EC's story about Levon being on his "Spectacle" show and interacting w/ him via drum fills was great -- i remember watching that episode and not realizing that they were doing it that way because LH had lost his voice
― lathe darkman (some dude), Friday, 20 April 2012 15:42 (twelve years ago) link
need to see that episode!
― tylerw, Friday, 20 April 2012 15:43 (twelve years ago) link
i kinda hate to admit this but i've never been super into The Band partly because Levon is the only member who i actually like as a vocalist
Wow, really? I think all three of the guys are great, especially Danko.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 20 April 2012 15:49 (twelve years ago) link
i find Manuel's voice really hard to take, the other guys are OK but Helm is the only one where i'm actually excited to hear his voice
― lathe darkman (some dude), Friday, 20 April 2012 16:07 (twelve years ago) link
no wait i'm getting them mixed up, is Danko the one that sings "Stage Fright"? that's the song that flashes into my mind as the #1 example of Band vox i do not like
― lathe darkman (some dude), Friday, 20 April 2012 16:08 (twelve years ago) link
danko sings stage fright -- kind of know what you mena, there's something cartoony about the way he delivers that one. but damn, danko has some amazing vocals. unfaithful servant!
― tylerw, Friday, 20 April 2012 16:18 (twelve years ago) link
"Makes No Difference!"
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 20 April 2012 16:23 (twelve years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyXOjiVhH5Usubtract ray lamontughhhh from this and it's great.
― tylerw, Friday, 20 April 2012 16:24 (twelve years ago) link
Nick's voice has gotten scratchy too.
― pplains, Friday, 20 April 2012 16:39 (twelve years ago) link
ha yeah. toussaint remains as smooooooth as ever. he is so good.
― tylerw, Friday, 20 April 2012 16:40 (twelve years ago) link
This is free of LaMontaigne residue:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USFEZ_aMw74
― Waterloo? Oh, we've sunsetted that. (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 20 April 2012 17:14 (twelve years ago) link
OK, that EC remembrance was pretty well done.
― i just believe in memes (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 20 April 2012 20:37 (twelve years ago) link
His drumming on "Revolution Blues" is so killer, perfectly echos the menace in the song.
WTF?! had no idea that was him
― heavy is the head that eats the crayons (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 20 April 2012 20:41 (twelve years ago) link
yeah he's drumming on "See the sky about to rain" too.
― tylerw, Friday, 20 April 2012 20:44 (twelve years ago) link
& then there's this still-unreleased, unbootlegged tune described in Shakey"Separate Ways" - "the song begins in the middle of a doomy chord; Tim Mulligan lunged for the record button just as Young and the band dove into the song. Levon Helm rattles out a slow counterpoint as Ben Keith spins up a stark, bird-on-the-wire steel solo that has to be one of the lonesomest sounds ever recorded. "I won't apologize/The light shone in from your eyes/It isn't gone/And it will soon come back again," sings Young, sounding dead."
― tylerw, Friday, 20 April 2012 20:46 (twelve years ago) link
ha I forgot that I think. so many things rapturously described in Shakey that I've never heard.
― heavy is the head that eats the crayons (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 20 April 2012 20:51 (twelve years ago) link
Alright Neil, as a public service, we demand that you make available any and all recordings with Levon Helm. Thanks.
― grandavis, Friday, 20 April 2012 21:19 (twelve years ago) link
yes
― tylerw, Friday, 20 April 2012 21:20 (twelve years ago) link
I'm still stuck (from one of the Helm quotes way upthread) on the idea of kickin' it with him, Fagen and Dourif in Woodstock.
― aluminum rivets must not be proud of their plastic bosses (Jon Lewis), Saturday, 21 April 2012 00:56 (twelve years ago) link
has anyone Donald Fagan ever been described before as being a "free lunch"?
― pplains, Saturday, 21 April 2012 01:44 (twelve years ago) link
love it when i write two sentences at once.
― pplains, Saturday, 21 April 2012 01:51 (twelve years ago) link
haha i was gonna say
― some dude, Saturday, 21 April 2012 01:52 (twelve years ago) link
i can't get over this right now :(
― aboulia banks (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 21 April 2012 05:59 (twelve years ago) link
bar I work in town here has been on a near 100 percent Band kick this week. work's been great
― bear, bear, bear, Saturday, 21 April 2012 10:40 (twelve years ago) link
from here:
Left with few options, but looking to avoid service in the Vietnam War, James [Ambrose Johnson, aka Rick James] enlisted in the Naval Reserves, the requirement being that he report for training two weekends a month However, with his growing popularity as musician with the doo-wop singing group The Duprees and, subsequently, the revelry it brought into his life, he missed his reporting dates. Soon, he received a notice in the mail that he was to report for active duty. He went to the bus station, then made the decision to go to Canada, instead.In Canada, and in uniform, James was saved from a violent altercation by two passersby (Garth Hudson and Levon Helm, who would eventually be members of legendary rock group The Band). The guys took Johnson to a bar, and, in an act of characteristic gusto, Johnson sung vocals with the house band.
In Canada, and in uniform, James was saved from a violent altercation by two passersby (Garth Hudson and Levon Helm, who would eventually be members of legendary rock group The Band). The guys took Johnson to a bar, and, in an act of characteristic gusto, Johnson sung vocals with the house band.
(the "violent altercation" was an attack by a gang of racist thugs; Hudson and Helm swiftly dispatched of them)
― Waterloo? Oh, we've sunsetted that. (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, 21 April 2012 12:13 (twelve years ago) link
Up On Super Freak
― pplains, Saturday, 21 April 2012 17:36 (twelve years ago) link
― Waterloo? Oh, we've sunsetted that. (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, April 21, 2012 7:13 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
i'm imaging a scene out of a hong kong martial arts film where just as james is cornered by the racist thugs, hudson and helm leap down from the trees and administer sharp and powerful kicks to the thugs in quick succession, then wipe their hands in an "all done" gesture.
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Saturday, 21 April 2012 17:41 (twelve years ago) link
Full-length '07 interview here, w link to '93 interview, and the right rail links NPR's whole Helm/Band archive (or at least several things, incl performances)http://www.npr.org/2012/04/20/150886425/levon-helm-the-2007-fresh-air-interview
― dow, Saturday, 21 April 2012 20:12 (twelve years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vHQr3gAyLU&
― pplains, Sunday, 22 April 2012 03:18 (twelve years ago) link
whoa, just saw thishttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SQqOQOnes7w/T5LTZvm6zLI/AAAAAAAAB0c/08b8mnr0FuM/s512/LEVON%2520%2526%2520THE%2520HAWKS%2520-%2520Port%2520Dover%25201964%2520-%25200F.jpgdownload over yonder: http://www.guitars101.com/forums/f90/levon-and-the-hawks-1964-00-00-port-dover-139159.htmldidn't know there were any of these full shows circulating! Contains one of The Hawks' Sunday night shows at Pop Ivy's Ballroom in Port Dover, Ontario, Canada, 1964. They used to play regularly at Pop Ivy's after the split from Ronnie Hawkins, with Jerry Penfound as the sixth member on sax and flute. Taken from a 2-track tape recording that seems to have circulated among die-hard collectors for many years. The tape is described in detail in Levon Helm's autobiography. Several of the songs on the tape are cut.
― tylerw, Wednesday, 25 April 2012 20:52 (twelve years ago) link
listening now, this is pretty rad. sound is a little bit iffy, but pretty good all things considered. they do "peter gunn"!
― tylerw, Wednesday, 25 April 2012 22:23 (twelve years ago) link
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Thursday, 26 April 2012 01:10 (twelve years ago) link
it's pretty great! levon suggesting that the crowd help themselves to the free corn. crazy that in a year they'd be playing stadiums with dylan.
― tylerw, Thursday, 26 April 2012 01:33 (twelve years ago) link
I would take chances on seeing more bands I've never heard of live if more clubs served free corn.
― Three Word Username, Thursday, 26 April 2012 06:14 (twelve years ago) link
Cosigned
― l0u1s j0rdan (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 26 April 2012 13:52 (twelve years ago) link
"Corn? I don't remember corn."
― Stars on 45 Fell on Alabama (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 26 April 2012 14:23 (twelve years ago) link
sounds like Levon is due to be buried next to Danko in Woodstock.
― tylerw, Thursday, 26 April 2012 14:23 (twelve years ago) link
http://bassmusicianmagazine.com/2012/04/how-to-danko-a-lesson-in-the-style-of-rick-danko-by-rob-collier/
― Stars on 45 Fell on Alabama (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 26 April 2012 14:52 (twelve years ago) link
By the busload, hundreds of friends and fans of Levon Helm traveled to his home Thursday to say goodbye to the influential singer and drummer for The Band, who died of cancer last week.
The public memorial was held at the Woodstock barn where Helm held his Saturday night Midnight Ramble concerts in New York's Hudson Valley. His closed casket was surrounded by flowers and flanked by his drum kit and a piano.
Friends, neighbors and fans filed silently past the coffin, which was on the second floor of the barn and set against a backdrop of a family photo slideshow. Nearby, family members greeted visitors.
― pplains, Thursday, 26 April 2012 16:12 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.stripers247.com/phpBB2/images/smilies/icon_salute2.gif
Arkansas flags to fly at half-staff for Levon Helm
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe has ordered that flags fly at half-staff on Friday to honor Arkansas native Levon Helm, who died last week.
Helm, who grew up in Turkey Scratch, attained worldwide fame as a member of The Band. He died last week after battling throat cancer.
The governor issued a proclamation honoring Helm. Beebe called Helm "an enormously talented performer and gifted musician whose Arkansas roots can be heard and felt in his voice and in his music."
Helm is widely known for songs he sang with The Band, including "The Weight" and "Up on Cripple Creek."
A public memorial was held Thursday in Woodstock, N.Y., where Helm lived until his death.
― pplains, Thursday, 26 April 2012 17:58 (twelve years ago) link
I'd give everything to have come from a place called Turkey Scratch.
― One Way Ticket on the 1277 Express (Bill Magill), Thursday, 26 April 2012 18:44 (twelve years ago) link
you could move there, give your kids the opportunity you never had
― Number None, Thursday, 26 April 2012 18:45 (twelve years ago) link
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/15245252.jpg
― tylerw, Thursday, 26 April 2012 18:45 (twelve years ago) link
Small town.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 26 April 2012 18:55 (twelve years ago) link
also for some reason i always find it way more impressive when awesome drummers can sing at the same time than when ppl that play other instruments sing at the same time, though i guess i don't know why i think that's different
― Mississippi Butt Hurt (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, April 17, 2012 5:51 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
it totally is imo, just because you use so much more of your body and especially upper body playing a drum set than most other instruments, also requires i think a little more breath control or consciousness of moving around or away from the mic.
― some former lust object you've shamefully forgotten (some dude), Wednesday, April 18, 2012 2:11 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
also really notable imo is the ease & joy with which he pulls this off, so elastic & graceful
listening to cbc the sunday edition at midnight last sunday in a cottage, michael enright gave a brief eulogy to helm & played "the hold." one of my earliest musical memories is of my father playing that song, & i have so many wonderful moments & memories of hearing it since, i almost burst into tears right there
― flopson, Thursday, 26 April 2012 19:03 (twelve years ago) link
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/pplains/12-9.jpg
― pplains, Friday, 27 April 2012 18:35 (twelve years ago) link
I think Ai Lien scoped you taking that shot today, pp. She wondered what you were up to.
― andrew m., Friday, 27 April 2012 20:17 (twelve years ago) link
She didn't catch me walking on the grass, did she?
Could've been windier.
http://distilleryimage8.instagram.com/fe8e00da908d11e1a39b1231381b7ba1_7.jpg
― pplains, Friday, 27 April 2012 20:22 (twelve years ago) link
Remembrance from Donald Fagen
LEVON HELM: 1940 - 2012
During the last few years, whenever possible, I've played in the rhythm section of Levon Helm's band at his house/blues-joint up in Woodstock, N.Y. I was literally grandfathered in: Levon's daughter Amy, who has two boys herself, is also daughter to my wife, Libby. Amy, a terrific singer, has been central to the Midnight Ramble since it's inception.
On those Saturday nights, I had a great sightline over to Levon, straight across the top of the Steinway. When he was into his groove, with that left shoulder pulled down, wailing into the boom mic on his right, I couldn't take my eyes off him. I couldn't figure out how he could keep that thuddy, cycling pulse so even, making every fill and roll, and yet sing so well at the same time. He made all those machines - the sticks, the skins, the pedals, the cymbals, even the microphone - into living extensions of his own body. Without ever sounding mechanical, he always put the downbeat in that sweet spot. Locking in with Levon was the easiest gig I've ever had.
Towards the end, before each show, he was trying everything possible - inhalers. steam and whatever - to get his damaged larynx loose enough to sing a few tunes so as not to disappoint the folks. The fact is, when he walked out on stage and sat down at the kit, his percussive excellence and iconic presence were more than enough to satisfy most all the paying customers. His family, his old bandmates Robbie and Garth, the Ramble band and crew and several generations of fans around the world - we're all missing him.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 1 May 2012 19:33 (twelve years ago) link
god it's beautiful to have a wordsmith like fagen describe helm so perfectly
― Neil Young’s social media channels (some dude), Tuesday, 1 May 2012 19:37 (twelve years ago) link