Music

Greetings Mech Fans! For those of you who read my blog, you know I write about mechs and every once in a while I go off on a rant about something that bugged me or bugs me. You also know that I put a little of myself into just about every column, whether its my experience playing the game or some real life thing. Most of you also know that Ol’ Vettie is pushing 50 years of age.

I gotta (that’s a Vettie word, by the way) say that in my life time I have seen and done many things. The Good Lord has smiled on me and I have been fortunate for most of my life time. I thank him for that very often (not nearly enough, but he knows that I am thankful).

In my life and career, I have been to many places throughout this world. I guess I knew enough about the job I was doing that the company I worked for in the past felt they could send me to other factories throughout the world and teach people how to do some of the things I do (did). I have been to France, Holland, Finland, Switzerland and Hungary to pass my knowledge to those folks there and I have been to many places in the States.

Back in November, I wrote a column devoted to my dad (http://vettiesviews.blogspot.com/2007/11/happy-birthday-dad.html)

If you did not read it then please click the link and give it a read. I mention in there that my dad had spent 24 years in the United States Air Force. As you can imagine, we moved around a lot. I was born in Bermuda, but I have lived in many different states.

As I said, Ol’ Vettie is pushing 50, I’m not there yet, but only about a ½ a year to go. I was fortunate enough to have grown up during the 60’s and 70’s. I still remember the day JFK was shot. I remember where I was and what I was doing. If you were born around that time, do you remember?

Fortunate to have grown up in the 60’s and 70’s? Yes! I will tell you why in just a little bit, so hang with this old guy as I get my thoughts together. See, I have mentioned that I love playing Mechs and I have even mentioned that I love board games (WWII games mostly). I just don’t remember talking about something I really like maybe even more that meching. What could that be? Liking something more than MechWarrior? Well, its this little thing called music.

Vettie is a huge music fan. I love concerts and I love listening to music and I love playing music. I bought my 1^st drum way back when I was I in Jr. High School (6^th or 7^th grade) to play in the schools band. Before that, my dad had bought (sort of) me a Fender Telecaster and paid for me to take lessons. I say sort of, because actually he had let one of his men borrow some money and they guy couldn’t pay him back so he offered my dad his guitar. I still remember that thing, black body with a natural wood neck and a ‘tube’ type amplifier built into a ‘hard’ wooden case that stood upright.

I played in a few garage bands later in life until I got with a bunch of guys that really ‘gelled’ together. We practiced a lot and even did a few sets for parties. We got good enough to get ourselves booked into a local club. Then we toured the state. Later we played at a festival and got ‘noticed’. I may write a column about that some day, but that is not what this one is about. It is about music, just not ‘our’ music. Remember? I said fortunate enough to have grown up in the 60’s and 70’s? Remember now?

Well think about that. Think about what growing up in the 60’s and 70’s means to a real music fan. Let me give you a little hint. Before we had ‘good’ stations on FM, there was AM radio. And back in the 60’s, AM radio was very ‘time formatted’. The local stations actually had to announce the time they were going to broadcast “Hey Jude” by the Beatles because the song was ‘so long’.

The 60’s and 70’s brought us some of the greatest ‘rock’ and ‘folk’ musicians to have ever graced this earth. Can you remember the 1^st time you ever heard “Stairway to Heaven” on the radio? I mean, before you even bought or heard the record, or listened to the (laffs) ‘8-track’ or even the cassette? Did you know you were listening to greatness? What about Cream? Or Hendrix or Duanne Allman, or Leslie West? Did you know you had just heard greatness? Now days this type of music is called “Classic Rock”. I was there when it was fresh, new music.

That Era brought us many of the greatest artists ever. To this day people are listening to stuff that was first released when I was a kid or a young man. Can you imagine an FM station today announcing that “at 2.04pm today wxxx radio will be playing ‘Hey Jude’ by The Beatles”? Can you? Ok, quit laughing, but its true, they actually did that when that song came out.

When The Beatles played their 1^st gig in Shea Stadium, I was about 5 or 6 years old. My sister was either 15 or 16. She won tickets to go see them. We lived in Jersey (McGuire AFB). Mom and Dad would not let her go because it was so far away and she was too young. I still have those unused tickets.

When I was even younger, and this is probably where it all started, my Dad was stationed at Columbus AFB in Mississippi. We went to the state fair one year because my mom wanted to see one of the entertainers. I was just a kid, either 3 or 4 years old, because it was a year or 2 before Jersey, but I still remember it as if it was last night. There was a huge crowd at the fair grounds, an of course there were many rides and lots of terrible food, but from what seemed like the opposite side of the fair grounds, came the sound of music blasting through the park. My Dad scooped me up and we hurried to where ever the music was coming from. My Dad picked me up and put me on his shoulders so I could see. After whoever was playing finished their song, they left the stage. An announcement was made and we were supposed to give a big, warm welcome to an upcoming star. This fellows name was Elvis Presley.

Well, Elvis played about 5 or 6 songs and danced all over the stage. The crowd was screaming and yelling and clapping and I did not have a clue about what was happening. The surprising thing about all of this was that Elvis was NOT the main attraction of that show.

No folks, the next act to take the stage is the one that got me interested in music from that point on. When Elvis left the stage, the announcer came out and told us to hold on to our pants. The next performer is the man we had all been waiting to see. Then the lights went out and a spot light came on the stage. From behind a big black curtain came this huge white piano. A moment later this fellow with bright red hair and a sparkly jacket bounced out from behind the curtain. This voice rang out over the PA system announcing that Jerry Lee Lewis was here!

Jerry Lee only played about 4 songs that night, but the last one he did was ‘Great Balls of Fire’. I had never seen anything like I saw that night. This little fellow with the red hair and shiny jacket played that piano with his hands, his feet, his head, his elbows, his knees and even his face. It was incredible. I will never forget that show.

During my teenage years and later, I was privileged enough to have gone to many concerts. And I do mean many. I have seen Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, The Allman Brothers, Jimmy Buffet, The Who, Bad Company, Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter, Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper, The Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Bread, Chicago, Eric Clapton, Dire Straits, Deep Purple, Molly Hatchet, Black Oak Arkansas, Journey, Kansas, The Rolling Stones, The Black Crowes, The Steve Miller Band, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, ELO, Golden Earring, Jethro Tull, Boston, Pearl Jam, Robin Trower, Rod Stewart, Santana, Rare Earth, Uriah Heep, Supertramp, Genesis, Bob Dylan, U2, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Marshall Tucker Band, Black Foot, Arlo Guthrie, CSNY, Yes, Foghat, The Doobie Brothers, BTO, The Eagles, Joe Walsh, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Harry Chapin, Heart, Mountain, Humble Pie, Peter Frampton, AC DC, Bob Segar, Kiss. Fleetwood Mac, Spooky Tooth, Guns N Roses, Queen, Seals and Crofts, Styx, Stillwater, The Cars, Ringo Star, Paul McCartney and Wings, The Guess Who, Steppenwolf, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Rush, Van Halen, Elvin Bishop, Wet Willie, Sea Level, Little Feet, Sandford Townsend Band, Elton John, Steve Earle, Billy Idol, Leo Sayer and many many more.

I remember seeing Kiss way back in the mid 70’s. The show they put on was amazing. I remember seeing Charlie Daniels, The Outlaws and Marshall Tucker all perform together for an encore. I remember seeing Keith Emerson playing a piano suspended over head and twirling upside down. I remember seeing Eric Clapton break and “E” string on his guitar and still playing thru the song. Yes, an “E” string. I saw Yes in the round. I saw Alice Cooper and his Billion Dollar Babies tour. Oh, I could go on and on about different concerts and shows I have seen.

I remember thinking that if Led Zeppelin ever came close enough that I was going to go see them. About a month later a show was announced for Birmingham Alabama. It sold out inside of 90 minutes. This was before the internet and ordering tickets. You actually had to go the arena and stand in line. A bunch of us decided to go even tho the show was sold out, we were going to crash the gate if we had to. We lucked up on some tickets outside the event for face value. What a show… The lights went out and smoke filled the stage as a single light beamed onto a guitar. Jimmy Page had taken the stage and was ripping into “Nobody’s Fault but Mine”, a song we had never heard before because it had not yet been released on record or even to the radio stations. As he ripped through the intro, another light beamed on John Henry Bonham as he joined Jimmy with his percussion parts. Yet another light flashed from above and John Paul Jones was throwing down some bass tracks to this amazing song. All the lights then went out as Jimmy jammed through the intro again and we heard the wailing voice of Robert Plant singing along with the rhythm that Jimmy was laying down. Then, the stage lights fired on and they were all on stage which was filled with this purple blue smoke and lights went on and off to the smack of a stick from John Bonham. Wow! I get chill bumps still just thinking about it. Of course they ended their show, after a couple of encores, with Stairway to Heaven.

Well folks there is just too much to write about. I mean think about ANY classic rock station today and the shear number of DIFFERENT artists they play. I grew up with most of them. They weren’t called classic rock(ers) then but they were classics.

I suggest that you go to a concert this year, even if you just go to one. Go see someone you like and just enjoy the music. Im looking forward to the season to start around here. Even if I have to go to Nashville or Atlanta, I plan on going to at least one big one this year. Its been a long and winding road following the magical mystery tour so jump on the magic bus and hang on loosely. Live for the Music. Get out and support your favourite artist(s). Doesn’t matter if its an orchestra, a chamber group, country, rock, hip-hop or heavy metal. Just go and see them.