Dave On Rock

One of my favorite Gary Moore eras, which un-coincidentally happened to be his last as well was the period of 1987′s Wild Frontier
As you may or may not know, the CD’s and DVD’s that I sent to Neil Carter, were used by him and Gary in their rehearsals for the 2010 Celtic rock tour.
As you can imagine my joy from hearing that and my enthusiasm and interview with Neil Carter about that period which occurred prior to them getting back together.
So in my whole life practically as a GM fan to find all this out was a huge mitzvah as they say..
So many things have occurred in my life which feels so short at times and other times like it has gone on forever..
That I am fans of certain guitarists and that my life becomes connected with them in various ways has been a blessing in many ways.
It’s the positive side of fandom if you will, not to worship these players as idols, but as fellow human beings that we share a love for guitar playing and music together.
I have met Yngwie Malmsteen in 2005 and just last year finally got to meet one of my all time guitar heroes, Steve Stevens.
So for an old guy like me at 57, I know some say it’s not that old, but it is trust me, to have all these connections is deeply satisfying.
It is the bootlegs from the Wild Frontier tour that really show the incredible talent of Gary and that band that was meant to be.
For me starting out it was Jimi Hendrix whom I collected every LP record bootleg available back then and heard the whole shows, warts and all to get a real appreciation for the talent of the artist.
I have been doing this since I was like 9 years old or so.
I may not be able to play like these people but I absorb so much from watching and listening to them.
This process never ends fortunately..sure the antenna get rusty every so often, but every now and then the picture becomes crystal clear.
I believe that the tones Gary was getting on that tour were some of his best ever. Not many guys could play this stuff like Gary.
With his high action and heavy strings in regular tuning, that is a strong component of how heavy his sound was.
Plus he was able to utilize somewhat primitive rack technology compared to todays setups, but still a combination of rack effects and pedals, albeit in rack trays these days, this has been on a comeback.
Gary was always on the cutting edge in his day trying out new gear and not afraid to experiment.
The Wild Frontier tone as I call it is the culmination of sound he had been developing since 1983 onwards both with the amps setups and his playing, able to successfully play extremely loud and yet mute all the unused strings, plus developing that incredible right hand, which Gary later stated being left handed, he felt that his right hand was the weaker of the two as far as intricate picking..I didn’t feel that way though.
All the greats I have seen and there have been many, including Jeff Beck, they have developed the knack of playing extremely loud guitar live with no extraneous noises.
This may well be the toughest skill set to acquire and to me always shows the ‘hand’ pardon the expression of the old school seasoned player.
The chorus/echo, digital delay, Dimension D, Tubescreamer, volume pedal all these in combination with the extremely powerful yet magically musical EMG pickups through the top mounted Original Floyd Rose tremolos and the magic of the San Dimas era Charvels combines to make an Irish pot of gold if you will.
The video of the Isstadion Stockholm show that April day will live on in recorded memory forever.
The versions are all very good in that set, Neil Carter says that on Thunder Rising in particular for him, Gary’s guitar had a sound that he thought almost otherworldly.
Gary Moore was the real deal and as Greg Lake said and he would know, grasping Gary from virtual obscurity to join his band, recognizing his immense talent.
Here is what he said in an interview:
NICK DERISO: Later, you established a terrific collaborative relationship with Gary Moore through a pair of solo albums in the early 1980s. What was it like to work with a more overtly blues-based guitarist?
GREG LAKE: It was a strange time, because when ELP sort of retired, or semiretired, we didn’t really break up, we just stopped playing – just because we wanted to do other things. Just get away from being ELP, really. But for a while I felt awfully dislocated. For the last decade, the only musical identity I had was ELP and, all of a sudden, it stopped. For a while, I was just sort of spun. I really had no sense of direction, because I had every freedom in the world and yet all of musical fabric had been stripped immediately by the band not being there anymore. So it was a question of doing something different. I started to work with all kinds of people. I worked with Toto for a while. When we finally did get together in the same band, I learned a lot about Gary. He’s not really blues. He played the blues, but he chose that as a career. In truth, the spirit of Gary Moore is Irish. That was not the music he played professionally. But when you hear him play sort of an Irish jig or a ballad, it would break your heart.
That is true I have written often on my blog Daveonrock about Celtic music and read a great deal of books on the subject while I was attending community college in Pennsylvania for my nursing degree and I was fascinated by the stories and the pure heart of the music.
This is ancient music, yet it springs to life each time it is played by generation after generation.
Both Phil Lynott, who was a great poet and storyteller as well and Gary Moore shared a love for Ireland’s rich musical heritage and it was reflected strongly in their joint compositions.
Unfortunately Phil’s candle had burnt brightly at first but eventually at both ends so his was a slow fade with Gary and himself being somewhat on the outs.
Make no mistake his death hit Gary very hard, Gary has always worn his heart on his sleeve, telling all there is to know in the lyrics and melodies of his songs. This is for some reason contributory to how he is so often misunderstood by the music business and often the press and even his fans to some extent.
With Gary as is the case of most of the artists I am drawn to, they are performing this musical adventure clearly without a net or any semblance of safety or self-preservation.
The late Tommy Bolin, whose exotic blend of influences and styles I greatly admired is a prime example of a talent burning so brightly yet the very creative drive that sparked him on also lit the fuse on the time bomb that was his brief life.
That Gary carried a heavy heart and much sadness after 1986 is well documented.
I feel that he successfully carried the torch that Phillip had lit and with great honor and passion.
To finally succumb to the dulling effect of alcohol and ill health was a tragedy that needed to be avoided, yet it appears that all around him knew, yet the ships course was set for the rocky shore.
I feel that the events after Gary’s death were predictable as far as the incredibly lame and pathetic coverage of his varied life and in a way the prejudicial way in which he was judged in life, so in death.
I am not surprised in the least sadly and this is why I reached out to Gary in life many years ago to try and tell his story, to get people to finally understand.
It wasn’t to be and with the tremendous joy and excitement surrounding the 2010 tour where Gary was finally coming full circle again and playing the music he truly loved, this also brought him squarely back into that 1986 period of Phil’s passing.
Having seen another fellow colleague stricken down, Rory Gallagher, this also affected Gary greatly.
Yes Gary did a BBC radio show in celebration of Rory’s life and he was a pallbearer at Rory’s funeral.
Gary was carrying the weight of that coffin inside him as all the bright lights of Irish music were slowly extinguished for good.
Gary’s foray into the world of blues, secondary to a suggestion by his longtime bassist Bob Daisley, that he try his hand at blues music was met with his greatest ever commercial success.
Gary admitted that the live rehearsals for the first album saw the music and the band in it’s purest form, before it was diluted into a show almost as big as his earlier rock efforts.
That Gary Moore played the blues the way Gary Moore should and needed to, there was never any doubt in my mind.
That the era seemed to drag on and on, frankly as a fan fair weather or not even I was growing weary of the seemingly endless progression of blues albums.
Gary was clearly enjoying himself for the most part and rediscovering his great ability at singing and song crafting.
Nobody paid more respect to the blues gods that Gary brought to the stage and recording studio.
It greatly saddens me, yet again I am not surprised by the reactions of a bitter old man, B.B.King, who great as he is/was for wasn’t the artist the other Kings and Collins were.
That he would take such offense to Gary’s tributes to him on stage, where he interpreted Gary’s call and response playing style as ‘cutting him up.’
It is my firm belief and I will never be dissuaded otherwise that Gary honestly had asked BB to play on After Hours and BB had wanted to do a whole CD with Gary. Gary had declined, yet BB went on tour with Gary and Gary even opened up for BB on BB’s farewell UK tour.
Yet still the acrimony towards Gary. Looking at all the autobiographical material put out by the Beale Street Blues Boy both during and after Gary’s life had ended..there is not one mention of a Gary Moore ever having crossed paths with him.
This of course is his choice, but I feel that it tells another story as well.
Gary’s exact words on the subject are: “BB King told me off. He used to say, hey Gary you got to stop cuttin’ me up! I was just so excited to be playing with him, that I was playing for him.”
And this is patently obvious to anyone who watches the video of the two songs they performed together on Gary’s video release Live Blues
Gary reverentially I would say treats BB during the Thrill is Gone.  Here we see Gary so successfully mimicking BB’s ‘hummingbird vibrato’ and all his melodic runs that it is clearly the work of a man inspired by his muse.
No head cutting is going on. Gary already has the winning boy’s hand, the mojo, his technique on the fabulous ex-Peter Green Les Paul is legendary.
Also the travesty that is Eric Clapton’s musical circus Crossroads, never was a hand of welcome extended to Gary Moore, who could out-Clapton Eric, even at the height of his former prowess. But Gary never looked at it that way.
Eric was his biggest influence besides, Peter Green. That Gary could magically play in both legendary guitarists styles, was another display of his keen ear and ability to absorb every nuance of style and tone and technique, a triple threat not achieved by anyone else to my ear, now or then.
Gary’s response to never being asked was so typical of him: “No he’s never asked me and I don’t think he will. I’m probably the only one he hasn’t asked. But listen, I love Eric’s playing, if it wasn’t for Eric, this world I live in wouldn’t exist.”
I know others laud Clapton’s efforts with his acoustic (what else,,lol) version of Still Got The Blues , I have maybe listened to like 15 seconds of it, so repugnant is it to me who loved Gary’s playing and music and what he clearly stood for.
The English magazine Guitarist had the best tribute out there and it was a collection of quotes by Gary from the various issues he had appeared in, gracing their cover more than any other artist fittingly.

Dave    03/19/2012

I am feeling a unique mixture of happy and sad lately, but I am highly encouraged that the Vintage Washburn website of which I am admittedly only a part, but a large contribution nonetheless has just slid over 200,000 views today.

I am on the brink I feel of a major breakthrough also in my published writing career as well. I can’t discuss the details at the moment, but I am very optimistic about future developments.

Here is the link which will not link for some reason very professional I know If you care the site is   www.vintagewashburn.com/Electrics/SteveStevens.html

Thanks all I am very proud and my friendship with Steve himself continues which means a lot to me!

Dave

Never before in my long life so far have I experienced such extreme highs and lows in my day to day life.

My budding career as a music journalist would really take off if I devoted myself to this as a sole career, but I am still hanging onto my career of 15 years as a cardiac intensive care registered nurse.

In all my years of meticulous research regarding the music and guitarists that I have been inspired by, I have found that my enthusiasm for these things is the main strength of my writing contribution and what many a reader picks up on and they read through long paragraphs of technical data because of that enthusiasm. This spark of creativity is what keeps me going.

In my short life so far, if one choses to look at it in that way, has been absolutely jam packed with occurrences that would undoubtedly qualify for a ‘bucket list’.

I can state that faith in ones existence, no matter how wretched it may seem at times and unfair, brings me to be humbled, yet there are so many good people and artists out there who are well worth the effort and provide inspiration from their work and effort.

I would like to state for the record here that there are music journalists who have greatly inspired me as well, chief amongst these would be the unfortunately deceased brilliant writer Charles Sharr Murray.

The first work of Charles that I read was the mega-awesome, to use the modern vernacular work entitled Crosstown Traffic.

This books chief inspiration and subject was the incredible Jimi Hendrix, but the book was about so much more than just Jimi.

When I first purchased it, primarily because it was about Jimi, I found it to be difficult to read.

Let me quantify that remark, at the time I was primarily reading magazines about guitars and racing cars, so my book reading attention span as it were was severely limited. Plus this is a tome that really makes one think deeply about the concepts involved. I had not been used to such a higher plane of music journalism, ect.

Years later re-reading this book gave me immense enjoyment. Not only were the concepts all relevant, but the book was so well crafted that I felt, my own emotionally based seat of the pants style journalism was completely amateurish in comparison  to Shaar Murray’s intricate thought portrayal.

This is a high bar to aim for, but in my life if I do not aim high, I miss the target altogether.

I am reminded of another tv and print journalist whom is no longer with us either, Kenneth Alsop.

He was a brilliant, dynamic tv journalist in England back in the sixties and seventies who also lived a life wracked by chronic pain secondary to a war injury as a pilot.

In a lot of ways the concepts I have been developing have been many years in formation, but just in the blink of an eye, all can become clear.

Since my diagnosis of the crippling disease psoriatic arthritis in 1997, I find myself back at the location where this was first diagnosed. Also I am working at the hospital where I was almost 15 years ago and I am still remembered by many staff who are still there.

This is both comforting and somewhat disturbing on a few levels!

Much like Jack Nicholson’s character in Stephen King’s “The Shining” I feel at home in the familiar corridors and units.

I even remarked as such when remembered. Like when Jack’s character image is in the portrait above the bar, it’s as if one never left and it was always predestined..

So many frankly horrible and scary things, primarily financial in nature have been closing in on my little family of my wife, three dogs and cat that I have been creatively numbed in many ways.

I as I seem to lurch from one mini-tragedy to another, I am reminded of how the locus of control again has again been taken from me.

When I entered my life as the new man shedding my skin as the old man, how free I felt, I didn’t have to worry about the big picture as I had given up my ‘control’ to one who knew me, knows my destiny and has always been by my side. Whether I am aware of it most times is still in question, I really feel that I need to get back to the strength of my convictions and my path will be some what less stone strewn.

Apologies for the seemingly rambling construction of this post, but in my writing I have become self aware in the past. The only time I am completely in control. No filter or conduit between my mind and the screen.

More anon, I know riveting isn’t it I promise much more cohesion in the future.

Thanks for listening.

Dave

It’s been one year on Monday since the death of Gary Moore. The whole situation still seems unreal to me and I can’t bring myself to believe that he is in fact no longer with us.

I feel that Gary was a man who was terribly misunderstood by the public. This may have been a result of his earlier interviews where he spoke his mind honestly and was accommodating to the press and then the process of taking out of context and such started.

Everything Gary Moore had to say was stated in his lyrics, there wasn’t huge room for individual interpretation.

The saddest thing to me as a longstanding fan and fellow human being is that Gary seems to have virtually disappeared off the face of the earth.

That he died and is remembered for moments in his career by fans who saw him seems to be his legacy.

For once I am lost for words as to what to say. Hopefully on the 6th, I will have something moore substantial to say.

Right now it’s just utter sadness.

Dave

My favorite Ferrari of all time the F40 turns 25 this year and suddenly they are all hip again, I was always faithful no other Ferrari has ever spun the tires in 3rd gear but this baby. Now the prices are going up
I have some killer scans of F40′s to come, but here are some mind blowing factoids. I know your bikes are awesome in the power/weight ratio but how about this..
The Ferrari F40 was the first production road car with a top speed of over 200 mph-just at 201 mph and it had a 0-60 time of 4.5 sec. thanks to official figures of 478 bhp that’s DIN as opposed to SAE, which was obtained at 7000 rpm.
Allied with 426 lb/ft of torque at 4000 rpm. Weighing a nimble 1104 kg it gives 433bhp per tonne (metric) that weight is in lbs. 2428.8 In comparison Ferrari’s current hotshot the Italia 458 weighs a portly 1485 kgs and gives 378bhp per tonne. That’s 3267 lbs. yngwie308: 500 lbs of that is electronic crap so that the driver doesn’t kill himself and crap his pants..!
The Ferrari’s light 1104 kg weight is about the same as a 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Touring. Ferrari quoted 478 bhp for the catalyst equipped F40 and we all know Italian horses are usually bigger than others. But with the early cars not fitted with paralytic converters, which were quoted at 486bhp, the power is actually nearer to 500bhp.This is why pre-cat cars are most desirable.They were built from 1987 to 1992 and all were left hand drive except 7 specially constructed for Brunei. The initial production was 300 examples, but demand was so prodigious that 1315 were actually produced (the most of any Ferrari supercar)
Testimonials:
“Every time I climb out of an F40 after a drive I feel exhilarated- and lucky too be alive” says experienced historic racing driver James Cottingham. “Each drive is a dramatic experience. The F40 is so thrilling and alert. The rush of power after 3750rpm – once the turbos have spooled up boost pressure – is totally addictive and intoxicating. That turbo kick has to be experienced to be believed, although the turbo lag takes takes a bit of getting used to and the power drops off at over 7000rpm, so extracting the maximum from this narrow powerband requires concentration.”
Although light and superbly balanced, the Ferrari F40 is not an easy car to drive really quickly. Sure, on a straight road, it is simple to shove the firmly sprung throttle pedal down as far as it will go, wait for the needle on the revcounter to break 3500rpm, and then hold on as the projectile goes ballistic. The clutch is heavy and the dogleg five speed manual gearbox is obstructive which, combined with turbo lag, makes the F40 hard work. But as with all fast vintage or older classic cars, give it time and learn it’s foibles and the Ferrari will reward.
Smooth inputs reveal astonishing levels of acceleration and road speed. This is enhanced by the ever-so-direct and sensitive steering, one of the cars best attributes. Once ignited, the whoosh and hiss of the twin turbos overlays the exhaust note (unless you have Tubi-style straight through system fitted (yes, please), and the lovely unencumbered steering has to be minutely adjusted to keep the lightweight F40 on your chosen course. The ride jiggles (all the best things do-yngwie308)but it will absorb rather than crash over road bumps, while the carbon fiber bodywork transmits every squeak, boom and rumble into the cockpit, along with a huge amount of road roar.
Yet this sensitivity communicates the road surface directly to your fingertips and the seat of your pants in a wonderfully tactile manner. dynamic timing makes every drive in an F40 an unforgettable experience, as does judging the braking distance accurately because closing speeds can be immense. But get everything right and you will come away feeling like you have tamed the Cavallino Rampante- and no motoring encounter is more vivid, exciting or satisfying!!
Whew, need a cigarette after that one!!
This is in a stock road going F40. Many owners improve the marginal Brembo brakes, fit higher performance turbos and intercoolers, the aforementioned Tubi exhaust, change out suspension members and dampers for the F40LM spec, I would fit the latest MichelinPilot Sport Cup tires, as on the 2012Corvette Z07- and have at it. The original 17 inch wheels, remember this was 1987, hold in a lot of heat so many savvy owners fit OZ and Japanese Enkei’s. The original brakes are non-servo assisted, so bigger calipers, changing pad material, with larger diameter wheels are the ticket. Purists will not change the car, but driving at 10/tenths, which almost none of them do at the current price of 400,000 British pounds for a decent example, will do. Thanks for reading this is why I have always loved the Ferrari F40 over any other as the combo of ultra lightweight, brute excessive power and huge force, yet incredible finesse to drive one right is the automotive equivalent of listening to Hendrix’s “Machine Gun”.

This is my absolute favorite the non-factory built F40 LM Le Mans, check out this HD video this is the F40 to drive, hell just a ride before I die, this would be my make a wish boys!

watch?v=WPcMCyUDViQ&feature=watch_response

Also the most beautiful with the deeper front spoiler, larger rear spoiler bigger wheels and tires. Notice the OZ rims.
This old video of Jacques Lafitte, ex Renault F1 driver, who actually owned a road going F40 back in the day.
This car is badly in need of a tune, but you get an idea of how bulky the gear box is and how the power comes in like a top fueler!!

watch?v=0YPabCzxMXM

watch?v=IXVcCOlsols

watch?v=m47x0kNTLjo&feature=related

watch?v=pRp_NKynITs&feature=related

watch?v=opRn9r4Ryig&feature=related

watch?v=vRGI1qRMoU8&feature=related

watch?v=s5l0ZP-vqC0

Yes they can crash.

watch?v=FYeUcEzr1Tg

watch?v=gWl45kvkxeM

Even the exhaust can be a beautiful thing.

watch?v=pOKdguuXl2g

This video uses the graphics from one of my early Need For Speed games, I recognized the track and layout having driven it many times, the old Ferrari would dust the 599 I’m sorry Ferrari!

watch?v=c5_HWxHMCB8

Some exciting things coming up. I have heard back from my mega hero Steve Stevens and he has offered to me backstage passes and free tickets to the Billy Idol show on October 16 at the Phoenix Fairgrounds.

So excited to meet Steve and Josie!!

My Gary Moore biography hasn’t really started yet, but is in my thoughts no doubt. I have been in some life changing occurrences lately and need to get on a solid rock to get back to my writing.

Thanks to my loyal readers, I love you guys, thanks

Dave

Financially this was an expense I could ill afford but just scraped it out on the eve of expiration, whew.

Well what a few months it has been, losing my job of ten and a half years, suffering a painful injury to my sternum, while safe at home and the usual assorted financial dramas and crises.

I haven’t worked as an RN since mid May, so I am attempting the per diem work I did in addition to my previous full time job before.

These events are not just isolated to me, as nationwide the madness continues. I had hoped to make a start in my work on the Gary Moore biography, but there is no way that will happen anytime soon.

Plus I can’t seem to get hold of the estate to find out if I can obtain authorization, as having that opens up the door for many moore to speak , as it were.

Young Jack Moore, Gary’s oldest son has gotten on stage with Joe Bonamassa and Deep Purple at The Royal Albert Hall, how cool is that. His vibrato is very close to his fathers!!

To those who have read my pages in the past, Thank You! I hope to be inspired for future writing endeavors soon.

God Bless All

Dave

MI, that seems to remind me of a certain Sex Pistols song, which is suprisingly appropos..   -
Anyway there had been hope that Virgin now sold to EMI would release the world famous Istadion, Stockholm show of April 25th 1987 filmed by NFL Films and one of the greatest live shows every captured on tape imo and suprise it will be out in May with extended versions of the Loner, up to 17 minutes and Rocking Every Night, which I could have done without, hoping for Gary’s amazing version of Shapes of Things, from the same show, but it is what is.
I’m sure Gary’s management has no control over the rights in this case.
We fans had been petioning on Facebook for a 25th Anniversary release next year before Gary’s untimely passing.
It had been hoped that the DVD format would allow the entire show and original setlist, plus perhaps interviews with the original bandmates, ect.
That would have been the ideal ultimate fans release, but I fear this is the start of knee jerk releases of Gary’s material without any real attention to detail or extras.
I am greatful for it’s release though as many new GM fans will be able to hear and see Gary at the absolute zenith of his Celtic rock era and his mastery of the Charvel Super Strat with his huge Marshall live set up and his Roland outboard gear.
I am having a German fan translate a long lost interview with the elusive Keith Page, who had been a guitar tech with Thin Lizzy and was Gary’s tech from the 1985-89 rock period. So far I have learned that a ST-10 Tubescreamer was used as a preamp first in line with a volume pedal, the start of a signal chain that included the Dimension D, the Chorus/Echo SRE-555 and the digital delay SDD-3000.
Gary’s awesome 1972 1992 Super Bass was the cornerstone of his rock era sound since the early eighties, slaving off to two other 100 Super Lead heads in the 1987 era, each head with it’s own Marshall 4X12″.
Gary’s playing and tone are on fire at this show and the excellently recorded live sound, mixed by the master Chris ‘Privett” Hedge is incredible.
The production values and editing by NFL Films is second to none.
The top mount Original Floyd Rose equipped single bridge EMG 81 Charvels, deliver an incredible stadium rock sound. Plus the brilliant Neil Carter on keys and second guitar, vocals, the master Bob Daisley on bass and the awesome Eric Singer on drums, makes for a real treat for the fan.
The release includes the show in CD and the DVD.
http://www.garymoorefc.com/en/news_stockholm_dvd
Also the Ballads and Blues 1982-94 VHS tape is available on the same CD/DVD format, with an additional commentary by Gary himself, plus some guitar playing extras, not seen before:
http://www.garymoorefc.com/en/news_balladsandblues_dvd
The Live at Montreux 2010 DVD/Bluray is set for release on May 30th and will highlight just how well Gary was playing right up until the end, his singing still strong, though his health is obviously in bad shape even to a non-medical person watching.
But fans will be able to see a pro-shot and recorded video of this last tour which ended in the Ukraine, Gary went on his first day of holiday and then……
Sadly their may only exist rough studio demos or rehearsal tapes of the three new songs for the Celtic Rock album that was to be recorded right after Gary’s ill-fated vacation.
Gary’s use of a fixed bridge Les Paul on the Wild Frontier and After The War tunes that were recorded with a Floyd Rose eguipped guitar only goes to demonstrate his mastery of the guitar. Using vibrato to substitute for a bar, he provides a master class in playing adaptability.
Great tone with his big pedalboard and Marshall 1959HW Super Leads, for me personally I had an ominous feeling watching all the boot videos from this tour that Gary once he had immersed himself in the sad times and material following the death of his great friend and musical collaborator Phillip Lynott, it seemed almost a farewell from Gary in my mind and eyes.
He seemed to be pushing himself through this gruelling tour, even adding on the last Ukraine dates.
Please read my interview prior to the inception of the tour and his reuniting with Gary, where Neil Carter, reponsible for helping in producing arguably Gary’s finest work, discussed with me his feelings about those years, which were musical highpoints to him as well. http://www.neilcarter.org
http://www.garymoorefc.com/en/news_dvd2011

The setlist:
6th – Montreux Jazz Festival, Auditorium Stravinski, Montreux, Switzerland

Intro: Dunluce (Part 2)
Over The Hills And Far Away
Thunder Rising
Military Man
Days Of Heroes
Where Are You Now?
So Far Away / Empty Rooms
Oh Wild One
Blood Of Emeralds
Out In The Fields
Still Got The Blues
Walking By Myself
Johnny Boy (Encore 1)
Parisienne Walkways (Encore 2)
http://www.garymoorefc.com/en/media_magazines
Here sre the few guitar equipment sections I finished prior to Gary’s death, still to come, Fender, Gibson, Charvel/Jackson:
http://www.garymoorefc.com/en/guitars_heritage
http://www.garymoorefc.com/en/guitars_hamer
Pictures from the last tour:
http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Gary%20Moore%202010/#!cpZZ1QQtppZZ36
I had hoped to write an autobiography of Gary a few years back, but my inquiry only went as far as Graham Lilley, his guitar tech/svengali and I’m positive Gary never saw my request.
I did manage to arrange Gary’s involvement with Gibson’s Custom Shop concerning the Collectors Series Melvyn Franks Greeny guitar replicas, Gary finally being reached while on tour, through my communications with Zoli the webmaster on the Lord of The Strings site, he was able to reach Gary’s tour manager, as Graham Lilley’s mom had died and he hadn’t seen the frantic emails from Gibson as they were releasing the Greeny replica. Fortunately Gary came on board, at least for the Tom Murphy aged versions, though they were shipped with out the COA’s signed by Gary, he was able to provide the signed documents eventually.
Gary got the first two aged GM replica #001 and #002, even over Melvyn Franks, who was provided with another aged GM actually with the guitar signed by Gary and another guitar with #001!
Gary can be seen using the aged reissue on the song Parisienne Walkways and it sounds incredible in his hands.
Also quite awhile back Neil Carter, whom I have become friends with, was sent a whole GM media pack by me, with dubs to DVD of all my GM VHS material and live boot CD’s, Neil told me he would be watching them with Gary as they lived not very far apart in Brighton and hopefully this experience provided the spark to rekindle the collaboration of these two again, I would like to think!
Zoli arranged for Neil and Gary to sign a rare promo picture from the ATW tour featuring the late Cozy Powell, who played on the album, with an injury on a motorbike prohibiting his participation in the tour, his place taken by Chris Slade ex AC/DC.
Neil mailed me the photo which he signed “To Dave” and Gary signed it as well, I will treasure it forever.
I still plan on doing a very in-depth writing project on this incredible man and musician, Gary Moore, who influenced me as much as Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Peter Green, Clapton, Steve Stevens and Yngwie.
Here is a great Celtic influenced improv from Gary in Russia, dedicated to Ireland from 2007:

This documentary on Gary was finished before his death and hopefully will be released again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RICdnWNSiOs

Dave

The last tour of Gary Moore when he reunited with old bandmate Neil Carter was such a joy and inspiration to me, that for all of this to end before the Celtic rock album could even be recorded is also  a tragedy beyond measure.

On The Les Paul Forum, I endured mocking, slanderous attacks on Gary and his character, even a lawsuit, but I stuck to my faithful support of my hero from Belfast.

Here are excerpts, I am Emerald on that forum, others may know me as yngwie308, that was my moniker on most of the internet forums:

I emailed Neil Carter yesterday with my condolences, he said things are all still somewhat surreal and it is a lot to take in.
Gary had been the greatest guitar influence in my life and I learned so much from him, he was a independent as was Rory Gallagher.
Gary’s playing had never sounded better on the last tour and I am proud of the fact that I steadfastly defended him through all these attacks on his character, appearance, ect.
Many were unfortunately on this forum I am sad to say, so those who said such things, any words of sorrow are hollow.
Gary was reliving a very sad era in his life, the time post 1986 where we lost the great Phil Lynott, I recall Gary was on holiday when he learned of Phillip’s death.
This is a tragedy of immense proportions, the same to me as when Jimi Hendrix died or Tommy Bolin.
Just very sad, he leaves an immense legacy and Gary was much moore than just a Les Paul player.
He played many styles and was a huge influence on a whole generation of players.
His perfect pitch in 2 1/2 step bends and his great vibrato, note choice, his great skill at thematic solos and his singing which had improved incredibly over the years.
I want to do justice to the influence Gary has made on guitarists and music in general, but am much too sad to do a proper job at the moment.
For now Gary was the guitarists guitarist, there is no doubt and he always stressed the importance of being in tune and always gave all in his live performances.
He was a real person, didn’t act like a star, but when he spoke it was from the heart and sincere, just like his playing.
There will never be another like him, the forty shades of green are calling him back…Gary built his career on sheer talent and hard work, God Bless him and his family, now Phil is back by his side and Rory too.
Loved him very much, I will mourn him the rest of my life, still stunned by the news, it hasn’t sunk in yet, but as it does, I am sadder. Gary’s playing easily brought tears to my eyes and now the tears are often.
Emerald

Thank you Lily, this is a great gesture on behalf of LPF.
Here is the thread on Gary’s last tour I started in the Crossroads section:

Thank you for your kind words all you Gary Moore fans, we all mourn together, his impact wil live on forever in the hearts and minds of many everywhere….
Here is the brilliant version of Parisienne Walkways from Montreux on the 001 GM/MF’s aged Les Paul, can’t wait for the official DVD due in March still as far as I know now:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0U0y9ShghI&playnext_from=TL&videos=0–c223ewCw&feature=recentlik
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQMLpwSErFk&feature=related
Emerald

http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=173268

http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=168213

Thanks to Dirk and Bernd at BSM for their help in preparing my article I offered to write about Tommy Bolin and his great music and playing. They kindly sent me one of their excellent Spectrum pedals to review, it is fantastic.

http://www.treblebooster.net/bolin.html

My love of Tommy’s music is apparent in the article, with the recent tragic loss of Gary Moore, very few of my guitar heroes are left.

Here is my article unedited for commercial considerations, with ultimate respect to BSM my article was very long and I have strong opinions which are my own obviously, please enjoy:

Tommy Bolin:The Ultimate Experience

The story of  Thomas Richard Bolin is one that involves so many different emotions, much like Tommy’s music itself.

Tommy’s guitar playing covered such a wide gamut of styles and he was able to accomplish so much in a short period of time, much like one of his idols Jimi Hendrix.

As a guitar player there are a few certain players who can both inspire and excite me, as a player and also as a listener.

Tommy was a pure musician and it appeared effortless to him to play some of the most amazing material that I had heard in many years. In fact post the death of Jimi, Tommy Bolin from the early seventies onward, re-kindled that spark of excitement, that I had feared was gone forever.

Tommy’s playing was adventurous and he often danced close to the edge, but never fell off it.

Tommy was able to switch between genres of music with an ease that has not been repeated, even to this day.

No analysis of Tommy’s tone and the limited equipment amount of equipment he needed to produce this golden rainbow would be complete without mentioning his abilities and what happened in his life to produce such brilliant playing and songwriting.

Tommy’s first great inspiration was Elvis Presley and after being taken by his late father Richard to see the King perform, it had a profound effect on him, that would alter the course of his life from that moment.

Tommy was motivated to enter a local T.V. talent show, to pantomime “Heartbreak Hotel” and he was off.

His father purchased his first guitar from Sears, which probably was a Silvertone amp in the case guitar, which were popular then.

According to Tommy he actually started as his first instrument on the drums when he was thirteen, then switched to the guitar. His brother Johnnie ended up being the drummer.

But it is important to note that a guitarist’s right hand technique and rhythmic sense are keenly developed by starting on the drums. Edward Van Halen, to name one and is known for his strong rhythm playing, also started this way. Personally I did as well and of course I am not in the same league as these two gentlemen but I understand how it gives one a strong sense of rhythm and this was integral to Tommy’s style.

He also dabbled in Hawaiian steel guitar, but surf music and the Beatles, were what he really wanted to play.

Then Tommy got a Gretsch guitar, no doubt influenced by George Harrison, a Telecaster and a Mosrite.

As he grew older and developed in the local music scene, Tommy was a veritable sponge as far as absorbing many influences, which were to form his style later on.

Wes Montgomery and his octave playing certainly can be heard in many of his later tunes, most notably “Savannah Woman” from the Teaser album.

Charlie Christian, Motown, R&B, pop music, Hendrix, Zappa,Django Reinhardt, Carl Perkins, the Stones, Tommy was adept at playing many styles, though he particularly had a talent for jazz, even at such a young age.

Amps that he used back then were a Fender Bandmaster and then a Kustom amp and cabinet, finding not enough treble from the Kustom, he bought a Vox treble booster.

Then Twin Reverbs, which he used up later on as the next chapter began, Tommy’s move to Colorado after being kicked out of high school in Iowa for having long hair.

Tommy always wrote his songs on an acoustic he had for many years and this was a Yamaha.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/552fee82.jpg

It was in Denver and then Boulder , which had a burgeoning music scene, that Tommy developed friendships and songwriting partnerships, that would follow him throughout his career.

Here he joined the group Zephyr, Tommy was now 17 and this band was a psychedelic blues band, with a female lead singer Candy Givens..

Otis Taylor the bluesman, knew Tommy back then, he brought clothes back from England, influencing Tommy’s look as well as his new girlfriend Karen Ulibarri, who made clothes for him as well. Tommy added colors to his hair, developing a look that enabled him, besides his magnificent playing, to stand out and be noticed as a performer.

Tommy had his first Les Paul then and was able to afford better amplification.

Tommy had a Gold Top in various pictures at the time and an SG Standard.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/9d0ec724.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/af83f0ae.jpg

He met Steve Miller and Carmine Appice and Mark Stein of Vanilla Fudge, his first ‘rockstar’ type connections.

Zephyr supported Jethro Tull and Tommy made an impression on Martin Barre and also Led Zeppelin, where Jimmy Page couldn’t wait to meet this young player who had made such an impression on him!

The Echoplex, which became a staple of Tommy’s sound both live and on record, he first heard being used by Rick Derringer when he still was with the McCoys, he uses it on the first Zephyr record and at this time, 1969 he obtained his Sam Ash manufactured Fuzztone, which was modded for him according to one source.

In 1970 Zephyr were recording with Eddie Kramer at Electric Lady studio, Tommy learned of Jimi’s death, through Eddie and their session was cancelled.

Tommy and some of the band went down to the studio and Tommy played some Hendrix tunes on one of Jimi’s guitars as a tribute, until they got in trouble and kicked out!

A big influence on Tommy at this time was John McLaughlin, around this time he met and did demos for Jan Hammer, who introduced Tommy to Billy Cobham, whose album “Spectrum

” would be the meteor in Tommy’s career.

Tommy was involved in the jazz-rock fusion group Energy with Jeremy Steig at this time and some of his most incendiary playing occurred with that band. By the time of Energy it appears that Tommy had adopted his Hiwatt DR103 100 watt amplifier set up, with the Sound City 4X12” cabinets, Tommy’s cabs had Eminence speakers though, not the usual Fanes.

Here are some picture if recently re-acquired equipment of Tommy’s by his brother Johnnie Bolin, these show a DR-103 Hiwatt head and several Sound City 4X12” cabs, plus a Strat with a seventies neck and mirror pick guard I hadn’t seen before:

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/Mvc-001f.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/Mvc-002f.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/Mvc-003f.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/Mvc-004f.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/Mvc-005f.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/Mvc-006f.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/Mvc-007f.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/Mvc-008f.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/Mvc-009f.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/Mvc-010f.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/Mvc-011f.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/Mvc-012f.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/Mvc-013f.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/Mvc-014f.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/Mvc-014f.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/Mvc-021f.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/page_3.jpg

Tommy’s love of Stratocasters led him to own quite a few, mostly sunburst, his main guitar is often referred to as a 1963, but has a maple fingerboard, so the neck is somewhat earlier, the last maple boards being in late 1958.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/4f1b5f54.jpg

Tommy also had a famous Strat with a Telecaster neck, and an Ibanez “Destroyer” or Explorer type guitar.Plus this Hamer, where he obtained his “Ultimate” t-shirt he was often pictured with from Jol Danzig of Hamer, this would also be the title of the boxed set tribute to Tommy later on.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/d57b98e3.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/254dc21e.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/038323f9.jpg

Tommy also played slide guitar quite proficiently and in combination with the Echoplex, he was able to create some unique sounds.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/afaf6b29.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/4848120d.jpg

The famous Billy Cobham “Spectrum” sessions, really showcased for the first time to a mass audience, Tommy’s amazing talent and the fluidity of his playing, the exchanges with Jan Hammer, really woke up the music scene.

In particular Jeff Beck, who ironically would play with Tommy on his final gig, Dec.3,1976 in Miami, was heavily influenced by the “Spectrum” album, leading to his “Blow by Blow” album.

He also played on albums by the Canadian rock band Moxy , primarily solos.

Great work with Weather Report alumni Alphonse Mouzon’s album Mind Transplant

Les Paul Goldtop with P90 pickups and wraptail bridge

Borrowed Les Paul with humbuckers and American Flag pickguard, and Bigsby tremolo, which belonged to his longtime guitar roadie David Brown, I believe.

Herco Gold Nylon pics

Leslie rotating speaker cabinet driven by a Hiwatt DR103, with lighter colored vinyl on the front above the control panel.

Three Hiwatt DR103 100 watt heads

Three Sound City 4X12” cabinets with Eminence speakers and removable grillcloth covers of a dark material

Echoplex on a stand

1963 Stratocaster body with a Telecaster maple neck

Natural finished Stratocaster with maple neck and vintage (pre-CBS) headstock

Ibanez Destroyer (Explorer copy) with raised action for slide guitar use.

Hamer Explorer copy made for him by Jol Danzig of Hamer, who also gave Tommy the Ultimate t-shirt he is so often pictured with.

A unique multi-wood construction solidbody guitar constructed for Tommy by a Japanese luthier, this had unique pickups and was a fusion of say a Yamaha style guitar/an SG/ and a Les Paul! He is seen playing this in the “Last Concert in Japan” Deep Purple video and still photographs from that show.

In the Bolin family, Johnnie Tommy’s brother has discovered a CBS era Stratocaster with the larger headstock, maple neck and a mirror finish pickguard, which I personally haven’t seen Tommy pictured with. I believe this was the inspiration for Dean Guitars Teaser tribute limited edition of 100 Tommy Bolin inspired Stratocaster shaped with the neck profile and pickup characteristics copied from this seventies Strat. This guitar has also a headstock similar to a Fender Telecaster.

According to David Coverdale’s account of Tommy’s first audition with Deep Purple, Tommy plugged into 4 100 watt Marshall heads. I have also read of his use of Marshall amps during his stint with Energy.

I have in my research observed a DBX noise reduction type unit, which also may be one of their compressor units, it is unclear from the photographic evidence though.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/DBX163X.jpg

The Schulte Compact Phaser, manufactured in Germany was used by Tommy quite extensively in Deep Purple and this unit was also used by his predecessor in Deep Purple, Ritchie Blackmore.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/ShultecompactphasingA.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/5e85bfd8.jpg

A unique feature of Tommy’s playing is that he always sounds like Tommy no matter what guitar or amp/effect setup he is using.

Tommy used a wah pedal from the earliest days, the Don Kirschner Rock Concert video of 1974 featuring Tommy with the James Gang, shows clearly Tommy’s use of a stand or bar stool to support his Echoplex and the wah pedal can be heard during this show.

Tommy’s vocals became a feature to look forward to from the James Gang days onward, through his Deep Purple album and of course his solo albums.

Songs like “Alexis” from Bang,“Spanish Lover” from Miami, showed Tommy’s strong confident and quite melodic voice.

There has been various conjecture that alternate recorded versions of Tommy’s songs are in some instances superior to the versions used on the LP’s.

Through the efforts of the Bolin Family Archives, many undiscovered treasures have certainly been uncovered and released, including an amazing instrumental entitled “Blowing Your Cookies”, which is said to rival Quadrant 4 from the Billy Cobham Spectrum album!

I would like to report on BSM’s incredible Spectrum pedal, which I have been fortunate enough to test and experiment with in relation to the tones of Tommy Bolin himself.

It is well known that Tommy would roll off all the treble and presence controls on his amps, accentuating the mid and bass ranges, allied with his use of a certain fuzz tone device sold by a chain of music stores in NY during the seventies.

This device had three controls and would smooth out Tommy’s tone and suited his legato style very well.

I always found this to be such a unique sound and an integral part of Tommy’s tone, the smoothing and ‘roundness’ of the tone responded to his pick attack, with a definition that was surprising with the subtraction of the treble frequencies.

I am using my beloved ‘Blackie’ a 1983 ’57 Reissue Fender Stratocaster, that I ordered that way as a tribute to Eric Clapton’s famous Blackie. It is in amazing condition and it’s pickups are actually 16 years old, whereas Tommy’s 1963 Strat pickups would have been 13 years old in 1976, so they are a very close approximation of the actual pickups in the signal chain. Not owning a Hiwatt DR 103 or Sound City 4X12’ cabs, I would like to say that the Spectrum pedal is so versatile that, it is very easy to dial in Tommy’s tone with varied amp setups.

The attack control transitions from a boost to a fuzz in a seamless fashion, giving one a hugely versatile approach.

The spectrum control with it’s six octave range, allows an incredible amount of tonal variations, I particularly found the ability of producing smooth even order harmonic feedback to be an awesome feature of this pedal.

I still was able to have all the presence I needed and would even turn down my neck pickup’s tone control. The sensitivity of the guitars volume control between full and even 7/8ths to ¾ lets you have the more crunchy tone as opposed to the lead tone.

The Spectrum pedal also offers you more frequency response with the amps power tubes at full distortion, then would otherwise be available.

The Spectrum pedal has quickly become my favorite pedal and it’s great to plug into any amp and have that Wild Dogs tone right at your fingertips!

Equipment

TOMMY BOLIN
Three Hiwatt 100-watt amps
Six Sound City Cabinets
Maestro Echoplex
GBX Stereo Noise Reducer
KEM Phaser
Fender Stratocaster Guitars
Gibson Les Paul Guitar
Ernie Ball Strings
Ernie Pickle Sliders

As far as i know, the Sound City cabs were loaded with Fanes. I’m sure there are SC cabs out there that arent Fane-loaded (probably because at one time or another someone sold their cab and kept the speakers ) but from what i’ve seen and read, they came stock with Fanes.<P>PS. I’ve seen more than one SC cab that was front-ported like some later 70′s HIWATT cabs (like mine ) …Dallas Arbiter was part of the HIWATT crew back in the day so i’m not surprised there are similarites in the equipment…both the SC heads & the cabs.

yeah Tommy ran it with the preamp dimed, bass full and treble off on the hiwatt with the treble full on the Sam Ash Fuzz to give a really tight bottom end with nice sustain and to be able to roll off effectively with the volume .

Bolin played mostly Fender Stratocaster guitars, favoring those with maple fingerboards and even had one fitted with a Telecaster neck. He also had a Les Paul Goldtop guitar and a guitar made by a Japanese luthier that he used on the Deep Purple MK IV tour in Japan.

For amplifiers and effects, Bolin primarily used Hiwatt amps and cabinets and 100 watt DR03 heads. He was known for his trademark use of a Maestro Echoplex which he had mounted on a stand on stage. Throughout Zephyr, Energy, The James Gang, his solo work and Deep Purple, his speeding up of the echo repeats are an exciting addition to his playing. ‘Quadrant 4′ with Billy Cobham is a great example of this.

Bolin also used a Sam Ash fuzz tone and was known to turn up the bass and lower the treble response of his amplifiers, creating a smooth rounded tone which complimented his legato style of playing

There has been some recent speculation that Tommy used some sort of compressor/sustainer, here is an excerpt from this interview, I would like to add here that BSM’s Spectrum pedal has plenty of sustain and the Spectrum control with it’s six octave range, allows one to dial in incredible sounding harmonic feedback, especially when used with a delay or echo device, Tommy really isn’t clear as to what this device was and he did use  some sort of dbx  noise reduction unit though:

About how many guitars do you own?
TB: FIve in all. I have three Fender Stratocasters, one of which is a Telecaster. I have a 1959 Gibson Les Paul, and then a special-order Yamaha. I got that one in Nagoya, and it’s in fantastic condition. The strings on the other 4 are Ernie Ball’s Extra Super Slinky.
How did you learn to play bottleneck?
TB: I actually practiced it especially for playing here, because of my hand getting hurt. I never really used it before now, and I don’t really plan to in the future. But I played a long time ago with the Ernie Ball Bottleneck. When I play bottleneck, I use straight tuning, not open tuning. I don’t know whether the bar is metal or glass. But it shines! It’s probably an Ernie Ball Bottleneck.
What do you use as a pick?
TB: I use a Herco, which I chew for four hours before going on stage to sharpen it up.
Do you use sound effects?
TB: Yeah, I use an Echoplex and a pressure sustainer. For the echoplex I use Maestro, and the fuzz sustainer is from Sam Ash. The pressure one is special-order.

3.1: Sound City L140 4×12 Cabinet Front View w/o Grill
Appears to be a DMI-era L140 cab (but could also be a B140 as these cabs were identical) with four square-magnet Eminence 12s (“Sound City Power Speakers”). The speaker codes indicate a manufacture date of December 1973. This cab, and another just like it (as well as a Hiwatt DR103 and a Stratocaster), used to belong to the late Tommy Bolin and are now owned by a gentleman who is a friend of the Bolin family and who plans to preserve all this historic equipment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsRkBokQH2E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6k9wEsqgho
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpiuYqLvLZw
The funny thing about these clips is how blind Tommy was without his glasses, as related by the other members of the James Gang!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRj02qk1K0o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USnlDY7dCik…feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5MdUS-MOLw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elAe3YtGmZw
Possibly the earliest solo of Tommy on video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE95Fohti1U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJToq2y8x-4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO3U9_zEkJE…feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfTkWna8swA…feature=related
This is from the MK IV’s best live performance at Long Beach:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGPjEt-J8ug
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKGKgD1jJRs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOr0tq5j4KQ…feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbc6Y7F6lFE…feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_-i3v5TrR0…feature=related
Here is a mega rare version of Red Skies, which Tommy used on the “Miami” album, but this was a song from back in the Energy days, with a poorly mixed vocal from Tommy, but rare, what guitar playing!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pC9g_r0Y79E
The entire Long Beach Arena show of the MK IV lineup at their early finest is available to listen to for free on the excellent Wolfgang’s Vault site, which you can join for free and download if you wish for a nominal price, they also have some Tommy Bolin Band solo shows, check them out please, particularly the Long Beach DP concert, the most amazing playing by the whole band, but Tommy in particular.
You know Tommy’s tragically short life was in reality a celebration of living a true musicians live, Tommy was truly a Gypsy Soul as one of his songs on Private Eyes says.
If you read the appreciation of Spectrum by Wolf Marshall that I have scanned in my Tommy Bolin Photobucket album, you will release that Tommy came to a gunfight with a runner knife and like David before him, slay the mighty Goliath, just beyond words. when I still hear Quadrant 4 it raises the hairs on the back of my neck, as it did the first time I heard it, the same with the killer debut album Teaser which is such an awesome album. Tunes like Savannah Woman. where Tommy shows his Wes Montgomery influences on his battered Strat. I heard the tale of Tommy drawing a small crowd in a Boulder music store, where he played an impromptu version of Dave Brubecks Take Five on some old acoustic guitar he was trying out.
Tommy was that different even from the start…It still makes me sad all these years later on the anniversary that he has left us, at least on this earth. Tommy had it all, a true triple threat, ace guitarist, songwriter and a vocalist of suprising emotional depth, so many parallels to Jimi, that Tommy was wearing a ring that belonged to Jimi, when he was buried was so apropos. Try and check out Glenn Hughes new autobiography when it comes out. He was like a brother to Tommy, married his girlfriend, but was able to turn his life around..sadly Tommy’s time had expired, but his music will live on forever in our hearts and souls..You have reached the promised land Tommy, as you sang about in People, People……

This clip is all I had heard from the MK IV lineup for many years, Tommy isn’t even there on stage, I bought the album on import from Japan called “Last Concert in Japan”, I was very disappointed, but if you listen to the rehearsals of the MK IV lineup and the first few California gigs, Tommy was brilliant!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Squ4C6919aY
Here is some Teaser material:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRmR2L0tD4A…PL&index=16
The Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert show from 1974, the dynamics of the band are sadly evident in these clips, Tommy had just come off playing in Spectrum and could have gone in a much different direction, though Bang by the Gang is mostly Tommy’s material:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO3l8pdOjsA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsRkBokQH2E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6k9wEsqgho
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpiuYqLvLZw
The funny thing about these clips is how blind Tommy was without his glasses, as related by the other members of the James Gang!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRj02qk1K0o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USnlDY7dCik…feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5MdUS-MOLw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elAe3YtGmZw
Possibly the earliest solo of Tommy on video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE95Fohti1U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJToq2y8x-4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO3U9_zEkJE…feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfTkWna8swA…feature=related
This is from the MK IV’s best live performance at Long Beach:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGPjEt-J8ug
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKGKgD1jJRs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOr0tq5j4KQ…feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbc6Y7F6lFE…feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_-i3v5TrR0…feature=related
Here is a mega rare version of Red Skies, which Tommy used on the “Miami” album, but this was a song from back in the Energy days, with a poorly mixed vocal from Tommy, but rare, what guitar playing!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pC9g_r0Y79E

December 3, 2009

At this point I would like to interject my personal feelings about Tommy and his brief but bright career.

Tommorow, on Dec 4^th it will be 33 years since Tommy’s premature death.

I have experienced mixed emotions immersing myself in Tommy’s music again to the degree necessary for this article.

For example after the death of Jimi Hendrix, which greatly affected me personally, as it did many others, I couldn’t bear to listen to his music for almost ten years.

I had bought the posthumous efforts such as Cry of Love, then the concoctions of Alan Douglas, like Crash Landing and Midnight Lightning, where the original drum and bass tracks were removed and new session players were used. That did it for me, I even went as far as not playing guitar for many of those ten years.

Much has been written about Tommy and his contributions to the guitar.

During the era of most of Tommy’s last few bands, I was living back in the States, on the east coast on Long Island.

One of my great regrets is having to miss Tommy’s great show at the venue My Father’s Place in Rosslyn, New York. I didn’t have a working car at the time, would have had to scratch together enough money for the show and had no way to get there.

I was not one who hitchhiked, so I listened to the FM radio adverts for the show, but never made it..

After his death in 1976, I returned to live in London again and turned my English friends on to his music, particularly the two solo albums, Teaser and Private Eyes.

I even had special t-shirts made for us that read Tommy Bolin Lives.

I would get people asking me in various clubs and pubs about who was this Tommy Bolin! Some knew right away, but for the majority of England at the time, they were completely unfamiliar with his work and only knew him as the ‘replacement’ guitarist for Ritchie Blackmore.

Tommy received a basically horrendous reception in the UK from the Purple fans and this only seemed to spur on his disenchantment with the band.

Often he would respond to the touts of the audience and deliberately underplay or even let Jon Lord carry the melodies or just let his Echoplex run on and on…

To be frank, by his own admission Tommy had hardly heard of Deep Purple at all before being asked to join. He was vaguely familiar with songs like Smoke on the Water, ect.

According to Karen Ulibarri, his childhood sweetheart, Tommy basically took both the James Gang and Deep Purple gigs for the money.

He would go from penthouse to pauper so many times in his career and other musicians were so aware of his talent that they jumped at the chance to hire him to replace the famous guitarists that he did.

The down side of this was that Tommy had pressure put on himself to both play the previous material in these bands and forge ahead with his own contributions.

In both cases, with The James Gang first and then Deep Purple MK IV, he was able to rise to the occasion and interject his own style of playing and use his own material to carry on with these bands.

In the instance of  The James Gang Tommy was able to incorporate songs he had written and co-written, directly into this band and the vocalist Roy Kenner, for the most part was able to provide adequate performances.

My feeling and it is apparently shared by the surviving members of  The James Gang, is that Roy was the weakest link in the band.

The only quality existing video of this bands live set is the 1974 Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert and it is obvious watching the interaction on stage, where the band was at, both emotionally and musically.

Roy’s vocals are somewhat strained and he overcompensates by jumping around in a clown like fashion, what actually is derogatory to the overall performance.

Tommy is on automatic pilot throughout the whole set it seems.

Dale Peters and Jim Fox, competent musicians as they undoubtedly are, aren’t really in Tommy’s league and he delivers a somewhat lackluster performance in my opinion, compared to what I know he is capable of.

There is no spark with the band and frankly if Tommy had had the confidence in his own vocals to actually do more of the singing, it could have been a much better band.

All the band members were frustrated in their own ways and this lineup lasted through two LP’s, with Miami being the final effort, which in light of what would happen there, the all black cover is eerily appropriate.

With The James Gang, Joe Walsh had handpicked Tommy to replace him and still to this day is in awe of Tommy’s ability as a guitarist and musician.

Joe attended Tommy’s funeral and turned and saluted Tommy’s casket, which shows what a class act Joe is and he often remarked that “Tommy can play circles around me.”

Also Joe wasn’t a big fan of jamming and would even fine members of his band Barnstorm if they started to jam out at all!!

Tommy was all about jamming, so sticking him in the rigid format of the existing James Gang material, wasn’t the greatest success.

Tommy had left his fusion band Energy to take the James Gang opportunity and Energy’s bassist had left to work with Peter Frampton previously, so Tommy gave it his best shot.

With the exception of the Energy tune Red Skies the Tom Dowd produced Miami, sounded the death knell for the James Gang.

Tommy was the kind of musician who once in a music store, was trying out an acoustic guitar and did an amazing version of Dave Brubeck’s Take Five, which quickly drew a crowd of reverent admirers.

He had the ability to make the impossible seem possible and his natural musical gifts enabled him to cross boundaries that would impede a ‘normal’ musician.

The fact that he couldn’t read music, he told this to Billy Cobham.

To quote Tommy about the lead in to Spectrum :

“Cobham called me for the Spectrum session, and I said, “I don’t know how to read, man.”He said it was O.K. So I went to the studio, and he handed me a chart. I told him again I didn’t know how to read, so we had a day of rehersal, then cut the album in two days. In rehersal I’d just find out the changes – for example, Am to D9 to G6 to E13 — and play around those chords and changes. I learned quite a bit through those people.

You can’t help but learn. All the different styles I’ve played have really helped me as a guitarist and helped me develop my own way of playing. I have my own style, but it’s different for each kind of music. There are certain little characteristic things every player has.”

So after all the critical acclaim of the Billy Cobham album and the groundbreaking areas it entered, Tommy was playing Funk#49 soon afterwards.

The period post James Gang, Tommy was able play on the drummer Alphonse Mouzon’s LP Mind Transplant based on his work with Billy Cobham and he contributed to some great tracks like Golden Rainbows and Nitroglycerin.

The Canadian rock band Moxy hired Tommy for some session work, where he basically played a few solos, allegedly being paid with cocaine for his work.

Any story of Tommy and his career, the great white elephant of alcoholism and laterally drug addiction must eventually be addressed.

That Tommy had an ability to play the most amazing material in the studio and for the most part live, while being heavily under the influence, only goes to show the incredible level of his talent. It may well have been a nervous thing with his playing and performing, we only have other peoples opinions on that, as Tommy never directly addressed this issue in any interviews, except for the first interview I read about him in Circus magazine of all places.

Tommy:”My first joint I smoked on the stage of a place in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I smoked my first joint live. The band was smoking it right on stage in this club, no one knew what it was.”

I mentioned that I have undergone mixed emotions on this journey of rediscovery of Tommy’s music and achievements.

One of the major ones is, “But for the grace of God, there go I…”

In my personal life I have struggled with alcoholism and drug abuse, I have had my life spared many, many times and have been fortunate enough to have been clean and sober since 2001. These issues have placed major scars on my own life, yet through my great faith I was able to find the path to recovery.

Glenn Hughes, whom I greatly admire both as a musician and more importantly as a human being, is a living example that is is possible to recover and keep playing, but unfortunately for Tommy, back in his era, there wasn’t really any systems in place to help people with these inevitably fatal issues and the end was apparently obvious to all who knew him, sadly.

This is really the greatest tragedy of Tommy’s story, to die at age 25, with his whole life in front of him. These are my personal opinions here and do not reflect upon those of BSM or anyone connected with that fine organization

Tommy started work on what would be his finest overall work, the solo LP Teaser, which when I first bought it and listened to it, I still feel the same emotions to this day, that is the mark of greatness and of all the major artists who have made great musical statements.

This record is really the zenith of Tommy’s guitar sound and displays both his amazing tones and chops to their finest degree.

Quite a few musicians played on this album and weren’t credited for contractual reasons. I am listening to the CD as I write this. Glenn Hughes sang on “Dreamer”, actually Tommy wanted Glenn to sing on more tracks, but Glenn encouraged Tommy to develop his own vocals.

In fact one of the best aspects of “Teaser” is Tommy’s soulful vocals. Especially on tracks like “People,People”.

Many of the songs on Tommy’s solo albums are extremely autobiographical in nature. To this day “Teaser” is in my top ten favorite all time LP’s of any genre. Every little guitar inflection on this LP is so funky, precise and in the pocket. “Marching Powder” is almost a textbook in lead guitar playing, the intertwining of Jan Hammer’s keyboards and Tommy’s guitar is absolutely incredible. Jan still greatly misses playing with Tommy, after all the great artists he has worked with, Jeff Beck included, Tommy always had that certain ‘edge’, that made his songs and playing so exciting.

Tommy always worked without a net and the people I most admire in this earthly world are those that do so. Tommy was a great family orientated guy, loved his brothers and was always extremely grateful of the support from his mother and father, thanking them frequently during his career.

In fact I am becoming extremely overcome with emotion listening to the songs from “Teaser”. I  don’t often listen to music when I am writing, but I have made an exception in Tommy’s case as I only too happy and feel extremely privileged to be asked to write about Tommy and his music by Bernd and Dirk.

This is a labor of love I can tell you. Tommy’s music being a soundtrack to my own life, part of that select few who move me so strongly.

When an artist gives everything to his art, as did Jimi Hendrix and Phil Lynott and many others, it seems that they did so even knowing inside that they didn’t have much time on this earth to do so, Tommy had worked so hard to get his solo career going and it was just starting to pay off  for him.

In retrospect it is easy to see that Tommy joining Deep Purple MK IV, somewhat took away from the release of Teaser, but he had to make the most of the opportunities handed to him and can’t be blamed for trying to do too much at one time after waiting so long for his big break to come.

Chronologically I am somewhat taking liberties with the sequence of events in Tommy’s career, but the early years with Denny and The Triumphs, A Patch of Blue, then the years with Zephyr, these were all certainly important to Tommy’s development .

I am somewhat concentrating on the more well know eras in Tommy’s career.

The Deep Purple aspect of Tommy’s career was both a help and hindrance to him professionally and personally. In the negative aspect, it certainly provided him a gateway to even more money and all the bad things that it can buy. Tommy apparently didn’t care for the type of music played by Purple and was greatly surprised by the level of musicianship of Ian Paice and Jon Lord in particular.

Listening to the first rehearsal sessions of this lineup, there is a strong natural interaction between all the musicians and Tommy is clearly enjoying himself. He started writing songs right away, with Coverdale and Lord and to a degree with Hughes. The extremely funky “Getting’ Tighter” was a particular early favorite of Tommy.

The friction that developed within this lineup developed mostly between Hughes and Coverdale to some degree, over the vocals. Glenn being only too happy to sing on every song, plus by his own admission he was living a drug fuelled rock superstar existence of limos, ego trips and all the attendant debris that accompanies this lifestyle.

The classic first few gigs on the American leg of the MK IV tour saw the band at their finest. Unfortunately it was a sharp ride downhill after that with an Australian leg then an Indonesian nightmare in Jackarta, followed by the almost tragic Last Concert in Japan”.

I had bought the Japan concert on import LP, actually two copies I have, being so fanatical as I was and what a major disappointment that show was. Coverdale eventually leaving after a Liverpool show.

The first few shows were so tight sounding and Tommy’s lead work was outstanding and dynamic, as would be expected. Many say that the live versions of the “Come Taste The Band” material is many times better than the LP recorded in Germany, so the band had great potential.

But soon it was all over and Tommy went back to concentrate on his solo career, recording the follow up LP “Private Eyes”, which had a completely different vibe and had a lineup that Tommy could actually tour with. There were some great players, Norma Jean Bell of Frank Zappa fame on sax, Mark Stein of Vanilla Fudge on keys, Bobby Berge on drums and even Tommy’s brother Johnnie on drums for awhile. Reggie McBride laid down some solid bass playing and in the liner notes, Tommy stated “Extra-special love and thanks to the most wonderful band I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with.”

So Tommy was moving on with his life after Purple. On a personal note, Karen his long time girlfriend, was now with Glenn Hughes. Tommy and her had drifted apart during the Purple time and Tommy had sort of given his blessing to the two, though the evening of his death, a telephone call to Karen, ending with the phone dangling on the floor, revealed that Karen had told Tommy, she was marrying Glenn. Apparently Tommy had asked Karen if she would marry him in the same conversation. His current girlfriend Valeria, pictured on the sleeve of “Private Eyes”, apparently was more of a friendship than a love affair for Tommy.

This Private Eyes tour was receiving critical acclaim and the first night of the tour supporting Jeff Beck who had Jan Hammer playing with him, was scheduled for December 3^rd.

Tommy had arrived in town a few days earlier and had apparently been burning the candle at both ends somewhat. The show at Miami’s Jai Alai Auditorium was a great success and Tommy joined Jeff on stage at one point. What happened that evening and into the morning of December 4^th there are a few opinions of the circumstances, suffice to say, one of the brightest flames of the seventies had been extinguished.

This was much more than the clichéd rock star overdose, this was a tragedy of epic proportions, Tommy being so young and he had so much more to say musically, having only scratched the surface.

That the interest in Tommy’s music continues to this day and more material is unearthed, showing the many sides of this multi-talented musician, because Tommy wasn’t only just a guitarist, he had it all and just as quickly, it was all over.

Thanks for all you gave us Tommy, you were a true original and were taking music of all genres and mixing it and melding it into something very special.

Update: since writing this I have the extreme pleasure of receiving the ‘official’ DP version of “On The Wings of a Russian Foxbat”, which is a double disc titled “Live at Long Beach Arena”.

The playing of Tommy Bolin is absolutely incredible and he is in superb form, as in the Miami show from the same MK IV tour. All the players are firing on all cylinders and this lineup had such great potential and Tommy can be clearly heard enjoying playing with these superb musicians and his playing is spot on.

Just fantastic material and his interpretations of the Blackmore solos are unique and he puts his own spin on them, which is quite an accomplishment.

There are many releases of Tommy’s work available, The Whips and Roses series are excellent as is the collection named The Ultimate Redux.

Testing the BSM Spectrum pedal

I had the opportunity to test the BSM Spectrum pedal with my 1959 Marshall handwired amplifier modded by George Metropoulos of Metro Amps and using the Marshall JH 100 4X12’ speaker cabs.

Not having my EP-3 Echoplex anymore, I used my Boss Analogman modded DD-6 digital delay. Using my 1983 ’57 Reissue Fender Stratocaster with it’s vintage pickups, this gave me the closest to Tommy’s era guitars.

Turning down most of the treble on the amp, as did Tommy with his Hiwatts, I still was able to have a well balanced tone with the Spectrum and still having plenty of mids and treble available. The uniqueness of the Attack control, which varies from treble boosting to fuzz tone is incredible. The Spectrum control with it’s multi octave range provides harmonic feedback at even low volume levels. The versatility of this pedal is unparalleled and one is not limited to just one tone. I look forward to eventually using either the EP-3 pedal and a vintage phaser eventually for the ultimate Bolin experience:

http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/BSM%20Guitar%20Center%20Test/

Dirk I am including my Tommy Bolin Photobucket album so people can reference these photos, I am not sure what you want me to do with photos, permissions to use, ect.

http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/davida54/Tommy%20Bolin/

Dave