March 8, 2009

            I really didn’t want to post about The Who two weeks in a row, but, since I’ve got nothing else…

            Last week, on his birthday, I wrote about Roger Daltrey.  In the course of that blog, mentioned Pete Townshend’s recurring tinnitus problem, and how it could mean the end of The Who.  Well, here’s an update, directly from Pete himself.  This is from his blog, available at the Who’s website. 

In addition to his hearing problems, Pete writes about the playing Superbowl, and the hat he wore at the show.  Enjoy.

The Super Bowl show is now history, and next up is our concert version of Quadrophenia at the Royal Albert Hall, for the Teenage Cancer Trust, on March 30th. We start rehearsing ten days before the show. So there is almost a month to do some other stuff. 

While Roger does some more solo shows, this time supporting Eric Clapton, I am writing some more songs, testing out some studio and stage in-ear monitor systems, and wearing a Phonak hearing aid almost all the rest of the time. I feel as though I've been reborn in some ways. Not everything I hear is worth hearing, but at least I don't have to turn the TV down in order to tell everyone in the room that what they are watching is rubbish. I don't have to turn it up in the first place. Instead of TV interspersed with conversation, we have TV with conversation that happens at the same time. That kind of family running commentary on what we watch on TV is something I didn't know I missed, but I did miss it. On a higher note, hearing birdsong again is pretty amazing. 

I'm also working on Floss. I've gone back to the story and I'm fleshing out the characters, digging into their fictional past to learn more about them. Quite a bit of what I've been doing until now has been creating new studio set ups for the soundscapes that the hero of the story is so distracted by. I need a lot of triggers, buttons and switches, and powerful software playback systems that will allow me to 'perform' each soundscape in a variety of ways, allowing me lots of takes if necessary. I'm mixing dialogue, sound effects, music-concrete and music. So the set up I need is rather like a movie sound-mixing desk, with almost as many elements sometimes.

By a strange coincidence, while searching for music charts of Quadrophenia for our Music Supervisor on the RAH show, I found technical notes and drawings for studio systems I devised while cooking up the four channel version of the 1973 album - the Quad version that got away. Looking at the plans, designs and drawings I have before me today for Floss it's clear that I haven't lost my mojo when it comes to taking myself to the edge of technological nervous breakdown. 

Thanks everyone who stood by me during the Super Bowl (especially Roger as always), and to everyone who has emailed to say how much they enjoyed the half-time stint. The hat I wore, that was popular with some-but not all-of our fans, contains some ancient technology that helps me hear myself better on stage. It's called, the BRIM. 

PS:  This is the last week for Mad Marchness listener picks.  Remember, there’s ALWAYS room for more Who songs, and I’m STILL waiting for Iron Maiden to get a spot. 

March 1, 2010

            Happy Birthday to Roger Daltrey.  The Who singer, who is currently on the road opening for Eric Clapton, turns 66 today.

            Thursday night, the first night those two icons performed together on this tour, I was sitting at home when my phone rang.  It was my friend Brad, who lives in Pittsburgh. 

            He said, “Pat, guess where I am.”  And before I could answer, he told me he was on his way to that very show.  As you can probably guess, I was incredibly jealous.  I would have loved to have gone to that show, but stupid work always gets in the way of all the fun stuff.  Also, I don’t like to make date-specific travel plans during the winter, because bad weather has a way of really screwing them up.  Turns out, that was probably a wise choice.

            I haven’t heard from Brad since the show to get his review, but I’ll bet it was spectacular.  Here’s Roger’s set list.

1. I Can See For Miles 
2. The Real Me 
3. Days of Light 
4. Freedom Ride 
5. Give Me A Stone 
6. Real Good Looking Boy 
7. Mannish Boy ( A Muddy Waters song)
8. My Generation 
9. Baba O'Riley 

Anyway, happy birthday to my all time favorite singer and front man, Roger Daltrey.  I hope I get to see you live again real soon.  That abbreviated set at the Superbowl half-time show left me with a severe case of Who-balls. 

But with Pete Townshend’s ongoing problem with tinnitus, the future of my favorite band is again in jeopardy. If things don’t work out, however, Roger may have a back-up plan.  According to Rolling Stone, Daltrey told the BBC that he’d love to do an album with Jimmy Page.  And Page indicated that he was interested in making music again in 2010.  With Townshend sidelined, Robert Plant playing bluegrass music, and John Paul Jones working with head Foo Fighter Dave Grohl in Them Crooked Vultures, maybe it will happen.  I know I’d pay good money to hear it. 

February 22, 2010

In case you missed any of the Pennsylvania Mystery Tracks last week the were:

• Monday--Last Mile by Cinderella

• Tuesday--Agnes by Donnie Iris

• Wednesday--A Better Way to Save the World by The Badlees

• Thursday--Girlschool by Britny Fox

• Friday--Better Off Without You by The Clarks

February 13, 2010

  Mad Marchness returns the The Bus on St. Patrick's Day, March 17th.

During my show on Friday, I suggested that listeners nominate Ace of Spades by Motorhead for this year's competition. TJ was the first to go to the website and submit that song for consideration, and I know we got at least one Motorhead suggestion from the E-quest Capitol of the World. A few other people kindly nominated that song, too. Well done, and my thanks to all of you. Oh, and by the way, on Friday afternoon, Tony announced that Ace of Spades is in for this year. Nice when things work out like that.

Of course, to me, Mad Marchness is completely unnecessary. The greatest song ever is Won't Get Fooled Again by The Who, and nobody will ever convince me otherwise. There will be 63 other awesome songs rounding out the brackets, but to my ears, that one wins every time.

At this point, we still need to fill 54 more berths, but despite that many open spots, I'll go out on a limb now and give you my guess as to which four will make it to the finals. Remember, this year, it will be American artists taking on artists from the rest of the world. From the American side, I'm guessing the last two left standing will be Lynyrd Skynyrd's Freebird and Hotel California by the Eagles. On the world side, setting my biases aside, I'm thinking it will be Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody and Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin. Of course, you can't go by what I say; I was only about 30% accurate with my picks last year.

In the meantime, I wonder which band I should encourage listeners to nominate now that Motorhead is in. Hmmm....

February 8, 2010

Hope you're all dug out from this weekend's snowstorm, and ready for whatever Mother Nature throws our way next.

At least this storm came on a Friday night. It was a nice feeling knowing that I didn't have to go anywhere, or even rush to clean off my car, on Saturday. By the time the snow started falling Friday night, I was in my favorite chair with a mug of  boilo and a Netflix DVD of The Rocky & Bullwinkle show on TV. I'm not much for winter weather, but that made the storm almost enjoyable.

Today was the first time this year I had to deal with announcing school closings. It was strange to be reading that information while looking out my studio window to nothing but cloudy skies. Is it my imagination, or did it actually have to be snowing before they closed the schools?

Not to long ago, I did a mystery track from The Badlees. That prompted Aaron to send me an e-quest suggesting a week of Pennsylvania Mystery Tracks. I did a little research, combed through my collection, and came up with a week's worth of tunes to try to stump you. Starting next week, (2/15) all of the Mystery Tracks will be home grown. And while I'm disappointed that I couldn't dig up Robert Hazard & The Heroes doing Escalator of Life, I am pleased to report that we'll be able to get through a week of PA tracks without resorting to The Hooters or some deep cut from Poison. 

February 1, 2010

            The other day, I was in the jock-a-teria pouring myself a cup of coffee.  I spilled a little on the countertop, but since there were other people within earshot, I refrained from swearing.  Instead, I just muttered, “Oh, fiddle-faddle” under my breath. 

            As I was returning to the studio with my fresh cup of coffee, I started to wonder where on earth it was that I picked up the expression “Oh, fiddle-faddle” to express displeasure or frustration.  First, I though of my Grandfather, but it wasn’t him, though sometimes, when I’d get under his skin, he’s say, “Ahh, you farmer, you!”  In retrospect, I think he has another F-word in mind.

            And then, the revelation came.  It was from Mr. Wilson on the old Dennis the Menace show where I first heard “Oh, fiddle-faddle.”   

Now, why I was thinking about Dennis the Menace, Fiddle-Faddle, and old TV shows, I can’t say, but since I was already wasting time, I stayed with it.  Do you recall that there were two Mr. Wilsons? 

Joseph Kearns played George Wilson.  He also, who also provided the voice for both Ed, the vault security guard, on Jack Benny’s radio show, and the Doorknob in Alice in Wonderland.  But Kearns died in 1962, right in the middle of the 3rd season of Dennis the Menace.    

            His replacement was Gale Gordon, who later played Mr. Mooney on The Lucy Show.    

            Gordon played George’s brother John Wilson, who was house-sitting for George and Martha while they were way on a cruise.  But, the first set of Wilsons never returned from that cruise and John Wilson never left their house.  In fact, he later brought his wife, Eloise, to his brother’s home,  yet no one ever got suspicious or asked questions.  That always bothered me.

            Everyone remembers that Dick Sargent replaced Dick York as Darren Stevens on Bewitched, but no one I asked remembered the two Mr. Wilsons.  Why such a fascination with Dicks?  

January 25, 2010

I hope you enjoyed last week's Mystery Cover Songs from the 90s. I really wanted to use Korn's cover of the Cheech & Chong classic Earache My Eye, but Mgmt. balked at that one. I also kicked around the idea of using Baker Street or Darling Nikki covered by the Foo Fighters. Maybe next time.

If you missed any from last week, here are the answers

Monday-Everclear doing Thin Lizzy's The Boys Are Back in Town. That was from the Detroit Rock City soundtrack and Tony from Phillipsburg named it.

Tuesday-Stone Temple Pilots covering Led Zeppelin's Dancin' Days off the tribute album Encomium. Irene from Julian got that one.

Wednesday-Metallica's cover of Tuesday's Gone by Lynyrd Skynyrd from Garage, Inc. Sorry, but I forgot to write down the winner's name on my notes for that days winner before I put the contest card and prize at the front desk. Well done, though, whoever you were.

Thursday-Great White's take on Led Zeppelin's The Rover. Carol from State College knew that one from the live tribute album Great Zeppelin.

Friday-Ted Nugent's Cat Scratch Fever covered by Pantera. That's another one from the Detroit Rock City soundtrack, and Ray from Bellefonte named it. 

 January 18, 2010

Our week of CoverTunes from the 90s starts with today's mystery track.  If you become a Tenured Professor in the Bus'sKollege of Musical Knowledge any day this week, I'll let you choose your prize(while supplies last).

 You can have eitherthe Tom Petty Live Anthology, The R&R Hall of Fame 3 DVD set, A Bigger Bangby the Rolling Stones on Blu-Ray.  The earlier in the week you win, the better the selection.

January 14, 2010 

By now, we’ve all seen, read and heard about the devastation and massive loss of life in Haiti after Tuesday’s 7.0 earthquake. 

If you’d like to help, follow this link.  It will take you to an article detailing some of the groups involved in the relief effort with information on what they are doing, and further links that will allow you to make a donation.  And these are all legitimate, established organizations.  I would hate to think of anyone getting scammed for simply opening their heart to help their fellow man. 

Whatever you can give would greatly appreciated.  Thanks.