An Overheard Conversation from a Scarborough High School Parking Lot in 1973.

An Overheard Conversation from a Scarborough High School Parking Lot in 1973.

LONG HAIRED GUY 1: Dude! Have you heard the new Floyd? Dark Side of the Moon?

LONG HAIRED GUY 2: I know! It's far out!

LHG1: I was so totally psyched. Last night, I lit up and hit the headphones. When those clocks kicked in I thought my head was going to explode.

LHG2: Dude, it's a total freak out.

LHG1: And the cash register!

LHG2: Freaky-deaky, man. That's Floyd saying that they hate money and they hate corporate success.

LHG1: Right on, brother. Gimme Five! Floyd don't care about making money. After this album I heard they're calling it quits.

LHG2: Here's the skinny, my man, Floyd have been around since 65. Those dudes are getting old and no one lasts more than 8 years in the music business.

LONG HARD GUY 3: Hey is that the new Floyd?

LHG1: Totally.

LHG3: What did you think of all those voices?

LHG2: What voices?

LHG3: The  voices!

LHG1: Dude those voices freaked me out. I was tripping.

LHG2: What voices?

LHG3: There's no way anyone could ever pull it off live.

LHG2: What voices, man? I'm scared of the voices?

LHG3: I mean, could you imagine if a band pulled the entire album off live, note for note? Impossible.

LHG1: I have an idea…

LHG2: What voices?

Craig Martin
Founder
Classic Albums Live

Breakfast in America

in 1980
i was selling records
tons of them
i worked for the hudson bay company
scarborough town centre

selling records for the bay
was the greatest straight job anyone could have asked for
i'd spin albums all day
on sunday's they'd ask me to play easy listening
i'd put on side 3 of the wall

there was always a ton of cash in the register
everyone bought records
there were daily shipments
and we sold tons of really strange stuff
like hagood hard
the knack
nana mouskouri

but the album i remember selling more than any other album
was breakfast in america
man
in our little corner of the world
we must have sold 5000 copies out of that one store
and this was going on everywhere in the world

i saw supertramp in concert
at the canadian national exhibition
and the show was exact
shivers
the contrast of roger and rick
two gentlemen
both young
and at the top of their game
both of them composing absolute works of genius
and bringing them to the band
to learn and interpret
what an experience
supertramp are like nasa
they're rocket scientists with notes

we recently had a fun connection with roger hodgson
a cat from roger's camp
got in touch
and told us that roger had been checking us out
and would we be open to working together?
i said we would very open to working with roger
just tell us what to do

but it didn't happen
roger tours all the time
he works hard
i just don't think that time allowed for it
but i remain hopeful
i don't push
we're at his beck and call
it would be an honour

still
i'd have to insist on note for note
perhaps over the years
roger has gotten used to playing a certain phrase in logical song
ever so slightly different
we'd have to correct him
the nerve!
could you imagine?
i have this same scenario played out with paul mcCartney and roger waters
clearly i have issues

breakfast in america is a perfect album
perhaps the greatest slice of pop pie since the beatles disbanded
the british classical element
zep had it
the beatles had it
floyd
certainly the who
and supertramp had it too
masters all

we begin to perform breakfast in america this month
so wonderful
a miracle
it was beautiful
magical

craig
february 10, 2013
tea and cookies

Sgt. Pepper at Roy Thomson Hall

Sgt. Pepper is such a common part of our lives. It's like ketchup. It keeps showing up. For the past 46 years we've had Pepper journeying alongside us as we trip through life. And lucky for us The Beatles put Diamonds in our sky.

There's been a ton of writing and critical praise already heaped upon the album that it's close to impossible for a piece of art to stand up to such lauding. But Pepper does in fact stand up. And I'll go as far to say that it's the most important piece of art ever created. So much so that it makes the Mona Lisa frown. And unlike monumental feats of architecture, you don't have to travel to the other side of the world to experience it. More people have listened to Sgt. Pepper than watched Citizen Kane. Combine and add up all the Bach, Brahms and Beethoven record sales and you'll find that they don't come close to selling as many albums as Pepper.

Sgt. Pepper is the first classical rock album. All the albums that Classic Albums Live performs are classical albums, but Pepper is the flagship. I can hear all the stuffy, traditional classical lovers snorting their grunts of disapproval. But who cares? A Day in their Life is different from mine. They can go fly a Kite. This is classical music, baby. It's enduring with Telecasters and Ludwigs sounding the battle cry.

When Classic Albums Live first salted ourselves with Pepper, I remember us being intimidated. Here was a bunch of shaggy musicians tackling the most important piece of music ever made. And being led by a guy from Scarborough. But we buggered on a found the heart of the album. The George Harrison track - 'Within Without You' - proved not only be the most challenging but the most rewarding. Whenever we play the song live you can hear an audible gasp from people in the audience. Growing up, this was the track that we used to get up off the couch and lift the needle on, but now it's the most compelling track and demands attention. Funny that.

The first time we performed this album, I remember there being a palpable buzz in the air. No one had ever performed the entire album prior to us, let alone boast the 'note for note' claim. The show was magical. A historical night. The next morning I remember Leaving Home for the corner market. I picked up the Toronto Star and there was our review. They called our show "Joyful" and "Thrilling".  To this day those are my two favourite adjectives.

It's an honour to be on stage at Roy Thomson Hall with this incredible piece of music. We know how to perform this album. We've been doing it for 10 years and living with it our entire lives. And we keep Getting Better. All the Time.

Guest Blogger: Vanessa Jurek!

thanks to v for a great article

America's 40th anniversary tour at Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts January 26, 2013

Now in their 43rd year of performing America took to the stage of Oakville last night with their sold out show.
This was their second show at the Centre with their lst appearance happening on Jan. 31 2008
The theatre appreciates feedback from their patrons and I had been so in awe of their previous performance that I
had requested a return booking which took place to my delight last night.
Founded by Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell with their third bandmate Dan Peek who the music world lost in 2011 and had left the band in 1977
after an amicable split.
The bandmates were barely out of their teens when success started to happen for them. In 1972 America won a Grammy for Best New Artist
Performing 100 shows a year has kept America in fine tune and practically note for note showcasing their musical talents not only with
their  many hits in the 70's which you could not help but hear on Top 40 stations everywhere.
their presence on the music scene came to prominence when Sir George Martin was appointed their producer-arranger from 1974-1979.With this Beatle connection I
truly believe it made me more of an America fan than ever ...and Sir George still keeps in touch with the band and was in attendance when the band received their star on the
Hollywood walk of fame in 2012.
This tour included songs from their current release Back Pages which is an album of covers...songs that America "wished that they had written" as well as a 40th anniversary release
of their greatest hits.
America is a band that is so much more than their string of hits in the '70's.Their music contains a fusion of folk rock pop with a combination of styles from soul-baring ballads to up tempo
rockers which thrill their fans and has endured throughout the years. They do not disappoint in performance ...and they have a philosophy that is similar to Classic Albums Live..
"it's all about the music"... if you have the opportunity to catch their tour in a city near you it will be a night to remember.
The theatre is a warm intimate almost "living room" setting for the band and it holds a sentimental attachment for me as well. This is the venue where I attending my first ever Classic Albums Live
show in 2005. I would recommend that History...America's Greatest Hits would be a suggestion for a future show at my favorite venue.
America has seen many changes in the music industry throughout the years yet continues to entertain and inspire musiclovers everywhere. To see them interact with their legion of fans
is proof of that. America is the real deal  Long may they showcase their high quality musical standards as they continue to tour the world in 2013 and beyond.


The current band lineup includes the following

Gerry Beckley on Accoustic Guitar keys and vocals
Dewey Bunnell on Accoustic Guitar and vocals
Michael Woods on Fender Strat
Rich Campbell on Bass (America alumni for 35 years)
Willie Leacox on Drums


Set List

You can do magic
Don't cross the river
Daisy Jane
Riverside
Three roses
Ventura Highway
I need you
Tin Man
Woodstock (Joni Mitchell cover)
Cornwall blank
Hollywood
From a moving train
Lonely People
Til I hear it from you (gin blossoms cover)
The Border
Woman tonight
only in your heart
California Dreamin' (Mama & Papas cover)
Sandman
Sister Golden hair

Encore

A Horse with no name

Guest Blogger: Alex McMaster!

Ten Years Gone
I've covered a lot of ground with CAL over the past decade.
It's not the way I used to tour, gone for 4 or 5 weeks at a time, sleeping on floors or all crammed into one cheap motel room; these days the trips don't last as long (and I rarely have to share a room, let alone a bed), but they all add up to a lot of miles travelled together.

I like being on the road. Life is simpler. You don't have to worry about much beyond getting where you're going, and playing the show once you get there. My only potential cause for concern is when I have to work with a new violinist, or adjust to a different cello. (I won't fly with mine anymore, not since Air Canada broke its neck). But those are small things, and usually work out just fine.
There is comfort to be found in the boredom of hours spent in the van, or waiting in an airport lounge. In the unshakeable faith that at some point, the following things are bound to happen:
Marty will mention that band he was in called Wireless.
Mark will beat me at Scrabble, and I will recall with fondness the days Before Mark, when I always won.
Rob will share a bor.. riveting Pink Floyd-related anecdote.
Craig will give me his crossword to finish, and then need a new activity.
Will will pun.
Brax will pollute the environment with a foul-smelling meat product.
David will watch old black and white films on his ipad, and ask Mark if he thinks 9/11 was a conspiracy.
Nicky will say F a lot, because he doesn't swear anymore, then tell cute stories about his kids.
Troy will make fun of my  moves.
Des will drink tea, and read a book about Terribly Important Ideas.
Boge will chuff-chuff, and never forget to pack the wine.
Someone will ask "where's Doug?"
Johnny B will keep us alive.

Monty Python will be recited with British accents that we'll forget to switch off in the outside world.
We will spend hours in silence, and laugh at the same stupid jokes til it hurts.
We will take the stage together to perform great music.

If this is how it were to end -  right here, right now, like this - I'd have no complaints.


Alex McMaster
CAL Musician, String Arranger and Road Wife since 2003

Guest Blogger: Michelle Jones!

What does it take to be a CAL musician? I can only offer my opinion based on my experiences and learning from others (including asking other band mates.)

Like most professional violinists, I was trained to be a symphonic musician in the classical styles.  This means that I was expected to take complex music, analyze it from start to finish (including chord changes and progressions and how the melodies and harmonies fit together), practice playing it on my own, and then finally rehearse it with the full ensemble before a performance.  As a solo musician, I still had to do all these things to ensure that the essence of the piece is captured in a solo performance, not just the written solo parts.  Listening to recordings of the same piece by a variety of artists was crucial in developing my own style for the way of performing that piece. 

But this is where the freedom ends.  You still have to learn all the notes exactly as printed on the page.  When in a symphony orchestra, you have to learn the conductor’s style for the way HE wants us to perform that piece as a cohesive group.  Much of the music we are taught and perform is from DWEMs (dead, white, European males), and we cannot simply ask them, “Is this the style you intended?”  Therefore, it is up to the conductor to interpret that for us, and it is our job to create it as best as possible.  If a player’s style conflicts with the conductor’s style, then that player is usually not rehired for future work.  Sometimes, the conductor fires them on the spot (I’ve seen this happen several times.)

With CAL, this same discipline applies.  Only stricter.  There are no scores and parts written for us that we can simply purchase or rent (like symphonic music.)  We have to create those charts OURSELVES.  Our styles or interpretations of the music are irrelevant.  We are completely dependent on recreating the original recordings of the albums.  We do not have the freedom to improvise based on some possible chord progressions.  We have to virtually dissect the album, note for note, cut for cut, by listening repeatedly, and determining which parts of that album for which each one of us is responsible.  It’s like musical dictation at the most advanced levels.  But how do you know what parts are yours?  Ahhhh, that’s where the discussion arises.  Are you covering the tambourine and the vocals in this song?  Am I singing the high or middle note?  Who is on the lead vocal for this one?  This is where the style of the players/singers must be matched to the song.  This is why there is a large pool of musicians in CAL; the performers must match the original as closely as possible. 

Some of the CAL musicians scrawl notes or just words with chord letters on a piece of plain paper; some use no charts at all as they have their parts fully memorized for that album.  Some don’t even know how to read musical notation, but that does not mean that they are any less caliber of a musician.  They still have trained themselves to listen for every nuance, every twang, every breath and know how to place them accordingly.  Some of us have written out the musical notation for our instruments, mainly to make it easier for ourselves on the gig so that we don’t leave anything out.  Craig has even paid for some charts to be transcribed so that he can hire local musicians to “fill in” and save some travel expenses by not using all traveling musicians.  This is good for business, but challenging for consistency.  In one city, the trumpet player may play well reading the chart, but doesn’t know when to help fill in with handclaps or sing with group vocals.  In another city, it takes two keyboardists to do the job of the one they have in another.  How do they know how to split their parts when they live in different countries?

These considerations and decisions are the responsibility of the leader and contractor.  You hire someone based on their abilities and recommendations; you continue to hire someone based on their performance and interaction with the band.  When there are no charts and very little directions, you have to rely on your band mates to communicate with you.  But, you still have to be prepared to play parts you might not have practiced.  You just don’t exactly know until you get to the rehearsal, if there is one.  Oftentimes, the bandleader will want to do different songs than originally planned for the second set.  This is where you need to know the entire catalogue from that band, and be prepared to play it with a moment’s notice.  Keyboardists have the most challenging time with this as they have to program or re-program on the fly during the show.  On many occasions, I have been asked to help on keys, percussion, vocals, and even the congas and glockenspiel.  I was hired as a violinist for that show, but I was prepared for these last-minute additions, as I knew the other parts needed to be covered.  On one show, we learned during sound check that the guest choir was not prepared for their parts.  They were expecting the leader to send them a chart to learn, they would learn it in school (traditionally this is how they prepare), and then come to sound check.  They were never sent a chart; only told to sing the choir parts on this certain song.  I saw the immediate need, and knew that the show would fail if I didn’t do something.  I was able to use my many years of vocal training in opera, church and gospel choirs to quickly transcribe a chart for their director, work with the group during my dinner break, and successfully re-create the sound needed for that show.  The audience was none the wiser, but the band knew.  I later sent a formal transcription to Craig for use in future shows so that it would not happen again.  It’s this type of teamwork that makes a successful show.  If you cannot learn other parts on a moment’s notice, or if you are flustered easily by the quick changes, then you don’t belong in CAL.

As Craig has stated many times, this music cannot just be read and played once.  It has to be in your DNA.  You have to grow up listening to it, over and over, wearing out the grooves on the record, stretching the tape from listening so many times, even wearing the paint off the “back” button for repeating it so often.  This is where the only classically trained musician usually fails to meet the expectations of CAL.  The CAL musician has to know the music inside and out, and LOVE IT.  If we don’t love it, it shows in our performances, and the fans can read that.  The fans are here for the love of the music, and it is our job and responsibility to give them exactly what they want while leaving them wanting more.

Michelle Jones, Vinylinist
CAL musician since 2005

Guest Blogger: Marty Morin!

 These days I spend a lot of time listening to and working on music that was created in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s by giants of the music industry. Bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Dylan, Hendrix, The Band, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, AC/DC…the list goes on and on. To me, to my generation and even to generations after me this music became iconic. It fueled a social movement in the ‘60s and eventually created an industry. These were artists and musicians who wrote their own music, played their own instruments, had control over how their music sounded and even how they looked. It was a Renaissance period in popular music. The advent of new technology in those days allowed this new music to be heard around the world for the first time. It exploded! It was huge and the numbers were staggering.

   However just before these bands broke new ground there was a period between the rockers of the late ‘50s and the British Invasion of the mid ‘60s when popular music was an entirely different animal. This was the era when music producers and A & R men from record companies decided who recorded what songs and how they were to sound. This was music by committee. Pop stars were created from scratch, sometimes found working in diners or on the street. Phil Spector on the west coast, Mitch Miller in New York, Barry Gordy with Motown in Detroit, Ahmet Ertegan pretty well everywhere and Jerry Wexler in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. These music producers, among others, would find singers, find songwriters, find studios, find musicians, find arrangers and create these stars. Bobby Rydell, Bobby Vinton, Bobby Vee, Bobby Darin, Bobby Goldsboro, Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon, Connie Francis, Pat Boone, Paul Anka, Patty Page, Jan & Dean…there were dozens of these artists on top of the charts. They sang songs about love, songs about breakups, songs about getting back together, songs about cheating and being cheated on and, for some odd reason, there were a lot of novelty songs like The Bird Song, Flying Purple People Eater and They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha, Ha. It was a weird time for music. Most of it was overproduced and very hollow. The rock & roll edginess of Elvis, Little Richard and The Killer Jerry Lee had given way to a sickly sweet, manufactured sound that was safe, straight and predictable. When the British Invasion got under way with The Beatles it was a breath of fresh air.

    I see a lot of parallels to that time in the music industry today. As I listen and work on these classic songs I can’t help but wonder if there is anything out there today that will have a lasting effect on people the way these songs have. Will they stand the test of time? Will there be another Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Rolling Stones’ Exile On Main Street or Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon? These days it seems the chart positions and attention goes to artists like Justin Bieber, Niki Minage, Taylor Swift, the boy band One Direction, Shakira… These artists are packaged in much the same way as the overnight sensations of the early ‘60s were. To me, it has that same hollowness. This, again, is music by committee. Producers and record company suits once again rule the roost. It’s not healthy. Music should be played and performed by musicians. Today producers such as Kanye West, Dr. Dre, The Bomb Squad and Timbaland krank out, in my opinion, faceless hits filled with their own trademark sounds. Most of the music is created without the singer or writer even being present. An artist I know from Toronto got a deal with a producer in Miami. She sent her basement demos to him and six months later he sent her back a complete album he produced. Songs were rearranged, titles changed, strings and horns added, sometimes the tempo and feel of the songs were altered drastically. The only input she had was overdubbing the vocals after it was all done. Are there too many fingers in the pie? Have we lost the singer/songwriter/producer? Has the music ventured too far from the writer’s intentions?

    Today’s music scene is very much like the way it was just before the music took over back in the ‘60s. The airwaves are saturated with manufactured artists singing simplistic lyrics. Who or what will save us from this banal soundscape? Has the internet cancelled the “next big thing!”? Is there an amazing talent just around the corner that will change the course of music the way Sinatra, Elvis, The Beatles, The Stones, Hendrix and Dylan did? For the sake of music let’s hope so.