RARWRITER.COM                                )

July 2010 Edition

E-MAIL CONTACT:
Rick@RARWRITER.com 

RARWRITER MOST WANTED

Rick Roberts

Misner & Smith

Paul Muldoon

Donovan and Violeta

Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids

Matthew Magennis

Doug Strobel

Jaco Pastorius

Dennis Wanebo

John Pieplow

Angie Mattson

Tamra Spivey

Libby Winters

Malea McGuinness

Leslie and The Badgers

Minton Sparks

Carol Oliveto

Kyle Jarrow

Renee' Lauren

Johnny "V" Vernazza

Richard Dean

Gretchen Peters

Happenin' Harry

Vikki Panetti aka Shemonster

John Manikoff

 

CURRENTLY HOT ON RARWRITER:

Gioia

Kirsten DeHaan

NXNE Archives

Kat Parsons

Luce

Lucas Ohio Pattie

Sex With Strangers

Jaffa Road

CALLmeKAT

Katie Stalmanis

Gregory Pepper & His Problems

The Primitive Evolution

Kristen Sweetland

Gramercy Riffs

Fugitive Underground

Daniel Wesley

Emma Hill and Her Gentlemen Callers

 

Don Benda - "Important Things I Learned Driving A Truck Across America"

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RAR TUNE OF THE WEEK:

Two New Tunes This Edition - This week's RAR original is "Brideshead Suite", which opens like a send-up of "Little Wing" and goes through a few evolutions before pooling to a puddle on the floor. Kidding, I'm actually pleased with this demo version, which marries the aforementioned Hendrix to The Band, The Beatles, Tears for Fears and Tom Petty, at least to my mind. ("...people usually imitate each other..." guilty as charged). It is even worse with "The Goodbye Look", the great Donald Fagan tune of which I offer a Karaoke rendition, but affectionately copied right down to the Larry Carlton guitar parts. I downloaded one of the many well rendered midi arrangements available on line, exchanged a couple guitar tracks for my own and did the vocals. Wonderful song, though I didn't have Gretchen pour me a Cuban Breeze. I wasn't lucky enough to know Gretchen... That is me pictured above, not in Cuba but in Jamaica, exactly 100 years ago.

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Additional RAR originals may be heard from the RAR MySpace site. Click on the MySpace banner below to go there.

 

 

 

 

CONTENTS

In this Edition

Featured Artists

Artist Resources

Music Reviews

Book Reviews

Publisher Essays

Cinema

About RARWRITER.com

Archives

 

 

Strange Stories

 

Photo: deiman.nl

SPECIAL SECTIONS

RARadio

Written Arts

Fine Arts

Fashion & Design

Media

Public Policy and Politics

Soundscan Charts

 

 

SPECIAL REPORTS

Artist Dream Project

Artist Management

Blues Series

 

 
CONTRIBUTOR ARTICLES

Doug Strobel's "You Can't Get There From Here" Music Education Series

 

 

THE "LINKS AT RARWRITER"
At Large
Austin
Australia
Boston

Canada
Chicago
Colorado
Europe
Miami/Florid
a
Japan
Los Angeles
Minnesota
Nashville
New Orleans/Louisiana
New York City
Philadelphia
Phoenix
San Diego

San Francisco
Scandanavia
Seattle
United Kingdom

 

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FEATUREDARTISTS:

Click here to go to the Featured Artist page: 

 

Photos, streaming MP3s and more!!!

ESSAYS Click here

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MUSIC REVIEWS
(click here)
:

RAR reviews LPs from Michael ONeill (Ain't Leavin' Your Love), Sarah Stanley (Tuesday Girl), Hilary York (In The Dark), Tom Corwin and Tim Hockenberry (Mostly Dylan), The Boxmasters (Modbilly), Mad Buffalo (Wilderness), and others. Also read reviews from RARWRITER contributors Doug Strobel and Diana Olson.

 

 

 

BOOK REVIEWS AND MORE (click here): This edition, RAR takes a long look at Philip K. Dick, Edgar Allan Poe, Samuel Clemens and The Iowa Writer's Workshop. Read earlier RAR reviews, including a look back at David Halberstam's The Reckoning, and Alan Greenspan's book "The Age of Turbulence."

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ARTIST INDEX:

Click here to go to the Index page to find the artists profiled on the Links at RARWRITER.

 

J. Vermeer -  "The Artist In His Studio"

 

"THE LINKS AT RARWRITER" - Links to information on creative communities of the following cities, regions and countries:

At Large

Austin

Australia

Boston

Canada

Chicago

Colorado

Europe

Miami/Florida

Japan

Los Angeles

Minnesota

Nashville

New Orleans/Louisiana

New York City

Philadelphia

Phoenix

San Diego

San Francisco

Scandanavia

Seattle

United Kingdom

 

ARCHIVES: Selected features from past editions.

 

RARADIO: Click here to go to the RARadio page to hear innovative acts from across the spectrum of musical genres.

 

POLITICAL LINKS -

points of view not necessarily endorsed by RARWRITER.com

 

ATLAS SHRUGS

FACTCHECK.ORG

 


 

FEATURED LINKS:

The Gibson guitar folks have a Lifestyle zine section on their website that is well worth checking. Click here.

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RARWRITER.com Annual "State of the Union" Report 2008-2009.

Click here for information about RARWRITER.com viewership and the further development of the RARWRITER enterprise.

 

RARWRITER
CONTRIBUTOR PROSPECTUS

RARWRITER.com is exploding with new readers, new artist profiles, and new business opportunities. Would you like to become involved as an editorial contributor? If you are a great writer or photographer with particular knowledge of your creative community, and you are looking for publishing credits, contact us at Rick@RARWRITER.com for a copy of the RARWRITER Contributor Prospectus to learn what involvement can mean for you.-RAR

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

From the Basement to the Coliseum

 

The musical journey
of legendary drummer

Bill Lordan

By Bill Lordan

with Diana Olson

 

 

Copyright © Bill Lordan and Diana Olson 2009 All Rights Reserved

May not be reproduced without the written consent of the authors

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  Excerpt from

Chapter 5 – The Robin Trower Decade

After a year and half or so with Sly and the Family Stone, my friend Donny Crissey, who worked at Studio Instrument Rentals called me and said that Robin Trower was looking for a drummer.  Robin had been in Procol Harum and played a bluesy Jimi Hendrix style guitar. I called the Hotel Continental Hyatt House on Sunset and asked for Robin Trower.  Surprisingly, I got him on the phone and he said, “come on down.”  I played, got the job and moved to England in September 1974.

Robin had said this about Bill Lordan: “Bill’s a great drummer, y’know. He’s got to be one of the best drummers there are. I mean, you can’t play with someone like that and not have it change you. These are our first gigs we’ve played with Bill, and y’know, the first night was classic! We went on and he was right for us. He knew he was right for us before we did. He’d been into us from the time the first album came out and he’s been trying to get hold of me ever since, ‘cause he knew he was The Drummer. He phoned me up and said, ‘I’m the guy you want. Don’t listen to anybody else.’ And he was right. He was absolutely perfect. See, he’s been into it right from the first album. Bill, on drums, has added so much, a completely new dimension.”

 

 
 

My first gig with Robin was in Rochester New York in January 1974 with Black Oak Arkansas.  We went on stage to do our first set.  I had my cassette tape recorder on behind the drums and we were not quite sure if it went as good as we hoped it would.  When we got back to the hotel and Robin came to my room and heard the tape from that night, he was elated.  It was better than he even thought it was.   After that first tour we went back to Los Angeles to start recording “For Earth Below”.   The album went to number five on the billboard charts and we started to headline shows.

 

 MP3 Samples from Bill Lordan’s Discography:

·         “Simple Life” from the "Best of BLX"

·         “Drum Solo/Midnight” from the "Best of BLX"

·         “Chamber of My Heart” from the "Best of BLX", winner of 2004 LA Music Awards

·         “Dance to the Music” from the “Best of BLX”, Sly and the Family Stone from Soul Train, 1974

·         “Little Bit of Sympathy” from the “Best of BLX”, Robin Trower live

 

 

 

Learn more about Bill Lordan by visiting his MySpace at www.myspace.com/billlordan

 

Text Box: In concert during drum solo, first Robin Trower tour

 

 

 

 

CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO THE ARTIST INDEX PAGE

©Rick Alan Rice (RAR), October, 2009

ARTIST NEWS  •  IN THIS EDITION   •  FEATURED ARTISTS  •  THE LINKS AT RARWRITER   ARTIST RESOURCES  •  MUSIC REVIEWS •  BOOK REVIEWS ESSAYS •  CINEMA ABOUT RARWRITER.COM

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