Exclusive Interview: Roger McGuinn says David Crosby can reunite The Byrds without him

 

By Ray Shasho

Orlando, Florida resident Roger McGuinn will be making a rare concert appearance on Saturday, March 17th at the Capitol Theatre in Clearwater. Roger (a.k.a. Jim McGuinn) began his music career as a folk artist, touring with the Limeliters, Chad Mitchell Trio, and legendary crooner Bobby Darin as a guitarist and banjo player.
After listening to The Beatles, McGuinn altered his folk styles to include a rock and roll beat while performing at coffee houses in Greenwich Village, New York. His efforts to merge traditional folk music with rock and roll were not well received, so Roger moved to Los Angeles and began work at the infamous Troubadour. It was after Roger’s opening set for country music legend Hoyt Axton that he and Gene Clark first met. Soon after, David Crosby joined them completing one of the most influential bands of the 60’s.

The Byrds would soon become Roger McGuinn (lead guitars and vocals), Gene Clark (tambourine, vocals), David Crosby (rhythm guitars and vocals), Chris Hillman (bass guitar and vocals) and Michael Clarke (drums). Columbia Records signed The Byrds in 1965 and they recorded their first number one hit, a Bob Dylan penned song, “Mr. Tambourine Man.” The Byrds continued to score big commercially with their 1965 classic that was adapted from the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible, “Turn! Turn! Turn!” “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better,” was another huge hit for the group in 1965 featuring McGuinn’s trademark jangling 12-string Rickenbacker. “Eight Miles High” was The Byrds 1966 Top 20 Psychedelic classic and “Mr. Spaceman” reached #36 on Billboard’s Top 100, both were featured on their Fifth Dimension album.” Dylan’s penned, “My Back Pages” released in 1967 #30 and “So You Want To Be A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star,” also released in 1967 was a #29 Billboard Top 100 hit. 

Gene Clark left the band in 1966. David Crosby and Michael Clarke departed in late 1967. In 1968, Gram Parsons was hired and The Byrds recorded their critically acclaimed release, “Sweetheart of the Rodeo.” Later in 1968, Hillman and Parsons left.
In 1969, The Byrds recorded, “Ballad of Easy Rider” for a film starring Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper. McGuinn also co-wrote, “Chestnut Mare” with Jacques Levy in 1969, a song intended to be featured in a musical inspired by Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt. McGuinn led several Byrds lineups until 1973 when the original quintet reunited and then disbanded after the release of their 12th and final album Byrds.
Roger McGuinn rejoined Gene Clark and Chris Hillman in 1978 and recorded three successful albums for Capitol Records. 
In 1981, McGuinn returned to his folk roots and began to tour acoustically as a solo artist.
McGuinn, Crosby and Hillman performed as The Byrds in 1989 and 1990 and recorded four new songs for their box set released in 1991. 
The Byrds were also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.

In 1995, Roger McGuinn began recording and uploading a series of traditional folk songs to his website. It’s an ongoing project to create awareness of folk music. The songs are available for free download at Folk Den- http://folkden.com on Roger McGuinn’s official website.
Roger McGuinn’s CD, Treasures From The Folk Den, featured his favorite songs from The Folk Den and included guest artist duets with Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Odetta, Jean Ritchie, Josh White Jr. and Frank & Mary Hamilton. It was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2002 for “Best Traditional Folk Album.”
Roger McGuinn Live from Spain recorded in 2004 is an awesome live recording featuring all of Roger’s classics. The Folk Den Project was released in 2006, a four CD 100 song box set of rock, electrified blues and folk, rich in Rickenbacker “Jingle Jangle.”
Roger McGuinn’s latest release is an incredible 23- song collection devoted to the sea called, CCD.

Last week I had the rare opportunity to chat with /The Byrds founder and leader/singer/songwriter/guitar virtuoso/ folk-rock pioneer/ folk artist extraordinaire/Roger McGuinn.
Ray Shasho: Good morning Roger, thank you for being on the call today.  How long have you lived in the Orlando area?
Roger McGuinn: “We’ve been here for over twenty years and just love it.”
Ray Shasho: Are you a Disney enthusiast?
Roger McGuinn: “When we first moved here I was. We had annual passes and kind of treated it like a country club, and then I got so busy and didn’t use the passes anymore so we quit doing that. I really haven’t been there in a long time now. But we have friends that work there. When we first moved to this location I was a scanner radio buff. I use to want to listen to the backstage chatter at Disney. So I drew a five mile circle around Epcot center and said I wanted to live in this area. Fortunately we found a nice house in the area. I use to listen to them on the radio but they’ve been switched over to Nextel now. They’re all digital and you can’t get them anymore.”
Ray Shasho: The Tampa Bay area is excited that you’ll be performing on March 17th at the Capitol Theatre in Clearwater.
Roger McGuinn: “Me too, it’s going to be a lot of fun, I love the old theaters.  I’m so glad they’re still going and people are fixing them up and keeping them alive.”
Ray Shasho: I peeked around the internet looking for some of your most recent setlists. I really admired the setlist from your concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Is the Clearwater concert going to be similar to that show?
Roger McGuinn: “We changed that setlist because of the language barrier; I do everything in English so I had to keep it kind of simple. I’m not sure what we’re going to do, we usually figure out the set the day of the concert at around two o’clock. We have lunch and check out what we’ve done in the area, and probably what they are going to like in the area. So it’s similar in that I tell stories, usually autobiographical stories and tie all the songs together with the stories.”
Ray Shasho: What I saw will certainly captivate the audience, plenty of great Roger McGuinn/Byrds classics and a nice long setlist.
Roger McGuinn: “I do a long show now because I decided it would be more fun to do, “An evening with” rather than to have an opening act. So I’m doing two separate sets. I remember back in the 80’s, Donovan came over to the house and he was telling us that he didn’t do two shows anymore and I said, “How do you get away with that?” And he said, “Well, I just tell them that I won’t and they pay me the same amount.” So I said, “Wow, I’m going to try that.” So I did and it was working for awhile, but people wanted a longer show. My set is pretty intense; I do a lot of work up there.”
Ray Shasho: I’ve watched you and you really do work hard on stage. Just watching you play, “Eight Miles High” acoustically was intense. That’s got to be difficult to do.
Roger McGuinn: “You get use to it after awhile. It was interesting when I came up with that arrangement of it because I didn’t have the band, so I had to put in some more licks to have it sort of fill out. You’re not going to get exactly the same sound as the Rickenbacker electric but I kind of fill it out with Segovia and some classical Spanish licks.”
Ray Shasho: Your son Patrick is a filmmaker, how’s he doing?   
Roger McGuinn: “Patrick has made films, he was about to make one up in the Catskills when hurricane Irene came in and wiped out the whole area. It flooded the place where he was going to shoot, so he didn’t do it. So he’s still into that and he was working for Technicolor as an administrator for awhile.”
Ray Shasho: Being from the Tampa Bay area I really love songs about the sea. Your latest album called, CCD has 23 songs about the sea. Talk a little bit about that album.
Roger McGuinn: “I’ve been doing sea songs on my Folk Den for the last sixteen years, and if I had to pick a segment of traditional music that I liked the best it would be the old songs of the sea. I just love the kind of bravado and camaraderie and they were just amazing guys out there, it was like a frontier, they were like spacemen. I decided to do a compilation from some of my favorites from The Folk Den and put it out. We were going to call it, 23 Songs of the Sea but then kind of abbreviated it down to CCD.”
Ray Shasho: I remember another great sea song from the Cardiff Rose album called, “Jolly Roger” and that was a really cool tune.
Roger McGuinn: “Well thank you, Jacques Levy and I wrote that back in the 70’s, to try and get the feel for The Rolling Thunder Review.”
Ray Shasho: You once commented in an interview about The Byrds, “We were a ship of pirates; it was every man for himself.” You must have a genuine love for the sea. 
Roger McGuinn: “I’ve been sailing a lot, we just did 14 days on the Queen Mary 2 last week and had a ball. I love being on the sea and the rolling of the ship, and for me it’s not really happening until we get a little wave action going, I love that feeling. We’ve traveled so much that we don’t have any motion sickness problems.”
Ray Shasho: The Folk Den was created by you to raise awareness of folk music. Was that the primary reasoning behind it?
Roger McGuinn: “Yea, that’s the idea. Back in 1995, I noticed I wasn’t hearing as many traditional songs as I had in the past because the trend was for singer/songwriters to write their own material. So, I started to put them up on the internet for free download with the chords, the lyrics, and a little story about the song. The University of North Carolina picked it up and they’ve been using it for a public service for all these years, so it’s really kind of a labor of love.”
Ray Shasho: We use to sing the old traditional folk songs in grade school; it was part of growing up.
Roger McGuinn: “Then Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan came along and started writing their own and it stopped being cool to do the traditional songs, it became cooler to do your own. That was the problem, everyone started to do their own.”
Ray Shasho: I remember growing up watching Burl Ives and then later the Smothers Brothers, who I thought sort of reintroduced folk music on television.
Roger McGuinn: “I remember listening to Burl Ives when I was a kid too. The Smothers Brothers always put satire into it; they were a really great act. I remember first seeing them in the early 60’s, probably around 1961 at The Purple Onion in San Francisco and they were just hilarious. They still do the same things that they did back then. I know Tommy pretty well; I use to hang out with him in LA, but didn’t get to know Dicky real well.”
Ray Shasho: We’re missing so much of the traditional music that we grew up with, especially the storytellers.
Roger McGuinn: “I do that!”
Ray Shasho:  Yes you do, you’re the last of the Mohicans.
Roger McGuinn: “Well, I picked it up from Pete Seeger back in the 50’s; I use to love what he did in his concerts. So it was an inspiration for me when I watched Pete work.”
Ray Shasho: Pete Seeger is truly amazing; he’s a walking museum of history.
Roger McGuinn: “Absolutely, he’s 92 years old. I’ve had the privilege of working with him several times. I played at his birthday party at Madison Square Garden two years ago. I played, “Turn! Turn! Turn!” and a couple of guys form Band of Horses backed me up.”
Ray Shasho: Who are some of your favorite artists in the folk world?
Roger McGuinn: “I love Pete and loved Josh White, Big Bill Broonzy, Odetta and Lead Belly. The Weavers were great when they were with Pete but he went solo after that. Then there was the college generation and… The Kingston Trio, Peter Paul and Mary, Bob Gibson. One of my favorite albums is Bob Gibson and Bob Camp, At the Gate of Horn. It was a really dynamic album almost like The Beatles, and way before its time … around 1960 or so.”
Ray Shasho: Dance, hip hop, and variations of country music seem to be the nucleus of today’s music scene. Where did rock and roll disappear to?
Roger McGuinn: “Rock and roll peaked a long time ago, maybe 15 years ago. It subjugated to where Jazz was, it’s a subgenre now.”
Ray Shasho: Do you think rock music can make a comeback?”
Roger McGuinn: “No, I think it will always be there like jazz is, but it’s not going to come back into full blown popularity like it was in the 60’s. You can’t reheat a soufflé to quote Paul McCartney. It was just something that happened and it will never be the same. We’ll always have the music but you’re not going to get that popularity again. There were so many elements involved; the majority of the people were under 30 at the time, there was a Viet Nam war going on, and a lot of social pressure to change things, and there was no internet so people only communicated via songs on the radio and that sort of thing. And most of the elements have disappeared.”
Ray Shasho: Would you say record companies basically killed themselves when music started being distributed around the internet?
Roger McGuinn: “They didn’t get it. They laughed at it at first and then tried to sue everybody. Then they went out of business, a really ludicrous scene. I remember this guy from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Cory Doctorow was talking about, if they’d only grasp the idea that they could have sold these MP3’s at reasonable pricing, it could have dragged them kicking and screaming to the money tree. But they missed it; the only guy that got it was Steve Jobs. He got it and iTunes is the biggest music publisher in the world.”
Ray Shasho: Do you think they’re making as much money today on iTunes as record companies did selling records or CD’s?
Roger McGuinn: “It’s not as topped out, it’s sort of sideways distributed where the artists are getting more. Before, like when Sony bought the AT&T building and they had private jets, they got all the money and the artists got a little bit of the money, that’s not the way it is anymore, the artist can get more of the money from their music now, so it’s a good thing for the artists.”
Ray Shasho: I talked with a lot of artists who had multiple hits in the 60’s, and they all confirmed that they were under constant pressures by record companies, demanding artists to record their next hit single or album.
Roger McGuinn: “Absolutely, there was a lot of pressure; we had to do two albums a year for Columbia and there was also threat of being suspended, if you were suspended that meant you couldn’t record for them or couldn’t record for anybody else, you were still under contract. So they could basically shut you down. It was a horrible thing for artists. I’m not sure it was that financially rewarding, some of the old contracts were pretty low for the artists.”
Ray Shasho: The Beatles were huge Byrds fans?
Roger McGuinn: “They proclaimed The Byrds to be their favorite band when they came over to America and that was really a blast. They were our favorite band and inspired us into the music that we were doing.”
Ray Shasho: You and George Harrison were good friends?
Roger McGuinn: “I knew George and John; I hung out with Paul just a little bit. George and I were more friends than anybody.I’d see George over Tom Petty’s house in the later years, 80’s and 90’s.”
Ray Shasho: The Traveling Wilburys were a great band.
Tom Petty is back on tour, any chance of you and Tom singing, “King of the Hill” together at his Orlando show?
Roger McGuinn: “Yea, that would be fun, I have done that in the past, but I’ll be out of town unfortunately. Whenever it’s handy we do it, but we’re always pretty busy. I love sitting in with Bob Dylan too. I’ve done that quite a few times when I’ve been in town at the same time, and they’ve invited me up on stage and it’s always a thrill to play with these guys.”
Ray Shasho: What is the origin of playing a 7-string guitar?
Roger McGuinn: “I came up with it because I wanted to get the best of a 12-string on a 6-string. So, I doubled up on the octave on the G-string, otherwise it’s still a 6-string, and then I can play lead notes up and down the G-string. It’s a trick I learned from George Harrison. You don’t need a 12-string for everything you do so the best part of a 12-string is a G-string pair for doing leads. I really love the 7-string; I play it quite a bit.”
Ray Shasho: It was almost unheard of for a rock and roll musician to talk about their faith at one time. But now, I find more rock stars turning to God as they get older.
Roger McGuinn: “I’ve always been looking for God back in the 60’s, that’s why I changed my name from Jim to Roger. But I was raised a Roman Catholic and had to go to the eight o’clock Mass every morning and have communion and wear a tie, kind of like a restricted life style. Then in the 60’s we got wild and let it go and started looking in other places to see where God really was, and I came back to the Christian thing.”
Ray Shasho: The artists that have embraced God seem to have a wonderful outlook on life, and are in great physical condition because they take really good care of themselves, and look like they’ll live to 100 years old.
Roger McGuinn: “My mother is 101, she smoked until 70, and she drank pretty heavily until she was in her 80’s. So I think just good genes on that side of the family.” (Laughing)
Ray Shasho: What do remember the most about the 60’s?
Roger McGuinn:  “I remember the good times and hanging out at Laurel Canyon with my friends like John Phillips, Michelle and Crosby. We’d go to each other’s houses, play guitars, sing, and make up songs. So I just have positive memories of it, yea there were bad things going on but I wasn’t really focusing on them. I remember one night though trying to get down to the strip and there were flares across all the access roads to Sunset. I didn’t know it but there was a riot going on. I just went back to my house in the Canyon and found out the next day.”
“We campaigned for Bobby Kennedy at a venue in downtown LA, some sports arena, and I think it was right before he got shot; The Byrds did a show for him … a set. I met him and told him that I wished him the best and everything. That was pretty bad because I was a big fan of JFK.”
Ray Shasho: Before The Byrds, you worked with Bobby Darin. I remember the critics saying at the time that he was going to be the next Frank Sinatra.
Roger McGuinn:  “I was with Bobby when he was doing that Frank Sinatra style.Then he got interested in folk music and that’s when he hired me to back him up on the 12-string guitar and sing harmony. And he was a good teacher. He was a mentor and taught me a lot about the business, taught me how to write songs. It was a great time.”
Ray Shasho: Stephen Stills, Neil Young, and Ritchie Furay announced in 2011 that they were going to do a reunion tour. They’ve done some dates already but have yet to tour on a full scale level. David Crosby mentioned that he would have liked to see a double billing including a Byrds reunion but thought that you probably wouldn’t do it.
Roger McGuinn: “That’s true; I’m just too busy and happy doing what I’m doing. I’ll go back to the reheat of the soufflé quote from Paul McCartney; they asked him to get The Beatles back together when John and George were still around and he said it was like trying to reheat a soufflé, it wouldn’t be the same. I’m just having a ball now. To me being in the big time is not that big of a deal. I’ve been there, I know what it is, it’s exciting, but it’s also a lot of work and pressure. I love sort of flying under the radar where we can play theaters and sell CD’s on the internet and it’s really kind of a cool time.”
Ray Shasho: Do you still chat with David Crosby?
Roger McGuinn: “I wish him happy birthday every August 14th and he thanks me. But he does want to get The Byrds back together and he’s even been quoted saying that he’s offered me a million dollars to do it and I turned him down. Melissa asked me, “Did he really offer you a million dollars?”  I said, “No.”” (Laughing)
Ray Shasho: Hopefully he won’t try to reunite The Byrds without you because that happens a lot nowadays.
Roger McGuinn: “There’s this guy Andrew Gold, he had all my Rickenbacker and vocal parts down for The Byrds, but he passed away last year.  I said, why don’t you just get Andrew Gold man, he can do all my parts, he’d be great.”
Ray Shasho: Would you be upset if David Crosby reunited The Byrds without you?
Roger McGuinn: “I suggested it to him. He wants to do The Byrds … I said, “Okay man, take it out and do it, I don’t care.”
Ray Shasho: I always ask everyone that I interview if they have a good/funny story about when they were on the road.
Roger McGuinn: “Around 1965, we were touring in a motor home in Rome, Georgia and for some reason a doctor driving a Cadillac took offense at us. He drove his car into the front of our motor home and we all kind of stopped and the cops came. The guy that showed up was officer Pope and we were in Rome, Georgia. The doctor said, “These guys ran into me!” Officer Pope takes a look at the car and the motor home and said, “Looks like you ran into them doctor.” And he just let us all go. Back then, anybody with long hair in the south was considered suspicious.”
“When we played the Grand Ole Opry we got a real cool reception there. It wasn’t friendly, we got booed. It was like we were invading hippies and they didn’t like it. I bumped into Marty Stuart about ten years ago; he was the master of ceremonies at this IMAX movie that Dolly Parton was in. Marty and I sat down and he pulled out this B-Bender guitar and starts playing all of Clarence White’s licks. I went, “Wow, I haven’t heard those for thirty years …this is great!” So Marty and I started playing together and kept in touch and he invited me back to The Opry about a year ago. So forty three years after they sort of kicked us out of The Grand Ole Opry, I got to play it again with Marty.”
Ray Shasho:  Roger, thank you for spending time with me today, but especially for all the great music that you gave to all of us through the years. We look forward to your show at the Capitol Theatre in Clearwater on March 17th.
Roger McGuinn: “Thanks Ray, we’ll see you in Clearwater.”

A very special thank you goes out to Camilla McGuinn for arranging this interview.

Roger McGuinn official website www.ibiblio.org/jimmy/mcguinn
Roger McGuinn Folk Den http://folkden.com
Order… CCD -23 songs of the sea (Roger McGuinn’s latest release) at www.ibiblio.org/jimmy/mcguinn, Cdbaby.com or amazon.com.

Roger McGuinn performs live at the Capitol Theatre in Clearwater on Saturday, March 17th at 7:30p.m.

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Contact Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com


Order Ray’s new book called Check the Gs –The True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business at amazon.com or iuniverse.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

Exclusive: British Blues trailblazer Kim Simmonds of Savoy Brown –CD Review: ‘Voodoo Moon’

By Ray Shasho


British Blues extraordinaire Kim Simmonds recently accomplished a remarkable rock and roll milestone by celebrating forty five years with his legendary blues/rock band Savoy Brown. Since 1966, Simmonds has been founding member, lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter of the band. Savoy Brown was part of the UK blues progression that helped to regenerate and popularize blues music in America throughout the 60’s.

Simmonds originally formed The Savoy Brown Blues Band in 1965. The original lineup of Savoy Brown included Kim Simmonds on lead guitar, Bruce Portius on vocals,  Bob Hall on keyboards, Martin Stone on guitars, Ray Chappell on bass, and Leo Manning on drums. The lineup appeared on their 1967 debut album Shakedown, featuring a collection of blues cover tunes.

In 1968, Simmonds decided that the band needed a new direction and brought in Chris Youlden as their lead vocalist, Lonesome Dave Peverett on guitars, Rivers Jobe on bass, and Roger Earl on drums with perhaps one of the bands strongest lineups to date. Savoy Brown toured and recorded extensively spawning the albums Getting to the Point, Blue Matter, (featuring the hit single, “Train to Nowhere”) A Step Further, (featuring crowd pleaser, “I’m Tired,”) Raw Sienna and Looking In. Savoy Brown quickly developed a huge fan base in the U.S and became a mainstay on progressive rock format radio and concert arenas worldwide.

In 1970, lead vocalist Chris Youlden departed. Shortly thereafter, new bassist Tony Stevens, Lonesome Dave Peverett, and Roger Earl, left to form their new group Foghat along with ex-Black Cat Bones guitarist Rod Price. Foghat went on to score big commercially using Kim Simmonds formulation of blues-rock-boogie from Savoy Brown. Critics claim that Savoy Brown should have been a commercially successful supergroup if it weren’t for all the personnel changes over the years.

In 1971, a new Savoy Brown lineup was formed that included former members of Chicken Shack along with vocalist Dave Walker (later joined Fleetwood Mac, Black Sabbath). The band released, Street Corner Talking. The album brought the band their best chart success to date featuring Motown classics, “I Can’t Get Next To You” and “Tell Mama” which took the band to platinum status.

Kim Simmonds /Savoy Brown are the epitome of what rock and roll was… and should always be. Deep-rooted, pure, artistic, manifesto, virtuoso, everlasting… these are the components that should land Kim Simmonds in the rock and roll hall of fame. Savoy Brown is genuine rock and roll heritage. 

Savoy Brown’s current lineup is Kim Simmonds on guitars and vocals, Joe Whiting on sax and vocals, Pat DeSalvo on bass and Garnet Grimm on drums. Their latest release, Voodoo Moon credits Andy Rudy on keyboards and Ron Keck on percussions.

When you listen to Savoy Brown’s Voodoo Moon, you’ll understand why the band is genuine rock and roll heritage. Simmonds exhibits some of the greatest rock and roll lyrics to come out in years on Voodoo Moon. The opening track called, “Shockwave” is the quintessential rock and roll tune. Simmonds illustrates many of the greatest rock/blues catchphrases of all-time on the next track called, “Natural Man” a slow- rockin’ blues tune that recreates iconic bluesmen of past and present.

The next track… “Too Much Money” showcases sly melody with innovative guitar licks. “She’s Got The Heat” has got lyrics that could only have been written by rock and roll lore ... She pours on gasoline she makes the flame go higher. It’s a rock and roll boogie number featuring Kim Simmonds notorious slide- guitar wizardry and a tune that will certainly rock hard in front of a live audience.

“Look At The Sun” is another awesome melody with hints of Jim Morrison meets Frank Zappa meets Savoy Brown. Great guitars, great vocals, great sax, great song! Simmonds guitar virtuoso dazzles on the next track, a kick-ass instrumental spotlighting guitars and sax called,“24/7.”
The next track is a cool slow bluesy number called, “Round and Round” followed by the album’s title track, a daunting bluesy anthem called, “Voodoo Moon.” The last track on the album, “Meet The Blues Head On,” is an affirmation by Simmonds … Don’t run and hide you’ve got to meet the blues head on.

Voodoo Moon is authentic rock and blues at its very best!

Savoy Brown will be one of the headliners on the Hippiefest 2012 tour beginning in August. The bill will include Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter, Rick Derringer, Leslie West and Kim Simmonds/Savoy Brown. Check my column regularly for updates and tour schedule.

I had the great opportunity to chat with Kim Simmonds of Savoy Brown last week. Here’s my interview with the real deal. Legendary blues innovator/ guitar virtuoso/ songwriter/vocalist/rock and roll icon… Kim Simmonds.
Ray Shasho: Good morning Kim, you must be a morning person to want to do an interview at 9a.m.
Kim Simmonds: “Good Morning… yea, I’ve been a family man for all of my life so that will get you up in a hurry.”
Ray Shasho: First of all, I’d like to say congratulations on your 45th anniversary, that’s quite an accomplishment.
Kim Simmonds: “It is, isn’t it…hey I survived!”
Ray Shasho: I can’t imagine new bands having that kind of staying power. Do you think music has changed much over the years?
Kim Simmonds: “Life changes, music is changing, the music business is much the same when I first started; people are still using exactly the same equipment, still using Marshall and a Gibson you know? When I started I had a Vox amplifier and a Fender Telecaster and that’s what people are using now, so the equipment hasn’t changed at all. When I went to see The Clash play back in 1979, I went to the back of the stage and it had Savoy Brown all over the PA, they were using our old PA, the music was completely different, it was a new world, but they were using Savoy Brown’s old PA.”
“What has changed and probably affected the music business is the technology on the recording side. All I use to record is sixteen-tracks. You can go into any studio and have hundreds of tracks to use… why use any more? I limit myself and I think that helps. I think the new technology is fantastic, but it’s too beguiling, and I honestly think that you’ve got to control it. I think that’s affected music a lot nowadays, I see it with high profile artists from the classic rock generation that record and do things and get really plugged into the technological side and I think to myself, “Why the heck are they doing that? I mean… when they started they were on four-tracks, and they could never be better. So that’s the big change, and again it’s great and it should be used, but you’ve got to control it.”
 “What the younger crowd is going through …they seem to be quite happy. I’ve got a young teenage daughter who’s looking to perhaps go into musicals and become an actress; so that hasn’t changed. The beat goes on. It may not go on the same way when you were a teenager, but it’s going on. It’s not going to be the way we envisioned it but it’s going to still happen. When we’re dead and gone, it’s all still going to carry on exactly the same.”
Ray Shasho: Is your daughter a musician like her famous dad?
Kim Simmonds: “She was in the school orchestra, stuff like that, and could have been a very good musician, but it’s just nothing she’s interested in. It’s kind of illuminating when you have children who are quite talented and you think, ‘Well, they could be a musician” but you’ve got to want to do it, and you’ve got to have that calling. She could have been an “A” musician but it just didn’t interest her, so she’s gone on a different path and she’s quite academic, but I think she has perhaps a dream to be on stage as an actress or be on Broadway.”
Ray Shasho: Just once in today’s age, I’d like to pull up next to a car with a couple of teenagers who are stopped at a red light, and hear rock and roll music blasting through their car speakers instead of hip hop or dance music.
Kim Simmonds: “That’s why people were so upset with disco because it was just dance music. I’m not against dance music but it tends to be the common denominator.You’re not talking about virtuosity you’re talking about getting people to dance. It’s a lot different than playing an instrument with virtuosity.  The great thing about blues, rock, classic rock, jazz music, and especially in the old days, there was some kind of virtuoso musician involved. A young kid 18 or 19, but somehow or another, this kid could play the drums, the guitar, the keyboards, operatic voices some of these guys had. And so there was this talent that had a virtuoso type of appeal. And that I think is the classic hallmark of classic rock. If you listen to Deep Purple you’re not just listening to a dance band, you’re listening to virtuoso musicians playing, You’re listening to some of the best organ playing, guitar playing, and drumming you’re going to hear. That is an element that sometimes get’s missed from current music. There’s not that virtuoso element.”
Ray Shasho: I snooped around your website and saw that you were playing a gig soon with Johnny Winter at the Egg in Albany, New York, and then really got excited when I saw the announcement you made stating that Savoy Brown are going to be one of the headliners on the Hippiefest 2012 tour featuring…Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter, Rick Derringer, Leslie West and Savoy Brown.
Kim Simmonds: “Yea, I signed on with it, and I think this particular lineup makes sense for me. I’ve been offered it before, but this time I think it makes complete sense.”
Ray Shasho: I covered the Hippiefest 2011 tour by interviewing Dave Mason and Mark Farner. Than…I did a review of the show at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. That show was a huge success. I think the 2012 lineup will have the same impact or perhaps an even bigger impact than the last tour.
Kim Simmonds:“Oh really, that’s great to hear and good feedback…Great!”
Ray Shasho: Baby-Boomers are starving for entertainment from their generation; reliving those unfettered times. Anytime you put a show together of this caliber it’s going to be a huge success.
Kim Simmonds:“And I think we’re all the same, I’m a professional musician and probably a little bit different than the average fan, but I was on Sirius Satellite Radio the other day, my wife’s got it in her car, and I had it on classic rock and some track came on and I thought, “Man, this is really good stuff you know,” and I’m really enjoying it... and it was Iron Butterfly from the Metamorphosis album. I wasn’t a big Iron Butterfly fan back then; it wasn’t my kind of thing… I was more into the blues thing, and there was a lot of hype around them, but I’m telling you it was a breath of fresh air. It sounded great, it was well constructed music, it played well, it was engaging, and I suddenly realized…and I know that I’m part of the classic rock generation, but I was surprised how good they were, a band that I hadn’t given much consideration to. So I could see if I were a fan and not playing and making my money from this, I’d probably buy the album and engage myself even more into that time period, realizing it doesn’t get much better than this.”
Ray Shasho: I’ve always thought that bands like Savoy Brown, The Yardbirds, The Animals, John Mayall/The Bluesbreakers etc. were way ahead of their time for recognizing the great American blues artists and reintroducing their music to America, while adding their own twists to the songs.
Kim Simmonds:“Thanks, and a lot of other musicians have also said that to me. It’s always nice to hear, I don’t know what we were doing that was that different. There was a lot of taste-makers in Britain at the time. One of them was my older brother so I was very lucky to have people like that and his friends, the guys that discovered the American music in its blues form that was going on. Through those taste-makers it funneled down to would-be musicians like myself and my contemporaries. I think we were very lucky to have mentors around us that said, “Hey listen to this… listen to that.” And that’s where it comes from really. It’s probably happening to us right now, you can never see it when it’s happening in your own time. But when it becomes part of history, it’s very easy to see that Howlin’ Wolf was great, it’s very easy to see now that he’s on a postage stamp. It’s very easy to see that Howlin’ Wolf is great, but back then it wasn’t. Only a few people realized… this man is fantastic! And it was those few people who realized that, who were able to convey on to other people. So I was the benefactor really of people like my brother who brought me up and said, “Hey, listen to this stuff,” and I was very young.”
“I grew up listening to Bill Haley through my brother. Even now when I play, “Rock Around the Clock,” it’s probably the best rock and roll album that’s ever been recorded. It’s not because I’m sentimental, I don’t live in the past at all, but I do recognize it happens to be a fantastic record and remarkable, I’ve studied a little bit on how they recorded it and its phenomenal. And there’s nothing better than listening to rock and roll or blues on a 78. I started listening to rock and roll on 78’s, my brother’s collection… Elvis, Little Richard. “Good Golly Miss Molly” on a 78 just sounds outrageous!  Elmore James or Otis Rush, you put these blues guys on a 78 and still today it’s a phenomenal sound.”
Ray Shasho: I loved the 45’s, I played them on the air when I was a Top 40 deejay and collected them when I was a kid. I really liked the way 45’s sounded.
Kim Simmonds:“I still have my 45 collection. Guess what the first 45 that I ever bought was?  This would be around 1961 or 62.”
Ray Shasho: “The Twist” or “Let’s Twist Again” by Chubby Checker?
Kim Simmonds:“Very close! It was, “Twist and Shout” by The Isley Brothers. And I loved it because it was a rocker, pre-Beatles, and the ‘B’ side was an instrumental… which I loved.”
Ray Shasho: So were these some of the guys that you emulated while you were growing up?
Kim Simmonds: “Again, I had great mentors, so I quickly realized that from the 1950’s, Bill Doggett was the premiere R&B band, and they had a lot of big hits. His guitar player Billy Butler was a huge influence on me. Billy Butler would play some jazzy blues stuff, and he would play in a style that was easily assimilated for someone like myself. But it was finesse and very sophisticated. So the very first single that I recorded with Savoy Brown was called, “True Blue” and that is a Billy Butler & Bill Doggett instrumental. That was the very first thing that I recorded for Purdah Records with the band. So, that’s how big of an influence he was on me. I had a foot in the 50’s because of my brother, but I’m very much of a 60’s person of course. But all the stuff that we recorded in the 60’s, had a foot in the 50’s.”
Ray Shasho: I remember buying albums when I was a teenager based on what the front cover looked liked. I’d listen to a group no one else knew about, and I’d feel so underground.
Kim Simmonds:“My latest Voodoo Moon, they put out on vinyl. The box came a couple of days before Christmas, and then I had a New Years Eve party, a friend of mine was here who was a big record collector and he deals in records. He said, “I’ve got the LP let me give you a couple of copies,” and that was the first time that I really looked at it. We put it on the table and it looked so magnificent. The artwork, it was just like… wow, look at this thing, it was like a revelation to suddenly realize how good an album looks. Like you said when you went into those record stores years ago and picked up an album you had this fairly large piece of artwork to assimilate and you could tell from the artwork what was inside. It wasn’t a compressed piece of art; it’s like looking at a painting. When you see a photo like a Van Gogh, it’s all compressed and all smoothed out, like what you see in a book. Then when you go to the museum, it’s a revelation. Because it’s all these brush strokes and scratches, you can hardly look at it because you’ve seen this compressed version in books, and then when you see the real thing it’s a shock. It’s the same when you look at a record album… it’s six times bigger.”
Ray Shasho: You can also read the lyrics a lot easier too. (All laughing)
Let’s talk about your latest release, Voodoo Moon; I think it has all the makings of a great rock/blues album. You made a statement on the inside of the CD cover stating that it’s some of the best lyrics that you’ve written since the early 70’s, and I have to agree. I especially loved the lyric; She pours on gasoline she makes the flame go higher, from the tune “She’s Got The Heat.”
Kim Simmonds:“I’m so happy you said that because I thought that was a very good lyric and we struggled with that song. Greg Spencer is my producer, he has been for years, and we tried that song in various tempos and different styles and I really had to hang on to that song because all of a sudden I was getting the feeling that this song might not make it. And I kept saying to myself and people around me; listen to this, “I think that’s a bloody good lyric.” So, I’m glad you said that, because people have said they liked the song, but nobody has said exactly what you said, “Hey that lyrics not bad.””
Ray Shasho: Only a rock and roll legend can write a lyric like that.
Kim Simmonds:“Well thank you, I tell you what, I knew I had something and it doesn’t come very often.” (Laughing)
Ray Shasho: And it’s a tune that must be played live in front of an audience.
Kim Simmonds:“Yea, we max it out. In fact, often when I play it live I don’t play the blues slide on it, I play rock and roll guitar like Link Ray. And that suits the song very well. But I did it on the album with the slide to keep it into the blues genre.”
Ray Shasho: On the song, “Meet The Blues Head On” it sounds like you’re making a personal statement.  
Kim Simmonds: “The whole album is a personal statement.I think any of the best songs are when you make some kind of personal statement and certainly the best blues songs. So when I first wrote that, I didn’t have it personalized and my agent and sometimes manager Steve Ozark said when I played him the demo, “I don’t hear enough of a personal statement from you,” so I worked more on the versus to make them more personal and it made more sense. So I think it is important to make a personal statement and you’ve got to carry it through the whole song.”
Ray Shasho: How long did it take to complete Voodoo Moon?  
Kim Simmonds: “I mean, “Natural Man” I’ve had the title for years, and I’ve had “Voodoo Moon” for years, and it’s there on the shelf and you come back to this stuff and think, “Is that a good title? It isn’t a good title?” You just don’t know. Is that a good line or am I kidding myself …Do you know what I mean?  And that’s why Greg Spencer is the producer, I run the songs by him and he can tell me what’s good and what’s bad, because I don’t know. It’s very difficult to know when you’ve got something and that’s why so many people make so many bad records or so many bad songs, because you don’t know yourself, you have to have someone on the other side to tell you.”
Ray Shasho: Savoy Brown was always a great blues/rock band but never enjoyed huge commercial success, and then three of your bandmates leave Savoy Brown to form Foghat using basically the foundation of Savoy Brown to score big commercially. How does that happen? 
Kim Simmonds: “They took all my ideas when they left, which I didn’t mind because I was moving on to other ideas. And we were great friends, don’t get me wrong. It’s only natural when they left that they would sound like Savoy Brown. I just think that they were able to stay focused on that path where I was more the vagrant artist and went this way and that way in search of myself. I think Dave with Foghat stayed on that path, honed it down, and they were one of my favorite bands, and they’re a great band. Rod Price was a great guitar player and never got a mention. He did some bloody good work on those Foghat records and never gets a mention.”
 “It’s as simple as that, they just stuck to the path, which is a path that I’d given them, and I just chose to go a much more material route. I was very happy for their success and never had any bad feelings at all. Loved Dave and I still love Roger. It was a very fulfilling relationship and I’m so sad that both Dave and Rod are gone.”
Ray Shasho: Wrapping up, Kim I heard that you picked up a new guitar recently and really digging a new sound?  
Kim Simmonds: “Yea, it’s a DBZ made by Dean Zelinsky from the old Deans Guitars. And this new guitar I think is going to take me a little higher. People already are commenting on the sound. So I think I may have found on top of everything else, an instrument that brings out a little bit more from me, and I’m quite excited about it. I’ve already made a couple of demos using it because I’m thinking of doing an instrumental solo album down the line. I played a couple of demos on New Year’s Eve for Greg and he loved the guitar sound. He said that’s the guitar sound you’ve got to use. So I think I’m moving forward.”
Ray Shasho: Kim thank you for being on the call with me today, but more importantly thank you for 45 great years of blues and rock and roll music. I hope to see you in the rock and roll hall of fame one day soon because you truly deserve it.
Kim Simmonds: “Thanks Ray, it’s been a real pleasure talking with you.”

Savoy Brown/Kim Simmonds official website www.savoybrown.com
Order Voodoo Moon by Savoy Brown at amazon.com
I want to thank Mark Pucci Media for arranging this interview www.markpuccimedia.com
Stay tuned for more information on Hippiefest 2012 concert dates.

Coming up next Ray’s interview with legendary Byrds frontman Roger McGuinn

© Copyright rayshasho.com. All Rights Reserved

Order Ray Shasho’s great new book called Check the Gs –The True Story of an Eclectic  American Family and Their Wacky Family Business. Get your copy at amazon.com or iuniverse.com 

Normalcy is a myth and anyone who tells you differently isn't very normal. "Check the Gs" is a memoir from Ray Shasho who tells of his own offbeat upbringing working in the family business art gallery, from a young age. Of Cuban and Syrian descent, he tells a very American story of coming from everything, seeing everything, walking the line of the law and much more. A fun and fast paced memoir, "Check the Gs" is a worthwhile addition to many a memoir collection. ~~ MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW


Contact Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com

 

 Ray’s classic rock blogs… www.classicrockhereandnow.com   www.checkthegs.blogspot.com
Author blog… greatnewmemoir.blogspot.com

BLONDIE to Perform at Fundraiser in Bradenton for Forty Carrots Family Center

By Ray Shasho

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Blondie will be performing a private concert on Saturday March 24th at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton. The Firefly Gala is a fundraiser for Forty Carrots Family Center and sponsored by The Dart Foundation.

Guided by the belief that the family is the foundation of our society, Forty Carrots Family Center is a nonprofit organization in Sarasota, Florida dedicated to strengthening families through educational programs for parents, children, and professionals in the field. 92% of the families served by Forty Carrots receive free early childhood and parenting education thanks to the generosity of the community. Forty Carrots serves a broad cross section of the community-from teen parents and young homeless mothers to stay- at- home parents and young professionals.

The event is by invitation only. Invites are available to donors and sponsors. To donate and/or sponsor the event, contact the benefitting charity, Forty Carrots Family Center at 941-365-7716 or email at info@fortycarrots.com or visit www.fortycarrots.org.

Tickets (including tables and couples) are currently available through sponsorships. Gala tickets (including dinner and the concert) will be on sale for $250 per guest.
The Concessions Golf Club is located at 7700 Lindrick Lane in Bradenton. The event begins at 6p.m. The Gala includes world class dining by renown restaurateur and Chef Sean Murphy and an opportunity to win exciting auction prizes. Last year’s Gala spotlighted KC And The Sunshine Band.

Blondie was formed in 1974 by original guitarist Chris Stein and Miami- born Debbie Harry. The band amassed huge Punk followings at New York’s famed CBGB’S, Max’s Kansas City (Debbie Harry was once a waitress there) and Mothers. Blondie’s overwhelming popularity led them to the studio where they recorded their first album called Blondie in 1976 - under the Private Stock label.

The band toured in 1977 with Iggy Pop and David Bowie in support of their first album.
In the summer of 1977, Blondie released their second album called Plastic Letters, followed by a tour of Europe and Asia.

They were considered to be a ‘New Wave’ -underground band until the release of their third studio album called Parallel Lines. The album considered to be their best effort spawned huge hits like- “Hanging on the Telephone,” “Sunday Girl,” “One Way or Another,” and their Billboard Hot 100 number #1 mega hit “Heart of Glass.”  The song was sneered at by their faithful as a sellout to their rooted Punk and New Wave principals for entering the commercially successful world of Disco music. Nevertheless, the Harry/Stein penned chart topper went Gold and became Blondie’s trademark tune.

During my stint in radio as a deejay, “Heart of Glass” and Peaches and Herb’s “Reunited” became the most requested songs on the airwaves.

Over the next several years, Blondie became known for their eclectic music styles. While maintaining a ‘New Wave’ base, the group ventured into Disco, Pop, Rap and Reggae.

In 1979, Blondie released their fourth studio album called Eat to the Beat. The album generated the hits “Dreaming” #2 in the U.K., Atomic #1 in the UK and “Call Me” (theme song from American Gigolo) spent 6 weeks at #1 in the U.S. and became their biggest hit song.The album  also went certified Platinum.
Blondie’s fifth album, Autoamerican spawned the Reggae-ish tune “The Tide is High,” another #1 hit in the U.S. and U.K. and “Rapture” another #1 hit.  Released in 1981, Rapture was considered crucial in formulating Rap music. It was the first single with rap content to be a chart-topper in the U.S. The album went Platinum.

After the release of their sixth studio album called The Hunter in 1982, the band split-up and Debbie Harry pursued a solo career. The album produced their final U.S. hit called “Island of Lost Souls” before Chris Stein fell ill with a rare and often fatal genetic disease which led to the band’s breakup. Harry cared for Stein who eventually recovered.

Blondie reformed in 1997 and regained their popularity with the release of their seventh album called No Exit. The album produced the #1 hit single in the U.K. and 14 other countries called “Maria.” The album sold more than 2-million units worldwide.

Albums that followed were No Exit, Live in New York, Livid, The Curse of Blondie, Live by Request, Live, Best Live and Live in Toronto.

Blondie celebrated their 30th anniversary in 2006 with their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the release of Greatest Hits: Sound &Vision, a best-of collection that contained all their classic videos.
Blondie has sold more than 40 million records worldwide.

Blondie’s latest release is called Panic of Girls. The album’s front cover artwork was created by Dutch cult artist Chris Berens.

Forty Carrots Family Center website www.fortycarrots.org
Follow the Firefly Gala on Facebook ...
www.facebook.com/pages/The-Firefly-Gala/108778572524348
The Dart Foundation website   www.dartfoundation.org
Blondie official website http://www.blondie.net/


Coming up next…Ray interviews The Byrds legendary frontman Roger McGuinn and Savoy Brown’s guitar virtuoso Kim Simmonds.

Don’t forget to purchase Author/Columnist Ray Shasho’s fabulous new book called, ‘Check the Gs’-The True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business.

 Order your copy at amazon.com, iuniverse.com, barnesandnoble.com or borders.com
 
Contact Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com

Review: New release Blue Moon Harem ‘FINLAND’ -Interview: Demetri Joannou

By Ray Shasho

Boston-based Blue Moon Harem is driven by the artistic duo of singer/songwriter/acoustic guitarist Jonathan Bix and lead guitarist/songwriter Demetri Joannou. Their latest album, 'Finland' is a truly amazing compilation emphasizing awe-inspiring verse, breathtaking intonation, and ingenious melody. The album is an incredible selection of GREAT music.
The album’s first track is a feel good, trendy, upbeat melody called, “Stay.” After listening to it, you just knew the rest of the album would be significant. “Give and Take,” the second track, features an amazing blend of Joannou’s sensational riffs and Jonathan Bix’s commanding vocals. “Give and Take” could easily be a soundtrack to an upcoming motion picture. Some of the most impressive lyrics on the album were featured on the very next track called, “Here I am.” A beautiful and surreal arrangement. “Inside Out” is an animated tune that should be enjoying plenty of commercial success. “Shadows,” another song featuring incredible lyrics, powerful vocalization, and plenty of six string action. “Wild Winds” is a 52 second psychedelic intro to their title track, “Finland.” The effect is reminiscent to Jimmy Page bowing his Les Paul. “Finland” is an unbelievable composition. It’s my pick for their biggest hit and the band shines from every direction. “I See Red,” is another lyrically brilliant tune with Train-like overtones.

The band is ultra- talented, yet they still wait for a chance to make their splash on the music scene. Its bands like Blue Moon Harem that should be immediately signed to a recording contract and showcased over the airwaves. Unfortunately multitalented musicians are not being discovered these days because of the dreadful condition of the music business. I’m not sure you can even call it a business anymore. Because record companies aren’t actively seeking great new talent and commercial radio deejays aren’t actively playing great new music.
Blue Moon Harem’s debut self-titled album created Harem-mania with their hit single, “Addiction” gaining airplay over alternative rock stations across New England. Their “Addiction” music video should have been a huge hit… if the real MTV were still around.

Lead singer Jonathan Bix has an incredible voice. Imagine endearing hints of Brian Vander Ark (The Verve Pipe) and Darius Rucker (Hootie & the Blowfish) while poetically strumming acoustically. Drummer Stephen Hart and bassist Jose Hernandez complete a line-up of accomplished musicians.
Guitarist Demetri Joannou shares the acoustic duets and songwriting duties with Jonathan Bix, but shines brightly electrically. His passion for classic rock and roll is prominent on their tune, “Lies.” And after all, Joannou’s influences were Hendrix, Gilmour and Page.

“I’ve got to see this dream through, we’ve just got to get to that next step”… says,  Joannou, founding member/guitarist/songwriter of Blue Moon Harem.

Here's a chat with Demetri Joannou.
Ray:  Demetri thanks for chatting with me today, do you still live in the Boston area? 
Demetri: “I live in a suburb west of Boston, a town called Spencer Massachusetts.”
Ray: Boston has always had an incredible music scene, and of course launched the careers of legendary classic rockers, Boston, The J. Geils Band, The Cars, and Aerosmith to name just a few.     
Demetri:  “Actually our drummer Steve Hart did dome recording sessions with Joe Perry (Aerosmith) not too long ago.”
Ray: So tell me how you and your songwriting partner Jonathan Bix first met?  
Demetri:“Well, it’s been a hell of a journey, a fun one; we’ve traveled a lot of road together. I started playing guitar as a kid and fell in love with the instrument when I was probably 7 years old. From there I took a few lessons, practiced, some more lessons… on and on. Then I went through high school and really wasn’t involved in many high school bands, I was pretty much a reclusive and just practiced all the time. Learned all the Led Zeppelin albums, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, and what was hot back in the 70’s. Then Eddie Van Halen came along and that took about a year out of my time.”

“I was probably around 18 when I decided that I wanted to get a band together and make an album. So I started recording at the local music store, they had a basement downstairs with a recording studio, and I had a friend that was a drummer, and another who was a bass player, and another friend of mine who could sing a little bit. So we started dabbling and writing some songs and recording. Eventually the owner of the music store told me, “There’s a guy from your home town that opened a professional recording studio and maybe you should start talking to him about recording.” When they brought me over to his house, it dawned on me that this was a childhood friend back in junior high school.”

“Anyway, we began to work together and when he heard the music he said, “You’ve got some good ideas here but you really need to find a better singer.” Well, I was still taking guitar lessons at the time and my teacher also agreed that we needed a better singer. He said, “You know… I have a friend of mine who is really down and out right now, he’s a great singer, but he’s down on his luck and needs a job, and he’s living out of his car. Is there anything at your company?” Coincidentally we needed a shipping and receiving manager and so that’s how Bix and I met. We hired him and then we started working on projects together.”

“Our first record that we did together was more of a heavy metal project, the band was called ‘Requiem’ and we put a CD out and the first song on the CD got some local airplay. We got some good reviews on that first song, but on the rest of the album we were getting panned. The writers were saying it sounded too reminiscent of early heavy metal.”
Ray: Heavy metal is definitely not the forte for Blue Moon Harem.
Demetri: “Our producer said, “We’ve got to come up with a way to record the next album so people can’t say that. Come down to the studio and just bring your guitar, I don’t want you to come in with any songs, ideas, or anything, and that through me for a loop, and I was a little worried about that.”

“I got there and we plugged in, then he put a quick track down and said, “Just play anything that comes off the top of your head for three minutes.” So we just played anything. Then he said, “Okay, here’s another track, play something at the top of your head.” After about ten tracks we went back and listened to each track and I expected about 80% of what was down to be not usable. But there were these little pieces that he would grab and throw it on a fresh track and then loop it, so it would repeat itself, and then changed the pitch…and all of a sudden there’s this big thing happening with that one little piece. And then we’d find another little piece and do the same thing. The song was creating itself.”

“Then he said, “Bring the singer in now and we’ll see if he can write some words.” So, Bix came in and wrote some words, recorded them, and we did every song that way. So when that first Blue Moon Harem album came out we got much better feedback and write-ups because clearly our influences weren’t able to be determined, there were no preconceived notions, because we didn’t even know what we were writing."
Ray: Man, that’s a great story. There’s nothing like having a great producer in the studio with you and making all the pieces fit. Was that first tune you were working on in the studio called, “Addiction?”
Demetri: “Yes it was. (“Addiction” was the biggest hit from their debut release)
Ray: Was the band’s latest release ‘Finland’ put together like your debut album?
Demetri: “Finland was done differently than our first album where we were cutting and pasting loops and things. This was more of an album where Jonathan Bix wrote a lot with his acoustic guitar, then came into the studio and laid it down, then Steve Hart, and then we all came in and did our part. So that was more of a deliberate focus. We didn’t realize how unbelievable of a songwriter Jonathan was until the last couple years, because before he went with the flow and basically just took on the lead singer role. But Jonathan became our main writer. I just don’t have the songwriting down like Jonathan does; he just does it so much better than me. I communicate through the guitar, that’s my vehicle.”
Ray: I enjoyed every track on the new album. But the title track “Finland” has all the makings of a hit song.
Demetri:“When I first heard it mastered, I probably listened to it a hundred times. To me...it’s a quintessential rock song.”
Ray: Yea, there should be tons of college kids rockin’ out to that tune.
Demetri: “I think so too, it has all the elements of a good rock song…it’s powerful, it’s strong, it’s eerie, there’s a cool guitar solo happening there, it has everything.”
Ray: What’s the origin of ‘Finland’?
Demetri: “Our singer at the time was going through a depression. And that’s where; “Here I Am” came from… the same depression. I think he was strumming his guitar and ‘Finland’ just reminded him of a cold climate, kind of a place where you’re crossing a lot of terrain and trying to survive, and that’s where the name came. But it’s about a race against time and trying to bring your dreams into fruition."
Ray: I watched a really awesome Blue Moon Harem tune on You Tube. The song was “Lies” Live at the Magic Room, and I noticed the tune wasn’t on your first two releases.  “Lies” features some great solo work by you, reminiscent to the psychedelic days.
Demetri: “I’m not afraid to risk being technically perfect. Being technically perfect is not as important to me as creating something that’s kind of intriguing, or gets you to say, "What the hell was that?" That song, “Lies” is going to be on our next album. We’re working on an album now and we have 23 solid tracks in the studio and we’re going to decide which 10 we’re going to use. Like our producer says, “The ‘Finland’ album is more of a serious album and the next album we’re working on is going to be more fun. You’re going to like this next record; it’s pretty fun and cool stuff. We’re going to try and do our first tour this early spring, hitting the east coast, probably Western Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Washington DC. What’s so cool about this band is that we can break down and also do acoustic. So we can do an acoustic show during the day and the full band at night.”
Ray: What was the origin of the band name Blue Moon Harem?
Demetri: “We had our first album done and then we had a gig that came up. We didn’t have a name for the band. Jonathan and I were feverishly trying to come up with something and he said, “Well…I like the name Blue (once in a blue moon something good comes along).” And I said, “I like that name Blue Moon but we need something else that sounds kind of inclusive of a family of band members joining together. I was trying to think of an esoteric name for a family. He said, “Tribe?” and I said, “Harem?” We both laughed and thought that’s got a good ring to it, let’s go with that.”
Ray: Demetri, any final thoughts?
Demetri: “I think this could be the band to bring rock back into some visibility. We have a lot of versatility and write good stuff that makes sense. We’re just putting down what we think are great songs… simple, rich, robust and powerful. What people liked in a rock band back in the day… and we’re trying to revive the genre, or at least do our part in reviving the genre.”
Ray: Demetri, thank you so much for chatting with me today. Blue Moon Harem is such a talented band and ‘FINLAND’ is such a great album. I can’t wait for Harem’s upcoming release. You guys deserve great success in 2012.
Demetri: “Okay brother, Bye!”

Order BLUE MOON HAREM’S great new release ‘FINLAND’ at http://bluemoonharem.com/
Blue Moon Harem official website http://bluemoonharem.com/
Blue Moon Harem on Myspace http://www.myspace.com/bluemoonharem
Blue Moon Harem on ReverbNation http://www.reverbnation.com/bmh
Blue Moon Harem on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/bluemoonharem

Special thanks to the great Billy James of Glass Onyon Publicity http://glassonyonpublicity.wordpress.com/


Don’t forget to purchase Author/Columnist Ray Shasho’s fabulous new book called, ‘Check the Gs’-The True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business.
Pacific Book Review says…Ray Shasho has quite a memory, especially when it comes to what songs played on the radio during important times throughout his youth.  Combining his nostalgic recant of  Billboard’s Top 100, like some infomercial for a Time-Life Oldies CD collector’s set, along with his detailed whimsical recollections while growing up, and you have the “soundtrack ” for a truly enjoyable story.
Order your copy at amazon.com, iuniverse.com, barnesandnoble.com or borders.com


Contact Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com

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