Mike Pinder, keyboard player and founding member of prog legends the Moody Blues, has died, aged 82, it has been confirmed by his family.

Pinder had been the last surviving founding member of the band. Drummer Graeme Edge passed in 2021, vocalist and flautist Ray Thomas died in 2018, with original guitarist Denny Laine passing last year. Clint Warwick, the original bassist, died in 2004.

As well as the music he created with the Moody Blues, Pinder will best be remembered as an advocate of technology, notably his pioneering work with the Mellotron.

Pinder helped form the Moody Blues back in 1964 and they had an initial hit with Go Now, but it wasn’t until 1967, by which time Justin Hayward and John Lodge had replaced Laine and Warwick respectively, that the band began to rise in popularity, shifting their sound from the early R’n’B roots to a more progressive and symphonic sound with their second album “Days Of Future Passed.”

Happy to stay out of the limelight, Pinder was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Moody Blues in 2018, but was the only member of the band who did not give an acceptance speech, saying “Many MB fans have asked why I did not speak at the induction but by the time the Moodies took the stage we were 5 hours into the ceremony. The oldest of the inductees were up the latest. The speeches were a bit anti-climatic at that point and it was only fitting that the current touring members (Edge, Hayward and Lodge) spoke first. I am happy that we finally got inducted for our fans’ sake. As I have said for the last 30 years ‘the fans are my hall of fame’.”

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Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton on the making of @stevierayvaughanofficial “Couldn’t Stand the Weather.”

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble – drummer Chris Layton and bassist Tommy Shannon – faced the classic second-album conundrum at the end of 1983. 

They needed new material quickly, coming off the road from a year of extensive international touring behind “Texas Flood,” a debut album that included the highlights of their excellent live shows. 

“We had to come up with the songs pretty quickly,” Shannon says. “Stevie wasn’t a fluent songwriter; he’d spend a lot of time on a song. “Couldn’t Stand the Weather” came together over time. We worked through it in rehearsals and gradually put all the sections together. “

The song, which would become the album’s title track, was inspired by Cutter Brandenburg, the group’s initial road manager and first true believer. 

A childhood friend of Stevie’s, it was Brandenburg who helped transform Little Stevie into Stevie Ray Vaughan, encouraging him to use his full name, to wear the black hat and to adopt a consistent persona. 

Another highlight of Couldn’t Stand the Weather is Vaughan’s cover of “Voodoo Chile.”

“Stevie played the song with so much soul and spirit,” recalled producer Richard Mullen. “That take was live from beginning to end, seven minutes of pure guitar energy without a single miscue.”

Vaughan played his trusty Number One Strat on most of the album. “He had the most authority and best sound on it,” Mullen said. “It always had a huge tone whether he slammed it or picked it gently.”
The album’s basic tracks were recorded live, with Vaughan standing next to Layton’s drums in the main room. His amps were in a large isolation booth, with a sliding glass door often left open. 

“I always tried to allow Stevie to play without headphones, so he would be just as animated as he was in his live performances,” said Mullen. “He danced around, slidin’ across the room on his toes.”

The album solidified Stevie Ray’s standing as a guitar icon and proved to any doubters that this was no one-hit wonder.

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The moment @graceslickofficial first met @mickjagger.

It is difficult to imagine Grace Slick ever being intimidated. Nevertheless, the prospect of meeting Mick Jagger was enough to elicit panic in the mind of Grace Slick. 

Stalwarts of the San Francisco psychedelic scene Jefferson Airplane were nothing short of iconic figures within the counterculture movement.

Nevertheless, the two groups wanted to organise a rock festival for the West Coast of America so that those hippies who missed Woodstock in New York could get a taste of the countercultural celebration.

So, as Slick explained to Rolling Stone, “Paul [Kantner] and I went to England to talk to Mick Jagger about Altamont,” noting that, “I was scared because I’d never met Mick before. I thought, ‘Oh, God, there’s going to be some kind of orgy there and I don’t do orgies and they’re going to think I’m a big prude and it’s going to be a party with heroin and all this weird stuff I don’t do’.”

Luckily, then, Slick and Kanter seemingly managed to catch Jagger on an off-day, saying, “I walked into Mick’s flat and it looked like my parents’ home: Oriental rugs, Edwardian furniture, well kept. I was perfectly at home — it really was like visiting my parents. He was in a three-piece suit and served us tea, and we talked about how to put this thing on.”

According to the Jefferson Airplane singer, Jagger was very professional when it came to organising the Altamont Speedway Free Festival, sharing, “When he does business, he does business. He doesn’t screw around. He knows how to separate having orgies from doing business.”

As it turns out, Slick and Kanter might have been responsible for hiring the bikers, “We’d done a bunch of free stuff in Golden Gate Park and the Hell’s Angels had been our security. And they never hurt anybody. And they were good at it because people were afraid of them. So we said, ‘We’ll get the Hells Angels to do security’, and Jagger didn’t know and said OK”. The rest, as they say, is history.

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@stevemillerband on LSD and salvation

Did you participate in the LSD scene?

Of course. I’d taken LSD 25, from the Sandoz lab in Switzerland, with a Doctor of Philosophy at university in Madison in 1965. We had books, music and deep discussions.

By the time I got to the Monterey Festival everyone was taking Owsley’s acid and it became trivialised: let’s put strychnine, speed and cat food in! Acid should be taken in the right circumstances; driving downtown, tripping, to rough places like the Fillmore West, wasn’t a great idea. I stopped in ’68 because drugs and work didn’t mix. I like to be clear-headed and fast on my feet.

Who is the most awkward musician you’ve worked with?

Much as I love him, it has to be Chuck Berry. When the Miller Band backed him, at Bill Graham’s request, first thing he said at rehearsal was: “Okay, no one take a shave or shower until we’ve played.” Just before the gig, he disappeared and returned loaded as a zombie on downers. We backed him all over California for two years and he got more and more annoying. At the Carousel Ballroom he got crappy with us on stage. Afterwards he came to my dressing room and I told him: “Hey. Screw you, Chuck. Get your own band, get your own amp and get out of my dressing room.” He was fine from then on. A lot of blues guys are real cranky.

Do you have any words of wisdom to pass on?

Pursue your dream, but learn about publishing and accountancy before you look for a gig as a trumpet player. Kids now are so naive, most of ’em couldn’t organise a flight from Frisco to Portland. The ones who tell me: “I wanna be a rock star,” I say: “Nah, get a job in a clothing store instead.”

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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Hey there, Sacramento`s K-ZAP fans and rock aficionados! Are you tired of that old clunker taking up space on your lawn or driveway, making you feel like you`re living in a horror movie set? Well, it`s time to turn that nightmare into a dream come true for your favorite community rock & roll station!

Introducing the K-ZAP Vehicle Donation program, where your not-so-runnin` vehicle can help keep the lights on and the tunes rockin` at Sacramento`s K-ZAP, 24/7 commercial-free rock and blues radio. That`s right, your abandoned, lawn-dwelling, brick-propped vehicle could be the hero we need to keep the good times rolling!

Don`t worry about the paperwork, we`ve got pros who will handle all the title and transfer shenanigans. Just hop on over to k-zap.org/donate-car/ and let us know you`re ready to give your car a new lease on life!

And hey, if your vehicle isn`t quite as possessed as Christine, we`ll take it anyway! We`re not picky, we just need your help to keep the music alive. So, what are you waiting for? Pick up that phone and dial 844-K-ZAP-CAR (844-592-7227) to get started.

Remember, every car donation makes a difference, and with your help, we can continue to bring you the best in rock and blues, 24/7, commercial-free! Let`s give your not-runnin` ride a chance to shine, and keep the music going strong at Sacramento`s K-ZAP

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@davidgilmour to Release First Solo Album in Nine Years, ‘Luck and Strange,’ Featuring His Family and Late @pinkfloyd Bandmate Richard Wright.

“Luck and Strange,” out September 6. will be accompanied by the release of Gilmour’s first Luck and Strange single, “The Piper’s Call,” on Thursday, April 25.

A majority of the tracks were written by novelist Polly Samson, Gilmour’s wife, co-writer, and collaborator of more than 30 years. “Luck and Strange” features eight new songs, including a reworking of The Montgolfier Brothers’ 1999 song “Between Two Points” and the title track, which features the late Pink Floyd keyboard player Richard Wright.

On “Luck and Strange,” Wright’s parts were originally recorded in 2007 during a jam session inside a barn at David’s home. 

“It’s written from the point of view of being older,” said Samson of the themes surfacing within Luck and Strange. “Mortality is the constant.” Gilmour adds, “We spent a load of time during and after lockdown talking about and thinking about those kind of things.”

Portions of the album were bred from live streams that Gilmour and his family performed during the pandemic lockdown in 2020 and 2021.

Daughter Romany Gilmour sings and plays the harp on the Luck and Strange track “Between Two Points” with son Gabriel Gilmour on backing vocals.

Luck and Strange also features a hand-picked collective of musicians, including Roger Eno and Rob Gentry on keyboards, bassists, Tom Herbert and Guy Pratt, and drummers Steve DiStanislao, Steve Gadd, and Adam Betts, along with string and choral arrangements by Will Gardner.

Be sure to join Sacramento’s K-ZAP every Tuesday night at 8pm for Floydian Slip. A full hour of rarities, favorites, and all things Pink Floyd with host, Craig Bailey.

Craig works classic Floyd songs, deep album cuts, and Floyd’s unique brand of ambient segues into a seamless blend of music and sound best described as a “listening experience.”

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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On this date April 24, 1998 The Big Lebowski was released. The independent crime comedy film was written and directed by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen.

The film starred Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler. He is assaulted as a result of mistaken identity, then learns that a millionaire, also named Jeffrey Lebowski (David Huddleston), was the intended victim.

The millionaire Lebowski’s trophy wife is supposedly kidnapped, and millionaire Lebowski commissions “The Dude” to deliver the ransom to secure her release. The plan goes awry when the Dude’s friend, Walter Sobchak (John Goodman), schemes to keep the ransom money for the Dude and himself.

The film is loosely inspired by the work of Raymond Chandler.

Since its original release the film has become a cult classic with ardent fans calling themselves “achievers.”

Dudeism, a religion devoted largely to spreading the philosophy and lifestyle of the film’s main character, was founded in 2005. Also known as The Church of the Latter-Day Dude (a name parody of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), the organization has ordained over 220,000 “Dudeist Priests” all over the world via its website.

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Gregg Allman’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Marked a Devastating All-Time Low Instead of a Career High.

Allman was deep in the throes of alcoholism when his band accepted their induction into the prestigious Hall of Fame in 1995.

Wobbly on his feet and with his hat pulled low across his brow, Gregg Allman approached the podium, intently staring at a small notepad in his hands.

The musician had written down ideas for whom to thank in his speech: his mother, concert promoter, and lifelong Allman Brothers fan Bill Graham, the fans. Instead, Allman slurred out a single thank you to his late brother, Duane Allman.

“Thank you, folks,” Allman slurred. “In honor of the greatest friend, brother, guitar player, and inspiration I’ve ever known. My brother, Duane. He was always the first to face the fire. He was my greatest motivation. Thank you.”

Allman later wrote in his memoir, “It should have been the greatest week of my life. The Allman Brothers Band, the band my brother started, the band with our name on it, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and I flat-out missed it. I was physically there, but otherwise, I was out of it—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Struggling under the weight of grief and fame, Gregg Allman began taking pills, chain-smoking, and drinking a fifth of vodka every day. Gregg went to rehab nearly 20 times, but none of them stuck.

Allman hired two live-in nurses to stay with him round-the-clock. The nurses supervised the rock icon for 12-hour shifts while he quit drugs and alcohol cold turkey.

Allman died from complications from liver cancer in his Richmond Hill, Georgia, home on May 27, 2017. He reflected on his overwhelmingly successful, albeit tumultuous, career in his 2012 memoir.

“Music is my life’s blood,” he wrote. “When it’s all said and done, I’ll go to my grave, and my brother will greet me, saying, ‘Nice work, little brother. You did alright.’ I must have said this a million times, but if I died today, I have had me a blast.”

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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On this day April 23, 1976 @therollingstones released their “Black and Blue” album.

“Black and Blue” acted as a transitional album for the band as it was the first record recorded after former guitarist Mick Taylor quit in December 1974.

As he had done previously when the Stones were between second guitarists Keith Richards recorded the bulk of the guitar parts himself, though the album recording sessions also served as an audition for Taylor’s replacement.

Among the hopefuls were Steve Marriott, Harvey Mandel, Wayne Perkins, Peter Frampton, and Ronnie Wood (although only Mandel, Perkins and Wood’s guitar work would appear on the finished album).

Guitar heroes Rory Gallagher and Jeff Beck both went over for a jam with the band “just to see what was going on,” but both declined interest in joining the group, happy with their solo careers.

Beck’s jamming with the Stones remains unreleased to date, but is available on bootleg recordings.

Wood had previously contributed to the title track from the It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll album, and became a temporary touring member of the Stones in 1975 and official member in 1976.

Stylistically, Black and Blue embraces hard rock with “Hand of Fate” (solo by Wayne Perkins) and “Crazy Mama”; funk with “Hot Stuff” (solo by Harve Mandel); reggae with their cover of “Cherry Oh Baby” (Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards weaving guitars); and blues with “Melody,” featuring the talents of Billy Preston – a heavy contributor to the album.

Musical and thematic styles were merged on the seven-minute “Memory Motel,” with both Jagger and Richards contributing lead vocals to a love song embedded within a life-on-the-road tale.

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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New-look Asia announce Heat of The Moment US tour

Keyboard player Geoff Downes has unveiled a brand new Asia line-up featuring John Mitchell (It Bites, Lonely Robot, Kino, Frost* and more), Planet X drummer Virgil Donati and Harry Whitley, who performed with the Asia line-up at last year’s John Wetton An Extraordinary Life tribute show.

“And so it was that the John Wetton tribute last August really reminded me how much Asia’s music belongs on the stage,” says Downes. “The response to it all was literally…spine-chilling. We were accompanied by some amazing musicians on the night, and I’m delighted that both John Mitchell and Harry Whitley, from the Asia segment, will be joining me for this tour. It promises to be a great evening of music and furthers the legacy of all our founder members, in particular the incredible contributions of John Wetton to the Asia canon.

“With the addition of Virgil Donati and John Mitchell, two of the finest musicians in the world in their respective classes, this is almost going full circle bearing in mind their previous close collaborations with John. Completing this circle is also the amazing Harry Whitley who absolutely floored the audience with his incredible vocal interpretation of the Asia songs that John W and I so lovingly wrote over the years.”

The new-look band have announced a North American tour with prog legends Focus and Curved Air.

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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On this day April 23, 1971 @therollingstones released “Sticky Fingers” widely considered one of the band’s best albums.

The album was the band’s first release on their new Rolling Stones Records label.

“Sticky Fingers” introduced the tongue and lips logo of Rolling Stones Records where it quickly became the most famous logo in the history of popular music.

The original cover artwork was conceived by Andy Warhol and showed picture of a man in tight jeans, with a working zipper that opened to reveal underwear fabric.

The cover was expensive to produce and damaged the vinyl record, so the size of the zipper was adjusted. Later re-issues featured just the outer photograph of the jeans.

The album featured a return to basics for the Rolling Stones with most songs featuring drums, guitar, bass, and percussion as provided by the key members: Mick Jagger (lead vocals, various percussion and rhythm guitar), Keith Richards (guitar and backing vocals), Mick Taylor (guitar), Bill Wyman (bass guitar), and Charlie Watts (drums).

Additional contributions were made by long-time Stones collaborators including saxophonist Bobby Keys and keyboardists Billy Preston, Jack Nitzsche, Ian Stewart, and Nicky Hopkins.

As with the other albums of the Rolling Stones late 1960s/early 1970s period, it was produced by Jimmy Miller.

“Sticky Fingers” also contains some of the band’s most popular songs including “Wild Horses,” “Dead Flowers,” “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” and “Bitch.”

On May 20th 2015 The Rolling Stones performed the entire Sticky Fingers album live in concert for the first time at Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, California.

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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@thebeatles’ “Rocky Raccoon” and the Real-Life Drunken Doctor Who Inspired The Fourth Verse.

The story behind the Beatles’ 1968 track “Rocky Raccoon” might seem as simple as Paul McCartney’s fictitious take on a spaghetti Western saloon shootout. But there’s more truth behind this tongue-in-cheek song than one might think.

But according to the Liverpool native, one figure present in the song’s rolling narrative could be traced back to a fateful doctor’s visit McCartney had in 1965.

By the fourth verse, McCartney introduces the last character of the story. The doctor came in, stinking of gin, and proceeded to lie on the table.

But as the singer later explained, it was based on an actual doctor’s visit he had after busting open his lip in a moped accident.

As McCartney explained in The Lyrics: 1956 To The Present, he first met the man who would inspire the fourth verse of “Rocky Raccoon” in the early 1960s. McCartney fell off his moped while driving from his father’s home to his cousin, Betty, who also lived in Liverpool. Upon seeing McCartney bruised and bleeding, Betty rang for a doctor who could stitch the musician’s lip.

“They got this guy, and he arrived stinking of gin,” McCartney explained. “This guy was so drunk. He brings his black bag, and now he’s got to try and thread a little needle, a curved surgical needle, but he’s seeing three needles at least.” McCartney said the doctor didn’t give him any anesthetic, but “I might have had a slug of scotch or something. He just put the needle in and pulled it round. And then the thread came out, and he said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry I have to do that again.’

“So, he had to do it a second bloody time,” the Beatle continued. “I was trying not to scream. To be honest, he really didn’t do a marvelous job. I had this bump in my lip for a good while after. I can still feel it.”

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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The Story Behind “Friday on My Mind” by The Easybeats.

We’re all trying to get to Friday. If we can just make it to the end of the week.

The Australian quintet The Easybeats burst onto the worldwide rock scene in 1966, led by guitarists Harry Vanda and George Young, with singer Stevie Wright, drummer Gordon “Snowy” Fleet, and bassist Dick Diamonde.

George Young was the older brother of AC/DC guitarists Malcolm and Angus Young. Harry Vanda and George Young produced the first six albums for the heavy-metal icons. Those albums included the hits “High Voltage,” “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll),” “T.N.T.,” “Jailbreak,” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” and “Highway to Hell.”

The Easybeats were one of the first Australian rock bands to have success with original material. The five founding members all migrated from England and met at the Villawood Migrant Hostel in Sydney in 1964.

They had their first success with “She’s So Fine,” which reached the Top Five in Australia but failed to chart in the rest of the world. They built a rabid following, and the press compared their crowds to those of The Beatles. The band relocated to the UK in 1966.

Vanda and Young wrote the song. The working class could completely relate to it as it yearns for the weekend, but Young told journalist Debbie Kruger in 2005 that it had “more to do with their outlook on the world than any class statement.”

In 2006, Vanda spoke on a Dutch radio station about the inspiration for the opening guitar figure. A film appearance by The Swingle Singers provided the inspiration. “It went tudutudutudu, which made us all laugh,” he said. “In the train back from the gig, we were imitating them, and suddenly, it sounded good. They became the first notes of ‘Friday on My Mind.’”

Unfortunately, the band was never able to equal the success of their big breakout hit. Drug abuse, problems with management, and band disagreements caused delays in releasing a follow-up single.

Catch the stream at k-zap.org, on the k-zap apps or at 93.3 FM in the metro Sacramento area.
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