Ruth Eckerd Hall on Saturday night was a majestic flashback to the heyday of rock and roll. The Flower Power disciples of Peace & Love manifested throughout a sold out Hall. These weren’t Bankers and Attorneys dressed up to resemble what they once adored in the days of their youth. Remarkably the crowd was the genuine persona. You felt the love flowing from every direction. There was even an optimist with a painted smile on her face carrying a sign that read “Free Hugs” as she walked up and down every row carrying out her humanitarian task of harmony.
The show itself formatted perhaps to resemble the prodigious entertainment distinction of Burt Sugarman’s The Midnight Special or Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert in the 70’s -nevertheless a clever and inspiring compilation for producing high quality entertainment.
In other words …I was Blown Away; the concert was Outta Sight Man!
The first of (5) legendary performers to grace the Ruth Eckerd stage Saturday evening was Felix Cavaliere lead vocalist and keyboardist of the blue-eyed soul group The Young Rascals. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
Sitting behind his keyboards Cavaliere appeared and sounded hip as he should while reminiscent of his first television appearance on Hullabaloo in 1965. Felix inaugurated the evening with The Young Rascals 1967 hit “I’ve Been Lonely Too Long” followed by a couple of Wilson Pickett classics “In the Midnight Hour” and “Land of 1000 Dances.” Then his number one hit song from 1967 “Groovin’” with a cavalcade of soulful cover tunes mixed-in followed by “People Got to Be Free” and the finale crowd pleaser “Good Lovin.” It was a persuasive performance that hastened the crowd out of their seats and into dancing in the aisles. The Young Rascals may have been responsible for launching so many legendary groups. Bands like Bruce Springsteen and The J Geils Band to name a few.
After Cavaliere’s set it was time for Bradenton resident/Ohio native Rick Derringer to set a tone of electric solos and hard-driving rock and roll. Derringer’s been on the road a lot lately finishing up a European tour with Ringo Starr & His All- Starr Band. Derringer opened with “Still Alive and Well” a song he wrote and album he produced for Johnny Winter. He was also the Producer of Edgar Winter’s They Only Come Out At Night which spawned the classic hits “Frankenstein” and “Free Ride.” Then Rick saluted our troops with his electrified rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” and “Real American.” Derringer finished his set strong with as he pointed out, “the full- unedited version” of The McCoys Number One hit tune from 1965 “Hang On Sloopy” (The official rock song of the state of Ohio) and then a thunderous performance of “Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo” that lifted the entire crowd up on its feet. Rick has always been a crowd pleaser and he always leaves with you wanting more.
Next on the bill was Gary Wright.Gary had already joined Rick on stage for his finale. Wright looked great. He opened with a couple of Spooky Tooth tunes “Waiting For The Wind” and “Better By You, Better Than Me.” Then Wright sang his huge Top 2 signature solo hit “Dreamweaver” to its perfection. His voice never sounded better, it was incredible. But the crowd ignited to their feet with the finale, a funky space jam called “Love Is Alive.” The song also reached into the Top 2 on the charts. Wright is also an alumnus of Ringo Starr and His All-Star Band.
After one of only a few short intermissions it was Grand Funk Railroad’s guitar hero and inspirational leader Mark Farner’s chance to rock the house down. All the performers on the Hippiefest bill were fantastic but Mark Farner took it up a notch or two. Farner’s energy was reminiscent to his days of playing high school football. He was in terrific shape and his voice superb. Farner opened his set with the Grand Funk Railroad tune “Footstompin’ Music” by singin’, playin’ his guitar and jammin’ on keyboards. The opening lyrics from that classic tune “Come on everybody, we’re gonna’ have a good time, yea” set the jovial tone for his overwhelming performance. Mark Farner followed with the Little Eva cover “The Loco-motion” which was a Number One hit for Grand Funk in 1974 and “Sins a Good Man Brother” from the album Closer To Home.” Mark stopped and thanked everyone at one point during his performance for all the thoughts and prayers from everyone for his son Jesse. Mark’s son Jesse (at 21) fell and sustained a near fatal- fracture to the C-5 vertebra in his neck.
Farner’s impeccable performance resumed with “Bad Time” and “Some Kind of Wonderful” both huge hits from Grand Funk’s 1974 release All the Girls in the World Beware. Mark Farner’s finale which he dedicated to our troops “I’m Your Captain” (Closer To Home) was the highlight of the evening. If you had closed your eyes you’d swear that you were at Shea stadium at that monumental concert in 1971, a show that sold out in only 72 hours breaking The Beatles record.
Everyone at Ruth Eckerd Hall stood and mimicked Mark’s inspirational lyrics. As I gazed around the Hall I witnessed the faces and you just knew that during the span of the song everyone reflected on what their lives were like at the time when the song was first heard and what their lives were like today, and man, how life flies by.
After another short intermission Dave Mason walked on stage with his own band. Mason is a true legend in the music biz. He opened his set with “Let It Go, Let It Flow” from the Let It Flow album. Mason’s voice seemed a bit strained during the tune. After the song he made the announcement that he had begun to catch a cold from the air-conditioning. Because his voice was compromised he changed up his setlist for the evening. He immediately jumped into playing some great blues demonstrating why he’s considered among the elite guitar players of the world and the reason why all those legendary guitarist wanted to jam with Mason. Mason’s voice seemed to improve with his classic tune “Only You Know and I Know.” Nevertheless the band was tenacious and the crowd rocked.
Mason surprised the crowd with Bob Dylan cover “All Along The Watchtower.” Mason actually played his 12-string acoustic guitar on the classic Jimi Hendrix version and also sang on “Crosstown Traffic”- both from the Electric Ladyland album. Mason and Hendrix were great friends.
The monumental moment was when everyone joined Dave Mason on stage for the finale of his signature tune “Feelin Alright.” It was reminiscent to that great performance on stage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after being inducted with Traffic in 2004. Mason’s musical abilities overshadowed any problems he may have had with his voice. It was still a phenomenal performance.
Hippiefest was an exciting and fulfilling rock and roll and cultural experience. Let’s hope there are more Hippiefest-type shows in the future because it was A Real Gas Man!
Also special thanks to everyone at Ruth Eckerd Hall for their generous hospitality. Bobby Rossi you’re the man!
Order author Ray Shasho’s new book called Check the Gs –The True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business at http://rayshasho.com/
“I found Check the Gs to be pure entertainment, fantastic fun and a catalyst to igniting so many memories of my own life, as I too am within a few years of Ray. So to all, I say if you have a bit of grey hair (or no hair), buy this book! It’s a great gift for your “over-the-hill” friends, or for their kids, if they are the history buffs of younger generations trying to figure out why we are the way we are.”
~~Pacific Book Review
Contact Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com
Dave Mason headlines Hippiefest 2011 at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater on Saturday August 27th. Dave will be sharing the stage with an impressive lineup of classic rock hitmakers.
Joining Dave Mason will be Mark Farner the inspirational leader for Grand Funk Railroad (“We’re An American Band,” “I’m Your Captain,” “Some Kind of Wonderful” and “The Loco-Motion”), Rick Derringer(“Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo,” “Hang On Sloopy”), Felix Cavaliere(“Good Lovin',” “Groovin'” and “People Got To Be Free”) and Gary Wright (“Dream Weaver,” “Love Is Alive” and “Really Wanna Know You”).
Order your tickets right here for an outta sight night of kicking out the Jams.
Songwriter/Guitarist/Vocalist Dave Mason cofounded the band Traffic after Steve Winwood left the Spencer Davis Group.
In 1967 Mason left the band after the release of the Mr. Fantasy album. Mason rejoined the band for awhile in 1968 and recorded “Feelin’ Alright,”a song that became Mason’s trademark.“Feelin’ Alright” was covered by Joe Cocker in 1969. Mason went on to join Delaney & Bonnie & Friends in 1969 and released his debut solo album Alone Together producing the hit single- “Only you know and I know” The album reached gold in the U.S. hitting # 22 on the record charts.
Dave Mason hit superstardom throughout the 70’s with a handful of highly successful albums reaching platinum and gold status - It’s Like You Never Left, Split Coconut, Certified Live,Let it Flow and Mariposo de Oro. Top 40 hits “We Just Disagree” and “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” were spawned from that triumphant period.
In 1978 Mason performed in front of more than 300,000 people at California Jam II.
Here’s my recent interview with renowned songwriter/musician/humanitarian Dave Mason.
Dave, I want to thank you for spending some time with me today, where do you call home nowadays?
“No problem thank you, I live near Santa Barbara in California.”
I understand that this is your first Hippiefest tour. I talked with Mark Farner the other day and he let me know that he and Rick Derringer were actually really good friends. Are you buddies with anyone that you share the bill with?
“Not really, I’ve played shows with all these guys but back in the Traffic days it would be Gary. When Gary(Gary Wright) had a band called Spooky Tooth.”
When I do a Dave Mason search on the web, I see a lot of involvement in charity work. What sort of charity events are you involved with?
“I have a charity that I helped start and I’m very involved with it that we do for veterans. And that is we help people transition out of the service to start their own business. It’s called Work Vessels for Veterans at http://wvfv.net/.”
You also participate in various benefit concerts and celebrity golf classics including partnering with Michael Bolton. Do you play golf Dave?
“No I don’t play golf. Michael Bolton’s charity is for abused women and I’ve done that with his charity for about the last five or six years. And for 14 years he was doing it in Stanford Connecticut and then last year I kind of talked him into trying it somewhere else so we moved it to the Ojai Valley Inn Golf Course and this year we’re combining his charity with the Work Vessels charity and the event out there and on the 23rd of September then I have The Feelin’ Alright Second Annual Golf Tournament in Virginia at Fort Belvoir and that is with a group called (CAMMO) which does a lot of work with vets and music and there’s a number of them that have been signed to recording contracts and it’s pretty interesting you know, last year we had a band that the drummer had titanium legs and those guys were really good. And they’re getting a lot of results with post traumatic stress through the music. So it’s interesting work and a great group of people.” http://cammomusic.org/main/
Music has gotten a lot of our servicemen through tough times over the years especially during wartime.
“I did a Toys for Tots show in Atlanta back in 1977 and I was getting ready to walk up on stage and this Marine came up to me and said “You know man, me and my buddy were stuck in a foxhole for three days and we would have gone absolutely nuts if it weren’t for a Jimi Hendrix tape and a Dave Mason tape.”
You’re doing great work for our vets Dave. Sometimes our veterans are not treated with the respect that they deserve are they?
“The way that our vets are treated when they come back is shameful, they’re kind of swept aside a little bit, I mean you know you’ve got the Veterans Administration and all that stuff but there’s a lot that still could be done, anyways that’s why we pick up the void. There’s a number of us, a number of organizations out there that try to fill those holes, fill that gap.”
Bless you man for all you do. I want to talk some about your music; your first band was actually called The Jaguars back in the early 60’s and was reminiscent musically to The Shadows and Ventures?
“Yes, that was my first band The Jaguars. I worked a little instrumental version called Opus To Spring when I was about 16 and a local record store put a record out on it. We only did the one recording with that band and then that’s all we did with that. There was another band called The Hellions with Jim Capaldi we had a record out on Pye records that was produced by Kim Fowley, the guy that did ‘They’re Coming to Take Me Away Ha Ha Ho Ho He He.’” And we did a Jackie Deshannon song called “Daydreaming of You.”
And I heard you guys played the famous Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany where The Beatles played?
“No we never got to Hamburg we played some little town outside of Hamburg and played Saturday nights, we use to play for about eight hours on Saturday nights, fifteen minute songs, fifteen off, fifteen on, fifteen off.”
So you knew Jim Capaldi (Drummer and a founding member of Traffic) because of The Hellions?
“Jim and I knew each other for a long time. Jim (Capaldi) grew up 12 miles from me. Yea, Robert Plant also grew up around 12 miles away and John Bonham.”
You met Steve Winwood when he was in The Spencer Davis Group?
“Yea he was in The Spencer Group and The Hellions use to play up in Birmingham which is 25 miles from Worcester and through that we met Steve and Chris Wood and basically we just hung out for a year or so just run into each other and then at one point Steve had decided he was going to leave The Spencer Davis Group. And during that time during that break I’d sung on a couple of their recordings, ‘Somebody Help Me’ and most of Traffic was on ‘Gimme Some Lovin’ and it’s pretty much all of us singing in the background of ‘I’m A Man.’
I kind of played Roadie for a couple of months with them and then we formed Traffic.”
Then you guys rented a cottage in Berkshire?
“A famous jockey had a racing stable down there so we kind of commandeered this cottage sitting in the middle of nowhere. It’s where they trained and canter the horses. There was no gas, no electricity and no running water in the place. We lived there like that for about six months.”
Man that was primitive living. If you didn’t have electricity how did you plug into the amplifiers and rehearse your music?
“We had a generator.”
Those were the good old days huh? (All laughing)
“Yea whatever we were kids, I was 18 years old and you think there’s not anything you can’t do.”
So how did Traffic get their big break?
“Well Steve already had three, four, top ten records so he had kind of an entree in that way and then I started writing and Jim and Steve started writing and my writing I pretty much did on my own and then the problems started to happen when the stuff that I was writing was the stuff picked for singles. And their biggest hit at the time was the first song I’d ever written and was kind of a fantasy tune called ‘Hole in My Shoe’ and that got to number two in England and was really their biggest single hit. After the first album I left and the reason I left was because I couldn’t really deal with the fame so quickly it was just a little overwhelming for me. So I actually left and did a couple of things worked with starting to produce an album for a group called Family, ‘Music in a Dollhouse’ and then I got to know Hendrix and spent a little time recording with him and some of it was on Electric Ladyland.
Then I did a little stint with what was known as a satirical group called The Scaffold, it was Paul McCartney’s brother (Professionally known as Mike McGear) and I did a number of shows with them and so just roamed around playing with different people and then at one point I just took a little bag and a guitar and worked this little island called Hydra (Greece) and I really didn’t have any money at the time but it was a great time and that’s where I wrote ‘Feelin Alright.’”
Then I met up again with them in New York and they were working on the second album, and then he had five songs and I had five songs so it was like okay let’ s get back together again. And I thought it was a really good second album it was a good transition from Fantasy (Mr. Fantasy debut album) it had a lot of kind of Fantasy stuff on it but giving a lot more cohesive I thought musically. And after that album pretty much again my songs were being picked for the singles and that’s just what caused the riff with Winwood. And I pretty much just spent days where he’d never talk to me.”
Wow that’s a real shame. Unfortunately I hear a lot of stories like that in bands.
“Yea, even marriages break up.”
Bands are like a family with lots of emotion and drama.
“The kind of difference is that sometimes it makes things really good though you know. When you’ve got kind of an edge going in there you can create some really good stuff rather than following one thing all the time but at any rate whatever that’s the way it was so at that point I just decided there wasn’t much point to staying in England or Traffic so I just upped and moved to America."
It’s amazing even though you hailed from England your accent is all but gone man.
“The way they talk where I grew up, I mean I can’t even understand some of the people.”
I always found it fascinating when the early Beatles talked in their Cockney accents, but then when they sang on a record it was gone.
“It’s because they were copying all those American singers that’s why. America is the home of all contemporary music. Jazz, Blues and Rock & Roll it comes from here.”
You know it’s amazing how many musicians that I talked with from the 60’s that had never met Jimi Hendrix. I always figured that at one point or another there would have been a moment spent with him. What was Jimi Hendrix Like?
“He was just a pretty quiet guy as a matter of fact. Most of the time that I spent with him I never saw him basically without a guitar in his hands.”
And you worked on the ‘All Things Must Pass’ Album with George Harrison?
“Well I knew George for quite awhile he gave me my first Sitar. And McCartney I use to go down to the Sgt. Peppers sessions and hang out or stay in the studio while they were recording and spend a good time with George. Nice Man. But playing on All Things Must Pass, I couldn’t recall what tracks that I played on to be perfectly honest with you.”
So what’s on your plate these days Dave?
“Well I tour a lot and obviously the charity for the Vets. Trying to grow the charity is very important for me. And basically just keep on rolling down the road and singing.”
Do you have a CD being released soon or involvement in new collaborations?
“At this point, there’s no point in me putting anymore CD’s out because there’s just no outlet for it, there’s no promotion for it, there’s no radio anymore ever, there’s no way for anyone to know that you’ve got something new out.”
Well you’ve got me Dave. (Laughter)
“I mean national radio, it’s somebody goes in and puts a cart in and pulls it out after thirty days and then puts another one in and there’s nobody home.”
I know exactly what you mean Dave. I was a radio deejay in the late 70’s early 80’s. My dream was to become like one of those deejays from back in the 60’s. Radio is not about the music anymore it’s basically all about advertisers. And who wants to listen to radio to hear back to back to back commercials.
“Yea, there’s just nothing there and no way to get anything promoted. There’s no way for anyone to really hear something or know if they’re even going to like it. So basically anything new that I have is just going to go on my website and you can go there and download it. And until something comes along where you can promote properly it’s economically not feasible to do another CD.”
My column is only about Classic Rock Music and Classic Rock Artists. And my articles are viewed globally on the internet with the sole intention of keeping that dream alive and the fire burning.
“I appreciate that.”
My favorite Dave Mason tune unfortunately was a song that you didn’t write. And it was your biggest hit “We Just Disagree” written by Jim Krueger. I own that awesome performance of the song that you did on Burt Sugarman’s The Midnight Special. Dave I just want to tell you man that you’re a legendary artist, great songwriter and studio musician and just a classy guy and thank you so much for spending time with me today I really appreciate it.
“You’re quite welcome.”
Keep on doing what you’re doing and I'll see you at Hippiefest in Clearwater.
“I will Ray thank you.”
Dave Mason will be headlining Hippiefest 2011 on Saturday August 27th at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. So let your freak flag fly!
Mason shared his extraordinary musical talents with a list of legends- including George Harrison, Eric Clapton’s Derek & the Dominos, The Rolling Stones, Leon Russell, Cass Elliot, Fleetwood Mac and his good friend Jimi Hendrix.
Mason and Traffic bandmate Jim Capaldi reunited for a tour that produced the 1999 album Live: The 40,000 Headmen Tour. Traffic was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2004.
Mason says, "My first band was The Jaguars. I worked a little instrumental version called Opus To Spring when I was about 16 and a local record store put a record out on it."
Dave Mason revealed,"Winwood had five songs and I had five songs so it was like okay let’ s get back together again. And I thought it was a really good second album it was a good transition from Fantasy."
Dave Mason played his 12- string acoustic guitar on "All Along the Watchtower" and sang on “Crosstown Traffic" with his good friend Jimi Hendrix on the Electric Ladyland album.
YES starship pilot and spiritual voice of reason Jon Anderson spoke with Examiner Ray Shasho in a recent interview. Positivity, exciting new ventures and a rebirth of energy thrusting towards a bright future was the essential message received from the illustrious YES songsmith.
In 2008, Anderson’s reverent role as lead singer, composer and musician for the progressive rock group came to an end. Anderson became very ill with a respiratory ailment. Management wanted the group to continue touring but Anderson asked for a break or perhaps to do a semi acoustic project but the band refused and continued with their plans anyway. In fact they recruited Benoit David a singer from a YES tribute band to replace the legendary singer.
Anderson became so ill that he stopped breathing and had to be resuscitated. He fell into a three- day coma and near death on several occasions. But despite life’s setbacks Jon Anderson remains optimistic. He’s currently on a solo tour playing Yes favorites and his own eclectic works.
So will Jon Anderson ever return as YES frontman? Jon says, “When they wake up.”
On October 19th Anderson will bring back the true magic of early YES music when he begins a new tour with ex-bandmate and keyboardist Rick Wakeman. (Anderson Wakeman Tour 2011) Both collaborated on a phenomenal album in 2010 called The Living Tree.
Jon’s latest solo creation is called Survival & Other Stories. Jon says, “About four years ago I put in an ad on my website: ‘Musicians Wanted’…this is the result” The album features Anderson and many other artists writing songs via the internet while Jon performs them.
John Roy Anderson was born in Accrington, Lancashire, England. Jon is 66 years old and an American citizen living in San Luis Obispo, California.
Not only is Jon Anderson a very special human being but I’ve also learned that he’s a funny guy!
Here’s a very special conversation with the immortal Jon Anderson. Jon how are you today?
“I’m fine how are you?”
Are you calling from your home in California or on the road today?
“No I’m in California, Central California and it’s a beautiful day.”
How’s the solo tour coming along?
“It’s really wonderful I just get up there and sing with my guitars and acoustic piano you know just have a good time singing classic Yes songs and Vangelis songs some new songs from Survival & Other Stories my new album and tell stories and a lot of people enjoy them.”
You know I really like the reggae twist you put on your songs. I find a lot of performers doing that nowadays.
“Yea reggae is really where it’s at.”
Besides your solo tour, I guess the other big news would be the Anderson-Wakeman Tour launching in October?
“Yea that’s me and Wake we did a concert tour last year in the UK which was very successful so we decided to take it to America. So we’re doing the east coast October and November- mid October to mid November tickets are selling well so it’s a going to be a great show.”
It’s so great to see you with your old YES bandmate. The living Tree is such a wonderful album. Beautiful arrangements, your vocals are better than ever and reminiscent to the very early YES material.
“I love it, I love doing those new songs and especially on stage it’s just so much fun.”
Survival & Other Stories is a terrific project, talk a little about how it was conceived?
“Well you know I put an ad on my website asking for musicians to send me ideas to music and I got lots of them -I get them every week now and my son is sending me music which is really cool we’re working together on some songs. So you know music is very very adventurous out there and a lot of young people and you know any age kind of people just sending me music and you never know what’s going to come along.”
It’s so cool to get the kids involved man, I brought my kids up the right way listening to classic rock music. As a matter of fact my son’s favorite band when he fell asleep at night was YES.
“Excellent!”
I took them to concerts at early ages too. I think it’s important for them to know.
“Yea, that there’s more music than the ones you here on the radio and basically there’s pop music which is popular music which is great but there’s also music which is a little bit more adventurous and different and that’s something that I’ve always been interested in you know.”
And it’s tougher than ever for new bands to get signed nowadays by record companies.
“Well you know happily they can create their own music and put it on the internet by themselves and it won’t cost them too much money to do that and so there’s a couple of companies like ChinCorp and the company called Stageit you can actually do concerts and sell tickets online from your home and you can just do a half an hour or forty five minutes show just in your home on a little camera that’s on your laptop and people are doing this -really really exciting times you know.”
YES music was a religion to most of us growing up. Those spiritual lyrics sung by one Jon Anderson who we emulated not as an entertainer but more or less as a spiritual advisor or holy man. And then your bandmates replaced you with a YES tribute band singer who I happened to feel is horrible by the way. And everyone I’ve talked with agrees.
“He’s just different you know what I mean. They did it with The Buggles (Geoff Downes and Trevor Horne). Chris and Steve and Alan they just think well that’s where we’re going and good luck to them and I just think well I’ve got a lot of work that I want to do as well a lot of great music that I want to create so I’ll just get on with my life you know. I‘ve left the band a couple of times because of outside influences trying to push the band around and I hate that so that’s when I have to say I’ve got to get out of there quick.”
I guess it may have been different if the new singer had been a member of YES or perhaps another classic rock legend, but a tribute band singer? YES faithful are still scratching their heads.
“It’s kind of disappointing but hey 35 years of YES is not too bad after all. I did a lot of work that I’m very proud of and there were some ups and downs but hey when you look at the depth of music that YES created over those 35 years it’s kind of amazing to me when I think about it in my head and there’s some great music coming and I’m always thinking about the next step of music and I think a lot of people are going to be very surprised in the next couple of years how music is going to really evolve and all that energy from the love of YES music will come through and people will hear it in a different way.”
I guess you’re ex bandmates are stuck in the past while you’re moving forward?
“You know Ray every time I do an interview they say when are you going to get back together with YES and I say, “When they wake up.””
Laughing
“You know, you’ve got to make light of everything. YES was a tiny miniscule of the music world anyway. People like yourself and other people like me I loved what we’ve done so I’m sort of committed to creating great YES music in a way but I think the next project that I’m going to let go of probably before Christmas people are going to say, “Yea Jon still has that energy to do that kind of music I love it.””
The music was great but it was your inspirational words that kept YES fans focused on a positive outlook of life and hope for the future. I can honestly say that you got me through a very tough stage in my life.How do you stay so positive especially during these difficult times?
There’s a lot of us out there who are committed to being positive and optimistic. I think in life you have a choice. You can either be optimistic or pessimistic and I go for the optimism you know.”
And you’ve been through a terrible illness too. Your wife actually saved your life when you were sick right Jon?
“Well that was an amazing moment. Basically I got into a coughing fit and there’s a lot of dust around and pollen in this area and I’ve been coughing on and off pretty badly for three years and doctors couldn’t figure it out. So when I had this real bad one I just stopped breathing and my wife held me in her arms while the paramedics came and they just sort of jumped started me and it put me in a coma for three days. So it was pretty dangerous you know?
A couple of months later the real infection took over and that’s when I had to have these operations. You know you have a problem and the infection goes into the pancreas and then the liver and you have to be very careful so they had to do these very delicate operations. And I couldn’t sing for six months and couldn’t speak hardly but I just kept thinking I thought of doing all this stuff you know. A lot of people go through it its life; okay better get on with the next thing.”
What got me through my two week stint in the hospital a few years back was my wife staying with me over night for several days and a regular visit from the Pastor.
“It’s amazing, when I finished up my last operation this guy use to come around playing guitar you know and singing and he started singing It’s a Wonderful Life and I just burst out in tears. And it took me all those months to let go and cry you know.”
When the pastor came in to pray with me at the hospital I cried every time.
“It’s good for you ya know.”
I think going through all that does something to your emotions and maybe even brings you closer with God?
“Yea that’s what it is.”
You said in a recent interview that “I live to understand the great mystery, and how we are part of Mother Earth, and ‘why’” That statement reminded me of what the American Indians tell us, as they remind us how important it is for our soul to connect with nature.
“Oh gosh yea. When I first came to live in America and I’m an American now for two years and I was here twenty years ago when I first came here lived here and that’s when I started meeting with you call them Medicine Man Shaman Native Americans. And it’s a beautiful experience to sit and hear what they have to say and I thank the Gods that I was able to be there at that time and wake up you know.”
Unfortunately sometimes it’s difficult to find sincere words of wisdom and hope nowadays in America. It seems like positive or inspirational significances are overshadowed by commercials.
“Everybody wants to be American it seems. I travel enough to know you know I’ve been to China just about 20 years ago and they were just beginning to understand the American energy and I remember seeing at this airport there was a big sign and a big white painted sign and it said peace love tourism and they understood what was the next thing and look at them now they’re the biggest financially based country in the world and they’re feeding off the Americanism but its far- far- far away from spiritual below the mother earth but it’s a good thing in a way because eventually everybody will turn around and understand that if we don’t take care of mother earth we’re not taking care of ourselves.”
You know Jon, God created such a massive universe there just has to be other life out there somewhere. After all there must be a reason for all that space right?
“For sure! for sure! There’s so much going on that we don’t understand. I love that concept anyway and one day it’ll all come clear.”
Do you think after we die it’s all going to come clear?
“I think if you let go of preconceived ideas you’ll find everything in this life. For me my understanding is God is all that is, God is everything all that is and you’re true God is within and that’s the power that you have as a human being. And this life is for us to discover the divine within. And that’s really the key to life in many ways for me. And the thing is it’s not for us to reason why everything is what it is just do it.”
Inspired by The Beatles you played in a band called the Warriors with your brother before YES. And now your brother Tony is a Priest. Jon you would have made a wonderful Priest.
“You know we’re all very spiritual beings and I was always felt happy to sing about the earth and don’t kill the whale and take care of life, the great path, the mystery and everything. I was always happy to sing about it and why not I’m not going to sing about rock and roll Chuck Berry did that, The Beatles did that I’m not even going to get near that so I might as well sing about something different you know.”
What other music besides The Beatles inspired you?
“Oh gosh from Stevie Wonder to… when I think about the list it’s pretty endless. I love the music from the 40’s, 50’s obviously the 60’s and when I watched Michael Jackson what an incredible talent and what an incredible energy you know and Sting and there’s so many great artists out there it’s just extraordinary. I actually saw Ricki Lee Jones a couple of months ago just like being in heaven you know she was amazing. And then about a month later we saw that was on the same bill Randy Newman one of the great composers my God he was so beautiful. Very funny! On stage he’s very funny.”
I think you would have meshed well with George Harrison.
“I met him once but if I‘m around George Harrison I don’t know what I want to say it’s a frightening experience.”
Why Jon?
“Because it’s George Harrison. He’s a Beatle.”
That’s funny; I remember seeing Ozzy Osbourne being nervous and excited about meeting Paul McCartney. I thought, come on man you’re Black Sabbath!
“I know the feeling.”
When meditation is done correctly one can actually leave their body. I read somewhere that you’ve entered the fourth dimension while meditating?
“I’ve had three experiences in this lifetime of interdimensional world and it’s a beautiful experience because it wakes you up about life and makes you realize that there’s more to life than we see and understand. And I write about in some music. I’ve written a whole piece of music about that experience and one day it’ll come out timing is everything.”
In 1974 Yes’s seventh studio album called Relayer was released. In my mind the album stands out to be the most creative and inspirational albums on the planet. It’s almost like the five of you were from another galaxy far-far away.Of course Roger Dean had a lot to do with that perception.
“Gates of Delirium I wrote that on piano all the way through. And I took it to the band and I don’t play good piano so it must have sounded terrible but they understood what I was trying to get at you know.”
Was that piece inspired by Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace?
“Yea, it was a combination of the war as we understand it and where would we be can we live beyond war and then I had to jump in the real chaos and savagery of war in order to come out at the other end with soon oh soon the light to wake us up emotionally and spiritually you know.
What’s so great about the lyrics is that it touches people in so many ways. You can take the song and match them with your own trials and tribulations of life and it all makes so much sense. It’s like an explanation of what life is all about.
“It says the reason to be here and the reason to be here is the light.”
Relayer is such a magnificent album and I will always know that it is the best YES album of all time.
“It’s one of those albums that over the years when we performed that on stage it was such a tribute -laser beams happening and then thunder and lightning going on stage and then all of a sudden it calms right down and I’d walk to the front with a guitar and just sing soon oh soon the light and I was on another planet. I use to go through this like an exorcism in the middle of the war I was screaming and shouting and banging and crashing I was doing all sorts on stage trying to evoke something very-very ancient it was a powerful moment. I believed that I was finding the truth.”
What were some of your favorite works?
“I think they all got something in them you know. Fragile, Close to the Edge, Topographic, Gates of Delirium, Awaken that whole period was such an incredible adventure and obviously 90125 was a totally different world and the last album we did Magnification I love very much. But like you say the Relayer was like sort of the kingpin of the 70’s can we stand and keep going yes we can you know.”
Who actually named the band YES?
“The original band was called Mabel Greer’s Toy Shop. Yea Chris’s (Chris Squire) band was called that so I joined with Bill( Bill Bruford original YES drummer) after the drummer left and the keyboard player left in the first week because they had better gigs so I said right to Chris listen we’ve got to shorten the name. So Peter Banks (YES Original guitarist) came up with the name YES. I came up with LIFE and Chris came up with WORLD and then he said, “Why don’t we call ourselves YES?” and we all said, “The Yes?” And he said, No-no just YES.” Then we all said, “YES that’s great!” Yea those were wild and beautiful times.”
Do you have a good story from that wild and beautiful time?
“Aw there’s so many you know. I remember me Howe and Rick getting on the plane but we had a couple of drinks and in those days you could smoke a joint in the airport because nobody cared anyway it was ’71 or ’72 around that time. So we’re happy and on the plane and the captain says we’ll be landing in Chicago in an hour’s time and we said, “Hey wait a minute we’re supposed to be going to Philadelphia.” So Rick stood up and said, “Excuse me can you turn the plane around.”
All laughing That’s hilarious!
“And we all looked at him and okay so we got there a quarter of an hour before the show in Philadelphia so we had to get on a different plane when we got to Chicago but that whole moment when Rick stood up and shouted “Can you turn the plane around?” He was serious.
Bands like Yes, Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull never had a string of top 40 hits but were still selling out stadiums. Although YES had Owner of a Lonely Heart and Roundabout as Top 40 radio hits. Were you ever pressured to put out something commercially that would be played on the radio?
“It would happen every so often and that’s when I would leave the situation every eight or ten years or so when it became more of a corporate idea and a record company idea to make an album because we need a hit. And I’d say, “I think I’ve got to get out of here.” I’d go up and do Vangelis or go off and do other things because I don’t want to chase that dream because if it happens great if it doesn’t get on with great music and new ideas.”
Jon I want to close with a statement.I’d like to say for all the YES faithful like myself throughout the ages, Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your inspirational lyrics and soothing voice of calm that reached into our very souls. With messages that remind us that everything is going to be okay.
Positivity, exciting new ventures and a rebirth of energy thrusting towards a bright future was the essential message received from the illustrious YES songsmith.
“I think they all got something in them you know. Fragile, Close to the Edge, Topographic, Gates of Delirium, Awaken that whole period was such an incredible adventure and obviously 90125 was a totally different world."
Hippiefest 2011 cruises into Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater on Saturday August 27th with a Groovy stage lineup of Legendary Classic Rock Musicians. Grand Funk Railroad’s Coolest singer/guitarist/songwriter Mark Farner will join Dave Mason(“We Just Disagree,” “Hole In My Shoe,” “Feelin' Alright,” “Only You Know and I Know”), Rick Derringer (“Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo,” “Hang On Sloopy”), Felix Cavaliere (“Good Lovin',” “Groovin'” and “People Got To Be Free”) and Gary Wright (“Dream Weaver,” “Love Is Alive” and “Really Wanna Know You”) for an outta sight night of kicking out the Jams.
So load up the van let the hot chick ride shotgun and get truckin’ over to Clearwater and “Let’s Party Man!”
Hippiefest 2011 launches August 3rd from San Diego.
Mark Farner was the inspirational leader for the hard rock band Grand Funk Railroad. The band along with Black Sabbath is considered to be the Grandfathers of Heavy Metal music. The string of hits that the band produced included “We’re An American Band,” “I’m Your Captain,” “Heartbreaker,” “Footstompin’ Music,” “Mean Mistreater,” “Walk Like A Man,” “Some Kind of Wonderful” and “The Loco-Motion” to name only a few.
The band has sold over 50-million records worldwide. Mark Farner accepted an invitation to play with Ringo Starr’s All Starr Band in 1995.
Here’s my recentinterview with Grand Funk Railroad legend Mark Farner.
Hi Mark, how are you doing?
“I’m doin’ but not mildewin’.” (Lot’s of laughter from both of us)
I’m calling from little Michigan. The Sarasota/Bradenton area here in Florida probably has more Michiganites than Florida natives living here. How’s everything?
“Good Brother got a sunny day here in Michigan and it’s almost 70.”
Mark, the first thing I’d like to talk about…I have a 23 year old son and when I first heard the news about Jesse I was heartbroken. How is Jesse’s progress? (Mark Farner’s world turned upside- down when his son Jesse (at 21) fell and sustained a near fatal- fracture to theC-5 vertebra in his neck. The last update before this interview was that he remained paralyzed but was starting to show improvement by lifting his head off of the pillow).
“Jesse is doing good. He’s got a little movement now in his shoulders. He can actually when he’s sitting in the chair, he can actually lift his shoulders up which is, he wasn’t able to move this when he came home from the hospital. He couldn’t even move his head so he’s gaining on it little by little, but the best gain is the fact that his night nurse and him have fallen in love.”
Wow Mark you’re kidding me that's awesome.
“No dude it is like unbelievable. But it’s happening and it’s real. She was engaged to be married when she first started working here and she is of course no longer engaged to be married and she’s just goo goo ga ga over Jesse and he’s the same way about her. I’m not kidding you, these two wow… and it’s just unbelievable.”
That’s a great love story. You know I’m an author, I just wrote a book maybe I can write the story. How old is she Mark?
“She’s 25 I believe and he just turned 22 so she’s got a few years on him but that’s all to his benefit.”
That’s great news Mark, I’m very happy because I was really worried and my heart and prayers go out to Jesse and your family. And I wasn’t aware that he could sit up in the chair at this point?
“Oh yea, he’s got the puff and sip, we use a sling to get him from the bed into the chair and during that time he has to be disconnected from his life support and so it’s a swift motion and we’ve got the Hoyer lift in the ceiling, we got one used, you know medical equipment is expensive, I don’t care if it’s used or not. We got this to make it as easy as we can on him, get him into the chair and once he’s in the chair he can drive it with his puff and sip that he put’s in his mouth with a straw and he can manipulate that thing and turn it around on a dime. It’s amazing to see what he can do with that chair.”
It sounds like to me that he’s going to come out of this, it may take a little time but the progress he’s made so far is extremely encouraging and again my prayers are with your whole family.
“I appreciate it Brother Ray.”
I think Hippiefest 2011 is one the best lineups ever.
“I appreciate that yea, I can’t wait to throw down with these Brothers. You know Rick Derringer and I are buddies from way back.”
Yea, Rick lives about 10 minutes from me here in Bradenton. You’ll have to come down after the tour and visit with him.
“If I ever get a chance I’ll be there because I am a fishing fool. I love Florida fishing.”
One guy I could see you hanging out with would be Ted Nugent.
“You know our schedules are such we’ve always wanted to be hanging out together, we do on the phone and we even collaborate a little bit but as far as doing the governor’s hunt, when I would do the hunt he would be on the road and when he would do the hunt I would be on the road. It’s just the way it worked out.”
You had a supportive family growing up because you quit school to go into music?
“Actually I was laid off. Yea, I was laid off from high school and this was Flint Michigan you know, the town that invented layoffs. But I was asked to leave; it was because of an altercation with one of the teachers who was the football coach. I use to play ball before I played music. When I was on the team that team was tight we were all buddies that hung together and we never lost a game. We were just undefeated because we were tight. We played together. Anyway we got into a confrontation and he threw me up against the wall and my head busted open on this brass picture frame and I reached back and felt the blood and when I pulled my hand around to in front of my face and I saw the blood on my hand it just immediately went into a fist and started traveling for the teachers eye. And you know I mean seriously that is what it was, it was reaction to aw man I’m hurt BAM -you know and that was it. Then I went to night school after I was asked to leave school because I went to the school board meeting after the algebra teacher who was the football coach said if they let me back in school (because I went with an attorney to this meeting to get back into school after I was thrown out) and he said if they let me back in he was going to quit his job. He didn’t want me back in that school dude.”
I really felt that the rock and roll hall of fame should have been in Michigan. Not only were there so many legendary rock artists that hailed from Michigan, there was also the genius of Motown.
“Yea, I hear ya. The music that came out of this state, it was like a music capital in America. And I think largely due to the fact that people from every state in the union moved into Michigan to get the jobs, auto factory jobs and higher paying jobs. My mother and her family moved from Leachville Arkansas where my granddad had a tailor shop down there he was a tailor, but moved to Michigan to get a job at Buick. And Turnsted was hiring, Fisher body was hiring, my mother was the first female welder to weld on Sherman tanks made by Fisher body in Flint Michigan. And my dad was a tank driver in the 7th Armored Division.”
It’s such a shame what has happened to cities like Flint and Detroit economically.
“It is coming back more like Ann Arbor or a college town and the University of Michigan, The Mott Foundation putting a lot of money into Flint, God Bless them. But we need more than anything is money that works for us, the money that we use works for the families that own the Federal Reserve, the European families that have no patriotic interest in this country what so ever. And you think about the Federal Reserve bank in New York is owned by five merchant banks in London that were chartered by the bank of England and the bank of England started in 1694 under the crown of those families surrounding the crown that were the descendants of those families that control this country by the issuance of our currency. And if you think about it, it’s the same powers that we declared ourselves independent from in 1776, but they’ve been whipping our butts ever since 1913 for telling the king to go shove it up his.
Our money doesn’t work for us it works for foreigners. And until our money works for us again we’re just going to watch this thing keep going down, down, down, down, down. When we finally wake up and say hey we got to have our money system back and work for this country and we got to patronize our factories and our products and we got to protect our workers and not allow all this crap that’s going on but that’s the reflection of those who are actually governing those families who owned the Federal Reserve that are actually governing this country and even using the war machine against their enemies.”
I watched an interview you did with Mike Huckabee on Fox news. As you know he’s decided not to run for president disappointing many of his followers, do you have anyone in mind that you may support for the next presidential election?
“If Ron Paul ran again at least he’s somebody that wants to audit the Fed which is pointing in the right general direction. Our money has to work for us and if it did we would be exporters of peace and goodwill because this is the collective heartbeat of the majority of us Americans. When we get the collective heartbeat of this country back, that’s what I petition for with my music, I want to provoke people to think about this.”
I should probably turn my Q&A from politics into the music. How did Grand Funk Railroad get their gig at the Atlanta Pop Festival that led to your first record contract in 1969? (An estimated 180,000 rock fans- jammed the Atlanta International Speedway to watch the two-day event).
“Attorney’s that we were using at the time which was the same attorney’s as our manager Terry Knight - there in was the big conflict but they had some legal work, it was there law firm in New York City that was doing the legal work for this concert. And they proposed to those who were putting this concert on that Grand Funk Railroad opened the event at noon and go on for free. They didn’t even have to pay us, just let us go on and open and so they agreed to it and the rest his history Brother. It worked!”
I heard on the way to the Festival your U-Haul carrying all the equipment flipped over?
“Yea, a friend of ours lent us the van and we rented where they use to chain that bumper hitch to your bumper and you would pull the U-Haul places, well that’s what we had. And I woke up, I was sleeping and riding shotgun and I’m up there at the front end of this van and the guy says I’m fine, I’m fine so I try to catch a little snooze and I look up and say “Dude that’s I-75 that way.” So he turns right at the same speed that we we’re going and tried to make the turn and that U-Haul didn’t fare so well. It came off the chains rolled down through the ditch…oh my God.”
You guys must have been panicky.
“Oh man because we knew that stuff was pretty fragile, you know tube amplifiers with big heavy transformers on the chassis. Well the transformers completely ripped right off the chassis of the amps. Our roadies had to solder those amps back together and the transformers were left outside sitting on top of the boxes. And they just made the wires work. So they soldered it all back together and when we went on stage it was amazing but that stuff was working, it was pumping.”
Grand Funk’s original manager-producer Terry Knight, was it a safe assumption to say that he was both good and bad for the band?
“Yea, he was an excellent promoter, his scruples were just bad. He could take advantage of someone without conscious. You know, I’m just not made that way, that ain’t the way I roll so it’s offensive to me to have encountered some people like that but it sure has been a lesson. And now I kind of know what I’m kind of looking for and I have spiritual discernment, thank God to head some of it off at the pass. But you can’t take away from the guy’s creativity; my God, you know the album covers and the presentation of Grand Funk Railroad to the people and his hype. But the idea of keeping us from the press to create a mystique that was really giving him the opportunity to tout himself as being the mentor and creator of Grand Funk Railroad. And it backfired in a lot of ways because critics just hated us. But for him it was successful in that it gave him that platform, he took out a Billboard/ Cashbox ad, a full page you know where you open up with the centerfold of him flipping the bird to everybody. That was his ego, the money that he made I don’t know what it cost him but that was a lot of scratch for that ad. It’s too bad about that but it kind of indicates a personality flaw there.
Did he mess you guys up at all with receiving royalties for your music?
“Well, yea, he published all my songs and told me that I needed to publish my songs through his company which he had affiliations throughout the world and what have you, I didn’t know I was twenty years old my mother had to sign the contract because I wasn’t legal. But if he would have just come right out and said, “Do you want all your money or half of it,” I think I could have made a pretty sane decision based on that. Outside of that and anything short of that I got snookered."
Mark, I need a good rock and roll story from back in the day?
“I’ll tell you one about Janis Joplin getting into the helicopter after we played West Palm Beach, The Stones were supposed to close out the show. So we went back in the helicopter with Janis because she’d stayed and watched the Grand Funk show. She played prior to us. We watched her and she stayed and Janis and I always hung together. So I’m down and I’m going up to the hotel and went where’s Janis? Where’s Janis? And nobody knew where she was, so I go back down to the chopper and it was darker than inside of a boot and I look up in there and she’s rubbing on the seat and I crawl up on the ladder and I said, “What the hell are you doing?” and I looked and she’s got Hershey bars and she’s smearing chocolate all over those seats and I said, “What the hell are you doing?” She said, "Well The Stones are on next and I want to mess up Mick’s britches," because they all used to wear those white satin pants.
And there was this brown spot on the back of his white pants, there was no way to avoid it.”
(Laughing hard) That was a great story.
I think Grand Funk Railroad’s appearance at Shea Stadium in 1971 was a monumental point in the band’s career. You sold-out the show in just 72 hours breaking The Beatles record. And your magnificent performance of I’m Your Captain/ Closer To Home ranks in my Top 10- defining moments in rock and roll history. Talk a little bit about the Shea Stadium experience.
“Well we were picked up on a heliport at east river, took off and flew directly over Shea stadium. Humble Pie was on stage which was set up at second base. And as we flew over you could see the bleachers were flexing with the rhythm of the music. I didn’t know what song it was but I could tell they were rockin’. Man I had goose bumps on my goose bumps upon goose bumps. And when we landed in the parking lot where the limousine was supposed to have met us it was empty. And I asked the guy. “Are you sure this is where we’re supposed to be?” So one of the guys that was with us ran down to the corner phone booth, this was long before cell phones, and he makes the call and within two or three minutes the parking lot was full of cops with lights and sirens going. We all jumped in cop cars and rode into Shea stadium with the lights and sirens going and when we got out the people went nuts. It was crazy.”
The performance by Grand Funk Railroad, especially by you Mark was so electrifying.
“I appreciate it. Yea they energized with that compassion, there’s something about when you have something that has brought people together a song like I’m Your Captain, when they started singing they were loader than the PA I guarantee you and this was the day before monitors.”
Could you hear yourselves playing, I know The Beatles use to have a hard time hearing themselves over the screaming crowds.
“It was a little difficult but with our West amplifiers we could hear. But when we started singing “I’m getting closer to my home,” the audience and sheer volume overcame the PA system. It was louder than we were.”
I’ve been to hundreds and hundreds of concerts Mark, and I’ve never seen a crowd so in sync to the show like that Shea stadium crowd was.
“Well it was a very fulfilling moment and the emotional continuity, the synergy, because there were a lot people thinking in the same direction right there in New York City that night. And that’s what makes this consciousness, the evolution in our consciousness and moments like that. We were all elevated to this place. To be there was like Woodstock II, another consciousness another moment that brought people a little closer to reality.”
Mark thank you very much for everything you do man. And again my thoughts and prayers go out to Jesse and your family. No doubt he’ll get stronger and stronger every day.
“Say a prayer for him. Thank you Brother Ray.”
Watch Mark Farner perform all of his Grand Funk Railroad classic hits at Hippiefest on Saturday August 27th at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. Tickets for the show can be purchased right here. It’s Gonna be a Gas Man!
I want to thank Jeff Albright from The Albright Entertainment Group for arranging this interview and so much more.
