Guest Michael Rife
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Also, I took a peak at the “Is this where…….” post and saw I already put a couple of responses there. I saw this one as a little different because this one is comparing current music to the best music period (1964 to 1975). Mike.
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Hi all;
I wasn’t trying for an exhaustive list of the bands that excelled from 1964 to 1975…..if I had I would have excluded someone. To further elaborate………even the B-list (Bread, America, and others) are so much better than anything in today’s music.
Mike
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Hi;
I’m kinda convinced that from 1964 to around 1975 we were spoiled by the musicians. I could list some: Bealtes, Rolling Stones, Kinks, Buffalo Springfield, Byrds, Dylan, Simon, James Taylor, Elton John, Cat Stevens, Joni, Carole King, Gordon Lightfoot, and on and on…..I have probably missed more than I have included. Even the so-called minor artists: America, Poco, Firefall would greatly over-shadow the music of today. I was talking with my wife and we were recalling how music critics tore apart artists like John Denver, the Carpenters, and Barry Manilow in the 1970s…..but today they would more than hold their own. Those artists along with Mona and Lisa followed/follow a practice of not repeating melodies or structure from one song to another. Today if a recipe works they will copy and repeat from one song to another. (Except for Manilow……he had a formula). So, I believe that what MLT is doing reflects what occurred during the 1960s and I cannot think of any song of their original work that repeats……each song is a new and talented adventure. Mike.
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Hi Lisa;
Thanks for the answers. I had one of those from number 1 just last weekend…..we started out playing two completely different songs….right in front of people. I was on guitar and another person was on the violin (fiddle). I didn’t notice it right away because both songs were in the same key. To follow up that masterpiece on the next song the violinist and I were playing the same song but in different keys. I dropped out quickly since the violin was the lead instrument in the song. It was just one of those times. It wasn’t exactly stage fright, but it led to a level of frustration……it got to the point where all I could do was shrug my shoulders and promise myself to do better next time. Real stage fright happens with the red face and very cold hands and fingers that seem hard to move around. And, it usually goes away some time during the first or second song.
And I have had those times in the past when picking and strumming and interacting with the keyboard guy where we both were playing above anything we ever did in practice. Times like that are fun…..it also only happens a few times, but keeps us coming back to play more. Mike.
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I received my card also this week…..either Friday or Saturday (don’t go to the mailbox every day). I really think you two, Mona and Lisa, are really special……not just because of the music but also how well you treat your fans. You two and the rest of the MLT team can not be more gracious. I really enjoy your music and I have been enjoying the Clubhouse. The Clubhouse allows us to see some things behind the scenes and we get to see you two try to make brownies and smoothies as well as the scary site of Mona driving in the snow. I also enjoy the interaction with the other Clubhouse members.
Concerning the card……since I read this forum item string, I knew my card was going to be here soon. So, it was not a complete surprise when I saw in it the mail. Still the amount of work it took for you to do this for all members must have been a lot. I plan on keeping the card in the rapidly increasing MLT souvenirs and merchandise.
Finally I want to wish the best holiday season for you two and the whole MLT team. You all have a good thing going. On your card you alluded to 2019 being a big year which sounds like the MLT team has something special planned for the year. So, I look forward to what MLT will do in 2019…..I am not certain what it will be, but I know we’ll enjoy it.
Much love;
Mike
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My first LP purchase is easy…….it was Meet the Beatles. I was 10 years old. My first 45 purchase is a little harder to remember. I believe it was Sugar Shack by Jimmy Gilmour. Don’t know why I bought it. It was a hit some time in 1963. Mike.
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Wow. I lived in Vancouver, WA from 2002 to 2008. Went across the river to work in Portland, OR for an electric company and during the evenings I taught at Portland State. Were you guys in the area then? I so miss that area….pretty scenery, etc. On my front porch I could see Mount Hood and Mt. St. Helens (and part through our stay there it did start smoking again). My wife didn’t like all the rain and clouds but the summers were great. College football fan, too, but for an east coast team in the Big 12…..WVU (Mountaineers). Still can’t figure out why they are in the Big 12 playing the schools in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Iowa. Oh well……guess it has to do with money. Mike.
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Wow!! A Country Gentleman is a very good guitar. I have a White Falcon which is the smoothest guitar I have ever played. I also have a Baby Jet. Sounds like we might have similar gear bags. Mike.
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Hi Michael;.
It was also explained to me that singing and speaking comes from two separate part of the brain. But, the two parts have to work together to cause singing. It is also why we sometimes feel more fatigue, at times, after we finish doing things musical (both parts working together). Also, she has been in speech therapy off and on since the beginning. But, she needs the melodic part from the song to sing along with it….she needs it to tap into the memory of doing it before and to remind her how to do it. So, the singing of sentences would only be possible if she hears the music at the same time. Still I am always kinda amazed how the brain and music works together. Mike.
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Jim;
You are correct. CSN and later Y formed one group from Springfield and Richie Furay and Jim Messina formed Pogo (later Poco) from Springfield. There were contract issues to work through at ATCO before the groups could begin though. Mike.
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Also, concerning the Zombies: About time!!!! And Amie is Pure Prairie League’s song. Poco has released over 20 LPs so there is a lot to listen to. Mike.
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Yeah, Poco is pretty nice to their fans. But, I don’t believe any other band could top the Beatles. I was 10 years old in Feb. 1964 and it changed music and culture some. By 1966 my parents gave me a single Christmas gift: a set of Ludwigs that was the same style as Rongo’s set: Ludwig’s Black Pearl. I used those drums in the garage band and then later on I was in the marching band and orchestra in high school (playing various percussion instruments). When Sgt. Pepper’s was released, the guys and I listened to it daily after school for months. We did the same for the White Album (though we did skip over Revolution #9). To a lesser degree we did the same earlier for Rubber Soul. So, there’s a lot of growing up memories with the Beatles that is hard to top. Mike.
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Yeah, Vince is the real thing in music. I’ll always be partial to Craig, though, because he wrote most of their first two albums. But, I like Vince’s PPL songs as well…..in between Crain and Vince..….not so much. Amie will always be one of my favorite songs. We have a special needs daughter who is going to be 30 (hard to believe) but she is not very verbal (maybe 2 or 3 spoken words at a time) and has had several operations, etc. In short, she is my hero. But, what she can do is sing along with complete songs. The first one she sang all the way through was Amie…so that clinched it for me. Also, the other month she surprised me. She was in the car with me and I had the Beatles channel on. Back to back they played This Boy and Ticket To Ride and she sang them both all the way through. I couldn’t believe it because it had to be years since she had heard those songs. So, for some reason she has a memory about song lyrics and can sing the songs even if it has been years since she heard the song. Mike.
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Hi Jacki;
He was the front man for PPL around the early 1980s. The original front man was Craig Fuller and he was basically all of the first two LPs. He wrote Amie which was a minor hit in 1975. To me he is really the leader of PPL Mike.
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Thanks!!
