Danny Kortchmar – rumours

DECEMBER 2004
 

• Michele Leone, from Writers In The Raw, has sent us this kind letter:

 

Danny wasn’t mentioned as one of the artists because he was not billed as one of our Featured Artists for that evening’s performance.   As it turned out he was an added bonus for all in attendance.  We honestly had no idea who Patti was going to select as her accompanying guitarist.   It was totally her call.  But as our great luck and surprise would have it she selected Danny.  I mention the surprise because there is an amazing history between Gordon Brown and Danny Kortchmar.  Danny actually produced “Mr. Reality”.  This was Gordon’s first band and their début CD by the same name (released 1992).  Danny was a mentor to Gordon back in the 90’s and because of his wonderful guidance back then he is still an amazing influence on Gordon’s songwriting today.  Needless to say Gordon was thrilled to see his old friend & hero walking in w/ Patti at sound check, so once again he was truly an added bonus to Writers in the Raw, Volume 9. His presence absolutely enhanced the evening’s musical performance. Michele Leone Advertising & Promotions Director “Writers in the Raw”


 
• Danny has joined Patti Scialfa and the Bacon Brothers, Ari Hest, David Mead, on the stage of Writers In The Raw Volume 9, on November 19, 2004 at Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ. Here’s a review of that evening.

 

Photos by John Cavanaugh. For more photos, see Writers in the Raw.


 
• Kootch has produced a song “Violet” from the young artist Buffy, at Berklee College of Music. Please check Buffy’s nice site and there are also many pictures from the sessions (June-November 2004) from Rob Jackzo’s site.  Buffy’s site.  Pictures from the sessions from Rob Jackzo’s site.

NOVEMBER 2004
 

• In the November Issue of the Italian Rock Magazine “L’Ultimo Buscadero”, there is a four columns review of Lightining in a Bottle and a beautiful photo of the musicians who played in the double cd.

• Il Popolo del Blues, the on line blues magazine published by Ernesto De Pascale, features in this issue a beautiful vintage article on Jackson Browne and some photos (see the picture from Montreux, July 1982 with Kootch on stage). See the article “Jackson Browne in Italia”.

• Moogy sent us the photos of the historical reunion of Kingbees (Danny Kortchmar and Dickie Frank) at Joel O’Brien Memorial on Sunday, Oct. 17th 2004.

Kingbees reunion at Joel O’Brien Memorial, Oct. 17th 2004	Danny Kortchmar and Richard Corey
Danny Kortchmar, Dickie Frank and Richard Corey
		KINGBEES New York, USA-based contemporaries of the Vagrants and the Myddle Class, this superior R&B outfit comprised Danny Kortchmar aka Danny Kootch (guitar), John McDuffy (organ/vocals), Dickie Frank (bass) and Joel “Bishop” O'Brien (drums). The quartet completed three excellent singles during its brief existence, which included a notable version of “Lost In The Shuffle”, also recorded by Blues Project. McDuffy replaced Al Kooper in the latter act following the King Bees disintegration in autumn 1966. Kortchmar and O'Brien resurfaced in the Flying Machine, a band which also featured James Taylor, and were eventually reunited in Jo Mama in the wake of the guitarist's spells in the Fugs, Clear Light and City. Encyclopedia of Popular Music Copyright Muze UK Ltd. 1989 - 2002

OCTOBER 2004

• On AbsoluteNow.com there’s an interesting review of Lightning on a Bottle and also a brief bio of Kootch!

• Moogy has written a very beautiful review of the Joel O’Brien celebration at the Village Community School Auditorium. It’s a great honour for me to publish his letter:

 

… There was a King Bees reunion at the memorial!! (only Kootch and Dickie Frank left alive unfortunately).  Rob Dupree brought a 5 page fax of the Joel O'Brien tribute written by Ralph  to the memorial on Sunday and I made a few copies (there was a copy machine in an office) for Rob to give to close friends. When I got home I read the letter and was quite amazed by Ralph's writing. He really nailed it. He captured Joel like he really was and everything about him in that letter rang true.  Kootch even mentioned it in his speech at the memorial. He said how Ralph hadn't seen Joel in 20 years, but his effect he had on him was such that Shuckett wrote this intense 5 page letter about him. He had that effect on all of us. Joel was quite a guy. Many people loved that man. I have included the letter below (with Ralph's permission) - a great piece of writing and for a while I'll be re-reading it often.       And to those who weren't there the memorial itself was a big success. The place was packed. It was a school auditorium in the village. Joel's father, two brothers and widow were all there. My old band "The Glitterhouse" in which Bishop played drums, had a reunion. First one in 30 years (Mike Gayle, Hank Aberle, Al Lax and me). The remaining King Bees did "Lost in a Shuffle"  - Kootch and Dickie Frank with Richard Corey doing lead vocals (John John's part). John John McDuffy is rumored to have died ten years ago from a drug OD on the lower east side.       I performed a song I wrote with the Bish - "Take a G note off the fat man" and my hit "You gotta have friends". Kootch backed up Rob Dupree and Richard Corey and me. Joe Berger also played with me and had Bishop's old ten piece big band play and a  jazz quartet with Joey performed that also used to work with Bish.       Bishop's family made speeches and Kootch and I also made speeches, as did Professor Irwin Corey (he's 90!) and in great shape. There must have been at least three hundred people there. Refreshments were served and many old friends from Great Neck were there.        Joel's collages (he became a respected artist in the last years of his life) were on the wall as were pix of him from all phases of his life. Richard Corey showed a 15 minute bio of Joel's life - lots of amazing stuff in that video.  Joel's legend was extremely large and his friends, family and fans came out in force to remember this absolutely unique guy      So below is Ralph's remembrance - check it out.  Moogy

And many thanks to Ralph Shuckett who gave me his kind permission to publish his remembrance.
 

Subject: Thinking of Joel Dear Harriet and Friends, I hope you are coping with Joel's absence, and that it's in some way bearable. How fragile and short life is!  How easy it is to forget our friends and colleagues amidst the hurry-scurry huff 'n' puff drama that everyday life has become. Today, work and family commitments revented me from joining you, but I wanted to share some thoughts  about Joel and what he means to me. Please forgive the digressions. I tend towards self indulgence with word processors. Bishop and I roomed together on several tours of the US and England. We were drinking buddies, and we talked endlessly, but Joel rarely talked about himself. As I think about it, I knew very little about him-- his childhood, family or his feelings. It wasn't his style to reveal his inner life. Joel was an ageless, world-wise hipster. I, at the time a fledgling bohemian, couldn't connect him with my mundane image of family life, just as I couldn't imagine Miles having parents, or Jimi Hendrix, or Frank Zappa. Cool people didn't have parents. They weren't cursed with the ill-fated, inescapable irritant, that I viewed parents to be. No, Joel O'Brien had skipped childbirth and childhood. He had simply materialized one night in The Blue Note, humbly and surreptitiously, in some weird cosmic Immaculate Conception. With a cigarette in one hand, the New York Times in the other, drum sticks jutting from a back pocket, and a double shot of Canadian Whiskey on the bar. Bathed in bebop and spewing esoterica. Which I, being of college age but not college material, hungrily inhaled, consumed, and which consumed me. I was a ripe, hungry pupil and Joel was, well, the best teacher I can recall. Thrilled and impassioned by his subject matter, he shared it, eagerly and gleefully. He unveiled a universe of music and culture I never knew existed. Like all good teachers, he made me more curious. Made me want to hear more and see more. To know more. When I heard he was ill, I phoned Bishop. After our twenty year estrangement I was nervous and self-conscious. I felt compelled to be cheerful, positive, and supportive-- to say the right thing. His voice, with just the first two words-- "Hey, Cuz,"  had such great warmth and affection, with no judgement and no need, that I, by comparison, felt uptight, banal and disconnected.  I realized, that I, at times, had  judged, even dissed him, and had never acknowledged his warmth, affection and acceptance. In my self-involved, drugged out youth I'd been pretty much oblivious to that kind of thing. The last time I'd seen him was on 6th Ave and 12th Street in front of Ray's Pizza. I was in a big hurry, late for I forget what, and we hadn't really connected. So now, we made a date for my visit, but he said, almost sheepishly, that there was one problem he was concerned about.  My mind raced. Was he contagious? Was he in a plastic bubble? Would I need to disrobe and have my body sterilized and have to wear a mask and gloves? Was he so disfigured by his illness that he'd be embarrassed by my revulsion? Then he said, "We have cats and I know you're allergic, so you should take a pill before you come." The fact that Joel, suffering with the pain of a terrible  illness, with little time left, with the events and regrets, the memories and attachments, the people he'd loved and married, the stuff he never got to do, the stuff he shouldn't have done-- all this all up in his face-- How did he remember such an insignificant detail about me, whom he hadn't seen or heard a peep from in twenty years? I think that in one short  phone  conversation, Joel set in motion a chain of thoughts and feelings that changed, not only the way I saw him, but myself, my family, and, really, everything. I'm still not sure why. It's not the fact that he was dying. Being in my line of work (or maybe it's my choice of friends, or just our times) a lot of my people have died. Some from fate. Some from old age. Some by their own hand. Some were killed by the life they lived, or "chose", if you look at it from today's popular psycho-spiritual-metaphysical-12 Step-Oprah- Dr Phil viewpoint. At times I've been asked or attempted to eulogize these departed, but could never find any words, really. I'd tearfully mutter "I love you" or "I miss you", but I couldn't summon, much less convey, my deep feelings for the person. This is the first time, ever, that, not only do the words come easily, but I can't stop talking! Joel O'Brien wasn't just a great musician, an amazing talent, or an artist, although he was all those things. He was more than just a musical mentor, an astute social critic, or a snappy dresser.  Though he was all those things. More than just a junkie. Although sometimes he was a junkie. Joel O'Brien was an institution. A way of life. A point of view. A piece of history. An era. A connection with a world that no longer exists. I never thought of him as "old school", but by today's standards of hipness, I guess he was. Because he wasn't  trendy. He didn't adhere to anyone else's standards. And he didn't change his mind every few weeks about what was and wasn't cool. I mean how many beboppers do you know with reverence and respect for Appalachian hillbilly music? How many hillbillies listen to Thelonious Monk? At the time Joel and I became friends, I had a narrow, skewed standard of what I thought "good music" was, though I didn't know it. Basically, it went like this: There is no good white music, unless it's eastern European classical music, and that doesn't swing, and is for old people, anyway. (I couldn't reconcile that with the fact that most of my band-mates had been white, but I was in denial about that). All Blues, Bebop and Hard Bop were automatically great, even uninspired cookie cutter "commercial" jazz, if performed by black people, especially all the Hammond Organ trios recorded in Trenton, New jersey ghetto clubs. The exceptions were Ramsey Lewis, who was just too damn popular, and Ahmad Jamal, who, too me, just didn't swing, and didn't deserve all those albums and airplay, even if he did have a cool name. "West Coast" jazz was permissible, even played by whites, but not if they were successful studio musicians. Only Art Pepper and Gerry Mulligan made that cut, the former because he was in prison, the latter because he was just so undeniably cool. Dave Brubeck was Satan incarnate, the personification of evil. His only rivals for that throne were the Grateful Dead, whom I actually kinda like now, because they're so white, and so lousy, that they really do have a unique sound. Any music that becomes popular, even if it's black music, immediately decreases in value. Top forty music from any race has no value unless it's super-funky (which to me at that time meant "with a busy broken up beat, ie James Brown's "Cold Sweat" or  "What is Hip" by Tower of Power, neither of which, to my knowledge, ever made the top forty). Bob Dylan, who was Miles Davis's co-reigning almighty diety, was allowed to be successful and popular, in the same way Picasso or Salvador Dali (both white) were in their field. Bill Evans and Gil Evans were allowed to be white, but only because Miles  liked them. If either had ever gone Gold, they wouldn't be gettin' my $3.98. The Rolling Stones, who, being white, popular, and British, had three strikes against them, received my grace, because they had refused to be on Shindig, a prime time network show, unless they could bring along Howling Wolf. Ya had to love 'em for that. In their case, the  cool factor outweighed the race factor, the popularity factor, the funk factor and the musicianship factor. So, as my unwitting mentor, Bishop had his work cut out for him. It didn't take him long to shatter all my preconceptions. In no time, he hipped me to as diverse an array of music makers as you'll ever find anywhere. From Eddie Palmieri to The Carter Family. From Noel Coward to Buell Kazee. From Mickey Katz to Fela Ransom Kuti. All along he seasoned the mix joyfully with anecdotes, footnotes and cross references. Pointing out phrases, reciting lyrics, explaining origins and traditions, and immigration patterns. He unearthed  original versions of songs of which I'd only heard the tepid British covers. He revealed British gems, like The Goon Show, largely unknown on this continent, and from whose cassetes I derive much pleasure to this day. Bishop could laud the profound nuances of a Bud Powell solo, then, minutes later, give me a fascinating, detailed dissertation on  the attributes of a cheesy novelty record called "Oogum Boogum". If I'd been in college, the homework would've  been to "Compare and Contrast".  And I relished my homework. I spent every dime I made on records. It was not only educational, but liberating. Here was a whole new, broader, more universal, more humane set of aesthetics. Because,  despite all their differences, all of these had a lot in common. They were all soulful. They were all artful. They all had a kind of innate intelligence. They all, in some way, spoke truthfully. As did my humble, if erudite professor. I'm not even going to get into "Bishop on the Cinema", because that would fill several volumes. Suffice it to say that, post-Bishop, when watching a film or TV show, if I like it, you can be sure I know why I like it, and if I don't, I can probably give you an example of an earlier film that told the same story in a better way. At Hollywood parties (if there still is such a thing) I can reel off references to Fritz Lang, Eric Von Stroheim, Albert Zugsmith, et al. It used to be that I could name practically every mug, every cowpoke, every tipsy society matron, vagabond, crony, henchman, fallguy, con artist, sidekick, corpulent corrupt politician, pompous, prune-faced demagogue, European professor, nerd, geek, judge, jurist, storekeeper, cab driver, insane asylum nurse, or cranky old New Englander ever to grace the American screen. My memory's not so great these days, so I  probably now only know, maybe half. Guess who taught me that stuff. And Joel could be so funny, with an ironic, understated, wacky take on things, and an easy, infectious laugh. And a puck-ish penchant for mischief. He loved playing pranks. That's one of the things that distinguished him from most people I knew-- Bishop never took himself too seriously. God knows the rest of us did. On the road, like most  young musicians of the day, each of us was, in turns, neurotic, depressed, resentful, competitive or pompous. Scared, angry. Lonely. Young creative types are so serious, so much of the time. Rarely, if ever, was Bishop. He could always find the humor, even the fun, in seemingly dire situations. I got to some dark, dark places on the road. Somehow, even though we never discussed those things, I would see Joel's face, and feel comforted.  It wasn't that Joel was in denial, or repressed, or the class clown, or that he was hiding  intimacy problems. He might have been, I don't know.  Sometimes I'd pry, but I never learned the source of his "demons". No, Joel would just want to, as the English say, Get on with it. Today, with 20-20 hindsight, I know that in many ways he was right. Nowadays, I even tell my kids that a lot. Get on with it. Teenagers' own personal pain is so goddam precious. Sometimes, no matter how bad it is (and my kids don't know from bad) you just gotta get on with it. Some of us have spent fortunes on therapy, but are we really, after it  all, better? Better people? Happier people? More "well-adjusted", let's say, than Joel O'Brien was? Yes, we're all still alive and he's not. But he lived a full life. He had lots of friends. He touched, entertained, loved, taught, changed, moved a whole lot of people. To think. To question. To do good deeds. To laugh. To just... blow! To be themselves. It takes some people years, a lifetime, to learn to be true to themselves. You could accuse Joel of a lot of things, but never of Not Being Himself. That's why we loved him. Some might  say that he was your typical New York left wing bohemian intellectual beatnik musician, but they'd be lying. I new lots of those, and Joel wasn't one of them. When my parents met Joel, they said he was a "character". He was, but shit, so were they. My whole family was full of characters. But none was a true original, like Bishop. You don't see too many originals these days. Not in the music world, anyway. Nowadays it's hard to be original!  We all watch TV. We're exposed to everything all the time. Most people dance to someone else's tune, and we don't even know we're doing it. Sometimes we can't even hear a tune anymore, but we be dancin', just the same!  Cuz we see everybody else around us dancin'. Maybe we just need to dance. Sometimes it seems like with all our evolution and "higher consciousness", and all the changes the beatniks and hippies brought  about, most people act like herd animals. Some of us just can't help it!  Joel was never one of the herd, or part of any movement, or scene. He was an independent, free  thinking individual, the same guy in his own bedroom, as he was in a crowd of people. He knew who he was and wasn't. He made no apologies, and had no agenda to foist upon others. He defied categories. Bishop never complained or blamed anyone else for his misfortunes, just as he never bragged about his many talents. He was a walking contradiction, but somehow, in and of no one else but Joel. He was opinionated. He was, at times, obstinate. Selfish. Self-destructive. But he was more colorful than most people. He was unforgettable.  I re-connected with Joel, and saw him, weak, in pain, and pretty much resigned to his fate. I listened to his CD's, playing piano and singing, and perused walls of his artwork, and I was, both thrilled and saddened. He'd cultivated and made public creative parts of himself I'd never seen. His work blew me away. Made me laugh out loud. I heard him singing in my car and I started to shout, Yeah, Joel! Alright! You're doin it! Bravo! That was the thrilling part. The sad part is not that I never got to tell how much I loved him, which is true, but that's a given at memorials. I don't feel guilty and he and I have no unfinished business. The sadness is really just me being, in a way, selfish. It comes from realizing how much I've missed, all these years we haven't kept in touch, and how much more we could have shared, as we both grew older and, hopefully up.  I think of watching the Bush-Kerry debates with Bishop. Or ragging on a reality show. Or him meeting my kids. Who knows, maybe I could have even taught him something, for a change. Now before I go any further,  you have to imagine what I'm about to say, being spoken by James Stewart or Henry Fonda. I'm not trying to be funny, and every word of it comes painfully, from my deepest places. But I also don't want to wallow in sentimentality and embarrass Joel. So if one of those guys says it, we can, if we choose to, maintain an ironic distance, and no one will be embarrassed or bummed out. Or, if we choose to buy into it, we can be as bloody sentimental as we want to be, cry in our beer, and Joel will just have to bare it. Considering what he bore in the last weeks of his life, it'll be cake. Do we understand each other? Good. Joel has been looming large in my thoughts and in my heart for the last few weeks. And today, though I'm looking through this veil of tears, I see very clearly how Joel has left his mark on this world. How he's made a difference. What part of him will never go away. Each of us possesses a piece of his legacy. I write music for a living-- all kinds. Lots of it is on TV. Every note of music that I write, or play contains a piece of Joel's legacy. You can hear his legacy in Danny Kortchmar's music, and because of that, in some of Don Henley's music. People every day, all over the world, hear it in Carole King's music, in James Taylor's. In Robbie DuPree's. You'll hear it in the music their children make, if they do. Anyone who's ever worked with any of these people I mention, has inherited some of it. People who never heard of, never met, couldn't give a shit about Joel O'Brien, or  jazz or hillbilly music, have put it in their music and they don't even know it. In some of these people's music, it's very subtle. Maybe only those of us who know Joel and know them, even know it's there. But it's there. What I'm talking about is not drumming or piano playing. It's a point of view. An attitude. A vibe, a joke. A cloud of smoke. A walk. A way to talk. A giggle. A stumble. A snore. A horn honking. A slip on the ice. A missed opportunity.  A sneer. A smirk. A sheepish grin. An erect middle finger. A half eaten bagel. A cigarette butt. It's a funny hat. It's the entire history of jazz, and it's a little kid banging on a rock with a big stick. It's primal, but it's also very sophisticated. It's been there, done that, and still don't know shit. It's gentle as Lester Young, and as furious as Archie Shepp. It's as sweet as Bill Monroe, and as nasty as a B flat 7 chord with a sharp 9. It's good taste. It's utter tastelessness. It's tradition. It's a pie in the face of tradition. It'll be passed on, from hand to hand, for a long time, to a whole lot of people. It's a  part of history. Thank you for your legacy, Joel. I'm very grateful to have a piece of it, and to have had you in my life. Now that Jimmy or Henry has finished speaking, and I'm thinking of all that's been lost, and all that's been gained, I find myself both laughing and crying at the same time. It's not easy, and it hurts. But it also feels really good. And that, I guess, is the point.  Ralph Shuckett


 

• Kootch will sing a few songs at the celebration of the life of musician/artist Joel "Bishop" O'Brien, which “will be held Sunday, Oct. 17th from 3 to 6 pm at the Village Community School Auditorium at  227 w. 10th st between Greenwich st. and Washington St. in the far west village one block east of the Hudson River. It's free.”. Thanks Moogy.

• “Lightning in a Bottle”, the concert film of “Salute to the Blues”, held at New York's Radio City Music Hall on February 7th, 2003, for the opening of the Year of the Blues, opens October 22, 2004 in New York and November 5, 2004 in Los Angeles.

The musicians are: The band - Levon Helm, Dr. John, Steve Jordan, Danny Kortchmar, Ivan Neville, Keb' Mo', Larry Taylor, Willie Weeks, Kim Wilson, The Beale St. Horns, Andrew Love, Ben Cauley, Jack Hale, Jim Horn. Singers - Vanisse Thomas, Curtis King, Babi Floyd. Featured Performers (in order of appearance)- Angelique Kidjo, Mavis Staples, Honeyboy Edwards, Keb' Mo', James Blood Ullmer and Allison Krauss, India.Arie, Odetta, Natalie Cole, Larry Johnson, Buddy Guy, Ruth Brown, Macy Gray, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Kim Wilson, Bonnie Raitt, John Hammond, John Fogerty, Steve Tyler and Joe Perry, The Neville Brothers, Shemekia Copeland, Robert Cray, David Johansen and Hubert Sumlin, Solomon Burke, Vernon Reid, Chuck D. and Fine Arts Militia, B.B. King. Archival Performances and Interviews - Son House, John Lee Hooker, Jimi Hendrix, Lazy Lester, Jimmie Vaughn, Chris Thomas King, Mos' Def.

There is a beautiful site here at Sony Classics.  Kootch is in the house band and you can see him in some pictures in the Gallery section.

 

Danny Kortchmar & Joel O’Brien, courtesy of Moogy Music Chronicles

SEPTEMBER  2004

• Kootch has written for us some beautiful thoughts about Joel:

 

“Joel bishop O'Brien, the drummer in my first 3 bands, died in early Sept. He was a huge influence on me and many others during his life, and will be sorely missed by the many people that loved him. Although Joel played drums in our bands, he was a wonderful piano player and interpreter of jazz standards, but that only scratches the surface of what he was about. Joel had a vast knowledge of early American music as well as jazz, r &b, blues and rock & roll. He also was stunningly articulate and provided me (and many other of his friends) with an education about Italian cinema, American movies and literature. Hanging out with Joel was my college. The stuff I learned from him has informed my music and my life since. Joel was also a wonderful artist, who used collage and graphics to create art that was instantly recognizable as his. He had a unique style in everything he did, the way he dressed, his hipster lingo. He probably influenced everyone he ever had a conversation with. I hope people will get to hear his later music, when he finally came into his own as a jazz pianist and vocalist. His music is what he was: sly, witty soulful, cool, smart, funky,.........hip.  I'll miss him for the rest of my life.”


 
• We are sorry to announce that Joel O’Brien passed away Thursday morning Sept. 9th, 2004.  Moogy has written a very beautiful article on him: “Joel was drummer to both James Taylor and Carole King. Playing in their band and on their records. He was the drummer on Carole King's hit singles, "It's Too Late" and "Sweet Season".  He also drummed and recorded for my band the Glitterhouse, Robbie Dupree's band, the Stryders and Daniel Kortchmar bands like Jo Mama with Ralph Schuckett, the King Bees with John John McDuffy, and the Flying Machine with James Taylor”.

Read the entire bio at Moogy Music Chronicles. There are also many Danny’s pictures from his early bands.

• Danny is currently writing two songs with Jackson Browne (at last! We are all delighted!) for the next Jackson’s album, but it will probably be a while before a new album is ready because Jackson is going to be on the road for a few months. “The tunes we started are really good, and I can't wait to hear them finished” said Kootch. Thanks Danny!

• In a press release dated 4th August 2004, a Vote For A Change Tour has been announced:

Coalition of Musicians Makes Way to Battleground States in an Effort to Get Out the Vote this Fall.

Artists include Babyface, Bright Eyes, Jackson Browne, Dave Matthews Band, Death Cab for Cutie, the Dixie Chicks, John Fogerty, Ben Harper, Jurassic 5, John Mellencamp, Keb' Mo', My Morning Jacket, Pearl Jam, Bonnie Raitt, R.E.M., James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

All Shows On Sale August 21. More than 20 artists, including Dave Matthews Band, the Dixie Chicks, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, and John Mellencamp announced today the launch of the Vote for Change Tour, which will kickoff on October 1st and bring its Vote for Change message to 9 of the 17 key electoral battleground states.

"The upcoming election provides everyone an opportunity to change the direction our country is headed and to elect a government that is just, rational and respectful of the views and rights of the people it serves. This coalition of artists wants to be a part of that change," said Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam. Conceived by a loose coalition of musicians four months ago, Vote for Change is a multi-city, multi-artist tour that will include approximately 34 shows in 28 cities in 9 states over the course of one week.

Artist lineups include:
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band/R.E.M./John Fogerty/Bright Eyes
Dixie Chicks/James Taylor
Pearl Jam/Death Cab for Cutie
Dave Matthews Band/Ben Harper/Jurassic 5/My Morning Jacket
Bonnie Raitt/Jackson Browne/ Keb' Mo'/ others TBA
John Mellencamp/Babyface

These and other artists will be appearing on separate bills on the same night in select cities around several battleground states. Vote for Change artists hope to accomplish a single goal through the tour: to get people to the polls on November 2nd to vote for a change.

The Vote for Change tour came about as part of an informal conversation among a handful of artists on how they could make a difference in this year's elections and beyond. This idea has resulted in a first-of-its-kind endeavor where Vote for Change participating artists will focus their energies on the states where the elections are expected to be the closest. All Vote for Change artists are donating their time and talent in support of the tour. The Vote for Change tour will be presented by MoveOn PAC, with all concert proceeds benefiting the work of America Coming Together (ACT). See the official Vote for Change site at www.moveonpac.org/vfc
 

• KKSF 103.7- Smooth Jazz has this new page (main, bio, discography, related artists) on Danny Kortchmar.

• Russ Kunkel has this new wonderful official site at http://www.russellkunkel.com/.  Have a look at the photos page, Kootch is the Jitters group!

• On the 25th Handy Blues Awards, Kim Wilson, who went in with six nominations, captured Song of the Year for the title track to his latest album, "Lookin’ For Trouble” (2003). The album contains two songs co-written by Danny: “Tortured” (Danny Kortchmar, Kim Wilson) and “Hand to Mouth” (Danny Kortchmar, Kim Wilson).

• From The Fabulous Thunderbirds Official Site: “Wilson has also recorded and written with noted session guitarist Danny Kortchmar and drummer Steve Jordan and may tour with them at some point.”

JUNE 2004

• On April 27th, 2004 Danny played with Steve Jordan, Willie Weeks and Art Neville in a concert at Saenger Theatre, New Orleans, that will be part of a movie about New Orleans R&B tradition “Make It Funky”. See also:  http://www.funkymeters.com/Chat/messages/6933.html

• In July, Danny will play together with an all star band at the Democratic Convention (late July in Boston?).

• Kootch has let us know that he’s working with a band he started in NYC at the moment and they’ll be playing shows and recording this summer and fall. So be sure to check the dates and venues! And thanks, Danny.

 
• On this James Taylor’s Unofficial Site, you can download seven songs from “James Taylor Live at Carnegie Hall”, from the Walking Man Tour, May 1974. Kootch was in the band, and that makes the difference!

• “This is Spinal Tap”, the cult-rock mockumentary about the Spinal Tap, will be aired on the Italian satellite tv Studio Universal, on May 28th, at 9 p.m. Kootch is “Ronnie Pudding”.

•  On the Clarence McDonald’s Official Site, there are some gorgeous pics from 1976 (1977?). Danny was in James Taylor’s band with Clarence at that time.

APRIL 2004

• We would like to congratulate this site’s webmaster, Marco, on the birth of his twin daughters, Giorgia e Margherita. Goodbye peaceful nights!

• Underneath, the Hanson’s album, is released tomorrow, Tuesday April 20th. The "Penny and Me" single, produced by Danny, is in stores now. The single is at #9 this week on the Billboard sales chart. The single debuted at #2 and was #8 last week.

• The first song co-written by Danny Kortchmar with Oval Opus is “Anchorman” and it is contained in their self-titled beautiful demo. The song can be downloaded from their site www.ovalopus.com

MARCH 2004

• On Barnes and Noble, the date for the release of the “Running On Empty” dvd-a is April, 20th. We hope it won’t be delayed again!

About “Shaky Town”, the song written by Danny and performed on “Running On Empty” by Jackson Browne:

“Shaky Town is simply a nickname for San Francisco, because of the earthquakes there.  A little more detail:  in the 1970s, citizens band radio ("CB")
was a very popular craze in the United States, and people would speak on it imitating the talk of truckers driving their big "rigs" on American highways.  In communication people used "handles" or nicknames, and codes (so "that's a big 10-4 looking out my back door" means, basically, "that's ok, and I'm looking out the rear-view mirror of my truck").  Shaky Town was a common reference for San Francisco.”. “Put the hammer down" means to speed, and of course the thin white line reference is for the lines of the highway, and an allusion to that album's drug of choice!”

Thanks to Robert Berretta for explaining this to the Italian fans!
 

• Kootch joined Jackson Browne on stage for his concert at Beacon Theater in New York, on March 16th. Danny played on the last songs of the set: “Somebody’s Baby” (Jackson introduced the song “The following song is my favourite that I wrote with Danny Kortchmar”), “The Pretender”, “Doctor My Eyes”, “Running On Empty”, “Culver Moon” (thanks Emma).

• Dada have just published their last cd, apparently with previously recorded material not included in their self-named album out in 1998. Danny Kortchmar is the producer. The title is “How To Be Found”.

• The first single from “Underneath”, the Hanson’s last and long delayed album, called “Penny & Me” and produced by Danny has been reviewed by this month’s issue of Billboard Magazine.

Remember the Hanson brothers (Isaac, Taylor and Zac) from Tulsa, Okla.? In the late '90s, this trio jump-started teen-pop with the über-bubbly "MMMBop," which spent three weeks in pole position on The Billboard Hot 100. The album from which it came, "Middle of Nowhere," missed the No. 1 spot on The Billboard 200 by one position. Subsequent singles and albums failed to spark the same kind of excitement. Now, four years after its last studio effort ("This Time Around"), Hanson returns with this preview into its third studio recording, "Underneath," due April 20 from the act's own label 3CG Records, distributed by ADA. From boys to men, the members are now all grown up. The same is true of Hanson's 2004 sound. Co-produced by Danny Kortchmar (Don Henley, Billy Joel), "Penny & Me" is strummy, melodic pop-rock. It's a refreshing sound for the band. Of course, one cannot help but wonder if the "Hanson" name will help or hurt today. Let's hope radio programmers will listen to this gem with open ears.

• Patrick “Trick” Martin, bassist for Oval Opus, told me about the songwriting sessions with Danny:

“Working with Danny Kortchmar was an honor, a pleasure, and an opportunity that just does not come along very often in a lifetime. Danny wrote with us for two days in November 2003 in New York. We wrote "Anchorman", which is on our EP and another song that is yet to be recorded. It will hopefully land on our full length CD later this year. We would have loved to have him play on our EP, but the recording sessions were several months after the writing sessions. Our time with Danny Kortchmar was brief, but in that time we learned a lot. He is very classy, very laid back, and very talented. He was extremely easy to work with and open to our ideas. You would think that working with a legend like Danny Kortchmar would be intimidating, but instead it was very enjoyable and very inspiring. It is so nice of someone of Danny Kortchmar's stature to give of himself and his time to up and coming artists like ourselves. For that he will always hold a special place in our hearts. We can only hope to be lucky enough to work with him again in the future.”

• Oval Opus, the pop-rock band from Cincinnati, has collaborated with Danny in some songwriting sessions in New York for the release of their self-titled EP, out this month. From the band’s road journal:

12.18 - Wooster, NYC, PA – (...) The next day we began more writing at Pop Rox with our producers and special guest, Danny Kortchmar. Danny Kortchmar's credits include James Taylor, Don Henley, Billie Joel, Jackson Browne, Carol King, The Spin Doctors and on and on. We were excited and in awe to work with him. It was a real honor. But most impressive to us was that Danny was actually in the movie "Spinal Tap," a cult favorite in the Oxygen Tank. We were certainly in the presence of greatness. Honestly, writing two songs with Danny Kortchmar is one of the high points of my career. It is times like this that you realize you are truly blessed. (...)

• Mr. Danny Kortchmar has been so kind to let us know about his future projects with Kim Wilson:

“It's always a great joy to make music with Kim Wilson. I've been fortunate enough to work with him on a few albums and also at the Tribute To the Blues concert last year. The filmed concert will be out this summer. Also, a mini tour is being talked about for this summer featuring many of the artists and the same band, which was Steve Jordan, drums; Levon Helm, Kim, Willie Weeks and Larry Taylor, bass; Dr John and Ivan Neville, keyboards, and Keb Mo and myself on guitars. That concert was one of the great moments of my life.
Kim, Steve Jordan and I also have a side project called "The Cockroaches" that we do when we can. We have 3 or 4 songs recorded thus far.”

Thanks Kootch!
 

• “Lightning In A Bottle”, the film of the “Salute To The Blues” concert has been screened at the recent Berlin International Film Festival and it is scheduled for release late this year.  Here’s Danny performing with Keb’ Mo’:


Danny Kortchmar and Keb Mo in performance.
Photo © Kevin Mazur, 2003.

• Kootch again about The Unbusted, in this Vineyard Gazette Online article “One Tour Over, Songs in a Movie Ahead, the Band Unbusted Aims to Move Up” by Chris Burrell

• On the “Lupin the 3rd” episode titled “Fuga From Alcatraz” (“Escape From Alcatraz”) aired on Italia1 on Sunday, 8th February, Lupin and his pals are on a ship called “Machine Gun Kelly”!

• Hanson.net has published another beautiful bio of Kootch, subtitled again “A Music History”. Danny should be the producer of the first single from the new Hanson’s album “Underneath”, called “Penny And Me”. The album will be probably out late this year.

• On 15th September 1973, James Taylor and The Section joined a Crystal Palace Garden Party Festival in U.K. This wonderful site has lots of info on the event, even a vintage poster of The Section and a review of the show. See http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/ebony/546/Garden-party-73.html, with a review by the Italian journalist and producer Ernesto De Pascale. The wonderful posters are here: http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/ebony/546/cp-1973-prog-menu.html

JANUARY 2004

• Listen to Danny speaking about James Taylor in this amazing and long BBC2 radio interview: The James Taylor Story. The first part was aired on 13th January, the second will be aired on 20th (you can listen to it live from the BBC2 radio site!)..