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Hello all and welcome to June!
First off, a lot has gone on behind the scenes this past week: for upcoming shows and the general SATB infrastructure, which I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself in discussing publicly, except to say some good things are coming from unexpected places. Stay tuned once they assume concrete form. RE the website, revisions should be done in the next couple/few days. I have a new tech at work, modifying the SATB site a bit with the goal of eliminating all the issues previously plaguing it, so just a little more patience please. Once ready, there should only ever need to be a single sign-in, and that’s to access the past newsletters (this will be fully updated) and nothing else.
This wouldn’t be a SATB newsletter without the Grim Reaper making an appearance. As all of you doubtless know by now, Rick Derringer (The McCoys, Edgar Winter Group, solo and All-Starr) passed away at 77. Perhaps best known in the US for the hits “Hang On Sloopy” (1965) and “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo” (1973), the obvious Beatle connection is his membership in Ringo’s touring outfit circa 2010-2011 (where he played both of those hits), alongside former bandmate Edgar Winter; here’s some rehearsal footage. Rick was interviewed about his career here.
The lesser-known Beatle connection is to George’s 1957 Gibson Les Paul. This is the guitar gifted to George by Eric Clapton in August 1968; you can see it used in “Revolution” promo, or perhaps even more memorably, in the Get Back film, where it took a tumble during a rehearsal of a tune sailors might call a “Jonah.” Because of its unusual (for a Les Paul) cherry red finish, George dubbed the guitar “Lucy,” as in Ball. Come to find out, among its earlier owners was John Sebastion of the Lovin’ Spoonful, who gifted it to – Rick Derringer. It had originally come in a gold finish, and was, by the time it reached Rick, the worse for wear, so he brought it to a Gibson shop in Kalamazoo, asking that it be painted in a finish matching their popular SG model. But he didn’t care much for it after the work was done, and he traded it for a sunburst Les Paul at Dan Armstrong’s Guitars in Greenwich Village. There, Clapton bought it days later and kept it as a back-up before presenting it to George. For most guitars, that would have been plenty, but Lucy wasn’t through yet: she was stolen from George’s LA digs in 1973 and essentially held for ransom: read about that here.
Less reported than the death of Derringer was the passing of Klaatu’s Terry Draper. To many people reading this, the name of that band will mean nothing, but for a time in the 70s, it rivaled “Paul is dead” for the biggest Beatles rumor circulating, likewise spawning loads of clues pointing to the inscrutable Canadian band’s debut actually being a secret Beatles reunion album (on Capitol yet) upon its August 1976 release. Most anything you’d want to know about the story can be found here (or by picking up a copy of this fab book). Here’s a sample from the album – judge for yourself whether or not it’s The Beatles or an incredible simulation. Outside the imagined fab ties, perhaps what they are best remembered for was a tune on that first album that was later picked up by The Carpenters (their penultimate top 40 single). Here’s the late Mr. Draper giving his take on the song.
To go back to the living: first, we are a month out from the most fabulous Magical Mystery Camp, held in the Catskills. I’ve mentioned these four days of fun, music, interactive lessons and jamming previously, plus the guests ranging from Peter Asher to myself (check the link for the full rundown). The new news is the addition of Wings guitarist Laurence Juber to the proceedings. It’ll be a blast, amidst a scenic outdoor setting with all the attractions a lake-and-mountain-and-forest setting can offer.
Author/artist/cartoonist Carol Tyler is having a big year. You know her on SATB from several shows (and this video), as well as from her books, which include Fab4Mania (sample here). Carol – with her husband Justin Green – was the subject of this amazing documentary. Anyway, she passed this along to me to share.
Just thought I’d pass along some news about my big show and a book coming out. First the show. Yes, I have lived long enough to have been given a retrospective of my comics career at the prestigious Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum. It’s called “Write it Down, Draw it Out.” You can go to this link and find out more, including directions to the Billy Ireland and their hours. https://www.facebook.com/TheBillyIrelandCartoonLibraryAndMuseum
Today a terrific article came out in the Columbus paper about the exhibit. Read all about it here: https://matternews.org/culture/art/comics-artist-carol-tyler-still-feels-compelled-to-tell-her-story/?fbclid=IwY2xjawKkfNxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFKTVQxbjRpV1JsS3BEVzkwAR5wH_ZTEK6zWwTv6rpVvQm5I4Id9u7q_1S3bG0Xsua89k5FcQu7tt6mvT-zGw_aem_SGm5pUFjCBiIFbRMQyFy5g
So please plan on coming to see the exhibit sometime this summer or fall. You will be thrilled. It’s up until November 9.
My book comes out in September. ‘The Ephemerata: Shaping the Exquisite Nature of Grief’ will make its debut at Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, aka CXC. Hope to see you there, but if you cannot make it and still want to get a book you can pre-order using the huge barcode the lovelies at Fantagraphics have provided below.
A few episodes back, Allison Bumsted was on, presenting a conversation about teen fan mags of the 60s, very Beatles-specific ones as part of her groundbreaking research into the subject. We mentioned a major article she had in the works and now it has arrived. (You can download it here.)
^ This fab artwork ^ (drawn from Ms. B’s collection) provides terrific visual accompaniment. Can’t wait for the doc…
I’d recently mentioned the Chris O’Dell documentary here (I think you know what it’s called…) I just caught it on Prime, and yes, we will be convening again soon.
The aforementioned women represent but a few of the friends I have been privileged to make in Beatles world; another, among the earliest, is Jude Kessler. The definition of class act, she is, of course, the author behind the John Lennon series of non-fiction novels, telling his story across many volumes in rich detail, informed by her decades of intense research. She produces a podcast/videocast, Tell Me Why, and as mentioned in the last newsletter, Jerry Hammack and I got to have a delightful conversation with her, earmarked for 30 minutes but stretched out to 50 (and yes, I am credited as my son). You can check it out here.
There’s another friend I’ve made in recent years who you have heard more than once on the show: Sibbie O’Sullivan. Her collection of memoir essays, My Private Lennon: Explorations From A Fan Who Never Screamed, is an absolutely terrific read. This past week, she published an essay in the Washington Post, uniting Ribbons of Rust with Ian Leslie’s John and Paul: A Love Story. It was an insightful and thoughtful piece, and Jerry and I were honored beyond expression to be discussed on that platform. (It was re-published in at least a couple of Canadian papers, which anyone can access, minus the paywall.) You never know where your curiosity and passion will take you, and I thank you Sibbie for not only mentioning our work, but making it a part of a bigger conversation.
I typically post a new installment of the Seederman Chronology at the beginning of each month and would be doing so here, except for the fact that the remainder of the series appears to have gone astray from wherever they once were stored. What I did find were the rar compressed files, but – they won’t open. If anyone knows of a good app that works (and for free), I can resume the share, but frustratingly, these seem to be locked.
Saw this post and was surprised…
The second sentence is absolutely true of SATB, not sure about the first one though. I only know it isn’t mine.
Last: I had discussed a show themed on The Beatles Illustrated Record book some time back. I am now ready to start laying the groundwork, so for anyone still interested in being a part of that conversation (a few of you wrote in back when), please shoot me a fresh email, subject line “Tyler and Carr,” and I’ll be in touch. Thanks for your interest – looking forward to getting this talk put together.
The next new episode will be out sooner than later and will be an installment of the Olympiad series with Gary Wenstrup. No, I don’t think you will see this one coming…