September 21
Don Felder - Eagles - 1947
Leonard Cohen - 1934
Don Preston - Mothers of Invention - 1932
Moon Zappa - 1967
September 21
Don Felder - Eagles - 1947
Leonard Cohen - 1934
Don Preston - Mothers of Invention - 1932
Moon Zappa - 1967
September 22
Joan Jett - 1961
David Coverdale - Whitesnake - 1949
September 23
Ray Charles - 1930
Bruce Springsteen - 1949
September 24
Linda McCartney - 1941
September 26
Cesar Rosas - Los Lobos - 1954
Craig Chaquico - Jefferson Starship - 1954
Olivia Newton-John - 1948
September 27
Randy Bachman - Bachman Turner Overdrive - 1943
Don Cornelius - Soul Train - 1936
Meat Loaf - 1947
September 28
Nick St. Nicholas - Steppenwolf - 1943
September 29
Jerry Lee Lewis - 1935
Mark Farner - Grand Funk Railroad - 1948
Mike Pinera - Iron Butterfly - 1948
Hi Rock of Ages listeners, fans and fellow rock junkies,
Firstly I must apologise for the show starting so late on Thursday, this was due to the combined cricket and rugby broadcasts on the night. Normally I would have notified you at least a week before hand but unfortunately we were only given this information 3 days prior. Nonetheless those of you who did tune in at 11pm (and judging by the many calls and emails there were many) would have heard a virtual smorgasbord of classic Jimi Hendrix tunes - mind you, as opposed to previous specials, I played more obscure songs drawn mainly from the first three albums (Are you experienced, Axis Bold as Love and Electric Ladyland) as well as the posthumous Cry of love album and a handful of live tracks from Monterey & Woodstock ... not to worry 'tho as I will spin another few tunes this coming week for those who missed it ..... With all the excitement about the upcoming one-off Led Zeppelin reunion in London it's interesting to note that it is the 'heritage' artists that are getting all the ticket sales and media attention at the moment. Here in sunny SA we have just had folk rock legends Magna Carta on tour, Jethro Tull are scheduled for 4 concerts in November and then this will be followed with three shows by US classic rock giants Foreigner later in November (see the gig guide for details). Although they are best known for hits like "Urgent", "Waiting for a girl like you" and "I want to know what love is", Foreigner were, and still are, a helluva hard rocking band as evidenced by anyone who saw them live here in 1993 ... Mick Jones is an awesome guitarist and I for one can't wait to hear rockers like "Double Vision", "Dirty white boy", "Blue morning, blue day" and "Feels like the first time" again - real fist-in-the-air stuff! ... and there's more ... Status Quo will also be touring before the end of the year ... so it' s rock 'n roll all the way folks!
WIN A PINK FLOYD - "PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN" LIMITED EDITION 3 CD BOX
Pink Floyd Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
Pink Floyd remain one of the most innovative rock bands of all time. In 1967
they released their highly influential debut album "Piper at the gates of
dawn" ... recently reissued by EMI Records it is one of the finest examples of
early psych rock, courtesy of their original guitarist and visionary, the
late Syd Barrett. The kind folks at EMI South Africa have given Rock of Ages
this 3 CD limited edition box set to give away to one lucky ROA
listener / subscriber / fan ... How to win??? .... in no more that 100 words
describe how, in your opinion, the original Pink Floyd lineup of Syd
Barrett, Roger Waters, Richard Wright and Nick Mason influenced rock music -
the best entry will win the prize. Please mail to benjy@rock.co.za
The Rock of Ages Special ... I have been asked quite a few times if I could let listeners know in advance what specials are coming up on the show. Although I don't like to plan too far in advance this is what you can expect in the coming weeks, subject of course to the odd change due to timing, moods,ect ......
27th September .... Captain Beyond ... one of those wonderfully somewhat obscure bands that made a couple of early 70's classic rock albums and then disapppeared into the Rock Cosmos. Stellar musicianship from one of the earliest 'supergroups' with members drawn from the likes of Iron Butterfly, Deep Purple and Johnny Winter.
4th October ... The Summer of Love ... 1967 - the year that rock exploded as a worldwide force ... psychedelia, LSD, Mary Quant, Twiggy, free love, festivals, Carnaby Street, Haight Ashbury, flower power ... and ... the music - debut albums by Hendrix, The Doors, Smoke, Electric Prunes, Traffic, Love, Small Faces, Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Tomorrow and many more. So dig out the incense, lava lamp, headbands, facepaint and all the necessary prerequisites for a psychedelic experience. Join me as we take a trip back in time to the most influential era of rock music, I'll be playing some of the biggest songs of that year.
Summer of Love 1967 [clockwise from top left]: Sopwith Camel, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Traffic, Moby Grape, Small Faces
Tune in on the night to win 1 of 5 copies of the remastered reissue of Pink Floyd's
frontier blazing debut album "Piper at the gates of dawn" (courtesy of EMI
Records).
11th October ... David Gilmour ... The Floyd's legendary guitarist has a sound all of his own, whether as a soloist or songwriter and some of his best work can be found on a handful of great solo albums recorded over the past 30 years. I'll be spinning tracks from "David Gilmour" "About face", "On an Island" plus a couple of tunes from his new "Remember that night" dvd.
17th October ... Pavlov's Dog ... Best known for the timeless rock epic, "Julia", Pavlov's Dog were an American mid 70's rock band who sported one of the most unusual singers in music, David Surkamp (not unlike Rush's Geddy Lee). Musically they eschewed the popular hard rock direction of the period for a more classically inflected prog rock sound with soaring off-the-wall vocals, complex time signatures and violent violin playing. Regarded by many critics as one of the best bands to come out of the States.
Pavlov's Dog
Captain Beyond
Captain Beyond
Lineup
Rod Evans: Vocals
Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt: Guitars
Lee Dorman: Bass, piano, Hammond organ, vocals
Bobby Caldwell: Drums, percussion, Hammond organ, bells, vibraphone, vocals
Marty Rodriguez: Drums, Backup Vocals
Reese Wynans: Electric and Acoustic Pianos
Guille Garcia: Congas, Timbales and Percussion
Paul Hornsby: Organ ("Starglow Energy")
Discography
Captain Beyond (1972)
Far Beyond A Distant Sun - Live Arlington, Texas (1973) (NOT a bootleg as it was released in 2002 by then Captain Beyond associated record label The Dream Clinic! It was sold on Captain Beyond's official website until it was shut down.)
Sufficiently Breathless (1973)
Dawn Explosion (1977)
Night Train Calling EP (2000) (only demo, it WAS officially released but only in small limited quantities! This demo was also sold on Captain Beyond's official website until it was shut down.)
Captain Beyond was an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1972. Its members were singer Rod Evans, guitarist Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt, bassist Lee Dorman, and drummer Bobby Caldwell. Evans was the original lead singer for Deep Purple and probably best known for his vocals on their 1968 debut chart-breaker "Hush"; Rheinhardt and Dorman had played in Iron Butterfly. Caldwell had come to prominence playing with Johnny Winter. He was replaced by drummer Martin Rodriguez on the group's second album (Sufficiently Breathless, which also featured future Double Trouble keyboardist Reese Wynans), after which Evans left the band. Captain Beyond re-formed in 1976, with singer Willy Daffern, and Caldwell back on the drums. Captain Beyond played hard rock influenced by progressive rock. Although the band achieved little commercial success, the group nevertheless earned a cult following. Reinhardt and Caldwell reformed Captain Beyond in 1998. Since then they have been performing at shows and have released a four track EP. There is of yet no information whether they are going to record a new album. The band Clutch,who are featured regularly on Rock of Ages, references Captain Beyond and its' self-titled album in the song Rising Son, on the Clutch album Slow Hole To China.
Captain Beyond
Bassist Lee Dorman remembers: "Rhino and I were touring with Iron Butterfly through Europe in early 71 and we knew that this band would be officially over after the summer US tour of that year, so we decided to do something together ... Bobby Caldwell was playing the same places as we did in Europe with Johnny Winter two weeks behind us and Rhino stayed in contact with Bobby, whom he knew from Florida. It also seemed at that time that Johnny Winter was going to take a rest for six months to a year. So we got Bobby interested in doing something. I personally financed the whole thing and we all wanted to go that Jazz Rock direction, we got together in July 71 and played 2 or 3 weeks and then we started to look around for a lead singer and through our old manager we found out that Rod Evans wasn't working, so we contacted him and he came down to a audition and liked the situation, so we jammed more and we had a recorder in the house ... so that's how the band got together ... Bobby and I recorded the first album in two days only, that's how tight it was! We knew the songs from a to b, Rhino was hitting a few chords. Rhino remembers: "Lee and I played with Bobby and it just clicked, we wanted to do something totally different and just the way Bobby plays makes it totally different. Chris Squire from Yes came one morning to me, when we were uploading the bus and said to me "you guys look like Captain Beyond!". The crystal ball in the hands of the Captain on their album cover contains the earthsign symbols of fire and water.
Lee Dorman: "The president of Capricorn, our label, was also our manager and suddenly all these Southern Rock bands became quite popular, and we were quite different, so we kind of got pushed backwards and there was never enough being done for us. We only played like 60-70 gigs in the that two year period with Rod".From the first album they played live AFAIK every song, except "Ranging River Of Fear" and "Thousand Days Of Yesterdays (Time Since Come And Gone)". It's also known that the song "Dawn Explosion" was performed live during the time with Rod, the same goes for "Pandora's Box (The Land Of...)", which was done in Arlington 73, and according to Lee was played a few times only.
Lee Dorman: "From "Sufficiently Breathless" we performed live Distant Sun, Drifting in Space, Starglow Energy, Everything's A Circle and Bright Blue Tango. We became involved in a problem with the record company in late 73, everyone was tired of sitting around and doing nothing, rehearsing and nothing happening, so we decided to call it a day..." Reese Wynans remembers: "Captain Beyond was a great band to play with, but from the management side it was terribly organized... I was very poor at that time, living in somebody's else garage, so I needed to work and had to quit. I played on all the songs on "Sufficiently Breathless", except the title track. I only played one show with them..." .Lee Dorman: "... Rod walked out of the studio midway through the recording of "Sufficiently Breathless", I really don't know the reasons why, his wife was making pressure or something and he felt disgusted with the management situation, but he never really talked about it. He finished the album and that was it... not too long ago we found out that Polydor Japan was releasing our records and after a while we got the royalties cheques... so we had to put Rod's share on hold, as nobody could find him. I contacted him via his manager and forwarded my number to him, saying please call back... never heared of him. He seems to live in the San Francisco area now and I haven't seen him since he left the band, same goes for the other band members, noone has talked to Rod ever since he left... We had some rough times together, he was a great guy, I liked him."
Captain Beyond
"Sufficiently Breathless", the second album by Captain Beyond, was released in 1973 and features a jazzier, smoother sound than its predecessor. Despite the drastic change in sound, the album is generally considered to be around the same quality as its predecessor 'Captain Beyond'. Original drummer Bobby Caldwell was replaced by Marty Rodriguez on this albumand we just recorded it along..." Lee Dorman: "Warner and Capricorn had a deal and contacted us in 1976 to do another album. In the interim I was working as a engineer/producer for demo bands for Warner Bros. We started to audition singers and were quite happy with Willy Daffern. We have a outtake of "Icarus" and a studio version of the song "Dawn Explosion" that wasn't used for that album. We did like 15 to 20 gigs with that line-up."Lee Dorman remembers "Looking back, we lacked of proper management. I think if we'd gone out doing 150 gigs a year it would have done much better. Our management did nothing for us, it was like "we'll get back to you" and they never did a thing, so what could you do about it... They should have bought us into a tour to open up for someone who would really draw some people, but it never happened... There were several attenpts of reforming Captain Beyond over the years, but it never got beyond talking about it, and the only chance to do it seemed, if I was going to do anything... I'm now with Iron Butterfly and surely I can do one thing at the time only, but THERE'LL ALWAYS BE A PLACE IN MY HEART FOR CAPTAIN BEYOND...'CAUSE THIS WAS REALLY A LABOUR OF LOVE..."
Following hot on the heels of last years "You & Me", guitarist wunderkind Joe Bonamassa moves further away from the straight hard blues-rock thump of the earlier albums towards a more structured song based direction. His new album "Sloe Gin" **** (J&R Records), once again produced by SA expat Kevin Shirley, finds Bonamassa exploring a more soulful sound on songs like "Ball peen hammer" and "Dirt in my pocket", reminiscent of early Rod Stewart and Paul Rodgers ... in fact he does a wonderful cover of Bad Company's "Seagull". There are several tracks that find him masterfully stroking an acoustic guitar and it's really here where Bonamassa shines ... check out "Jelly Roll" and "India". Whilst many of the newer blues based guitaists continue to wail away at top volume it's encouraging to see such a gifted musician break new ground - highly recommended .........
Kenny Wayne Shepherd - 10 days out
Speaking of the blues, traditionalists will just love the new Kenny Wayne Shepherd album, "10 days out - blues from the backroads" *** (Warner/Gallo). Accompanied by a companion dvd, Shepherd, along with Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon (from Double Trouble), produced this live album featuring some of the world's most renowned blues artists as well as some of the genre's lesser known but rare and towering talents like BB King, Pinetop Perkins, "Wild Child" Butler and Cootie Stark. "10 days out" is a blues experience that you won't want to miss.
Ratings: ***** Volcanic....not to be missed. **** Seismic....highly recommended...buy it! *** Aftershock....solid effort. ** Damp squib really! * Do I need to explain this?
Rock Of Ages News
DISNEY BAN MACHINE HEAD
Disney have banned Machine Head! The band were due to play at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, which is on property owned by Disneyland, but the corporation have objected to them because, well, they're metal.
ROCK BASHES LEE
Kid Rock has been charged with misdemeanour battery, after allegedly punching Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee during a party following the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles. No-one is sure what caused the altercation, but there are reports that Lee was taunting the singer. In the meantime it would seem that Tommy Lee has problems with the other members of Motley Crue. However, the drummer is denying reports that he's quit the band.
TOP NAMES JOIN ROCK BAND
Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Queens Of The Stone Age, Soundgarden, Faith No More and the Red Hot Chili Peppers will all be featured on the upcoming game 'Rock Band'. This is due in November.
SOUTHERN LEGEND DIES
Hughie Thomasson, one of southern rock's greatest names, has died from a heart attack. Thomasson made his name with The Outlaws and was also associated with Lynyrd Skynyrd. We send condolences to his family and friends.
AXL SUED
Axl Rose is being sued by security guard Gary Armijo. The latter claims the Guns N' Roses singer kicked him in the head during a show at the Gibson Amphitheater in Universal City, California last December. As a result Armijo says he suffered severe injuries.
HEEP NAME ALBUM
Uriah Heep have postponed the release of new album 'Wake The Sleeper' until January. The band are currently sorting out exactly which label will be putting this out.
QUEENSRYCHE DVD
Queensryche are to release a double disc live DVD on September 3. It's called 'Mindcrime At The Moore', and features the whole of the 'Operation: Mindcrime' story filmed at The Moore Theater in Seattle.
PISTOLS RETURN
The Sex Pistols are re-forming for a one-off London show at the Brixton Academy on November 8. Tickets will be available via the ticket link at www.totalrock.com. John Lydon, Steve Jones, Glen Matlock and Paul Cooke will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the album 'Never Mind The Bollocks'.
IGGY HONOURED
Iggy Pop is to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Vodaphone Live Music Awards in London.
DE LA ROCHA FINISHES SOLO ALBUM
Rage Against The Machine frontman Zack De La Rocha has finally finished his debut solo album. As yet untitled, it features a guest appearance from mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore.
The legendary Jethro Tull return to South African shores in November for their second tour (they came in the 90's). In a recent phone interview founder Ian Anderson promised SA fans 'the best of Jethro Tull drawn from a cross section of albums' .... can't wait ..... book now at Computicket.
7th November - Grand West Casino, Cape Town
9th November 2007 – Lords and Legends, Amanzimtoti, Durban
10th November 2007 – Carnival City's Big Top Arena, JHB
11th November 2007 – Carnival City's Big Top Arena, JHB
Tuesday 21st / Wednesday 22nd November - Big Top Arena @ Carnival City
Saturday 23th November - Arena at Grand West Casino, Cape Town
Book at Computicket www.computicket.com.
Boulevard Blues Band
Sun 23 September Hermanus Whale Festival
Wed 25 September Bertie's Moorings, Gordons Bay
Sun 30 September Rock The Daisies Festival
Battery 9
September 27, 2007 SUB APPLE THURSDAY Durbanville Kunskafee, Cape Town
Goth Industrial Gathering 2007
Battery 9 [Joburg], Psyche [Germany], Winter Soul [Bloemfontein], Ankst [Durban]
28th September Mercury Live, 43 De Villiers Street, Zonnebloem, Cape Town
EMPYREAN FEST 2007
8 Bands: Battery 9, Psyche, Winter Soul, Ankst, Mind Assault, Noctivian, Day Turns Night, Vendetta, 29th September Klein Libertas Theatre, Stellenbosch
Jack Hammer
27th September The Knight & Dragon, Boksburg (Piet & Johnathan unplugged)
28th The New Maroela Hotel, Pretoria North
4th/11th/12th/18th October The Knight & Dragon, Boksburg (Piet & Johnathan unplugged)
19th Steak & Ale, Centurion, PTA
24th The White Horse Sessions, Potchefstroom
25th The Knight & Dragon, Boksburg (Piet & Johnathan unplugged)
26th Moonshine's RocktoberFest, Steak & Ale, Centurion, PTA
Louise Carver
23rd September Bokomo Hall La Rochelle Hall, Faure Street, Paarl
24th September Bokomo Hall La Rochelle Hall, Faure Street, Paarl
City Folk' series of concerts
25 September, featuring the cream of the emerging Cape Town singer-songwriter folk talent, will be held at The Waiting Room - Emma Du Preez, Joshua Grierson, and Louise Day.
Josie Field
27th Aardklop Festival
Laurie Levine
27th Back2Basix, Westdene JHB Thunder Road Rock Diner
28th Steve, Dain & Tara Faatar
Shawn Phillips
25th The Tanz Cafe, Bryanston (DVD launch)
Simon van Gend Band
Friday 28 September - Friends Clarens, Free State
Sunday 30 September Back To Basix Melville, JHB
Monday 1 October Cafe Barcelona
Tuesday 2 October – Red Door Pietermaritzburg
Friday 5 October – Luna Lounge Durban
Saturday 6 October Snap Wine Bar Durban
Tuesday 9 October African Sky, Rocky Ridge, Ramsgate
Wednesday 10 October – The Deck East London
Thursday 11 October – Aloha, Port Alfred
Friday 12 October – Die Taphuis, Grahamstown
Saturday 20 October Independent Armchair Theatre Cape Town
Red House
22 Sep - Roxy's in Johannesburg
Will's Blues Band, Bobby and the Dynamites and The Gloucester Blues Project
28 September Bingelela (Winterton)
Tanz Cafe, Bryanston
22nd Gently Scar'ed
Chromium
28 September - Waenhuise, freestate
29 September - Witchfest - www.witchfest.co.za
06 October - Club So - Knave's Album Launch
13 October - Nightfall Festival
27 October - Bohemians, TJ's Meltdown (Celebration Gig)
31 October - Steamers, Northcliff
03 November - Tempos
23 November - Red Door, Pietermaritzburg
24 November - Burn, Durban
29 February 2008 - RAM Festival
Dream.Independent, in benefit of the Reach for a Dream Foundation; 5 October 2007; Leibrandt van Niekerk Hall, Table View; R40 Entrance; All Ages; Featuring: New Altum, the Sleepers, Mercurial & 3 young bands competing for fantastic prizes.
Rock of Ages presents "Footstomping Music"
Order this album directly from the Rock of Ages website. Click on www.rock.co.za/rockofages for details.
Email: Website:www.rock.co.za/rockofages Snail mail: PO Box 782022, Sandton 2146 Studio phone: 089-1102003
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.
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.
This website is part of the South African Rock Encyclopedia
