Bloggerhythms

Two months ago I finally fulfilled my wish to visit Hawaii. I could post for weeks on end about the wonders of these beautiful islands but since this is a site devoted to music I'll pass up that temptation. Music was part of this vacation. We enjoyed some live hula bands and, while driving, I tuned into radio stations on both Oahu and Maui that played only Hawaiian music featuring native Hawaiian disc jockeys. In addition, toward the end of our two week trip, I went to a Barnes and Noble store on Maui to search for some Hawaiian CDs. I found several that turned out to be excellent purchases. The best one is by singer Teresa Bright . Her latest, released this past December, is Tropic Rhapsody . Tropic Rhapsody is a true jazz set full of a dozen old standards, many from the big band era and earlier, and all are at least marginally related to the islands in some way. Bright covers "Blue Hawaii" popularized by both Bing Crosby and Elvis Presley. It's original...

No, this blog is not turning into an "all Poco all the time" publication. It's totally coincidental that June has turned into Poco month. Rest assured that July is going to be completely different as more contemporary fare will be discussed. In the meantime, as promised last week, Poco's former leader and founder, Richie Furay, agreed to participate in an email interview for Bloggerhythms. For those of you unfamiliar with Furay's biography this post will have more meaning for you if you read part one first. I asked Furay for the interview because I believe he is a very fascinating individual who is an unusually positive example from the world of music. I thank you, Richie, for your time and cooperation. ____________________________________ CR: Until very recently I assumed you had retired from public performance. I had no idea you ever made another recording after Legacy , the CD released by the original Poco lineup in 1989. So, I would like to ask what mad...

You know the freeway most rock stars travel. They race full speed up the on-ramp labeled "sex, drugs & rock 'n roll." Fortunately, in most cases maturity and real life eventually kick in and they stop using harmful and illegal substances, settle down with their trophy wives, have a second batch of kids that they won't ignore this time around, get paunchy, and start looking like middle aged accountants. The ones who don't find the exit ramp eventually burnout or become another fatal statistic. A few may even get out of the business and move on to other lives. Two who did are Cat Stevens and Richie Furay. The controversial path of Stevens, now known as Yusef Islam, has been well documented over the decades. He only recently took up music again many years after converting to the religion whose name he now uses as his own. Not as well known is the story of Furay, a member of the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame and co-founder of two legendary bands, Buffalo Spri...

Every Sunday evening during Summer the Philadelphia suburb of Upper Merion Township hosts an outdoor concert series they call Concerts Under the Stars . The promoter brings folkies and many singer-songwriters such as John Gorka, Karla Bonoff, and Michelle Shocked to its stage. Occasionally they slip in somebody more famous such as Roger McQuinn who wowed the crowd a few years ago with a solo, electric, 12-string performance. This year the series opened with a bang. One of my all-time favorite bands, Poco , took the stage as a trio Sunday night for what was billed as an all acoustic show. Poco's only remaining founding member, Rusty Young, is still in the lineup. So is Paul Cotton, who replaced original member Jim Messina very early in their career after leaving the little known Illinois Speed Press . The band's two veterans were joined by bassist Jack Sundrud who has previously worked with Vince Gill and Dickey Betts. Despite the advertisement the set wasn't a tota...