Chairman Ralph's Ministry Of Truth

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"We shall Rock them on the beaches, we shall Rock them on the landing grounds, we shall Rock them in the fields and in the streets, we shall Rock them in the hills; we shall never surrender."
--Prime Minister JC Carroll

Rock 'n' roll thrives in these kinds of places: neighborhood bars that time forgot, passed over by the professional brigade in its never-ending quest to airbrush the hell out of whatever it touches.

No such fate has befallen the Red Line Tap, located just down the block from the Heartland Cafe. There's not a whiff of pretense about its soft red neon facade and basic-beyond-basic interior.

You've got a raised deck in the back -- for easy observation -- plus a boxlike main floor for the tribe to gather, in front of a small stage that reminds me of many that I've seen in Britain (where many bands tread the boards in postage-stamp-sized territory, it seems).

But that's where the Members are plying their trade on this particular night in Chicago (9/06/14), as part of their first USA tour in 31 years -- a lifetime ago from the band's brief rotation on MTV, when "Working Girl" gave them a new lease on life here.


BACK IN THE USSA...MEMBERS-STYLE
Of course, show biz has its share of hiccups, as singer-guitarist Jean Marie ("JC") Carroll explains by phone from California -- where we first touched base near the end of August, about a week after the "Operation Overground" tour kicked off in California (8/22). (Note: The tour officially wrapped up this week on 10/04 after returning to several cities in the West/Southwest, including Midland, TX; Phoenix, AZ, and Las Vegas, NV.)

With four days to go before the kickoff date, longtime singer-bassist Chris Payne broke two bones in his hand -- so the Members reverted to a trio, with JC getting reacquainted with the bass, flanked by Nigel Bennett and Nick Cash on lead guitar and drums, respectively.

And that's how -- on this particular night in Chicago -- JC winds up holding down the fort on six-string bass, which “was definitely a 'show must go on' moment,” he says, laughing. “It's just another chapter.”

Mishaps aside, Carroll looks forward at getting reacquainted with the band's American fanbase.

“I started working with the band seriously again in 2006, doing shows in England – we started going all over Europe. It's just a natural progression, really,” Carroll observes. “I also went to Australia and New Zealand last year, and there's still quite a strong demand for what we do.”


"THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING HERE"
For those who haven't kept score, the Members formed in 1976 as part of the British punk explosion that produced the Clash, the Damned, the Jam, and the Sex Pistols, and numerous other bands.

Carroll became aware of the punk revolution's impact when ordinary-looking youth – not “hip inner city guys,” as he calls them – started coming to Members gigs.

“I said, 'There's something happening here – they want this,' so I came up with 'The Sound Of The Suburbs,'” Carroll recalls. “In a funny way, punk rock is a suburban kid thing now, still – it's a way of escaping what might be your drab surroundings, and rebelling. We were very lucky with that song.”

With Carroll leading the songwriting, the Members gained attention for a fiery mix of punk and reggae – and topics that ranged from corporate greed (“Offshore Banking Business”), to social isolation (“Solitary Confinement”), and ordinary peoples' lives (“The Sound Of The Suburbs”).

All of these songs get an airing at the Red Line Tap, and they sound as vital and powerful as ever. On the flipside, that means all of the nasty and noxious evils that punk rock aimed to slay during its certified Year Zero moment (1976) -- corporatized pop music, ever-rocketing costs of living, and unresponsive bureaucracies, to name three -- seem stronger and more vigorous than ever. But we'll get to that shortly...


"IT WAS JUST TOO MUCH"
Although only thee guys are onstage, the sound is muscular and crisp tonight -- much of that factor comes down to Bennett, who plays enough for two people by himself.

Fluid, yet unfussy, he puts all the right notes in all the right places, while Cash whacks out the beat behind him -- stretching out, naturally, on the reggae sections, where a percussive comment or two isn't out of place -- and Carroll keeps the proceedings moving on his newly adopted instrument.

Just behind Don and myself, two color TVs beam "Saturday Night Live" out over the main floor, but nobody cares a whit -- all the action's down on the main floor, where plenty of cameras are popping (cellphone-related or not).

In particular, I notice a blonde woman click-click-clicking away. At first, I think she's some kind of pro shutterbug...one dressed to kill in knee-high boots and black hose, kitted out with some top of the line pro camera.

Eventually. I muster the gumption to ask er, between songs: "Excuse me, are you the band's official photographer?"

She smiles, and laughs, "No -- no, darling, I'm a friend of Nigel's."

"Oh, OK -- right, I got it now!"

The band rip-roars through "Working Girl," which gave them new life commercially, after the original punk scene had tapered off -- giving the Members a big American hit when they needed one most. Thanks to the fruits of those labors, the band expanded to a seven-piece entity with a three-piece horn section.

However, that new lease on life came with a price, as JC explains: “We were literally touring around America for four months at a time – it was just too much. We burned ourselves out, basically."

There's no smell of burnout hanging over the proceedings here, though, as the band powers through "Baby Baby" -- the signature number of the Vibrators, with whom Bennett toured many times in America -- and "The Sound Of The Suburbs," which closes the show on triumphant note.


"IT JUST SOUNDED GREAT"
Funnily enough, Nigel's friend isn't the only person slinging a camera tonight. In fact, it's been awhile since I've seen so many flash bulbs pop-pop-popping...although, as JC recounts afterwards, he's played some gigs where the front row is literally nothing but iPad and iPhone City, where he can't see the faces of the people concerned.

It's a strange phenomenon that only today's techie-driven times could produce, he notes, "though you look at what they post on Youtube, and you say, 'Christ, no, please take it down'..." He smiles, knowing that no such occurrence is likely.

A generation ago, people swapped color pics to stick into yellowing photo albums; nowadays, they're saving them on their phones. Call it a sign of the times, if you like.

After the band's breakup, Bennett, Carroll and Payne focused on raising families and various solo projects.

JC decided to re-form the Members after celebrating his fiftieth birthday, “and I tried to get all the bands I'd ever been in together – and it just sounded great,” he said.

Since then, the Members have steadily built on that momentum, by virtue of steady gigging -- "It's not unusual to get Scotland on a weekend," as JC notes -- although, unlike the old days, it's not strung together as a steady drumbeat of one-nighters.

Unlike many contemporary pundits, though, JC doesn't mourn the record industry's demise, especially when he considers the alternative. "Back then," he observes at the merchandise table, "you really couldn't make any money -- because there were so many other people ahead of you."


"IT'S TIME FOR SOME MORE RADICAL MUSIC"
The Members return to Britain in October, after which Carroll expects to start on the band's fifth album – for which he's already worked up four or five songs.

“It's got the Members' (types of lyrical) themes. We're going to make little videos for them, or big videos – and we'll be touring in Europe, doing what we do,” he says.

As Carroll notes, today's headlines seem perilously close to the world on which he and his bandmates cast such a critical eye back in 1976 – though he believes that it could stand a better soundtrack.

“We're very much in a manufactured pop music world – nobody's really speaking about how they live. It's definitely time for some more radical music, I think,” he says.

YOUTUBE VIDEO LINKS FROM THE GIG (JUST CUT 'N' PASTE INTO YER BROWSER):
"Offshore Banking Business":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgAZK2_gd98

"New English Blues, Part 2":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMDpT7xfCM4

"Solitary Confinement":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbJ0pOyizwc

"The Model":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq49EUv2jME

"Baby Baby":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyTtzjUZLwA

"The Sound Of The Suburbs":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyTtzjUZLwA


MEMBERS BIO, INFO+LINKS
2013 was a Fantastic Year For The Band taking us to lots of exciting places, Ireland, Ukraine, Holland, New Zealand, Scotland and Australia, where we were re-united with Rudi Thomson, our old Sax Player. We made lots of new friends in the UK also.

Original Member Nigel Bennett has rejoined the Band, along with Drummer Nick Cash. Nigel spent many years touring and recording with Punk Legends The Vibrators and released and toured a solo Album (TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES) in 2013.

Little known Facts: Nigel played Bass with Julian Lennon and Guitar with Tom Robinson in the '80s.

Nick Cash is no stranger to the Members, having Played on 3 of JC's Solo Albums as well as performing with The Members from 2007 to 2009. Nick is Famous for opening the World's first Ever Punk Punk Clothes shop and playing with Fad Gadget, Prag Vec and The Lines as well as auditioning for an early version of the Sex Pistols.

Rat Scabies Stepped down from the Members Drum seat after three great years at the end of a Hugely successful Australian and New Zealand Tour. We wish Rat lots of luck with his exciting new recording projects.

JC's Record Label, AngloCentric Records, is up and Running Now with Releases by Members Producer David M. Allen, and Brentford Mad West London Band, The Magic Sponge...check out the Tracks here:

http://www.anglocentric.co.uk/musicstore.html

Also due is a Compilation album Featuring Billy ShinBone, The Brompton Mix, Cheyne Pride, The Fab Mods and The Indicators, as well as deep Cuts from the Archives.

If you want information on booking the The Members it can all be found on this Document:
http://www.themembers.co.uk/2014_EPK/Members_2014_offers_WEB.pdf

Please keep in touch with the band by visiting the official Website:
http://www.themembers.co.uk/

...or join the Facebook Fan Pages:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Membersfans/

What are the odds of one band – let alone the same local stomping grounds – producing three of the world's most acclaimed and influential rock guitarists? That's what happened to the Yardbirds, who are best remembered – in casual fans' minds – as the musical proving ground for Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page to refine the guitar maneuvers that made them internationally rich and famous.

But that perception only tells half the story. The Yardbirds boasted one of the '60s' deepest talemt benches, with bassist Paul Samwell-Smith carving out a successful production career, while late vocalist Keith Relf and drummer Jim McCarty launched several folk and progressive bands (Renaissance, Illusion) to varying degrees of success.

Fewer still know that McCarty co-authored a good many of the lyrics – not a talent that's often associated with the band's chief beat-keeper. Then again, he probably never foresaw himself as the last original member standing, after the stroke last year that (sadly) has curtailed bassist/rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja's playing days for good. (Frontman Keith Relf died in 1976, from an accidental electric shock; his spirit is celebrated in fine style on “An Original Man,” off the band's last album, Birdland.)

Going into this show – one of three dates on this year's blink-and-miss-it US excursion – it's natural to question how this lot could carry the Yardbirds flag, especially in light of its illustrious alumni's absence...not to worry, however, as Anthony “Top” Topham has returned to the fold, after a mere five decades of downtime! What a coup, indeed, since it's not commonly known that Topham preceded Clapton, only to exit due to circumstances beyond his control...as he makes clear in a brief Q&A session with McCarty, before the show.

And, though he takes some time to warm up – it's only his third gig, after all, as McCarty points out – Topham quickly shows that he's not there just to take up space...as he and his impossibly youngish-looking guitar sparring partner, Ben E. King, swap licks on the slower blues numbers (“Five Long Years”), and the more urgent showcases (“Smokestack Lightning”), to appreciative roars from the crowd. Clapton may have been the more advanced player (as Topham notes below), but he has a distinctive style, in his own right. Vocalist Andy Mitchell acquits himself quite well, too – even when his harp fights for air in the mix, at times – while bassist Dave Smale keeps the proceedings at a brisk, no-nonsense clip.

Naturally, “The Traain Kept A-Rollin'” opens the night's proceedings in fine style, and the Yardbirds bench doesn't waste much time asserting itself; while not as flashy as some of the era's better-known beat-keepers, McCarty's touch proves deft as ever, with no fuss, and no muss, just the way that we're used to hearing it, thank you very much.. (His high harmonies are pretty noteowrthy, as well.)

Of course, this being a '60s legend in action, you get all the hits, present and correct (“Heart Full O'Soul,” “Over, Under, Sideways, Down,” “Shapes Of Things”), the odd obscurity (“The Nazz Are Blue,” featuring a rare vocal by Beck), and faves that the masses might not know, but the diehards definitely understand (“Back Where I Started,” which featured on McCarty's mid-'80s project, Box Of Frogs, and also, the closest that we came to a proper reunion at the time).

From my perspective, the real payoff comes near the end, with a medley of “For Your Love,” “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago,” and – lastly, to close the circle – “Dazed And Confused,” whose reworking (shall we say) by Page for Led Zeppelin has remained the source of great controversy, then and now (which McCarty slyly references as “that other band”; ironically, the opening act is Kashmir, a Led Zeppelin tribute band, who get a resounding thumbs-up from the patrons sitting in front of me.)

In any event, this 15-minute, three-song mini-epic finds King truly rising to the occasion here. Anybody should feel nervous about following Those Other Three Guitar Gods, but King doesn't show a trace of hesitation. He sticks to the overall blueprint, but isn't shy about adding his own distinctive coloration on “Happenings” – and then cuts loose with some gloriously unhinged leads, as the band navigates the inner angst of “Dazed And Confused.”

The song shakes and shudders with a primal voodoo that's bubbling under the surface of Jake Holmes's original, but often got smothered in Zeppelin's half-hour-plus marathon versions (oh, well, it was the '70s, eh?). It's pretty heady stuff, indeed – urgent and unyielding, pulsing with the peaks and valleys that made the original band a can't-miss proposition during its '60s heyday.

Had the night ended here, we'd have gone home happy, but naturally, there's a brief encore to round out the proceedings – it's “I'm A Man,” which the band reworked to such brash effect so long ago, and sounds no less taut tonight, with Mitchell sounding every inch the swashbuckling blues rooster referenced in the original lyrics.

Like much of the sounds dished out tonight, this last number's raw energy is a reminder of what made the Yardbirds so potent – even if their 1968 breakup reflected more slings and arrows than Shakespeare's outrageous fortune. In many ways, though, that doesn't really matter. They didn't always collect the rewards that they hoped to see coming, and their pioneering spirit frequently fought for air, amid the demands of producers – but, long after the tinkerers' names are forgotten, this music still lives and breathes...which is all we need, on this night, or any other.

YARDBIRDS (SLIGHT RETURN: ARCADA THEATER, 6/27/14)
Fast forward a year later, and those "five live Yardies" are sharing the bill with ex-Black Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson...ensuring a double-barreled night of blues-rock for true believers. That term only scrapes the surface of what both acts in question do, given all their various stylistic diversions...but as a shorthand description, it works well enough.

In the Yardbirds' case, tonight's set showcased the band's bluesier side -- as demonstrated by a churning 10-minute-plus version of "Smokestack Lightning," and an equally extended "Five Long Years," which frontman Andy Mitchell belted out with gusto. His gutsy harmonica work also shone through, loud and clear -- unlike last time around, when it struggled to make itself felt through a murky sound mix.

Top Topham also sounded more fully integrated into the band, too, as he peppered the bluesier songs with robust slide guitar lines -- and dove right in to swap licks with Ben King when the song required it. For the poppier hits, like "Heart Full O'Soul," he naturally stuck closely to the original imprint, though his rootsier approach is unmistakable.

McCarty, as ever, drove the bus without fanfare. His emphatic, chugging style doesn't always land him on those endless "'X' Number Of Greatest This 'N' That" lists that music mags churn out with tick-tock regularity -- but it's impossible to imagine these songs without them. His style is truly the heartbeat of the Yardbirds, without a doubt.

As in 2013, we got the same closing medley ("For Your Love"/"Happenings Ten Years Time Ago"/"Dazed And Confused"), which reached a frenzied peak on the last song's extended psychedelic section. This is a band, after all, that built a reputation for not playing the same song twice, which makes it fun to compare the nuances involved.

Chris Robinson's approach is equally rootsy, and unapologetically jam-oriented. Not being familiar with his solo material, I didn't know what to expect, but the opening chunk-a-chunk-a-chunk of "I Know You" made the drift quickly apparent. Robinson played with aplomb throughout the night, electing to mostly fingerpick his leads -- amid many, many guitar changes.

Some major highlights of his set included a 15-minute medley of "From A Buick 6," "I Cylinder" and the Velvet Underground's "Foggy Notion," on which the band eagerly -- and continually -- circled back to its "Do it again!" refrain like a shark eyeballing its target.

The one-two encore punch of Humble Pie ("The Sad Saga Of Shaky Jake") and another lesser-known Velvet track ("Oh! Sweet Nothing") proved equally delightful to hear, as well. I'd definitely investigate his work in more detail to see what other gems might be happening there.

All in all, tonight's pairing provided an illuminating reminder of what both acts do so well -- it was a shame to see a third full house, though there's no doubt that everyone left well satisfied with the proceedings. Turnouts vary for lots of reasons, although in the Yardbirds' case, it'd be nice to hear a new album with Topham abooard.

As one listen to the recently-departed Chris Dreja's "My Blind Life" will suggest, there's plenty of vitality left, and new musical ground to explore, so let's cross our fingers and see what happens...if nothing else, the Yardbirds always had a trick or two tucked away up their sleeve.

Q&A WITH RON ONESTI, JIM McCARTY & TOP TOPHAM:
ARCADA THEATER, ST. CHARLES, IL (9/13/13)

RON ONESTI (RO): Welcome! Gentlemen, this is so cool, I can't believe it – gentlemen, welcome to the Chicago area...It's amazing how the roots of the Yardbirds, and the Stones, and so much of the British Invasion that came here had their roots in Chicago blues. Where'd it start for you?

JIM McCARTY (JM): Where'd it start? Well, it was Paul Samwell-Smith, who was at school with me – and we bumped into each other, and he played this record, [from] Jimmy Reed...and then, we learned from there. And I heard more and more of this sort of music, and really loved it.

RO: You know, Top – it's 1963, you are 15 years old...

TOP TOPHAM (TT): That's correct.

RO: Fifteen years old – and, again, you have this passion for blues. And not just blues – and I'm lovin' it, because it's Chicago blues. Where does your passion come from?

TT: I think it actually, probably and originally came from my father – who was in America during the war, in Mobile, Alabama, and bought records, and took them home. In the latter part of the '50s, we actually got an electric record player [laughter], and started buying some of the very few British records that were available in those days.

But a lot of those records were starting to come over [from America]: Big Boy Arnold, Snooky Prior, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed...and I think the bands of that time were really people that had a passion for that music, and wanted to learn to play it, and do it together. And that's how it started.

RO: The Yardbirds, obviously, kicked off the careers of [Eric] Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck. How did that transition happen, and what was the feeling of the Yardbirds, as the [Led] Zeppelin experience began to happen?

JM: By the time we broke the Yardbirds up, we'd sort of had enough of it, this whole thing of touring. We'd done five years, full on, and people were really tired – we were all sort of fairly dead, more or less [crowd laughs heartily]. We had to start over. That was the only way we could survive. I think, at that particular time, we'd had enough, and we all were quite happy to leave.

But, of course, they were all fresh [in Led Zeppelin] – Jimmy had been with us about a year or so, and the rest of the guys were very fresh. And they didn't have to...The whole market changed between single records, and albums, and Zeppelin didn't have to record a single – 'cause we were always trying to get the next hit single, all the time, in the '60s. And everything changed at the end of the '60s, and the '70s, and [bands] made albums, before you know it.

RO: Now, Top, you had left in '63. Again, you're 15, 16 years old – why did you actually leave the Yardbirds at the time?

TT: Why did I leave? Well, I think were probably a number of reasons – Jim might have a different version. From my point of view, I had studied art, and was fortunate enough to be very talented. I got into an art school when I was 15, and had no qualifications, which was just what my parents wanted.

The idea of playing music in those days was just an unknown thing for them – it was something that they couldn't really comprehend, and they didn't agree with it, and they actually made life quite difficult for me...so I really had to. Plus, Eric – who we all knew, and I went to school with – I think he was a more advanced player, at that time, than I was. And, for that time, he was the right guy for the job.

RO: Clapton was actually at that school?

TT: Yes, Chris Dreja, Eric and myself were all at school together. Eric used to come round on Saturday mornings, and bring records – the latest Robert Johnson, or Blind Boy Fuller, or something – 'cause we were listening to country blues a lot in those days. And, when we had the new record, we had to listen to it, over and again [to learn the songs].

JM: Well, Eric was more ambitious than you, wasn't he?

TT: He was.

JM: He really wanted to make it big...

TT: That is true.

RO: Now, Jim, you were very, very involved in these other bands – what was the driving force with all these bands?

JM: Well, Keith and I formed Renaissance [strong applause from the audience]. The keyboard player was John Hawken, who's down in New Jersey now. He's a fantastic rock 'n' roll pianist, started in the Nashville Teens, and then, went on to Renaissance. He played with the Strawbs, as well, which was a great band – and then, we had another band called Illusion, and then, of course, Box Of Frogs, which was like another Yardbirds.

RO: Now, 1992: very big year for the Yardbirds, right? Tell me about that experience – that had to be something. Tell me about the phone call first – how'd you find out you were being inducted [into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame]?

JM: I think we'd been put out before, you know, suggested – I think it was the third time we'd been nominated, and then, finally, we got in there, and it was great, you know.

RO: What was the night like for you?

JM: Well, it was good fun. We met all these people that were our heroes, you know, Johnny Cash, and B.B. King – Jimi Hendrix, obviously, wasn't there, but his father was there...and Sam and Dave. It was great fun.

RO: What's the chance – everybody wants to know, what's the chance of Jeff Beck coming [and sitting in] tonight, or Jimmy Page, or Eric...

RM: I don't think he's here tonight [laughter from the audience]!

RO: You never know – you never know! [Introduces Byrd, from WDRV 97.1: The Drive, to ask the last question.]

BYRD: Oh, yeah, good to see you – well, I actually have one and a half questions...the real question is, you did a great album just a few years ago – does anybody have it, it's called BIRDLAND? [Some notable claps in response] Are there any projects that are coming up, maybe some new material, or maybe some re-releases of some of the classics, that you'd like to tell anybody about?

JM: Well, there's a fiftieth anniversary this year, round about now – I think there might be something happening this year, in terms of a big boxed set coming out – and we're actually doing a UK tour with the Animals, and the Zombies [NOTE: This outing begins in January 2014].

YARDBIRDS OFFICIAL SITE:
http://www.theyardbirds.com/

JIM McCARTY INTERVIEW ON SONGWRITING:
http://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/jim_mccarty_of_the_yardbirds/

ABOUT THE ARCADA THEATRE:
http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/music/17442826-421/happiness-is-a-full-house-for-the-showman-of-st-charles.html

Never let anybody convince you that the visual aspect in rock 'n' roll doesn't matter, because – in some instances – that graphic shorthand is all you have to go on, when the day of decision arrives (am I buying into this band's spiel, or not?). So it was the Clash, and Metallica, to name two bands that won me over, without even playing a note – because the look was compelling enough to catch my attention.

In Metallica's case, my attraction focused on their down-to-earth dress sense. Cliff Burton's ensemble of choice – those perennially ripped jeans and worn punk T-shirts that he's sporting in nearly every photo session made a powerful statement during the early to mid-'80s, when bands were encouraged to think of themselves as gods from another planet.

Either way, the minute I saw those images – typically, while leafing through the pages of Kerrang!, which covered Metallica extensively during its earlier days – I figured, “We're gonna get along beautifully...now it's time to buy the record.” Burton's tragic death in 1986 signaled another game-changing quest – which his successor, Jason Newsted, ably carried off over a 15-year tenure. Now, he's back with a band named after himself, aw the primary songwriter, and frontman; suffice to say, Mr. Newsted is in charge.

So, on this night, it's only appropriate that Newsted's Battle Creek hoecoming takes place at Planet Rock – whose stated capacity (335) puts the “mini” back in mini-bar! All jokes apart, however, it's an ideal setting to see someone of Newsted's stature...sweaty, thunderous 'n' unrelenting , and only a matter of inches from your face.

Jason and his merry men – Jesse Farnsworth (guitar), Mike Mushok (guitar, formerly of Staind) and Jesus Mendez Jr. (drums) – respond with 75 minutes of meat-and-potatoes old school metal of the kind that doesn't get airplay, but never fails to inspire frenetic air guitar flourishes. The sounds being cranked out here may not be trendy, but if you're not whipping your head around like everybody else, you're the odd one out here, got that?

A good snapshot of this approach makes itself felt on the night's third song, “Soldierhead,” a graphic account of warfare from the soldier's point of view (“ Never quite ready/It just becomes your turn/Every time steady/No more light to burn”), and one of the standouts from the METAL EP. It's fast, brutal and to the point, driven home by Mushok's peerless lead work, and Mendez's churning double bass drums (as Newsted notes, later in the show: “You can't go wrong without Jesus on the drums back here!”)

If you're thinking, “Black Sabbath and Judas Priest pick up all your favorite obscure New Wave of Heavy Metal combos for a drink, and take 'em for a chat,” you'll know what's happening musically on METAL, and Newsted's debut album, HEAVY METAL – to which the bulk of tonight's show is dedicated.

As far as the newer material goes, the standouts include “As The Crow Flies” – a midtempo cruncher that wouldn't sound out of place on MASTER OF PUPPETS, or AND JUSTICE FOR ALL – and “Long Time Dead,” whose punchy chorus recalls the tragedy that propelled Newsted towards his destiny (“Live while you're living. because you're a long time dead!”). Other new songs, such as “Godsnake,” and “Nocturnus,” carry more of a slow-burning doom metal vibe.

Like many smart musicians, Newsted knows that intensity doesn't come from tempo alone, but any number of contributing factors, such as the overall vibe of the song. The latter quality rings loud and clear on “Skyscraper” – whose martial tempo offers a thrash metal summary of the human condition (“As the giant chokes in the mud/Ashen street soaks up the blood/Disappears, it never was/Wheel spinning, just as it does”).

For all the seriousness of the subject matter, and the dark, churning drive of his band, Newsted is a surprisingly casual. As a frontman, he seems relaxed, happy, and in his element, whether he's recalling former triumphs (“last time I played in Battle Creek, we set the attendance record in Kellogg Arena...it's just good to come home”), or dedicating “King Of The Underdogs” to his sister (“ it's a lot to ask of you, to come and listen to a lot of new music, and enjoy it with us like this, give us positive vibes back...I really appreciate that, I really fuckin' do!”).

One measure of Newsted's confidence is the lack of reference to his former band. Other than a brief foray through “Creeping Death,” the only nod to the past comes late in the show, when Newsted slyly introduces “Whiplash” by saying, “I didn't write this one, but I did bring it some life over its life.” The crowd's clearly caught off guard, at first (“Wow, dude, he played somethin' from KILL 'EM ALL? No way!”), but the hammerhead tempo quickly gets arms and heads flailing in unison.

The casual mood continues with the first encore of “Spider Biter,” and “Skyscraper,” which finds Newsted switching to guitar. “This one's got a couple extra strings on it – don't worry, I only use the little ones, anyway,” Newted cracks. However, not even the crisp, no-nonsense aura of this song is enough to satisfy everyone, so the band comes back out again, to deliver “one more for my good friends,” as Newsted puts it – “We Are The Road Crew,” Motorhead's classic ode to the touring life.

“I've been playing this song for a lot of years, man...I used to do it in every band, I think,” Newsted notes, but however many times he's done it, there's no denying the ferocity on display, as the band barrels through a clenched-fist delivery that leaves nothing to the imagination. By the fall, Newsted should have 70-80 shows under its belt; with a band this strong, it's tempting to think how much sharper – and tighter – they'll sound.

As Newsted has acknowledged, he wouldn't have gained the freedom to explore his current path without his Metallica experience – but, unlike many former members of big league bands, he already seems to have worked out how to establish his own identity, without the “ex-this/that” suffix dogging his name. Like the old saying goes...here's looking at you, kid.

The end of August invites the onset of darkness just a little bit earlier – in this case, around 8:30 p.m. On this Friday at the John E.N. Howard Bandshell, it's not hard to feel summer's presence trying to stick around against the odds, amid temperatures that hovered all day throughout the mid- to late 80s.

The Sixth Generation's members busy themselves with the routine of tearing down – rolling amplifiers, keyboards and miscellaneous equipment to a truck and trailer that waits nearby, on Port Street. Fans stand in clusters, waiting for some face time with this legendary Berrien County band – who reunited in 2010, after 40 years apart.

The band have just finished a rousing, hour-long set for a packed crowd that mixes well-known '60s nuggets (“I Saw Her Standing There,” “Proud Mary,” “You Really Got Me”) less obvious fare (“Expressway,” “Love Potion No. 9”), and a handful of originals (“Glad I Didn't Die Before I Got Old,” “Rock 'N' Roll Me,” “That Was The Time”) that suggest another chapter waiting to be written.

From keyboardist Ken Hamrick's perspective, the new CD, THAT WAS, THIS IS – which will be released locally on October 13, at the band's CD release party at Orchard Hills Country Club, in Niles – offers the ideal chance to tell a different story. “We've had a lot of articles about our history, the whole 40-year hiatus – but we haven't really had anything from the perspective of our music,” Hamrick says. “Obviously, we have a lot of Baby Boomers, but also notice that the music is also enjoyed by teens, young adults, twenty something and little kids. We had some folks up here in their eighties.”

Singer Fred (“J.J.” or, “Jumpin' Jack Flash”) Bachman – who still lives in Michigan, with bassist Paul “General” Davies, and keyboardist Fred Hulce – seconds that emotion with quiet confidence, saying, “We have a lot to write about, because we have all these life experiences.” (Hamrick, drummer Dave Walenga and guitarist-saxophonist Steve Blevins live in Maryland and Virginia.)

A hallmark of that approach is “That Was The Time,” which Hamrick sees as the beginning of an untapped genre in “Boomer Music.” The title is a direct nod to “This Is The Time,” which Hamrick and Bachman co-wrote in 1967 – and, until now, remained the band's sole recorded original. “When we got back together a couple years ago, I decided it would be really nice to have a song about us,” Hamrick says. “It's basically autobiographical, but I didn't want it to be just about us. Any Baby Boomer can identify with the lyrics.”

For Bachman, his former band's return puts an exclamation mark on a story interrupted in 1970 – when real life just couldn't be fended off any longer, and everyone had to go their separate ways, after coming close to breaking out nationally. “We're probably one in a million bands out there, but we are not one in a million '60s bands. There aren't many people who are gonna write in our style, or the words that we write – so that takes us a little bit out of the crowd,” he says.

Guitarist-saxophonist Steve Blevins agrees. He replaced original founder John Dale, who retired last fall, after the initial reunion activities. “In a way, it's a good time for this sort of band,” Blevins observes. “People can look at it ['60s music] again, see it in a different perspective, or be nostalgic about it, if they like. We're getting a lot of response from younger kids, too.”

There were numerous signs of that phenemonon on this particular night, which unfolded to a packed crowd stretched as far as the eye could see in the curved, bowl-like area of the Bandshell.

At certain points -- such as during "Rock 'N' Roll With Me" -- an all-ages conga line broke out, with no other agenda beyond surrendering to the beat, and losing themselves in the sound as they clapped their enthusiasm aloud.


“What We Been Waiting For?”
Once they separated, the Sixth Generation's members kept music in their lives to varying degrees. Davies, who still lives in Niles, would periodically take out the bass – minus the amplifier that he didn't have anymore – to see what kinds of sounds he wanted to make.

Bachman – who grew up in Niles, the home of yet another '60s favorite son, in Tommy James – manage to blend music and teaching without missing the proverbial beat. “In fact, always played the guitar for the kids,” he recalls, laughing. “We had our own songs that we wrote. Music's always been a part of my life. It's in me. I can't not do this.”

Even so, nobody could have seen reforming on the back of a conversation between Davies and Walenga.

“Dave and I kept close over the years, because he still had family in Niles, and he was there fairly often,” Davies recalls. “One day, we were shooting the breeze about the good old days, and my daughter said: 'Well, why don't you guys get the band back together?' Whoever heard of such a thing?”

Once the word went out, nobody waited to answer the call. “I said, 'What we been waiting for?' Literally, that was the first words out of my mouth,” Hamrick says. “All of us, to the man, were in it all the way.”

Bachman looked forward to finding a new creative outlet – having written numerous songs over the years, “and sending them to different people,” he recalls. “I had a decent amount of attention, but never got a hit to anybody that was able to do it.”

“That's the thing that I'm actually having the most fun with, discovering that I'm a songwriter,” agrees Hulce, who has already co-written five tunes with Bachman. “I'd always noodled around on the piano. Part of that is just that the technology is so much better now. If I get an idea, I can just hit a button on the synthesizer, and it's not lost. Back in the day, we were hauling around a 450-pound Hammond organ.”


“Still – There Was Something There”
Since their return, the Sixth Generation have gotten plenty of reminders – as if they needed them – that other people are interested, too. For this particular night – which closed out St. Joseph Today's summer concert series – a circle of longtime fans made the trip out from Marcellus, and Niles.

Another sign came at the first full band rehearsal, in South Bend, as Davies remembers. “Nobody was supposed to be there, 'cause it was our first time getting together – there were about 25 people!” he laughs. “I don't know how they found out about it, but they were there. They said, 'Well, you guys are not bad...' Obviously, it was rusty, but still – there was something there.”

Blevins joined after reading a Craigslist ad entitled, “'60s Music,” and figured his ship had finally come in. Four years ago, Blevins moved from New York to Maryland, but had only played in three bands. “I wrote and said, 'I think the '60s was the most creative decade in pop music.' They were inventing it as they went along, really,” he says.

The first rehearsals with Hamrick and Walenga proved “a little frightening, because I stood out a lot more, and made a hell a lot of mistakes,” Blevins smiles. “But we practiced in Ron's house, in Virginia, and they said, 'Yeah, why don't you come back?' I said, 'What?' I wasn't expecting that.”

After a few full band rehearsals, Blevins felt surer about his contributions, and the potential that lies ahead. “They're some of the best musicians I've ever played with, maybe the best, as a group,” Blevins declares. “The original tunes that I've heard are damn good. Ron, Dave, J.J. and Fred Hulce are writing all the time. I'm hoping that I can get a tune or two of mine in. We'll see how it goes.”


“This Is A Golden Opportunity”
Walenga, who's focused himself until now on packing away the remains of his drumkit, stops to interject with a joke: “I don't know if he told you about the practices, but they're insane! We'll start at 10 in the morning, and get done by six o'clock at night.”

Blevins returns the punchline. “That's one that bugs me – these guys like to get up real early: 'What the hell is this?'” he laughs.

“Dave and I are up in the morning,” Hamrick nods. “We're probably texting by seven, seven-thirty in the morning – [having] had five cups of coffee by then.”

“People hate morning people, because we're just as good at night as in the morning,” Walenga jokes. “We just keep on a roll, we're like the Energizer bunnies.”

As far as what happens next, nobody's getting into the Muhammad Ali-style prediction business tonight – but, suffice to say, the creative energy has been buzzing sufficiently to generate material for a second CD. What started as a chance to reignite the old camaraderie has grown into a determination not to rest on any laurels – why think about coasting now, when there's so many more worlds left to conquer?

By Walenga's reckoning, the band hadn't even seen St. Joseph's confines in almost 45 years, after faring well in a “Battle Of The Bands” competition at the old Shadowland Ballroom – which now lives and breathes again, only a stone's throw from Silver Beach County Park, in an impressively refurbished white building of its own.

Obviously, with band members living in two major regions, some logistical compromises are necessary, but anything else is fair game, to Hamrick: “We want to take this thing as far as we can take it. I am a CEO of a corporation, so I have a lot of background in how to run a business. We are promoting ourselves everywhere we can.”

“Of course, we'd like to play to more and more people, have people enjoy our music,” Bachman agrees. “But, you know, money isn't the object. It never was. It was the people. Do we enjoy it? Are they enjoying it? That's as good as it gets, because the money means absolutely nothing.”

As far as Hulce is concerned, the strength of those long-standing ties helped the band pick up from where it last left off, so long ago – and why he's eager to see what happens next.

“We really came to conclude afterwards that we'd all been waiting for that phone call for 40 years,” he laughs.

“I think we all had pretty much the same idea: 'This is a golden opportunity we've been handed. Let's not squander it,'” Davies agrees. “Things haven't changed in 40 years...it's been very enjoyable.”

The Sixth Generation celebrated its new CD on October 13 with a release party at Orchard Hills Country Club, in Niles, MI. For further details (and future shows), visit: www.thesixthgeneration.com.

THE CHARITABLE VIEW
“OK, so Bernard and Peter won't exchange Christmas cards for awhile? I still hang my bass near my knees, just like Hooky did in 19-eighty-somethin', when I saw 'im at Par For The Course, or was it the Dog 'N' Duck? Eh, I just wanna hear the tyooons, man, the tunes...”

THE UNCHARITABLE VIEW
“God, he's still overdriving that Clone Pedal, twanging those high strings, dragging that back catalog on his back? He's charging...how much? He's gonna sing all the songs? He couldn't carry a tune in a basket! Eh, think I'll pass on this one...”}

Mind you, I'm only paraphrasing, but I suspect the above-named comments constitute a fair representation of the dueling thoughts on Peter Hook's latest venture – in this case, returning to America and playing Joy Division's second album (CLOSER) in its entirety, plus selected nuggets from the band's back catalog.

One person's nostalgia is someone els's golden opportunity. Gary “Mani” Mounfield evidently forgot this principle in abusing his Twitter account last fall to swear off hanging with “talentless nostalgia fuckwit whores” – such as one P. Hook, whom he accused of “dragging his mates cadaver round the world getting himself paid.”

In fairness, Mani eventually apologized, but even those testy pronouncements didn't prevent him from rejoining his former cohorts, the Stone Roses, for a series of shows that should presumably pay a bit more than minimum wage. The moral of the story? Never believe what musicians say publicly, because business is business, and rock 'n' roll has no pension plan.

Going into this gig, however, I had few qualms. Hook was one-quarter of Joy Division, so he has as much right to play those songs as anyone (including old cohorts Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris, whose latest band, Bad Lieutenant, also played Joy Division and New Order songs live). I mainly wondered...how's he going to pull off the vocal bit, since he's not exactly known for that sort of thing?

The answer came quickly, after the surprise opening blast of “Incubation,” a rare Joy Division instrumental – followed by the darker pastures of “Dead Souls,” where Hook effectively channeled Ian Curtis's angry-young-man-vocal persona. This trend held up well through a pair of obscure Warsaw nuggets (“Autosuggestion,” “From Safety To Where?”), and the CLOSER set, where drummer Tom Kehoe really came to the fore – surging across the tom-toms during “Atrocity Exhibition,” cracking the snare for “Isolation,” and deftly steering the churning tempo changes in “24 Hours.”

Hook and his bass-playing son, Jack Bates, meshed well together as a duo – it was impossible to tell where one began and the other left off (even if dear old Dad doesn't sing and play at the same time – which strikes some observers as annoying, but is charming to me, having dealt with the issue as a novice low-ender). Keyboardist Andy Poole fought to be heard at times, but stuck all the atmospheric flourishes in all the right places (notably on “The Eternal,” one of my favorite later-era Joy Division songs). Guitarist Nat Watson channeled his inner Sumner on “Colony” and “Disorder,” which bristled with a ferocity only hinted on their original recorded incarnations.

As promised, former Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan came out to lend his trademark nasal sneer for powerful surges through “Transmission,” and “Love Will Tear Us Apart”; had the night ended there, the crowd would have gone home with a smile. However, Hook and company trotted out for one more encore (“Atmosphere”/”Ceremony”), that closed the gig on a high note, since the latter song bridged the transition from Joy Division to New Order. (Hook couldn't resist poking fun at his colleagues on that score, telling Bates: “You'd better get your shit together, mate, or you might have to take that bass playing job in New Order.”)

While the band stuck to the recorded versions, they brought enough of their personalities to the proceedings – enabling songs like “Isolation,” “A Means To An End” and “Decades” to sound larger than life in this smallish setting. This wasn't some paint-by-numbers set, but one with enough nuance to make it memorable on its own terms. For the punters who plunked down their money, this night was about as close as they'll ever get to seeing the original Joy Division, whose 1980 American tour – as Hook reminded us – was due to begin in Chicago.

This night also marked the band's final American gig, which added an edge (as opposed to the “mushy middle” of a tour, when that sense of collective energy sometimes seems to flag). Where Hook and his crew go from here remains to be seen – even if that means eventually moving on from the past, since Joy Division's career was so brief. This lineup is definitely tight and proficient enough for the task, so we'll just have to see what they end up doing. (Hook has spoken of doing other album shows, such as New Order's first effort, MOVEMENT, which suffered from a half-baked Martin Hannett production; I'd like to hear what he does with that!)

On this night, however, everything seemed to fall together in the right place, but I couldn't leave without having the man sign my copy of Monaco's first CD – my favorite Hook side project, hands down – and his memoir of the Hacienda, HOW NOT TO RUN A CLUB. I couldn't help but tell him: “You know, I was involved in something like that – we made every fuckin' mistake that you guys did, and then some!” As you can imagine, we shared a good laugh about that one.

SET
Incubation/Dead Souls/Autosuggestion/From Safety To Where/The Atrocity Exhibition/Isolation/Passover/Colony/A Means To An End/HeartOn & Soul/The Eternal/24 Hours/Decades/Digital/Disorder/Shadowplay/Transmisson/Love Will Tear Us Apart/Atmosphere/Ceremony

This space will stay as a placeholder, so I can move content around more easily.