Grammy Night!

50th ANNIVERSARY GRAMMYS!

should be an exciting night...for a change!
Scheduled performances tonight: John Fogerty with Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard; Foo Fighters, backed by an orchestra with guest conductor John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin; six-time Grammy winner Tina Turner with Beyoncé (nominated for two awards tonight), . Other performers include Aretha Franklin; Feist; Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban; Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, Brad Paisley and John Legend; jazz pianist Herbie Hancock and classical pianist Lang Lang, and Rihanna. Kool.

Grammy Trivia:
* The first Grammy Awards were presented on May 4, 1959 in the Grand Ballroom of the Beverly Hills Hilton. The Record of the Year was "Volare" by Domenico Modugno, Album of the Year was "Peter Gunn" by enry Mancini. Best R&B performance was "Tequila" by the Champs.

* The first Grammy given out for a Rap Performance was awarded to The Fresh Prince (Will Smith) and DJ Jazzy Jeff in 1989.

* Stevie Wonder holds the record for most Grammys won by a solo artist with 19.

* Lauryn Hill broke Carol King's record for most wins by a female artist in one year with five Grammys in 1999.
Alicia Keys tied Lauryn's record in 2002, and Norah Jones also tied with five in 2004.

* U2 has won five Grammys, the most of any group in the Best Rock Duo or Group Performance category.

* Comic Robin Williams has won four Grammy Awards, including one for "Robin Williams Live at the Met on HBO," the culmination of a 23-city tour.

* The record for the most nominations in one year is held by two artists. Michael Jackson was nominated 12 times in 1983 and Babyface was nominated 12 times in 1992.

* Elvis Presley never won a Grammy in a top category, though he did win for his gospel music.

* Sinead O'Connor is the only artist to refuse a Grammy, declining to accept the award for Best Alternative Music Performance for "I Do No Want What I Haven't Got" in 1990.















my dear Grammy

20-odd 2008 Grammy Picks of Mine:

Record Of The Year
* The Preteder - Foo Fighters

Album Of The Year
* Back To Black - Amy Winehouse

Song Of The Year
* Like A Star - Corinne Bailey Rae, songwriter

Best New Artist
* Feist

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
* 1234 - Feist

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
* Dance Tonight - Paul McCartney

Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
* Window In The Skies - U2

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
* Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On) - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Best Pop Instrumental Performance
* One Week Last Summer - Joni Mitchell

Best Pop Vocal Album
* The Reminder - Feist

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album * James Taylor At Christmas - James Taylor

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance
* Only Mama Knows - Paul McCartney

Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
* Working Class Hero - Green Day

Best Hard Rock Performance
* I Don't Wanna Stop - Ozzy Osbourne

Best Rock Song
* Come On - Lucinda Williams

Best Rock Album
* Revival - John Fogerty

Best Alternative Music Album
* Alright, Still... - Lily Allen

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
* No One - Alicia Keys

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
* Future Baby Mama - Prince

Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
* Disrespectful - Chaka Khan Featuring Mary J. Blige

Best Traditional Folk Album
* Dirt Farmer - Levon Helm

Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album
* My Name Is Buddy - Ry Cooder

Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
* Love - (The Beatles)

Best Historical Album
* The Live Wire - Woody Guthrie In Performance 1949

OHRCD

Victoria Williams, Mark Olson...
and The Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers.
Live @ Kool Beanz February 6th, 2001













Funny how things happen sometimes. January 2001, I was watching the 3am re-run of The Tonight Show (I almost never watch Leno!), and on came Victoria Williams performing a track from her then latest recording Water To Drink.
Wonderful performance! That was the first time I'd seen her sing since discovering her music and becoming a fan when Pearl Jam covered her song "Crazy Mary" for the Sweet Relief CD. Sweet Relief was a compilation of artists who covered Victoria's songs to help raise cash for her after she was diagnosed with MS while on tour with Neil Young in 1991. I loved the cover versions, but loved the originals even more when I got to hear them. Wow, what an awesome/quirky songwriter & singer.


After the Tonight Show performance, I looked her up online and dropped an e-mail requesting a signed photo to hang in our coffeehouse, with a post script: "if you are ever in the area, please stop by our venue...maybe we could even book a gig. (sure!) Well, suprise! The next morning I got a message from her husband Mark Olson (who with his band the Jayhawks recorded on the Sweet Relief disc)..Mark said "thanks, sure we'll send a photo, but maybe we should book a gig since we are going to be in town in three weeks, and have an open night after we play Orlando". Hell yeah!



















So we ended up with about two & a half weeks to promote the Tuesday night show, which really would have probably sold out by word of mouth! Regardless the local Florida Today newspaper gave us the cover of their Friday entertainment section TGIF (someone was hip over there!), it was the first and only time they did that with all the great talent we had come through in 4 years. At showtime we were going to turn people away, but choose to cram them all in anyway!

Victoria, Mark, and the other Creekdippers: David Wolfenberger, Mike "Raz" Russell, and Joshua Grange put on a very kool, very laid back 24 song set , for a very appreciative crowd! During the set Victoria chatted about the lovely Yerba Matte tea I made her, Al Scortino's Performers Pal, and her desire to see Florida mantees, Our friends gave them flowers, and the band orded up a round of double espressos. Someone requested "Wonderful World", the band did not know the music, so Vic tried it accapella ..once, twice, then the third time was a charm. They made us feel like we were in their living room.

The Setlist form that night:
Water to Drink, Claude, Holy Spirit
Ben Johnson's Creek
Letter From Africa
Why look at that Moon
Until the Real Thing Comes Along
Nature Boy, Diamond Davey
Hummingbird, Valentine King
Custom Detroit Railroad
U R Loved, This Moment
Harry went to Heaven
Linda Lee's
Rainbow of Your Heart
Tarbelly and Featherfoot
Little Red Bike, Wonderful World
One-eyed blackdog Moses
Opalousas, Joy of Love



photos and portrait by Java John



The band stuck around and signed a bunch of CDs, and chatted, then took off in search of the elusive manatee!

The Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers Live @ Kool Beanz

THIS MOMENT.mp3

The Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers Live @ Kool Beanz

Diamond Davey.mp3

The Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers Live @ Kool Beanz

Opalousas.mp3

VICTORIA WILLIAMS

MARK OLSON

KOOL BEANZ

Buy Their Music on AMAZON

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE II: R.I.P. Maharishi

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Spiritual Leader, Dies

from New York Times:

"Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who introduced transcendental meditation to the West and gained fame in the 1960s as the spiritual guru to the Beatles, died Tuesday at his home and headquarters in Vlodrop, the Netherlands. He is believed to have been in his 90s. Steven Yellin, a spokesman for the organization, confirmed the Maharishi’s death but did not give a cause.

On Jan. 11, the Maharishi announced that his public work was finished and that he would use his remaining time to complete a long-running series of published commentaries on the Veda, the oldest sacred Hindu text.

The Maharishi was both an entrepreneur and a monk, a spiritual man who sought a world stage from which to espouse the joys of inner happiness. His critics called his organization a cult business enterprise. And in the press, in the 1960s and ’70s, he was often dismissed as a hippie mystic, the “Giggling Guru,” recognizable in the familiar image of him laughing, sitting cross-legged in a lotus position on a deerskin, wearing a white silk dhoti with a garland of flowers around his neck beneath an oily, scraggly beard." - Lily Koppel

THE BEATLES in India with the Maharishi in 1967:





Though most of the Beatles enjoyed their stay in India, toward the end John Lennon became a little disenchanted with his visit, because he believed Yogi was hitting on a young Mia Farrow who was with the group (he wrote Dear Prudence in India about her sister who was also there). John left the entourage early, and the rest of the Beatles soon followed. But, while there he wrote a few more tunes - these about The Maharishi. "Sexy Sadie" (rhymes with Maharishi) and "Everybody's got something to hide, except for me and my monkey" - some of the phrases in the tune were those that Maharishi used. Here are a few demos of those tunes...thanks to Captain's Dead blog.

Everybody's got something to hide from Kinfauns Demos

07 - Everybody Got Something To Hide Except For Me & My Monkey.mp3

SexySadie from Kinfauns Demos

24 - Sexy Sadie.mp3

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
THE BEATLES