Classic Rock Here And Now

Saturday, December 16, 2017

'GENTLE GIANT' LEGEND DEREK SHULMAN INTERVIEWED ON THE RAY SHASHO SHOW

D E R E K

S H U L M A N

THE VOICE AND MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST FOR

PROGRESSIVE ROCK LEGENDS

'G E N T L E G I A N T'

Formed in the late 60's by the Shulman brothers, GENTLE GIANT is known as the paradigmatic progressive rock band. With an uncomparable musicianship, they went as far as no one ever did into unexplored grounds in the progressive music, navigating over dissonant 20th-century classical chamber music, medieval vocal music, jazz and rock. The multi-instrumentation capabilities of the musicians gave such dynamic to their music, which set parameters to a whole coming generation up to these very days. They explored Moogs, Mellotrons and Fender Rhodes usage with such majesty! Not to mention other instruments like oboes, violins, cellos and horns among others.

The band was able to come across the 70's maintaining an outstanding level on their music, altering their style over the years and keeping the quality as only a few bands were able to do. Among their magnificent discography, all the albums from "Acquiring the Taste" through "Playing the Fool" are essential progressive rock releases (with the possible exception of "Interview"). This portion of the band's career would see a fittingly grand conclusion on the live "Playing the Fool" album. What more is there to say about these masters of progressive music?

Renowned music industry veteran Derek Shulman has achieved success sitting on both sides of the desk. Born in the United Kingdom, his introduction to the music business was as lead vocalist with sixties pop sensation Simon Dupree And The Big Sound. Signed to the Beatles’ label Parlaphone, the group enjoyed TV appearances, Top 20 singles and toured Europe extensively. They even secured a talented keyboard player by the name of Reginald Dwight (Elton John) towards the latter part of their lifespan. In 1970 they changed their name to Gentle Giant going on to even bigger acclaim, recording a succession of best-selling record albums and touring the world as a major headlining attraction.

Following his recording career, Shulman became a prominent record executive. Starting as an A&R representative at PolyGram Records, where he rose to the ranks of Senior Vice President, he signed Bon Jovi, Dan Reed Network, Cinderella, and Kingdom Come, among many others. In 1988 he became President and C.E.O of Atco Records (where he signed the progressive metal band Dream Theater as well as Pantera). He also re-established the careers of AC/DC and Bad Company both of whom sold multi-platinum albums under his watch. He then went on to become President of Roadrunner Records overseeing signings like Slipknot and Nickelback. In March 2010 Derek Shulman established a new venture with international music impresario Leonardo Pavkovic called 2PLUS Music & Entertainment.

Gentle Giant—Three Piece Suite is a specially curated selection of songs and compositions from Gentle Giant’s first three albums (Giant, Acquiring the Taste, Three Friends) presented in both 5.1 surround sound and stereo. There are nine tracks from the albums, plus a pre-debut song, remixed by Steven Wilson. The choices were determined by the limited availability of multi-track master tapes from the era. Only a few songs from each album are known to exist as multi-tracks, with the rest presumably lost. For fans of Gentle Giant “Three Piece Suite” is a must have. For fans of great musicianship and progressive rock this is an incredible insight into the earliest days of this legendary band.

GENTLE GIANT

THREE PIECE

SUITE

AVAILABLE NOW AT

AMAZON.COM

D E R E K S H U L M A N

INTERVIEWED ON

THE RAY SHASHO SHOW

BBS RADIO

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And don’t forget to purchase a copy of my book entitled Check the Gs -the true story of an eclectic American family and their Wacky family business … or the second edition entitled … Wacky Shenanigans on F Street- ‘Proud to be Politically Incorrect in Washington DC’ ... available now at amazon.com. You’ll live it!!!

Have a great week everybody!

COMING SOON!

Thursday, December 7, 2017

MASON WILLIAMS ACOUSTIC GUITAR LEGEND AND COMEDY WRITER: INTERVIEWED ON THE RAY SHASHO SHOW

M A S O N W I L L I A M S

'FIFTY YEARS'

"C L A S S I C A L G A S"

A TIMELESS MASTERPIECE

Mason Williams emerged in the late 1960’s as a strong force in television and music circles. In 1968 he won two Grammy awards with his unique composition for guitar, Classical Gas. That same year he also won an Emmy award for his work as a comedy writer on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.

Mason is perhaps most widely known as a composer and recording artist. He has recorded more than two dozen albums, five on the Warner Bros. label (The Mason Williams Phonograph Record, The Mason Williams Ear Show, Music, Handmade, and Sharepickers). Classical Gas was released as a single from The Mason Williams Phonograph Record in 1968. Classical Gas won three Grammys that year for: “Best Instrumental (theme) Composition”, “Best Instrumental (theme) Performance”, and “Best Instrumental Orchestra Arrangement” (Mike Post, arranger).

In 1987, Mason teamed up with MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER of Fresh Aire fame, to release a new album on the American Gramaphone label. The Album, titled “CLASSICAL GAS”, includes a remake of his 1968 Grammy award winning song. Another cut from this album, “Country Idyll”, was a 1988 nominee for a Grammy in the Country Music category for “Best Instrumental Performance by a Soloist, Group or Orchestra.” This album went Gold in 1991, and is now approaching platinum.

Mason has released (on the Real Music label) an acoustic instrumental album of Christmas/Holiday music tititled “A GIFT OF SONG”, featuring arrangements of traditional carols and original compositions. In 1992 the Vanguard label released “MUSIC 1968-1971”, a compilation of cuts from his five Warner Bros. albums recorded in the late 60s, early 70s.

As a comedy writer, Mason has written for more than 150 hours of network television programming. Writing both music and comedy, Mason was a prime creative force for CBS’ controversial SMOTHERS BROTHERS COMEDY HOUR. His extensive repertoire in folk music gave him the background for many of Tom and Dick’s comedy routines, and with co-writer Nancy Ames, he also composed the shows’ musical theme. He also created and perpetuated the 1968 PAT PAULSEN FOR PRESIDENT CAMPAIGN, the most elaborate political satire in recent history.

Other major television personalities he has written for include: Roger Miller, Petula Clark, Andy Williams, Glen Campbell, Dinah Shore, and Steve Martin. In 1980 Mason was head writer for NBC’s SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. In 1988 Mason received his third Emmy nomination as a comedy writer for his work on THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS 20TH REUNION SPECIAL (CBS).

He is also the creator of the world’s largest sunflower. Originally intended as a short film, the sunflower concept was conceived as a slow-motion aerial ballet in which an old biplane skywrites (“draws”), the stem and leaves of a sunflower in the sky beneath the sun, the sun thereby becoming the blossom of the flower.

Approaching the 50th Anniversary of Classical Gas gave Williams an opportunity to reflect on his career and collect many of his art, writing and music projects into a fantastic retrospective presentation that has been and continues to be exhibited in galleries around the country.

Mason is also currently working on events around the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Classical Gas including writing, composing and performing in a variety of venues which continues to this day.

MASON WILLIAMS

and friends

A GIFT OF SONG

AN ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENTAL CHRISTMAS ALBUM

available at amazon

For more information about Mason Williams visit

… http://www.masonwilliams-online.com

Purchase the critically acclaimed ‘A Gift of Song’ by Mason Williams

… an acoustic instrumental Christmas album available for the holidays

at amazon .com

M A S O N W I L L I A M S

INTERVIEWED ON

THE RAY SHASHO SHOW-BBS RADIO

CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN

THE RAY SHASHO SHOW

NEW TIME & DATE!

Bi-weekly Wednesday’s at 5 pm Pacific/8 pm Eastern

On the BBS Radio 1 Network

THE RAY SHASHO SHOW

IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY

‘THE PUBLICITY WORKS AGENCY’

We Shine Only When

We Make You Shine

Website http://www.publicityworksagency.com/

Email us at ray@publicityworksagency.com

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Have a great week everybody!

Friday, November 24, 2017

NONA HENDRYX 'LABELLE LEGEND' EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ON THE RAY SHASHO SHOW

N O N A

H E N D R Y X

'LABELLE' LEGEND

NEW PROJECT WITH GARY LUCAS

'THE WORLD OF CAPTAIN BEEFHEART'

Nona Hendryx is an American vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, author, and actress. Hendryx is known for her work as a solo artist as well as for being one-third of the trio Labelle, who had a hit with "Lady Marmalade." Her music has ranged from soul, funk, and R&B to hard rock, new wave, and new-age. Her family's last name was originally spelled with an "i"; she is a cousin of American musician Jimi Hendrix.

Nona Hendryx was born in Trenton, New Jersey where she met fellow New Jersey native Sarah Dash and later met Philadelphia-born singer Patricia Holte (Patti LaBelle). After a short-lived tenure as a member of the Del-Capris, Hendryx and Dash formed a singing group with Holte (once the lead singer of a girl group in Philadelphia called The Ordettes). In 1961, Cindy Birdsong, from Camden, New Jersey, became the fourth member of the group, who became the 'Bluebelles' and signed their first deal with Newtown Records.

After the release of their debut hit, 1962's "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman", their name altered again to Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. Hendryx's husky alto differed from Dash's sharp soprano, LaBelle's mezzo-soprano and Birdsong's second soprano. During this tenure, the group became known for their emotional live performances and their renditions of classic standards such as "You'll Never Walk Alone", "Over The Rainbow"and "Danny Boy". The group often found themselves competing against girl groups such as The Chantels, Shirelles and The Supremes. In 1967, Hendryx, LaBelle and Dash were shocked to discover that Birdsong had secretly joined the Supremes after Florence Ballard was ousted from the group by Motown. Different members of the group were in touch with Birdsong over the years. Birdsong's relationships with the Bluebelles healed and they came together again for the ceremony when the group won an R&B Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999.

Back to the current release in question: Gary Lucas and Hendryx starred in a symphonic Captain Beefheart Tribute with Amsterdam's famed 65-piece Metropole Orchestra at the Paradiso a few years ago. The album was co-produced by Gary and Jesse Krakowand recorded at EastSide Sound in NYC. The World of Captain Beefheart is being released by Knitting Factory Records on November 10^th.

The World of Captain Beefheart strikes a fine balance between the more bluesy and groove-accessible songs in the good Captain's oeuvre and the more extreme, darker and weirder side.

Nona Hendryx is a longtime fierce admirer of Don Van Vliet's music, and possesses the huge voice and the commanding stage presence necessary to do full justice to repertoire that originally featured Beefheart's unforgettable multi-octave voice. Although she's best known as a funk/soul great thanks to her long tenure with international hitmakers Labelle (as well as the group's antecedent, Patti Labelle and the Bluebelles) as well as her own excellent R&B-rooted solo outings, she is no stranger to experimental rock territory, having been featured as guest vocalist with cutting-edge ensembles including Talking Heads, Bill Laswell's Material, and Jerry Harrison's Casual Gods.

To this day, Don Van Vliet remains a cult hero, relatively unknown in mainstream circles. If any album is able to change that, it's The World of Captain Beefheart.

THE WORLD

CAPTAIN

BEEFHEART

Featuring

NONA HENDRYX

And

GARY LUCAS

available now

amazon.com

The World of Captain Beefheart featuring Nona Hendryx and Gary Lucas from Knitting Factory Records available NOW at amazon.com

For more information about Nona Hendryx and concert dates visit www.nonahendryx.com

N O N A H E N D R Y X

INTERVIEWED ON

THE RAY SHASHO SHOW-BBS RADIO

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THE RAY SHASHO SHOW

NEW TIME & DATE!

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We Make You Shine

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Email us at ray@publicityworksagency.com

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Have a great week everybody!

Thursday, November 9, 2017

KIM SIMMONDS LEGENDARY GUITARIST FOR 'SAVOY BROWN' ON THE RAY SHASHO SHOW

LEGENDARY GUITARIST

K I M S I M M O N D S

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Anyone who witnessed Savoy Brown leave the blocks in 1965 would speak of a similar epiphany. Back then, the band were the spark that ignited the blues-boom, signing to Decca, opening for Cream’s first London show and boasting a lead guitarist who was being namedropped in the same reverential breath as peers like Clapton and Hendrix (with whom Simmonds jammed). Already, the guitarist was emerging as the band’s driving force. “I had a vision,” he reflects. “When I started the band back in 1965, the concept was to be a British version of a Chicago blues band. And the exciting thing now is that vision is still alive.”

Soon, Savoy Brown had achieved what most British bands never did – success in America – and became a major US draw thanks to their high-energy material and tireless work ethic. “There’s far too much said about sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll,” Simmonds told Classic Rock. “It’s a cliché. We were all extremely hard-working guys. When we came over to America, we were like a little army. I look at that time as being filled with incredible talent.”

Times changed, of course, and by 1979, Simmonds had moved from a London he no longer recognized – “The punks were everywhere!” – to settle permanently in New York. The Savoy Brown band members came and went, and the music scene shifted around him, but the guitarist stuck thrillingly to his guns and reaped the rewards, performing in iconic venues like Carnegie Hall and the Fillmore East and West, releasing thirty-odd albums, and later enjoying a well-deserved induction into Hollywood’s Rock Walk of Fame.

Even in the post-millennium, while his peers grow soft and drift into semi-retirement, Simmonds retains a vision and an edge, spitting out acclaimed albums that include 2011’s Voodoo Moon, 2014’s Goin’ To The Delta, 2015’s The Devil To Pay – and the emphatic new addition to Savoy Brown’s catalogue, Witchy Feelin’. “I'm amazed that I still have the energy inside me to play guitar, create music and write songs,” he considers. “I’ve been blessed in my life and I thank God for that. I’ve never been a believer in holding on to the past – I don’t look over my shoulder and congratulate myself. I always want to climb the next mountain – and I’m very pleased with this new album…”