What is 30 Days of the Dead ? Each day during the month of November the Dead are giving away a high-quality 320Kbps MP3 download. That’s 30 days of unreleased Grateful Dead tracks from the vault, selected by Dead archivist David Lemieux!
Today is Day 5, “Doin’ that Rag”.
Guess the venue and date correctly and you’ll be automatically entered to win the prize of the day, a 2019 Grateful Dead Wall Calendar. Each day a winner will be selected at random, so take your time and make your best guess! Additionally if you answer correctly, you will be automatically entered in a drawing for the PACIFIC NORTHWEST ’73-’74 THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS boxed set.
I’d love to rent a custom RV and travel to the Southern states. The additional benefit of this publication are all the great tourist attractions featured inside. I have quite the itinerary planned 😉
Details
The Oxford American presents its 20th annual Southern Music Issue, featuring more than 25 stories exploring the history and legacy of North Carolina music. Among the many notable contributors to this year’s Southern Music Issue are novelists Jonathan Lethem, Jill McCorkle, and Wiley Cash, and the beloved North Carolina musicians Rhiannon Giddens and Tift Merritt.
Tryon-native Nina Simone, one of the most important artists of the twentieth century, graces the cover in a portrait by Jim Blanchard; Simone is the subject of a feature essay about artistic influence and identity, written by poet Tiana Clark.
The issue comes with a 28-song sampler of recordings by North Carolinians sourced across nearly a century. The compilation highlights music from NC legends like Simone, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane, Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson, James Taylor, and Elizabeth Cotten, plus a wide-ranging host of others. Accompanying the sampler are detailed liner notes and essays on the songs by Ron Rash, Laura Ballance, Randall Kenan, and others.
The issue, available for pre-order in their online store (link above), will mail to subscribers on November 6, and will be available on newsstands nationwide on November 20.
I’ve been looking forward to seeing the Bohemian Rhapsody movie starring Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury. It will soon be playing in the IMAX near my house on November 1st.
We visited the Experience Music Project (MoPop) several times in Seattle in past years. Paul Allen’s affinity and love for Jimi Hendrix was always evident.
I was surprised to learn of another international record store event that is celebrating its 5th anniversary, Cassette Store Day.
The reason for this escaping my grasp is due to the fact that audio cassettes are out of sight and mind for me as a music collector. I don’t have a music playing system in my home or car that features that audio option. But I’m glad to see that people still enjoy, collect, and listen to cassettes.
Cassette Store Day was created in 2013 by a group of record labels based in the UK. BBC Radio 1 DJ Jen Long collaborated with Steven Rose of Sexbeat Records and Matt Flag of Suplex Cassettes to establish a day to dedicated to the undying format.
According to Long, although Cassette Store Day was inspired by Record Store Day, the intention of CSD is focused on celebrating cassettes rather than supporting shops – whereas the latter is the main goal of RSD.
The first Cassette Store Day was observed on 7 September 2013. More than twenty eight shops, including Rough Trade in London, participated by stocking special limited edition cassettes, with some stores hosting live performances.
Cassette Store Day confirmed that they would continue into a second year. California’s Burger Records, who were quick to jump on board, now currently organize all North American releases and will continue to do so this year. Balades Sonores in France and VSI from Japan both return, with Nasty Wizard Recordings in China officially joining as hosts and Blak Hand Records taking control of UK releases.
Over the years bands such as Motörhead, Ramones, Julian Casablancas, Pixies, The Flaming Lips, Courtney Barnett, Green Day and Muse have all released tapes through Cassette Store Day. Most importantly, CSD has been a great way to highlight the unsigned talent and create a place for underground music, whichever the genre, to circulate through events in record stores, radio shows and gigs on the day.
Please click through the link to your participating country to join in on Cassette Store Day 2018!
A beautiful rendition of the Jefferson Airplane folk rock song, “Comin’ Back to Me” from the Surrealistic Pillow album, written by the late Marty Balin.
Marty performing with his band at Jorma’s place in Pomeroy, Ohio 2014.
He goes to prepare a place for us.
Comin’ Back to Me
The summer had inhaled and held its breath too long The winter looked the same, as if it never had gone And through an open window where no curtain hung I saw you I saw you Comin’ back to me
One begins to read between the pages of a book The shape of sleepy music, and suddenly you’re hooked Through the rain upon the trees, the kisses on the run I saw you I saw you Comin’ back to me
You came to stay and live my way Scatter my love like leaves in the wind You always say you won’t go away But I know what it always has been It always has been
A transparent dream beneath an occasional sigh Most of the time I just let it go by Now I wish it hadn’t begun I saw you, yes, I saw you Comin’ back to me
Strolling the hills overlooking the shore I realized I’ve been there before The shadow in the mist could have been anyone I saw you I saw you Comin’ back to me
Small things like reasons are put in a jar Whatever happened to wishes wished upon a star? Was it just something that I made up for fun? I saw you, I saw you comin’ back to me
I received an e-mail from Richard M. Houghton, the author of the book I posted about recently, Jimi Hendrix – The Day I Was There. He was letting me know that he had signed copies of that book available. He also informed me that he was starting his Led Zeppelin The Day I Was There book. He was accepting stories from fans. So I decided I would document my Led Zeppelin concert experience for inclusion in his next book.
I have been meaning to create a concert and memorabilia database, blog site so what better opportunity to kick it off with this blog post 😉
Led Zeppelin first occurred to me as music phenomenon when I
was a senior in high school in 1968. I hung around with a group of friends and
we were passionate about rock music. We would meet in the cafeteria before
school and at lunch to discuss who we were listening to on WNEW-FM radio. We
devoured Rolling Stone magazine cover to cover.
A member of our discussion group had friends in England. They
had told him about Led Zeppelin. He raved about this new supergroup which was
creating a stir across the pond in the fall of 1968. Led Zeppelin did not release
their earth-shattering album Led Zeppelin
until January 1969. It was everything I had heard about and more. I took
that album with me everywhere. I played it relentlessly on my hi-fi system and
in art class at school. Lots of people borrowed it from me.
I wanted to see Led Zeppelin live in concert after bonding
with their first album. Progressive FM airplay stirred that need even more. On
July 3rd, 1969 on the way home from The Fillmore East in the East
Village, New York City after a Jethro Tull/Jeff Beck concert I bumped into two
friends from high school. We rode the subway from Astor Place to Grand Central
Terminal to catch the train back to Connecticut.
They were psyched about having seen Led Zeppelin at The
Filmore East a couple of months earlier. I listened intently as they talked
about sitting in the balcony with binoculars studying Jimmy Page’s guitar
mastery. They watched his hands the entire show as they both played guitar in a
band. They were knocked out by his musicianship and urged me to see Led
Zeppelin if I ever got the chance. I made a personal commitment to make that
happen.
Eight years later that became reality. I purchased tickets
at a Ticketron ticketing terminal to see Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden
in New York City. Led Zeppelin had booked a six-night engagement at this famous
venue, June 7, 8, 10, 11, 13 & 14 ,1977. I scored tickets for Saturday evening
June 11th.
I recall that my sister-in-law drove us from Norwalk
Connecticut in her Volvo. Travelling by car to the Garden added to the
excitement of the evening. There is a thrill in witnessing the streets and
atmosphere of New York City at night. The lights, the people, and the stores.
We parked at The Garden and joined our fellow Zep freaks as we headed into the
venue.
I was handed this pin by a Garden employee. I refer to it
often in my pin collection. WPLJ-FM 95.5 was one of two major FM rock stations
in New York City in the mid 70s.
Our seats were fantastic for $10.50 each. We sat on the left
side of the band as they faced out into the audience. We had a great view of
Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Bonham. John Paul Jones was tucked behind
Bonham so we couldn’t see him as well.
Led Zeppelin proved to be everything I knew and felt about them in concert. My visual recollection of their performance centers around a couple of songs in their 21-song set list.
Set List:
The
Song Remains the Same, (The Rover intro) Sick Again, Nobody’s Fault but Mine,
In My Time of Dying, Since I’ve Been Loving You, No Quarter, Ten Years Gone,
Battle of Evermore, Going to California, Black Country Woman, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp,
White Summer ~ Black Mountainside, Kashmir, (Out On the Tiles intro) Moby Dick,
Jimmy Page solo, Achilles Last Stand, Stairway to Heaven, Heartbreaker.
I remember
being tired that night and starting to drift off to sleep in my seat (I know
who falls asleep at a Led Zeppelin concert?). They had played several acoustic
numbers seated at the front of the stage. I snapped awake after Black Mountainside
as I witnessed Jimmy Page kicking a three-legged stool as it slid fast behind
him under Bonham’s drum kit. He grabbed his double neck guitar launching us
into “Kashmir”. It was a powerful moment that swept me along for the ride. Ever
since then “Kashmir” has been my favorite Led Zeppelin tune.
“Kashmir” was followed by the greatest drum solo I ever saw. John Bonham played “Moby Dick” with drum sticks, his hands, and the Gong. I have seen a lot of great drummers in my 49 years of live concerts. But no one has impressed me or reached me with their drumming skills like John Bonham. I realized after he passed away why Led Zeppelin did not want to reform without him as Bonzo was integral to their sonic experience.
.
The evening ended with the encore of “Stairway to Heaven”
which is the classic Led Zeppelin hit. Hearing Robert Plant’s voice echo across the
sea of people in Madison Square Garden as the huge disco ball cast its light on
us was breathtaking to witness. His hair was golden as was the memory.
I’m always reminded of this concert when I see this rock
t-shirt being worn. It’s a shirt I must add to my rock t-shirt wardrobe.
The first ever National Album Day(UK) takes place on Saturday, October 13th, 2018. The entire British music community is coming together to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the album format.
National Album Day UK Ambassador Alice Cooper, said:
“It would be very hard for me to do something that didn’t follow the album format. It’s hard for me to simply write twelve songs. It’s in my nature to connect them somehow.
“It’s really neat that this post-millennial generation is buying albums again. I’m from a period of time where the release of a new album was an important thing: you stood in line, you bought it, you invited a bunch of friends, you opened it up, and there was a smell to the vinyl. You checked out the sleeve to discover who was on it, who wrote it. You placed the needle down – it was a ritual.”
At 3:33 (r)pm on October 13th people will be encouraged to stop what they are doing, sit back, relax and play an album of their choice in full from start to finish.
Let it be known what album you chose by using the hashtag #NationalAlbumDay and handle @AlbumDayUK.
