Doug McNew, R.I.P.

It came as such a shock when I heard the news that a good friend and former bandmate of mine, Doug McNew, had been killed in a motorcycle accident on July 10th, 2008. His mother, Pat, happens to be my banker and she always kept me updated on what Doug, his wife Rachel and his son Gage were up to. So, when she told me the news that her son had been killed in a motorcycle crash, I couldn't believe it. It absolutely floored me. Doug was such a nice guy and was great to be around. His life ended way too soon.

In 1990, Doug and a couple friends of his who all lived in his hometown of Carmi, Illinois, formed a band called Apache Rattle. The other two members of this band were Brian Mallow, on drums and Jess Hurlbert, on bass guitar. They weren't together very long until I was asked to join with them at which time, the band got a new name. I remember we chose a name specifically because all four of us could choose part of the name. That name turned out to be Mr. Speakeazy. Doug was our lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, with Brian, Jess and myself on lead guitar. We had some good times and played lots of gigs all over Southern Illinois. The one thing I specifically remember about the band was that we all got along so well together. Doug especially had a nice personality, funny and outgoing, one that suited being the front man of a rock and roll band. Mr. Speakeazy lasted for a year or so and we all drifted our separate ways, as things like this are prone to happen. I didn't hear much out of Doug during the ensuing years, but always knew what he was up to thanks to his mother's updates. That's why it came as such a shock to me to find out that he had passed. Checking around the internet showed me that he had kept up his musical aspirations. And with a great voice like he had, which was suited perfectly for rock and roll, I'm glad that he did. I only hope that he was able to achieve a level of success where he could enjoy it with himself and his bandmates and his family.

So, in special tribute to a fallen friend, I'm posting a couple songs by Mr. Speakeazy, featuring Doug McNew on lead vocals. They were all recorded in 1991 during the height of the band's heyday. Here is She Talks To Angels, Louie, Louie and Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. Doug might be gone, but I know his family or friends will never forget him. Rock on, Doug.

I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas

I was doing some research for my other blog, Music For Every Mood, and happened to remember that I had recorded the song I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas, the old Gayla Peevey song from 1953. Well, all you fans out there of the mighty Hippo can rest easy, while you listen to my version of this Christmas classic, which I recorded on November 26th, 2000 in one take. May you know the joy and freedom that the impending holidays can provide! And, may you not shop at Wal-Mart and still know the ecstasy of the season.

Best Of The Beatles

 

 

 He even autographed it for me!

If anyone has read my profile, then they'll know that my all-time favorite band is The Beatles. And they have been since January 1964, when I Wanna Hold Your Hand hit the top of the American Rock and Roll charts. It was that song and that moment, when yours' truly, at the ripe old age of 2, heard this new group called The Beatles and became aware of music. And thanks to The Beatles, I am a professional musician today, playing lead guitar and singing in a rock and roll band of my own. On Saturday night, October 4th, 2008, I got to hear a member of The Beatles live in person! How cool is that!? You might have already realized that it wasn't John Lennon or George Harrison. But, it wasn't Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr, either. No, the Beatle I'm talking about was their drummer from 1960 to 1962, their formative years when they learned to rock and roll hard, loud and fast. Pete Best was their drummer during this period and it was when they became known for their loud and energetic stage performances. If anyone has heard bootlegs from this period, they know what I'm talking about.

Pete Best was dropped from The Beatles and they got Ringo to replace him. Pete carried on in rock and roll for about 6 more years before settling in to a regular job as that of a civil servant. But once Rock and Roll gets in your blood, you can't really ever get rid of it, and he got back into the music scene in 1988. He has been back in it now for 20 years. With his group, The Pete Best Band, he travels all over the world and rocks just like he did back when he was in The Beatles. When I saw him, it was practically in my own back yard, but what a show him and his band delivered!

They were touring in release of a new album, if you can believe that, and they played three songs from it during the show. They were awesome songs, enough so that I had to buy his new cd, Hayman's Green, after the show! But what really got the packed house off their feet and rocking were the songs they did from The Beatles' early days, when they stormed up and down Germany and England and started setting the world on fire, one crowd at a time. They played such early Beatle staples as Three Cool Cats, Roll Over Beethoven, Dizzie Miss Lizzie, I Saw Her Standing There, Some Other Guy, Twist And Shout, Till There Was You, My Bonnie, Rock And Roll Music and many more. But what really knocked me out was their note for note rendition of a song The Beatles, with Pete Best on drums, performed at their Decca audition on New Year's Day of 1962. Namely, Besame Mucho. Only their guitars didn't get buried in the mix like John and George's did all those years ago - this version rocked! Here is the Pete Best Band on stage:



Here's their lead guitarist:

Their bass and rhythm guitarist:

And second drummer Roag, Pete's younger brother:

And here is the man himself, drumming with so much intensity:

After leading the crowd through rousing renditions of Twist And Shout, My Bonnie and I Saw Her Standing There, they came back for an encore of Johnny B. Goode. The show lasted about 90 minutes, but I still felt it was over way too soon! After it was over, they came out and graciously signed autographs, all five of them. I got them all to autograph their new cd, which I purchased from their table and Pete signed two albums, (yes those 33 1/3 rpm black things!) from my collection. I didn't see anybody else with rare albums like mine, in fact, there weren't any others at all! Several people asked to see my albums, which I proudly showed them. I had 3 with me and they all featured pictures of The Beatles on the cover, when Pete was a member of the group. One of the albums which Pete autographed was the one at the top of this post. He signed his name in the bass drum area. How cool is that!? Here's Pete autographing my cd:

And, finally, here is the whole band at the autograph table. Some younger fans were getting their picture taken standing behind them, but I got my picture any way! They were all pretty nice about signing autographs and I can confirm that they rocked the house! Here they are, freshly cleaned up just after the show:

All in all, I can highly recommend The Pete Best Band and their new cd, Hayman's Green. I've not stopped listening to it since Saturday night after the show. It's almost Wednesday morning as I write these words and the songs on this album still blow me away every time I hear them. Such feeling and poignancy! It's contemporary sounding and it's classic sounding at the same time. But, most of all, The Pete Best Band have their own sound and it rocks! Buy this cd if you get the chance, you won't be disappointed!

Oh, but please don't buy it at Wal-Mart. Buy it from Pete's website and help him out more. He would appreciate it and you will too, after you listen to it!

I Love Lucy - I Really Do!

This is just a short post to share with you something I found quite interesting. Growing up, I always watched and was a fan of the old television series, I Love Lucy. Who hasn't seen it or are familiar with the plotlines: Wacky wife always gets into trouble and her Cuban husband still loves her. The show debuted in 1951 and has not been off the air in repeats since. Of course I bought all the episodes on DVD, which everybody should own this classic show, and I watch them all the time. On one of the sets they had the original studio session for when they recorded the show's classic opening theme and as you listen to it, you can hear that it was take 2. So, here is that instantly familiar take 2 version of a tune you probably know by heart - the I Love Lucy Theme, Take 2. Enjoy it!

If you do go out to purchase the DVD season sets, whatever you do, don't buy them at Wal-Mart! Don't buy anything there.

Tri-State Book Fest

Well, my second novel isn't out yet, but I did get invited to attend a local author's book fest. It was called the Tri-State Book Fest and it was held in Evansville, Indiana and covered the three states of Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. The event took place this past September 27th, and lasted from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. in the afternoon. Of course I stayed until the very end. There were some authors who started packing it in around 3.30, but not me! The weather was perfect and turnout for it seemed pretty good.

It is an annual event for my area and it was the first one I was ever invited to. Actually, I hadn't heard of it before because it had previously always been held in Kentucky. This year's event was held at the Washington Square Mall, pictured below:

It was a nice setting to host a book fest and the accommodations were excellent. There was plenty of wide open spaces for merchandise to be sold and for the authors to sit at:





I mentioned that my latest novel that was accepted to be published didn't quite get out in time for it to be available at this event, but I did have several copies of my first novel, The Wizard Of Destiny available, which I blogged about here and you can purchase here. My dad has taken to writing in his retirement and his second book did get published in time for him to premiere it at the book fest. The people that organized the event grouped him and I at the same table, so that was pretty handy. If one of us had to step away to get something, the other was there to man the books. There were several places to get food and drink all around us, and the cookie shop to my front and right had my attention, let me tell you! A fellow author was kind enough to use my camera and snap a picture of my father and I together, so here we are, courtesy of Dawn Knight:



For doing this favor for me, I took her picture and emailed copies for her own personal collection.



All in all, it was a very enjoyable event for me and I had a great time. Although I only sold one book, I did get to meet and talk with several of the 70 authors that were present. I found them all to be nice people and it made for a friendly atmosphere to mingle with other writers and the public at large as they drifted among the tables finding books that interested them. I ended up buying three books myself, from other authors, so I lost money on the deal. But, having acquired three new books for my collection more than made up for this loss, so I figure I came out on the winning side anyway. I know I'll be sure to attend the one next year and who knows, I might have a couple more books out by this time next year! If I do, my regular readers will be sure to hear all about it right here.

My Second Novel

I just wanted to let my regular readers of this blog know that, recently, another one of my manuscripts has been accepted to be published. It should be out in a month or two, so watch for it. It will be called This Paradise, by Kenneth Dwain Harrelson. It's a period piece, set in The Great Depression, and it's about a drifter that goes to work at a small husband and wife farm. It's in the same vein as John Steinbeck used to write, but no wonder - him and I share the same birthdate! (Just not the same year, however....) A gazebo is part of the central theme.

I'll probably have more to tell about it later - when it gets near publication or just after it's published with a cover image. Be on the lookout for it wherever fine books are sold! (And average ones, too!)

The Art Of Control

Today's blog is something that has been on my mind for 20 years or more. It is my contention that it either can't be answered because most people do not know the answer, or that the people who do know the answer can't or won't say anything. Does this have you intrigued, or does it have you thinking it's more of that conspiracy theory drivel you've been cautioned about not listening to from so many sources? It's not a conspiracy theory, I can dispell that immediately.

No, what I have been searching for an answer to for all these many years is simply this: Back when I was in grade school, which was during the late 1960's and early 1970's, the word that described someone who was in the process of going from one place to another was said to be and was spelled like this: "travelling." Notice I used 2 letter "L's" in this word. I can still hear my spelling teacher saying that when you have a word that ends in "L" and "ing," I was to add another "L." When it was to be divided between two lines such as "travel-" and "ling," the division would come squarely between the two "L's." Can anybody else remember being taught this rule of the English language?

Sometime in the 1980's, I can't pinpoint the year exactly, the second "L" was dropped from the word "travelling." The spelling "traveling" has since taken over and supplanted the spelling "travelling," and the old spelling is apparently not used anymore. (How would you divide the 2 "L's" between 2 lines now?) Remember the group "The Traveling Wilburys?" That's about the time I first began to notice the change. Here's where I come up against a brick wall. Maybe I can see where cutting down on letters could save space, so the why can possibly be answered in this manner. I say "maybe" only because I didn't know we were running out of space for letters, yet. But the reason for why it might have been changed doesn't answer the rest of it. It's the "who," "what," "when" and "where" that I'm interested in finding out. Such as:

Who handed down the directive that this change in spelling take place? And what authority did they have in doing so?

What was the purpose of taking a perfectly good word that everybody knew how to spell and changing it?

When did this change in spelling take place? Exactly what year? And,

Where did this change come from? It had to have started with one person. Things like this don't just fall out of the sky written in stone for all to follow and obey. Think about that. Millions of people didn't just wake up one morning and decide that the spelling of "travelling" needed to be changed. It had to have started with one person. Who was that one person who changed the spelling of "travelling?"

And now some random ramblings on my part to illustrate why this is so important to me, and why it might mean something to you, too.

I am not aware of any "official" organization or government bureau that is in charge of the "caretaking of the English language." Do you have to have a degree or a license to be able to bring about changes to words in the English language? Do you merely get appointed to the position? Or, can any person off the street just come in and change words whenever they feel like it? If so, I'd like to have a crack at this job!

Can anybody tell me who's in charge of changing the spelling of English words? I'm pretty sure no one will be able to give me an answer that tells me the who and explains the why, what, when and where, also.

Why is this important to me? I'll tell you why and let you see my reasoning. I used the version of "travelling," which I was taught as a youngster, in my first published novel, entitled The Wizard Of Destiny. The book was published before I even noticed that the spelling of that word had been changed to "traveling." I used the spelling of "travelling" because I wanted that spelling and not "traveling." I invested a lot of good years being forced to go to grade school so I could learn something. And I did learn something. I learned how to correctly spell "travelling." But, now that spelling is not correct any more, it seems. It seems like the time I spent learning how to spell "travelling" was wasted. The time I spent learning how to spell "travelling" will never be given back to me or restored in any way. I feel cheated. Wouldn't you feel cheated if you'd spent long years of your life doing something that you were forced to do, by law, only to grow up and find it no longer means anything or applies?

For what purpose was the spelling of "travelling" changed? In the early days of the English language, words got used and misused and, over the centuries, their correct spellings got changed and adjusted. But, this kind of thing happens a lot and was common in a world where there was so much isolation between people. It stands to reason that words are going to get changed when the people who use these words don't necessarily spend a lot of time with other people who use these same words. If somebody didn't tell you that "Pennsylvania" was spelled with two letter "N's" after "Pe-," how would you know that "Pensylvania" was incorrect? And how would you know what the correct spelling was if, when you did see it being used, you saw a multitude of different spellings employed such as "Pennyslvania," "Pensylvania," "Pennfylvania," "Penfylvania," "Pennsylvanya," "Pennfylvanya," etcetera. You can see how confusing this could be if nobody was corrected and everybody repeatedly used a different spelling! But, in this day and age, where people are so connected with the internet, newspaper, radio and television, this shouldn't be a factor and shouldn't be happening. Oddly enough, it is happening! I'd like to know why? The English language should not have to be "tweaked" anymore. It is what it is and it doesn't need to be continually refined and changed. I found an interesting link about how the spelling of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania got changed from 1890 to 1910, by the United States Post Office, no less! I will speak more about the Post Office below. But, here is the link about how the citizens of Pittsburgh themselves had to reclaim the dropped "h" on the end of the name of their beloved city.

And now the United States Post Office. If you are over 40 years old, you probably remember that when States were abbreviated, the abbreviation consisted of three letters, followed by a period. Examples are these are: Ill., Neb., Cal., Nev., etcetera. If you're under 40 years of age, probably the only way you know how to abbreviate States is like this: IL, WA, MS, (is that Mississippi or Massachusetts or Missouri? Who can remember?) Well, you know what I mean. It's a confusing system at best. But this is something I know what I'm talking about, because I was an employee of the United States Post Office when the change from Ill. to IL came about.

Around the year 1990, the United States Post Office started getting computerized machines to sort the mail faster than humans could do it. Evidently, however, the machines had a problem with abbreviations, so they adopted a new code to be implemented for the way you addressed your letters. This was only to be used so that the new machines could do their job better, not meant to be used for any other purpose. But, now.... and you are as aware of this as I am, the 2 letter State codes have supplanted every abbreviation for States and in most cases, the complete original spelling of States isn't even used any more! Why has this happened and why have the 2 letter State codes filtered down into common usage so quickly and absolutely? Do you remember being taught in grade school that when addressing a letter, you used 2 spaces between the end of the state you lived in and where you placed the 5-digit Zip Code? Now, there has been one of those spaces removed. Taken away. Who thought this up, when did it happen and why didn't I get the memo on this correct new way of doing it? Did you get a letter in the mail saying you had to change the amount of spaces you used between the state and zip code? No, of course you didn't. Nobody did. It wasn't written into law or anything official like that. And it's not some commandment you were ordered to follow. So, why does everybody just use one space between the state and zip code now? People weren't forced to change, but yet they have. Why?

You really should be concerned with changes like this so that, if nothing else, you can learn how to spot changes when you face them and be able to recognize them as such. Changes only happen when people let them and there is no reason for the English language to keep changing in this enlightened day and age. Don't just accept things at face value all the time. Ask who, what, when, where and why has the change come about. Ask yourself, is it good for me to just fall in line with what everybody else is doing so I don't seem out of place, or should I really find out why something has changed so I can see whether or not it's something I really need or want?

And while you're thinking about all manner of things being changed right under your noses for no apparent purpose, please remember to not ever shop at Wal-Mart for anything.