The Terrible Catsafterme

The first time I ever saw a Beatle was on April 9, 1990. Ashleigh was not quite three weeks old – and it was Christi’s birthday. I know that I felt terrible about leaving for a concert on her special day, but I couldn’t help it. Originally, this concert was scheduled for February 22 when Dee Ann Booher, an office clerk at Kroger, asked me if I would like to attend with her and a friend. As a huge Beatles fan, I eagerly accepted. I asked my Dad if he would like to go along too, and he, too, jumped at the chance. Read the rest of this entry »

Our first night there, Mom and I had carefully planned out the events for our week in Myrtle Beach. Although the ultimate goal is always to just relax, there are always a number of things we like to do and places we like to visit – and we didn’t want to waste precious time sitting around saying “What do we want to do today?” We decided that Monday would be our day for Broadway at the Beach, a giant shopping and attractions complex. I was especially interested in seeing the KISS Coffeehouse that had recently opened in Myrtle Beach. Read the rest of this entry »

When I first heard the new offering from The Beatles (that I originally reported here), I was mildly disappointed. I’m not sure what it was I expected – I guess I thought that producer George Martin would somehow magically layer different tracks of Beatles instrumentals and create entirely new songs. Who wouldn’t be excited for new Beatles songs? So at first, when I tuned in to the album Love, I initially just took these to be remixed and re-edited versions of the same old songs. Read the rest of this entry »

“The Big Seven” is my corny phrase for a group of musical acts that I collect, listen to, and talk about incessantly. Most who know me well can recite the members of the elite Big Seven; those merely familiar with me have probably at least heard the phrase. Each particular band made its entry into the Big Seven at various times between 1985 and 1990. The theory of the “Big Seven” was only a state of mind prior to the last band’s entry at which time the phrase “Big Seven” came into being. Since the title has now become nothing short of Brad-cultural-lore, there can and will never be a “Big Eight,” although an eighth band was added at one point. Fortunately, this eighth band had a mutual member with Band #7, so it operates under the umbrella of the seventh band. Read the rest of this entry »

I just read this today and am actually pretty excited about it. Beatles producer George Martin is in the studio with his son creating a ‘new’ Beatles album. 

How is this possible? By taking the voluminous backlog of material and re-mixing it to create entirely new songs. For example, by taking the drum and bass track from one song, combine the lyrics of a different song, and the guitar solo from yet another song, an entirely ‘new’ track is created. What makes this more interesting is that the project has received the blessing of the Beatles and relevant custodians (Paul, Ringo, Yoko, and Olivia Harrison), who have heard some of the efforts. Ringo’s ‘jaw dropped’ when he heard Octopus’ Garden.