Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Sydney New Years Eve - Part of the Road trip with "Daisy The Love Bus"

Interview with Louie Shelton 2007 - Backstage film coming in due course


Part 2 of 2 - the Great Louie Shelton


Over the past several decades you would have heard Louie Shelton's signature guitar riffs and solos on more hit records than any other session guitarist in history. While there are too many to mention, some of his classics include, Boz Scaggs' "Low Down", Lionel Richie's "Hello", Neil Diamond's "Play Me", The Jackson Five's "I Want You Back", "ABC" and "I'll Be There, The Monkees' "Last Train To Clarksville" and "Valerie". Some of the other artists Louie recorded with include John Lennon, Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, The Carpenters, Joe Cocker, Kenny Rodgers, The Mamas & Papas, James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald and many others.
Not only did Louie play guitar on Seals & Crofts greatest hits, "Summer Breeze", "Diamond Girl", "We May Never Pass This Way Again" and "Get Closer", he produced their many Gold and Platinum albums. Some of Louie's other production credits include Art Garfunkle, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Dan Seals, Cory Wells (of Three Dog Night), Jane Oliver, The Southern Sons, Mother Hubbard and Nashville Guitars.

Vasco camping at Girraween National Park 2007


Girraween, ‘meaning place of flowers’, is a park of massive granite outcrops, balancing boulders, clear streams and tumbling cascades. Spectacular wildflower displays are a feature in spring. High on the northern end of the New England Tableland, the 11 700ha park has an average elevation of 900m and is cold in winter, hot in summer. Not far from the Queensland-New South Wales border, it has more in common with cooler southern climes than with most of the Sunshine State.


The park’s eucalypt forests and heathlands support diverse birds, including the rare turquoise parrot and superb lyrebird. Common wombats graze on grassy areas fringing the heath and forest. Just three hours’ drive from Brisbane, Girraween offers great walking and camping, surrounded by the orchards and vineyards of the Granite Belt. It makes an ideal holiday destination or stop-over between Brisbane and Sydney. Bald Rock National Park is next door, just over the New South Wales border.

At Barron Falls near Kuranda North Queensland


Barron Falls is where the Barron River makes its descent from the Atherton Tablelands to the Cairns coastal plain, in Queensland, Australia. Protected within the Barron Gorge National Park, the volume of water seen in the upper photo only occurs after substantial rainfall during the wet season. For much of the rest of the year, little more than a trickle is evident, due in part to the presence of a weir behind the head of the falls that exists to supply the Barron Gorge Hydroelectric Power Station located downstream in the gorge proper.


There are three ways to visit and view Barron Falls: highway, narrow-gauge railway (Kuranda Scenic Railway), and aerial tram (Skyrail). The train stops at Barron Falls overlook, where passengers are allowed to disembark for several minutes. The Skyrail stops at two rainforest mid-stations, Red Peak and Barron Falls. The trail at Barron Falls Skyrail station leads through the rainforest to three separate lookouts providing views of the Gorge and Falls.


Thoughts.....

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Blondage

With Angry Anderson at the Country Music festival


Interviewed Angry as part of the 'Backstage' documentary - in due course I will put some footage of his performance and interview online. Nice work Angry!!

Dinner with the great Felix Cavaliere in Nashville 2008

Left to Right  - Felix Cavaliere, Donna, Ingunn Jordannsen, Alessandro Sorbello
Felix Cavaliere (born November 29, 1944) is an American music producer and musician.

Although he was a member of Joey Dee and His Starlighters best known for their hit "Peppermint Twist", he is best known for his association with The Young Rascals during the 1960s. Cavaliere sang vocals on six of their successful singles. At an early age he joined The Stereos and moved on to form The Escorts, whilst at university. He later produced albums by other artist such as Laura Nyro and Jimmie Spheeris.

Cavaliere had a solo hit with "Only A Lonely Heart Sees" (1980), which made #36 in th Billboard Pop 100 charts. Cavaliere and former Rascals bandmate Dino Danelli joined Steve Van Zandt to record Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul's album Men Without Women (1982). However, Cavaliere strongly disputes this and claims that was never a member of Little Steven's band.

After fifteen years he recorded Dreams in Motion (1994), produced by Don Was. During 1995 Cavaliere was a touring member of Ringo Starr's third All-Starr Band. On October 15, 2006 he inducted Vanilla Fudge into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. In 2008, he recorded an album with Steve Cropper "Nudge it Up a Notch", which was released July 29, 2008. He continues to tour as Felix Cavaliere's Rascals and on June 18, 2009 Cavaliere, along with former writing partner Eddie Brigati, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. On April 24, 2010, all four members of the Rascals reunited for the Kristen Ann Carr benefit, which was held at New York's Tribeca Grill.