Dear friends,
On June 30, 2002, 6:30 to 9:30pm, the Bill Graham Foundation is
hosting a very special gathering at the Fillmore in San Francisco to
view an advance screening of the 1000th episode of A&E's Biography on
Bill Graham.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the Bill Graham Foundation,
which was created in 1991 just after Bill's death, as a vehicle to
continue the good work Bill Graham did behind the scenes, supporting
grass roots projects in the community. For more information please
visit their web page.
billgrahamfoundation.org
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Haight Street Fair Dedicated to Merl Saunders last Sunday
Saunders' Sons Led A Super Star Jam For Their Father
Who Suffered A Mild Stroke Three Weeks Ago
Over 20,000 Chanted "Get Well Merl"
San Francisco - Merl Saunders, 68, who is known as the "King" of the Haight
Street Fair (Saunders has headlined the fair for the last 24 years) was
honored at last Sunday afternoon's 25th annual event. Saunders is
recovering from a mild stroke he suffered several weeks ago. His
stroke followed a successful cancer operation. On Wednesday, April
11th his doctor pronounced him "cancer free" and told Saunders that
he could play this year's Haight Street Fair. Saunder's two sons
Merl Jr. and Tony Saunders joined an all star group of
musicians to play in Merl's place. A video was be made of the 20,000 crowd
chanting "Get Well Merl" that will be shown to Saunders in the hospital.
Saunders is undergoing successful therapy and vows to return to the Haight
Street Fair next year. "I definitely have felt the power of all the prayers
from my friends" said Saunders.
Saunders began his illustrious career in San Francisco when he started his
high school pal Johnny Mathis' first band. Saunders is best known today for
his significant musical contributions with the late Jerry Garcia. His long
collaboration with Garcia began when they first toured together in 1971 and
continued with recordings and live performances with Jerry and the Grateful
Dead. In addition to his collaboration with Garcia, Saunders has recorded
and performed with music legends Bonnie Raitt, Harry Belafonte, Lionel
Hampton and Miles Davis. Saunders was recently recognized with the release
and subsequent publicity surrounding the hit movie "Ali" for his year long
work as music director for Muhammad Ali in the champ's Broadway musical "Big
Time Buck White." Saunders' most recognized soundtrack was the haunting
theme he created with Garcia for the hit television series "Twilight Zone,"
as well as the soundtracks he created for "Fritz the Cat," "Nash Bridges,"
"Tales from the Crypt" and the long running television series "Simon &
Simon."
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Neil Young Bio Took Eight Years, 800 Pages, One Lawsuit
By Eric Martyn
TORONTO (Reuters) - It took biographer Jimmy McDonough eight years
and 300 interviews before he finished his 800-page tome on rock 'n'
roll legend Neil Young.
Then, in 1998, his troubles began.
Young, who had agreed to the authorized biography in 1991, decided he
no longer wanted the book published and withdrew his authorization.
"When I first interviewed Young, it was easy as pie," recalled
McDonough, author of "Shakey: Neil Young's Biography," in an
interview at publisher Random House's office in Toronto. But he said
the Canadian-born musician, famous for songs like "Sugar Mountain"
and "The Needle and The Damage Done," became increasingly more
difficult to speak to as time went by.
McDonough didn't explain exactly why he feels the 56-year-old Young
withdrew his support, but he suggested that the legendary
singer-songwriter is intensely private and loathes talking about
himself.
"I don't think it's a mystery" that he didn't want the book
published, McDonough said. "Anyone who read just the intro to this
book will come away with an understanding why it might have been
difficult for the book to be finished and published."
"Shakey" paints Young as a lone musician ruthlessly pursuing his
craft. In his wake are a series of bandmates, often awash in a sea of
drugs and broken contracts.
"I think the more people I talked to, the more reticent he was. It
was his whole life and he is not a demonstrative person necessarily,"
McDonough explained.
In McDonough's lucrative book deal with Random House, Young was given
control over matters concerning his immediate family -- the rest was
supposedly fair game for his biographer.
A $1.8 MILLION LAWSUIT
After Young withdrew his authorization, McDonough filed a $1.8
million suit against him, seeking publication of the biography and
claiming breach of contract. The book was finally published in May in
Canada and the United States after an out-of-court settlement last
year.
"All I can say is this is the book I originally wrote. He didn't
screw with it. He let me write it the way I wanted to write it," said
McDonough.
Publishing problems aside, "Shakey" is about Young and the dangerous
craft of rock 'n' roll. McDonough sees the music as being fueled by
an elusive flame and Young as a survivor able to repeatedly fly close
to the fire and stay alive.
McDonough was first drawn to Young as a morose teen-ager growing up
in Indiana, he said. He latched on to Young's mid-70s records: "On
the Beach," "Tonight's the Night" and "Zuma."
Yet, after all the interviews and long talks with Young, McDonough
still doesn't know what makes him tick. The best he can do is expose
the strange assortment of old girlfriends, musicians and managers
Young surrounds himself with. Through them, he tries to understand
the elusive artist.
"He's like an eye of a hurricane with all these whacko, charming
characters who surround him," said McDonough.
For instance, a hot-headed David Briggs co-produced many of Young's
records when he played with Crazy Horse. Briggs took the music and
the physically impulsive attitude implicit in rock 'n' roll
seriously, McDonough said.
Perhaps the strangest figure of all is Young's mother Rassy, who
raised her son on her own from his early teens, after divorcing his
father, a well-known sports journalist.
Young was born in Toronto but moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, with his
mother after the divorce.
"His mom was just a real piece of work," said McDonough. "I mean she
had her own little language invented for different words. She was
fiercely protective of Neil and if she didn't like you, man, you knew
within five seconds. Just a real cantankerous dame," recounted
McDonough.
"But she was totally charming, and I mean I dug her, and I dug
hearing all the stories about her. But really, really intense."
INHERITED INTENSITY
Intensity is something Young inherited from his mother. Throughout
his career he has joined and left bands frequently and without
remorse. Driving to meet David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash
at a recording studio in 1974, Young decided suddenly against
continued recording with the highly acclaimed group. He turned his
car around and went home.
"I just get to a point with things where I leave," he said in the
book. "Either I leave -- or I make someone else leave."
Mixed in with Young's intense personality were a cocktail of drugs
that constantly surrounded him: marijuana, cocaine and heroin.
Young definitely consumed his share, but at the same time as he sang
powerful anti-drug songs, those close to him died.
"It is sometimes hard to appreciate 'The Needle and the Damage Done'
outside of its Official Cautionary Tale designation," writes
McDonough. "But in the early seventies next to no one (at least in
song) was writing about the death-trip flip side of feelin' groovy."
Drugs may have been the bullet, but rock 'n' roll was the gun. In the
second half of the book, Young and McDonough talk about what it takes
to make the music that killed several of Young's immediate friends,
such as Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten, not to mention rock
greats like Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix.
Young describes the music as the place where God and the devil shake hands.
"I think I have been there a few times but, uh, I must be too
straight or somethin'," said Young. "Because I keep returning -- and
going the other way. If I stay in one place too long, it's not gonna
work -- it's gonna be dangerous for me."
Despite his conflict with Young, McDonough still admires the artist,
whom he sees as an impromptu, unpredictable spirit who has maintained
his credibility over decades as a rock and roll musician.
"Too much of today's rock 'n' roll is about producing atmosphere for
a Wal-Mart store," lamented McDonough.
"There is something about Neil that conveys a real feeling. And he's
got it in spades."
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Source: 2002 Punmaster's MusicWire punmaster.com |
