Our first venture into actually producing a song for sale is going quite well. If I can brag a little The Byrds Collective recording of My Back Pages is #1 in all Amazon search results (we assume this has a direct correlation to sales/reviews since it opened at the bottom of all lists). Anyway, that's our story and we're sticking to it.
My Back Pages is also now available on iTunes. Please, download a copy and/or write a review! The more we get of each one, the more the name gets promoted.
As for past, and future The Byrds Collective shows. Rusty's Surf Ranch crowd was very enthusiastic. We performed about 11 songs. At the end, an encore was requested (but due to time constraints, we were not able to comply... our sincerest apologies!).
On April 16th we performed at Hollywood's M Bar. This was a longer show in which every era of the Byrds music was touched upon. Dave brought out the B-Bender for You Ain't Goin' Nowhere. Always a crowd pleaser. The M Bar looked almost completely full and again, the crowd had a great time singing along with Turn! Turn! Turn! and screaming in the right places on So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star.
Upcoming shows are (details on the website under Shows):
The Rickenbacker Resource Forum MinCon (Garden Grove) - May 8
Rusty's Surf Ranch (Santa Monica Pier) - May 28
The Coach House (San Juan Capistrano) - May 30 (tickets available on our website)
Skinny's Lounge (North Hollywood) - June 16
Now personnel changes......
Stephen has decided to leave The Byrds Collective to pursue other projects. We wish him well. We have found a permanent replacement in the form of Dave Denk. Dave comes to us via the great state of Michigan, having only arrived in California recently. Dave fills the roll of Michael Clarke precisely having played Byrds music much of his life, in addition to other rock and jazz styles.
Dave was the first guy to audition (and trust me, there were many, many auditions) and we new after the first couple of songs he was the guy!.
So let me say welcome David Denk. Watch for his biography (I couldn't even begin to do it justice here) and new pictures of The Byrds Collective with our new drummer.
Pat
|
Well, there's been quite a few changes to our website and I'd like to take a minute to point them out.
First of all, we've added a Forums area. This is the one-stop place to discuss The Byrds Collective, and The Byrds. There are individual topics for discussing recordings and shows (both ours the the original Byrds) as well as topics for each member of the Byrds. If there are other topics you wish to see be added, please drop me a line and I will get them up as soon as I can. My email is pehayes2@thebyrdscollective.com or just use the Contact Us page to send me a message.
Second, we've added a Videos page and as you might guess, this is where we post videos of The Byrds Collective. Right now, we currently have most of our songs from the gig at The Cellar. But, much like Disney, we'll be taking some of them down and putting them in the vault. (You better go see them now while you have a chance!)
Third, we've partnered with Amazon.com to offer Byrds merchandise (it's in the Byrd Crap area). You can buy CDs, DVDs and books right from our site, and still be dealing with Amazon.com. You are dealing directly with them so you know everything is secure.
I hope you like the changes as it is our goal to be your portal for everything The Byrds Collective and The Byrds. Please let me know what you think of the updated site and any recommendations you might have.
Thanks for your support.
Pat (Fake Hillman) |
Eight Miles High. What an incredible song. Recorded in January, 1966, more than 44 years ago. Amazing thing is, it still sounds absolutely cutting edge today.
Me and 8MH go way back. One of my fondest memories is sitting in my girlfriend's black Corvette, racing up PCH on a sunny afternoon, 8MH blasting out of the stereo. That thundering bass from Hillman, those pounding jungle drums by Michael, those buzzsaw rhythm chops by Crosby, those crazed, atonal, Coltranesque 12-string licks spilling out of McGuinn's Rickenbacker as though it was wired straight into his brain... and over it all, hovering like a choir of dark angels, those eerie, unearthly smooth harmonies by Croz, McGuinn and Geno. To me it's the Byrds' finest moment as a band, all at once the clarion call announcing the dawn of the Psychedelic Age and its absolute zenith. And like I said before, it still sounds as vital and edgy today as on the day the Byrds put it on tape.
Mark Miraglia I first met via an ad in (what else?) Craig’s List a little over a year ago this week. After exchanging emails and phone calls, I drove out to his place in Burbank, bringing my acoustic 12 string with me. Mark and I hit it off right away— we shared not only this passion for the Byrds, but the Beatles as well, and Mark had played John Lennon in the acclaimed Backbeat—how cool was that? I really hadn’t seriously played music with anyone in nearly 20 years, so the first day we just sort of tried a few songs to see how we sounded together. When I came up with the idea of doing a Byrds tribute, I imagined myself in the McGuinn role, even though I’d sold my Rickenbacker 12 string 15 or so years ago. But as we sang together, swapping off lead parts, it became pretty obvious that Mark not only looked more like McGuinn, he sounded exactly like him too (naturally, not by any attempt to imitate him), and besides that he could play a beautiful blond Rickenbacker 369 in that odd hybrid McGuinn style of flatpicking mixed with fingerpicking, something I had no clue how to master. Also, I had a good ear for harmonies, and even though I don’t have nearly as good a voice as David Crosby did in his prime, I can “fake it” convincingly enough to get by.
So, with some reluctance, I told Mark he could be McGuinn and I’d be Croz. But I made one caveat: “When it comes time to do 8 Miles High, I wanna take a crack at the solo.” Mark graciously agreed. And a few months went by, and before long, the duo became a quartet, then a quintet, and then a Collective.
As we worked through the song list, it became obvious we needed to start working on 8MH. Now the flopsweat began. I’d extracted this promise from Mark to let me try the solo, but the truth was, I had no idea how to play it. I’d always been a rhythm guitarist or bassist in all the bands I’d played with in my wild youth. So for the first time in my life, I started taking guitar lessons. My daughter Arianna was already taking lessons from a great guy named Craig Beck in Newhall, so I signed on for an extra half hour after her lesson. And the first thing I told him was, “I need to learn how to play the solo on Eight Miles High.” He took a listen, raised an eyebrow (he’s rather Spock-like, Craig is), and said, “we’ve got our work cut out for us.” He had some fabulous recording gear that allowed him to slow the song down to half speed so we could zero in on the notes. Trouble was, at half-speed McGuinn still sounded like he was playing on fast forward!
At least I scored one coup: I got my old Rickenbacker 12-string back! Back in the early 90s, I'd sold it to my friend Peter, who lives in New York City and hangs out in a sort of "salon circle" with my gorgeous, accomplished and semi-famous younger twin sisters, Jayne and Joan Michaels (just google their names, you'll see what I mean). Anyway, Pete agreed to take a Fender 12-string in swap for my fireglo Ricky 360, and in January I picked it up in NY and flew home with it. Sweet!
Long story short, it’s taken months of hard work, and Craig’s been incredibly patient, and I’ve finally gotten to the point where I can kinda sorta do the song justice. Just how well, you’ll soon be able to judge yourself: We’re putting the finishing touches on our version of 8MH and will post it soon.
I can’t thank Mark and the rest of my bandmates enough for giving this old dog a chance to live out his fantasy of playing the solo from one of the greatest songs ever, and for being so patient with me as I’ve worked through the process. For me, at least, it’s been well worth all the wait and effort. Every time we play it, I’m back in that black Corvette, beautiful girl at my side, racing up PCH, and everything’s right with the world…
Dave “Fake Croz” Michaels 2/19/2010
|
