Starcastle

[cheyenne]

I saw Starcastle back in the day, and Gary Strater played a white 4001 w/ black trim. Definately from the YES school of style.

http://www.passion4marriage.com/video/s ... rater.html

[BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS]

saw them with gentle giant in moncton, new brunswick 1976 (it's on the inner sleeve of "live playing the fool" gatefold), great show supporting their first lp. strater was playing his late '60's fireglo 4001 deluxe.

here u can vue the fireglo...

http://www.starcastlerocks.com/galleryclassic.html

[cheyenne]

If you pause the video at 9:43 take a look at the fretboard. It appears to be a deluxe w / black trim 4001 or 4003 but do I see a black "dot" marker at the 3rd fret?

A stripped Shadow perhaps?

[BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS]

he did use a 4001/4003 white or mapleglo for his benefit where all the original members jammed with him before he passed away. that one had black trim. i've always seen pics in the hayday with the fireglo deluxe.

[BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS]

if you have not listened to starcastle as of yet, please check out some great rick sounds, nice tone and crunchy. yes, yes, they sound like yes. big deal. at least their harmonies were harmonious ! starcastle self titled, fountains of light, citadel and real to reel. gary strater even had two sets of taurus pedals going !

[byu]

I've always been a Starcastle fan. Saw them warm up for UK and about half the audience booed them. The drummer threw up his sticks near the end of the last song & walked off. A lot of people, back in the day, really thought they were Yes ripoffs & they suffered for it. The same way Trower was viewed by some as a Hendrix ripoff. Gary had awesome tone for people who like their Rics eq'd that way.

[weemac]

I thought that Starcastle did not so much as copy Yes but came some to the same musical conclusion. And it was viewed that they filled a gap when Yes went on their year off to make solo lps.

Eden.

[cheyenne]

I've always been a Starcastle fan. Gary Strater was a great player who never had a chance to get the merit he deserved. I saw them back around the late '70's opening for Rush. Gary played a white Rickenbacker and had an Alembic sitting on a stand as a backup.

There was a "benefit" auction on Ebay back when Gary was sick. It was a custom finished Rickenbacker 400? bass with an album cover theme. I bid on it, but I have no idea where it wound up. A cool bass for a fan..... anyone have a clue where it went?

[cheyenne]

Actually,,,,after thinking about it for a while,,,, I think the Ebay auction even said that it was a refinished Rickenbacker Shadow bass. It was his favorite player.

[aceonbass]

The bass was purchased by a Brit for around $2200.00. I ran out of steam at around $600.00. I had just paid my taxes on my credit card and had no resources whatsoever. The guy who won the "Scarab" bass wasn't even a Starcastle fan. He just liked the bass. I just listened to their first three albums today as a matter of fact. Great music that also sounded a bit like ELP and even a little Yes 90125 before it's day. Their last album with Strater a couple years ago was real good. Pick it up if you have the chance.

[cheyenne]

Here's a small pic I found here on our own forum.

The "Scarab" was a refinned Shadow.

Scarabweb.jpg (11.49 KiB) Viewed 1649 times

[BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS]

wonder what happened to his '60's fireglo ? i noticed he had gone to alembics in the '80's.

[bartyclue]

Starcastle rocked. As far as ripping off yes, I don't believe that for a second..heavily influenced for sure but very distinct in their own right.

[just_bassics]

Ah, Starcastle!

I remember back in the day when everyone wrote them off as a Yes copy band, but, while clearly infuenced by Yes and British Prog in general, I thought they had a great sound and style all their own. I still have the 1st album on CD and listen to it from time to time. In the first track, Lady of the Lake, there is an organ solo that sounds much more like Keith Emerson than Rick Wakeman. Their vocal harmonies were tight, as well as the song arrangements.

It's often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so my opinion is that Yes, ELP, or any artist should feel honored that others came along and helped to keep it goung. I just wish I had a chance to see them perform live back in the 70's.

[BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS]

got all 4 of their albums plus the same on cd as well as the live show from '77 that was put out by concert classics/renaissance records/sunsinger in 1999 and chronos 1 which i received from gary before he got sick,which has the original versions of songs from the first lp before the producer got ahold of it. i play the first two at least once a week. great rick sounds on all of them. sunsinger music was gary strater's label. would love to see footage from the mid '70's heyday, but haven't found anything yet.