Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Did anybody else see that last night (9/15/05)? I must admit that I was reading a book and just looking up as each song started. I had the sound muted or turned down low most of the time. Live music is usually much more interesting to me. No Rickenbackers being played by the band, as the guitarists all had Gibsons. The lead guitarist (cherry SG with P90's) sounded great. Several Vox amps were being used. Call me a snob, but I was appalled to see the bassist playing an Epiphone copy of a Hofner. And what did they play? A couple of new tunes, his solo hits, 'I'm The Greatest', and everything Ringo ever sang on a Beatles record, with the exception of 'Good Night'. I wouldn't pay money to see him perform, but he's probably a hoot to hang out with.

No I missed it Randy but I would have loved have seen it for one reason only. His drumming. I'm not a drummer but I am a big fan of his approach to and style of playing drums.

I used to comment back in the sixties to our drummer that he should "tune" his drums like Ringo. Our drummer thought that I was nuts. But years later I read an article on a forum where professional drummers discussed the art of tuning drums for particular songs. I guess my hearing was'nt so bad after all.

I guess I might not pay the asking price to see him, but a friend of mine gave us two tickets to see his show here last year, so we went. It was a really good show, with his sort of 'all-star' band. The singer/keyboardist from Squeeze was playing...he did 'Tempted' at one point in the show, and his voice was absolutely great. I thought it was cool that Ringo let everyone have their own moment to do what they do. The big surprise for me was that he had Shiela E playing drums all night...occasionally, he would sit back there and play while she displayed her overall percussion skills. I have to say that while Ringo is a great drummer, she basically mopped the floor with him. This only served to increase my respect for him...it takes a pretty big soul to let a younger, better player share the spotlight. Three cheers for Ringo, a real human being.

Brian: Ringo only played drums on a couple of songs. And the other drummer played on every song in another kit next to him. Ringo also played the opening piano chords on 'Don't Pass Me By". There wasn't much chance to see/hear him play drums.

Dane: Ringo introduced the fabulous Colin Hay (sp?) to which I thought "Who?". Then he launched into 'Who Can It Be Now' and I recognized him from Men At Work (not exactly a household name these days). I was disappointed that the broadcast did not include band member introductions. The credits at the end of the show flashed by too fast to read but a couple of names. It didn't say who was playing what. That probably wasn't Ringo's fault, as he seemed to be among friends on stage. When you saw Ringo, was it Paul Carrack on keyboards? He replaced Jools Holland in Squeeze and they had a hit with 'Tempted'. Formerly with Ace he had a big seventies hit with 'How Long (Has This Been Going On)'. I once saw him once on a solo tour in a tiny club with an all-star back-up band including several members of Rockpile (including Nick Lowe) and The Rumour (including Martin Belmont).

Randy...it was indeed Paul Carrack.

I saw Ace opening up for Yes in Tucson, Az...'75, maybe? With Johnny Winter in the #2 spot...what a strange bill! I remember we were all impatient to see Yes, and 'How Long...' seemed to drag on interminably...

The next day, my brother had to go out to the airport in Phoenix to pick up a friend...there he saw the guys from Ace standing around at a gate waiting for a flight. He went up and said hello, and had a bit of a conversation with them...at one point, my brother made the mistake of saying how good Yes' set had been...they all launched into the "Yeah, well, you've got to remember they've been around a long time...", as if, given the same amount of time, Ace would make us forget all about bands like Yes...

I'm reminded of the scene in the movie where the Spinal Tap boys talk sh*t behind 'Duke Fame's (Richie Blackmore, I believe) back: "What a ******..."

"Have you seen his new album cover? It's quite lurid..."

Ringos' guitarist with the SG was Steve Dudas, and he is indeed great. I played with Steve for about three years in the early 70s and shared an apartment with him for two of those. He has played an SG for many years and was damn near as good back then as he is now. He has always had chops and been able to play exactly what is needed. What has developed over the years is his songwriting, which Ringo credits him for. There is no more positive, friendly, genuinely humble man than Steve. He just received the Duquesne University Lifetime Achievement Award, along with Seymour Duncan, in Pittsburgh. I have tapes of Steve playing in 1973 when we were in a band that did many Yes and Deep Purple covers. He was the only guitarist in town who could play any of that stuff. One particular version of "I've Seen All Good People" is amazing if only because the drummer, the late George Suranovich (of Love fame) kicked in the second half at light speed. Steve stayed with him (as did the rest of the band) all the way -- never missed a note. Those were great times, and I'm happy to see Steve finally get recognition. He has written or co-written several hits for Aerosmith and Ozzie. But his real strength is as a guitarist. In nearly three years of one-nighters, I can recall only one mistake that he made, and that was when he was working "Moonlight Sonata" into the opening of "Stairway to Heaven." He never made that mistake again. I knew but forgot about the VH1 special, I hope it repeats. Mark Hudson played bass on much of Ringo's latest LP, but I'm not sure who plays live. I thought Mark was using a Hofner. Whoever/whatever is on the "Choose Love," the bass sound kills and is very much like McCartney's.

Dave: Steve sure sounded hot. I caught his name on the credits and I knew he had a friend in the Forum, but I didn't know who Steve was among the other guitarists. It's a shame that the band didn't get introductions or a better credit at the end. A list of names with no instrumental credit was flashed for a split second after it went to a half screen image on my local PBS channel. Last year I bought a new cherry SG with P90's, since it was a favored Townshend weapon. It's a fun guitar for me, but your buddy Steve knows how to sling it properly!

Steve has grey shoulder length hair that he most often keeps in a ponytail. He looks exactly like he did 30 years ago except his hair wasn't grey then. Steve has always loved the SG. That and a Guild hollowbody jazz guitar were his main axes when we covered the Yes material. At that time, his SG always went out of tune. Just saw him play a month ago and he apparently has learned new ways to keep it in tune. It might also interest you to know that Steve tests most of Seymour Duncan's prototypes. So if you like SD pickups, thank Steve.

Dave: If you haven't seen the show, your buddy Steve looked to have a grey ponytail poking out from under a peaked cap (sorta like Lennon in '65). He started out playing a sunburst Gibson 335 (or similar thinline model), After a few numbers he switched to the SG for the rest of the show. He was the best part of the show.

Randy,

I also made it to that Carrack / Lowe double bill when it played here in Toronto. Great show. They alternated songs all night. I believe this was around the time Carrack had released "I Need You" as a single. Great song and great concert.

db

Randy: I caught the clip of "Bac Off Boogalaoo" on the PBs website, and that is Steve with the Lennon -- or Dudas -- cap. I believe the band does have fun. when Steve got his achievement award last month, they had a video tribute to him from Mark Hudson and Ringo and it was clear they are all like brothers.