SUNNY DAYS: THE SKIP PROKOP STORY (PART 7 by Jaimie Vernon

Skip Prokop and his band The Paupers were on their way to the ‘big game’ when they had two back-to-back blows. Their appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival in the summer of 1967 was an unmitigated disaster and the band’s long-time Canadian manager, Bernie Finkelstein, left the group in the hands of U.S. Uber-manager Albert Grossman. Grossman wasn’t going to let these setbacks slow the band down. In fact, he had the guys become surrogate backing musicians for several artists in his illustrious music stable. This would prove to be the undoing of The Paupers as Skip found himself attracted to working with big name acts:

Pat Blythe – The Blues and Jazz Brothers….instruments….and music….

Trying to touch on as many things as possible without boring you or losing everyone’s attention is challenging. Hitting the highlights, giving you a flavour without overloading everyone on the nitty gritty details is what I’m aiming for. There are musicians, the instruments that intermingle across all the genres and the endless music…. I am finding it fascinating to learn about how both blues and jazz evolved through the years. Every facet of music today has been touched and influenced by these two genres without many young musicians even realizing it. They don’t realize how lucky they are!

DOUG THOMPSON – RISING TO THE TOP AT MOTOWN

Sometimes meeting your heroes can be very disappointing.  They could just be having a bad day or had a fight with their significant other or their manager, or recently received bad news about a pet project…or as is sometimes the case, they could just be an asshole.

On the other hand, some heroes exceed your expectations and then some.

Frank Gutch Jr: They Shoulda Been Contenders… And, Per Usual, Notes…

Funny.  We always remember the stars, the champions, and we always place them at the head of the class even if they were no more than a part of one.  This last weekend I spent an inordinate amount of time pondering what the music world would have been like if, say, Led Zeppelin had not become gods to so many and Hendrix and Clapton and Beck had not headed the infamous “best guitarists” lists outfits like Rolling Stone Magazine always roll out when they have nothing else to capture readers’ attentions (seriously, how do you compare Tommy Emmanuel, Eric Clapton, Christopher Parkening, and Phil Keaggy— all exceptional guitarists, all deserving of attention from most who really love the instrument and yet living in completely different worlds.

Pat Blythe: The Women of Rock – Part 3

March 2 was the 10th anniversary of Hunter S. Thompson’s death and a picture of one of his quotes was making the rounds in Facebook. I found the subject matter rather timely! Many of us will find both the truth and the irony in what he had to say.

Pat Blythe: Women of Rock – Part 1

The impetus, for what has now become a series, was my discovery of an old vinyl record by Maggie Bell. I came across it going through one of my many purge cycles. Suicide Sal, released in 1975, was my introduction to the blues….I just didn’t know it then. I wasn’t in the habit of labeling types of music in my younger years, I just knew what I liked. Greg Simpson, who happened to be managing the now defunct Records on Wheels in London, Ontario, recommended the album, thinking I might like it. I loved it and still do. Thank you Greg!

Roxanne Tellier – Popping the Top off Covers

Music’s a funny thing; sometimes a song will hide in the grooves of an album, unloved and unwanted, until someone uncovers the gem and makes it their own. A struggling songwriter may dream of the day that a megastar covers their work; in the right hands, a number one hit can make the writer a fortune in publishing.

JAIMIE VERNON – NINE LIVES

I find myself at the front end of yet another re-invention of myself. When last I spoke of my day job I was driving automobiles for a subcontractor to one of Canada’s only two railroads. It wasn’t CN. The job nearly killed me. It was so labour intensive and the hours were so long that I actually don’t remember getting to or from work some days.

Doug Thompson: THE BEATLES: FROM CANADA WITH LOVE!

Usually, any 50^th anniversary is a cause for celebration.  But the 50^th anniversary of The Beatles first appearance on the Ed Sullivan TV Show in New York was especially fun.  And if you’re not tired of all The Beatles coverage, here’s a little more for you to digest.  As most of the world knows by now, these four Liverpool lads – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – along with manager Brian Epstein and record producer George Martin, revolutionized music, fashion and merchandising from 1964 through to the end of the decade.  And Canada played a major part in much of it.

JAIMIE VERNON – HOPE I DIE BEFORE I GET OLD

Never ones to let a good trend pass by without hopping on board, Rock and Roll decided this week to join the zombie apocalypse. The Rolling Stones announced the first of several gigs marking their 50^th anniversary together (at $2,000 a seat for prime viewing at the London “O”). Rush, now celebrating their 40^th in its current incarnation, was nominated for a chance to become a tourist attraction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Oh, and Chuck Berry – the undisputed Father of Rock and Roll turned….86.