Showing posts with label Liverpool. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liverpool. Show all posts

Friday, June 5, 2015

My Kid Brother's Band


Fifty Years of THE BEATLES: Louise Harrison Lifts Veil
on Her Life With her Beatles Brother

"…Harrison has an unusual angle for her Beatlemaniac memoirs:
she was living in America when her brother hit it big…"
 Rolling Stone
 

She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah...!!!!

By the summer of 1965,Beatlemania had gripped the world, with fandom reaching the highest pinnacles of society. The Beatles had played for presidents, heads of state, and accepted a command performance from Queen Elizabeth II. So great was the Fab Four’s rising fame that, in June of 1965, they were named Members of the British Empire--a high honor for four kids from Liverpool. Now, on the cusp of the 50th Anniversary of their MBE induction, one person close to them is looking back at Beatlemania.

For Louise Harrison, Beatles success meant something different entirely. Living in the United States, Louise had been a vanguard of the Beatles, and she worked hard to help make the band as big a success in America as they had been across the pond--her efforts often and humorously met with rejection. But behind the fame and away from the lights, Louise and her mother and father provided something to the other three Beatles that only the Harrisons could: a family. Now, for the first time, Louise has lifted the veil on life with the Beatles in a heart-felt, powerful memoir My Kid Brother’s Band: a.k.a. The Beatles! 

Recounting the rise from Liverpool, sweeping British and European popularity, and that fateful first broadcast on The Ed Sullivan Show. Louise takes readers on a journey through the years, touching on emotional, spiritual, and professional landmarks along the way. With so many Beatles “50th anniversaries” on the calendar this year, Beatles fans everywhere won’t want to miss this intimate portrait of life inside one Beatles family.

ABOUT LOUISE HARRISON
Louise Harrison was born in Liverpool, England, the first child and only daughter of Harold and Louise Harrison. Her youngest brother, George, was also the youngest of the four Liverpool lads know as The Beatles. During 1964 and 1965 Louis, living in Illinois, found herself writing and broadcasting daily Beatles reports nationwide, due to public demand for news of The Beatles. Her distinctive voice with its British accent is immediately recognized by Beatles People all over the world.
 

Saturday, March 28, 2015

How They Won Their War: The Grip Weeds

The Grip Weeds 
"How I Won The War" 
coming April 7th via Jem Records

"We like to mix it up in Jersey and The Grip Weeds are a great example. A touch of John Lennon, a bit of The Byrds, a dash of The Kinks, pinch of The Who, and a dollop of more muscular Zombies and you get something quite original actually. And quite cool." 
-Steven Van Zandt (Sirius XM, Bruce Springsteen, Sopranos)

"...Slightly trippy sonic land mines that are simultaneously catchy  as hell and slightly dangerous." 
- John M. Borack, Goldmine Magazine

Yep The Beatles influenced band are reunited and feeling groovy with a new CD, you go Grip Weeds!
The Beatles are remembered as purveyors of peace, but their existence as a creative unit ended in acrimony in April of 1970. On April 7, 2015, one of the greatest Beatles-influenced bands to come down the pike will celebrate their reunification with the release of their new album "How I Won The War".

"Our sound isn't overtly Beatle-y but an observant listener can hear the connection," says Kurt Reil, drummer/vocalist for The Grip Weeds. "Our approach to song craft and the idea of using the recording studio as an instrument are both heavily influenced by The Beatles and George Martin."

In his capacity as producer at The Grip Weeds' legendary House Of Vibes Studio, Reil has worked with luminaries such as Mark Lindsay and Paul Simon collaborators Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Platinum selling Captiol Records artists The Smithereens recorded their two highly regarded Beatles projects ("Meet The Smithereens!", "B-Sides The Beatles") with Kurt Reil producing at the HOV. The Smithereens sessions also featured a performance by drummer Andy White, best known for playing on The Beatles "Love Me Do".

According to Reil, The Grip Weeds' connection to The Beatles goes all the way back to the band's origins.

"We named our band after a character John Lennon played in the film adaptation of 'How I Won The War'," Reil said. "As it happens, we went through an internal war during the making of the record that nearly split us up, so the title of the movie seemed apt for our new album as well."

The Beatles dissolved into a myriad of lawsuits and thinly veiled insults delivered via solo albums. It would be years before the wounds between John, Paul, George and Ringo would come close to healing. By the time the former band mates were on speaking terms again, John Lennon's life was obscenely cut short.

"The Beatles never got to write a reconciliation album," Reil said. "Who knows what kind of music they would have made if they came back together."

Although it's impossible to compare a band with a loyal international cult following such as The Grip Weeds to a behemoth such as The Beatles, the troubles that dogged the four lads from Liverpool are universal.
                                                           Preview: How I Won The War                                              

"The Beatles lived in each other's pockets but The Grip Weeds go way beyond that," Reil said. "Our lead guitarist Kristin Pinell is my wife; my brother Rick plays guitar and shares lead vocals with me."

The family dynamic within The Grip Weeds has been a double edged sword. Sometimes the familial ties have acted as a safety net, while at other times the band has been nearly impaled by them.

"Keeping a band together on any level is incredibly difficult," Reil said. "The fact that 3/4 of The Grip Weeds are related has at times helped us weather some rocky terrain. The B-side to that is when an argument erupts during a rehearsal or recording session it follows you home, thus intensifying an already volatile situation."

Reil is quick to point out that the Grip Weeds have never had trouble making music together, even when the pressures of running a band and studio have taken their toll.

"It's the peripheral aspects of making music that have sparked most of our troubles," Reil said.

Adding to the pressures of the group/family dynamic was the departure of Grip Weeds bassist Michael Kelly.

"When MK left, we considered breaking up the band, but family ties are strong and we also felt there was more for us to to do musically." Reil said.

Enter bass player extraordinaire Dave DeSantis, a veteran of New Jersey music scene.

"What Dave did for The Grip Weeds is similar to what Billy Preston did for The Beatles," Reil said. "As George Harrison said in relation to Billy Preston, when you have company around you tend to be less bitchy. Dave's easy going demeanor put everyone at ease, and his musicianship inspired everyone in the band."

The new Grip Weeds album "How I Won The War" features 17 tracks that chart the behind the scenes turmoil and eventual triumph of the recording sessions. Included on the album is a radical take on The Beatles' "The Inner Light".

While The Beatles didn't actually play on the original recording, The Grip Weeds veered away from a classical Indian Raga treatment for their version, instead re-imagining the song in a Rock context. Oddly, the band hadn't considered including the song on "How I Won The War" until Marty Scott from Jem Records - the band's new label - connected the dots.

"Marty pointed out that we had Private Grip Weed on the cover with an 'inner light' coming out of his chest," Reil said. "He was emphatic that we had to include it on the album."

The cover art for "How I Won The War" is an homage to John Lennon's portrayal of Private Grip Weed. "The message you draw from it could be that John Lennon is now a ball of light, a spirit," Reil said, "but you could also conclude that how you truly win a war is with love."

Instead of just covering a Beatles song, The Grip Weeds folded "The Inner Light" into the album's narrative. For a collection of songs about conflict, "The Inner Light" is the perfect summation of what the band had gone through and learned from their struggle. It's how they won their war.

"How I Won The War" by The Grip Weeds will be released by Jem Records on April 7th. It is available now for Pre Order from Amazon and iTunes with a pre-sale for fan club members beginning March 24th.


Pre-Orderhttp://bit.ly/19rBctG