Peace and Love. Ringo Starr and his All Star Band come to Boston.

On June 19th, Ringo Starr and his 2012 All Star Band brought their message of “Peace and Love” to Boston.

It is was an incredible show.

The All Star band featured, Steve Lukather (Toto), Gregg Rolie (Journey, Santana), Richard Page (Mr. Mister), Todd Rundgren, Mark Rivera, (Billy Joel), and drummer Gregg Bissonette.

I was lucky enough to score 2 backstage passes thanks to my friends John DeChristopher from Zildjian and Jeff Chonis, who has been Ringo’s personal drum tech for the past 22 years.

Thanks guys.

Backstage was a mad house as you could imagine. Every local music big wig was there waiting to catch a glimpse or get a chance or a picture with the legendary Billy Shears.

For most that didn’t happen.

But we did hang out until Ringo made his way to the stage.

I had incredible seats. 4th row center.

Here are some photos from my seat.

Greetings From Asbury Park. Actually Boston. Some rare Bruce Springsteen memorabilia.

I love “The Boss.”
Just recently saw his show in Boston, 4th stop I believe on The Wrecking Ball Tour.
Backstage passes and all.
The show, 2 1/2 hours long.
The experience was amazing.

The first time I saw Bruce was back in 1975, the “Born To Run” tour.
He played the old Music Hall in Boston.
Another 3 plus hour show.
After that, I was hooked.
Seen dozens and dozens of shows since then.
This was one of the finest.
Bruce has still got it.

I began collecting Bruce memorabilia when I began collecting Stones stuff.
There’s not a ton of stuff out there, I’m excluding records and t-shirts.
But there are a handful of super rare promo items worth checking out.

Here’s a few from my collection.

This is one of my more favorite pieces.
Called or referred to as the “Clouds” poster.
The headline is the now infamous quote by Jon Landau who eventually became Bruce’s manager.

“I saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen.”
Poster is circa 1974.

This record store display probably dates earlier, maybe 1972-73 right after he signed his record deal with Columbia.

The photo feels very “Asbury Park,” “E Street Shuffle,” like.
So I’m guessing this was pretty damn early, maybe even the very first promotional display.

This is one of my all time favorite.
The rare double-sided hanging mobile from 1975 promoting the release of Bruce’s landmark album
“Born to Run.”
A die-cut Bruce stands tall with his trusty Fender, black Converse sneakers hanging off the end.

This is a large record store standee or counter card for the release of
“Darkness on the Edge of Town.”

Bruce’s promo team at Columbia Records also produced some pretty cool jackets and shirts.

I love the promo baseball shirt for “Glory Days” off the “Born in the USA” album.

Is there anyone alive out there selling rare Bruce stuff??????

I’m interested.

“Welcome To My Jungle.” Some rare Guns N’ Roses memorabilia.

I’ve been fortunate in my years in advertising to have met some pretty cool people.

Like say, Slash for instance.
I’ve always been a HUGE Guns N’ Roses and Slash fan.
Their critically acclaimed debut album “Appetite for Destruction” is still one of my top five favorite rock albums.
Most if not all critics agree it set the bar for heavy metal rock in the 80′s.

I just finished up a TV campaign for the L.A. Zoo promoting a new exhibit called The Lair in which Slash and the venerable wise cracking octogenarian, Betty White starred.
We shot 5 different TV spots over the course of a day at the zoo.
They were both a joy to work with.

And Slash is the real deal.
The rock icon you would expect him to be.
But down to earth and soft spoken.
A true gentleman.

I was completely beside myself.

I happened to have a few rare GNR items in my collection, one I brought along to the TV shoot to have Slash sign for me.
An original ticket and flyer, circa 80′s, from one of their gigs at the famed Troubadour in West Hollywood.
The band’s stomping ground and where they played several of their most memorable performances.

Here are a few pictures from the shoot, as well as some other rare items from my collection.

 

Some girls give me money, Some girls buy me clothes.

Some Girls is the 14th British and 16th American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1978.
Considered a highlight of their output and the best of their post-Exile on Main St. records, the album revitalized the band’s career upon its release and re-established The Rolling Stones as a vital rock and roll band in an era infused with punk rock and disco.
It also became the band’s biggest-selling album in the United States, with more than six million copies to date.
Some Girls is ranked number 269 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

At least as important for the band’s reinvigoration was the addition of Ronnie Wood to the lineup, as Some Girls was the first album recorded with him as a full member. His guitar playing style meshed with that of Keith Richards.
Wood’s slide guitar playing would become one of the band’s hallmarks, and his unconventional uses of the instrument are prominent on Some Girls.
In addition, Jagger, who had learned to play guitar over the previous decade, contributed a third guitar part to many songs. This gave songs like “Respectable” a three-guitar lineup.

Here’s the framed shirt Keith wore in the “Respectable” video shot on May 2, 1978.

Mick Jagger is generally regarded as the principal creative force behind Some Girls, a conception that, though disputable (Richards was present at all of the sessions), is plausible considering Richards’ various legal entanglements at the time. Jagger claimed in a 1995 interview to have written a great number of the album’s songs (though when the amount was pointed out to him he denied that the record was mostly his own), including its signature song, “Miss You.” In addition to punk, Jagger claims to have been influenced by dance music, most notably disco, during the recording of Some Girls, and cites New York City as a major inspiration for the album, an explanation for his lyrical preoccupation with the city throughout.

The inspiration for the record was really based in New York and the ways of the town. I think that gave it an extra spur and hardness. And then, of course, there was the punk thing that had started in 1976. Punk and disco were going on at the same time, so it was quite an interesting period. New York and London, too. Paris—there was punk there. Lots of dance music. Paris and New York had all this Latin dance music, which was really quite wonderful. Much more interesting than the stuff that came afterward.

Above is a complete Some Girls press kit signed by the band as well as Ian Stewart and Ian McLargen.
Ronnie Wood signed Woody which he never does.
The Art Collins collection.

Rare boxing style poster.

A real oddity.
The die-cut faces that were once part of the original graphics for the Some Girls album cover.
Mick threw these into the audience instead of his traditional rose petals during the brief 1978 tour.

Mick Jagger thanks the readers of 16 Magazine for their love and support.

Gloria Stavers was known for being single minded regarding the image of “her” magazine. Her main priority was giving her teenage female reader base what it wanted, and what they wanted, according to Stavers, was the feeling of being “close” to their favorite stars. Stavers would receive more than 300 letters per day addressed to her from teenagers. She read every letter and took their words to heart, and then tried to use the magazine to address the concerns that were often written off as “silly” by adults.

As an editor, she eschewed serious or controversial subject matter for 16 Magazine interviews. Rather than asking a celebrity about social issues, she preferred to discuss more personal and lightly intimate topics such a celebrity’s favorite color or meal or to ask him who his idea of whom a “dream date” would be. Her style of interviewing was referred to as the “Forty Intimate Questions.” Her first interview using that format was with the Canadian pop singer Paul Anka.

Stavers, in her writings, attempted to make the celebrity appear approachable and “attainable” for her young readers. In short, the celebrity was a “surrogate boyfriend” for the reader. If the artist was married, in a long term relationship or was not heterosexual in orientation, that fact was never mentioned in the magazine.

In her editorial content, Stavers seldom if ever wrote critical or unflattering prose regarding any celebrity. She preferred to focus on the positive qualities of the “faves.” She ignored those celebrities and musical acts whom she felt would not capture her readers interest, or those who failed to capture her personal interest. If the “fave” appeared to have fallen out of favor, then Stavers merely stopped covering that celebrity in the magazine, and then would find someone else to feature.

Despite frequently using a teenzine shorthand for some words such as “fave” for favorite, and “cuz” for the word because, Stavers was a stickler for correct spelling and grammar.

By the mid-1960s and throughout the early 1970s, Stavers was encountering fierce competition from other teen magazines such as Tiger Beat. She also had competition from other journalists now focusing their attentions on the rock music scene such as Patricia Kennealy and Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone magazine.

In 1975, Stavers left 16 Magazine after a publishing dispute. After her departure from the magazine, Stavers worked as a freelance writer and photographer, and she gathered information and outlined a biography about Jim Morrison. She also spent time learning about spirituality, particularly Buddhism.

In 1983, Stavers, a long term smoker, died of lung cancer at Presybterian Hospital in New York. She was 56 years old at the time of her death.

There has been so much buzz and activity in the auction world lately around rare signed or autographed items, I decided to share a set from my collection that should continue that buzz and chatter for awhile.

Autographs are RED HOT now, both on ebay and in the major auction houses that deal in signed memorabilia.
Gotta Have It, Heritage and Julien’s to name a few.
Early Rolling Stones photos and signed cards are setting some crazy record prices.

Read some of my previous posts on signed items.

This is an incredible set of autographs with a great story and history behind it.
This came from my good friend Jeff Gold of Recordmecca in LA. (One of the best if you ask me.)
We have done business now for many years, and I have never been disappointed in my dealings with him.

He over delivers.

A bit on Jeff.
He is as honest as the day is long.
He’s extremely knowledgeable, and if he doesn’t know something, he’ll tell you.
He’s a pleasure to deal with.

And……..he gets some of the best and rarest shit you’ll ever see.
Period.

http://recordmecca.com/

Jeff obtained this amazing set directly from the files of the late Gloria Stavers, Editor-in-Chief of 16 Magazine.

Mick wrote this letter to the fans of 16 Magazine, thanking them for their support and even hinted to go out and see them on the next tour.
This letter was likely reprinted in the magazine.

I’m still looking for this issue by the way….hint, hint.

The rest of the band signed separate 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of white paper for Gloria to use anytime, whenever the magazine needed to reprint their signatures for an article or to put on a photo pin up.

Large, super clean with rock solid provenance, makes this a one of a kind set of signatures.
When you buy a set of signatures like this, it gives you a real appreciation for what the word “rare” really means.

In honor of Mick Taylor’s birthday, a post on the greatest Stones album ever, Exile on Main Street and the 1972 tour.

A billboard on Sunset Blvd promoting the new album. As you can imagine, not without controversy.

Super rare promo poster featuring 3-Ball Charlie.

Exile on Main Street was a 1972 release (on Atlantic Records) by The Rolling Stones, with cover artwork & design by John Van Hamersveld. When the Rolling Stones released Exile in 1972 – a double album of songs representing the many different genres of music that shaped Stones music at the time – fans and critics found themselves having to spend a lot of time trying to “get it”. It required a number of listens to gain an appreciation of what, on the surface, often seemed to be a collection of studio out-takes and Richards/Taylor/Watts jams than a freshly-recorded musical offering.

Many critics of the era failed to appreciate the Stones’ explorations of R&B, Soul, Country and roots Rock that were spread over the 4 album sides. In fact, the record was comprised of a series of recordings done during the previous four years and, as such, they featured a variety of mixes (some better than others) and showed the band building on top of these influences in their own inimitable style to the point that, now over 35 years later, the package is considered by many to be the band’s most-authentic offering. It is always listed near the top of most of the “Best Of” and “Greatest” lists (#7 on the Rolling Stone Magazine 2003 list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”, #22 on VH-1’s survey, and even impressed the younger generation enough to be ranked #11 on Pitchfork’s 2003 list of Best Albums of the 1970s).

In a similar fashion, when the buying public took their first look at the design and imagery of the sprawling record cover, most people admitted that they didn’t “get it”. Having just soaked in Warhol’s ultimately-iconic zipper cover for Sticky Fingers, fans should have been ready for anything, but John Van Hamersveld’s designs seemed to confound them, asking them to digest a rough, anti-establishment, punk-before-there-was-punk collage of images that may have, initially, combined with the unfamiliar musical stylings to impact sales (don’t worry, as the record was supported by the now-famous 1972 American concert tour and songs such as “Happy” and “Tumbling Dice” got some significant radio play, the record went on to top the charts in the U.S. and the U.K.).

And so when Van Hamersveld, who’d established his industry cred via his poster and package designs for Hendrix, The Beatles (Magical Mystery Tour), Jefferson Airplane (Crown of Creation) and others, was approached by the Rolling Stones (who were in a studio in LA putting the finishing touches on this new album) to work on the graphics and packaging for a songbook project the band wanted to release, an interesting series of events on the day of their initial meeting had a profound impact on the course of album art history.

Bill Janovitz' book on Exile. A must read.

Above is the ultra rare Exile Store Display.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exile_on_Main_St.

I’d like to thank Buddy and Ringo the two that started this obsession.

About a year ago, the marketing communications company I work for Allen & Gerritsen, was contacted by a potential client to do some Audience Research, that client was Zildjian Cymbals.

Suffice to say a music junkie, hack drummer, a Ringo wannabee like myself was insanely excited about doing work, any work, for a brand like this.
A brand I’d had grown up with.
Those like me who for the first time saw Ringo Starr sitting behind his Ludwig kit on the Ed Sullivan show back in 1964, were watching him play Zildjian cymbals.
I was nine at the time.
The day after their performance on national television, Zildjian was back ordered 90,000 cymbals.

And so it began.

My birthday present.

A few years later I was fortunate enough to be sitting stage side with my parents, age 13, watching one of the greatest, if not THE greatest drummer that ever lived play live at the legendary Lennie’s On The Turnpike, Buddy Rich.
This was 1968, roughly 4 years after The Beatles now historical performance.
And yes, he was playing Zildjian cymbals too.

It was then I realized only the best, the greatest, play Zildjian.
Little did I know back then, this would never change.

This photo above is Buddy at Lennie’s. It may even be the show I was at. He played there a few times.

I took the program from that night up to him, ask him to sign it for me, he gave me that “Kid get the $*&# outta my way look”, but signed it anyway. He must have thought why the hell is this little kid here.
From what I remember, there weren’t too many 13 year olds in the audience.

I was in heaven.
He was my hero.
That signed program is long gone.
I recently bought myself this signed scrap of paper and some photos from a concert in Toronto back in 1971 for my collection.

Strange as a kid I was obsessed with what was then, and still now a big band jazz drummer like Buddy Rich.
My grandfather played the sax, loved big band music and jazz and would often play for me.
Maybe that’s where this connection to this kind of music came from.
But thinking back, it still seems kind of strange to me.

I eventually found out all my heroes played Zildjian cymbals.
Charlie Watts, Ginger Baker, Mitch Mitchell, some of the greatest drummers of our time and my life all played this brand.
And so I wanted to play them as well.
I took drum lessons for years, had recitals, my song was “Watermelon Man” by Herbie Hancock.
I eventually was able to play by ear, pick up the beat of a song by listening to it a few times, started my own band, jammed with friends through high school, but never became the drummer I wanted to be.
So I sold my drums, cymbals and all and headed off to art school in 1973.
Looking back, probably a smart move.

Here’s a drum head with the name of my high school band, Sponge Armor.
Recreated by my daughter, Alyssa.
Thanks pal.

Fast forward 37 years, and now this brand is back in my life.
Damn, it feels good.

But what makes this even better today, are the amazing people I’ve met at Zildjian over the course of this relationship.

Here’s a picture of Ringo’s concert used drumsticks from his Boston show.
A gift to me from John DeChristopher, Vice President Artist Relations & Event Marketing Worldwide at Zildjian.
Here he is with “you know who” the night of the show.

Doesn’t get any better than this does it?

Bill Wyman apologizes to a fan on why he needs all his hair.

I suppose when you write a letter to any of The Rolling Stones, you might as well ask for something in the event they do answer you.
Why not a lock of their hair?
This fan writing to Bill Wyman did just that.
Bill being the gentleman he is, apologizes for not writing sooner and hopes our fan Ros likes the photo he sent.
He also mentions that he hopes she gets to see them in Newcastle and to look forward to the new release in 2-3 weeks.
He also regrets not being able to send any hair, as he needs all of it at the moment.
Fair enough Bill.
Thanks anyway.

The TAMI Show afterparty….Mick Jagger’s glass? Bill Wyman’s cigarette?

THE FOLLOWING ITEMS IN THIS POST ARE FOR SALE. Contact me at ggae55@gmail.com

L to R standing: Ron Armstrong, Bill Wyman, Keith Richards, Earl Steely (Misfits), Mick Jagger, Joey Paige (“Shindig” regular), Charlie Watts, Bob Mosley and Eddie Dunn (both Misfits).”“L to R kneeling: Joel Scott Hill, (later Canned Heat and Flying Burrito Brothers), unknown press photographer, Harold Kirby (Joel’s bassist, now deceased; by the way, Willie Kellogg played with Joel but was packing his drums).

On Nov. 1, 1964, the Rolling Stones, fresh off of taping “The T.A.M.I. Show” (where the upstart Brits were upstaged by James Brown), made their first San Diego appearance, at Balboa Bowl (now Starlight Bowl).
Also performing that night were locals Joel Scott Hill & the Invaders (also known as the Strangers), The Misfits and Rosie and the Originals. Downtown record-shop owner Danny Milsap, who promoted the concert, paid the Stones $400, he recalled in a 1998 retrospective in the San Diego Reader: “I remember paying Rosie and the Originals $500!”
Hitmaker (“Angel Baby”) and future Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Rosie Hamlin and company didn’t stick around for the backstage photo, but Misfits drummer Ron Armstrong identifies who did.

In honor of the release of The TAMI Show on DVD, some rare and never seen collectibles from the after party.
Mick Jagger’s glass scoffed up by this fan as well as a cigarette bummed from Bill Wyman.
Both labeled the night of the party by him packed away in a box and just recently unearthed and purchased by me. The letter from the original owner can be seen below.

I wonder how long DNA hangs around?

I should know having watched enough CSI and Law and Order
marathons with my girls.

The T.A.M.I. Show is a 1964 concert film, released by American International Pictures. It includes performances by numerous popular rock and roll and R&B musicians from the United States and England. It was shot with TV cameras by director Steve Binder and his crew from The Steve Allen Show, and was the second of a small handful of productions to be recorded in Electronovision – one of the first high-definition video cameras that captured somewhere between 1000-1100 lines at 25fps. Then, via kinescope recording, it was converted to film with sufficient enhanced resolution to allow big-screen enlargement.

The concert was held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on October 28 and 29, 1964. Free tickets were distributed to local high school students. Jan and Dean emceed the event and performed its theme song, “Here They Come (From All Over the World)”. Jack Nitzsche was the show’s music director. The acronym “T.A.M.I.” was used inconsistently in the show’s publicity to mean both Teenage Awards Music International and Teen Age Music International. The best footage from each of the two concert dates was edited into the film, which was released on December 29, 1964.

The T.A.M.I. Show is particularly well known for James Brown’s performance, which features his legendary dance moves and remarkable energy. In interviews, Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones has claimed that choosing to follow Brown & The Famous Flames was the biggest mistake of their careers, because no matter how well they performed, they could not top him. In a web-published interview,

Binder takes credit for persuading the Stones to follow James Brown, and serve as the centerpiece for the grand finale where all the performers dance together onstage. In addition, throughout the film, were numerous go-go dancers in the background or beside the performers. Among them were a very young Toni Basil and Teri Garr. It also featured The Supremes performing three back-to-back #1 singles, signaling their reign as the most successful girl group of that era. Diana Ross would go on to work with the director Steve Binder on several of her television specials including her first solo television special and more importantly her iconic Central Park concert, Live from New York Worldwide: For One and for All.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_T.A.M.I._Show

Read more: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-12-03/concerts-music-clubs/misfits-rolling-stones-snapshot-provides-glimpse-into-san-diegos-rock-n-roll-roots#ixzz0j8AOxdsD

The film was shown unedited and in its entirety on cable television in Canada in 1984 (20th anniversary of its release), on the First Choice Network. However, there has never been an authorized home video release of the film in any format until the authorized DVD release in March 2010, though bootlegs have abounded. (A DVD release of the complete film by First Look Studios was planned for 2007, but subsequently withdrawn.) Also, because of a rights dispute, the footage of The Beach Boys’ performance was deleted from all prints made after the movie’s brief initial theatrical run, and is therefore absent from most of the bootlegs. All of the four Beach Boys tunes eventually surfaced on DVD in Sights and Sounds of Summer, a special CD/DVD edition of Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of The Beach Boys.

In 2006, The T.A.M.I. Show was named to the National Film Registry by the U.S. Library of Congress. Dick Clark Productions acquired ownership of the concert film. On March 23 2010, Shout! Factory released the full show on a restored, digitally remastered and fully authorized DVD.

A sequel, 1966′s The Big T.N.T. Show, was produced by the same executive producer, Henry G. Saperstein.

Here’s a rare ticket from that show both front and back.

Mick Jagger stands by himself while everyone rush the food table.

The Rolling Stones are off to jail, again. Collecting rare early press photos.

Sometimes you can’t be there.
But you can usually count on the press to be.
I got interested in buying press and wire photos a few years ago.

They sell online, ebay of course, through people who have cleaned out the file cabinets and drawers of photo, press and newspaper services.

Just imagine literally thousands and thousands of photos that have appeared in magazines and newspapers over the years being selling anywhere from $5 up to sometimes $40-50 a piece.

Of course it depends on the situation, who’s in the photo, and what particular event it happens to be capturing.

In the case of The Rolling Stones, I became obsessed with their various drug charges and photos of them being ushered in and out of the courtrooms of London.

Go figure.
A weird area to focus on, but I found there were plenty of photos to be bought thanks to the Stones and their party drug crazed lifestyle in the 60′s.

Usually these photos are written on the reverse in hand, detailing the story and event, as well as stamped by the photo or press service.

In the case of the above photo, a very detailed type written story of Mick and Keith being brought up on drug charges stemming from the infamous Redlands raid on Keith’s home.

How to still look cool while getting busted for possession of pep pills.

Mick and Marianne after posting bail for possession of cannabis, 1969.