Whats on your turntable tonight?


For me its the first or very early LP's of:
Allman Brothers - "Allman Joys" "Idyllwild South"
Santana - "Santana" 200 g reissue
Emerson Lake and Palmer - "Emerson Lake and Palmer"
and,
Beethoven - "Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major" Rudolph Serkin/Ozawa/BSO
slipknot1
Awesome Oregon! By very weird chance, just yesterday I was on the phone with an audio friend in Eugene, who was regaling me with tales of the local mania for everything Ducks (and green and yellow?). But Kirk and Kesey -- wow. Hey, if you'd gone to that dinner, you might not be back yet... ;^)
Zaike, Slip,
Glad you enjoyed the Kirk story.
Zaike, your friend is undoubtedly familiar with Nancy's yogurt, a local creamery in Eugene. Nancy is Ken K's sister.
A very good friend of mine worked for Nancy's as a delivery truck driver while he completed his Masters at the UFO. He was an Opera major. My girlfriend, was an Opera aficianado (until I intorduced her to Miles, Coltrane, etc). So, as a friend, I'd go to hear/see the Operas which my friend was a part of. These performance were in the newly constructed Eugene ... for the Performing Arts building. Very beautiful, elegant Opera house with waves of balconies, very ornate. Of course, it was a great place to sleep during an opera. Out of 12 operas, I was probably awake a total of 5 minutes.
Anyway, one evening after my friend and his wife had cooked dinner for us, he told my girlfriend and I that he had a t- shirt and 2 tickets for a Grateful Dead show that evening . (He was the limo driver for the Dead whenever they came to town, although they never used the limo. But he had to pick it up, drive it to his house and let it sit there for the night. Really dumb. The Keseys would just drive the band wherever they neede to go).
Anyway, I was offered the tickets. I took them both and headed to the opera house where the concert was to start.
I'd never seen the Dead, but I was curious. As I approached the building, it was a completely different atmosphere. No stiffs in gowns and ties. More like tie-die, hacky sacks, color, smiling faces. Nice aroma.

I announced to the crowd that I had an extra ticket and held it out. A swarm engulfed me, but no one took it. Someone said, how much??? I said, FREE!
Instantly snatched out of my hand. And big cheers and hugs from many, many folks. Really cool. I was the hero.
I go inside. The energy was up about a thousand notches compared to the many boring hours I'd spent there. As soon as the curtains opened, I understood why every Deadhead declares that a Dead concert is the best party on the planet. Instant, explosive ECSTACY, joy, frenzy! The performing arts center was never the same.

On another note. I grew up in East L.A. with Los Lobos. David Hidalgo told me that shortly after Jerry had his second stroke, he could not play guitar. He could hold it in his hands but could not form a chord, or strum the strings. So David spent a few months helping him get his chops back. Which he did, eventually.
After Jerry passed, there were rumours that David would join the Dead. But these were just rumours. No one ever considered it.
Got a kick out of the Roland Kirk story as I was sitting here listening to Jethro Tull from the 20th anniversary LP. Mr Kirk was a big influence on a lot of people...

:o
Oregon: Coincidentally enough (once again), my own girlfriend, before we began going out, happened to be a guest (of the opening band, Cracker) at the only Dead concert she's been to, at the University in Eugene, about '94 I think. Not sure I could actually fall asleep at a concert myself, but if I could I feel sure that the Dead could inspire it, with opera running not far behind. Haven't been a big Lobos fan for many years now, mostly because of that creeping jam-band influence which I have no use for, but I rocked my ass off to them at club shows many times back in the early- to mid-80's when they were sharp as a tack.

Spun today:

Small Faces - S/T [Decca/Deram, '66/'96] Expanded re-ish of the British debut long-player. Most American 'classic rock' radio listeners have only ever heard the later hit "Itchykoo Park" (which made famous the 'flanging' effect), but if you've heard Robert Plant singing Zep's "Whole Lotta Love", you've heard more of this record than you know.

The Clash - Crucial Music: 1977 Revisited [CBS/Relativity, '90] Listening to this collection of B-sides -- a couple of which weren't included on the "Black Market Clash" EP or appended to reissues of their debut LP "The Clash" -- basically just pisses me off to think that Joe Strummer is dead, and there aren't any rock bands in the world today fit to lick the soles of his boots. I guess Nirvana were supposed to have been it once upon a time, but right about now we could use another Clash to lead the way and tear everything up again. But I don't think that's ever gonna happen anymore.

Guided By Voices - Under The Bushes Under The Stars [Matador, '96] One thing's sure, none of *my* high school English teachers ever delivered a jump-kick to the heart like this no-fi primer.
Nrchy,
You got that right!
First concert for me was Blind Faith, It's A Beautiful Day and Jethro Tull and Delanie and Bonnie (led to Derek...) all on the same ticket at the Fabulous Forum.
Zaik,
I know what you mean by the jam thing- boring!
The early R&R, R&B, wedding/garage stuff the Wolves played is what kicked arse.
Have you heard their EP ...And a Time To Dance? If not, shoot me an email and I will record an analog to dig (yuck) for you.