Mailbag-Buddy Miles+

Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Molly Hatchet

Come on, Bob -- the boys deserve at least a “second-rate” designation instead of third.

Fact is I tried to sign Skynyrd months before Al Kooper did, but my boss didn’t think they had any songs.

The ringer in Hatchet was Duane Roland, one of the three guitar players. He often took a back seat to group leader Dave Hlubek, but he was a faultless,
syrupy smooth guitar player who doubled every solo in the studio and never once looked at the neck of his instrument.

Check out the lead break on our cover version of the Stones’ “It’s All Over Now”.

Duane plays precisely what Keith meant to play on the original. After Skynyrd, this was the best three-man guitar line I’d ever seen.

Their idea of relaxating after the session was to drink way too much Jack Daniels and clear the entire bar room. They were the real thing. Had to sign ‘em up.

Tom Werman

________________________________________

From: Andrew Mcinnes
Subject: Dillon

Bob,

How's it going? My name is Andrew McInnes. My partner, Kevin Kusatsu, and I own TMWRK management. We manage Diplo, Major Lazer, A-Trak, Dillon Francis, and a variety of other acts. I am glad you noticed Dillon. We have been managing him for several years. He took some time off to focus on music and it is starting to pay off. TMWRK has focused on the alternative side of dance and it feels like the paradigm is shifting. To quote our friend Adam Gill from Embrace "The weird kids are taking over". Having been a huge fan of 90's and early 00's hardcore and indie it feels like history is repeating itself.

We run an event series with Diplo called The Mad Decent Block Parties. There are 13 of them this summer. Last weekend we did 9k people in DC and 7k people in Ft. Lauderdale. We want to create a modern version of the Warped Tour (the warped tour from the 90's) where young people can come and expect to find new music that is great - site unseen. The goal is to create an experience. We want the Block Party to be the best day of your summer. That includes music with guitars and vocals btw. I recall going to the warped tour when i was 16, talking to girls, getting dirty, and seeing Eminem and NOFX - we aspire to emulate that in a modern form, both in front of and behind the fence.

It is all youth culture and youth culture is about experience and memories. The reason why Dillon's song will get him on base is because it will soundtrack those experiences for the next 12 months.

Today the block party has a sold out show at Williamsburg Park in NY. We sold 7k tix. The line up is Major Lazer, Matt and Kim, Dillon Francis, Flosstradamus, 3 ball MTY, Destructo, Rockie Fresh, Kito and Reija Lee, and DJ Slink. It is a nice day and I trust we are going to make the impression we want. BTW none of the headliners are signed to Major Labels.

The LA event is on 9/15. You should come.

Thank you you for writing about Dillon. We feel like you understand,

McInnes

________________________________________

Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles

Bob:

I know that there isn't much in the way of music that escapes you. I also know that everything comes from something. As Dylan famously noted, there are only 12 notes...:-).

But I haven't run into too many people who know this track by The New York Rock and Roll Ensemble, a group perhaps best known for being the group that the superb arranger Michael Kamen came from. It was released in 1969.

I love Buddy's song, too. But the track...well...you be the judge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MhRP30WTRQ

Best,

Jimmy Fox
________________________________________

From: Duane Hitchings
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles - Them Changes

THANK YOU SO MUCH for you well deserved recognition of Buddy Miles and his
song, "Them Changes". Here is a little history about the original Buddy
Miles Express and "Them Changes". I was the B-3 organ player in the original
Buddy Miles Express. The bass player was Roland Robinson. Roland and I were
hanging in his room one night (Buddy rented a house in Rhinebeck, New York
and Buddy called the house "Monkey Knuckles Manor""! We all had different
rooms. Jim McCarty was on guitar (guitarist with The Detroit Wheels), I
think Billy Cox or Billy Rich on bass and the "Sam and Dave" horn section â€"
a REAL horn section!! The house was down the street from Jim Hendrix's
house and 20 minutes from what would be Woodstock. Anyway, Roland played
this song on a album of "The "New York Rock-n-Roll Ensemble" (a string
quartet and also a band from the Julliard School of Music) one night in his
room. Roland heard a cello line that was on one of the cuts and it came from
some symphony as mentioned on the cover.. I think! Just as we were
listening to it for the 10th time, Buddy came into the room with a white
sheet over his head and body and a shotgun in his hand. WE FREAKED because
we were in what one would call "an altered state of mind" - 1970s ! Buddy of
course enjoyed our response! LOL! Buddy then heard what we heard and
freaked! Needless to say, we all started rehearsing a song based on what he
heard the next day. Buddy had his arrangement to it with other parts he
added and with his Lyrics, of course. We were to backup Jimi Hendrix in part
of his set at Woodstock. Jimi was starting to get into horns. He was
listening to Blood Sweat and Tears, Chicago etc. He and Buddy were thinking
of doing a tour together and the band would come on the stage later in the
set as the "Electric Church Band" and play "Them Changes" for the first time! Well, we missed Woodstock for reasons left unmentioned â€" but a good
reason. Some other problems immerged and the band broke up. Jimmy McCarty, Roland and I went to San Francisco to start a band and a month later we heard "Them Changes" on the radio! At that point, we wished we had done
more to try to keep the band together â€" to say the least! BUT we were happy
for "B". He was literally a FREIGHT TRAIN on drums! There was NO doubt were
the downbeat was! He will always be missed! Duane Hitchings

________________________________________

From: Mark R. Soboslai
Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles

Hey Bob: Buddy Miles hired Charlie Karp as his guitar player during those early years. Charlie was then in high school in Westport and since then he has continued to play at a level few could ever match. Most recently, he and Danny Kortchmar have collaborated on a number of recordings as "Sloleak." Thought you'd be amused by the ironic coincidence that the guitar player who caught your attention actually lives in your home town of Fairfield today. Charlie is a genuinely amazing player. Also amazing is that he wrote some of those songs (particularly "I Still Love You Anyway") but he never got paid for all the years of royalties on his songs. You would think that would kill a guy's motivation to stay with it. But, like many true professionals, Charlie lives for the music. I have a ton of respect for him as an artist and as a person and everyone who has ever known him instantly realizes that he is truly a "major dude." M
________________________________________

From: akgmusic
Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles

The organ player on Them Changes is Andre Lewis. He is another cat who would be HUGE in this current environment. He was in Zappa's band in 76 and the brains behind Maxayn and recorded three great ahead of their time records for Motown as Mandre. The only place to find those Mandre tunes (besides used vinyl) is youtube. He helped invent the Linn Drum which changed music. He was ahead of his time.

________________________________________

From: Gary Theroux
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles

Buddy did have another claim to fame -- as one of the two vocalists in the California Raisins ("I Heard It Through The Grapevine," #84 over a four week Hot 100 run in 1985). He also cut the great but forgotten single "Rockin' and Rollin' on the Streets of Hollywood" (#91 over a two-week run ten years earlier).

________________________________________

From: John Rhode (link from Jason Steidman)
Subject: Playboy After Dark-Buddy Miles

Playboy after Dark on YouTube--- Buddy plays "Them Changes" and "Dreams"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBIT0t9Zu_4

________________________________________

From: Robal Johnson
Subject: Fun Buddy Miles Story

It was so fun to see the legendary Buddy Miles pop up in my inbox. Great post and tribute, sir.

I actually got to meet Buddy just over ten years ago when I was tending bar at a Blues club in Durango, Colorado, where I went to college. It was definitely one of my favorite early jobs and it was where I decided that I wanted to make this music thing a career (the jury is still out on that decision!) Anyway, the manager tells me that we booked Buddy Miles for a weekend gig and I went berserk because I had just seen him take the stage with Phish at Madison Square Garden with Merl Saunders in '96.

So he shows up, a huge guy as it is, and at 7,000 feet above sea level he needed an oxygen tank, so I help him down the stairs into the green room. I tell him I'm a fan and he asks, and I quote, "how in the hell do you know who I am, boy?" and I told him I was at the Phish show. He replies with a monstrous belly laugh, "No s***, you were there?! Hell, I LOVE THE PHISH!" And we sat there rapping music for a good hour before he did a soundcheck. What an incredible guy with unbelievable stories.

A jamband from Vermont united a 21 year old white boy from New Jersey with Jimmy f***ing Hendrix' drummer in a small mountain town in southwest Colorado. God damn I love music.

Stay cool.
________________________________________

Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles

Toured with Buddy 2-3 years. The real deal. Every night was different musically, the way it should be--you were flying by the seat of your pants and it better groove!!!! On stage it was, and always should be, about the "feel". Something that's completely lost today in my humble opinion. Creativity shouldn't be a liability.

Keep tellin the truth like your doin, that's how change is gonna come.

Doug Johns

________________________________________

Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles

Hi Bob,

Love your writings and really enjoyed your take on Buddy Miles. You could say it struck a chord within since he taught me so much about music, playing and how to lay into a deep, deep greasy groove.

As a guitarist, I first played with Buddy in 1986 and toured with him from 1989-93 (plus a few dates afterwards) and loved every minute of the crazy, chaotic and surreal moments on and off stage. There are so many incredible road stories from those days and I often say I didn't tour with Buddy Miles, I "survived" Buddy Miles. From him selling a rented Mercedes for some, ugh, shall we say, other indulgences, to buying cheap day old bakery "decoy food" for the tour bus so as to trick Buddy from eating your good food. You see, Buddy liked to eat. A lot. And late at night, while everyone was asleep in their bunks, he'd search for something tasty to devour which was always the personal food that your per diems could barely could afford. So, we hid our "expensive food" in our bunks and put out the discounted decoy buffet for Bubby's bingeing. We all, including Buddy, slept better for it.

Or a border crossing where Buddy's anger caused the Customs and DEA dogs to be brought on board, gear and bus impounded, strip searches for some….. How about the motel stay in Chicago where Buddy checked the band in and then disappeared - for weeks, leaving us with the bill. Finally he called the front desk, from who knows where, and tried to pay the bill with a Visa number that had letters in it!!! 107AHTY34YUBM !! For payment, we gave the motel his drum set, they unblocked the bus and we all went home. A month or so later Buddy called up saying "Where are you guys? We got another tour starting up, let's go!" I said Buddy where are you at? He said "I'm at the Heart of Chicago motel where you cats were staying and it's a GREAT place!" After all that mess, they took him in, like so many people did for Buddy.

All the insanely crazy times were forgotten when the house lights came down and the audiences roared because this is where he thrived and made up for all other short comings. It was like Buddy always said "You have to get throughout the bitter to get to the sweet" He was right.

Of course he's from that incredible era of the 60's and 70's rock where authentic artists were ALL about the song and performance. He just LOVED to play music and our sound checks were longer than our shows and the shows where easily 3 hours.

Once he sat behind his drum kit, where his cymbals stands teetered from every hit, it was on. There was no exit, no in-ear monitor issues, no circus tricks and no turning back. With Buddy, you held onto his freight train pocket and lived the pulse of his groove and the audience lived it with you. You OWNED it with the people and the collective sweat plus the funky grease on the bottom of everyone's shoes proved it.

I've been fortunate to have played with many great artists and none of them captivated the audiences soul like Buddy did. It was ridiculous how effortless he made it seem. This was Buddy's church, his pulpit, his sermon and no one skipped out the back door for fear of God but rather for fear of missing Buddy's magic. Charismatic is too small a word for Buddy, he had immense Karazzzz-ma !!

And that's how Buddy lived, very close to and dancing on the edge of, well, everything. But the musics edge was his soul's balance point and truth. It seemed to give him peace amidst all the chaos he created elsewhere.

As a kid practicing guitar 10 hours a day I never thought I'd ever meet him let alone play his music together. I'm grateful he gave this Pringles and mayonnaise eating white boy a chance to not just be a listener but a participant and to feel something rare within the "music biz" - to actually feel music and be weightless in the visceral and primal power of sound and love.

So many beautiful home movies of Buddy Miles are in my heart. I close my eyes and see him counting a tune off with those drum sticks of thunder, then a huge smile rakes across his face as the stage levitates and the musicians led by his deep, funky groove takes flight… With the band and audience, as one, playing on.

Cheers,

Greg V.
gregvmusic.com
youtube.com/GregVmusic

________________________________________

Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles

One of my ALL TIME favorite LPs. Had it from the start. Still have my copy.

BTW, most of the album was produced by Buddy and Robin McBride, but Memphis Train was produced by Steve Cropper.

One of my favorite tracks is Paul B. Allen, Omaha Nebraska; I used it in one of my Hand Mixed Vinyl shows on Deep Tracks. Here's an excerpt from my commentary to the show:

"...And then there’s the song that got me started on today’s batch of All Hand Mixed Vinyl. It’s called “Paul B. Allen, Omaha, Nebraska.” Being an instrumental, there are no clues (of what the title means) to be found in the lyrics. It’s on the album Them Changes by the late great Buddy Miles. I’ve had this record since it came out in 1970 and I always wondered who “Paul B. Allen” was. Well this time, the Internet delivered. I found the Facebook page for Paul B. Allen III. So I sent him an email and he wrote write back. He said Paul B Allen, Senior was his grandfather. He and Paul B. Allen, Junior owned and operated Allen’s Showcase lounge, the hottest nightclub in Omaha in the 1950’s and 60’s. Greats like Fats Domino, Red Foxx, and James Brown all performed there. And it wasn’t just big acts. They like to nurture new artists as well, and among those was a young local guy by the name of Buddy Miles. Paul B. Allen III, by the way, is the lead vocalist of the current incarnation of The Platters...."

________________________________________

Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles

Hi Bob,

My favorite William S. Burroughs quote is:
"Hustlers of the world, there is one mark you cannot beat: the mark inside."
If there ever was a poster child for that quote, it would have been Buddy Miles.

I met Buddy when I was 16 years old, it was the first time The Electric Flag came through Boston. He was not much older than I, but had already toured with Wilson Pickett. Although he was certainly street smart, he had an unbridled childlike energy that was infectious. He told me that he'd meet me at the venue The Flag was playing the day after the engagement ended, and we'd jam. Needless to say, I showed up, and he didn't.

The second time The Flag came through town, we did jam, and he gave me a card with his address on Selma Ave in Hollywood, and his phone number. I was to get in touch because he was starting his own band, and he wanted me to play guitar with him. I imagine I was not the only one to get Buddy's card, and needless to say, I never became part of The Buddy Miles Express.

Our paths crossed a number of times over the years. Yes, Bob, you're right, Buddy was a superstar in the making. However, it wasn't the failure of a label or management that held him back. Buddy simply couldn't get out of his own way, and wouldn't allow himself to become a success. While all he really had to do was show up and sing, there was always a hustle that needed to go down.

The last time I saw him, he showed up to my gig at The Mint, it must have been 1996. He sat in for half a set and started on drums, singing Texas. Then he pulled out a Stratocaster that couldn't have been manufactured earlier than the mid '80s. He launched into a tearful rant about the guitar having belonged to Jimi... you get the picture.

Man, the Honey Bear was an awesome talent, but like many others, the career he ended up with, he built himself.

Peter Malick
________________________________________

From: Linda Arroz
Subject: Re: The Amazon Effect

Hi Bob,
Funny you should write about Amazon. Just finished building an Amazon Fresh (AF) store for my client, The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills (CSBH). Worked for months with Amazon execs to get this up and running. They did a five year Beta in Seattle for this "Fresh" approach. Seems people in Seattle can't live without it. Every day the AF orders for cheese, gourmet foodstuffs and accessories at The CSBH get larger, especially since they opened up the delivery to all LA zip codes. Amazon's aim is to offer same day delivery, no matter what one orders, whether it be a grocery item, book or appliance, to their customers across the country. It's a behemoth, that's for sure and we upload a real time inventory to them every day at noon. There appear to be a lot of folks out there willing to pay the Prime membership, plus the additional annual fee, to avoid the hassles of driving around shopping for food and stuff.

Bravo to Amazon and bravo to the members who can afford to pay these fees. (my son, a bass player who was the guitar and bass tech for Megadeth's Gigantour, works in feature animation and loves the Prime perk of streaming movies, says it's better than Netflix, with more content to choose from...who knew?) Early adaptors pave the way for more access and lower costs down the road.

Meantime, I'm watching the growth of 3D printing...imagine printing out a part for something and fixing it yourself?

LA

________________________________________

From: Steve Lukather
Subject: Re: Album Sales Tank

If someone made an album remotely close to as good a record as Sgt. Pepper perhaps it would sell!

I have been so hopeful but kids will never make a record like this.
They are not GOOD enough to even come close to thinking of it let alone pulling it all off.
On a 4 track tape machine no less!! ( well 2 wild synched)

Vinyl DOES sound better!

I can tell you this...If Lawyers got f***ed like the musicians/songwriters have and had to litigate for 90% LESS money than they USED to make.. the recording business would be way different !
The world would be different since almost all poiticians are lawyers.

If it was harder to make records and you had to go back to REALLY learning how to play, write, sing and perform really really well then it would all be different.

Any moron with a computer can make a record and just cause you CAN does not mean you should.

I know every person reading has been handed what LOOKS like a 'professional CD' or an internet link by 3-4 people on their BLOCK cause 'so and so's kid has a band' would you listen and LIKE my page etc..
Come on.. really??
And it is 99.99999999999% s***.
Am I lying?

If I took an iPhone and made a film of me lighting farts out of my own ass with a cliche 'techo-electronica beat' I bet I could get a f*** load of hits on youtube and make nothing.
Then what?

No the real problem lies in greed or Entitlement and this idea that EVERYONE should be rich and famous.
It is everything that is wrong with the world.
No worker bee's.
Like is is shameful to have a real job.

Well the idea that if you work really hard and put in your 100,000 hours (10,000 is for pussy wanna bees) then MAYBE you might be good enough.

Gone.

"Give me -Give me- Give me and f*** you I deserve it! "

Thats what kids learn today.
Live at home till your parents die and you inherit it all. Unless you get into litigation with your family. Then the lawyers get rich again.

Yep the good old days..
They WERE the good old days never to be seen again.

I am so happy I lived thru the very best time in popular music.
Yeah call me old.
F*** you and Get off my lawn while your at it! haha

I am getting my Pepper album out right the f*** NOW !

Luke


--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1

If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25

To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25




--
Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com --