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The Band and Eric Clapton, Further On Up the Road

General Categories, Rock and Roll, , , , , , , , , , ,

Certainly one of my favorite rock and roll movies of all time has to be: The Last Waltz.

The film chronicles the official last performance with The Band with Robbie Robertson on lead guitar. (The Band would continue for over two decades longer without Robertson, but that’s another story).

This was the last time the original Band members would play together.

The film was made on Thanksgiving Day /Evening by film legend Martin Scorsese. The concert itself was produced by long time band supporter, Bill Graham. Although Graham is given little credit for putting the whole event together. This party featured a Thanksgiving feast as well…

The list of rock luminaries performing was staggering. Many, if not all of the performers are now honored in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The format was for the Band to open and play a set. Then other featured performers would play with the Band.

This particular video features Eric Clapton,, with Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, and Richard Manuel.

So let’s go “Further on Up the Road.” Note the blistering guitar solos by Roberson and Clapton. Simply outstanding…

You can grab you own copy of The Last Waltz right here:

Rock on…
albert grande
What You Think Becomes Reality

A Ripping Guitar, A Hard Beat…I’m Going Home

rock and roll, , ,

There is a lot of incredible music that was born from the sixties…

One of the true unsung heros of that era was Alvin Lee and Ten Years After.

They had an amazing presence. They played their own brand of rock mixed with the blues, jazz and some down home back porch music…

Lee became somewhat of a legend with his performance at Woodstock. It was truly memorable.

Check it out here:

I was fortunate to see Ten Tears After play live. The band was on fire. Headbangers listen up: Alvin Lee was the grandmaster of guitar.

Here’s the Woodstock film:

And some Ten Years After Music:

Here’s another version of I’m Goin’ Home, from the Bill Graham collection:

Respectfully submitted,
albert grande
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Grateful Dead Internet Marketing Lessons, Part 2

Internet Marketing, rock and roll, , , , , , , , , ,

For Part 2 of Internet Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead, let’s look at their Unique Selling Position.

This is a recording of The Grateful Dead from the Filmore East 4/29/71.

You can hear them doing a version of Uncle John’s Band, right, here:

The Grateful Dead offered their own, USP (Unique selling position).

As promoter Bill Graham said: “They’re not the best at what they do, they’re the only ones who do what they do”.

Like most performers, the Dead did tours of multiple cities, during the Spring and Fall. Most performers will bring the exact same show to each city. That is the same exact song list for each concert. Even the encore is the same.

Not so with the Dead. Each show was different and unique. You can hear the New York crowd go wild after this tune. Even Bill Graham asks: “Is there anyone like the Grateful Dead?”

The Dead’s USP was that they were different from most every other rock band. Their best shows were totally spontaneous. They would not play the same songs night after night, they mixed things up.

Not only were the songs different, each concert was a virtual marathon. Dead shows lasted an average of 4 hours (with a break between sets.)

When you attended a Grateful Dead concert, you knew you were getting you money’s worth.

You were not only going to a concert, you were going to an event.

So much so, that the crowd became a part of the concert. The fans of the Grateful Dead even named themselves Dead Heads. Some fans became so fanatical, they would follow the band from city to city for an entire tour.

The Dead knew this, and realized that this was part of their USP as well. Not that every concert was spectacular, because it wasn’t. With the Dead, sometimes the magic worked and sometimes, it didn’t.

So what’s your USP? Are you trying to define your self as different or are you just like everyone else?

Here’s the encore from the same show:

You can find additional concerts and Grateful Dead information, here:

Wolfgang's Vault - Where live music lives

Any Jimmy Buffet fans?
Jimmy Buffett Live at Record Plant, October 24, 1974 – Available for Download

Respectfully submitted,
Albert Grande
Dead-Head-in-Training

Wolfgang’s Vault: Musical History

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Wolfgang's Vault

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A little known fact about me, is that I spent a few years as a DJ. I didn’t work at a top 40 station, rather the music that I played had meaning for me in my life. Music was such a part of me I wanted to share the soundtrack with whoever would listen.

And what a soundtrack it was.

My first radio show was broadcast on the Virginia Tech College radio station in Blacksburg, Virginia. I was basically able to play anything I wanted, with few limitations. My experiences there were incredible life lessons that have stayed with me to this very day.

Later, I would get a job on a commercial radio station in Montpelier, Vermont. The station, WNCS, was one of the very few which would broadcast all types of music from reggae to hard rock and everything else in between. This was not your typical radio format.

I had a number of highs and lows while I worked there including the time I accidently shut down the entire station. That was a very low point. But somehow I survived. I never made it to the big time of professional radio, but believe me I had lots of fun in the process.

One of the DJ’s tricks, was to put on a 10-15 minute song so you could make a cup of coffee or do some planning for the rest of the show.

What follows is a live cut from one of my mainstay artists, Neil Young.. This particular recording is from the archives of the great music promoter, Bill Graham. The archives are contained in Wolfgang’s Vault, an incredible music resource.

Hey, go make a cup of coffee or do some planning as you listen to one of my favorite songs of all time. The recording has a real garage band feel to it. That is part of its appeal…

These days a lot of my planning is how to increase the size of my list. I found a great resource for you.

Check it out, here.


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Be well,
albert