Erie’s Rock’n Blues Band
By Jenna Croyle

If you have never heard a Blues Band, you have probably at least heard one song, and you most likely wanted to hear more. Erie has a number of great blues bands including the Rodger Montgomery Blues Band, Jakes Blues and many more. As time goes on, the blues continues, seemingly going from strength to strength, growing more popular with each passing day.
 

It is an honor to have fully learned the mysteries of a craft, to accomplish work at a skillful level, capable of standing with others in the same field toe to toe. This week’s featured band, the Duke Sherman Band is without doubt, perhaps the most energetic and beloved blues band to hit an Erie stage. The band features Otis James on Harmonica, Rik Cass on Drums, Mark Murphy on Bass and front and center, leading the way is Duke Sherman on Guitar and Vocals.   There are many different styles of blues music that include the electric sounding Chicago Blues, the guitar-led Memphis

 Blues, the rhythmic Mississippi Delta Blues, and the swingy Texas Blues, the Duke Sherman Band brings their own unique style of heart pounding, fist pumping, get up and groove, Rock’n Blues to the stage with every show.

Influenced by many of the greats such as Buddy Guy, Tab Benoit, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn, the Duke Sherman Band turns every show into an event with a never-ending roll of the most exciting blues powered, hard driving sound that could come out of the mains in any Erie venue.

In both 2009 and 2010, the Duke Sherman Band was honored as Erie’s favorite Blues band as they continue to belt out the blues as only the true gig masters that they are can, with their unique style of hard driving blues. The band was also nominated at the 2011 RockErie Music Awards in the Best Blues Band category.

As a well-rounded drum player, Rik Cass is a very valuable asset to the band as a whole. Cass’s flawless chops and expert sense of music in general along with his precision timing adds an indispensible sound to the band’s Mojo.

Otis James is not your typical Harmonica player, he is perhaps the best, most talented Harmonica player within 100 miles of Erie. His Blues Harmonica is without doubt the most energetic, soulful and electrifying sound that coupled with a modern blues style and a classic feel that puts James heads above the rest with an incredible sound instantly recognizable as his own.

As a bass player, Mark Murphy is simply one of the best I have ever seen, with beats that will not stop, Murphy is clearly the rhythmic pulse of this four-piece band.

Finally, the electrifying, always mesmerizing, never boring and consistently dazzling Duke Sherman has captivated audiences show after show with his lively and powerful stage presence, moving and almost seductive voice and above all else, his never ending, show stopping and charismatic connection he makes with his audience every performance. Sherman is the total package, and whether on the stage, or on the bar, certainly a true entertainer.

The Duke Sherman Band is an experience that will blow you away with the monstrous talent and emotion that the entire band offers their audience each time they set foot on stage, never allowing the show to slow down, always the best time in town.

The Duke Sherman Band’s final performance is slated for the Vermont Tavern on 10th and State this Saturday evening at 10pm.

For more information on the Duke Sherman Band, please visit their Facebook Page.

Anyone Want to Bid on John Lennon's Tooth?

By Daniel Kreps

There have been a lot of oddball Beatles items to go to auction in the past few years, but here's one piece of memorabilia that makes the $14,000 purchase of John Lennon's toilet bowl seem normal: On November 5th, Omega Auctions will offer one of Lennon's teeth to the highest bidder. As the story goes, instead of putting the tooth under his pillow like a normal person, the Beatle gave it as a gift to his housekeeper Dot Jarlett in the late 1960s. "[Lennon] was in the kitchen and he had this tooth which he had wrapped in a piece of paper. 'He said, 'Dot will you dispose of this,' and then he said, 'Or, as your daughter's a Beatles fan, you can give to her as a souvenir," Dot's son Barry Jarlett said. "It is something that we felt was very personal and my mum actually gave it to my sister who has kept it safe."

Like all things Beatles-related items on the auction block, this tooth will no doubt find a buyer, but an estimated bid of £10,000 (about $15,800) is a tad extravagant. "This is the most wonderful and weird item that we have ever had for sale," Omega Auctions Karen Fairweather told the BBC. "It is a truly unique item and it is really difficult to put a value on it. We are expecting it to achieve at least £10,000 but it is not unknown for these items as rare as this to reach six figures." Unless the world's wealthiest oral surgeon has a Beatles fetish or some genetic scientist plans on going all Jurassic Park on the tooth to clone Lennon, there's no chance this bicuspid hits six digits.

Country Stars Raise $500K for Texas Fire Victims

Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines told a thunderous crowd Monday night that "there was zero hesitation" when the band was asked to perform with fellow country stars to raise money for victims of recent wildfires in her home state of Texas.

She and her band mates joined Willie Nelson, George Strait and other musicians during a mega-concert in Austin that raised more than $500,000. A fire that started Sept. 4 in Central Texas' Bastrop County destroyed at least 1,500 homes and killed two people, marking the most devastating of the numerous fires that have scorched about 6,000 square miles in the state in the past year.

Maines told the crowd she was worried that without homes, "you all might not look lovely." But she told them they all looked fantastic.

"When they called us to do this show, there was zero hesitation," she said. "You can take the girl out of Texas, but you can't take Texas out of the girl."

Nelson was joined onstage by folksy newcomers the Avett Brothers, and, backed up by Asleep at the Wheel, they roused the crowd with rowdy versions of Nelson's classic "On the Road Again" and the gospel standard "Will the Circle Be Unbroken."

Nelson recently spent time filming a movie in Bastrop and, in an interview before the concert, called the fires "tragic." He said he has lost homes to fire and knows how devastating it can be.

"You never really get over it," he said. "There's nothing I can tell them to make it better except some of us have been there and done that and we survived it, and they will too. Be strong."

Asleep at the Wheel frontman Ray Benson, who helped book the performers, said he seldom asks his friends for favors but thought this cause was important enough.

"This one was so compelling, I said, 'OK, let me call Willie and let me call Lyle [Lovett],' and they both said yeah," Benson said. "Willie actually canceled a show to do it. Lyle also canceled an appearance."

Benson said the music community felt a responsibility to help.

"I just think the scope of devastation was so great and so close to home," he said. "The numbers in Bastrop were so overwhelming, how do you deal with something like that? And also you do feel ... that we're in a position to not sit on the sidelines and do something."

The concert started with Christopher Cross. Eleven acts were scheduled to perform, and helping emcee was actor Kyle Chandler, who won an Emmy last month for his role as a Texas high school football coach in "Friday Night Lights."

Images of charred forests and skeletal remains of vehicles and homes were shown between sets at the Frank Erwin Center at the University of Texas at Austin campus.

The concert was nearly full, but officials said they didn't yet have numbers for the number of tickets sold. But one of the concert's hosts told the crowd that they'd raised "way north of $500,000."

Several attendees wore T-shirts representing local volunteer fire departments that battled the recent blazes.

Early Paul McCartney Letter Offers Drummer Tryout

Somewhere, an aging drummer (identity unknown) is probably still kicking himself.

A newly discovered letter found folded in a book at a Liverpool yard sale has shed new light on the Beatles' early days, revealing that Paul McCartney offered an audition to a mystery drummer in 1960, just a few days before the band left for a formative two-month gig in Hamburg, Germany.

The letter, to be auctioned next month by Christie's, has surprised Beatles scholars. It was written two years before the band bounced drummer Pete Best in favor of Ringo Starr, who arrived just in time to help the Beatles conquer first England and then the world, earning untold millions along the way.

The Aug. 12, 1960, letter handwritten by McCartney offers an audition to someone who had advertised his availability in the Liverpool Echo newspaper four days earlier. The unsigned ad said simply: "Drummer—Young—Free. "

McCartney, who was then playing guitar in the band while the late Stuart Sutcliffe handled bass guitar, offered the drummer an audition with the caveat that if he joins the band he must be ready to travel almost immediately to Hamburg. The Beatles honed their musical chops playing at low-rent clubs in the German's city's famed red-light district.

"Expenses paid 18 pounds per week (approx) for two months," McCartney writes. "If interested ring Jacaranda club."

The letter is signed, "Yours sincerely, Paul McCartney of the BEATLES."

It is not known if the drummer came for an audition and failed to impress McCartney and the others, or if he simply didn't follow up. McCartney addressed the letter "Dear Sir," assuming the drummer was a young man, as there were very few female drummers on the Liverpool rock scene at the time.

Christie's spokeswoman Leonie Pitts said the auction house's Beatles experts are certain that the letter was not an early feeler to Starr, who was a successful drummer with a rival Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, before he joined the Beatles.

She said auctioneers had not contacted McCartney to ask if he knew anything about the drummer who had placed the ad.

"We think he's on his honeymoon," she said. McCartney married U.S. heiress Nancy Shevell eight days ago. His representatives did not immediately return an AP request for comment.

Christie's auction house said Monday the letter would likely draw more than 7,000 pounds ($11,000) when it is sold Nov. 15 along with other pop memorabilia.

The letter was discovered by a man from Liverpool who has asked to remain anonymous. The auction house said he is a devoted collector of antique coins who regularly checks yard sales.

M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

M83’s lush, expansive sound already made their albums feel twice as big as they were, so an actual double album from Anthony Gonzalez and company was inevitable. However, on Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, he doesn’t use that extra space to top the widescreen nostalgia of Saturdays = Youth; instead, he fills it with songs that cover more sounds and moods than any of M83’s previous work, resulting in a collection of impressionistic moments rather than a grand statement. The album begins with two songs that reaffirm Gonzalez’s flair for the unapologetically epic music that makes him a rarity among artists in the 2010s, electronic or otherwise. He recruits Zola Jesus’ Nika Roza Danilova for “Intro,” and her unusual mix of frostbitten edge and vulnerable warmth channels the huge emotions Gonzalez favors perfectly. Meanwhile, “Midnight City”’s sleek neon tones show just how far he’s traveled from Saturdays = Youth’s ornate sound. However, the album’s first disc goes even farther afield with the tender piano instrumental “Where the Boats Go”; “Raconte-Moi Un Histoire,” where a child imagines a world where everyone turns into jungle frogs over bouncy synths and guitars, and “Soon, My Friend,” which ends the first half of the album with symphonic grandeur and Beach Boys harmonies.

Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming’s second disc sounds more traditionally M83, from the triumphant-yet-heartbroken “My Tears are Becoming a Sea” to the thrilling rush of “New Map” and “Steve McQueen.” Despite the sprawl of the album’s size and sounds, Gonzalez holds everything together with wide-eyed enthusiasm. He handles most of the vocals here, singing with a yelp that evokes Howard Jones on “Reunion” and “OK Pal” — and while this album is as indebted to the ‘80s as Saturdays = Youth was, it somehow feels less steeped in nostalgia. Gonzalez displays his uncanny knack for making unfashionable sounds fresh again with “Claudia Lewis”’ un-ironic slap bass and “Splendor”’s children’s choir; it takes guts to use these sounds and brains to use them well, and fortunately, he has both. Unlike Saturdays = Youth’s wall-to-wall epics, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming offers ebb and flow, with interludes like the dreamy “Echoes of Mine” and “Klaus I Love You” tipping the album’s balance toward atmosphere instead of pop songs. More than any of M83’s other albums, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming feels like a destination to explore; while it may not be quite as striking as Saturdays = Youth, it delivers a welcome mix of classic sounds and promising changes.

Peter Gabriel: Strings Attached

The British prog-rock icon recasts his classics on a symphonic scale
By Alan Light

New music from Peter Gabriel comes at a very slow pace. Well, that's a bit of an understatement: In the entirety of his solo career, over the course of 35 years, the guy has released just nine studio albums. He put out a total of one studio album in the 1990s, and then another one in the first decade of this century.

For the last 20 years or so, Gabriel, age 61, has concentrated more on political activism (his human rights organization, Witness, was recognized by the Nobel Peace Prize committee in 2006) and new technology (he was among the world's pioneers in developments from CD-ROMs to music downloading systems). So the fact that the onetime frontman of Genesis has released two new albums in successive years is startling, and almost unprecedented; the only time he was ever so prolific before was with his first two solo albums (both titled "Peter Gabriel," as were his next two records) in 1977 and 1978.

But there is, of course, a catch. Between the two albums - last year's "Scratch My Back" and this week's release, "New Blood" - there isn't a single new Gabriel composition.

"Scratch My Back" was a collection of covers, with Gabriel singing over purely orchestral instrumentation. His song selections ranged from Paul Simon and Neil Young to Radiohead and Arcade Fire. (The initial idea was that all of the artists he covered would, in turn, record a Gabriel song for an album called "I'll Scratch Yours" - so far, that has manifested as a series of singles by about half of the acts.) But as Gabriel toured behind this project, he needed to fill out a full evening's performance, and started working with arranger John Metcalfe to give the same symphonic treatment to some of his own songs.

Having started down this road, he decided to return directly to the studio to make a full album of reinterpretations of his work, with 12 songs eventually making the cut for "New Blood." The 46-piece New Blood Orchestra, conducted by Ben Foster, performs radically reworked versions of a dozen Gabriel songs, both well-known ("In Your Eyes," "Don't Give Up") and less so ("Downside Up," "The Nest That Sailed the Sky").

In a telephone conversation during a break from rehearsal for an upcoming South American tour, Gabriel discussed the path that led to "New Blood," its connections to his prog-rock past, and the direction he's considering for the future - which, yes, does include actual new songs, whenever it might come out.

Was there a moment when you were working on "Scratch My Back" and thought, "Hey, maybe I should try this with my own songs?"

Peter Gabriel: Yes, when we took it out on the road. "Scratch My Back" was an hour's worth of material, so we needed more music to fill out the show. We had the orchestra out with us, so we thought, let's try it with two or three songs. It felt exciting, it felt like something was happening. And then it seemed crazy not to try to record it, with the orchestra already there and rehearsed.

How did you determine which of your songs might work best with this treatment?

For the most part, I love textural stuff, so some of the choices were quite natural. I wanted to throw away all of the rock 'n' roll crutches no guitar, bass, drums. We were certainly trying to learn to swim very quickly, having abandoned those elements.

I didn't want to do a hits package, so things like "Sledgehammer," "Games Without Frontiers" and "Big Time" were left out. I was really looking for stuff that could use the colors of orchestration, not just the conventional verse-chorus- verse stuff. That all helped shape the set list.

Also, I'm an old-fashioned guy in that I still like an album that takes me on a ride from start to finish. When I go to the cinema, I don't want to see a series of five-minute shorts; I really want a story. So while I do love the accessibility of being able to hear any track, anytime, anywhere, I think it's sad to lose those longer connections. So I did want to make sure that this was be an album with a start and finish.

I got lots of requests for "Solsbury Hill," so I put it on the album as a bonus track. But rather than separate it from the rest by silence, I had my engineer actually go sit on the real Solsbury Hill and record whatever happened. Whatever came into the mic we used as this kind of ambient sound before the track starts.

Is there any irony in someone who has been so progressive in terms of technology recording these albums with an orchestra, with the most traditional wood-and-strings instruments?

There's a quote from Stanley Kubrick - which I might not have exactly right - who said that if you want to make the future believable, make sure you include the past. Many people have done records with orchestras, but for me, it was new and fresh and a little scary at first.

Is it a different challenge taking on the better-known songs, things like "Red Rain" or "Don't Give Up," where the melodies are so deeply ingrained in the audience's mind?

Yes, I guess it is - but I always think that even when you try to recreate a moment that existed before, you inevitably mark it with your own time stamp. It's more natural to let creative things have a life, rather than try to preserve them in one moment. I like letting things transform and evolve, rather than trying to put the nails in.

Was there anything new that you learned about these songs from revisiting them in this context?

I suppose it reminded me that I do like things that break out of the conventional rock writing structure. And also that what you don't play is as important as what you do play. We chose to make empty, stark landscapes, which sometimes blossom, but songs where you feel the loneliness as well as the fullness. And it was interesting hearing the words again in a fresh environment. Something like "San Jacinto" really came alive again, the sense of Americana-meets-Native American. It felt like I was milking the emotion in a different way.

What did you take away from "Scratch My Back" that you brought back to this project?

Well, first, there were just some great songs there. With something like "The Boy in the Bubble," we stripped the African lifeblood out and were left with that wonderful lyric. So that was a reminder that you can take something rhythmic and up and go a very different direction with it.

Mostly, we developed a shorthand in our way of working. We knew how to do it at that point, so it sped up the process this time. Also, whenever you go out and perform, you automatically learn what feels strong in front of an audience and where you can sense that you're losing them.

How does working with an orchestra relate to your work with Genesis? Does it all fit together on some sort of progressive rock continuum?

This definitely has a different feel, but it's true that we were attracted to working with orchestral colors in the Genesis music in the old days. We had a lot of influences: church music, soul, folk, but classical music was also an influence. Something like the song "Watcher of the Skies" had a classical intro. So I guess that there are connections, but I don't feel any of that directly feeding into this. For these albums, we were taking more influence from composers we like - whether that was Steve Reich, Stravinsky, or Bernard Herrmann - rather than from the Genesis period. There are still some British composers, like Edward Elgar, who will always be set in stone somewhere in my head. But in this case, classical and film music were influencing the music directly, rather than through the filter of Genesis.

Why was it more appealing to work with old songs rather than writing new material?

Well, I didn't have time. We did the "Scratch My Back" recording and then we went on the road, and there just wasn't time to work up new songs while we had the orchestra.

I do have some new songs, in various states of readiness, but I'm not sure that the orchestra is the best direction for those. I think I want to try something really different next time, whether I go back to these songs I have or I write new ones. This project was so serious and adult. I think next time I want to go in the exact opposite direction.

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Band Hungers for Guitarist

Requiem For Oblivion is still seeking a guitarist. If you have the madness or know someone who does send them to these animals to feast upon. We must bring Requiem For Oblivion back to life with the blood of a young virgin & bow down at their feet as they hypnotize us with their lyrics.

Steve-814-392-2321

***Passing on Message From  E Lisa Froncillo-Bower ~ Please Contact Her if Interested**

I have openings in October and November for radio interviews on COOL 101.7 fm. Thursday mornings. You would need to be in studio (Meadville) by 7:45 am, out by 8:30 am. (Catching the driving to work listeners and businesses) It's a great chance to promote your upcoming gigs, cds and more. Family friendly, we need to keep within the studio's programming guidelines. Cover bands/artists welcomed as well as original. Metal bands must be not too heavy... no gutterals, etc. Rock/classic is fine. One band member can come with a CD, or bring everyone and do something live. COOL 101.7 supports local music and reaches from Erie to Slippery Rock (and below on a good day) west into Ohio, and also includes a new Cory station, and more. Good exposure. PLUS you can listen live via your computer anywhere!

Message me with links to your:

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Contact Lisa on her Facebook Page or email her Lisa@dirtydoglive.com

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Loggins Won't Receive Royalties From His Song in 'Footloose' Remake

Because of a contract clause, Kenny Loggins won't be getting royalties from the use of his hit song in the new "Footloose" movie.

He says, "It says that any sequels are covered in the original deal, so they consider this a sequel."

Loggins recorded "Footloose" for the 1984 film, which starred Kevin Bacon, and the song is featured at the beginning of the new remake. It's also covered by country star Blake Shelton in the film.

But Loggins is thrilled his song is back, and Shelton's cover sounds the same. He tells "Access Hollywood Live," "They tried 10 different versions of the song and they kept recutting it because they wanted to capture that spirit of the original, and Blake came the closest."

Loggins wasn't even consulted about the remake's soundtrack or what was done with his song.

He adds, "I even had to ring and ask for tickets to the premiere."

Jon Bon Jovi Opens Charity Restaurant
By Matthew Perpetua

Jon Bon Jovi has opened a new "pay-what-you-can" restaurant in Red Bank, New Jersey intended to encourage volunteer work in the area. The JBJ Soul Kitchen, an establishment specializing in healthy variations on classic soul food dishes, will not have prices on its menu. Instead, diners can either earn free meals by doing volunteer work in the community or pay a suggested donation.

The restaurant, which was founded by Bon Jovi's JBJ Soul Foundation, has been serving meals since 2009, but is opening this new, permanent location in an 1100-square-foot space that used to be an auto body shop.

In an interview with New York Magazine's Grub Street blog, Bon Jovi clarified that the JBJ Soul Kitchen won't be a "tray service-type of soul kitchen." "Picture the coolest brasserie in your hometown, that's what this is," says the rocker. "It's the hottest-looking restaurant in this town. We have to get rid of a few stigmas attached to the word volunteering and making a difference."

Co-writer of 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia' Dies

A Charlie Daniels Band member and a co-writer of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" has been killed in a car crash in Tennessee.

A news release from the band says Joel "Taz" DiGregorio died Wednesday night in a crash on Interstate 40 west of Nashville. He was on his way to meet the band's tour bus. DiGregorio's car was the only one involved in the crash.

DiGregorio, 67, was a longtime keyboard player and vocalist for the group. Daniels called him "one of a kind" in the band's news release.

DiGregorio was a band member for over 40 years. He was from Southbridge, Mass.

The Charlie Daniels Band called off a concert Thursday in Cumming, Ga. A show in Waterbury, Conn., on Saturday will also be canceled.

Bjork Aims to Prove the Internet is Not Music's Enemy

Bjork says she made her new album, "Biophilia," as technologically advanced as possible in a bid to show the world the Internet is not the enemy of music.

The singer released the groundbreaking album earlier this month, announcing that it was partly recorded on an iPad and would be available as a series of apps. Each app has animation and various interactive functions.

She tells NME magazine she hit upon the idea after losing all her music distribution deals following her last tour in 2008. "It had an emotional effect on me," she says. "I felt like I was off the grid, and maybe it was time to address how for 10 years I'd just been listening to people moan about how the Internet was killing music. And I was like, 'Hang on, technology is not the enemy of music. Maybe it's because we've let businessmen set up the model of how we distribute music."

"I think it's important," she adds, "while the Internet is still moving, to try and make it into what you want it to be."