ROCK 'n' ROLL news

ROCK 'n' ROLL news

Yoko Ono and John Lennon made a surprise guest appearance at the John Sinclair Benefit held in Ann Arbor on December 10th. Fifteen thousand people turned out to see speeches and performances by luminaries who ran the gamut of rock and politics: Bobby Seale, Stevie Wonder, Jerry Rubin, STK, the Up, Ed Sanders, Commander Cody, and Allen Ginsberg.

John & Yoko played only four songs, accompanied by David Peel and the Lower East Side, Jerry Rubin, Leslie Bacon and CREEM’s own Toby B. Mamis. The set, all of which was acoustic, included three tunes John has recently written, including “Attica State,” “Free John Sinclair,” and “Luck of the Irish,” a sort of IRA battle hymn based upon “The Patriot Game.” The performances were taped, for possible release on Apple. (Neither Peel, Rubin, Bacon or Mamis, as far as we know, is contracted, for recording purposes.) Full details and pictures of the benefit will appear in next month’s CREEM.

Hot on the heels of the OZ trial comes the news that the august British underground journal, International Times, has been busted for a Zap-type comic they published called Nasty Tales. Sources at I.T. itself think the blast of official wrath was incurred by one of two R. Crumb features, “Dirty Dogs” or the “Grand International Fuck-in” poster. If the OZ affair was any indication, it’s going to be a rough trial, and bread is urgently needed at Bust Fund, c/o International Times, 11A Burwick St., London W1A 4PF.

The legendary Punch Andrews, he of Brownsville Station and Bob Seger fame, announced from his hideout that The Tea have changed their name to Seventeen Seventy-Six.

Equally legendary rock ’n’ roll band, Grand Funk Railroad, have just scored their sixth straight gold album with E Pluribus Funk, and now are off to Copenhagen for their pre-Christmas European tour, but as Dynamic Duo ’stead of Terrific Trio. While Farner and Schachner winged it to Denmark, drummer Donnie Brewer was on a plane back to Flint, Michigan.

But fear not, funk fans — they’re not gonna convert to a Seals & Crofts act. The Deranged Don had merely forgotten his passport, and after hastily-placed telephone calls to The State Department (via unlisted hotlines reserved for VIP’s, yet) he decided it would be wiser not to risk getting barred from the state of Denmark, so he flew back to Flint until it was cleared up, saying “It’s not Copenhagen but it’s home.”

The European tour will be the group’s last for a year, but when they get back in the USA they’ll be making a formal announcement of other gigs in the works, including a movie, a TV special on their Shea Stadium show, and deals aplenty endorsing a wide range of products from all over the world.

After we were told that Grand Funk Railroad was going to make a very important announcement about a “personal project; something no other recording group has ever done”, we got to wondering and speculating what it could be. Speculation around the office tended to favor one of the band members, or manager Terry Knight, running for public office. This was written before their December 19th press conference, so you can all know how CREEM staffers, in general, fare as political/rock pundit/prophets.

And, as for the rumors, now rampant, that GFRR is fading fast, a source very very close to the group asked us to remind you that E Pluribus Funk has outsold all the band’s previous efforts (it should have; it’s their best), and that “People Let’s Stop the War” is becoming the group’s first hit single ever. Bad luck like that they deserve.

Oh incidentally, is there any truth to the rumor that not only has Terry Knight recently tied a wedding knot but so has lead guitarist/sex symbol Mark Farner? Congrats to one and (maybe) all.

Douglas records deal with ABKCO (Allen Klein’s corporation) for distribution of Alexandro Jodorowsky’s film El Topo, appears to have gone sour already.

There’s gonna be a Marvel Comics show at Carnegie Hall on January fifth. Appearing at the show will be Thor, Spider Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four and other extra-terrestial bodies, along with Marvel’s head man Stan Lee.

Also taking part in the “celebration of cosmic exploits” will be the French film director Alain Resnais, actor Peter Boyle, and the Beach Boys Dennis Wilson, who will introduce musical material inspired by Marvel’s “Silver Surfer.” Jazzman Chico Hamilton will improvise background music for the show, called A Marvel-ous Evening with Stan Lee.

The show will also feature Peter Nevard’s films, slides and lighting effects; magician Jeff Crozier, who will devise some new illusions for the performance and Marvel artists, John Bessman and Herb Trimpe, who will animate a fight sequence on the spot.

In addition 9’8” Eddie Carmel will improvise poetry dedicated to Marvel heroes. (They should give him a book of his own, maybe.)

Marvel is fabulously popular right now: they’re selling about 93,000,000 comics a year, issued weekly in England and in hardback in Mexico.

Claiming that “in recent months I have been brought closer to the Lord,” Wolfman Jack is getting ready to mail a half-hour public service Jesus Rock show to any radio station that requests it. The show will be made up of recent Jesus hits interspersed with da Wolfman telling Bible stories in his famous gravel truck voice.

Jack is also starting a Jesus Christ Fan/Club, and will answer listeners’ questions in conversations with “non-denominational protestant” minister Joe Racculai. Says Jack, “I know this sounds hokey, but...”

Stax records thinks that they lost 40% of the total sales of the Shaft soundtrack thanks to counterfeiters, so they’re not taking any chances with Isaac Hayes’ next one, Black Moses. What they’re doing is hiring a team of ex-FBI agents to check up on record manufacturing plants that are suspected (or known) sources of bootleg and counterfeit records. Included in the shakedown is one particular plant in Muscle Shoals which employs 115 people and is capable of doing everything fropi copying master tapes to duplicating sleeve designs. Counterfeiting is really big business (and a lot different from pop-star bootlegging, in large part): one DJ was offered $300,000 for his advance copy of Black Moses, according to Stax.

Lester Bangs Watch Out: Vogue Records, one of France’s biggest labels, was awarded 7,000 francs in costs and damages recently in a suit against the French magazine Rock and Folk. It seems that Robert Paringaux, a reviewer for the magazine, complained about the recording quality of a French Hendrix album, Experience, and Vogue immediately sued, claiming the review had done 200,cf00 francs damage. 7,000 francs is only about $1300 but, sheesh, that’s a lotta coin, considering that he was probably right -compared to British records, for instance, French records do have terrible sound.

Billboard’s total review of Dylan’s “George Jadkson” single: “Dylan follows his ‘Watching'the River Flow’ with a potent piece of message material in a new Dylan bag.” I guess you could say that. . .

A few months ago, Pete Rozelle, the czar of football, received a letter from President Nixon. It “suggested” that it would be really nice if Rozelle got a minimum of 14 commercial spots done by pro footballers which would attack hip (as opposed to general) drug usage.

Not long afterward, the nation’s Number One fan could watch television and see a burly player saying on the air: “Football’s my trip. What’s yours?” and then launch into an anti-drug monologue more than a little reminiscent of a razor-blade commercial. We prefer Namath’s popcorn popper ourselves.

Meanwhile, the almost universal usage of hard drugs (documented in many of the sports “confessionals” now out in paperback) by football players, especially speed, to kill pain and get extra strength, and smack, to come down from the speed, has led the leagues to consider urine samples, before the game, just like race tracks do to race horses (but not jockeys). The players are already joking about who will be kept straight to do the pissing.

The Democratic Party May ban television cameras and radio mikes from the floor of their Miami Beach convention next, summer. The move stems from the party’s sad memories of the 1968 convention, during which several newsmen were beaten. Not that the party members object to that, of course, it’s just that it doesn’t look too good, image-wise.

Former Velvet Underground leader/songwriter/singer/guitarist, Lou Reed, is off to Europe (London, precisely) to record his first solo album. As we go to press, Lou’s “Rock and Roll” — in a version by Mitch Ryder’s Detroit — isjust hitting Motor City charts, and it looks like people may be just about ready to believe that the dude can do more then write “Heroin.” He hasn’t written anything like that in three years, and Reed really resents the implications, in the press and elsewhere, that that’s all he’s capable of. Justifiably too: the Velvets’ Loaded album was one of the best of 1971.

Reed will be produced by occasional CREEM contributor Richard Robinson, who will probably then head for greener pastures elsewhere in Europe. Recording will be done at Morgan Sound, perhaps with some well-known sidemen. As for the songs, Richard reports: “Some of them are really good and the rest are great.” .

Meanwhile, the Velvet Underground (new version, sans inspiration Reed and the other surviving members, Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker) are about to split to Europe for a tour themselves. They’re now headed by Doug Yule who is not many Velvets’ fans favorite artist.

Three hundred GIs at Fort Devens, Mass., got free copies of the Pentagon Papers when a group of civilians drove on base and distributed them. The civilians were soon picked up by some MPs and were thrown off the base after being photographed and fingerprinted in the Provost Marshal’s office. Meanwhile, two other MPs were over at the offbase, GI project book-store, Commonsense, picking up more copies of the documents. The MPs, one on-duty, one off-duty, told the people minding the store they wanted the documents for other MPs on base alert for the civilian action.

Peter Townshend will record, his first solo album early this year.

Officials in Fairfax County, Va., a Washington suburb, have come up with a new way of dealing with youthful “drug pushers.”

The idea is to offer anonymity and a reward of up to $300 to anyone who calls in information leading to the conviction of a dealer. The program is called TIP for Turn In a Pusher.

'The spokesman of one of the program’s sponsors, a local radio station, was quoted as commenting that “it is often said that people will do anything for money.” And the county police chief has revealed that he has “beefed up the narcotics squad in anticipation of the program’s 'success.” Let’s hope this doesn’t catch on: a nation of informers we,don’t need.

A press release from Summit Enterprises, Columbus, Ohio: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NOVEMBER 6, 1971 THE OHIO EXPRESS IS BACK ON THE TRACK. AFTER A BRIEF REST PERIOD, THE GUYS WHO HELPED MAKE BUBBLE GUM MUSIC THE BIGGEST AND NEWEST THING TO HIT THE MUSIC SCENE IN RECENT YEARS ARE BACK AT IT AGAIN!!!!! THREE ORIGINAL MEMBERS, . . . JOINED WITH TWO OF OHIO’S FINEST MUSICIANS .. . ARE MAKING MUSIC AGAIN TO THE TUNE OF “CHEWY, CHEWY,” “DOWN AT LULU’S,” “YUMMY YUMMY,” “MERCY MERCY,” “QUICK JOEY SMALL,” AND OTHER OHIO EXPRESS HITS OF THE PAST. Well, that’s one way to pay off old debts.

This ixomAd Age, the trade paper of the advertising industry: “Two executives of two San Francisco ad agencies have ‘traveled extensively’ throughout East Texas and Louisiana to research Af/r/mg/zfSpec/a/ a novel based on the life of Leadbelly.” (They should read rock critic Ed Leimbacher’s comprehensive filmscript about Robert Johnson first.)

The trade mag also reports that gay liberationists are about to join the women’s movement in protesting National Airline’s blatantly sexist “I’m Cheryl: Fly me” advertising campaign. It seems that Phase II of National’s campaign involves naming the airline’s DC-lOs after women. Gay activists feel that some of the planes should be named after men.

And, in news from the technological side of the ad game, Ad Age reports a number of manufacturers are waging their own battle in the “smooth top” and “cold top” oven industry. “Smooth tops [are] ... at least as important a development as self-cleaning ovens ...” (One is surprised they omitted the word “revolutionary”.) What makes this story interesting, however, is the following quote from the same article by an unnamed Ad Age writer. It couldn’t have come from a press release, though it is attributed to “an industry source.”

. . . Smooth tops would have come along several years ago but for a curious block in the supply of raw materials. A vital component in the glass ceramic surface [a smooth covering for the electric coils on a stove that not only drastically changes the appearance of the appliance but in one version even stays cool while the goodies get hot in the pot. —Ed.] is petalite, a mineral from Rhodesia. Because of the UN embargo on Rhodesian goods, alternate sources have had to be found and it has taken until this year for an adequate supply of domestic petalite to be established.

Although most glass manufactureers had stockpiles which lasted until quite recently, these were not sufficient for large scale production of smooth top surfaces. Corning alone managed to keep its supply up, through channels it declines to discuss.

First Polaroid, now Corning Glass Works. Caveat emptor, indeed.

Mountain, which features skinny Felix Pappalardi and the somewhat larger, equally talented Leslie West, is suing Mountain Bus, a group in Chicago which records for Good Records, for their album Sun Dance. Mountain charges that Mountain Bus is infringing upon Felix and Leslie’s good name. Here’s the hitch: Mountain has been together two years, Mountain Bus has been playing Chicago for six. In those two years, Mountain has made a million dollars. In their six, Mountain Bus has made $10,000. But you wanna bet who’ll win?