By: David Schultz

Labels: Grace Potter and The Nocturnals, Rock Hall of Fame, The Hold Steady

By: David Schultz

Visions of sugarplums dancing in your head are probably more in line with the impending Christmas holiday then pondering about heroin being your blood and that blood being in your head while thanking God that you're good as dead. The Velvet Underground though were never about being appropriate in polite company or going with the flow. While the musical heads of the late 60s propounded a world view of peace and love, the VU confronted the seedy underbelly of life and offered unflinching firsthand accounts, creating the alternative rock genre in their wake.

Former RANA and Particle guitarist Scott Metzger, who of late has made appearances at Leroy Justice gigs to trade licks with Brendan Cavanaugh, has put together Heroin, a Velvet Underground tribute band for a one night only gig this Saturday night at New York City's Sullivan Hall. Metzger's band will include Fat Mama’s Kevin Kendrick in the John Cale/Doug Yule role, American Babies’ Jonathan Goldberger filling Sterling Morrison's shoes and RANA's Ryan Thornton doing his best Maureen Tucker imitation. The night will also include art installations from Jess Pfohl and a DJ set by Eric Slick.

THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME will welcome Genesis, The Stooges, The Hollies, Jimmy Cliff and ABBA in 2010. Each of them -- even the Swedish pop stars -- have an argument to be made in their defense: the Stooges being "what took so damn long." However, if this is where we're at with inductions, perhaps this induction braintrust should revisit Lou Reed, Jethro Tull and Rush before they do something stupid like ponder Britney Spears' relevance or Chicago's import.

Labels: Rock Hall of Fame, Scott Metzger, Velvet Underground

By: David Schultz

A visit to any Hall of Fame is usually akin to visiting a museum. The inductees enshrined, if they are still alive, are far past their prime and watching them practice their craft in the present day would be depressing. We like Old Timers’ Day because we can cheer our favorites one more time; we don’t cherish watching them exhibit severely diminished skills. Musicians are different: they generally get better with age. Gather the living members of the baseball Hall of Fame together and have them sign memorabilia and talk of the old days. Gather the living members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame together and you have the makings of a phenomenal night of music. If you’re celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, then you have the makings for two nights of legendary performances.

By all accounts, Thursday night’s show, the first of two historic nights captured for posterity by HBO, should have been an efficiently run four hour affair. In practice, six hours after the lights dimmed, the final notes of Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher” as played by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Billy Joel, John Fogerty, Sam Moore, Darlene Love, Tom Morello, Jackson Browne and Peter Wolf faded into the New York night, capping of a tireless night of classic rock.

With the exception of an opening welcome from Tom Hanks, there was very little exposition. If you didn’t know why the performers on the stage were important or why the songs they performed were relevant, you probably shouldn’t have been there in the first place. Before each set, a nicely produced video montage containing images and music from many of the Hall’s inductees provided context for the upcoming set. Crosby, Still & Nash represented the laid-back eloquence of West coast rock; Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel stood up for the suave legacy of New York pop songcraft; Stevie Wonder stepped up for Motown and Bruce Springsteen spoke for the populist singers who give voice to the working man, the next of kin in a family tree that includes Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan.

As he was one of the few living stars from the 50s that could walk on stage under his own power and play without a band to cover him, 74-year-old Jerry Lee Lewis opened the night with a slightly shaky but fully engaging solo version of “Whole Lot Of Shakin’ Goin’ On.” From there, the show used a blueprint that always made the Jammy Awards a memorable event: bring out a core band to anchor a set and let them work with a variety of guests.

Crosby, Stills & Nash opened with a run through “Woodstock,” “Marrakesh Express” and “Almost Cut My Hair” before bringing out Bonnie Raitt for “Love Has No Pride” and an acoustic version of The Allman Brothers Band’s “Midnight Rider.” Jackson Browne took lead on “The Pretender” and then James Taylor got the crowd swooning with “Mexico,” staying on for a romp through Stills’ “Love The One You’re With.” After tipping their hat to Buffalo Springfield, the mini No Nukes reunion concluded with “Teach Your Children.”

The ever nonplussed Paul Simon began his set with “Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes” and, were he playing before a younger crowd, would have had them all on their feet for “Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard,” “You Can Call Me Al” an “Late In The Evening.” Dion emerged for a quick jaunt through “The Wanderer” and David Crosby and Graham Nash returned for an acoustic take on George Harrison’s “Here Comes The Sun.” Simon and his large band left the stage so Little Anthony & The Imperials could do a proper a capella version of “Two Kinds Of People” and when they returned, Art Garfunkel came with them. Kicking off a mini set with “The Sounds Of Silence,” the beloved duo inserted Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away” into “Mrs. Robinson” and washed the Garden in nostalgia with “The Boxer.” When Simon stepped back and Garfunkel belted out the final verse of “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” they delivered the first of the night’s multitude of spine tingling moments. After that, their “encore” of “Cecilia” proved slightly anticlimactic.

Stevie Wonder’s set began with a host of technical problems, leaving the energized legend to improvise while he waited for his microphone and keyboards to come online. Instead of opening with “Uptight,” as seemed to be the plan, Wonder offered a quick version of Dylan’s “Blowin’ In The Wind” before ripping into some vintage Little Stevie material complete with his inimitable harmonica. Smokey Robinson ambled forth for “The Tracks Of My Tears” and B.B. King brought the blues with “The Thrill Is Gone.” John Legend’s appearance was greeted with a skepticism that quickly dissipated once he launched into Marvin Gaye’s “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology).” Legend remained on stage for a bouncy run through Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel.” As the song progressed, Wonder seemed to lose his way, as if forgetting the words. When he reached up to wipe his eyes, it became clear he was emotionally choked up over the loss of his friend. His hokey attempt at a call-and-response chant that served to name check Jackson, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix and quote Biblical verse can be forgiven, cause when he blazed through “Living For The City” and “Boogie On Reggae Woman,” Wonder reminded everyone that he was and can still be quite a badass when he wants to be. The finale of his set, which saw Sting sit in on a version of “Higher Ground,” that segued in and out of The Police's “Roxanne” and Jeff Beck bringing the night's first true burst of guitar virtuosity on "Superstition” was icing on the cake.

By the time Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band launched into “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out,” the clock approached midnight. If anyone was lagging, Springsteen had them on their feet and in the palm of his hand. With the exception of Bono, no one can immediately capture a live audience and keep them enthralled like The Boss. Even when playing a set consisting primarily of covers, it's still Springsteen and it's still unforgettable. Sam Moore fronted the band for “Hold On, I’m Coming” and “Soul Man,” John Fogerty held sway with “Proud Mary,” “Fortunate Son” and Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman” and Darlene Love, a nominee for the Class of 2010, dazzled with “A Fine Fine Boy” and “Da Doo Ron Ron.” Despite all the star power of Springsteen’s set, Tom Morello stole the show. During “The Ghost Of Tom Joad” and The Clash’s “London Calling,” the Rage Against The Machine guitarist did things with his guitar that should have set off the smoke alarms. If HBO doesn’t include Morello’s pyrotechnics when they edit this together, they are doing everyone a disservice. Springsteen didn’t forget his own material, offering powerful versions of “Jungleland” and “Badlands," but for the most part, he seemed happy to be the ringleader of the revue.

Nearing 1:00 a.m., Springsteen seemed to leave enough time for “Born To Run” but there were other plans afoot. Informing the crowd of an impending New Jersey/Long Island summit, he brought out Billy Joel to the giddy delight of the still-amped audience. The two swapping verses on “You May Be Right,” “Only The Good Die Young” and “New York State Of Mind” would have been enough but Springsteen always has to take it that one step further, so of course, they traded verses on “Born To Run.”

Chuck Berry knew what he was talking about all those years ago, "Hail, Hail Rock & Roll!"

Labels: Bruce Springsteen, Crosby Still and Nash, John Fogerty, Paul Simon, Rock Hall of Fame, Simon and Garkunkel, Stevie Wonder, Tom Morello

By: David Schultz

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced their slate of nominees for the Class of 2010. Without question it's an eclectic group of artists that consists of The Stooges, Kiss, Genesis, Jimmy Cliff, Darlene Love, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Hollies, Donna Summer, ABBA, Laura Nyro, The Chantels and LL Cool J. As far as who should get the nod, I'm going to apply the Billy Bob Thornton theory and suggest that the ones who deserve entry into the Hall are the ones who we will talk about a hundred years later in 2110. Notwithstanding the Broadway revival of Mamma Mia that will surely win Tonys in the next century: LL Cool J shattered the conception that rap can't be done live or that stick deodorant leaves no traces on MTV Unplugged; The Stooges were punk rock when everyone else was basking in the Summer of Love; Donna Summer's credibility survived the Disco era she presided over as its Queen; you can forgive the pop maven era of Genesis because they practically invented progressive art-rock and that picture of Peter Gabriel dressed as flower will never disappear and Jimmy Cliff can share credit with Bob Marley for popularizing reggae outside of Jamaica. Kiss, likely deserving, but they'll accept the merchandising rights in lieu of an actual nomination.

HAVING ALREADY BROUGHT THEIR STAR power to Japan in 2009, Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck will play a one off show at London's O2 Arena on February 13, 2010. Slow Hand has been dedicated to reestablishing himself in his homeland: in May of 2009, after a three year hiatus, he returned to the Royal Albert Hall, the home of his storied month long residencies, for an eleven night run. Given the excitement (and profitability) of the Clapton/Winwood shows, it's just a matter of time before this comes to America.

WITH THE REPUTATION OF FELLOW folkie John Phillips taking a Chuck Wepner style beating at the hands of his daughter, Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey restored some class to the bygone folk era with a tribute to the recently departed Mary Travers. Making a surprise appearance in Central Park as part of NY Parks Week concert that included Jose Feliciano, Carole King and Alison Krauss and Union Station, the two surviving members of Peter, Paul & Mary eulogized their friend and led a singalong of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land."

Labels: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Rock Hall of Fame

By: David Schultz

The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a pair of All-Star concerts at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. The October 29 show will feature Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Paul Simon playing solo and with Art Garfunkel, Stevie Wonder and Crosby, Stills & Nash and Friends. The next night will showcase U2, Eric Clapton, Metallica and Aretha Franklin. If the Queen of Soul joins Metallica for “Enter Sandman,” it goes down as the greatest show of all time. Everyone announced as performing at the celebration is an inductee in the Hall of Fame. Unlike any sporting event featuring participation from Hall of Famers, this one shouldn’t be embarrassing in the least.

Notwithstanding Madison Square Garden’s status as the Mecca of all arenas, it’s hardly surprising that these shows are occurring in New York City. Ever since awarding the Hall of Fame to Cleveland, Ohio and hosting a mega-concert at Municipal Stadium in conjunction with the opening of the museum in September 1995, its trustees have a horrible tendency to seem like they are distancing themselves from the city. The recent creation of the New York annex rankled some feathers with Clevelanders who have grown sensitive to this issue, especially in light of the fact that practically every induction ceremony has been held in Manhattan and not at the Hall of Fame.

Having the shows in Cleveland would have been a great boon to the city and probably made it possible for fans unconnected to the music industry to get in to the show. As long as they are being held in the Big Apple, look for these icons to play the equivalent of corporate boondoggle. Sniping and grousing aside, the proceeds of the show are earmarked for a permanent endowment for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation.

Labels: Rock Hall of Fame

Can you name the 164 inductees to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame? In 15:00 minutes nonetheless.

Labels: Rock Hall of Fame

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum will be coming to New York City. Flanked by Billy Joel and Clive Davis, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that in November of 2008, the New York annex of the hall will open in SoHo, more specifically 76 Mercer Street. "This is where Lou Reed took a walk on the wild side," said the Mayor. The Annex will feature items and artifacts with a distinct New York appeal, some hopefully more interesting than the phone booth from CBGB that was on display at the press conference.

According to President Terry Stewart, the New York annex is part of an overall strategy to increase the visibility of the Rock & Roll Hall and drive tourist traffic to Cleveland. However, the NYC Annex seems like just another attempt of the Hall's trustees to remove rather than attract attention to the I.M Pei designed building located on the banks of the Erie River. It's long been an issues with Clevelanders that ever since the museum opened its doors in 1995, the Hall of Fame persists in having it's induction ceremony in New York City as opposed to within the very Hall to which they are inducting members. This has been resolved in an agreement by which Cleveland will host every third induction ceremony beginning in 2009. After making such a "commitment" to its host city, this recent announcement will surely assuage the Hall of Fame Foundation's guilt for throwing Cleveland a bone.

Labels: Rock Hall of Fame

Van Halen reunion rumors and "reports" are all over the place, including Billboard. But, even Billboard didn't say it was a done deal. And, neither does a source close to the Van Halen camp. The source didn't deny anything would happen, but confirmed that as of yesterday nothing is official. That also includes what the line-up will be, if any, for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.

The Hall inducted both Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth along with the rest of the traditional Van Halen line-up. Left out was singer Gary Cherone, who appeared on Van Halen III. Cherone's tenure, according to a spokesperson for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame wasn't part of the band's "significant era" so the Hall subjectively chose to not include Cherone as part of the Van Halen induction. Of course, Cherone might argue that VHIII was a Gold record and produced a #1 rock hit with "Without You."

Another twist in the Hall of Fame scenario is that some even questioned the inclusion of Hagar. The rule for induction states that your recording career must be 25 or more years old before being eligible. Van Halen's career started more than 25 years ago and so did Hagar's. But, Hagar wasn't with VH for 25 years. The Hall spokesperson said that the vote was on the VH "entity" and not the individual members and since Sammy clearly was part of VH's "significant era" he gets in.

Interestingly, when asked if Hagar would get in on his own, the spokesperson didn't seem to know Hagar had a career for over a decade before joining VH. When I provided that information the response was "I don't listen to that kind of music." Uh, you mean, rock and roll? Hopefully, I don't need to spell out the irony.

Labels: David Lee Roth, Rock Hall of Fame, Sammy Hagar, Van Halen

By: David Schultz

On March 13, 2006, Ed King, one of the key members of legendary southern rock forefathers Lynyrd Skynyrd was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. King, along with Gary Rossington, Billy Powell, Artimus Pyle and Bob Burns accepted the Hall of Fame accolades for Skynyrd and on behalf of departed members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Leon Wilkeson and Allen Collins. After spending the late sixties and early seventies with the psychedelic rockers The Strawberry Alarm Clock, King joined Skynyrd in 1973, giving them the powerful signature three guitar sound found on their first three albums, Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd, Second Helping and Nuthin' Fancy.

On "Sweet Home Alabama," King provides the song's defining riffs and solos after kicking the song off with an audible count off just before Ronnie's famous request to "Turn it up" - which wasn't planned as Ronnie was telling the engineer he needed more volume in his headset. On the night before the Hall of Fame ceremony, King appeared with his former band mates for the last third of Skynyrd's celebration concert at Times Square's Nokia Theater, joining in one more time on the song that helped propel Skynyrd into the classic rock pantheon. On the heels of his recent honors, Ed King graciously took the time to speak to Earvolution.

Earvolution: On the night before your induction into the Hall of Fame, you appeared on stage at the Nokia Theater, looking extraordinarily svelte. In fact I didn't think that the thin guy on stage could be Ed King.

Ed King: It took about 10 years for me to get to that point! It was a good thing that I came out to play with them. They were all very accommodating and I was treated like royalty.

Earvolution: It took 7 years for Lynyrd Skynyrd to finally be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, what do you attribute the delay too? Could you describe your feelings from that night?

Ed King: I still don't think the induction has fully sunk in. It's a great honor to be up there with the "greats" of the business. I believe the delay of the induction might have been due to the fact that there were so many members in the band; it was hard to decide who to induct. And maybe the committee didn't want a band with 2 original members playing at the award ceremony. So they wound up with 5 original members plus the 2 living original Honkettes, Jo Jo Billingsley and Leslie Hawkins.

Earvolution: Were you confident that it was only a matter of time before the Hall of Fame acknowledged Skynyrd's contributions?

Ed King: It's just real difficult to deny a band that sells over 2 million units per year for the past 30 years.

Earvolution: In the sense that Kid Rock has always been outspoken in his love for Skynyrd, what are your thoughts on Kid Rock and his part in keeping Skynyrd's music alive?

Ed King: I would've liked to have seen Al Kooper at the ceremony. There are a lot of mixed feelings about his involvement with the band. Some believe he exploited the band for his own gains. All I know is, he did a fine job producing those first 3 albums. He believed in Skynyrd when no one else did. As far as Kid Rock goes, he's quite a guy. We spoke for a long time that night at the Nokia. I've never known much about him but walked away thinking he was a proper choice for the ceremony. Hard to believe he was born 4 years AFTER I had my first #1 record!

Earvolution: Your appearance at the Nokia was described by some as miraculous. Would you share that assessment?

Ed King: Gary Rossington was very gracious in allowing me to share the stage with him. As far as how I felt about it, I am always glad to play but my emotions about playing have pretty well left me. It may have something to do with the fact I just don't think those songs are played with the same "feel" and "pocket" as they need to be. However, "Sweet Home Alabama" at the Hall of Fame show the next night felt perfect, thanks to (drummer) Bob Burns.

Earvolution: Over the years, a mythology has been created about and around Lynyrd Skynyrd. What are your favorite myths about the band?

Ed King: People ask me "What was Ronnie Van Zant like?" I always say, just listen to any 6 songs he wrote. He wrote about his life and his thoughts and he spoke like he sang: very poetic, very eloquent. So the "myth" is that Ronnie was all about whiskey, women and brawling. He was way more than that.

Earvolution: What are your fondest memories from playing with Skynyrd?

Ed King: We used to write and rehearse in a little 20 x 30 cabin out in the woods in Green Cove, Florida. It got hotter'n hell in there . . . 6 huge amplifiers add a lot of heat to an already scorching Florida sunshine. But we arrived EVERY morning at 8:30 . . . and never left til sundown. EVERY day. There were no hard drugs or alcohol at "Hell House." We arrived early every day wondering what great song would be written by day's end. That is my finest memory, even though my initiation into the band was spending every night out there for a week. We had to do that to guard against thieves coming up the creek behind the cabin and stealing our equipment! One morning an alligator had come ashore. And the noises out there at night scared me half to death. I slept with the lights on and a loaded .38 by my side. My finest memory!

Earvolution: Any young artists out there that you think can pick up and carry on some of the legacy your music will leave behind?

Ed King: It was hard back then and it's hard these days to find musicians who are talented AND WILLING to work long hours to perfect a craft. Most people just don't want to sacrifice that much. People think we partied all the time. Maybe on the road we did. But when it came to writing and recording, we were ALL business. And we all gave up A LOT to get where we wanted to go.

Labels: Ed King, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rock Hall of Fame