“BUZZ”Newspaper Article May 2012 (13- M) By: Rik “Dr. Rox” Schwinden aka Mr. Zero

AForeword by; Renee Dahring NP

I knew David as a friend for almost 25 years.  As a performerhe worked hard to do his best,  it didn’t matter to him if the audiencewas in the hundreds or the thousands, he always gave 110%. .  His fansknew he could be counted on to stay late, shake hands and sign autographs evenwhen he was exhausted.   He told me once “I never want to seemungrateful”.  He was that rare celebrity who believed he had aresponsibility to his fans.  On a personal level he was a kind andgenerous man and fiercely loyal to his friends.  As a professional, he wasa class act.  On all levels he will be missed greatly.

Hellofans Mr. Zero here, welcome back to yet another round,

As you may have heard David”Davy” Jones (David Thomas Jones 30 Dec 1945 Manchester, UK) of TheMonkees passed away on 29 Feb 2012. Some of you may remember I wrote an articleon The Monkees last June (you can re-read this article www.MrZeros.Com in the “Blog” section)for their 2 concert appearance at the Minnesota Zoo last 1-2 July 2011. As someof you may not know I own a “Used Music Shop” Mr. Zero’s in Roseville55113, as well as you may not realize this shop was named after a Monkees TVEpisode #52 “Devil and Peter Tork” from 5 Feb 1968. Monte Landisplayed “Mr. Zero” (the devil) who owned a pawn shop “Mr.Zero’s”. When we opened the shop I wanted a nondescript name that did notlimit what we could sell in the shop, as well as to give homage to the bandthat got me interested in music to begin with.

“HowDid You Start”    According to my Mom TheMonkees was one of the first bands & TV shows I liked as a toddler, as Igrew older I never stopped liking the music of The Monkees including their offshoots ‘Boyce & Hart’. Many years later when I quit traveling the road as amusician I started working for a music store chain called ‘RecordShop’ in 1986,fortunately for me at the height of The Monkees 20th anniversary reunion tour.Over the years I saw The Monkees in one form or another about 45 times fromIndiana to Arizona and all points in between. On those journeys I made somegreat friends and met some awesome people in my travels, many of them I amstill in contact with today, after almost 23 years later, such as Ace, Tim& MaryLee, Crazy Rob, Renee, Aggie, Bill, Jen, Cindy & Bonnie and wellthe list goes on and on. In addition to these wonderful people I was fortunateenough to meet The Monkees, Boyce & Hart themselves and many of the otherpeople involved in the whole Monkees project, in doing research for my book onThe Monkees “Here We Come: the touring history of The Monkees”.

“IOnce Did A Job For”    I first met David (he preferred to becalled David actually) in Chicago Aug 1990 through photographer Michael G.Bush, I was able to get David to sign a 1966 Vox guitar (in 1966 they had anendorsement with Vox) later on I was able to get Micky, Peter & Boyce &Hart to sign this same guitar (Nez passed on signing this). In Feb 1991 Davidperformed 2 shows down the street from where I was living in Des Moines, Iowa;I had a brief phone conversation with him one morning, and met him both nightsafter the shows. In March 1992 David contacted our mutual friend Cindy andasked her to ask me to fax to his hotel, some specific research I had compiledfor my book. David was requesting a history of his writing and producingcredits for The Monkees, as he was seeking to renegotiate his royalty deal withRhino Records, as the original deal had been set in 1965, and it was almost 30years later.

“YouHave A Contract’    Turns out David had eitherwritten or co-written some 16 songs and produced about 22 songs when he waswith The Monkees 1965- 1970. True many of his songs were not issued or used atthe time, and his music may not be to everyone’s liking, however I myselfreally enjoy what David coined as “Broadway Rock” some of David’sbest originals I feel we’re “You and I” (with Neil Young on LeadGuitar) a song about his fleeting fame a s pop star. “War Games” ananti war song aimed at the Viet Nam war. “The Poster” a tip of thehat to the Beatles “Mr. Kite” and several others like: “DreamWorld” “I’m Gonna Try” “Smile” and the original themesong for The Monkees movie “Head” which was originally titled”Changes”

“But,He Knows You”    I had met up with Davidmany other times over the years, 1994-95, 96, 97, 1999 etc, one time when Reneeand I were attending a Jones concert at the Wisconsin State Fair in July 2003,David invited us backstage, as we were leaving the backstage area, Renee lookedat me and said “You know Rik everyone knows Davy Jones” I replied”Yea…?” and Renee followed up with “Davy Jones knows you !!!”It was there and then, I realized how far I had come from a toddler watchingJones on TV to being a major fan, and on to an acquaintance … I really felt Ihad arrived as a true Monkee’s fan… A couple of years later in Sep 2005 Davidwas asked by Father Charlie to play the Church I attend St. John Neumann inEagan, MN. It just happened so that VH-1 was filming a special on David andVH-1 covered a book signing at The Brit Pub in downtown Minneapolis. At thefilming David and I began talking about various items fans had brought to getsigned I was surprised he knew about 90% of what people brought to him to getsigned. In between fan autographs David and I started joking around and theproducers of the show asked me to sign off and do a small scene with David fromthe reaction of the people in attendance, apparently we were quite humorous !!!However my scene was cut, hey you can only fit so much in a 45 min segment !!!

“TheLast Time”    I last spoke with David at theMinnesota Zoo last summer, and I am so glad I was able to see both shows (thanksTina & Todd) and I am so grateful I was able to. In closing I would like toconvey this message I had be in contact with David about a dozen times over thelast 20 years, and of all the Pop- Rock Stars I have met, and there have beenmany, Jones was one of the best. He knew ‘Which side his bread was buttered on’,this something he once said about himself and his fans, and there are a coupleof photos (1 in 1991 the other in 1997) of David and I joking around about thisstatement. He was always good to his fans and grateful for his fame. He will bemissed by many.

“WhatElse Did He Do”     As a life long fan it hasalways bothered me when people would say or ask “What has Davy done lately?”   The rest of this article will cover some of the many thingsDavid did over the years when we was not a Monkee. I am here to tell you, Joneswas always working, whether it be music, musicals or acting he was always outthere performing. He once said “My passport says ‘Entertainer” Whenhe wasn’t with The Monkees, Jones performed many “Solo Tours” hereare some of the years he was out on the road touring solo:

SoloTours: 1971, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1990, 1991, 1992,1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006

David released 1 LP and 4 Singles before The Monkees and 14 albums, a 5-CDBoxset and 13 singles after he was in The Monkees, the list is as follows:

“David Jones” 1965 Colpix CP-493  (LP & now on CD)

“Davy Jones” 1971 Bell # 6067  (LP on CD: 24 Apr 2012)

“Davy Jones Live” 1981 JAL-1003 (LP)

“Hello Davy” 1982 Pioneer K-10025 (LP & Laserdisc)

“Davy Jones Sings” 1983 K-Tel NA-587 (LP & Cass)

“Incredible” 1989 (cassette)

“It’s Christmas Time Again” 1991 (Cass & CD)

“Don’t Go” 1996 Hercules (CD)

“Just For The Record Volumes 1-4″ Hercules #9539 (5 Cass 1995 or CD 1999 BoxSet from 1963- 1996)

“Teen Idols 1998 Tour” 1998 (CD)

“Just Me” 1999 Hercules (CD)

“Just Me 2″ 2004 Hercules CJAM-7775 (CD)

“Daydream Believin” 2004 Hercules CJAM-7776 (CD)

“Live” 2004  Hercules CJAM-7777 (CD)

“Incredible Revisited” 2008 DavidTJones (CD)

“Let Them Be Little” 200? (CD)

“She” 2008 (CD)

“Monkees: Davy Jones The Works Retrospective” 2012 (CD)

Unofficial: “David Jones: The 45 Singles” (1996 Cass & CD 1999) “David T. Jones: Manchester Cowboy Rarities” (CD 2005)

1965 four 45 Singles on Colpix 1971- 72 four 45 singles on Bell 1972 -73 two 45 Singles on MGM 1978 a 45 Single for Disney on WB 1981 two 45 Singles on JAL 1982 a 45 Single on Pioneer 1984 a 45 Single on JJ 1987 a 45 Single on Powderworks 2006 “Your Personal Penguin” (CD)

TV: “An Evening with DavidJones”"Pop Goes Davy  Jones” “Here Comes theBrides” “Make Room for Grandaddy” “Love AmericanStyle” “Brady Bunch”"Scooby- Doo” “MervGriffin” “Steel Pier Show” “Sledgehammer” “My TwoDads” “The Single Guy” “ABC After School Special”"Country Kitchen”  “Herman’sHead” “Boy Meets World” “Lush Life” “Sabrina theTeenage Witch”

Movies: “Star Spangled Girl”"Bluegrass Special” “Brady Bunch Movie”

Musicals: “Oliver” 1964 (Artful Dodger)”The Point” 1977 (Oblio) “Jack and the Beanstalk”"Puss In Boots” “Dick Whittington” “Cinderella”1984  “Godspell” 1985  “Oliver” 1988 (Fagen)”Godspell” 1991 (Jesus) “Oliver!” 1993 (Fagin) “Rockand Roll Pom Pom Show” 1994 “Real Live Brady Bunch” 1994(Himself)  “Grease!” 1994 (Vince Fontaine)”Cinderella” 2006 (Buttons) (Thanks to: Bonnie Borgh for filling in the gaps for me)

I realize this particular article hasbeen a bit self indulgent, my apologies, however I have followed and listenedto and made this band a part of my life for more than 40 years. As a kid inSioux City all I wanted was to have a pop band, with 3 close friends and makesome fun music like The Monkees did… in many ways, that dream came true…Thank you, David, Micky, Peter, Michael, Tommy & Bobby. R.L.Schwinden of “Mr. Zero’s” Roseville, MN. 55113

Welcome Home Fans…

Recently, I was asked by the most beautiful and talented lady I have ever met, (a fiery red head named Heather of The Charlson Trio) if I was interested in seeing the 3D re-release of this Star Wars film, well I am no fool so naturally I said “Yes”. So off we went to a theatre in W. Des Moines, Iowa.(my former home of 14 years).

Now I had seen this film in the theatre when it first came out back in 1999. At the time I laughed at my Co-Worker Eggley for waiting in line over night. I thought it was ok, I did think even back then, it was a carefully planned strategic, franchised business venture. This was written with something for everyone, Queen Amidala as a female heartthrob, Ewen MacGregor for the young girls.

Darth Maul for the horror fans. Andy S. Mr.Zero’s fan (and star of their newest commercial) was quoted as saying  “Darth Maul has to be the biggest case of “Cinematic Blue Balls” in the history of the movie business. There was all this hype about Darth Maul and then the film comes out and there’s a few scene’s of him flying around the desert and one lightsaber fight and poof he’s cut in half… what a let down” My co-worker S. Lemon “The lightsaber duel is worth seeing in the 3D version alone”

And of course Jar Jar for the kids. Heather MacLennan (the beautiful redhead I attended this with) is quoted as saying  “I think Jar Jar (who pooped all over Episode 1, I’m not sure you really want to print that, Rik) must have been a favor called into George Lucas, because his character was not characteristic of the Star Wars we know and love.”

So I was eager to see how this film has aged over time. To my surprise I really enjoyed it (or maybe it was the company I was with) but I thought it held up really well all things considering, if you take into account, like I said this 1st film was written for kids, the star of the film Lloyd is a kid, to appeal to kids to get them hooked on the franchise for the next 2 films over the next 6 years. I don’t know that the 3D added anything to the overall film, but I did enjoy it much to my surprise.

Until the next time………..MrZero
With a special thanks to Heather for getting me to go.

By: MrZero;R.L.Schwinden

 How ya doin’ St. Cloud !!!

  Assome of you may not know I was a member of the staff that wrote the book “KISS:Alive Forever”.  Put out on Billboard Books in 2002 with ISBN # 0-8230-8322-5.  I had 27entries and conducted some 8 hours of interviews. I was recently asked then whyis it, I have not yet done an article on one of my favorite bands? My response:”There is too much to cover in a 3 page article. So in an attempt tosatisfy the fans, I narrowed the focus down to my favorite period of KISS 1974-75. When I was in Grade School in Jackson, MS. my buddy Greg A. gave me”Hotter Than Hell” for my birthday and I was never the same again, Ihad found what I had been looking for all my life, And away we go….

“The Birth”

   KISS was born from the ashes of the ‘Epic Label’ band “Wicked Lester” in Dec 1972.Gene $immon$ (Chaim Weitz: 25Aug1949 Haifa, Israel, then Eugene Klein NYC) onBass & Vocals, Paul Stanley (Stanley Harvey Eisen: 20Jan1952 Queens NYC) onVocals & Guitar, Peter Criss (George Peter John Criscuola: 20Dec1946Brooklyn, NYC) on Drums & Vocals & Ace Frehley (Paul Daniel Frehley:27Apr1951 Bronx, NYC) on Lead Guitar & Vocals. The band recorded a 5 songdemo tape on 13 Mar 1973 the tape contained: Deuce, Cold Gin, Strutter, Watchin You & Black Diamond. I wasable to interview Gene in Jun 1990 in Des Moines, IA. I was told “BlackDiamond” was started by Gene inspired by a brand name of guitar strings& or a brand of bowling ball, but finished up by Paul from someone he knewin NYC, Paul confirmed to me in interview I conducted with him in Oct 1990 inSioux City, Iowa. KISS recorded their 1st LP “KISS” from Oct- Nov1973 at Bell Sound Studios in NYC. It was released on Casablanca/ WB RecordsNB-9001 on 18 Feb 1973. The 1st version contained only 9 songs “KissinTime” was recorded later on in April 1973 for a 45 Single then later addedto new pressings of the LP.

 “Bring on the Heat”

   KISS relocated to LA in Aug- Sep 1974 to work with for the 2nd time, producersKenny Kerner and Richie Wise. The band being from NYC did not like thesurroundings of west coast California. The band lived out of hotel rooms withGene & Peter starting off as roommates because Gene said “Peter and Iwere a lot alike, in the fact we were both like giant little kids, we bothloved treats like Twinkies, Hostess Cupcakes etc. we used throw all our treatsin a pile on the bed and then divvy them up equally” until one day Paulwas frustrated went to Gene and asked Gene to please switch Ace for Peter as aroommate. On this same trip to LA Paul’s Custom Schecter ’72 “FlyingV” with the lower fin being longer than the top fin was stolen on the 2ndday of recording. This same guitar (I own the leather strap that came with it)was later traded to a friend of mine Kenny of the band “Patriot”sometime later in 1975 in Mynott, ND. for the ’74 black Gibson reversedFirebird Paul uses on the cover of “Alive”.  It originally had atobacco finish before Paul himself painted it black. Also on this visit Paulreceived his now infamous “Rose” tattoo from legendary tattoo artistLyle Tuttle. (this tattoo is rumored to have a copyright)

 “Rock N Roll Party”

   Staying on the westcoast was not going well for the band.  Ace was in a car accident on 23Aug 1974 which caused a problem when it came to photograph the frontcover.  Ace received a cut just over his right eye, preventing him fromapplying his entire face makeup.  To compensate, the right side of hisface was superimposed and airbrushed in. The costumes on the front cover wereworn from roughly May 1974 to Jun 1975. In an interview I did with Ace in Apr1990 in Phoenix, Ace told me “I still have my first two ‘Leathers’(1974-75 Costumes) and the Marshall amps I used on that tour” On the backcover the photos of Gene, Peter & Ace are shown with them wearing costumesthat as far as I know were only worn on the one occasion, specifically for theNorman Seeff photo shoot party. Interestingly Peter’s wife Lydia Criss was inattendance but Ace’s girlfriend Janette was not. The party got so wild and Paulgot so drunk someone decided it was a good Idea to lock him into his own car;the rumor is it took him half an hour to get himself out.

 ”Hotter Than Hell” NBLP-7006 (LP, 8Track, Cassette &CD)

   Wasreleased 22 Oct 1974 for me this is the most band cohesive album they ever didas the songs were written or co-written by 3 of the 4 members. As well as thelast album where all 4 members played their own instruments on every track (theonly other LP after this to have all 4 play on every track was “Rock NRoll Over” in 1976). The original title of the LP was “The HarderThey Come” recorded at the ‘Village Recorder’ in LA. I interviewed Peterin Dec 1993 in Chicago; he informed me “Hotter Than Hell” was hisfavorite KISS LP and that in fact his correct birth year was 1946.

 I am going to review the 8-Trackrelease of the LP as it is very rare and is not in the same running orderas the LP release. The 8-Track catalog number is # CABF-87006 & the tracklisting runs in this order:

 1. “Hotter Than Hell” Paul’stip of the hat to ‘FREE’s’ “Alight Now” apparently 1 of Paul’sfavorite songs and one of the few covers songs he would play with anyregularity.

 2. “Let Me Go Rock N Roll”Originally titled “Baby Let Me Go” Paul wrote the chord structurefirst and Gene wrote the melody & Lyrics later on.

 3.”Comin Home” Paul told me in Dec 82 “Eventhough it’s credited to both of us (Paul and Ace), I wrote the whole song. WhenI brought it into the studio, Ace wrote a few chords for the bridge &ending”

 4.”Parasite” Written by Ace and sung by Gene. When Iasked Paul about this one he said “It’s a great song, but by ’76 we had somany other great songs, something had to go from the set.”  When theyplayed this live they added an extra chorus to the end of the song.

 5.”All The Way” Originally titled “TalkinLouder”.  Another Gene song written before he was in KISS, perhapsfrom his days with the “Long Island Sounds” or “Bullfrog Beer”

 6. “Goin Blind” Originallytitled “Little Lady” written with Steven Coronel before Gene, Paul& Steven were in “Wicked Lester” Gene & Coronel also wrote“She” about the same time.

 7. “Watchin You” Geneused parts from 2 songs he liked by ‘Jeff Beck’ & ‘Mountain’ as inspirationfor this song which was also written well before KISS.

 8. “Strange Ways” Writtenwhen Ace was in ‘Milemo’ in the early 70′s so the rumor goes. Sung by Peter theoriginal version contained a several minute drum solo from Peter, cut outbefore the LP was released. Ace once said “I regret not singing lead onthat one.  The effect in the solo is the harmonic on the string from mythumb holding the pick” from my Apr90 interview.

 9.”Got To Choose” Paulreworked an R&B song “99 & 1/2 (Won’t Do)” by Wilson Pickett.This is hands down my favorite KISS song.

 10. “Mainline” Rumored to havebeen played live in concert 28Nov 1974 in Charlotte, NC. There’s a rumor aboutthis song, being written by Paul about Peter’s dabbling with heroin.

 One 45 Single was released for this LP”Let Me Go Rock N Roll” b/w “Hotter Than Hell” the songfailed to chart.

 ”Back on the Road”

  The tour for this LP started in Oct 1974 to Feb 1975, the bandplayed 53 concerts on this tour with other bands such as: Black Oak Arkansas(personal friends of mine), RUSH, Wishbone Ash, Jo  Jo Gunne, Foghat, REOSpeedwagon & James Gang (with Tommy Bolin), Trapeze, T.Rex & UFO. A TVcommercial was created to promote the LP & Tour using song snippets fromthe LP. When I interviewed Paul in Dec 1982, I asked him about this timeperiod.  He said “I have the ’74 Gibson ‘Midnight Special’  instorage in our warehouse in NY, it’s actually white with sparkles in thefinish, there were only about 25 made, as prototypes”.  There areonly 3 known recordings from this tour. One concert from 31 Jan 1975 was filmedin B/W in San Francisco, CA. at the Winterland Ballroom another concert wascaptured on Cassette from 18 Oct 1974 Hammond, IN. Here are the set lists asfollows.  Note: “She” would not yet be released until Mar 1975.

 18 Oct 1974 w/RUSH                     
Parthenon Theatre
Hammond, IN. (Audio recording)
Deuce
Strutter
Got To Choose
Firehouse
She (not yet released on LP)
Ace’s Solo
Nothin To Lose
Parasite
100,000 Years- Peter’s Solo
Black Diamond
Let Me Go Rock N Roll
Cold Gin

31 Jan 1975 (B/WVideo)
Winterland Ballroom
San Francisco, CA.
Deuce
Strutter
Got To Choose
Hotter Than Hell
Firehouse
Watchin You- Ace’s Solo
Nothin To Lose
Parasite- Gene’s solo into;
100,000 Years- Peter’s solo
Black Diamond
Cold Gin
Let Me Go Rock N Roll

 “In Conclusion”

  To me and Peter Criss this is the definitive KISS album as it was a true group and band effort. So if you haven’t heard this one or seenthe concert video do yourself a favor and check it out.
This article is dedicated to my Junior High School friends growing up on theWestside of Sioux City, Iowa, Spence & Chris C. & Eric W. oh, yea, andJohn S. Pyro too……

 Thank You Good Night, Twin Cities!

By: R.L.Schwinden aka MrZeroand Special Guest Editor Jason “Bakko”Bakken: of: ‘Jesus Chrysler’

Ok fans, as you may have heard David Jones just passed away on 29 Feb 2012 of a fatal heart attack.
In tribute to David I am reviewing “Head”

The Opening;
   I met David many times from 1990 to 2011, and in the 90s David asked me to do a research project for David on his music he wrote & produced for “The Monkees” and so I became an acquaintance of his. I was reminded of this when I was at Concert of his in Wisconsin, Jul 2003. I was with my friend ‘Doc’ when she was talking to David, then David looked at me and said “Hey, man how have you been? I haven’t seen you in a while…” I responded “Well that’s because you haven’t been around in awhile” David asked “So how’ve you been ? You two wanna come backstage” we answered “Sure” as we were walking back Doc said to me “You know everybody in the world knows who David is, but David Knows Who You Are !!!” I joked with David more than once I appreciated him because “He knew which side his bread was buttered on” meaning he was good to his fans because he knew they paid the bills !!!

So let the journey begin;
  First of all the film was originally titled “Changes” and a Theme song of the same name was written by David Jones and  recorded by the Monkees in 1968, before release the title was changed to “Head” as in ‘Head Trip’ The 4 Monkees, Bob Rafelson & Jack Nicholson went to a cabin in Ojai, CA. got high and wrote the basis for this movie MOST of the ideas used in the film were written by the 4 Monkees & Rafelson. Nicholson, just compiled them and assembled it into a screen play.

The Premise;
  The 4 Monkees had become disillusioned with the whole made for TV Pop Band situation and decided to make a film and poke fun at themselves !!! Prime examples are: The band are dandruff in Victor Mature’s hair as a TV commercial. Frank Zappa makes his 2nd Monkees appearance as a critic telling David “Your song’s pretty white” Micky gets fed up and explodes a ‘Coke’ machine with a tank (aimed at corporate sponsorship) Nesmith’s  bitter attitude towards his birthday and Christmas. Micky’s fed up with Hollywood and all it’s fakery in his scene with the lovely Teri Garr. Peter’s stance on wasting food and lending money. David expresses he just wants to dance and sing with Toni Basil (Oh, “Mickey” fame) who was David’s dance partner on more than this occasion. The famous boxer Sonny Liston (who had the ‘Phantom Punch’ with Ali) fights David, then Micky proclaims to be the dummy, but corrected by Peter that in fact he, Peter is the Dummy. In the 70s reruns of the film, the Viet Nam War footage was cut out for being deemed to controversial.
My personal favorite movie quote “You mean to tell me you don’t see the connection between the Government and laughing at people?”

The Music;
  There is a soundtrack for this film with songs and dialog,  upon my research this was a common thing to do in 1968 for film soundtracks. However there are only 7 songs for the hour and half film. There were many recorded and not used such as “Changes” “Down the Highway” “War Games” “Merry Go Round” “Look Down” “Hollywood” “Ceiling in My Room” & “If You Have the Time” was actually used in place of “Daddy’s Song” until the last minute when Nesmith produced the replacement Nilsson song for David. This is Tork’s shining moment, as he has 2 songs and great ones at that “Can You Dig It” & “Long Title” on this LP, as apposed to the 2 he had over 6 LPs before this. To prove a point the Monkees perform “Circle Sky” live in concert. Rhino Handmade CDs released a 3 CD Boxset of the soundtrack last year.

In Conclusion:
  “Head” is the a typical 60s Psychedelic film, full of imagery, humor, sights, sounds & color. If you love this stuff as much as I do this is a film for you. I am biased so I will give it 5 out of 5 ‘Peace Signs’

Until the next time………. R.L.Schwinden aka MrZero
   P.S. The name “Mr. Zero” came from The Monkees Episode # 52 “Devil and Peter Tork” from 5 Feb 1968 where Peter goes to Mr. Zero’s Pawn Shop to buy harp and accidentally sells his soul to the Devil who is “Mr. Zero” who was played by: Monte Landis.

“BUZZ”  Newspaper Article (K-11) March 2012

As St.Patrick’s Day (Ireland is 1 of 4 countries without snakes ie; the legendof St. Patty’s Day) is upon us I decided to cover the most successful IrishRock Band of All time “U2″ born out of a conservative country of 87%Catholics where up until 1979 the sale of contraceptive devices was illegal. 5school boys met from an ad posted on the wall at Mount Temple ComprehensiveSchool a new cutting edge project allowing Catholics & Protestants tointermix as well as Boys & Girls & no school uniforms. These 5 youngmen started out as “Feedback” in 1976.

The Players:
Larry; Lawrence Joseph Mullen Jr. (31oct1961 Dublin) started to include”Jr.” to his last name because his father “Sr” keptreceiving outrageous bills that Larry “Jr” was failing to pay as hehad not seen them, because they were delivered to the wrong address. Mullenhung an ad on the Mount Temple notice board looking for band members. Larryapproached fellow student Adam Charles Clayton (13 March 1960 Oxfordshire, UK)because Larry thought Adam looked so cool he had to be in the band.

There were 3 other young men who answered the ad Richard “Dik” Evans& “The Edge” (rumor is nicknamed for the shape of his chin) DavidHowell Evans (8 Aug 1961 Essex, UK) & Paul David Hewson (10 May 1960Dublin) “Bono” (rumor has it originally nicknamed ‘Monovox’ Latin for”One Voice”) Bono said in an interview “Irish nicknames are notgiven to be flattering, much like it’s the Irish way of thinking when you walkby a rich person’s house rather than thinking ‘Someday I’d like to be like thatguy’, you tend to think ‘Someday I’ll get even with that bastard” In thefall of 1976 the band change their name to “The Hype” then Dik Evansleaves the band in Mar 1978 to pursue his academics. The band become”U2″ in May 1978 the name was suggested by the singer of Irish punkband “The Radiators” Steve Averill.

Accomplishments:
The band scored 16 “Top 40″ hits between 1987 & 2009, and 12studio LPs from 1980- 2009. Back in the olden days bands used to release whatwas called a 45 Single with the “A-Side” designated as the hit andthe “B-Side” as a cast off usually thought to be not good enough toinclude on the LP. U2 made the best of this situation for their fans by usingthe “Flip Side” as a way to put out more songs than the standard LPcould hold. I have mentioned all the “Non-LP B-Sides” in theparagraphs below, as many of them are quite good.

“Boy” Oct 1980
A great first effort the stands for me are: “I Will Follow” “OutOf Control” & “The Electric Co” the 45 Singles contained the Non-LP B-Side “Things To Make And Do” “11 O’Clock (studio version) & “Touch”. U2 performed a concert at the now famous (First Ave.) “Uncle Sam’s”in Minneapolis on 9 April 1980 it’s been written that the band did an extensivesoundcheck in the club working on new material. Years later on 1 May 2001 onthe “Elevation Tour” Bono referenced this gig “With a guitar& 3 chords about 20 years later you get good enough to play across thestreet from where you first played this town” The following day 10 Aprilmy friend Dawn D. saw them in Ames, Iowa at The Fillmore (I think it becamePeople’s Bar & Grill) Dawn was able to met the band after the show and gotBono, Edge & Adam to sign a poster for this event, Larry was very sick andwaved to her through the bus window.

“October” Oct 1981
The follow up LP, the tunes I like best are: “Gloria” “I Threw ABrick” & “Stranger In A Strangeland”
with the Non-LP B-Sides “Out Of Control (Live ’81)” & “Boy-Girl (Live ’80)” “J. Swallo” and 3 live tracks from Boston, MASS. Mar 1981 “11 O’Clock Tick Tock” “The Ocean” & “Cry- Electric Co.”. It should be noted that Bono, Edge & Mullen had joined the”Shalom Fellowship” a Christian group that led them to question theerock n roll lifestyle. Edge in particular seemed to have the most problem withchoosing between his faith and rock n roll up until the fall of 1981. In 1982 there was a 45 Single released of “A Celebration” & “Trash, Trampoline & the Party Girl”

“War” Feb 1983
My favorite tracks on this one are “Seconds” “Surrender”& “Two Hearts Beat As One” including the Non-LP B- Side”Treasure; what ever happened to Pete the chop” which I do notbelieve has been released on anything else. While filming the video for”Sunday Bloody Sunday” the film crew used stunt doubles for the bandfor insurance purposes (rumor has it they used 4 Swedish women)

“Under A Blood Red Sky” Nov 1983
Their breakthrough “Live EP” recorded largely at “RedRocks” in Morrison, Colorado there was a concert VHS (only) released ofthis LP containing 4 extra tracks “Surrender” “Seconds”"I Threw A Brick” & “Party Girl”

“Unforgettable Fire” Oct 1984
The stand out songs for me being “A Sort Of Home Coming”"Pride” “MLK” (covered by Joan Baez in 1988)
The 45 contained the Non-LP B-Side “Boomerang 11″. On 13 July 1985 U2plays a 20 min set at “Live Aid” in London, UK at Wembley Stadium,consisting of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” & “Bad/ RollingStones:medley- Walk on the wildside” the band’s performance had run long and notonly do they not get to perform “Pride” the power gets cut to the soundsystem effectively ending their set.

“Wide Awake In America” May 1985
This EP was released to pacify the fans until the next full LP could bereleased containing “Bad” “Sort of Homecoming” Liveversions & “Three Sunrises” “Love Comes Tumbling” Ipersonally feel “Three Sunrises” is one of the greatest songs U2 everrecorded as well as the Non-LP ‘B-Side’ “Sixty Seconds In Kingdom Come”

“The Joshua Tree” Mar 1987
My favorite’s being “In God’s Country” “Bullet The BlueSky” & “Trip Through Your Wires”
Releasing 4 singles including the Non-LP B Sides “Luminous Times: hold onto love” “Walk To The Water” “Silver And Gold”"Sweetest Thing” “Spanish Eyes” & “Deep In TheHeart” My friend Roscoe saw the band on 20 Oct 1987 in Iowa City, Iowa @Carver Hawkeye Arena with the opening act “The Bodeans” Bono had hisarm in a sling for several weeks before this night.

Roscoe was kind enough to give a tape of the show here’s the set list:”Where the streets have no name” “I will follow” “Tripthrough your wires” “Still haven’t found what I am looking for”"MLK” “Unforgettable fire” “Exit” “In God’scountry” “Sunday bloody Sunday” “Help” “Peopleget ready” “Bad” “October” “New year’s day”"Pride” “Star spangled banner- Bullet the blue sky”"Running to stand still” “With or without you”"40″
Later this year U2 also recorded 2 songs with Robbie Robertson (of “TheBand”) on his 1st solo LP 1987 Geffen “Sweet Fire Of Love” &”Testimony”

“Rattle And Hum” Oct 1988
This unusual approach of combining a Live, Studio & Covers LP.  Willinclude the Non-LP B-Sides “Halleluiah Here She Comes” “DancingBarefoot” “Unchained Melody” & “A Room At TheHeartbreak Hotel” and a companion Film with 10 extra songs.The coloroutdoor footage was filmed in Tempe, AZ. at “Sundevil Stadium” on 19,20 Dec 1987, 2 of my sisters had tickets to one of these shows and missed outdue too excessive tailgating in the parking lot outside (so I am told) ???
Also recorded from this time period was “Jesus Christ” “Christmas; baby please come home)” & “Can’t Help Falling InLove With You” and a song for Roy Orbison (1936- 1988) “She’s AMystery To Me” released in 1989

“Achtung Baby” Nov 1991
The first all new music CD from the band in 4 years, my favorite tracks are 2,4, & 8  HaHa That’s how it became for us with the CD replacing LPs sothat translates to: “Even Better Than The Real Thing” “Until TheEnd Of The World” “Mysterious Ways”
  The Non- LP Tracks (as there is no flipside to a CD single): “AlexDescends Into Hell for a Bottle of Milk” “Lady With the Spinning Head(U.V.I.)”  “Satellite of Love” “Salome” “WhereDid it all Go Wrong?” “Paint it Black” “Fortunate Son”I personally feel “Lady” is one of the best songs from this period aswell as “Salome” also recorded earlier in 1990 was Cole Porter’s”Night And Day” for a tribute CD.

“Zoo TV Tour”
I saw U2 on 11 Sep 1992 in Ames, Iowa @ Cyclone Stadium and I supplied a tapeof the show to the authors of the book “U2 Live: A ConcertDocumentary” 1997 Ominbus Press (my entry can be found on page #155) theset list for that night was: “Zoo station” “The Fly”"Even better than the real thing” “Mysterious ways”"One” “Unchained melody” “Until the end of theworld” “New year’s day’ “Wild Rover” “Trying to throwyour arms” “Angel of Harlem” “When loves comes totown” “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for” “Satelliteof love” “All I want is you” “Sunday bloody Sunday”"Bullet the blue sky” “Running to stand still” “Wherethe streets have no name” “Pride” “I still haven’t foundwhat I’m looking for” “Desire” “With or without you”"Love is blindness” “Can’t help falling in love” man it wascold that night but we stood there the whole show, there was great stagedesign.

In conclusion I know I just cover the Irish band “Thin Lizzy” (newboxset due out this year) however I would like to point out I am Irish myGrandmother’s Name ‘Doughty’ and that so few bands come out of Ireland muchless achieve international success. So for this St. Patrick’s Day let’s allmake a toast to the 4 lads from Mount Temple….

Here we go fans, another installment sent in by “Mr. Zero’s” fan Wes S. my 2nd review of the new year, it’s 2012, yo… !
I had not heard of this film until recently given to me. As many of my close friends know I am a huge “Partridge Family” fan, as David Cassidy is in this I had to see it, as well as the McDonald brothers of the band “REDD KROSS”.

I found the acting to be over the top, but that’s what this dumb comedy needed, and I like Cassidy, even though he can be at times a one- trick pony, but the McDonald Brothers really shine in this film. Check out the out-takes at the end Cassidy “What’s this?” McDonald “Spam” and Olivia…  from “Wonder Years” my God this is a fine looking woman, but what I like best is her overbite, cute & sexy (no joke fans) and Garrett well he is solely a No trick pony .

The premise is in the future everything is gray and bleak because the original constitution of the USA was lost in the past . Cassidy a non-conformist is building a time machine,  is asked by the government to use it to go back to 1776 and recover the lost document. Here’s where the plot thickens, something goes wrong and they end up in 1976, oh man who could have guessed it, right ??? Let the Shenanigans begin !!! Well being a Pop Culture Historian I can tell you at times it is slightly inaccurate, but not enough to ruin the period piece. I love the color and the style myself (although I realize it is not for everyone).

Some of the music I can do without, the only people who really like Disco, were not around when it was popular the first time. There is a soundtrack CD on Rhino Records, if you’re curious. Oh yea ‘REDD KROSS’ is really good too “Third Eye” 1990 Atlantic & “Phaseshifter” 1993 TWU I strongly recommend for your retro listening enjoyment !!! As far as David Cassidy songs I recommend “I’ll Meet You Halfway” “No Bridge I Wouldn’t Cross” “Ricky’s Tune” “Summer Days” & “Rainmaker” and the list goes on and on…(shut up Bakko)

An honorable mention to Liam O’Brien as Rodney Snodgrass he did a great job, everybody knows a NERD like this and everybody can’;t stand him… O’Brien did a great job, it was however his only film. Boo…? Cheers to Wes for bringing me this film gem, If you like stupid time period comedies then here’s one for you, I myself liked it and will give it 3 out of 5 “Peace Signs”
Until the next time… Mr Zero

I saw this as a kid and moved me even back then. In the future American Airlines had built 3 spaceships, The Valley Forge, the Berkshire & one other, to hold all the last natural environments on earth. Freeman Lowell is the only Astronaut left that cares about the last remaining forests, trees, gardens & the animals that occupy them. The earth (clearly run by Republicans) decides it is no longer “Cost Effective” to maintain the last of the earth’s natural environments. (much like when the Republicans denounced Alien lifeforms because “There is NO financial gain in space travel”). So the crew begins to explode the the Eco- domes, and Lowell snaps, he ends up killing his ship mates in order to save the the very last Eco- dome containing the forest which he loves.

Losing himself and the ship in space Lowell becomes lonely and reprograms the maintenance drones in order to keep himself company. An awesome performance from the actors in the drones as they bring personalities to these robots without faces. In the end I personally feel Lowell’s guilt over comes him and brings us to the ending of the film. There are 2 fantastic songs performed by Joan Baez (who I met many years ago and have a great story about this meeting) “Rejoice in the Sun” & “Silent Running”  So if you are remotely concerned about the planet we All Live On, this film is worth watching at least once, especially if  you have children….

Until the next installment….
Happy 2012, MrZero

*Meeting the Guys:
 I first met Tommy Boyce in Jun 1986 at a Monkees concert in Des Moines, Iowa. I later met up with Tommy, and then also met Bobby Hart (& Tommy’s 1st wife Bobbi) in Chicago Aug 1990 at a Monkees Convention. I remember Tommy saying “That’s quite a girlfriend you have there, mind if I give her a kiss?” I said without thinking “If I can kiss your wife” Tommy said “Fine with me” Many years later a girlfriend of mine would inform me that she used to wait on Tommy at “Barbara’s Bar” in Nashville “He used to sit on the end of the bar and order Jack & Coke”  
Through Bobby I met Drummer Billy R. Lewis in 1993 and I became friends with both Bobby & Billy and eventually Tommy’s 2nd wife Caroline, after Tommy’s death. In 1995 I put together a rough draft presentation of a “Behind the Music: Boyce & Hart: Two for the Price of One” unfortunately we could not find a producer to pick up (fund) the project. I was such a huge fan of B&H, I had Bobby record an answering machine message for me in 1995 I used for many years, I used to get some ribbing from my friends about that, but it sure kept the telemarketers at bay.

*The Cast of Characters:
Tommy Boyce (Sidney Thomas Boyce, 29 Sep 1939 Charlottesville, Virginia- RIP: 23 Nov 1994 Nashville, TN)
Bobby Hart (Robert Luke Harshman, 18 Feb 1939, Phoenix, Arizona)
The Candy Store Prophets: 1965-1967
Billy Reid Lewis (14 Aug 1940 Santa Monica, CA- RIP: 7 May 2005), Louie Shelton (6 Apr 1941 Little Rock, Ar)   & Larry “The Mole” Taylor (Samuel Taylor 26 Jun 1942, NYC) Gerry McGee (1937 Eunice, Louisiana)

* Solo 45 Single Records
Tommy Boyce released  18 singles from 1960 to 1973 on various labels such as: Dot, RCA, Colpix, MGM, A&M, R-Dell, WOW, Capitol & Chelsea. Some of his best songs: “Come Here Joann” “I’ll Remember Carol” “Let’s Go Where the Action Is” “Pretty Thing” & “Eve Laurain” Tommy’s 1st solo LP was “A Twofold Talent” in 1968 on RCA- Camden (his 1961-63 RCA recordings) and also released a solo LP under the name “Christopher Cloud” in 1973 on Chelsea records.

Bobby Hart released  14 Singles from 1959 to 1980 on various labels as: Guyden, Radio, Reel, Bamboo, Era, Infinity, DCP, Chelsea, Warner Bros. & Ariola. Some of his best songs: “Love Whatcha Doin To Me” “Hard Core Man” (from “Freebie & The Bean” 1974 WB) & “Lovers For The Night” Bobby released a solo LP in 1979 titled “The First Bobby Hart Solo Record”

Tommy and Bobby met in 1959 in LA at a recording studio Bobby worked at, the 1st meeting was to help a mutual friend Curtis Lee break into the music biz. B&H began writing together in 1960 at first writing what they called answer songs for example Jim reeves had a song titled “He’ll Have To Go” so B&H wrote a song called “She’ll Have To Stay” in their writing style it was generally one finishing up a song the other had brought to the table. B&H were brought into the famous Brill Building a song writers office in NYC where they started churning out the hits starting with “Lazy Elsie Molly” a #40 hit on 11Jul1964 for Chubby Checker.

*Hey hey the Man with the Golden Ear
B&H were hired by “The Man With The Golden Ear” Donnie Kirshner in 1965 to write hit pop songs for the new 1966 TV Show “The Monkees” Kirshner liked their song “Come A Little Bit Closer” #3 hit for Jay & the Americans on 21Nov1964. So the duo went to work and penned 3 songs for the pilot episode “Theme from the Monkees” “I Wanna Be Free” & “Let’s Dance On” in fact B&H wrote more songs for The Monkees,  than any other outside writers26 in total,  with the exception being Michael Nesmith. B&H have at least 1 song if not up to 7 songs on 8 of the 9 original 60s Monkees LPs  including songs on their 1986- 87 reunion LPs.

One of my all time favorite songs “Words” recorded in 1966 & again 67 I asked Tommy “where did the inspiration come from” Tommy replied “Bobby & I used to fly from New York to LA all the time and the was a stewardess we used to see on most of our flights, one time she gave us a card and inside it said in big letters “WORDS, are not enough to express what you two mean to me” so we used that as the title and it went from there”. Also in 1965 the duo were hired to write the theme music for a new daytime soap opera “Day’s Of Our Lives” Bobby recalled “Originally each character had their own theme music when they entered the room or scene”

Boyce & Hart also wrote songs for such varied artists as: Fats Domino, The Ikettes, Freddy Cannon, Herman’s Hermits, Del Shannon, Paul Revere & Raiders, Little Anthony & Imperials, The Astronauts, Austin Roberts, Helen Reddy, Partridge Family, Josie & Pussycats, Keith Alison, Boston Tea Party, Pineapple Heard,  Ray Peterson, Dino, Desi & Billy, Iggy Pop, ShowWaddyWaddy, Connie Cato, Kathy Garver, Sunday Sharpe, Willie Burgundy Five, Robbie Nevil, New Edition, Latoya Jackson, Scooby Doo and so many more….

*At the Record Shops
Boyce & Hart released 3 LPs the 1st is “Test Patterns” in 1967 stand out tracks to me are: “Shadows” “For Baby” & “Life” their 2nd LP  “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight?” in early 1968 stand out tracks for me are: “Two For The Price Of One” (Larry Wiliams & Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson) “Teardrop City” & “Population” their 3rd and final LP was “It’s All Happening On The Inside” in late 1968 with stand out tracks to me being: “Strawberry Girl” “Jumpin Jack Flash” & “My Baby Loves Sad Songs” and in an unusual move B&H with their band recorded an entire LP with Trini Lopez “The Whole Enchilada” in 1969 on Warner Bros. with 3 B&H songs including “Sunshine Park”. Billy Lewis told my about this LP in 1993 and I finally found one 12 years later.

*Billboard Pop Hits:
Boyce & Hart released 9 Singles from 1967 to 1969 which 8 of them were on A&M  “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonite” #8 on the charts 24Feb1968, b/w “The Ambushers” from the 1967 Dean Martin film of the same name. “Alice Long” #27 on the charts 2Aug1968, “Out And About” #39 on the charts 5Aug1967, “Goodbye Baby” # 53 on the charts 27Apr1968, b/w “Where Angles Go” from the 1968 Stella Stevens film of the same name.

The last one on their own ‘B&H Aquarian’ “I’ll Blow You A Kiss in The Wind” & “Smilin” from the TV show ‘Bewitched’ on 19 Feb 1970 in “Serena Stops the Show” oddly enough “Smilin” was re-written as a “Coca Cola” jingle in 1969. B&H also appeared on the TV show ‘Flying Nun’ 20 Mar 1970 in “When Generations Gap” the performed the songs “Let’s All Take A Trip To Nashville” & “I Thank You”

*Stories from the Road:
In 1968 B&H got involved with the Robert Kennedy Presidential Election Campaign, as well as the campaign to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 and to promote this message their 8th single was titled “L.U.V.” (let us vote). My long time friend Larry saw B&H perform at the Robert Kennedy Memorial Concert at the Minneapolis Met Center with Sonny & Cher as the headliner except Cher was pregnant with Chasity and Sonny went on by himself and a girl they found locally to fill in for Cher. Bobby remembered “Yea, once we heard what was going to happen we went on first and got the heck outta there” Billy Lewis recalled “The Moody Blues” were on the bill too, however their equipment was held up in customs so they couldn’t perform that night” My friend Larry remembered “I saw the Boyce & Hart Logo stenciled on the side of the band’s equipment cases and thought Oh, man that must be the life, to be a musician”  The band also did a concert on top of a bank building in downtown Des Moines, Iowa when asked Bobby remembered “Oh, yea that was a freebie, I’m sure…”

In Dec 1969 when B&H were the opening act for Zsa Zsa Gabor in Las Vegas when some producers approached to do their own TV Show set for fall 1970, B&H & band filmed a live concert in Phoenix for use in the upcoming TV Show. The end of B&H came when their Manager Chuck Ashman took off with a large sum of money during the Las Vegas stint with Zsa Zsa, Tommy was devastated as he looked at Ashman as a mentor, not just a manager. Tommy was so distraught he left the music & show biz for a couple years. Many years later in 1994 Tommy was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and informed it was inoperable and could eventually erupt and leave him in a coma state. Tommy did not want to end up this way so he took matters into his own hands and chose to end his own life with a .22 pistol on 23 Nov 1994. Bobby is currently working on his Book and his own websites such as www.bobbyhart.net .

*In Closing…
I will admit a lot of people have not heard of Boyce & Hart, but all most every one has heard at least one of their songs and that was the point of this particular article. I have to give acknowledgement to my long time friend Lew Claussen, for whom without his vast knowledge I would not have obtained the massive B&H Collection I have today…..

Until, the next one…………

“RUSH: 1968-1981″

Hello there fans,
This month I would like cover another one of the biggest inspirations in mylife, my Aunt Cat turned me onto these guys in 1977 with “2112″ this bandgot me interested in reading and writing, playing bass and expanding my mind.My Mom (Carol) bought me a ticket to see them for a 9th grade graduationpresent, one of my first concerts. I went to see them on the”Farewell To Kings Tour” May 1978 with my childhood friendsSpencer & Chris. It changed my life, when I saw Geddy Lee up there singing”Anthem” I knew that’s what I wanted to do with my life. Well I triedto anyway….

*Finding My Way: 1968-1974
It all started in Willowdale, Toronto, Ontario, Canada when 2 high schoolfriends Alex Lifeson (Aleksandar Živojinović 27 Aug 1953) on guitar and drummerJohn Rutsey

( John Howard Rutsey 14 May 1953 – 11 May 2008) with JeffJones on Vocals & bass (who went on to play in ‘Red Rider’) formed a bandsummer 1968 according to rumor as “Head Rush” Geddy has said”Alex used to call me to borrow my amp, and then one weekend he called toborrow me” Geddy Lee (Gary Lee Weinrib: 29 July 1953) replaced Jonesshortly after the band was formed. The nick name Geddy came form his PolishGrandmother’s Yiddish accent trying to pronounce Gary.  The trio ofLifeson, Rutsey & Lee recorded the 1st 45 “Not Fade Away” &”You Can’t Fight It” in 1973 in concert they perform an unreleasedtrack “Garden Road” and covers like “Fire” &”Sunshine of Your Love” as well as  the 1st LP “RUSH”on Moon Records on 1 July 1974. The stand out tracks to me are: “BeforeAnd After” “What You’re Doing” & “HereAgain” Rutsey was to leave the band in July 1974 due to diabetes andreplaced by Neil Peart, pronounced Pee -ert. (Neil Ellwood Peart 12 Sep 1952)form the local band “JR Flood”

*Fantastic dreams come true: 1975
With Peart on board the band are literally reborn, now Peart will be writingthe majority of the lyrics and changing the direction of the band culling formsources such as Ayn Rand, J.R.R. Tolkien & science fiction themes. Lee& Lifeson will focus on writing most of the music. The 2nd LP “Fly ByNight” is released on 15 Feb 1975 stand out tracks to me are: “Anthem”"In The End” & “Beneath Between Behind” for some reasonthe band was still performing the cover song “Bad Boy” by: LarryWilliams in concert.  ‘RUSH’ has the honor of being the band that openedfor ‘KISS’ more that any other band in the 70s, it has be inferred that Peter Criss& Peart and Ace Frehley & Lifeson and Paul Stanley & Lee becamereally good friends on the road in 1975. The band releases the 3rd and theirleast successful LP “Caress Of Steel” on 24 Sep 1975, in my opinionthe 1st 3 songs are the best “Bastille Day” “Lakeside Park”& “I Think I’m Going Bald” with a mini epic”Necromancer” and all of side 2 a concept story. I heard a road tourstory that I asked Paul Stanley about in Dec’82 and Paul confirmed On the verylast show of RUSH opening for KISS, RUSH came out in KISS makeup and played”Rock N Roll All Nite” so Gene & Paul, threw cream pies at Geddy& Alex. During KISS’ set Geddy dressed like a Native American Indian withtoy headdress & toy bow & arrows shooting the toy arrows at the 3members in front, Alex let loose a bag of marbles across the stage, one mightthink harmless, Paul stated “Not to 3 guys in 7″ platform shoes”

*Just how close I came tomissing: 1976
In 1976 the band record their finest work to date. “2112″ and beginto use their most identifiable logo. Drawing once again from Ayn Rand and thebeginning of borrowing from the greatest Sci-Fi writer of all time Rod Serlingwho hosted and wrote much of the “Twilight Zone” CBS -TV 1959 -64.The band’s 4th LP is released on 1 April 1976. On tour the band record 3 datesat Massey Hall in their home town and release their 1st “LiveConcert” LP “All the World’s A Stage” 29 Sep 1976, like most ifnot all live LPs of the day several songs are “Sweeted” in the studio,the difference here being ‘RUSH’ prints a statement admitting this fact insidethe jacket !!!!

*They cannot steal yourdreams: 1977
In 1977 the band take some well deserved time off the road, and spend much moretime to record their 5th LP “A Farewell To Kings” released on 1 Sep1977(common practice in those days to release your LP in Sep to capitalize onthe Xmas buying season, the idea being if you release your LP in Sep you have 3months for it to gain momentum and sell extremely well in Dec for Xmas). Standouts for me: “Cygnus X-1″ “Cinderella Man” &”Xanadu” drawing from a poem by: Samuel Taylor Coleridge from 1797. Theband embark on the 1st extended tour for a single LP. As I 1st saw them on 26May 1978 to the best of my knowledge this is the set list from that night.

26 May 1978 w/ Uriah Heep
Sioux City, Iowa Auditorium
Anthem
Bastille Day
Something For Nothing
Closer To The Heart
Farewell To Kings
By-Tor & The Snowdog
Xanadu
Cygnus X-1
Passage To Bangkok
2112 (medley)
In The Mood
Working Man

*Every soul a battlefield: 1978 -1979
In early 1978 while on tour for “A Farewell to Kings” the band do aretail move that as far as I know KISS is the only other band to do this, just2 years earlier. RUSH Releases a 3- LP Set entitled “Archives” whichis a repackage of their 1st 3 LPs in one set. Many other bands released a 2- LPbest of their early works like “Deep Purple” &”Journey” but this set was the first 3 complete. Again taking longerbetween studio LPs and turning out more complex works on 29 Oct 1978 the bandrelease their 6th LP “Hemispheres” in reference to the human left& right brain. Stand out tracks for me are: “Circumstances”"The Trees” as well as RUSH begins to admit their favorite part oftheir live set each night is when they get to perform their instrumentals andloosen up a bit. Side #1 is part 2 of the continuation of “CygnusX-1″ It is about this time the whole music industry is changing and goneare the days of 2 LPs per year (about 9 months apart) and almost every bandmoves to 1 LP per year. Strangely RUSH is touring so much behind”Hemispheres” there is no new LP in 1979, band do however begin torecord the next LP from Sep- Oct 1979.

*Shatter the illusion ofintegrity:  1980
A new decade and a new LP “Permanent Waves” is released on 1 Jan 1980the band’s big commercial break through with three 45 singles released fromthis LP and “The Spirit Of Radio” charting at #51. There is one trackrecorded and not included “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” In 1980the Canadian band, “Max Webster” is an opening act for RUSH, in anunprecedented move all 3 members agree to record with “Max Webster”as both bands collaborate and record a track “Battle Scar” from 1980″Universal Juveniles” with both Kim Mitchell & Geddy Lee singingleads, the song is performed live and offers the band way to change over from theopener to the headliner. RUSH is now becoming a house hold name. The bandrecord a concert 14 Feb 1980 in St. Louis, MO. @ Keil Auditorium and was broadcast on the “King Biscuit Flower Hour” the stand out to me was”Natural Science” in concert.

*In mental andenvironmental change: 1981
This when the band becomes forever immortal with the release of “MovingPictures” on 12 Feb 1981 again three 45 singles are released with”Tom Sawyer” reaching #44 & “Lime Light” hitting #55 (Ialways thought it was odd, fans never caught the line “I can’t pretend astranger is a long awaited friend” refers to the FANS !) The band recordsconcerts 3 dates in Jun 1980 in Glasgow @ the Apollo & 1 date in Mar 1981at the Montreal Forum, for their 2nd live LP “Exit ..Stage Left” thecover designers wanted to use a photo of the band exiting the stage for thecover, however they could not find a quality photo of all 3 members leaving thesame side of the stage at the same time. Highly unusual for the time the bandrelease a 2nd LP in 1981 on 29 Oct 1981 (starting around 1982 most bands wouldbe regulated to releasing an LP every other year including RUSH). As well as aformat long forgotten now the “RCA Video Disc” essentially a laser etchedvinyl record enclosed in a hard shell plastic cover that when inserted into aVideo Disc Player you could watch the concert of the record LP. Yes VHS wasaround and probably about the same price VHS in 1985 carried a list price of$79.95, coincidentally RCA- Vision was the largest manufacturer and distributorof Music VHS.

So this is the end of chapter #1- A, I shall revisit this band again in thefuture.
So. good luck into the future of  2012.

I was asked recently “Why, don’t review newer films in theaters” So here we go, fans
Now ordinarily I do not see films like this, however in this case I went with an
extremely attractive, intelligent, humorous blond lady !!! So as you might Imagine I was happy to go…

Where do we begin, lets start with Robert Downey Jr. well I can never really get past his (real life) performance in “Less Than ZERO” as well as when my Dad, Dr. W.A. Schwinden Jr. was the on site Psychotherapist for a certain California Penal Institution, his very first patient was in fact none other than Mr. Robert Downey Jr. and how Downey’s real life antics mirror his on screen characters. But !!! here’s a guy who truly gets better with age.

As I mentioned this kind of film is not really my bag, I did. However I enjoyed it. I have been told most Guy Ritchie  films are kind of done in the same theme, view forward, the scene happens in slow motion, and the a rewind. Which I personally feel is essential to this film, the viewer gets a look into the mind of Sherlock, what he sees and an idea of how he thinks… I am on the fence about Holmes disheveled look in this film and his fringe of madness attitude. I was captivated by Moriarty I feel this part was played beautifully by Harris. I think there’s enough for everybody, drama, comedy, action, intrigue & mystery. I am not too drawn to Rapace, however I find McAdams, smashing !!! There a great scene with McAdams and Holmes brother…

In closing, if I can enjoy a film that I know is really not my thing, then that’s a good film. I give it a 3 Stars.

Until the next time….MrZero