I've Got a Fever...

... and the prescription is...more cowbell! They wanted it, they got it - check out this vid from last week's performance of my band North of Nowhere at the Ugly Mug in Farmington. This was the last tune of the night and a reprise of "American Band" that we'd played earlier. That's me in shadows pounding the skins, and, from left to right, Jarad on rhythm guitar and vocals, Max on bass, Rick on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, and, also in the shadows, Chris on lead guitar and vocals. Thanks to our friends, family and fans who attended, and keep on rockin'

You and me…

… and Leslie (it was actually “endlessly,’ but I always said, “Ok, who’s Leslie?” whenever I heard this song – it probably got a laugh the first time I told it). On this date in rock and roll history in 1967, "Groovin'" becomes the Rascals' second chart-topping single. It holds down the top spot for four weeks, finally giving way to Aretha Franklin's "Respect"—which was also on Atlantic Records. Ah – the Summer of 1967 (AKA “the Summer of Love”) – I was 16, I was hangin’ out at the local pizza joint (known in my home town as “The Pizza House”), playing in a band, and driving my parent’s brand-new yellow ’67 Mustang…life just didn’t get much better than that! And this song was probably playing on my car radio, and it pretty much summed up the whole summer – I was groovin’…let’s enjoy it one more time. Thanks to http://www.rockhall.com/notes/today-in-rock/ for the info, and keep on rockin’!

Raw Power!

Today in rock history, on this date in 1968, the Stooges release their self-titled debut. It peaks at #106. Also, in 1977, Iggy Pop releases 'The Idiot' and it hits #30 in the UK and #32 in the US. The album is produced by David Bowie. Yes, today’s post is an Iggy and the Stooge’s two-fer. Iggy Pop (aka James Newell Osterberg, Jr.) exploded out of Detroit in 1968 with the Stooges, a garage-band combo composed of Pop on vocals, Ron (guitar) and Scott Asheton (drums), along with their friend Dave Alexander (bass guitar. They were together from 1968 to 1974, and reformed in 2003, and are still touring today with various personnel. Iggy (who usually – and still does – perform shirtless) was known to self-mutilate, verbally abuse the audience, expose himself and leap off the stage (thus being the first or among the first to stage dive). Countless subsequent performers have imitated Pop's antics, though much of Pop's own stage antics mirror those of Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison. Let’s hear it for the ageless and seemingly eternal Mr. Pop, and enjoy a vid of one of his live performances. Thanks to http://www.rockhall.com/notes/today-in-rock/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iggy_Pop, and keep on rockin’!

Everybody Knows…

“North of Nowhere…” Well, at least we’re trying to get our name out there: Open Mic adventures, part 2…last week Mr. Whoamus posted a blog entry about my band North of Nowhere’s appearance at an open mic at Neisen’s in Savage on 4-22. While the band has been together for a couple of years, we’ve only had the present personnel with the band since the first of the year, so we’re still trying out songs on the (unsuspecting) public. Last Saturday we signed up for an open mic at the American Legion in Savage. Little did we know when we showed up that the first Saturday of the month is always “kids night,” where all the students of the guitar teacher who plays lead in the house band are invited to come up and play. While it gives these kids some good exposure, it does make for a long night for us geezers, who were the last act of the evening. So, after over 3 hours of waiting (thank God they have an open bar!), they saved the best for last…check out this vid of our opening number, and come see us for a full evening at the Ugly Mug in Farmington, MN on 5-15 (www.theuglymug.biz). Thanks to Mr. Whoamus himself for the camera work, Chris for the posting, and keep on rockin’!