to know if it's just my ears making this up or if anyone else "hears the resemblance". Thanks! Karen

Mark, Thanks for the update. My wife and I have front row center for the Monmouth show so I hope there is some new music.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Greatest Hits. (Once a week or so I try to give my America CDs a rest. : )

No Robyn, I'll be 48 in September.

We see a lot of cover bands over Oz, covering suck acts as Elvis, Neil Diamond, Fleetwood Mac, Bees Gees, Beach Boys etc and I find that I go to the shows just to hear the songs sung live. Sometimes the cover act is very good. The one missing cover act is for America, never heard of one over here anyway.
My point is that LRB act going around USA at moment is beter than having nothing, just so long as the fans are made aware that all the original members are not there. I think the promoters should at least be honest.
My second favourite band, WHITESNAKE, have been going around for about 28 years. They are still touring in UK and the only original member is the lead singer and songwriter, David COVERDALE, but at least everyone knows that. Bluey

That's because you ARE 5150 Bones!

Van Halen - 5150

Mark, sorry to hear you heard the short set at Westbury but good news to hear Willie say they'll be recording new songs during the upcoming break. Great news to hear from an inside source! I just saw Lyle Lovett at a place like Westbury which is great... but like Anita said it can be a little frustrating because for half the show you seem to be looking at their backs.

Jen

An unknown CD given to a friend by some guy in front of the Virgin store in Hollywood. Actually a pretty cool CD.

Erin :o)

Click here to see the view from Gerry's hotel room in Verona, NY.

Of the some 40 or so times I've seen America. this is the first time I saw the short set. Last year at Westbury they played the long set, so I was expecting the long set. The guys were as great as over, but only played for about 65 minutes. Unfortunately, some of my favorite songs were excluded, like Survival, Border, and Company. But, I have to say that the opening act of Blood, Sweat, & Tears was great. David Clayton Thomas sounded great after all these years. His band was great. At times I thought Chicago was playing with the use of the many similiar instruments. David was also very funny, telling some stories particularly from his early years in New York. They also played for about 65 minutes.

I spoke to Willie after the concert. He said in a couple of weeks they will be meeting with some record people in Vegas. He said the game plan is to use their 6 week break in their schedule from September thru the middle of October to record new music for a new CD. Hopefully it will come to pass. Anyway, even though they only played for 65 minutes, they played with their usual energy and the crowd showed its' appreciation. Next up for me is Monmouth University in October hopefully playing some new material!

Mark

Is anyone going to Turning stone this evening?

Also I would love to see a setlist from a recent show if someone can post one.....

Actually listening to a Recorded Book version of Lord of the Rings Return of the King. But on my way home, I think I will switch to the cd that's in my player --disc one of Highway

XM radio all morning Long. Their "IT" program is playing nothing but hits from 1976 right now--very detailed! Moser,that Ambrosia CD is a FINE choice to be playing this morning! I have that via Japanese Import and love the songs like "Biggest Part Of Me" and "You're The Only Woman!"

Ambrosia's "One-eighty"

What's in your player?

I count myself as a LRB fan,but not in their current incarnation.
And while most people aren't as bad as me,this all goes back to the original members thing. Shorrock,Birtles & Goble were the main thrust of LRB,and without them in the band,it holds little interest to me. One thing that was disappointing to me was a couple of years ago,I tried to post a message to their website regarding the use of "non-original members" touring as the band. Can you believe they would not even post my comments? They said I was negative towards what they were trying to accomplish now! What crap! What Cencorship!(LOL!) And while most music lovers would probably not know Shorrock from Goble or even any of the current guys,I did listen to their "new" Cd at the time and was pretty disappointed. Even a buddy of mine who's a huge LRB fan said that though the CD was "pleasant enough",one listen was all he wanted without any of the main originals present. Its like Firefall touring with one original member: Whats the point?

I first saw this album in 1980 and I remember just the thrill of seeing an America album, but like you, Johnny, and others, was seriously wondering where Dan was. George Martin put out a book called 'All you Need Is Ears' in which he describes the recording process of that album. If my memory is correct, it was the first time Martin had ever done anything like that before. In his book he diagrams the recording process he did with America, to the truck and so on. What a fantastic way to start HORSE,tho, dont you think?

Writing from Long Island, where I saw America perform at Westbury last night. My review is posted on venturahighway.com, if you'd like to take a read.

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 16, 2004

52 years ago - Stewart Copeland, drummer for The Police, is born. (1952)

45 years ago - The Coasters record "Poison Ivy" at the Atlantic Recording Studio in New York City. The song was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. (1959)

38 years ago - Three musicians in London, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker form the band Cream. The band would go on to become regarded as rock's first supergroup as well as one of the most popular and influential bands of the 60's. (1966)

38 years ago - The Lovin' Spoonful's "Summer In The City" is released. (1966)

35 years ago - The Who's "I'm Free" is released. (1969)

32 years ago - Smokey Robinson and the Miracles give their farewell concert in Washington D.C. This follows a six month "swan song" tour. Smokey will continue in the music biz as a solo artist, producer, writer and vice-president for Motown Records. (1972)

31 years ago - Bob Dylan releases the soundtrack to "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid." Dylan stars in the flick with Kris Kristofferson. One song off the LP, "Knocking On Heaven's Door" reaches #12 while the soundtrack goes to #16. (1973)

28 years ago - Loggins and Messina break up. (1976)

27 years ago - The Commodores get their second R&B #1 hit with "Easy." (1977)

24 years ago - "No Nukes" -- the film documentary of anti-nuclear concerts -- premieres in New York. Among the perormers: Jackson Browne, the Doobie Brothers, Bruce Springsteen and James Taylor. (1980)

23 years ago - Jefferson Starship get a gold record for "Modern Time." Grace Slick only makes some vocal appearances on the LP, because it was nearly finished when she rejoined the group. (1981)

23 years ago - Folk-pop singer and songwriter Harry Chapin dies in a car crash on the Long Island Expressway in Jericho, New York on the way to a benefit concert. He was 38. (1981)

12 years ago - Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop" is played (over and over) as Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton accepts the Democratic nomination for President. (1992)

9 years ago - Sinead O'Connor drops out of Lollapalooza because she's pregnant. (1995)

8 years ago Styx drummer John Panozzo, dies of a gastrointestinal hemmorhage at his home in Chicago. He was 47. (1996)

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A blind man walks into a bar....

A blind man enters a lesbian bar by mistake. He finds his way to a bar stool and orders a drink. After sitting there for a while, he yells to the bartender, "Hey, you wanna hear a blonde joke?"

The bar immediately falls absolutely quiet. In a very deep, husky voice, the woman next to him says, "Before you tell that joke, sir, I think it's only fair - given that you are blind, that you know five things:

#1 - The bartender is a blonde girl.
#2 - The bouncer is a blonde girl.
#3 - I'm a 6 feet tall, 220 lb. blonde woman with a black belt in karate.
#4 - The woman sitting next to me is blonde and is a professional weight lifter.
#5 - The lady to your right is a blonde and is a professional wrestler.

Now think about it seriously, Mister. Do you still wanna tell that joke? The blind man thinks for a second, shakes his head, and declares, "Nah, not if I'm gonna have to explain it five times!"

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Summer In The City - Lovin Spoonful

Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn't it a pity
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city

All around, people looking half dead
Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head

But at night it's a different world
Go out and find a girl
Come-on come-on and dance all night
Despite the heat it'll be alright

And babe, don't you know it's a pity
That the days can't be like the nights
In the summer, in the city
In the summer, in the city

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TGIF everyone & don't let any grass grow under your feet........

Red Oak

Hi everyone. I see that quite a few of you are Little River Band fans as well. Without going too deeply into their history, I would imagine that you would be aware that the original members, Glenn Shorrock, Beeb Birtles and Graham Goble (all principal songwriters in the group) are no longer with the group. But, in recent times, they perform around Australia under "Birtles, Shorrock and Goble". For legal reasons they cannot perform under Little River Band or LRB. Glenn had a solo career between stints with LRB as did Graham and Beeb, who performed as a duo.
Just to let you know there are a couple of CDs out (on Amazon list). Firstly Glenn Shorrock "The First 20 Years" which takes in his 60s groups Twilights and Axiom, then songs he wrote with LRB and then his solo singles. "The Last Romance" by Birtles and Goble, which includes the single "I'm Coming Home" and lastly, the recently released "Full Circle" by Birtles, Shorrock and Goble which contain re-recorded hits from their LRB days.

I hope this helps you LRB fans out.

Bluey.

Thank you, Red and NancyH, I certainly will (at Verona)!
Hey, Mo, ONE more day!
Now the wait begins for the DVD...

Hi deeee hoooo Everyone :) ~~ I am Here Smiling from Ear to Ear ~~ Hmmm WHY ??? Cause there is some News on the Venturahwy.com site that I have been Patiently Awaiting to Hear... You can Betcha I did a Double Take when I saw this View of the Cover of the AMERICA Live at the Sydney Opera House ~~ for sure I am lovin the Blue ~Blue~ Blue color complimenting Dewey & Gerry along with the outside pic of the Opera House. ~~ Yes Yes Yes now I gotta find what site has it, and get ready Mr Mailman, cause I am gonna be wanting a Speedy Delivery on this Package! :) :) :)

Thanks Gerry ~~ Such a Neat Cloud Scheme you Captured in your VFTHW - Uniondale ~~ I hope those clouds stayed friendly and that it is another Nice Sunset view from the Revolving stage at the Westbury show, have fun everyone that is there and please do come and share a bit of the magic & pics with us that would Love to be there right about now.. :)

Hi rc ~ Wow sooo neat that you have heard Old Man Took done live at a show, and thanks for sharing the music leads with us... Hmm you really got me curious about this electric lead into Daisy Jane, as well as the piano into after Inspector Mills, leading into California Dreamin ~~ Nice Nice Nice :) ~~ I too took a listen to my AMERICA Live songs from 1977, I really was taken both Dewey's & Gerry's voices on the songs... and yeppers I hit the replay button on "Old Man Took" about 4 times in a row.. these songs carried me to my dreams nicely... Thanks Everybody for all of the neat posting about this collection of songs! :)

Hi Hoooo Traveler ~~ Nice to hear from you.. I bet you are taking in some Beautiful Sky Views there in SUNNY California... Have a great time while relaxing and WOW the Humphrey show is coming your way soooo sooon... Enjoy and come tell us all about your AMERICA Heaven :)
~~~ Can you guess where I'm calling from, Yes that's right I'm calling from the Los Vegas Hilton... I'll be home on a Monday ~~~ Hey there Red the LRB is here singing some great songs for me, Yeppers Mr Mailman brought 2 great CD's my way today :) ;) ~~~ Too much you posting Linda R's lyrics to "When Will I Be Loved" too much LRB has a version of this song on this Reminiscing CD Collection.. :) ~~~ Make way dreamtime here comes another night, shut down turn off, until the morning night, make way dreamtime here comes another night woooo ooooh woooo ooooooh :) ~~~ Cool Next song playing here is Reminiscing ~~~ Ooooooooh How I love this song :) :) :)

Hey there Mo, NancyM ~~ Be sure and have a Double dose of Fun tomorrow night for Me, and take lots of pics... Next best thing to being there for me! I will be thinking of You all! ~~ All of our Relatives will be coming in from Toledo Ohio,tomorrow and we will be doing lots of REMINISCING for sure! :) ~~ Next up Lady ~~~ Look around you, look up here, take time, to make time, make time to be there, Look Arounddddd, be a part, feel for the winter, but don't have a Colllld Heart, and I love you bestttttt, you're not like the rest, you're there when I need you, need you, I'm gonna need you... Alonnnnnnng time ago I had a Lady to love, she made me think of things I never thought of .... Sing it LRB ~~ Ooooops my fingers wanted to sing soooo bad again.. LOL!

Take care everyone, see ya, Nitey Nite ~ Nancy :) Oooooh I was Born on a Sunday Sept 8, 1957 at 10:40 pm and there was a Full Moon on Sept. 9th.... Neat, I went into the hospital to have my daughter Laura on July 12th, 1992 a sunday night and she was born on Monday July 13th at 2:45 in the afternoon, and as I held her later on that evening there was a Big Full Moon shining in my hospital window.. That view and moment is fresh in my mind, and I click the replay button on it every year on her b'day... sooo hard to believe she is 12 years old already!!!! :)

Thanks for reading my ramblins!!!!

~~~ Have you heard about the Lonesome Loser, beaten by the Queen of Hearts everytime ~~~~ Okay gotta get my Call Report done, Yippee, when it is done, I won't have another one to do... and I leave you all with a Smile, cause Cool Change is on here now... and you all should know by now, that I Love this song soooo much ~~ Lots of those Friendly People showing me ways to goooo, and I never want to Lose Their Inspiration ~~ time for cooool change, I know that its time for a cooool change, and now that my life is sooo prearranged, I know that it's time for a cool change, well I was born in the sign of water, and it is there that I feel my best :) :) :) It's kind of a special feeling when you are out on the sea along ~~ staring at the Full Moon like a Lover :) ;)

Not only do I live about 5 miles from uniondale, but I can almost pinpoint the exact location from where Gerry took tht photo.

I got a kick out of Gerry's picture today. I live in California now, but grew up on Long Island not too far from Uniondale. I think I know exactly where he took that picture from!

Rich

Love the Kerry joke. Thanks for all the info, too. I look forward to them daily.

Shayne

<<The teacher is kind of angry, because this is Vermont, so she asks, "What if your Mom was a moron and your Dad was an idiot, what would that make you?"

Timmy says, "That would make me a John Kerry fan.">>

Obviously it means that the kid was gifted... able to rise above his environment.

Steve,

You are correct, I meant to say "Sergeant Darkness" and I got my wires crossed with "Inspector Mills". Oops!
Thanks for pointing out my error. Nonetheless, both are great Gerry songs.
Sergio

Sergio,you are welcome. However,your mention of "Inspector Mills" was not part of the original 1977 album. That came on the 1982 King Biscuit show.n As for '77 Live...thats heading into work with me today!

Click here to see the view from Gerry's hotel window in Uniondale, NY.

By the way, I have two copies of the 1977 America Live CD (one for home and one for work). Mine are German imports that I got about 8 years ago for about $30 a piece. I'll have to listen to the work copy this morning.

Thanks Anita for posting those photos from Anny. I actually don't leave for vacation until tomorrow but everything is really hectic as I'm trying to get ready. I'll have my laptop with me so I may be able to check in once in awhile. In the meantime, be good everyone (LOL) and have a great weekend!

--SteveL

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 15, 2004

58 years ago - Linda Ronstadt is born. (1946)

52 years ago - Jeff Carlisi, guitarist for .38 Special is born. (1952)

48 years ago - Guitarist Joe Satriani is born. (1956)

38 years ago - Percy Sledge's first and biggest hit, "When A Man Loves A Woman" earns him his first and only gold record. (1966)

31 years ago - Ray Davies announces he's leaving The Kinks. His decision is brought on by exhaustion and his wife recently leaving him. He returns to the group within the week. (1973)

26 years ago - Over 200,000 fans gather at Blackbush Airport in Britain to see Bob Dylan and his band off after the completion of his U.K. tour. (1978)

24 years ago - Linda Ronstadt makes her dramatic premiere in "The Pirates Of Penzance" at a the New York Shakespere Festival in Central Park. In the part of Mabel, she gets good reviews, and when the production moves to Broadway in January of 1981 she moves with it. The musical-comedy will be made into a movie starring Ronstadt and other original cast members. (1980)

18 years ago - Columbia Records drops Johnny Cash after 28 years. Johnny signs with Polygram the next year. (1986)

15 years ago - More than 200,000 people cram into Venice, Italy for a free Pink Floyd concert. Residents complain about the noise, litering and drug use. (1989)

10 years ago - Singer/songwriter/drummer Phil Collins announces he is seeking a divorce from wife Jill. (1994)

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John Kerry Fan -

A teacher in a small Vermont town asks her class how many of them are John Kerry fans. Not really knowing what a John Kerry fan is, but wanting to be liked by the teacher, all the kids raise their hands except one boy.

The teacher asks Timmy why he has decided to be different. Timmy says, "I'm not a John Kerry fan." The teacher says, "Why aren't you a John Kerry fan?" Timmy says, "I'm a George Bush fan."

The teacher asks why he's a George Bush fan. The boy says, "Well my Mom's a George Bush fan and Dad's a George Bush fan, so I'm a George Bush fan."

The teacher is kind of angry, because this is Vermont, so she asks, "What if your Mom was a moron and your Dad was an idiot, what would that make you?"

Timmy says, "That would make me a John Kerry fan."

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Linda Rondstadt - When Will I Be Loved

I've been made blue, I've been lied to
When will I be loved
I've been turned down, I've been pushed ‘round
When will I be loved

When I meet a new girl that I want for mine
She always breaks my heart in two, it happens every time
I've been cheated, been mistreated
When will I be loved

When I meet a new girl that I want for mine
She always breaks my heart in two, it happens every time
I've been cheated, been mistreated
When will I be loved

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Have fun at Westbury, Nancy M. Say Hi to Linda S for me. Also, those going to Verona, have a gr8 time.

Rock On

Nancy, I finally found the In Concert cd from 1985 on ebay (I had been looking forever). It is packaged differently than the original lp (which I am sad to say is the only lp I am missing besides Your Move). The cd I have was produced by EMI Gold and the cover is of all THREE of the guys in front of an American flag. When I ordered this on e-bay I wasn't sure that it really was the In Concert cd, but I'm pretty sure it is. The tracks are Tin Man, I Need You, The Border, SGH, Company, You Can Do Magic, Ventura Highway, Daisy Jane, HWNN & Survival.

I also have all of the cd's and was able to purchase them from Amazon.com--most were German imports. I think I paid from $15-$25 per cd. I would order two to three cd's a month and I think it took me about 6 months before I had most of them. It took a trip to Germany to pick up the Last Unicorn Soundtrack (I couldn't quite justify the $30+ on ebay)and I was able to get that one for about $13.

SteveO thanks for the reminder on America Live - I know what my fternoon listening will be today! I also love the King Biscuit live cd-Love On the Vine is great live and Here is outstanding. It really makes me wish they would add Here to their shows today.

Kim

I had heard about their 1978 appearance but didn't know this performance had ever been released. Where can I find it?

I bought the "Live" lp soon after it first came out, not knowing that Dan had departed. I remember opening it and pulling out the sleeve and only seeing Dewey and Gerry on the inside and flipping it over several times looking for Dan. Then feeling down after realizing that he was no longer part of America. Maybe that influenced my impression of the album, because I didn't care much for it when I listened to it (though it has grown on me over the years). I agree that they would have been better off if they would have had more of a "Classic Rock" live performance (similar to the 1975 Musicladen/Horse With No Name performance) instead of letting George Martin try to make a live performance sound like a studio album. I also think that the cover was designed to hide the fact that Dan had left and that America was now a duo. This album was America's first commercial flop.

The 1985 In Concert CD was America's first album to be released on CD. I believe it is out of print now, but I think you can find it as an import with a different cover.

The "America Live" LP from 1977 totally "passed" me by in its time... I went from buying "Harbor" to "Silent Letter", I guess in 1977, my wife and I had recently bought our first house and we were too busy setting it up to really spend any money on music. So my revelation that Dan had left the group came with "Silent Letter", I kept wondering what had happened to the third guy...I didn't get the 1977 Live album until a couple of years ago, I got a German import for about $15.00. I was impressed with the quality of the recording, the quality of the vocals, and the many uncommon great songs covered live, such as "Hollywood", "Muskrat Love", "Inspector Mills", "Company", and "Old Man Took". What also surprised me was the fact they covered no "Dan songs" on it. "Lonely People", "Don't Cross The River" and "Today's the Day" (which had been their last top 40 hit at the time) were significantly missing from the play list. I have to guess that at the time the break up was still too fresh for either party to do so.

Steve O thanks for reviving interest in this album. I bet most of us on the chat folder that have it, either took one out of an album sleeve or a jewel case and gave it a listen, I for one drove to work listening to it, and enjoyed it immensely, thank you sir.:o)

Sergio

Outside of "Survival" and "Company",the 1985 "In Concert" CD was pretty much billed by the guys as what a normal show would contain.
I tend to lean towards the songs that you don't hear as often,thats why I prefer the 1977 "Live" album over that. The 1982 King Biscuit CD has its moments too,as I've always enjoyed the song "Love on the vine" which came from "View From the ground." And,the Grand Caymans Cd is a worthy effort too,as the twist comes from the set having a few additional rarities,and a stripped down sound. Hmmm,I think I just talked myself into bringing some of those CD's into work today!

Good question, Johnny. Would a record company do something to deceive the record buying public? Hmmmmmm. Wow, I'm stumped on that one. After all, they seem like such honest people.

KevinS.

I remember quite well finding the "Live" LP in the music section of a local discount store back in '77. I had no previous idea that a live LP by America was to be released. I remember being somewhat disappointed (believe it or not) that it wasn't a recording of NEW music by America instead. Oh how we were so "spoiled" by being able to purchase a new LP of America's music each year back in the '70s.

When I examined the "Live" album cover at the store, I thought the third person in the photo on the front cover was Dan but when I brought the album home, I (of course) soon learned that Dan was MIA. I remember feeling a great sense of disappointment and naturally wondered why Dan was no longer a part of the band. Instead of the third person in the photo being Dan, it was actually David Dickey as we all know. At the time, I thought (and still do today) that the photo on the front cover was intentionally selected to make it appear that Dan was the person on the far right. Did anyone else think this when they first purchased the album? Plus, the photo on the back appears to be designed to hide the fact that Dan was no longer with the band. I may be totally wrong about the intentions of the photos, but that's how I viewed/view it.

Interestingly (at least I think so, LOL), when I spoke with Woodz last year in Texas, we briefly talked about Tom Walsh. His name was brought up by Woodz when he and I were discussing the solo drum intro that Willie would perform in the past that led up to "Woman Tonight". I thought I heard Woodz say something like, "...before Tom passed away." At the time, I thought to myself, "Did I hear that correctly... that Tom Walsh passed away?" I wanted to ask Woodz if I heard him correctly but we had moved on to a different topic. I hope I misheard.

I also have the vinyl copy of 77s "Live" album. I really like listening to this album now on occasion but when it first came out I wasn't really knocked out by it. I thought in my mind it should have been more rockin' and not so stringy. I guess my taste has matured and aged as well as this fine lp. DanC.

I will have to search for that one then! That's the only one I DON'T have on CD!

I have that on CD. Mine isn't an import. It's from Capital.

In fact, that was the first thing on CD by America I ever bought. I remember buying my first CD player (once the price came down under $300), and, knowing my wife would be pissed that I spent that much on a CD player, I bought a Chicago CD (her favorite group) to go with it. I don't remember which one. I remember buying that "America in Concert CD" because every time I went into the record store, I'd check to see if there was anything by America. That was the only America CD I could find for a long time.

It was a while before I found anything else by America. And I think it was all imports for a few years.

This CD has Time Man, I Need You, The Border, Sister Golden Hair, Company, You Can Do Magic, Ventura Highway, Daisy Jane, Horse With No Name and Survival.

KevinS.

But it is! I have a copy,and once again it was purchased as an import. I think I paid $20 for it about 10 years ago. I'm wondering how many others on this site also have this CD? (Not the Vinyl,but the CD)

I own the LP and the CD of the 1977 "Live". The "In Concert" Lp is from a show on June 1st, 1985, recorded at the Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA. As far as I know, this LP was never released on a CD.

Bones,Like you & some of the other diehards on this site,I too have paid dearly for import copies of the groups material. The most I ever spent was $40 for the Japanese import of "Harbor" which for a time,had been deleted/cut out. Would I spend $40 again? You bet!
Howwever,now you can find most of those albums for less than $20.

Posted below is the body of an email I received tonight from the Ventura Highway emailing list. It is about the re-release of the Beckley Lamm Wilson album, "Like A Brother." It's a touching quote from Phil Galdston about making the CD. I thought I would post it here for those who might not be signed up for news from VH.com.

AVAILABLE NOW: Beckley, Lamm, Wilson's "Like A Brother" This is a re-release of the 2000 collaboration between Gerry Beckley of America, Robert Lamm of Chicago and Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys.

"I once heard Jackson Browne say about Don Henley and Glenn Frey, "It's amazing when your friends become your heroes." For me, it was amazing that three of my heroes - Gerry Beckley, Robert Lamm, and the late Carl Wilson - became my friends. These consummate songwriters, singers, and musicians had a profound influence on my musical life. If, years ago, anyone had told me that I would be writing and producing with them, I would have laughed and gone back
to some dreams with a little greater chance of coming true.
Of course, if, years ago, anyone had told me that members of America, Chicago, and the Beach Boys would come together to make an album, I would have found that wacky, as well. Each had a unique style and impact. Even thirty years or so after America and Chicago hit the scene, and forty years after the Beach Boys arrived, their music remains popular and influential in a way no one could have predicted.
In February 1992, I flew To L.A. from New York to play some undefined role in what everyone agreed was a project with great promise. It was one thing to have known and collaborated with both Carl and Robert. But I had yet to meet Gerry and co-producing was an entirely different story. But all three put me at ease right away. They were very generous with their compliments about Vanessa
Williams' record of "Save The Best For Last," a song I had co-written. I tried to keep my success in perspective. For example, although my #1 song was featured on my airplane's audio program, each of them had a chestnut from their catalog featured, as well!
Six years later, on another February afternoon in Los Angeles, Robert, Gerry, and I sat in a restaurant after Carl's funeral and agreed that, sadly, all of the music we'd made would never be heard by the outside world. The record wasn't complete and we couldn't imagine how we could ever finish it without Carl.
In between those two days, we'd spent countless hours in studios in
New York and L.A. recording, plotting, planning, arguing, and angling to bring the project home. There were weeks of intensive effort and months of hiatus, while each of us concentrated on other, less speculative aspects of our careers. All three loved the work, but their day gigs made it impossible for them to make the kind of commitment the music biz demands.
Nonetheless, it was a joy to watch how their relationships worked. Here were three people who could have easily been competitive, even within appropriate boundaries of a group. Instead, their mutual respect - their love - for each other helped each to raise high the bar of performance. As a result, there were many thrilling, joyous moments along the way.
For my part, the most emotional experience of the entire project
may well have been when I first showed Carl the lyric to "Like A Brother." It had been a long, grueling road to conceiving the idea - about ten months of sporadic attempts to find something that matched the music we had written rather quickly. One day, I found myself thinking of how difficult it would be to be in Carl's position: distanced from my big brother by circumstances and forces
beyond my control. Suddenly, the phrase "Love you like a brother" came to me. Two hours later, the lyric was done. A couple of weeks after that, I was nervously singing it to Carl, worried that I might have invaded extremely personal territory. When I was done, he tearfully embraced me. "Thank you for caring enough to write about my life," he said. Just then, the phone rang. His wife, Gina, called, "It's Brian." I left Carl with the phone. In the kitchen, Gina was amazed. "They haven't spoken in over a year," she said.
In the spring of 1997, Carl called to say that he was ready to set aside a significant period of time to complete the album. He and I had written a new song, he had dreamed up some new parts, and he felt that B-L-W was ready to move forward. He would work out a timetable while on vacation in Hawaii.
Two weeks later, Carl was diagnosed with the cancer that would take his life. Although he struggled heroically - even performing on the Beach Boys/Chicago tour between chemotherapy sessions - and each of us spent some precious time with him, we never again made music together. By February 1998, Carl was gone at 51. The three remaining members of the team toasted his memory, embraced, and drove off into the kind of sunset Carl had sung about for most of his life. About four months later, a friend asked if he could hear the B-L-W tunes. I put the tape on and within minutes I had tears streaming down my face. I picked up the phone and called Robert and Gerry to tell
them we had to finish the record; we owed it to Carl. They agreed.
A week of overdubbing and mixing - a week of intense emotion best summed up by Gerry's comment the first day: "This is most thrilling and the saddest day I may have ever had" - and we were done. Some have commented on how much of the record concerns the passing of time and of loved ones. I don't think any of us were aware of that while recording. I think - I know - we were transported by the music, lyrics, and performances, and the joy of seeing it all come to life.
In a conversation shortly after she heard the entire record for the first time, Gina Wilson revealed that she had kept her fingers crossed that we would complete the record. She had "spoken" with Carl in a dream. "I want my music to be heard," he told her.
Finally, and proudly, it can be.

Phil Galdston, New York City, May 2004

While he's away on vacation, Steve has asked me to post these photos from a private show that the band did last week in Northeast Harbor, Maine. Enjoy!

http://www.venturahighway.com/fanreviews.php?ID=102

I certainly remember getting the album and going where's Dan!!!!
Amber Cascades - I love the ending along with OM Took and Sgt Darkness. On a Local radio station in Norwich CT - Another Try
got a ton a airplay for about a month

Steve, I went through my CD collection and found the America Live CD. Still has the bar code sticker on the case with the price of $17.99. Did you ever buy any of the Japanese imports of the early America CDs? When Homecoming, Hat Trick, Holiday, Hideaway, Hearts, and Harbor were finally released as Japanese imports I had the local CD store order them for me. I walked out of the store thinking to myself that I just couldn't believe I just spent $25.00 per CD. At the time it seemed like a lot of money but I had to have them.

I mentioned this in an earlier post but I wanted to share more of it with you. As most of us here have the 1982 King Biscuit show recorded in Ohio,Gerry & Dewey also did a King Biscuit Appearance in 1978. The particular show in question was recorded at the Universal Ampitheater in Los Angelas. Unfortunatly,the show was split into 2 acts: America and Karla Bonoff. The first 8 songs were given to America,and then following another commercial break,went into some of Bonoff's music. This is a show that,to my knowledge,has never been released in its entirety. I've seen alot of King Biscuit shows over the years,and everytime an America show is aired,its the Ohio one. However,next to the "Live" concert CD we've been talking about,this is the next earliest show I have of the guys. The Tracks included "Riverside",
"I Need You","Daisy Jane","Miniature","Tin Man","Rainbow Song","Ventura Highway" and "Horse...". "Miniature" is the actual studio version that the guys used as an intro for a time. Otherwise,"Rainbow Song" is the best of the rare stuff and a bit more uptempo than the studio version. I actually prefer this version more than the one on "Hat Trick." Reminds me of how they revamped "Old Man Took" in their live shows over the years...

Mo,you're welcome! It really is a great album!Its certainly worth revisiting,particularly for some of those rare songs you never hear "Live" anymore. I don't recall "Sergeant Darkness" ever being released as a single. I still have the original 45 of "Don't Cry Baby" backed with "Monster" from "Harbor" which was released in June of 1977. As most of you know,there weren't any chart hits from that album. As for the "Live" CD, My version is an Australian import;I believe I paid $20 for it at the time about a decade ago. I know it is still out there via some of the usual Music websites.

Gary,
America merch can usually be had at most of their concerts lately. For a while, a merch table was a hit or miss proposition but it seems to be a fairly constant reality lately. Gerry even seems to be doing a brief merch pitch during the shows now. I saw him do this at Buffalo on June 26 and have read one or two others mention it since then as well. I bought an America cap, my second one. The first one is autographed and permanently enshrined in the family trophy case. It was a bit of a hefty price in my opinion at $20 which is more than I remember paying for the first one about 2 years ago but who's counting dollars when it comes to Gerry and Dewey? (Well, I think maybe Jeff, the hub, is counting lately but we're trying to ignore that!) There were also several varieties of T-shirts and some CD's to be had. I have been hoping for a wider variety of merch such as America logo fleeces or something. One can only Hope.
Anyway, next time they come up your way, check for the merch table--hopefully it will be there.
Happy Wednesday,
Moser

HI All,
I am here in beautiful, sunny San Diego and I am enjoying my vacation. I leave in a few hours to head out to sea for my fishing trip. Just wanted to check in, and say HI to all.
Really looking forward to the Humphrey's concert next week. I saw the previous song requests, and would like to say, I agree about Dewey adding in Pages into the lineup. Still hoping for "Mad Dog"-(I admit I am an optimist", or maybe at least "All My life" from Gerry. See ya all later, I have fun waiting for me....

I have that LP. Thanks to your suggestion, SteveO, I pulled it out and gave a listen to a few of the rare tracks that you mentioned. I didn't dare try to listen to the whole thing through all the lovely and well-deserved snaps, crackles, and pops on the album. It's very interesting to look back at this record. I must have bought it in '79 since I found my name and the year written in my teenage handwriting on the label and sleeve, "Maureen 79." I must have carried it to many a party and didn't want to have someone else claim it as their very own. Too bad I didn't have some foresight back then to think of taking better care of it as the rare gem that it is now. Sergeant Darkness, Old Man Took, and even MUSKRAT LOVE...who knew?? Maybe I'll take this with me on Friday and see if I can snag an autograph or two on it. Thanks SteveO for the trip down America memories lane.

afternoon from the great lakes.Perhaps someone might know where one might obtain an awesome authentic America T-shirt or hat since the
ventura highway store site for such things isn't functional as yet?!
Maybe some of you nice folks who know Dewey & Gerry might pass word on that diehard fans wish to buy merchandise an cannot...so get that
Ventura Highway site fully operational,thank you...-smiles-.

Also,I had noted a month back or so,that I had bought the dvd from Musik Laden :live at the beat club from 1975,I'd reccomend it to everyone,its one awesome collectors item...its at AllDirect.com /
and...perhaps we oughta petition VH1 to reunite Dewey,Dan & Gerry...
it'd be worth something special!

I own the lp not the cd...............

What with all the talk of a new Live DVD on the way,I wonder how many of you out there have the first original Live LP that Gerry and Dewey did Post-Dan back in 1977. While most of us have the 1982 King Biscuit show,and a few of us have some of the 1978 King Biscuit show,its interesting to revisit the 1977 LP/CD "America Live."
The tunes were taken from the 4th night of a 4 night engagement at the Greek Theater in L.A. on July 24th 1977. The original album reached #129 on the Billboard Top 200 following its December 17,1977 release. Some of the songs that are being asked of the guys for the current shows--most noteably "Old Man Took"--are included on this album,along with rare Live versions of "Sergeant Darkness","Company" and "Amber Cascades." To my knowledge,the CD is only available as an import--but well worth the purchase price if you can locate it. As a duo,its the earliest recorded show I can find of the guys,and of the 14 songs recorded,all were either written or sung by Gerry and Dewey. None of the Peek-era material would be added for years.

Frampton is Alive and so is the White Man...ha I have to say i was learning how to fly planes and the dude that was teaching me was playing Frampton on his stereo and i was think damn i know that sound, it was nice, also some band , GoldEarings,....anyway looking forward to the concert on the 29th buying tickets now...how is KIS? MAn i am missing it, what do you do 7th period now? laters, greetings to shione and the family.
zoujk

Come see Gerry & Dewey along with Blood Sweat & Tears tom. July 15 Thurs. evening 8pm at Westbury Music Fair in Long Is. NY. Make best offer.
Intimate concert w/ revolving stage. My loss your gain. Fiona

Try to set the night on fire!!!

That's all... Thank You in advance,

tt

No, no, no, Jim Morisson was not resurrected.
It's Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and Ian Astbury forming the Doors now. They're playing live in the Lycabettus Amphitheater on July the 22nd!

Last Sunday I watched David Bowie's Glass Spider concert on TV. It was really impressive! I expected to hear "Ziggy Stardust" and "Changes" live, but I didn't. the only song of the ziggy era that I identified was the Jean Genie.
Bowie is very flexible beyond his years...

Yesterday, Ioanna and I went to Lena's. Ioanna had brought with her a tape recorder, and we recorded our "radio program": Ioanna and Lena presented the program and I was the audience calling the radio station asking to hear songs or answering a quiz. Ioanna and Lena were the audience at some moments. I was very successfully Vrasidas (man's name)from Chryssoupolis (a really bad quarter), Lena was Toula (woman's name) from Korydallos (a really poor area, where the biggest jail of Greece is situated), and Ioanna was Poppi, the silly girl from Nea Smyrni, who was 15, had a boyfriend and still played with dolls and also Nikos from Korydallos, who called from inside the jail!
Well, this may sound silly, but it was so funny that we couldn't stop laughing.

I have to make a painting for my school by September and I can't find a subject. I tried to make some flowers in a black background, but I didn't use the right colors. I think I'll copy this:
http://www.warhol.dk/gallery/art/m520a.jpg

See you in the chat at noon.

Hi Nancy,
Would be nice if they put Old Man Took back in the playlist. I'm fortunate I have heard that one several times as well as Here. If you dont have it already, consider the America Live CD that King Biscuit put out. They are both on that one along with Love on the Vine, Never be Lonely, Inspector Mills.. They were promoting View From The Ground. It was recorded here in Ohio and I was at that concert, 5 rows from the stage :-) Not sure if I have my ticket stub or not as I didn't think to keep ticket stubs back then lol..
If they do Old Man Took and finish with the electric lead into Daisy, you won't be disappointed if you see performed live. :-)
Gerry has a nice piano solo at the end of Inspector Mills that leads into California Dreaming too.

Take Care,
Robin C.

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 14, 2004

92 years ago - Folk legend Woody Guthrie is born. (1912)

43 years ago - A report from Billboard says "The Twist" teenage dance craze is being picked up by the adult crowd in Philadelphia. (1961)

37 years ago - The Who begin their first full-scale U.S. tour as the opening act for Herman's Hermits. (1967)

35 years ago - Bob Dylan makes a surprise appearance with The Band at the Mississippi River Rock Festival. He performs three numbers. (1969)

31 years ago - The Everly Brothers decide to call it quits. The Everlys end things with a concert at Knott's Berry Farm. The show is stopped by entertainment director Bill Hollingshead because he felt Don was having a poor performance. Phil got angry, smashed his guitar and walked off the stage. Don performs the third set solo and announces their break-up to the audience. (1973)

17 years ago - Rocker Steve Miller gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (1987)

16 years ago - Singer Michael Jackson begins his first British tour at Wembley Stadium in London. (1988)

15 years ago - Cyndi Lauper releases the first closed-captioned video -- "My First Night Without You." (1989)

9 years ago - George Michael announces he's settled his long running dispute with Sony and has been released from his contract. He signed a contract with Dreamworks SKG label who allegedly pays Sony $40 million. (1995)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Arkies -

The young redneck came running into the store and said to his buddy,
"Bubba, somebody just stole your pickup truck from the parking lot!"

Bubba replied, "Did you see who it was?"

The young redneck answered, "I couldn't tell, but I got the license plate number."

---------------------------------------------------------------------

An Arkansas State trooper pulled over a pickup on I-540. The trooper asked, "Got any ID?"

The driver replied, "Bout whut?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------

The Everly Brothers - 'til I Kissed You

Never felt like this until I kissed ya
How did I exist until I kissed ya
Never had you on my mind
Now you're there all the time
Never knew what I missed til I kissed ya, uh-huh
I kissed ya, oh yeah

Things have really changed since I kissed ya, uh-huh
My life's not the same now that I kissed ya, oh yeah
Mmm, ya got a way about ya
Now I can't live without ya
Never knew what I missed til I kissed ya, uh-huh
I kissed ya, oh yeah

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Happy Hump Day all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nancy, hope training went well today, and that you will be primed & ready for chat later on tonite.

RO

Ciao Bruno,

Thank you for sharing the articles with us, and for going through the trouble to have them translated, it was interesting to read the Italian press' perspective on America's visit to Italy. Seeing the newspaper names, fondly reminded me of my college days back in the early 70's, when I would practice reading Italian via Milan's "Il Corriere della Sera" at the Tulane University library. Those golden days when the airwaves were filled with songs like "Ventura Highway" and "A Horse With No Name"...those wonderful old memories.:o)

Sergio

Hello all --
vh.com doesn't seem to be ahead of the curve on info. Is there anything definitive about the DVD release. You hear dates like Sept. I wonder if that includes U.S. We all know that "America" doesn't suffer from "too much" publicity.

Hi deeee hooooo Everyone :) It is late and I gotta get up sooo early tomorrow, but when I read Jimnak's post... I just had to let my Fingers ramble some.. :)

Hey Jimnak.. I hope this RUMOR is for REAL, WOW Quadruple WOWSERS! It would be sooooo Great to hear SARAH, HERE, OLD MAN TOOK (Yes Cindy ~ Be Still my Heart too) and WHOLE WIDE WORLD ~~ Thank You, Thank You, Thank You Gerry & Dewey... This news just makes me want to be at the Birchmere show soooo much.. I am here Dreamin straight from the Heart... about getting to see AMERICA again soon and wanting to hear some other GEMS played LIVE!!! I gotta email the Johnstown War Memorial again.. I gotta keep on their butts soooo they will take me up on my Request to bring AMERICA my way again...

Hi Karen L ~~ Thanks for the tip on that beautiful Sunset pic on Rich's site from the Cincinnati show... that was a Perfect setting for Steve (A Welcome to the Board from me too Steve from Ohio) and all the others that got to be on an AMERICA High... WOW!!! :)

Hi hooooo Red ~~ Thanks for sharing the Great News with me about the Little River Band heading here to the Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pa for a concert on Sept 5th... I got the chills just thinking about being there and it being a full moon and getting to hear them sing NightOwls Live! Wooo Wooo Wooo!!!!!! I would put in a request for them to sing Who Made the Moon for sure! :) ;) ~~ Sooo neat today being Christine McVie's b'day.. I love her song Isn't It Midnight from the "Tango in the Night" cassette, as well as "Mystified" and another great one she sings is called "Love in Store" from their Mirage cassette.. :) ;) ~~ Hmmmm once again your History tidbits has Stirred up some memories from my teenage years.. Eric Clapton's song I Shot the Sheriff takes me back to a very unforgetable night, and George McGrae's "Rock Your Baby" toooooo much I loved that song! :) Thanks for my daily dose of Laughter that you bring my way ~ Simply Red :)

Ciao Bruno ~~ I will have to read your articles that Steve posted later this week, when things aren't sooo hectic for me. Thanks for having these translated for us and Thanks Steve for posting them.. Enjoy your vacation Steve!

Hi ski & Rob ~~~ Geeze that is just too neat that Evan & Jaron are opening for AMERICA at the House of Blues show... Wow I could handle that for sure. I think there was a time here on the folder when there was a question regarding if there were any of todays music artists could be compared to AMERICA... well I have loved Evan & Jaron's song From My Head to My Heart since the first time I heard it, and there is an all accoustic version to their song Crazy for this Girl that is really nice to hit the replay button on.. there is also another song that the title has escaped me right now... but it has to do with Sunshine... my home pc is still down... and I have my Evan & Jaron songs on my Winamp playlist... Booo hooo soo I can't just click on it and let my fingers sing away!!! :( ~~ Soooo ski if you do go to see this show, Please come back and share your getting to hear this with us... or please email me about the show! Thanks!

Thanks Anita for sharing more pics with us... Nancy M I will have to check out your pics too on the yahoo site. As I said before, this is a nice way to get to be there in a way...

Well gotta get to bed now 5:45am is gonna come quick , Nitey Nite all, Nancy :)

Yeppers Dan C ~ I can only imagine how great it would be to hear Old Man Took played live... it is playing here right now... and all the years that I didn't get to hear it before I had it on cd... I could hear this song soooo clearly in my mind... it has always been one of my Favorite Gems for sure! I hope you enjoy your John Fogarty show next week, geeze the month of July, the time is just tick tick ticking away as Mr Don Henley sings... :)

~~~ Soooooo I stayed awhile, took my tea alone called it home, like a playing child running wild, heard a bluejay call, said we got you now, hope you bow to the old man's word, I'm sure you heard just before he left, he said Now Young Man Take Care and don't let the Bugs Bite, Please be Sure and Say a Word at Night for All Your Brothers Feeling Blueeee, Feeeling Blueeee, Feeling Blueeee .... Ooooooh Yes Yes Yes Dewey ~~ Please sing this song Live for us! :) :) :) What a GEM!

Be still my heart...

http://www.dvdbrazil.com/comersus/store/comersus_viewitem.asp?idproduct=891

and it really rocks "Live"...DanC.

jimnak, I hope your head rumors turn into reality! OLD MAN TOOK at The Birchmere would be fabulous! I have said here before, it is my fave Dewey song.

Fingers crossed!
CFTSouth

I posted a few photos from the show at The Mill on http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/America_BeckleyandBunnell/. Enjoy!

Thanks Steve.
The first and third Italian articles (that Steve publish on site) are from Corriere della Sera;
Corriere della Sera is the first newspaper in Italy as diffusion and importance. Also Il Messaggero (second article) is a very important newspaper (major of Rome).
I don't if in quarter article there are problem of correct translation in English (translation in English are of my friend Gerardo Di Pasquale),( safe there is problem of correct English in this my short message) but is very beatiful know... that song "I need you" was song for very great Beatles or at least song with inspiration from Beatles.Or not??
Hi ciao Steve thanks still
Hi friends Nancy, Sergio, Johnny, Genevieve, Danae, and All
ciao bruno

As long as we're doing the request thing, Dewey, might you consider putting Pages back into the setlist? I think I remember you doing it at the Birchmere last year.

Steve, I'm sure Gerry will find this to be interesting news as well, LOL!

I had to chuckle at some of the (mis)information in the 4th article. And to think, after all these years I didn't know that Gerry helped write a song for the Beatles!

Bruno Mautone sent me several Italian news articles quite a while ago and several weeks ago he sent me the English translation to the articles. I apologize to Bruno for being so busy that I didn't have time to scan them in and post them until now. Click on the links below to see the Italian and English versions of the articles.

Article 1: Italian | English
Article 2: Italian | English
Article 3: Italian Page 1, Italian Page 2 | English Page 1, English Page 2
Article 4: Italian | English

P.S. Bruno also sent me a rare Italian 1991 album cover which I'll try to add to the America Fans web site before I leave for vacation this weekend.

OH YES!!! any of those wonderful songs would be GREAT to hear!!!

rumor has it he is considering SARAH & HERE.
DEWEY is considering OLD MAN TOOK & WHOLE WIDE WORLD.
well a rumor in my head only perhaps.

The auction for some of Willie Leacox's collectible items will be over tomorrow morning. Make your bids before its too late!

1. Stage-Used Autographed Drumsticks

2. Stage Worn Shirt

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 13, 2004

62 years ago - Stephen Bladd, drummer for the J. Geils Band, and Roger McGuinn, guitarist and singer for the Byrds are born. (1942)

45 years ago - The Shirelles' "Dedicated To The One I Love" is released. (1959)

36 years ago - Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel's album, "Bookends" is #1 for the third week in a row. That album along with the "Mrs. Robinson" soundtrack will give the duo 16 straight weeks at #1 on the L.P. charts. (1968)

36 years ago - Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild" is released. (1968)

30 years ago - George McCrae's "Rock Your Baby" begins the first of two straight weeks at #1. (1974)

30 years ago - Eric Clapton's "I Shot The Sheriff" is released. (1974)

27 years ago - A Boz Scaggs show in New York was cut short due to the infamous New York City blackout. In a related story, NRBQ was playing that night in a different venue and improvised by taping flashlights to their microphone stands and playing an acoustic set. (1977)

20 years ago - Philippe Wynne, a former lead singer of the Spinners, dies of a heart attack while on stage in Oakland. (1984)

19 years ago - The Live-Aid concerts, put together to help starving people in Africa are held in Philadelphia and London. The shows were organized by Boomtown Rats lead singer Bob Geldof and featured dozens of major acts. It's estimated that the shows were either watched or listened to by an audience of one and a half billion. (1985)

9 years ago - Rush vocalist Geddy Lee sings "Oh Canada" before the All-Star Game at Baltimore's Camden Yards. (1995)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Arkies -

Arkansas Hunters A group of Arkie rednecks went deer hunting and paired off in twos for the day. That night, one of the hunters returned alone, staggering under the weight of an eight-point buck.

"Where's Henry?" the others asked.

"Henry had a stroke of some kind. He's a couple of miles back up the
trail," the successful hunter replied.

"You left Henry laying out there and carried the deer back?" they
inquired.

"A tough call," nodded the hunter. "But I figured no one is going to
steal Henry!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

J Geils Band - Freeze Frame

I could see it was a rough-cut Tuesday
Slow-motion weekdays stare me down
Her lipstick reflex got me wound
There was no defects to be found
Snapshot image froze without a sound

Thursday morning was a hot flash-factor
Her face still focused in my mind
Test-strip proof-sheet love is hard to find
Friday night we'll dance the spotlight grind
Stop-time heart for me if she's not mine

Freeze-Frame, Freeze-Frame
Freeze-Frame! Now Freeze!
Now I'm looking at a flashback Sunday
Zoom lens feelings just don't disappear
Close-up darkroom sweet-talk in my ear
Her hot-spot love for me is strong
This freeze-frame moment can't be wrong
Freeze frame......

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Have a terrific Tuesday

RO

Anita, these are also great photos! Love seeing the ones of the us fans, too.
Pics from the Mill will be forthcoming soon...

Welcome, Steve! I'm glad to hear the weather allowed the concert to go on! If you haven't already, you might want to check out the photo that Rich Campbell, their bass player, took that evening from the stage. It's a beautiful sunset, and maybe you can see yourself in the crowd! You might have already seen the photo, but I wanted to mention it in case you haven't. You can find the photo in a couple of places:

1) www.venturahighway.com and click on "Shows", then "See photos and reviews from past shows", then click on the date over on the left side, or
2) Rich's web site, http://america.accessbackstage.com/ and click on the Photos tab.

You'll have to let us know if you're in the picture!

Karen

Your pictures are great, Anita. Am I the only one who thinks that men should always wear black shirts and jackets?

Very nice pictures Anita...You look radiant!! Everyone looked very happy. Thanks for sharing them.
Sergio

I've uploaded more pictures from Mohegan. If link isn't clickable, just cut and paste. Enjoy!

http://share-dell.shutterfly.com/action/share/welcome?i=EeIOW7dm5bNXBA&sm=1&sl=1

I am pulling a Moser and begging Gerry to play "All my Life" at the HOB on July 22.

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 12, 2004

61 years ago - Chrstine McVie, keyboardist for Fleetwood Mac, is born. (1943)

55 years ago - John Wetton, bassist for Uriah Heep and supergroup Asia, is born. (1949)

54 years ago - Kiss' late drummer Eric Carr, is born. (1950)

47 years ago - Alan Freed begins a 13 week Rock & Roll show on ABC-TV with guest Frankie Lymon, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Knox, Connie Francis, and others. (1959)

43 years ago - Pat Boone begins a 10-day tour of South Africa at the Ice Dome in Durban. When he returns to California, he will begin filming "State Fair." (1961)

42 years ago - The Rollin' Stones, featuring Mick Jagger, Keith Richard, and Brian Jones, make their performing debut at the Marquee Club in London. (1962)

35 years ago - The Beatles' "The Ballad of John and Yoko" hits #8 on the singles chart. The song was banned on many radio stations because of the lyrics, "Christ, you know it ain't easy ..." (1969)

35 years ago - Blind Faith begin their one and only tour with a sold-out show at New York's Madison Square Garden. (1969)

29 years ago - K.C. & the Sunshine Band make their pop chart debut with "Get Down Tonight." It's the first of four singles by the band to make it to the number one spot. (1975)

25 years ago - Minnie Ripperton dies of cancer in Los Angeles at the age of 31. Her "Lovin' You" reached number one in 1975. (1979)

25 years ago - A "disco demolition" between a baseball double header at Chicago's Comiskey Park gets out of hand forcing the cancellation of the second game. (1979)

12 years ago - A memorial to Buddy Holly is unveiled in Dallas, Texas. (1992)

12 years ago - Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose is arrested at New York's JFK airport on a warrant from St. Louis. Rose is wanted on charges stemming from a riot during a 1991 Guns N' Roses concert. (1992)

8 years ago - Smashing Pumpkins tour keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin is found dead in a New York City hotel of a heroin overdose. Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlain is charged with possession of a controlled substance and fired by the band, who has always taken a hard anti-drug stance. (1996)

7 years ago - Red Hot Chili Peppers lead singer Anthony Kiedis suffers a badly broken wrist in a motorcycle accident in L.A. Kiedis was injured when the car in front of him made an unexpected U-turn in order to score a parking space. (1997)

4 years ago - A statue erected in the memory of John Lennon is unveiled in London's Trafalgar Square. The sculpture features a revolver with a knotted barrel created by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reutersward (2000)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

ARKIES -

(Can also apply to Nebraskins and Trailer Park People)

The owner of a golf course in Arkansas was confused about paying an
invoice, so he decided to ask his secretary for some mathematical help.

He called her into his office and said, "You graduated from the
University and I need some help. If I were to give you $20,000, minus
14%, how much would you take off?"

The secretary thought a moment, then replied, "Everything but my
earrings."

You gotta love those Arkansas women.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Fleetwood Mac(featuring Christine McVie) - Say You Love Me

Have mercy, baby on a poor girl like me,
You know I'm falling, falling, falling, at your feet,
I'm tingling right from my head to my toes,
So help me, help me, help me make the feeling go.

'Cause when the loving starts, and the lights go down,
And there's not another living soul around,
Then you woo me until the sun comes up,
And you say that you love me.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

"The human race has only one effective weapon, and that is laughter."
Mark Twain

Have a good week everyone.

RO

Hi,

I'm new here and wanted to say Thanks to America for the great concert in Miami Township, Ohio Saturday night.

The weather almost prevented this concert from happening - there was a pretty good storm a couple of hours before the show. But the rain stopped, the skies cleared, and America put on an excellent show. All of the hits (and there are a lot of them), some surprises, and some good rocking numbers as well.

The supporting players are great as well.

Enjoy the rest of your tour and have safe travelling!

Kade, I bought the VHS Tape from E-bay (brand new, sealed)and watch it all of the time. It was $7 or $8 and well worth it. After I bought it, I noticed the seller had more from time to time.Well worth the $$$.

nancy im glad you had a good time!!!! Annette aka Nettie have a great time at Turning Stone

We recently joined Netflix. It's an online rental of DVD's. For about $21.00 a month, you can rent an unlimited amount of DVD's that are mailed to you.They can be kept as long as you'd like and send them back in a prepaid envelope.You can keep three out at a time and they have our online list of what we want. We return one (or two or three) ,they send us the next one our list!It only takes a day to get a new DVD. The coolest part about Netflix ( and the reason I'm telling you about this !!)is that their list includes The Best Of MusikLaden- America! I have never seen this before and really enjoyed watching it!You forget how young we all were back in 1975 (I've included myself in here so I don't insult anyone!) The music was great,however...it didn't look like the group was having alot of fun doing this.Did anyone else notice this? Thanks...Kade

Those were taken from the Holiday Inn near Eastgate Mall about 5 miles from where they played

Ski: I've been to the House of Blues in LA and in Chicago, and both are great for concerts. I'd image the one in Anaheim is a cookie cutter version of the others, meaning I'd recommend it.

But, hey, if America is playing the Leper Convention, I'd recommend it.

KevinS.

Hey ski,
I am a little familiar with Evan and Jaron. It's pretty interesting that America would be interested in doing a show with them, there is some difference between the groups, although I can also see the commonality between them. Evan and Jaron are a pop-rock group that had a couple of hits a few years back with songs like "Crazy for This Girl" and "From My Head to My Heart". They are definitely a cut above boy bands , especially because they play their own instruments, but they seem to have been marketed in a similar way to those boy bands that are providing lighter fluffier pop music. They took part in a tribute concert for Brian Wilson that I caught on cable a few years ago. The song "From My Head to My Heart" was featured on the soundtrack to the film "Runaway Bride". Their music is catchy guitar -oriented and on the softer side, similar to some America material and very similar to some Jayhawks material, although with more standard songwriting, not quite as quirky as the Jayhawks I would say. As far as the House of Blues in Anaheim goes, I can't help as I am from the East Coast and I haven't been to the House of Blues in California or really any House of Blues place. But anyways I hope that that information helps. Evan and Jaron will probably be a fun group to see as an opener, just probably playing a short set (I would think) before America.
-Rob L

hey there!
i'm new to the site, and i just wanted to ask a question...
i am thinking about going to the america show at the house of blues in anaheim, CA. has anyone seen a show there before?....do you think it would be a good place to hear the band?
also, they are performing with Evan and Jaron. anybody know anything about Evan and Jaron?
thanks for any info!
much appreciated,
ski :)

Love the bus pics Gerry!

Fun post Johnny and thanks Virginia! I had never given much thought to the actual day of the week I was born in, which I just found out via Virginia's web site. So, now I know the complete birth "date" story~Sunday, June 22, 1952 @ 1:40 PM. So I am just glad to have made it this far...:o)

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 11, 2004

45 years ago - Joan Baez makes her first recording, a duet with Bob Gibson, recorded live at the Newport Folk Festival. (1959)

44 years ago - Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora is born. (1960)

44 years ago - Singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega is born. (1960)

40 years ago - The Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go?" is released and enters the Hot 100. It stays on the charts for 14 weeks and becomes the group's first number one hit. (1964)

40 years ago - Bobby Freeman's last big hit, "C'mon and Swim" makes it into the Hot 100. It will peak at number five. (1964)

37 years ago - A day after leaving the New Christy Minstrels, Kenny Rogers forms his own band, The First Edition. (1967)

35 years ago - David Bowie's single, "Space Oddity", is released to coincide with the first lunar landing. (1969)

34 years ago - The Who's "Summertime Blues" is released. (1970)

30 years ago - The Grateful Dead receive two gold records for albums they released in 1970, "Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty." (1974)

27 years ago - Gregg Allman and Cher become parents to Elijah Blue. (1977)

25 years ago - Neil Young's concert film, "Rust Never Sleeps," debuts at the Bruin Theatre in Westwood, CA. The movie is a documentary of his last U.S. tour. The LP of the same name is released simultaneously. (1979)

17 years ago - Heart's "Alone" hits #1 for the first of three weeks. (1987)

9 years ago - R.E.M. bass player Mike Mills undergoes emergency intestinal surgery in Germany. R.E.M. was in the midst of a European tour and had to cancel seven shows. (1995)

4 years ago - Lars Ulrich of Metallica testifies before a Senate panel to testify against websites like Napster that allow people to trade music for free over the Internet. (2000)

--------------------------------------------------------------------

SIGNS -

At an Optometrist's Office:
"If you don't see what you're looking for, you've come to the right place."

On a Taxidermist's window:
"We really know our stuff."

In a Podiatrist's office:
"Time wounds all heels."

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Bon Jovi - Livin On A Prayer

Once upon a time
Not so long ago
Tommy used to work on the docks
Union's been on strike
He's down on his luck...it's tough, so tough
Gina works the diner all day
Working for her man, she brings hom her pay
For love - for love

She says: We've got to hold on to what we've got
'Cause it doesn't make a difference
If we make it or not
We've got each other and that's a lot
For love - we'll give it a shot

We're half way there
Livin' on a prayer
Take my hand and we'll make it - I swear
Livin' on a prayer

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Have a relaxing Sunday everyone..............

RO

Fun topic, Johnny! I actually happen to know that I was born on a Sunday. Birthdays were always a huge deal in my family, and our parents could tell each of us what the weather was like and almost everything they did on the day they went to the hospital to have each of us. (I remember all of that for my three kids, but if I had six like they did I don't know that I could keep it all straight - lol!) A couple interesting facts about my day: My five siblings were all born about one year apart, then there is a nine-year gap until I came along : ), and I was born on the same date as the youngest of the five. He was born on 3/9/60, and I was born 3/9/69 - so we share a birthday. Also, very remotely America related - one of the things my siblings were doing that Sunday evening (I was born early Sunday morning) was watching a movie on TV that happens to be one of Dewey's favorites. I know you can guess right away which one.

It would be fun to somehow create a list of the chat folder members' birthdays (wouldn't have to include the year). I had thought about having everyone that wanted to e-mail me their birthday and at the beginning of each month I could post "this month's birthdays"; but then I thought about then my computer, which hasn't been behaving well lately, would crash or something and I wouldn't be able to follow through on it. Oh well - it was a thought anyway. Maybe someone has another idea. Or maybe someone else has more faith in their computer than I have in mine! : )

A fellow chat folder participant kindly informed me that I have four incorrect day-of-the-week calculations that I posted earlier today. I think the errors are due maybe to a leap year in there that I didn't account for. I was told that I only had Rich's correct. I knew his had to be correct since I actually have the 1956 calendar which is also my birth year. The others I didn't have as mentioned in my earlier post.

I've been told the following is actually how it should be:

Dan - Wednesday
Dewey - Saturday
Gerry - Friday
Willie - Monday

(Hmmm, so Dan was born on a WEDNESDAY, huh? I wonder whether MORNING, noon, or night? Haa-haa)

The Zombies have their first album in many years, "As Far As I Can See ...," due September 14 on Rhino Records. One of the songs is Russ Ballard's I Don't Believe in Miracles, which Gerry sang on Alibi. You can check it out at

http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/07/09/showbuzz/index.html#2

I was born on a Friday, almost Saturday - 11:40pm

Try this web site: www.timeanddate.com/calendar and you can create a calendar for the month and year you were born.

I seem to recall that there was a link on one of these fan pages, to listen to a live version of Hat Trick.

You are right, Andy. If you go to the America Fans sound index page (the link is in the previous message) and scroll almost to the bottom in the Miscellaneous section, you can find Hat Trick from a 1973 Philadelphia concert broadcast which you can listen to in it's entirety.

Johnny, another way to find out the day of a persons birth is to use the Calendars on the palm pilots and pocket PC's that many people own these days (although some of them only go back to 1970). That's cool that you're willing to figure it out for those who request it. As for me, I was born on a Friday (barely) at 12:03 am.

...one tune I don't think I've heard before is "Rain" and one other which escapes me...

Spurs, the song you referred to as "Rain" is actually called "The Rain Song" and it's on the home-rolled "Heard" CD that many of us have. If anyone would like to hear a RealAudio soundclip of that and other songs on "Heard", go to the Sound Index Page on the America Fans web site and scroll down to the soundclips for "Heard". Enjoy!

Click here to see the view from Gerry's hotel window in Cincinnati, OH.

"I feel I should also point out that "Hat Trick" live is quite sensational,rather odd to hear Dan Peek speaking after some of the tunes"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
My goodness, just the thought of hearing Hat Trick live makes me drool. I seem to recall that there was a link on one of these fan pages, to listen to a live version of Hat Trick.

I asked my mom years ago and she told me. I was born on a Monday. It was in reponse to this childhood rhyme

"Monday's child is fair of face
Tuesday's child is full of grace
Wednesday's child is full of woe
Thursday's child has far to go
Friday's child is loving and giving
Saturday's child must work for a living
but those who are born
on the Sabbath Day
are good and wise and fair and gay"

No Wednesday (Morning or nighttime) births for any of the band members (or former member) whose birth dates are posted in the bio section of this site.

If I calculated correctly, here is how it goes for the following:

Dan The Guitar Man - TGIF
Sir Dewey - Monday, Monday (like me)
Gerry - Saturday (Night Special)
Rich - TGIF
Willie - Thursday

Have you ever wondered exactly which day of the week you were born? You've probably never given it much thought if you're like me. Well, not until I found a calendar from the year I was born.

If you were born between the years 1955 and 1965 inclusive, I can tell you which day of the week you were born. I came across these old calendars in a garage sale.

Even if your birth year is a couple of years before or after the above mentioned calendar years, I can figure out your day.

You can ask me here or send me a personal email message (email address: yeehaa56@hotmail.com) with your birth date and I'll let you know. Please title your subject as: "From The Chat Folder". That way I know not to delete it as unread junk mail.

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 10, 2004

57 years ago - Arlo Guthrie is born. (1947)

40 years ago - The film "A Hard Day's Night" premieres in The Beatles' hometown of Liverpool. Hundreds of thousands line the streets from the airport to the city center for a parade. (1964)

39 years ago - The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" tops the U.S. chart for the first of four weeks. (1965)

39 years ago - Wilson Pickett's "In The Midnight Hour" is released. (1965)

39 years ago - Sonny and Cher break onto the pop charts with "I Got You Babe." (1965)

36 years ago - Eric Clapton announces that Cream will break up following a farewell tour. (1968)

33 years ago - Three Dog Night's "Liar" is released. (1971)

32 years ago - Harry Nilsson's Son of Schmilsson is released. It features George Harrison, using the name George Harrysong, and Ringo Starr, using the name Richie Snare, on some of the tracks. (1972)

30 years ago - David Bowie, in the middle of a tour, records his two-night stand at Philadelphia's Tower Theatre. "David Live" is released later in the year and goes to the Top Ten. (1974)

25 years ago - Chuck Berry gets four months in prison for income-tax evasion. In 1973, he shortchanged Uncle Sam $200,000. (1979)

18 years ago - Grateful Dead guitarist and spiritual leader Jerry Garcia lapses into a diabetic coma. He was released from the hospital weeks later. (1986)

11 years ago - Bob Seger marries Juanita Dorricott. (1993)

4 years ago - Promoters cancel the remainder of a Supremes reunion tour due to poor ticket sales. The tour featured Diana Ross without Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong, who refused to join due to money. (2000)

.....................................................................

SIGNS -

Sign over a Gynecologist's Office:
"Dr. Jones, at your cervix."

At a Proctologist's door
"To expedite your visit please back in."

Pizza Shop Slogan:
"7 days without pizza makes one weak."

.....................................................................

Bob Seger - You'll Accomp'ny Me

A gypsy wind is blowing warm tonight
The sky is starlit and the time is right
And still you're telling me you have to go
Before you leave there's something you should know
Yeah something you should know babe

I've seen you smiling in the summer sun
I've seen your long hair flying when you run
I've made my mind up that it's meant to be
Someday lady you'll accomp'ny me
Someday lady you'll accomp'ny me
Out where the rivers meet the sounding sea
You're high above me now
You're wild and free ah, but
Someday lady you'll accomp'ny me
Someday lady you'll accomp'ny me

Some people say that love's a losing game
You start with fire
But you lose the flame
The ashes smolder
But the warmth's soon gone
You end up cold and lonely on your own
I'll take my chances babe
I'll risk it all
I'll win your love
Or I'll take the fall
I've made my mind up girl
It's meant to be
Someday lady you'll accomp'ny me
Someday lady you'll accomp'ny me

.....................................................................

Enjoy the weekend

RO

Forget the Sydney DVD, can someone tell me when "America Live at the Chester Opera House" DVD will be released? I'd love to hear the banjos playing in tune when they sang - 'Chesterua Highway, in the sunshine. Where the days are longer ####################. I'm sure "Predator" was filmed there. Bluey.

NightOwl Nancy here ~~ I took a short catnap and am wide awake again soo look out this could be a lonnnnnnnng one ~~~ Someday you will find everything you look for, someday you will find a love like mine, when you look around you will find a love like mine could be... just don't be afraid someone is watching, you will see me, you will see me, somehow you reach in and you touch my heart, somehow you reach in and touch my soul, when I look at you I seeeeee Everything We Could Be... dadadadadadadadiiiiidadadadadadadiiiii ~~~ Phil Collins is here a singin this nice song to me! :) ;)

Thanks Anita for the great pics from the Mohegan show ~~ Yep nice natural looks on Gerry & Dewey's faces.. Mo I love your prediction thoughts.. :) ~~ Good to hear that Jen got to the show, bummer that Bones didn't get his pic taken, glad that you all had a great time.

Hmmmm Gerry ~~ Your VFTHW pic from Maine was really a nice view from your balcony chair... again I loved the way the Blues complimented this nice Harbor setting, I loved the White Sky Cloud writings :).. Your last 2 pics kinda took on a view from the top floor setting.. the one from LongBranch was really neat, I liked how you caught the beach and Ocean water along with the City setting, again the Blues were present, I bet seeing the Beach and Ocean setting has you guys a Hankerin to head to the Grand Cayman Island again... this recent pic from Chester W.Va had me a smilin ... too much that the only Blue in this pic is the PortaPotty sitting by the Construction site Trailer.. Hmmm if for some reason the Plumbing goes bad in the Hotel, good to know there is a backup source close by... Hmmm Red I wonder what Sign could be found in this area ;) The GREEN that is in this Pic is very much the way the view from my front deck looks. Thanks for taking us along, I love getting to take in all these Views! :)

Hi there RobL ~~ I enjoyed reading your review of the Cohasset show, I gotta agree with you, as much as I Love going to see AMERICA again and again, I too Lonnnnng to hear some of the More Hidden Gems that need to be heard added to the playlist..

Hi Mark ~~ Thanks for giving me a Visual description of the Mill show... I do think that would be a Neat type of setting to take in a show. Nice that you will be heading to Westbury too, come back and tell us about your time there too... WOW 45 and still counting, You have seen LOTS of AMERICA's shows.. I bet if you were to recall all of the playlists from these shows, you probably have heard quite a few different songs than most! :)

Hi Nancy M ~~ No Doubt About It ~~ You are probably Floating along on Cloud 10! ~~ Soooo neat that you got to see this Intimate setting show and Way to go getting your Harbor book signed as well as your pic... Hmmm you have me curious, did you know this Lady that called you over just at the right moment? Just wonderin?

Welcome aboard Madolyn ~~ Always great to hear from Fans finding the chat folder for the first time, Thanks for sharing your time at the Atlantic City Beachfront show.

Cheers Bluey & Spurs ~~ Always fun to read your ramblins Bluey, you sure do have a taste for lots of different kinds of music.. Wow what a time trying to visual the group Whitesnake singing White Christmas, I had, when reading your post. I too would have loved to see Gerry & Dewey do some of the Holiday Harmony songs at the shows this past winter.. ~~ Hey Spurs, nice to hear from you ~~ Wow sooo September 9th is the Release date there in OZ for the Sydney show DVD, Hmmm I am wondering when the release date will be here in the States.. I sure hope it is coming Up in August, I have been really Patient about this... I think soooo anyway! :) ~~ Thanks for letting us know about your big move, I hope you get settled in soon and come back and share some more thoughts with us!

Hey there Red ~~ Thanks for Stirring Up Some Nice Hankerins for me with your History News and Lyrics.. I am loving all of them, Wow what a version of the Little Engine that thought he couldn't ~~ 2 much. Lots of great songs and albums mentioned in your news, pretty neat Karen L you listening to Elvis Costello today, I just love when things fall together Spontaneously... I just love that WORD :) ~~ I have my Stevie Nicks "Wild Heart" cassette playing here now, Her Voice is in top form on these songs, and I Love her Magic.. I always have been Caught up in it! Stevie can shine nicely for sure! She sure has worked with some neat music artists on her songs, Red & I both agree on how nice she and Don Henley sing "Leather & Lace", she sings another not sooo known nice one with Bruce Hornesby called "Two Kinds of Love", and of course "When I Call You Friend" with Kenny Loggins, is a great song, and on this cassette she does one with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers called "I Will Run To You", on here now is Stand Back it is one rockin song for sure... I have the video taped to this song, along with "I will run to you" I believe it was one of those VH1 video blocks. I really like all of the songs on this Wild Heart cassette... Tom is just starting to sing now, and Stevie's voice neatly harmonizes with his... when I think of Tom I always think of my fave lyrics from his song "Free Fallin" ~~ She's a good girl she loves apple pie, AMERICA and Jesus, me I'm a bad boy, for not treatin her right... excuse my ooops on these lyrics! ~~ Stevie is here singing ~~~ I can turn all your music on, I can make you feel Alive, I am gone, but never really gone from you, it was just the first time, Come back, Baby come back, come back yeahhhhhhh ~~~ :) ;)

Ooooooh well I guess I should get my butt to bed, ooooooh but Stevie is here singing ~~~ Was it one fallen leaf, Like the feather that it WAS freedom by choice, or Baby was it Love..... Ooooh and just how deep do you hold that Dream in Your Hands Each Night, each night... this time I think it was you Babe wooooooo this time, ooo and I think it was you baby, this time... Geeze I haven't listened to these songs forever... Soooooooo Nice Indulging on them again... :) ;)

Take care everyone, enjoy your weekend! See ya, NightOwl Nancy :)

~~~ And when I call ~~ Will you walk gently thru my Shadow, the One that Sings at Night, the one that sings at night, The One that you Dream of, the One who walks away, capes pulled around them, Cryin, for the night, Cry for the Nightbird tonite ~~~ Sing it for me Stevie :) Nitey Nite all (biggggggg Yawwwwwn) :)

I have several "Hearts" songbook that are MINT! They are just like they were purchased new off the shelf at the music store back in '75. The pages have NOT even been turned back! The spine on each one is mint... absolutely like new from the factory. They would be a great item to have autographed especially being that they are in such great condition. I have one "Hideaway" songbook in the same condtion that I would also part with.

If anyone is interested, they're $10 each plus $3.85 shipping via USPS Priority Mail. Just drop me a line at: yeehaa56@hotmail.com

Very cool.
Thanks.

It's part of my prized America collection! I have been an America fan since HWNN hit the airwaves and have all of their original LPs up to the 1985 In Concert and have all the songbooks that go with the LPs from America to Harbor. These I had bought as they came out soon after each LP. I chose to take Harbor with me because it's my favorite!

<< Only 7 days till Turning Stone, Mo! >>

I know, I know. I am vaklempt. Oui, that Gerry is like butta.
(Sorry, poor imitation of Mike Meyers.)

So, Nancy M., WHERE DID you get a Harbor song book? Do tell.
Thanks for the reviews from The Mill. Sounds very intimate and fun.

Have a good weekend all.
The Bufton's are headed to Camden Yards to see a baseball game, followed by...well something other than an America concert, I guess.
Later,
Moser

Hello everyone,it appears America will release their new DVD in Oz on September 9th imaginativly titled "America Live at the Sydney Opera House" only partial track listing is available,SGH,TM,YDM,HWNN, and VH.Also on it's way is a new double set from Crosby and Nash,and an older Poco show titled "The Last Roundup" which I can thoroughly recommend as I have had an old bootleg of this show for some years.Whilst on the subject of old bootlegs I have been going through some fantastic old BBC America sessions 72' and late 73' one tune I don't think I've heard before is "Rain" and one other which escapes me,I feel I should also point out that "Hat Trick" live is quite sensational,rather odd to hear Dan Peek speaking after some of the tunes.On a completely different note I am in the midst of a major move so will not be able to check in for some cosiderable time,unless I can get access.

Just got back from the show at the Mill in Spring Lake. I stayed over in Pt. Pleasant- that's why my post is late!

The show was great! The acoustics were not too good I guess from it being in a small room. But the guys were all smiling throughout the show. Gerry, Dewey, and the band were having a great time as were we. They played a short set, 20 songs, only one encore. I took some pictures; will post them as soon as I can (if they're good). Got them to sign a few of my LPs, a Harbor songbook (to which Gerry commented when signing "where did you get a Harbor songbook from?), and a photo I took of the band in Atlantic City. Thank you, guys! And thank you to a very nice woman who called me over to get my photo signed. I might have missed them if it wasn't for her! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Here's the playlist:
1. Riverside
2. Ventura Highway
3. You Can Do Magic
4. Don't Cross the River
5. Daisy Jane
6. Company
7. Three Roses
8. I Need You
9. Nowhere man
10. Tin Man
11. The Border
12. Woman Tonight
13. Only in Your Heart
14. California Dreamin'
15. Lonely People
16. Survival
17. Never Be Lonely
18. Sandman
19. Sister Golden Hair
20. Horse With No Name (encore)

Only 7 days till Turning Stone, Mo!

Well, if that is indeed a construction trailer, they need to do some construction on that hotel, yikes!

Seems to be a construction site trailor.

The concert at the Old Mill Inn was like being at a wedding or a Bar Mitzvah. It is a dinner theatre that holds about 250 people. It's as close to going to a private session as you will ever get. As usual, the guys were awesome. This about my 45th time seeing them and I always have a great time. I got my first chance to hear Nowhere Man, which was great. Company was fantastic and almost as good as Sandman. We got the long set except for the encore only Horse was done, not Everyone I meet is from California.

Gerry was in a particularly good mood. He was telling jokes and looked to have a great time. He was trying to sell T-shirts at one point, but ended up throwing it into the crowd. He told us about the tour in Australia & New Zealand and the new DVD recorded at the Sydney Opera House, due out later in the summer. Also, we got the long "Italian" set. He talked about performing in France and Italy. In Italy, Survival was a #1 song, but in the US it wasn't. Survival was added to the playlist for Italy and now it's being played here. Gerry also told us about a concert they did with many other groups. Peter Frampton, Styx, and Blue Oyster Cult were some of the other performers. He was comparing himself & Dewey about how good they looked compared to the others who gained a signicant amount of weight. Like I said Gerry was on a roll.

Now it's it onto Westbury next Thursday with Blood, Sweat, & Tears. I'm sure they won't disappoint. I'll let you know.

Have a good weekend.

Mark

Well . . . at least it looks like they got rooms on the top floor! That's good, I guess.

I have doubts that is AAA recommended motel! I guess they got to take the ups and the downs.

Eeeeeek!

I sometimes listen to the radio on the way to work and a CD on the way home because our local stations are fun in the morning, especially on Fridays, but rather dull in the afternoon. Today I listened to The Very Best of Elvis Costello on the way home, so it's interesting that he showed up in Red Oak's history listing today too. The males in my household are all big fans of The Simpsons, and this evening the episode about the rock-and-roll camp was on, which is one of their favorites. Elvis C. was on there too. (Guess it was an Elvis Costello kind of day.) My husband's favorite part is when Keith Richards is teaching Homer to run from the fans and the paparazzi (however you spell that). He once teased me during that part of the show - something about America concerts and me always wanting to meet the guys. I have no idea what he's talking about. ;) Oh yeah, heard Sister Golden Hair playing from a radio a couple desks down from me and received a VFTHW e-mail while at work today. Can't say enough about how much those brighten the day.

Alan Parsons - Try Anything Once

Listened to the radio today rather than a CD and got a few highlights throughout the day: Talking Heads, Pure Prairie League, Pink Floyd, 38 Special, and last but not least...America (Ventura Highway).

Yup, that's West By God for ya'ns.

Ben Kweller "Sha Sha", "On My Way" It seems that the guy who draws Zippy must be an America fan, remembering that comic in the Highway box set liner notes.
Rob L

Click here to see the view from Gerry's hotel room in Chester, WV.

Funny, Harry! Thanks for passing it on.

Today's (07/09) Zippy comic strip has an America reference.
http://www.zippythepinhead.com/ Click on 'Today's Strip'.

The Beach Boys- "Sounds of Summer" CD, 30 hits compilation of sunny music for an otherwise soggy New Orleans Friday.

John Mellencamp...a co-workers choice, but still a good CD.

Erin :o)

40 Licks, Rolling Stones.DanC

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 9, 2004


58 years ago - Bon Scott, singer for AC/DC is born. (1946)

49 years ago - Pat Boone released his version of "Ain't That a Shame" which became his first #1 hit. (7/9)

48 years ago - Dick Clark made his debut as host of "Bandstand" on a Philadelphia TV station. The name was changed to "American Bandstand" when it went to ABC-TV. (1956)

45 years ago - Jim Kerr, singer for Simple Minds is born. (1959)

40 years ago - "House Of The Rising Sun" by the Animals hits #1 on the U.K. singles chart. (1964)

35 years ago - Courtney Love is born. (1969)

33 years ago - Jim Morrision is buried at P'ere Lachaise Cemetary in Paris. (1971)

32 years ago - Paul McCartney & Wings, traveling aboard their double-decker bus, open a 26-stop European tour with a stop in Chateauvillon, France. It's McCartney's first time on the road since the Beatles broke up. (1972)

30 years ago - Crosby, Stills, and Nash start their reunion tour in Seattle. (1974)

27 years ago - KISS' "Love Gun" LP enters the chart. (1977)

27 years ago - Elvis Costello quits his day job as a computer operator at a cosmetic factory. (1977)

26 years ago - Steve Miller's "Jet Airliner" peaks at #8 on the pop chart. (1978)

23 years ago - The Jacksons begin a 36 city tour. The show will gross $5.5 million. They donate $100,000 to the Atlanta Children's Foundation follwing a show at the Omni in Atlanta. Later, Epic Records releases "The Jacksons Live." (1981)

21 years ago - The Police's "Every Breath You Take" peaks at #1 on the pop chart -- a position it will hold for 9 weeks. (1983)

21 years ago - Stevie Nicks' album "The Wild Heart" enters the chart. It features the smash hit, "Stand Back." (1983)

16 years ago - Steve Winwood's "Roll With It" LP enters the chart. It will stay on the chart for 31 weeks eventually hitting #1. The LP features the #1 hit, "Roll With It." (1988)

12 years ago - Mick Jagger becomes a grandfather when daughter Jade gives birth to a baby girl. (1992)

10 years ago - John Mellencamp's "Dance Naked" LP enters the chart. The album features the hit "Wild Night", a duet with MeShell NdegeOcello. (1994)

9 years ago - The Grateful Dead give their last concert with leader Jerry Garcia at Chicago's Soldier Field. Jerry dies a month later while in drug rehab of a heart attack. (1995)

5 years ago - Rolling Stone singer Mick Jagger's marriage to model Jerry Hall is officially annulled in a London court, ending eight years of marriage and a 22 year relationship. (1999)

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Signs -

On a Plumber's truck:
"We repair what your husband fixed."

On a Plumber's truck:
"Don't sleep with a drip. Call your plumber.."

On a Septic Tank Truck sign:
We're #1 in the #2 business."

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Jet Airliner - Steve Miller

Leavin' home, out on the road
I've been down before
Ridin' along in this big ol' jet plane
I've been thinkin' about my home
But my love light seems so far away
And I feel like it's all been done
Somebody's tryin' to make me stay
You know I've got to be movin' on

Oh, Oh big ol' jet airliner
Don't carry me too far away
Oh, Oh big ol' jet airliner
Cause it's here that I've got to stay

Goodbye to all my friends at home
Goodbye to people I've trusted
I've got to go out and make my way
I might get rich you know I might bet busted
But my heart keeps calling me backwards
As I get on the 707
Ridin' high I got tears in my eyes
You know you got to go through hell
Before you get to heaven

---------------------------------------------------------------------

TGIF, enjoy the weekend, hug someone & tell them "I Love You."

Simply Red

Prince - Musicology....
What's keeping you sane on your morning commute??

Best wishes for an awesome time tonight at The Mill for Nancy M. and sister. Take pictures. Take notes. Throw kisses. Oops, did I say that outloud? A full report expected by news at 11:00.

Click here to see the view from Gerry's hotel room in Long Branch, NJ.

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 8, 2004

60 years ago - Johnny Jai Johnson, drummer for the Allman Brothers Band is born. (1944)

35 years ago - In what authorities ruled attempted suicide, singer Marianne Faithfull takes an overdose of barbituates on the set of the Austrailian movie, "Ned Kelly." Her boyfriend, Mick Jagger, is scheduled to be her co-star, but she is dropped from the production. Two days later, she enters a hospital for heroin addiction. (1969)

34 years ago - Beck is born. (1970)

34 years ago - The Everly Brothers are now the hosts of their variety show on ABCS-TV. It runs through September 16th. (1970)

33 years ago - A mini-riot breaks out during a concert by Mott The Hoople at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The hall's management temporarily bans rock performances at the venue after that. (1971)

30 years ago - Bob Dylan and the Band's "Before the Flood" goes gold. (1974)

26 years ago - Following in the disco footsteps of his older Bee Gee brothers, Andy Gibb gets into the act with "Shadow Dancing." The album peaks at #18, while the title track reaches number one. (1978)

26 years ago - Exile's "Kiss You All Over" is released. (1978)

19 years ago - Both "Playboy" and "Penthouse" magazines went on sale with nude pictures of Madonna. (1985)

4 years ago - Iron Maiden guitarist Janick Gers falls headfirst off the stage during a solo in the first encore of a show in Germany. He suffers sever bruising over much of his body and stitches on his forehead. The band cancels shows in Germany, Bulgaria and Greece. (2000)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: NORVGN Brakes

One dark night outside a small town in Minnesota, a fire started
inside the local chemical plant, and in a blink it exploded into massive flames.
The alarm went out to all the fire departments from miles around. When the volunteer fire fighters appeared on the scene, the chemical company president rushed to the fire chief and said, "All of our secret formulas are in the vault in the center of the plant, and they must be saved! I will give $50,000 to the fire department that brings them out intact."
But the roaring flames held the firefighters off. Soon more fire
departments had to be called in as the situation became desperate.
As the firemen arrived, the president shouted out that the offer was
now $100,000 to the fire department who could bring out the company's
secret files.
From the distance, a lone siren was heard as another fire truck came
into sight. It was the nearby Norwegian rural township volunteer fire
company composed mainly of Norwegians over the age of 65. To everyone's amazement, the little run-down fire engine, operated by these Norwegians, passed all the newer, sleek engines parked outside the plant.....and drove straight into the middle of the inferno.
Outside, the other firemen watched as the Norwegian old timers
jumped off and began to fight the fire with a performance and effort never seen before.
Within a short time, the Norsk firefighters had extinguished the
fire and saved the secret formulas.
The grateful chemical company president joyfully announced that for
such a superhuman feat he was upping the reward to $200,000, and walked over to personally thank each of the brave, though elderly, Norwegians.
The local TV news reporters rushed in after capturing the event on
film, asking, "What are you going to do with all that money?"
"Vell," said Ole Larsen, the 70-year-old fire chief, "da furst thing
ve do is fix da brakes on dat f.....g truck."

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Exile - Kiss You All Over

When I get home, babe, gonna light your fire
All day I've been thinkin about you, babe
You're my one desire

Gonna wrap my arms around you
Hold you close to me
Oh, babe I wanna taste your lips
I wanna fill your fantasy, yeah

I don't know what I'd do without you, babe
Don't know where I'd be
You're not just another lover
No, you're everything to me

---------------------------------------------------------------------

TGIAF everyone..........

RO

Hi Steve,
I was one of the people that took up John's offer, what a great DVD!
I remember seeing this concert YEARS ago! It was on laser disc(remember those?). Me & a friend watched this & Let It Be on the same format one night.
I'm hoping that the new concert DVD has some nice "x-tras" maybe some old footage, videos, etc., Can't wait to see it!

This can also be ordered from hmv.co.jp, but it's much more expensive as it's from Japan (but the same Brazil company).

Just wanted to pass this bit of "shopping" info on to other America fans, just yesterday, I received the Collectors' Choice Music catalogue and it featured America...from Overseas! In their Rock 'n' Roll section, page 8 to be exact, they are selling "Hat Trick" and "Hideaway". The ad is nice as it features a picture of the legendary "Hat Trick" cover. Aside from the variety of music styles that this catalogue features, one of my favorite things about it is the accurate and deft descriptions to each of the artists and entries.

The "Hat Trick" description reads as follows:

Three years before Captain and Tennille scored a smash with "Muskrat Love", America had a hit with that Willis Ramsey composition. That sweet love song and the rest of America's hit 1973 album "Hat Trick" are here: "Wind Wave";"She's Going To Let You Down"; "Rainbow Song"; and the title track, and more soft rock gems!

The "Hideaway" description reads:

These folk-rockers were still riding high on the charts in '76, when they went to #11 with this George Martin-produced beauty of an album. Both "Today's the Day" and "Amber Cascades" became hits, and the whole thing is a soft, soothing delight, with "Watership Down'; "Can't You See"; "Lovely Night", and more.

They list both CD's for $17.95 each. For those interested you can connect online via collectorschoicemusic.com.

Roughly a week ago I was at work while listening to Kool 95 FM, I heard a portion of the melody to "Wind Wave" and amazingly it was part of a Macy's Department store ad...It was a promotion they had in late June. Well, they played the ad for a couple of days a few times a day and there was no mistaking it, the "Wind Wave" hook was there. I wonder if the chords they struck were accindental or did they actually use the song? Did anyone here listen to that particular ad?

Sergio

Dan, I don't know much about this DVD except for what's listed on the Brazil DVD web site. I know that John Corbett got hold of this DVD through a contact in the Philippines (I think) a year or two ago and he offered to make copies for $25 each (that included the postage). I don't know how many people took John up on the offer but it would be interesting to find out. In the meantime, it is available in the U.S. on VHS. Sorry that I don't know more.

Steve, I was wondering if you have heard of this being released in the U.S. ? I checked into this Brazil site and the cheapest shipping charge is 16 bucks, through the good ol' post office, the only way to ship. That's still too much for me to pay for shipping especially if it's going to be released domestically soon. Thanks for the info.DanC.

It has been brought to my attention that America's "Live In Central Park" video has been officially released on DVD in Brazil and can be ordered online from DVD Brazil. It is recorded in Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 and is encoded for Region 0 which means it can be played anywhere. Here's the link:

http://www.dvdbrazil.com/comersus/store/comersus_viewitem.asp?idproduct=891

Hey Kathy!! I too remember that concert like it was yesterday... and you know what kind of day yesterday was! yuk,yuk,yuk!! Sorry,I walked right into that one!! Anyway...I really do remember that concert ,but my first one was in April of 1976 at the Philadelphia Spectrum. I went with my brother and our friends. We got stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on Broad Street right next to the limo with Dewey and Dan!

Moser, I hope your prediction is true that they have a new CD in the can. That would be fantastic!!! And yes, TV appearances~~lots and lots of them would be fun!!!! Gerry and Dewey, hope you do get a chance to take a break and relax with your families also. You deserve it so much. And then on to all that other great stuff we're hoping for.~~~Cathy

Hi Kade, I am so glad that Gerry handed your daughter his guitar pic especially in view of what happened to you in the past. How sad that someone would push you away like that. I could tell how excited your daughter was. Interesting that the first concert you attended was in 1978. I saw them that year for the first time also in the spring during my first year of college. It was held in the gym of another college in town. I can still remember like it was yesterday thinking I can't believe that they are actually here. It was great!!! I wish I still had that ticket stub so that I could know the exact date for SteveL to add to his list of concerts. I suppose I could try to find out. It was at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, PA.~~~Cathy

Anita, I enjoyed your pictures and review also. Sounds like a fun place to see them.~~~Cathy

Speaking of predictions, I'd like to make one of my own. I won't venture into the political predictions area. Although suffice it to say, as a card-carrying Democrat, I am very proud and pleased that Senator Kerry chose Senator Edwards to be his running mate. Excellent choice.
I digress. Back to the prediction business at hand. As we all know and some of us have discussed ad nauseam, da boys are taking a 6 and 1/2 week break from touring from Sunday, August 1st to Wednesday, September 15th. That's 46 days. (Yes, I WILL be counting down the days until their return. Well, I'll spare you all and count it to myself--not out loud...you're welcome.)
Now, at first, I thought that perhaps they were going to be in the studio to record this 'rumored' CD. That would make sense.
Then, of course, there are those among us who contend that this break is for a well-deserved vacation away from the road and the grind of touring. For those who may have been wondering about what I think...no need to raise your hands...I have never concurred with that possibility. Take a break? At the height of the festival/fair/summer concert season? Who, Gerry My Middle Name Is Work Beckley? Nah. No way.
All of a sudden the other day, a third possibility occurred to me. (Bear with me here. Perhaps you all have arrived at this conclusion long ago but sometimes the synapses here fire every OTHER time they're supposed to.) They're not going into the studio to record a CD. That's already done. (Now careful here. Tread lightly because I am about to agree with TerryT. Imagine that!) The recording is already done..."probably excellent & timely new material soon to be released." Yep, that's the ticket. It's in the can and the SIX AND A HALF WEEK break is for...wait for it now...REHEARSING a new show including this new material for all of the national appearances on the Today Show or CNN or Live With Regis And His Current Blond Chick or Oprah (or Mo's Deck when she wins the lottery) to promote the release of said new CD. BRILLIANT. BRILLIANT. BRILLIANT. No wonder they look satisfied and pleased. They've got it 'in the can' already.

I know, I know. It sounds like I'm trying to be the imperial fortune teller of this tribe. Not really. I'm just really good at procrastinating and couldn't find anything better to do to put off paying my bills like I should be doing right now.

Thank you. That is all.
Happy Wednesday,
Moser

My lost, your gain! I have to sell 4 tickets to America and Blood, Sweat & Tears Concert on Jul 15 , Thurs. evening at Westbury Music Fair.
I paid $52 ea. for great front Orchestra tickets- make an offer!

yup that's a cute movie, she sings a snippet of the song then gets either wacked on the head by a branch or the horse starts running amuck.

Just a reminder-- it IS Wednesday ( I keep thinking it's Tuesday) so I hope to see you all in the chat folder this evening!

Happy Wednesday ~ you gotta love a holiday, the work week just fly’s by!!
I was flipping through the tv channels this weekend. I came across this cute little movie called "It takes Two", starring Kirstie Alley, Steve Guttenberg and The Olsen twins. Anyhow, the scene that I just happened to pass by - Kirstie Alley was riding a horse and was singing "Horse with no name". She was more bobbing on the horse than riding, but it was cool to hear a karaoke version of HWNN. lol

Have a great day ~ Kristal

Nice photos Anita ;0)

Hey everyone. Read your reviews with interest. Down here in Oz the boys usually tour about every two years which hopefully coincides with the release of something new. I remember them singing songs from "PERSPECTIVE" and "HUMAN NATURE" at different concerts. I really enjoyed "From a Moving Train" live. Every concert I've seen over the years always has something different. The forthcoming DVD of the shows at the Sydney Opera House should contain a good variety of standards plus a couple of songs that I hadn't seen sung live before. Like RobL, to me the highlight of the show was "Sandman". Smoke/Haze was all over the stage and the boys just went "ape". Brought the whole house down. I wouldn't say that this song is my favourite studio number but it's just takes on a completely different format when you see it done with such intensity and passion. I suppose I was little disappointed that they didn't do anything from "Holiday Harmony", particularly one or two of the new tracks like "Winter Holidays" considering that the concerts were held in January and there was still a bit of that Xmas/New Year holiday spirit floating around. But hey, here they were playing hard and everyone having great time, couldn't ask for anything better. No doubt that will show up on DVD.

At the moment listening to Whitesnake CD "Whitesnake Live - In The Heart of the City". You definitely won't hear "White Christmas" on this one.

Again thanks to everyone involved in this Chat-Line.

Bluey.

A common denominator that i have noticed in all the personal photos of The Guys submitted lately is a different kind of satisfaction & pleasure on their faces, possibly due to the probably excellent & timely new material soon to be released. It appers to be almost spilling over, like a little kid with a secret. Maybe it's just me...

Willie Leacox is making some of his collectibles available on E-Bay for those of you who are interested. From time to time I'll be posting links to various items. Today there are two items to choose from:

1. Stage-Used Autographed Drumsticks

2. Stage Worn Shirt

Happy bidding!

Happy Birthday, Richard Starkey aka Ringo!

I just love Gerry's, Timmy's, and Andrew's version of Sh-Boom. I hit the replay many times.

ONE day till Spring Lake. Gerry, Dewey, and the guys, see you soon!

ONE STARBUCKS???( aka FOURBUCKS, that's about how much a cup of java will set you back) Out my window I can see, I can SEE three of them and there is one more in the underground mall across the street.

On the front page (below the fold) of yesterday's Rochester Democrat And Chronicle newspaper: EASTVIEW MALL GETS CENTER COURT UPGRADE
"...will spend $250,000 to renovate the center court of Eastview to make way for the area's first Starbucks coffee shop inside a mall." And you thought Rochester, NY was a big city? Well, I guess we're finally on the map.

It was Gerry, Timmy & Andrew Gold singing Sh-Boom. Sorry for the misinformation.

This Day in Rock & Roll History
Today is July 7, 2004

64 years ago - Ringo Starr, drummer for the Beatles, is born. (1940)

60 years ago - Warren Etner(Grass Roots) is born. (1944)

59 years ago - Jim Rodford(Argent) is born. (1945)

57 years ago - David Hodo(Village People) is born. (1947)

50 years ago - Memphis D.J. Dewey Phillips of WHBQ becomes the first D.J. to play an Elvis Presley record. He premiered "That's All Right Mama" and also interviewed Elvis. (1954)

50 years ago - Two versions of "Sh-Boom" hit the top-10. The original version by the Chords was at #9 and the cover version by The Crew Cuts was at #5. (1954)

48 years ago - The Platters' "My Prayer" is released. (1956)

37 years ago - Problems for The Lovin' Spoonful...Steve Boone and Zal Yanofsky are busted for drug use. The two implicate some of San Francisco's best-connected drug suppliers. (1967)

36 years ago - Three years after Eric Clapton departed the Yardbirds and eight months after Jeff Beck left the group, the Yardbirds disbanded. Guitarist Jimmy Page had to fulfill the concert obligations and called his group The New Yardbirds. Keith Moon said "...it'll probably go over like a lead zeppelin." So Page changed the name of his group to Led Zeppelin.

31 years ago - Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die" is released.(1973)

24 years ago - The original lineup of Led Zeppelin gives its final show. (1980)

20 years ago - "Relax" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood becomes the biggest selling single of all time in Britain. (1984)

9 years ago - Rod Stewart's jet makes a forced emergency landing after a mid-air collision with a bird. Aviation officials call the incident "undramatic," but Stewart is visibly shaken and says, "I almost crashed." (1995)

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A mother and father took their 6-year-old son to a nude beach. As the boy walked along the beach, he noticed that some of the ladies had
boobs bigger than his mother's, and asked her why. She told her son,
"The bigger they are, the dumber the person is."

The boy pleased with the answer, goes to play in the ocean but returns
to tell his mother that many of the men have larger 'units' than his
dad. His Mother replied, "The bigger they are, the dumber the person is."

Again satisfied with this answer, the boy returns to the ocean to play. Shortly after the boy returned again. He promptly told his mother, "Daddy is talking to the dumbest girl on the beach and the longer he talks, the dumber he gets."

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Sh-Boom - the Chords & Crew Cuts

Now every time I look at you
Something is on my mind(dat-dat-dat-dat-dat-duh)
If you do what I want you to
Baby, we'd be so fine

Oh, life could be a dream(sh-boom)
If I could take you up in paradise up above(sh-boom)
If you you would tell me I'm the only one that you love
Life could be a dream sweetheart

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Great rendition of Sh-Boom by Beckley, Lamm, Schmidt & Wilson, give it a listen.

Happy Hump Day all, give it your all today as this is the day of the week that Americans do the most work.

RO

Maybe this will be the year the guys will come back to Reno!! I really hope so! About three more weeks til I get to see them for the first time in 2 1/2 years! You have no idea how excited I am. It's been WAY too long!
Happy Wednesday!

Erin :o)

Check out this item on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2384&item=3733798418&rd=1

This Sunday's listening party will be Hideaway, 10PM EDT, 7PM PDT. Hope you can be there!

Recently he has been sporting an "mB" button as well.

The button on Gerry's guitar strap is the late, great Carl Wilson.

I was also at this show. I have loved America ever since my older sister bought their first album in 1972 when I was 8 years old. Now at ::cough:: age 40, I was thrilled to be able to see them for the second time. The first time I saw them was back in '86 at Great Woods in Mansfield (now Tweeter Center). They opened up for Steven Stills, and it was a great show. This venue was much more intimate than Great Woods, which was good and bad. Good, because I was able to stand by the walkway and see the band members pass my by on the way to the stage -- I was probably two feet away from them! I was sorry that neither Gerry nor Dewey so much as glanced my way as they passed. However, I think they had other things on their minds than making eyes at a cute groupie chick. ;o)

The venue was only less than half sold, so what is normally a theatre in the round became a half-round. The sound was too loud. My husband and I had very good seats (I bought them online as soon as they were available to non-members of the Music Circus) -- we were in the sixth row back, stage right.) My husband was most impressed with Willie's drumming, and the safety player, Michael Woods, is a great musician. As much as I enjoyed Gerry's stage presence, sometimes his voice was a bit "munchkin"-like. Dewey's voice still sounds great.

Does anyone know what was on the button on Gerry's guitar strap?

My least favorite song was "Unicorn." My husband and I felt like it was also the bands' least favorite! "Tin Man" was a high point, and I love that they played "Three Roses." I understand they always play it, but it was never a radio hit. It's up there with my favorite America tunes. It was fun to see Gerry go straight from the harmonica solo in "Lonely People" to the ragtime piano solo just one beat later.

I would love to see the DVD that Gerry mentioned they taped earlier this year in Australia.

I would have loved to stay to try to say hello to the fellows, but we had to get back to relieve our babysitter.

Speaking of the guy with the albums, were you referring to the old, aged hippie guy with a stack of albums to be signed? I got a kick out of seeing him.

BTW, this is my first post here at this forum! Thanks for reading this long post.

Best, -- Madolyn