Everclear stop pleases local fans

Everclear frontman Art Alexakis acknowledges
the crowd during the group's concert at the Upper
Peninsula State Fair. (Photo by Bud Lemire)

By STEVE SEYMOUR

Everclear frontman Art Alexakis made an auspicious return to Escanaba Friday.

The vocalist and his band entertained an enthusiastic crowd before the grandstand at the Upper Peninsula State Fair.

Alexakis told fans he first performed here back in 1989.

Years before Everclear, Alexakis ventured to northern Michigan as a member of the San Francisco-based "cow punk" band the Easy Hoes.

The little known band included former Escanaba resident Jeff Krebs who had moved to California to pursue his musical ambitions.

Krebs met Alexakis, formed the Easy Hoes with Kyle Statham and Kim Rahrbach and convinced them to visit his old haunts for a gig to promote their new album, "Tragic Stories of Life."

Recorded at Dancing Dog Studios in June, 1989 the disc includes a number of originals and a country rock version of AC/DC's "You Shook Me (All Night Long)."

Alexakis formed Shindig Records to release the band's debut album, but after an extensive U. S. tour, the group broke up.

Consequently, Alexakis moved to Portland, Ore. where he formed Everclear in 1992 with bassist Craig Montoya and drummer Greg Eklund.

Although Alexakis now tours with other musicians as Everclear, the original band enjoyed a large measure of success as chronicled on the album "Ten Years Gone: The Best of Everclear, 1994-2004."

To generate additional interest in their Escanaba show, Everclear sponsored an on-line contest among four area bands with the winner performing as the opening act.

Sore on Sunday won the most votes in the competition which included Driver, Skronat and Hollow.

Formed in 2005, Sore on Sunday comprises Tyler Henderson, vocals; Drew Lavacque and Eric Nault, lead guitars; Jason Kuehl, drums; and bassist J. P. Grenier.

Based in Gladstone, the group performed a four song set, firing up the crowd prior to the headline act.

The local rockers played original songs "Drunk Enough to Dance," "Push Comes to Shove" and "The Drunk Song," all from their "Scars Have two S's" compact disc.

They threw in the rock classic "Shout!" for good measure.

The band was supported by a large coterie of family, friends and fans.

With the audience suitably warmed up, Alexakis brought out Everclear. The headlining band features rock veteran Alexakis on vocals, Dave French on guitar, Freddy Herrera on bass and Sean Winchester on drums.

The quartet began their show with "Father of Mine," a song Alexakis wrote about his father abandoning the family when he was a youngster. From the "So Much for the Afterglow" album, the track was a hit on the modern rock charts in 1998 and 1999.

"It's good to be back in Escanaba. It's been 21 years," Alexakis told the crowd, most of whom were unaware he performed here before.

Alexakis continued with "You Make Me Feel..." and "Heroin Girl." The latter song is said to be about the drug overdoses of the singer's girl friend and brother and was included on the band's "Sparkle and Fade" CD.

Next up, Everclear performed "Heartspark Dollarsign" from 1996 and "Amphetamine," about a girl prescribed pills by her doctor as a cure for unhappiness.

A tune with the unwieldy name "Song From an American Movie, Part 1" slotted next.

Alexakis played Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" on acoustic guitar, dedicating it to his 18-year-old daughter Annabella. The Irish singer originally took his composition into the Top Ten in 1967.

"I've been here in Escanaba and I know you guys like classic rock," Alexakis told the crowd. He then directed Everclear through a rough version of Led Zeppelin's "Rock & Roll" with a man invited onstage from the crowd handling vocals.

The band followed with "White Men in Black Suits" and "AM Radio," a song Alexakis wrote about listening to broadcast radio when he was growing up in the 1970s.

Next on the setlist were "Volvo Driving Soccer Mom" and "Wonderful." The first song tells the story of young people giving up their rebellious lifestyle to become conservative adults.

"Wonderful," meanwhile, describes divorce from a child's point of view. The song hit No. 11 on the on the top pop singles chart in 2000.

Alexakis and the band fulfilled some wishes by playing "Santa Monica (Watch the World Die)." The song, from the "Sparkle and Fade" album, was Everclear's first hit and still the band's most requested number, Alexakis noted.

Playing to a receptive crowd all night, Everclear delivered a three-song encore, beginning with "So Much for the Afterglow."

The evening ended with the crowd cheering along to "Everything to Everyone" and "I Will Buy You a New Life." Both songs were hits on the modern rock charts in the late 1990s and also appear on the "Afterglow" album.

All told, Everclear roared through a 16-song set, including the first six tracks from "Ten Years Gone."

Although the group had a gig in Texas the following day, Alexakis stuck around after the show to sign autographs and have his picture taken with fans.

My niece Karlee Hughes, her dad Gary, my wife Sue and I were at the end of a long line to meet the Everclear singer.

When we got to the front, Alexakis waited patiently as Karlee spelled out her name so he could sign a t-shirt for her. The singer even recognized the six-year old from earlier in the day when she got her picture taken with the band when they were exploring the midway.

I got a chance to ask Alexakis, 48, about his long ago performance in Escanaba with Jeff Krebs in the Easy Hoes.

Alexakis in turn inquired about Krebs.

I told him the former Escanaba resident was married and living in Marquette with his family and working on a new solo CD.

As the conversation ended, I thanked Alexakis for coming to Escanaba for a return engagement, even if it took 21 years.

Blues magazines complement genre

Singer Maria Muldaur was the subject of a
cover story in "Blues Revue" magazine in 2000.

By STEVE SEYMOUR

Listening to the blues will teach you great lessons not commonly found in books.

However, the genre is so intricately rich in tradition and personalities that books offer an insight into the music that listening alone can't.

Personally, I depend on a trio of periodicals to keep me informed about the latest developments in the blues and to provide me with historical insight into the music.

The full-color publications appear bi-monthly in the highly competitive blues marketplace.

"Living Blues," "Big City Blues" and "Blues Revue" each offer a distinctive look at the music which has fascinated me for years.

Although I had appreciated rock 'n' roll's kinship to the blues, I didn't buy a blues magazine until March, 2000.

That's when songstress Maria Muldaur appeared on the cover of issue No. 55 of "Blues Revue."

Reading about Muldaur, I learned she was much more than just the singer responsible for "Midnight at the Oasis," the Top Ten smash from 1974.

Despite the rock 'n' roll hit, Muldaur hung around with blues legends such as Sippie Wallace, Victoria Spivey, Mississippi John Hurt and Rev. Gary Davis.

That's according to Eric Fine, who wrote the feature for "Blues Revue."

She never repeated the commercial success of "Oasis," but instead honed one of the most distinctive voices in American music.

Over the years, Muldaur has performed many styles of music, although she considers herself a blues singer today.

Beyond the cover story, I found "Blues Revue" contained enough attention-grabbing features, columns and departments to occupy my time for hours.

Needless to say, I subscribed.

Calling itself "the world's largest blues publication, devoted to the listener and musician whose musical passion is the full spectrum of the blues," the magazine is owned by Visionation in Urbandale, IA. Published by Chip Eagle, "Blues Revue" is edited by Art Tipaldi.

Founder and original publisher Bob Vogel guided the publication from a quarterly newsletter about acoustic blues to a glossy edition in 1994 featuring guitar slinger Johnny Winter on the cover.

The magazine's most recent issue continues to deliver the goods with a cover story about Joe Louis Walker and a piece on Thornetta Davis.

Davis is one of the best performers on the local blues scene in Detroit, along with Alberta Adams and Johnnie Bassett.

All three have played at the Marquette Area Blues Fest, held annually over the Labor Day weekend since 2004.

Davis released "Covered Live at the Music Menu" in 2001. The compact disc comprises 11 cover songs by the likes of Ma Rainey ("C. C. Rider"), Willie Dixon ("I Just Wanna Make Love to You") and Bill Withers ("Kissing My Love").

Even then, Al Spangler's liner notes called Davis "Detroit's most loved and respected female vocalist. No one can match the smooth power of her voice or her over all soul."

At the time, Spangler wrote from his perch at "Big City Blues," the second of my favorite three blues magazines.

The magazine's masthead promises coverage of "The Motor City, the Windy City, the Music City, the River Cities and the Crescent City."

In fact, "Big City Blues" is edited and published by Robert Jr. Whitall at the magazine's headquarters in Royal Oak, MI.

Whitall and partner/photographer Shirley Mae Owens (aka Sugar Mae) traverse the country to cover many blues festivals and concerts in person.

They brought their blues caravan to Marquette last summer where I felt compelled to buy a subscription.

Their current issue offers a cover story on seven fantastic harmonica players including Curtis Salgado, Watermelon Slim and Jason Ricci. Salgado and Slim had thrilled crowds at the Marquette Area Blues Fest, while Ricci bowed out of this year's fest at the last moment.

Published since 1996, "Big City Blues" also publishes reviews, blues astrology, blues cartoons and blues art.

"Living Blues," meanwhile, founded as a quarterly in 1970 by Jim O'Neal and Amy van Singel, is the country's oldest blues periodical.

A recent edition featured a cover story on Aaron "Little Sonny" Willis, known as Detroit's harmonica king.

The 12-page spread offered a comprehensive look at Sonny's career from a historical perspective, including vintage photographs.

Sonny recorded a handful of singles beginning in 1958 and cut three albums for the Stax Record's Enterprise label starting in 1969.

A master player, Sonny moved from Alabama to Detroit at the age of 21 and has been a mainstay on the local scene for decades.

He played on Hastings Street with many blues greats including John Lee Hooker, who settled in Detroit during the 1940s.

In addition, the Little Sonny edition of "Living Blues" carries CD reviews, news and radio charts. The radio data is compiled by Jim McGrath from playlists gathered from around the country.

"Living Blues" began as a 38-page black and white magazine about the blues put out by a group of mostly college kids from a basement apartment and sold from car trunks.

In 1983, the magazine's founders donated the publication rights and a collection of blues memorabilia to the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi.

According to editor Brett J. Bonner, "Living Blues" has published "over 200 issues, nearly 2000 articles and over 10,000 reviews.

You probably won't be surprised to learn that I have stacks of blues magazines hanging around and refer to them from time to time.

Those magazines have been a tremendous resource in deciding which blues compact discs, whether vintage or contemporary, to add to my collection.

Not only are the magazines a fine reference tool, all three offer free CDs when you sign-up for a year or more.

If you love the blues like I do, you might want to consider subscribing to a blues magazine or two or three.
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Discs resurface on Apple label

Apple Records promoted James Taylor's debut album
with this billboard advertisement.

By STEVE SEYMOUR

Back in the late 1960s, an exciting new record label emerged.

Apple Records carried music by Badfinger, Mary Hopkin and James Taylor, among others.

Founded by the Beatles to release their group and solo recordings, Apple also provided aspiring musicians with an alternative to the staid music industry of the day.

I loved the new label because when fresh acts were signed, John, Paul, George and Ringo often participated in their recordings as songwriters, musicians or producers.

Ever the collector, I snapped up 45 rpm singles and long-playing record albums on the Apple label whenever I could afford them.

Some of the more obscure offerings, however, were hard to find at retail record shops.

Singles by Trash, Hot Chocolate Band and Ronnie Spector didn't turn on radio programmers or inspire the record buying public.

Apple carried an expanded roster until 1973, when it cut back to just records tied directly to the Beatles.

Although the label was revived later, Apple stopped issuing records in 1975 with the release of "Blast From Your Past," a Ringo Starr hits collection.

When it decided to phase out operations, the company still had its inventory of unsold product to unload.

Knowing many fans collected records, especially those related to the Beatles, Apple offered its excess stock for sale to the public.

Rolling Stone magazine carried a full-page advertisement from the company which listed the entire Apple catalog, with the exception of successful Beatles records, at wholesale prices.

Seeing a collecting opportunity, I bought every title I didn't already have.

When my shipment of Apple Records arrived, I was thrilled.

I played the singles first, because they were quick to listen to and often held the best songs.

Many of the records sported attractive picture sleeves depicting the artists in color photographs.

My treasure trove of vinyl included the Black Dyke Mills Band's take on "Thingumybob," McCartney's theme song for a British television show; Jackie Lomax's recording of a Harrison tune called "Sour Milk Sea;" and Bill Elliot and the Elastic Oz Band's rendition of "God Save Us," penned by Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Some of the Apple releases, like "Those Were the Days" by Mary Hopkin and Badfinger's "Day After Day" were gigantic hits, but many singles vanished without any chart activity.

In addition to the acts already mentioned, Apple also released singles in the U. S. by Badfinger (first known as the Iveys), Billy Preston, Radha Krishna Temple, Doris Troy, Ravi Shankar, Lon & Derrek Van Eaton, Chris Hodge and the Sundown Playboys.

Besides 45s, my box also held a stack of Apple record albums, including James Taylor's debut.

The label's first non-Beatles project, Taylor's album featured eleven original tunes and one traditional song, "Circle Round the Sun."

Paul McCartney played bass on "Carolina in My Mind" and George Harrison borrowed the opening words from "Something In The Way She Moves" for his own "Something," recorded by the Beatles in 1969.

Peter Asher, of Peter & Gordon fame, produced the singer/songwriter's record album.

Apple distributed a variety of discs in addition to Taylor's. Other artists meriting LPs were Modern Jazz Quartet, Mary Hopkin, Jackie Lomax, Badfinger, Billy Preston, John Tavener, Doris Troy, David Peel, Elephants Memory and Lon & Derrek Van Eaton.

After I examined my newly-purchased records, I was sure they would escalate in value. I guessed not many collectors would invest in out-of-print Apple recordings from acts quickly fading from memory.

When the compact disc era arrived, few Apple recordings, other than those by the Beatles themselves, escaped on the new format. Those which did see the light of day were quickly deleted.

Now, that is about to change.

Apple Records, brought back to life for the release of the Beatles Anthology series in the mid 1990s, has been busy mining the company's vaults.

The first fruit of that labor will be "Come and Get It: The Best of Apple Records," due to be released on Oct. 25.

Packed with music, the disc will contain 21 singles from 16 Apple artists. Some tracks were hits, while others have been rescued from obscurity.

The set will include three songs from Badfinger, including "Come and Get It," "Maybe Tomorrow" and "Day After Day," a No. 4 record from 1972. Mary Hopkin will be represented by "Goodbye" and "Those Were the Days," a No. 2 smash from 1969.


Mary Hopkin

Billy Preston's "That's the Way God Planned It" and "My Sweet Lord" are also included. Preston's take on "My Sweet Lord" was recorded two months before Harrison taped his No. 1 version of the song.

The Apple collection also includes "Give Peace a Chance" by Hot Chocolate Band and "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight" by Trash, songs already familiar to Beatles fans.

If those selections don't appeal to you, consider singles by Brute Force, Jackie Lomax, Doris Troy, Ronnie Spector, Chris Hodge, the Sundown Playboys and Lon & Derrek Van Eaton.

Some of Apple's non-hit singles turned into cult classics, the company says.

In addition, 16 original Apple albums will be released, each will bonus material, according to a press release from Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music.

"Each of the albums has been digitally remastered at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London by the same dedicated team of engineers behind the Beatles' recent remastered catalog releases of 2009," according to a statement.

The cache of albums will comprise James Taylor, Doris Troy, Badfinger, Mary Hopkin, Billy Preston, Jackie Lomax, Modern Jazz Quartet and classical musician and composer John Tavener.

A late addition to the reissue campaign is "Radha Krishna Temple" by the International Society of Krishna Consciousness, produced by Harrison. "Govinda" and "Hare Krishna Mantra" were both surprise hits in the United Kingdom. Harrison played lead guitar on "Govinda" and harmonium, lead and bass guitar on the chanting number.

Apple surprised many in the industry by announcing that the albums would also be available for digital download.

For unexplained reasons, the reissue program does not include several soundtracks and full-length albums recorded by David Peel, Elephant's Memory, Lon & Derrek Van Eaton and Ravi Shankar.

Now, if you were wondering why Apple let decades pass before getting this stuff into the marketplace, I don't know.

I'm just glad the wait is almost over.

U. P. music thrived in Depression

The WPA Stringed Band of Flat Rock performed
in Delta County during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

By STEVE SEYMOUR

While the Upper Peninsula suffered in the Great Depression just like the rest of the country, home grown music thrived in northern Michigan during that time, even if the economy didn't.

Consider that U. P. native Viola Turpeinen was a major recording star, that musicologist Alan Lomax recorded nearly 1,000 ethnic folk songs during a trip to the area and that the federal government launched a program in Delta County which trained hundreds of youths to play musical instruments.

Still, the whole country was singing the blues after the stock market crash of 1929 brought on the decade-long Great Depression.

"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime" became a No. 1 hit for Bing Crosby and Rudee Vallee on separate occasions.


Bing Crosby

Written by E. Y. Harburg (lyrics) and Jay Gorney (music), the song became an anthem of the Great Depression. The song is said to represent a World War I veteran's reflection on his life as a jobless person after fighting for his country just a few years before.

Duke Ellington's "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" was another popular song of the era, which saw unemployment hit 25 percent and poverty and despair reach new heights.

Not as well-known nationally as Crosby, Vallee or Ellington, the U. P.'s Viola Turpeinen was a superstar in the Finnish-American community, concentrated in the area surrounding western Lake Superior.

Born in Champion in 1909, Turpeinen grew up in Marquette County where her immigrant father worked in an iron mine.

Known as the "Finnish-American Princess," she left northern Michigan for New York City at age 18.

There, she parlayed her vocal and accordion skills into a recording career, becoming the first female accordion player to have her work preserved on wax.

She recorded dozens of 78 rpm discs for the Victor and Columbia labels in the late 1920s and 30s, mainly polkas, waltzes, hambos and schottisches.

Her songs carry such names as "Woods of Finland Polka," "Heina Hika" and "Let's Go Polka." She recorded those songs and others with an ensemble including her husband William Syralia.


Viola Turpeinen

Turpeinen toured extensively, playing many dances and concerts, becoming the biggest star in Finnish-American music. Her fame extended to Finland, as well.

She was active for a decade beginning in the late 1920s and from just after World War II until 1954.

I own three record albums of Turpeinen material released on the Colonial label by the Standard Phono Corp. Two of the albums feature Finnish scenes on the cover while the third carries a portrait of Turpeinen and her accordion. The company released at least half a dozen albums by the Finnish-American star.

Turpeinen, 49, died of cancer in 1958 at her home in Florida, leaving behind a legacy of Finnish music.

Preserving the U. P.'s diverse ethnic music was the goal of Alan Lomax, who visited northern Michigan on a recording expedition in 1938, paid for by the federal government.

During his early career, he traversed the south recording such blues notables as Leadbelly and Jellyroll Morton.

In a report to the Library of Congress, Lomax noted "The Upper Peninsula proved to be the most fertile source of material. After six week of recording a mass of lumberjack, Finnish and French folk-songs, I felt that there was material enough in the region for years of work.

"Near Newberry, Munising, Greenland and Ontonagon, it was comparatively easy to find lumberjack singers. Everywhere through the Copper Country and south of it, Finnish singers generously furnished me with more material than I had time to record. In Champion and Baraga, I found French ballad singers who still enjoyed ballad fests that lasted all night long."

Recordings were also made in St. Ignace, Champion, Marinesco, Amasa, Calumet, Fulton, Charles, Round Lake, Hancock, Allouez, Laurium and Ironwood.


Alan Lomax

Lomax spent much of the fall recording Finnish musicians in the western U. P., returning to Washington, D. C. in late 1938.

While Lomax sought to preserve the folk songs of various ethnic groups, the federal Works Progress Administration sought to bring music to the people by teaching youngsters to play musical instruments.

In Delta County, Joseph Bussineau was hired by the federal government to launch a music program in Flat Rock. Bussineau taught violin, mandolin and banjo to young students who had no previous musical training.

The local program was started in early 1936 when large numbers of eager young people began to congregate at Bussineau's residence in Flat Rock. Soon, his basement became a studio where the aspiring musicians were taught in groups every night of the week, beginning at 7 p. m.

After six months of instruction, the students began to make free public appearances all around the area, including a performance at the Bark River community building on June 16, 1936.

The public, desiring to forget about the economic hardships of the time, responded with enthusiasm.

Early on, the band included 86 pieces, then 150, and finally, over 200 youngsters participated. The group, known as the Junior Music Club, made dozens of appearances to entertain the weary public.

In addition, Bussineau noted the program had another benefit. "It is one way to deal with the child delinquency problem. Give the children something to do in which they are interested and you will have no trouble."

Also billed as the WPA Stringed Band of Flat Rock, the group performed for the 50th time at the Flat Rock town hall on Dec. 15, 1937.

Bussineau even requested and received airtime on radio station WBEO in Marquette for his group. The 15-minute broadcast took place at 10 a. m. on Sunday, June 4, 1939. One of their final performances took place at the second annual U. P. Townsend Rally and Picnic, held Aug. 4, 1940 at the fairgrounds in Escanaba.

By 1940, the country was emerging from the Great Depression and World War II was on the horizon.

Nationally, jazz and big band music from the likes of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey rose in popularity during the financially-difficult 1930s. Folk singer Woody Guthrie also gained national recognition during this period.

In the geographically-remote Upper Peninsula, Viola Turpeinen was a star, but to a lesser extent so were the scores of ethnic musicians recorded by Alan Lomax and the hundreds of youngsters who took up string instruments under the tutelage of Joseph Bussineau.
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