Rock N Roll Road Stories Volume 1
Ok, so I have been threatening to start this column for a long time now and I
think the only thing that has kept me from writing it is…a starting point.
I make my living (or try to) as a manager of rock n roll bands. This sudden
urge to be in charge came to me after about fourteen years of working for the
man. Being a manager of a rock n roll
band requires more of my knowledge from taking Milt Teguis
Psychology class at Bartlett High School(inside joke for the locals) many moons
ago than it does on what I learned from working at record companies. This is how it is when you manage people. You
not only manage them, but you manage their problems as well and their egos.
This is key though because if you don’t have a big
ego, you are never going to be a rock star anyway. None of this, of course,
directly has anything to do with this column.
I recently hit my 20 year mark of working in the music business and I’m still
alive and not in jail or a mental institution.
You think I’m joking? Well, I’m not. It is a very difficult business and
an even more difficult way to make a living.
Through it all, I have learned many valuable lessons and have come to
the conclusion that other than writing, I could probably never succeed at any
other career. It’s my life. I married it a long time ago and the divorce is
nowhere in sight. Ok, so some days I
hate it, but most of the time all I have to do is listen to the music and it
pulls everything into perspective for me.
It’s not a bad way to live, at least for me.
With Rock N Roll Road Stories, I would like to take you folks on a journey
through the past, present, and into the future. Your participation is most
definitely required. Please feel free to e-mail me at steev@twistedrico.com,
with any questions, comments, ideas for this column or even just to say HI!
This week we are going to talk about the greatness that a DVD has brought to
the music business. There is nothing cooler than bridging music and video
together and making documentaries about the whole art. There are many great
music DVD’s available these days and it would be impossible to write about them
all, so instead I have chosen some of the best ones on the market.
Let’s start with in my opinion the best music documentary made so far, Martin Scorcese’s The Last
Waltz. This is an absolute
masterpiece, which is based on the last show that The Band ever played. Not
only does the concert footage feature a flock of great special guests such as
Dylan, Young, Mitchell, Diamond, Van Morrison and Muddy Waters, but the
interview footage done by Scorcese himself is
brilliant. Both Robbie Robertson,
guitarist and Rick Danko (RIP) bassist are characters
with stories and personality to go along with their superb musicianship.
Listening to them talk, to me, is the best part of this film. The performances
are also quite amazing. It’s hard to
single out any in particular because they are all shot so well, but if I had to
choose any segment it would have to be the somewhat obvious reunion of Dylan
with The Band. The DVD also contains a
spontaneous jam session, which is absolutely fascinating.
When Freddie Mercury passed on, it
was a real rock n roll tragedy that Queen Fans have never recovered from. The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, which
was also a concert for AIDS awareness, is a must DVD for not only fans of Queen
but fans of rock music in general. The
great remaining members of Queen; Brian May, John Deacon, and Roger Taylor hosted and played with some of
the greatest British rock stars ever, as well as some pretty big American bands
who journeyed to Wembley Stadium in England to help
out. This DVD features some of the
greatest live performances that you will ever see captured on video. It’s very difficult to single out the
highlights, but let me try and summarize. Def Leppard,
Metallica, Guns and Roses, and Extreme all played
sets to open the show and get the crowd going. Once the sun went down, Queen
came out and backed up a host of stars including David Bowie, Annie Lennox,
Robert Plant, Roger Daltry, Elton John, and George
Michael to just name a few.
Rising Low is a film by Mike Gordon
which is not only a tribute to the late Allen Woody, bassist of Government
Mule, but a documentary about the making of The Government Mule’s recording
project “The Deep End”. The Deep End featured twenty- five of the greatest bass
players in the world all playing on this ambitious album with Warren Haynes and
Matt Abts, the remaining members of perhaps the
greatest southern jam band ever. If you
are musician or a fan of musicians, you have to see this DVD. Chris Squire (Yes), John Entwistle
(The Who), Jack Cassidy (Hot Tuna/
Iggy Pop is the godfather of punk rock and
when he recently reunited with The Stooges, it was one of the greatest
reminders of how it all started. Iggy & the
Stooges “Live in
“Dig” is a fascinating film that follows
the careers of two American bands on a seven year course. This no holds barred story that features the
rise, fall, and rise again of two bands, Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy
Warhols. BJM’s Anton Newcombe steals the
show just being his crazy, unpredictable self. There is great on stage footage,
but it’s mostly the off stage antics that make this both special and at times,
disturbing. If you want to see the not so glamorous side of the music business,
this film makes some startling revelations about what it really takes to
survive and thrive in this business. The
late great Greg Shaw (Bomp Records) also makes a
couple cameos in the film, which is pretty cool.
There are many more great music oriented DVD’s out there and many, many more in
the works. That’s it for Rock N Roll
Road Stories; catch you next time with Volume 2 e-mail Steev
Riccardo at steev@twistedrico.com