Rock Of Ages

Benjy says...

Dear Rock of Agers,

Wasn't the Eric Clapton special something else? When you rack them all up in a row, 'Slowhand' has written some of the greatest anthems in rock - Layla, Wonderful Tonight, Tears in Heaven ... Not too mention his epic Cream output! ... Thanks to Gallo Music for the fabulous Trilogy 3 cd sets competition prizes ... some more Clapton cd goodies up for grabs this week as we do a mini special on his new collaboration with JJ Cale "The road to Escondido" .............. This week it's time to wander back to the dawn of the psychedelic rock revolution as we trip the light fantastic with the Jefferson Airplane on the Rock of Ages Special - I'll be playing songs from the band's late 60's/early 70's output including the seminal "Crown of creation" and "Bless it's pointed little head" ....

The Rock of Ages Special - Jefferson Airplane

Jefferson Airplane were one of the most influential late 60's American rock bands. Hailing from San Francisco they were, along with The Grateful Dead, pioneers of the LSD-influenced psychedelic rock movement. Successive incarnations of the band have performed under different names, reflecting changing times and performer lineups, known as Jefferson Starship, and later simply Starship before becoming Jefferson Starship The Next Generation in 1991. Jefferson Airplane was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

The group formed on the West Coast of the USA during the summer of 1965 in what was called the San Francisco Bay folk music boom Singer Marty Balin recruited another folk musician, Paul Kantner, blues guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, jazz and folk vocalist Signe Toly Anderson, drummer Jerry Peloquin, and acoustic bassist Bob Harvey. They drew inspiration from groups such as the Beatles, The Byrds, and The Lovin' Spoonful, and built a local following at the Matrix Club. The term "Jefferson airplane" is also slang for a used match bent to hold a marijuana joint that has been smoked too short to hold without burning the hands, an improvised roach clip. An urban legend claims this was the origin for the band's name, but according to band member Jorma Kaukonen, the name was invented by his friend Steve Talbot as a parody of blues names such as 'Blind Lemon' Jefferson.

The group made its first public appearance August 13, 1965 at The Matrix club in San Francisco. Peloquin was a seasoned musician whose disdain for the others' drug use was a factor in his departure just a few weeks after the group began its career , Skip Spence then took the drum throne. The band gradually developed a more electric sound that led to Harvey's replacement by Kaukonen's childhood friend, Jack Casady, in October 1965. Later that year, they signed with RCA Victor and recorded an album for release the following year called Jefferson Airplane Takes Off. This folk music influenced debut album included such staples as John D. Loudermilk's "Tobacco Road" and Dino Valente's "Let's Get Together", as well as original ballads "It's No Secret" and "Come Up The Years." In 1966, Spence was replaced by jazz drummer Spencer Dryden (Spence went on to join The Moby Grape) and Anderson by singer Grace Slick, formerly of another San Francisco group, The Great Society. Slick brought with her a powerful and supple contralto voice, well-suited to the group's amplified psychedelic music, as well as a number of important compositions, including "White Rabbit" (which Grace wrote) and "Somebody to Love" (written by Grace's brother-in-law, Great Society guitarist Darby Slick).The group sprang from local to national renown with their appearance at the epochal Monterey International Pop Festival in June 1967. Monterey showcased leading bands from several major music "scenes" including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and England and the resulting TV and film coverage gave national (and international) exposure to groups that had previously had only regional fame. All these bands were also greatly assisted by appearances on nationally syndicated TV shows such The Ed Sullivan Show, which were videotaped in color and augmented by recent developments in video techniques. The Airplane's famous appearance on the Sullivan show, performing "White Rabbit", has been frequently re-screened and is notable for its pioneering use of the Chroma key process to simulate the Airplane's customary psychedelic light show.

Membership remained stable until 1970, by which time they had recorded five more albums. The first of these, Surrealistic Pillow (1967), included two classic tracks, "White Rabbit" (inspired by the psychedelic drug LSD, then extremely popular in San Francisco, Maurice Ravel's "Bolero", and Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland), and the rousing anthem "Somebody to Love", as well as a reminder of their earlier folk incarnation, Kaukonen's solo acoustic guitar tour de force, "Embryonic Journey", which referenced contemporary acoustic guitar masters such as John Fahey and helped to establish the popular genre exemplified by acoustic guitarist Leo Kottke. The album was extremely successful, reaching #3 in the US album charts, and alongside The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, it is widely regarded as one of the seminal albums of the so-called "Summer Of Love".The name Surrealistic Pillow was suggested by the 'shadow' producer of the album, Jerry Garcia, when he mentioned that, as a whole, the album sounded 'as Surrealistic as a pillow'. The record company would not allow Garcia's considerable contributions to the album to garner him a 'Producer' credit, so Garcia is listed in the album's credits as 'spiritual advisor'.

The band delved deeper into acid rock with 1967's After Bathing at Baxter's, an album of long multi-part suites, which demonstrated the group's proficiency with psychedelic rock. Its famous cover features a whimsical re-imagining of the group's Haight-Ashbury house as a Heat Robinson-inspired flying machine, drawn by artist and cartoonist Ron Cobb. Crown of Creation (1968) was a transitionary record, more structured than its predecessor and is regarded as the band's tour-de-force . The album's notable tracks include Grace Slick's "Lather" , said to be about drummer Spencer Dryden, with whom she was rumored to be having an affair, "Triad " , a David Crosby song that had been rejected by his group, the Byrds, because they deemed its subject matter, a ménage à trois, to be objectionable, and the searing sex and drug anthem "Greasy Heart." In 1968, Jefferson Airplane unleashed Bless Its Pointed Little Head, which captured their live concert sound at the Fillmore and the Fillmore East. In the aftermath of the demise of the San Francisco scene, the band released Volunteers (1969), their most political venture. The title track, "We Can Be Together", "Good Shepherd", and the post-apocalyptic "Wooden Ships" were all highlights. ("Wooden Ships", which Paul Kantner co-wrote with David Crosby and Stephen Stills, was recorded by both Jefferson Airplane and Crosby, Stills & Nash. As both groups released the song the same year and as it was co-written by members of both bands, both versions are considered to be an original version of the song.)In 1968, the group toured Europe with fellow psych-rockers The Doors, and appeared in the Netherlands, England, Belgium, Germany and Sweden. One infamous incident involving Jim Morrison was recalled by Grace Slick and Paul Kantner in an interview: While the Airplane were on stage performing one of their faster songs, "Plastic Fantastic Lover", the unpredictable Morrison appeared on stage and began dancing. Jorma and the rest of the group began playing faster and faster until Jim spun wildly and fell to the ground. Morrison was unable to perform his set with the Doors and Ray Manzarek was forced to sing all the vocals.

The band performed in an early 'morning maniac music' slot at the Woodstock festival in August 1969. In December that year, they played at the infamous Altamont Free Concert held at the Altamont Speedway in California. The concert, which was headlined by The Rolling Stones, was marred by crowd violence, as Marty Balin was knocked out during a scuffle with Hells Angels members who had been hired to act as "security". The event became notorious for the now-famous "Gimme Shelter Incident", due to the fatal stabbing of black teenager Meredith Hunter in front of the stage by Hells Angels "guards" after allegedly pulling out a revolver during the Stones' performance (this incident was the centerpiece of the documentary film Gimme Shelter).Although the band released its first greatest-hits album, The Worst of Jefferson Airplane, in 1970, its only new songs that year were two tracks available only on the single, "Mexico" b/w "Have You Seen the Saucers". The A-side was a staunch criticism of President Richard Nixon's Operation Intercept, which had been implemented to curtail the flow of marijuana into the United States, while the B-side marked the beginning of a science-fiction obsession that Kantner would explore with his music over the rest of the decade.Balin chose to leave the band shortly after the release of the single. Shortly thereafter, Kantner and Slick fired Dryden from Airplane, dismissing him as an "embarrassing idiot". The group continued on without them, releasing Bark (whose cover featured a dead fish wrapped in an A&P-style grocery bag) in 1971, and Long John Silver (whose cover folded into a humidor, presumably for the storage of marijuana) in 1972. Both albums were released on the band's own label, Grunt, which would continue to be distributed by RCA. The group replaced Dryden with drummer Joey Covington (who also provided the vocals on the 1971 single, "Pretty as You Feel", from Bark). The legendary Afro-American blues fiddler Papa John Creach (1917-1994) also joined the group in the early seventies.During this time, Kaukonen and Casady began a side project they named Hot Tuna, in which the two of them, often supported by a changing group of supporting musicians, began exploring traditional blues. They released the acoustic Hot Tuna in 1970, and the electric First Pull Up-Then Pull Down in 1971. As time went by, Kaukonen and Casady began devoting more of their attention to Hot Tuna and less to the Airplane. (In the song, "Third Week In The Chelsea", from Bark, Kaukonen details the thoughts he is having about leaving the band.)Jefferson Airplane's second live album, Thirty Seconds Over Winterland (1973), is now best remembered for its cover art of a squadron of flying toasters, which the band later alleged to have spawned the famous "After Dark" computer screensaver design. In 1974, a collection of leftovers (singles and B-sides, including "Mexico" and "Have You Seen The Saucers", as well as other non-album material) was released as Early Flight, the last official Jefferson Airplane album.

Jefferson Starship
During the transitional period of the early 1970s, Paul Kantner recorded Blows Against the Empire, a concept album featuring an ad hoc group of musicians that he dubbed Jefferson Starship, marking the first use of that name. This edition of Jefferson Starship (such as it was) included members of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (David Crosby and Graham Nash) and members of Grateful Dead (Jerry Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart), as well as some of the remaining members of Jefferson Airplane (Slick, Covington, and Casady). In Blows Against the Empire, Kantner (and Slick) sang about a group of people escaping earth in a hijacked starship. In 1971, the album was nominated for the prestigious science fiction prize, the Hugo Award, a rare honor for a musical recording. It was while that album was being made that Kantner sealed his love affair with Grace Slick; their daughter China Kantner (who made a name for herself as an MTV veejay in the 1980s) was born shortly thereafter.Kantner and Slick (with a similar group of musicians, but without a 'Jefferson Starship' artist credit) released two follow-up albums: Sunfighter, an environmentalism-tinged album released in 1971 to celebrate China's birth, and 1973's Baron von Tollbooth & The Chrome Nun, titled after the nicknames David Crosby had given to the couple. The artist credit on Baron von Tollboth gave ex-Quicksilver Messenger Service bassist-keyboard player-vocalist David Freiberg equal billing with Kantner and Slick. (Freiberg, who had also appeared on Blows Against the Empire, had joined Jefferson Airplane in time to appear on Thirty Seconds over Winterland.) Also in 1973, Slick released Manhole, her first solo album.Kantner is also credited with discovering teenage guitarist Craig Chaquico during this time, who first appeared on Sunfighter and would play with Kantner, Slick and their bands and then with Starship through 1991. He later embarked on a successful solo career as a smooth jazz artist.

By 1973, with Kaukonen and Casady now devoting their full attention to Hot Tuna, the musicians on Baron von Tollbooth formed the core of a new Airplane lineup that was formally reborn as "Jefferson Starship" in 1974. Kantner, Slick, and Freiberg were charter members. The line-up also included late-Airplane holdovers drummer John Barbata, and fiddler Papa John Creach (who also played with Hot Tuna), along with Pete Sears (who, like Freiberg, played bass and keyboards) and twenty-year-old guitarist Craig Chaquico. Although Balin was originally not among the re-christened Jefferson Starship, he joined the band while their first album, Dragonfly, was still in the works. His only contribution to the new incarnation's first effort was the haunting ballad, "Caroline". Balin stayed with the group for nearly the remainder of the decade. This line-up proved to be the band's most commercially successful so far, although some Airplane fans were less than happy with its more mainstream direction. Balin's sophisticated ballad "Miracles" helped 1975's Red Octopus achieve multiple-platinum status. The follow-ups, Spitfire (1976), and Earth (1978), were both big sellers.However, Slick's alcoholism became a problem, which led to two nights of disastrous concerts in Germany in 1978. The first night, fans ransacked the stage when Slick failed to appear. The following night, Slick, in a drunken stupor, shocked the audience by using profanity and sexual references throughout most of her songs. She also reminded the audience that their country had lost during World War II, repeatedly asking "Who won the war?", and implied that all residents of Germany were responsible for the wartime atrocities. After the debacle, she left the band.Towards the end of 1978, Jefferson Starship (now without Grace Slick) recorded "Light the Sky on Fire" for their forthcoming greatest hits album Gold, and performed it (under its original title "Cigar-Shaped Object") on-camera for The Star Wars Holiday Special. Gold, highlighting their work from 1974's Dragonfly through to 1978's Earth, was released early the following year. "Light the Sky on Fire" (backed with "Hyperdrive", from Dragonfly) was included as a bonus single in the original packaging of album. (When Gold was issued on CD, both tracks were included on the album.) The album originally had a shortened version of the hit "Miracles"; early pressings of the CD repeated this, but later editions had the full length version from the album Red Octopus.

Shortly before the release of Gold, Balin too left the group, leaving Kantner and company to find a new lead singer in Mickey Thomas (who had sung lead on Elvin Bishop's "Fooled Around and Fell in Love"). Thomas's soaring falsetto steered the band toward a harder rock sound, leading to comparisons to Journey. It didn't help that former Journey drummer Aynsley Dunbar had replaced Barbata, who had been injured in a car accident.After the 1979 release of Freedom At Point Zero (which spawned the hit single "Jane"), Grace Slick suddenly returned to the band. She joined in time to contribute one song, "Stranger", on the group's next album, Modern Times (1981). Modern Times also included the notorious "Stairway to Cleveland," in which the band defended the numerous changes it had undergone in its musical style, personnel, and even name. Slick remained in the band for Jefferson Starship's final two albums, Winds Of Change (1982) and Nuclear Furniture (1984). Around this time, the band began enthusiastically embracing the rock-video age. Grace Slick would appear frequently on MTV and such music-oriented television shows as Solid Gold, giving the band a high visibility in the MTV era. However, the Jefferson Starship albums of this era were only modestly successful, yet the band remained a gold-selling (and thus commercially credible) act, and a popular concert draw.

Starship
In 1984, Kantner (the last remaining founding member of Jefferson Airplane) left the group, but not before taking legal action over the Jefferson name against his former bandmates, who wanted to continue as Jefferson Starship. Kantner won his suit, and the name was reduced to simply 'Starship', marking the third incarnation of the band. Freiberg, who had been increasingly marginalized, left as well.In 1985, Starship released Knee Deep In The Hoopla and immediately scored two #1 hits. The first was "We Built This City", written by Bernie Taupin, Martin Page, Dennis Lambert, and Peter Wolf, and inspired by Bay Area power-rock station KSAN-FM; the second was "Sara". No previous incarnation of the Airplane had ever had a #1 hit. The album itself reached #7, went platinum, and spawned two more singles: "Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight" and "Before I Go" . In 1987, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" was featured in the film Mannequin and hit #1, although only Slick and Thomas (plus Craig Chaquico's guitar solo) appeared on it. This song made Slick the oldest female vocalist to sing on a number-one Billboard Hot 100 hit, at the age of 47. (She held this record until Cher broke it at the age of 53, in 1999 with "Believe".) The following year, the band's song "Wild Again" was used in the movie Cocktail.By the time No Protection was released, bassist Pete Sears had left. The album went gold, and featured the hits "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" , "It's Not Over ('Til It's Over)", and "Beat Patrol" . In addition, the last song on the album, "Set The Night To Music", would later become a huge hit when re-recorded as a duet between Roberta Flack and Maxi Priest.Grace Slick left Starship in 1988, having become disillusioned with the band's new pop image and swearing never to perform with them again. In addition, she was becoming more aware of her age, now in her late forties. As Kantner and Frieberg had left the band, all the new and remaining members were more than a decade younger than her. To this day Grace maintains that old(er) people "don't belong on a rock and roll stage." The revamped lineup released Love Among the Cannibals in 1989; however, they had disbanded by 1990.

Kantner reunited with Balin and Casady, opening the door to a full-blown Jefferson Airplane reunion. In 1989, during a solo San Francisco gig, Paul Kantner found himself joined by former bandmate Grace Slick and two other ex-Airplane members for a cameo appearance. This led to a formal reunion of the original Jefferson Airplane (featuring nearly all the main members, including founder Marty Balin, but without Spencer Dryden, who had been kicked out of the band years earlier). A self-titled album was released by Columbi Records to modest sales. The accompanying tour was a success, but their revival was short-lived, and thus Jefferson Airplane's 'definitive' line-up officially disbanded for good.Today, there are two versions of 'Jefferson Starship' — one officially billed as 'Starship featuring Mickey Thomas' (with Thomas at the forefront), and the revived 'Jefferson Starship' (often called 'Jefferson Starship: The Next Generation' or 'Jefferson Starship-TNG'), with Kantner and Balin as leaders, and Diana Mangano replacing Grace Slick as female singer (although Slick did do guest vocals on Jefferson Starship's 1999 album Windows Of Heaven). This latter band plays frequent concerts, and on occasion, Jack Casady joins them as well. In 2005, longtime bassist David Freiberg rejoined the group for their "Jefferson Family Galactic Reunion" Tour, and continues to tour with the band, as of 2006. Mangano is an expressive and effective singer, and this revived Jefferson Starship can often capture a good deal of the feeling of the original Airplane. Jorma Kaukonen still tours, often playing over 100 acoustic solo shows a year at small clubs throughout the country. Occasionally, Jack Casady joins him, and the pair perform as Hot Tuna. Kaukonen also operates a guitar camp in southern Ohio, where he teaches would-be guitar virtousos his unique style of finger-picking blues.In 2004, Marty Balin pointed, with well-deserved pride, that unlike many of their contemporaries, all of the original members of Jefferson Airplane survived the 1960s; all except Spence (who passed away on April 16, 1999) lived to see the 21st Century. Immortality would not last forever, however, as Dryden, suffering from financial and health problems, succumbed to colon cancer on January 10, 2005 at the age of 67.

In popular culture, the group was referred to in an episode of Sex and the City, where the character Samantha's (Kim Catrall) hairdo was described as "very Jefferson Starship," a reference to Grace Slick's hairdo.

Research: Jefferson Airplane website (www.jeffersonairplane.com) Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org)

Selected Discography

Jefferson Airplane Takes Off (1966)
Surrealistic Pillow (1967) *
After Bathing at Baxter's (1967) *
Crown of Creation (1968) **
Bless Its Pointed Little Head (1969) Live
Volunteers (1969) *
The Worst of Jefferson Airplane (1970)
Bark (1971)
Long John Silver (1972)
Thirty Seconds Over Winterland (1973) Live
Early Flight (1974) (a collection of singles, B-sides, and other non-LP tracks)
Flight Log, 1966-1976 (compilation album, also includes tracks by Jefferson Starship, Hot Tuna, as well as solo tracks)
Jefferson Airplane (1989) (1989 'reunion' album)

Paul Kantner and / the Jefferson Starship

Blows Against the Empire (1970) *
Red Octopus (1975) *
Jefferson Starship at Their Best (1993) (compilation album)

* recommended
** essential

Rock of Ages's recommendations

Having cited him as a major influence and recorded the definitive versions of his songs Cocaine and After Midnight, Eric Clapton finally hooks up with the famously reclusive JJ Cale for a collaboration made in rock heaven - "The road to Escondido" **** is a masterpiece in swamped soaked blues, country and folk: from the slick groove of Danger and Anyway the wind blows to the shuffle boogie of Don't cry sister and the lamp-down-low blues moan of This sporting life, the album is the sound of two master musicians kicking back and having some fun. Both guitarists take turns in firing off seamlessly sublime guitar solos on what is turning out to be one of Rock of Ages' albums of the year....

Ratings:

*****	Volcanic....not to be missed.
****	Seismic....highly recommended...buy it!
***	Aftershock....solid effort.
**	Xmas cracker...Pooof!
*	Do I need to explain this?

Keep the rock real ...

Benjy

Contact Rock of Ages

Email:
Website: www.rock.co.za/rockofages
Snail mail:
PO Box 53585, Kenilworth, 7745
Studio phones: 021-4342523 / 4342525

Disclaimer:
The views, opinions, rants, raves and ramblings expressed on this website are the author's own and in no way reflect the views of Radio 2000 or the SABC.

Latest Playlist

Rock Of Ages News

Perfectly good guitar
Australian scientists have invented a T-shirt that allows air guitarists to play actual music as they strum the air. The T-shirt, created by scientists from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), is called a "wearable instrument shirt". The shirt has sensors in each elbow and sleeves to detect and interpret the air guitarist's arm movements -- one arm chooses chords and the other strums imaginary strings.

The gestures are then connected wirelessly to guitar audio samples to generate the music.

"It's an easy to use, virtual instrument that allows real time music making, even by players without significant musical or computing skills," said CSIRO engineer Richard Helmer. "It allows you to jump around and the sound generated is just like an original mp3," Helmer said in a statement on Monday.

Researchers specialising in computing, musical composition and textile manufacture combined their skills to create the musical T-shirt.

"The technology, which is adaptable to almost any kind of apparel, takes clothing beyond its traditional role of protection and fashion into the realms of entertainment," said Helmer.

A video of Helmer demonstrating the air-guitar T-shirt is available on the CSIRO's Website.

Barrett's Educational Auction
Items belonging to the late Syd Barrett have fetched over 100,000 pounds at an auction. All the proceeds are to be donated to children's educational programmes. Among these were ten paintings by the one-time Pink Floyd leader.

Sabbath In April
The album 'Black Sabbath: The Dio Years' is to be released in April. This is expected to include two new songs, recorded by Ronnie Dio (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer Butler (bass) and Vinny Appice (drums). Meanwhile, Heaven And Hell, featuring those four musicians have now been confirmed for the Sweden Rock Festival, which happens in Solvesborg from June 6-9.

ReRatted
There are strong reports that the four surviving members of the classic Ratt line-up are to re-unite for a tour next year. This would feature singer Stephen Pearcy, guitarist Warren De Martini, bassist Juan Croucier and drummer Bobby Blotzer.

Short Cuts… Whitesnake are plotting a new studio album, for release next Summer. It's to be called 'Good To Be Bad'….Metallica are to start the new year in the studio. The band will finally begin recording their next album with producer Rick Rubin. Expect a release later in '07….Offspring frontman Dexter Holland has gone into the culinary business, he's created a hot sauce called Gringo Bandito which he calls "A Party in your mouth".

More Classic Rock?
I can highly recommend the About Classic Rock website run by Dave White. Not only does Dave host one of the most knowledgeable classic rock blogs on the Net but the site itself is very entertaining and informative. There are always great indepth stories on the artists and the rock quizzes are addictive. If you are like me, a classic rock fan, then the weekly About Classic Rock newletter is a must. Sign up at classicrock.about.com

More rock on R2K ......
Suffering from Rock withdrawal symptoms on a Tuesday night? Well then tune the dial el pronto to Barney Simon's show between 8 and midnight every Tuesday on Radio 2000 (or R2K as Barney calls it) for the best in South African rock plus gig guide,albums reviews, demos, new releases, news from around the country and much more ...... Unmissable! .... Also don't forget to catch Michelle Constant between 1pm and 3pm Monday-Friday for news, music, interviews and loads of cool stuff .... and of course .... Mo G on the morning drive, weekdays 8-10am ... Exclusively on Radio 2000.

Live Gigs

Boulevard Blues Band
17th- Berties Mooring, Gordons Bay
23rd- Fogeys Railway House Restaurant, Muizenberg
31st - New Years gig at Berties Mooring Gordons Bay.

Farryl Purkiss and Nibs Van der Spuy
Wed 13 Dec Mojo's Blues Bar and Grill - Umhlanga Rocks
Thur 14 Dec Society - Durban
Fri 15 Dec Umhlanga Beach - Umhlanga Rocks
Sat 16 Dec Ballito Cinema - Ballito
Sun 17 Dec Glass Castle - Durban

Farryl Purkiss and Simon van Gend
Wed 20 Dec Monrose - Knysna
Thur 21 Dec Tidals Pub - Mosselbay
Sat 23 Dec Independant Armchair - Observatory, Cape Town

4 X 4 TOUR (Dorp/ Cassette/ Love Jones/ Bed on Bricks)
15th December Raffles Nite Club, Umhlanga
16th Burn, Durban
17th Speak Easy, Scottburgh
18th Buccaneers, East London
19th Weldon Kaya, Plettenbergbay
20th Cotton Club - Bay Hotel, Port Elizabeth
21th Plush, George
22th Mercury Live, Cape Town
23th Embargo - Southernright Hotel, Glencairn

Karma
14 Dec Back 2 Basix, Johannesburg
15 Dec Back 2 Basix, Johannesburg (SOLD OUT)
21 Dec Independent Armchair Theatre, Cape Town
22 Dec Zula Bar, Cape Town

London Calling (Fairview JHB)
8th December The Privates, Desmond & The Tutu's and Greenisforturbo

Love Jones
14 Dec Back 2 Basix, Westdene
15 Dec Mr White's Big Weekend Out, Umhlanga
15 Dec Back 2 Basix, Westdene
16 Dec Burn, Durban (with Cassette and Dorp)
17 Dec Speak Easy, Scottburgh (with Cassette and Dorp)
18 Dec Buccaneers, East London (with Cassette and Dorp)
19 Dec Weldon Kaye, Plett with (Cassette and Dorp)
20 Dec Cotton Club, PE (with Cassette and Dorp)
21 Dec Independent Armchair Theatre Cape Town
22 Dec Zula Sound Bar, Cape Town
31 Dec Sun-Coast Casino, Durban New Year's Bash

Mojo's, The Square, Durban
Classic rock every Friday night 8.30-midnight with Salty Dog

The Rock 'n Roll Circus (12th Avenue/ Autopilot/ Kings of Vegas)
14th - Southern Right Hotel, Glencairn, Cape Town
15th - The Edge, Parklands, Cape Town
16th - Hectic on Hope, Hope St, Cape Town
19th – Bandit's Battle of the Bands Finals, Mercury Live, Cape Town
20th – Stones, Tableview, Cape Town
21st – Stones, Knysna, Garden Route
22nd – Stones, George, Garden Route
23rd - Town Square, Somerset West, Cape Town
30th - Cool Runnings, Observatory, Cape Town
31st - Corner Bar - New Year's Eve Party, Durbanville, Cape Town

Exit the Fall & Gravity Wins Again
13th December Thunder Road Rock Diner,Florida Road, Durban
14th December Visions Night Club Rosslyn Road, Amanzimtoti
15th December Glass Magic Castle Old Main Road, Hillcrest
16th December Rocky Ridge in Ramsgate
17th December Amanzimtoti Methodist Church

Louise Carver & Friends
12th Dec Silvertree Restaurant, Kirstenbosch – PawPower Concert with Watershed, Flat Stanley, Bed on Bricks - SPCA

The Parlotones/ Wonderboom/ Evolver
15 December Wavehouse, Umhlanga
17 December Rocky Ridge Restaurant, Ramsgate
18 December The Workshop, St. Francis EC
20 December Plush, George
21 December Camelot, Mossel Bay
22 December Vodacom 5 o'clock @ the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
26 December The Deck, Gonubie EC
27 December The Station, Port Alfred
28 December Tapas Al Sol, Port Elizabeth

Prime Circle/ Bloodmoney/ Driverlane
15 December The Deck, Gonubie
16 December The Station, Port Alfred
17 December Tapas Al Sol, Port Elizabeth
19 December Vodacom 5 O_clock @ the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
20 December Camelot, Mossel Bay
21 December Plush, George
23 December Bushpig Events Bar, Kei Mouth EC
26 December Rocky Ridge Restaurant, Ramsgate
27 December Wavehouse, Umhlanga

Springbok Nude Girls/ The Finkelsteins/ Scarlet Box
15 December - DBN – Rocky Ridge Restaurant, Margate (TBC)
16 December - DBN – Wavehouse, Umhlanga (TBC)
18 December – EC - The Deck, East London
19 December – EC – The Station, Port Alfred
22 December – EC – Tapas Al Sol, Port Elizabeth
23 December – WC – The Workshop, ST Francis
27 December – WC- Plush, George
28 December – WC – Camelot, Mossel Bay
29 December – WC – The Finale Show in Somerset west (Venue TBC)

Stoned Goblin
23rd Dec – Gandalfs, Lower Main Rd, Observatory. 9pm, R20 Entry

You say it's your birthday...

December 7
Tom Waits (1949)

December 8
Gregg Allman (Allman Brothers Band) (1947)
Jim Morrison (The Doors) (1943-1971)

December 9
Rick Danko (The Band) (1942-1999)

December 12
Dickey Betts (Allman Brothers Band)(1943)
Clive Bunker (Jethro Tull) (1946)

December 13
Skunk Baxter (Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan) (1948)
Ted Nugent (1948)

December 14
Cliff Williams (AC/DC) (1949)

December 15
Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Cactus) (1946)
Dave Clark (Dave Clark Five) (1942)
Alan Freed (1922-1965)

December 16
Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) (1949)

December 17
Paul Butterfield (1942-1987)
Paul Rodgers (Free, Bad Company) (1949)

December 18
Sam Andrew (Big Brother & the Holding Company)
Chas Chandler (The Animals) (1938-1996)
Keith Richards (Rolling Stones) (1943)

December 19
Alvin Lee (Ten Years After) (1944)

December 20
Bobby Colomby (Blood Sweat & Tears) (1944)
Peter Criss (Kiss) (1945)

December 21
Frank Zappa (Mothers Of Invention) (1940-1993)

Courtesy of
About ClassicRock

Birthday archives

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

"Benjy says..." Archive

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

To subscribe to The Rock Of Ages mailing list to receive your weekly dose of Rock News, Playlists, Recommendations, Competitions and much, much more, please go here »»»

Stay tuned every Thursday 8-12pm for the best in classic rock on RADIO 2000.

Your Host

Benjy Mudie

Then	Now

Benjy Mudie is a self confessed 'rockaholic' with little chance of recovery ... a music obsessive whose entire life has been spent in search of the lost chord ... from discovering Jimi's "Are you experienced" at 13, he has constantly devoured music through lp's, singles, tapes, cds, dvds, books, magazines, film, concerts, radio, tv and the internet. His entire working life has also been music related: from running a record store and later joining WEA Records in the mid 70's through to his 21 year A&R/Marketing stint at Tusk Music where he signed some of the biggest names in South African rock and pop. The last 8 years have been spent nurturing new talent at his indie label Fresh Music and reissuing classic albums as part of it's ongoing Retro series .... To say that 'music is his first love' (to paraphrase John Miles's classic song) is somewhat understated.

----------------------------------------------------------------------