Born to Pedant

As attentive readers are aware, I've been in the studio lately working on a re-make of this classic by The Byrds (for a Steve solo single. I kid you not.)



Since I haven't put my lead vocal on yet, it sounds great, but imagine my surprise when I realized that I had misheard one of the lyrics for all these years. The line in the first verse is "but no one hears my silent tread," not "silent prayer," which neither makes sense nor rhymes.

Glad I learned that in time.

Have a great weekend, everybody. And apologies for not having time to have gotten a Listomania ready for today. Next week for sure!

Closed for Monkey Business

Traces of mercury have been found in Nutella.

Seriously -- regular postings, starting with a Weekend Listomania, will resume on the morrow.

Your Wednesday Moment of Words Utterly Fail Me

An obituary from Monday's Times completely gobsmacked me.

I didn't really know Springfield/Beschta, but I was in a band with her for a very short period of time; I'm not sure if it was just for a rehearsal or two or whether we actually gigged. Still, I thought she was an interesting character, but I completely lost track of her after our musical brief encounter, and I had no idea how truly remarkable the arc of the second half of her life was.

Here she is earlier this year. If I had bumped into her then, I wouldn't have had a clue.

You can read the entire Times obit over HERE.

Things I Never Thought I'd Say (An Occasional Series)

I am genuinely looking forward to seeing Rick Wakeman in concert.

Yeah, yeah, I know; I have never been a fan of either Yes or prog in general. However, I interviewed the guy once back in the mid-70s, when he was touring one of those stupid spectacle-rock things that were all the rage then; I think it was something like King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table On Ice. And to my surprise he turned out to be utterly charming, unpretentious and basically the most hilariously funny celeb I ever killed an hour and a half with over drinks and lunch.

That being the case, I will be attending his new show when it comes to my old stomping grounds in Jersey in October; if you'd like more info on the tour, you can get it HERE.

POSTSCRIPT: When I interviewed Wakeman, he let it drop that during his early days as a session guy, he had played on the 1970 album by The Pipkins (although not on their hit single "Gimme Dat Ding").

That's right -- Wakeman is tickling the ivories on THIS immortal classic.


Obviously, it was a long strange trip between that and Tales From Topographic Oceans.

Who Listens to the Radio (An Occasional Series)

From 2019, and their just released EP...

..., please enjoy indie power-pop killers Thrift Store Halo and their quite remarkable "Once."



I was unaware of these guys until last week, when I heard the song above (on yet another internet radio show that was also featuring music by one of my old bands) and it dropped me in my tracks. To these ears it sounds like Graham Parker fronting The Easybeats, which is quite a remarkable achievement.

In any case, it turns out that TSH formed in Chicago in 1994, went on a nearly two-decade hiatus in 1998, and then came roaring back with new music in 2017 (a career arc that I can relate to, for obvious reasons). You can find out more about them, as well as links to download more of their music, at their official website HERE.

Who Listens to the Radio? (An Occasional Series)

From 2018, please enjoy Tad Overbaugh and the fiendishly catchy twang-fest that is "Open Road and Blue Sky."



I was not aware of Overbaugh or that song until yesterday, when I heard it on an internet radio show (that coincidentally featured a song by a band whose bass player's name rhymes with Sleeve Nimels). But it absolutely blew me away, and I can offer no higher praise then to say I would have killed to play on it.

In any case, turns out Overbaugh and his band are long-time faves in Boston, and he's got three records out; you can learn more about him (and download more of his music) over HERE.

Have a great weekend, everybody!!!

An Ill Wind That Blows Nobody Good

Okay, I'm going to hell for that joke.

But in the meantime please enjoy singer/songwriter Ruthann Friedman and her version of a song she gave to The Association who had a huge hit with it (and hopefully it fattened her bank account commensurately).



I must confess I had never heard that till yesterday; I don't think it's quite as transplendent as the Assocation version, but you can clearly understand why the band pounced on it.

[h/t Frank De Stefano]

When We Paint Our Masterpiece

Finished the new, and forthcoming in a month or so, Floor Models album last night.

Here's the last track we worked on. I think it's gorgeous.



I'll keep you posted on the availability of the thing as it develops, but in the meantime, kudos to my bandmates who did stellar work over the two years this project has been in the making.

Songs I'd Forgotten How Much I Liked by Bands I'd Also Forgotten How Much I Liked: An Occasional Series

The Goo Dolls, ladies and germs! The freaking Goo Goo Dolls!!!





I hadn't thought about either of those in some years, if truth be told, but seriously -- these guys were great. I don't care that they got rich ripping off The Replacements -- they freaking rocked!!!

Play both of these really loud, BTW.

Closed for Monkey Business

Had a long weekend -- regular posting, including a Weekend Listomania, resumes on the morrow.