Autograph

 Over the years I’ve been a music fan, and as such attended various concerts.  At a very small minority of those shows, I had the pleasure of meeting the musicians themselves and getting them to autograph various items.  However, I’m not in the habit of seeking out autographs, so the instances of doing so are so few and far between that I have little trouble in describing each of them in a brief, Friday blog entry.

RONNIE WOOD.  From 1979-1982 I attended Marymount, a Catholic school in Neuilly, just outside Paris, in that European country commonly referred to as “France”.  The school had an annual fair in the spring.  At the one in 1984 we acquired Judas Priest, Defenders of the Faith on cassette, and the Y&T albums Mean Streak and Black Tiger on vinyl.  At another one I had occasion to briefly meet Ronnie Wood, the second guitarist of the Rolling Stones.  One of his children was attending school.   By this time I was in high school at the American School of Paris, so his kid was not a classmate of mine.  I happened to be wearing a denim jacket which also – by coincidence – had the Rolling Stones lip & tongue patch on it.  Mr. Wood was nice enough to sign the patch itself.  Sadly, by now the signature has faded to the point I can no longer see it.  But he was cool.   As a side note, to date I have not seen the Rolling Stones in concert, nor have I seen Ronnie Wood in concert in any way, shape or form. 

FAITH NO MORE.   In November 1989 we attended the Faith No More concert at the old 930 Club, in Washington, DC, when it was still back on 930 F Street.  This was the band’s The Real Thing tour, when it had Mike Patton on vocals and Jim Martin on guitar.   I managed to persuade Jim Martin to sign my The Real Thing CD insert, and drummer Mike Bordin did so as well.  I wasn’t able to meet or talk to the other band members.  I still have that CD.

WISHBONE ASH.   This English band was at its peak in the 1970s, headlining larger venues like Merriweather Post Pavilion.  By the time I managed to see them, guitarist Andy Powell was the sole remaining original member, and they were playing small clubs instead of armpit heaters.  Of course, had they been playing an armpit heater, I would not be able to talk to Andy Powell in person and get him to sign my Wishbone Ash CD inserts.  Oddly, even years after the vinyl renaissance, those early albums are still not reissued.    

TESLA.   In 2007 the band released a CD of covers, Real to Reel, ostensibly a two disc set.  The second disc you picked up from the band itself on its tour.  I saw the tour at the Ram’s Head Live in Baltimore, Maryland.  Oddly enough, lead guitarist Frank Hannon was actually running the concession stand.  In addition to handing over my copy of the second disc, he also autographed the case.  Thanks, man!

BLUE CHEER.   Actually, I didn't come away from the BC encounter with any autographs, per se.  This is a band which had its initial peak of fame in the late 1960's, coming from San Francisco like the Grateful Dead, and even loosely associated with Owsley, the premiere source of LSD back then - even down to naming themselves after one of his strains.   Fast forward to modern times, and bassist/singer Dickie Peterson got the band back together with guitarist "Duck" MacDonald.  While this lineup did play classic material - exclusively of the Leigh Stephens era, it seems - Dickie put out new material that was heavier and more modern - and just as enjoyable. The band played a show at Krug's Place in Frederick, Maryland, in December 2005, and my college comrade Ken invited me along.  I managed to get my picture taken with Dickie, which is the primary picture for my Facebook profile.  

MEET & GREETS.   As noted, my own experience meeting rock stars has been rather limited.  My brother Matt, on the other hand, has been to several meet & greets and thus had a chance to hang out with, and talk at length with, various rock stars.  These include Doro (from Warlock), Ace Frehley (of KISS), and Biff Byford of Saxon.  He spoke with Pete Trewavas of Marillion.  He was also at the Faith No More show mentioned above.  

One last name drop: back when we were living in Paris, our parents met up with Martin Sheen.   This wound up with my sister, Sarah, visiting the Sheens in California and hanging out with Emilio Estevez.  I don't think Charlie was around the household back then.  

Bald and Goatee

Back to less substantial issues, in this case, a “look”, naturally limited to men:  bald with a goatee.  Where have we seen this before?

Bryan Cranston as Walter White (Breaking Bad).  I’ll start with this, because Walter White is a fictional character.  In fact, by the last season of “Breaking Bad”, he had shaved his goatee and let his hair grow back.  Moreover, I’m not aware that Bryan Cranston himself ever adopted this look. 

For those of you out of the loop, “Breaking Bad” is an AMC TV show about a high school chemistry teacher who says, “WTF”, and decides to translate his skills as a chemist into the lucrative drug trade making crystal meth.  He teams up with a former student, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) and goes into business.  It also turns out he has cancer, the chemotherapy costing him his hair, so he grows the goatee and adopts a clever nickname, Heisenberg.  Ironically, his brother-in-law Hank Schrader (Dean Norris) is a DEA agent who is trying to track down this mysterious kingpin whose crystal meth is 99% pure and the most popular strain around.  And there’s a colorful attorney, Saul Goodman – who we’re seeing in prequel series “Better Call Saul” – who makes the show that much more intriguing, especially for guys like me who went to law school (George Mason U., now Antonin Scalia Law School, somewhat more prestigious than the University of American Samoa), passed the bar (Virginia and Maryland, plus waive-ins to DC and New York) and are actually practicing law.  Anyhow.   If you haven’t already, check out “Breaking Bad”, and if you’re already familiar, you know who Walter White is…

Rob Halford of Judas Priest.   Back in the 70s he was clean shaven with long, blond hair.  In the 80s he switched to short blonde hair and leather (was he gay?  Need you ask?) and around the time of 2wo, his second solo project after he left Judas Priest (Ripper Owens taking over briefly for two albums) he finally adopted the current look.  It’s usually combined with sunglasses.  His voice and stage presence remain impressive, though I can’t say I really care that much for the bald and goatee look in his case.  I remain a fan of Judas Priest and continue listening to the music, buying the albums, and attending the concerts.  I’d say my favorite Priest album is, hands down, no contest whatsoever, Sad Wings of Destiny.  

Andy Powell of Wishbone Ash.  Back in the 1970s, Andy Powell had long hair and glasses and was clean shaven.  As the rest of Wishbone Ash melted away – Ted Turner (guitar), Martin Turner (bass) (no relation), and Steve Upton (drums), Powell kept the band going.   I actually have Ted Turner’s solo album, purchased directly from him.   Martin Turner wound up creating his own Wishbone Ash band, appropriately named Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash.   As with Priest, I’m still an ‘Ash fan and still go to shows as often as possible.  I’d say my favorite Wishbone Ash album is Argus. 

Nick Oliveri, currently with Mondo Generator and formerly of Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age.  He’s grown his goatee down a little further.  I saw him with QOTSA and Kyuss Lives!   I haven’t followed his post QOTSA career and haven’t seen him in concert since he left the band, though that’s more out of indifference than any principled objection.  Rated R, by QOTSA, is probably my favorite work of his.  Back in that band he would sometimes play naked, only covered by the Fender Precision bass covering up his naughty parts – a look I never witnessed in person – and that got him in trouble when the band played Rock in Rio in Brazil.  I sense he’s quieted down a bit in recent years. 

Anton LaVey.  Here’s the guy who started this whole thing back in the late 1960s, forming the Church of Satan and writing the Satanic Bible; he died in 1997.   For all his provocativeness, he was actually an atheist and pro-life.  As I noted before, his “Satanism” is more a deliberately provocative form of atheism, very similar to what Ayn Rand preached:  do whatever you want as long as you don’t hurt other people.  Initiating the use of force is wrong, but if attacked you’re free to retaliate as you see fit.  Remarkably sedate notwithstanding all the rigamarole around it.  I suspect far more of us are practicing Satanists without even realizing it…(wicked smile)….

Wishbone Ash - Jail Bait - 1971

Original lineup - Ted Turner, Martin Turner, Steve Upton, and Andy Powell. "I wonder why your face no longer shines...."

Unknown Guitar Heroes

Yet another installment on musical subjects, in this case, unknown guitar heroes. In this case, Huw Lloyd Langton and Andy Powell.

 Langton is best associated with the space-rock band Hawkwind. By now Hawkwind are most known, if at all, for being the band Lemmy – Motorhead bassist/singer and another of these Ozzy-like godfathers of metal – was in before forming Motorhead. Hawkwind made one of the most collossal mistakes of the history of mankind in dumping him following a drug bust in Canada on the Warrior on the Edge of Time tour in 1975. In addition to Lemmy, Hawkwind was also "home" to a curvacious stage dancer Stacia, the eccentric Bob Calvert, and British science fiction/fantasy author Michael Moorcock. They still record, still tour England, and remain on good terms with Lemmy. Hardly a Motorhead interview fails to mention Hawkwind.

 Anyhow, back to Langton. He played on several Hawkwind albums scatttered over their career, but the highlights are: the first album (simply titled Hawkwind) from 1969, Levitation (a fantastic comeback album of 1980 with, of all people, Cream’s Ginger Baker on drums), The Chronicle of the Black Sword concept album (1985), and lastly, a fantastic trip called The Xenon Codex (1989) – before returning to the same obscurity he enjoyed from 1969-79. (Unfortunately he’s not on any of the same albums as Lemmy).

 Langton has a heavy sound, but melodic – somewhat like Don Felder, Dave Murray, and David Gilmour. Like Gilmour does in Pink Floyd, he serves as a solid rock base amidst a chaos of psychedelia, somewhat standing outside of the mess, as opposed to Jerry Garcia, who is part OF the mess the Dead create in their extended jams.

 I say "unknown" with respect to him because he seems to be off the radar except to Hawkwind fans. Aside from Hawkwind he seems to only pursue a solo career; he has seven solo albums.

 Similarly, Andy Powell is only associated with Wishbone Ash. Indeed, at this point, he is the only original member of the band left. Neither Ted Turner (second guitarist), Martin Turner (no relation to Ted, bassist), nor Steve Upton (drums) have any apparent interest in remaining in Wishbone Ash, though they did reunite briefly between 1989 and 1992 for Nouveau Calls and Here to Hear. Formerly with long wavy hair and cleanshaven, now Powell effects the "bald w/goatee" gothic look, though keeping the glasses and trademark Gibson Flying V.

 Powell’s style is similar to Langton’s, and similar to his erstwhile bandmate, Ted Turner. Though Powell, even today, always works with another guitarist, both sharing lead guitar duties in Wishbone Ash; and he has knack for finding excellent partners on lead guitar. As they are now, they’re no longer playing Merriweather Post Pavilion, as they did in the 70s – they play Jaxx, to sparse crowds. They come on the stage with the house lights on, plug into half-stacks or combos, and proceed to blow away the 20-30 people (in a venue that could probably accommodate 200) who had the extremely good judgment to show up and witness the show. The newest albums are OK, but the classics are definitely the starting point, particularly the original Powell-Turner-Turner-Upton lineup of the first four albums and live album: Wishbone Ash, Pilgrimage, Argus (their Dark Side of the Moon, and even BEAT that album in 1973 in a contest for best album of the year in the UK), Wishbone IV, and Live Dates.