Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Yes, information was much more difficult to access when I was a kid in
the 1970s. As I said in an earlier post, there wasn't even a readily
available discography of all their US/UK releases when I first got
seriously interested in that kind of stuff around 1972. As for clues as
to where and how the material on my bootleg of the "Get Back" sessions
("Kum Back") was recorded -- nothing. Now all that stuff, and about
another 100 hours from the same month, has not only been circulated,
but codified with elaborate numbering systems.

But, as I've said a few other times in this topic -- it's one thing to
gather that information, and it's a great thing, whether you're a
researcher or a fan. It's another to make that information come to
life, and make it more than a bunch of lists, by using it to try to
illuminate the music, and what it might say about the musicians, their
personalities, and their creative processes. That's what interests me
the most, as both a writer and a reader.
  

    

Reminder: Richie will appear on KPFA's Dead to the World tomorrow night (Wed
11/15) from 8 to 9pm pst.  You can listen online at www.kpfa.org or
www.kfcf.org, or on the air in Northern California at 94.1 fm
  

    
Excellent.
  

    
My ears will be there.
  

    

any other appearances coming up?
  

    
On radio, this morning (Tuesday November 21), I'll be interviewed for
an hour live on WMBR in Boston, at noon Eastern time (9am Pacific
time). The host is also playing some rare Beatles between the talk.
It's streamed live at http://www.wmbr.org.
  

    
Apologies for the redundancy with post 98, but to further answer
Arto's question about upcoming appearances, so far this is what's lined
up:

Wednesday evening, December 6, 7:00-9:30pm, at the Park Branch of the
San Francisco Library at 1833 Page Street in San Francisco (two
uninterrupted hours of rare Beatles film clips, followed by Q&A)

Saturday evening, December 9, 10pm-midnight, Fellini Restaurant, 1401
University Avenue, Berkeley (rare film clips of the Beatles, Rolling
Stones, Who, Pink Floyd with Syd Barrett, Neil Young, Patti Smith,
Joni
Mitchell, James Brown, Love, the Monks, the Beach Boys, and others).

Wednesday afternoon, December 13, 4:00-6:00pm, at Meyer Hall in
Expression College for the Digital Arts at 6601 Shellmound Street in
Emeryville. I will be presenting rare Beatles film and audio clips, as
well as rare clips by other artists featured in my books.

Thursday evening, December 14, 7:30-9:30pm, at the Alameda Main
Library at 1550 Oak Street (corner of Oak & Lincoln) in Alameda.
Again,
I will be presenting rare Beatles film and audio clips, as well as
rare clips by other artists featured in my books.

Also I'm doing three events in the Northwest, at all of which I'll be
discussing the book and showing/playing rare Beatles film
clips/recordings:

Tuesday, November 28, 6:00-7:30pm, Central Library, Portland, Oregon,
801 SW 10th Avenue;

Wednesday, November 29, 7pm, Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park Towne
Center, 17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park, twelve miles north of
downtown Seattle;

Thursday, November 30, 7:30pm, Powell's Books, 3723 SE Hawthorne
Blvd., Portland, Oregon.
  

    

must get to one of those...
  

    
Sorry to have been so scarce around these parts--got super busy at
work. 

On this day of giving thanks, I want to thank you, Richie, for being
so available to us, for being so generous in your responses to our
questions, for being a walking encyclopedia of arcane-but-cool
knowledge, for having written several way-cool books on way-cool
subjects, and just generally, you know, for being you. 

Oh, and: Beatles rule!!!!
  

    
Word!
  

    
If Richie read this anymore, my hats off to him....I am about 1/2 way done
with this and it is an awesome book!
  

    
Yeah, I'm still reading this...which gives me a chance to hype my next
event once more. Tomorrow night (Wednesday December 6), 7:00-9:30pm,
San Francisco public library, Park Branch, 1833 Page Street. I'm doing
several events for the book, but this one in particular will have more
rare Beatles film footage than any other -- two uninterrupted hours
worth.
  

    
i wish i could be there, i'm on the wrong coast.
  

    
after reading your book, as I've wanted for years, is to hear the 27 minute
Helter Skelter!
  

    
That's probably the single most sought-after outtake that's known to
exist, but hasn't been bootlegged. My guess is, however, that like many
such things, it might be a bit of a letdown if it actually emerged.
That's both because improvised jams weren'the Beatles' strength, and
because it's hard for any rock song to sustain interest for 27 minutes.
Also, I didn't find the four-minute excerpt from a previous take that
was released on Anthology 3 too impressive, as it has a real slow,
lumbering blues-rock jam feel. The 27-minute take was the next one they
did, so it might be similar.
  

    
Richie, will you be touring with this material in the year ahead?
  

    
I've done about ten events in the Bay Area presenting rare Beatles
films and audio clips, with a few more to come. I've also been able to
do such events in Portland, Oregon (a planned event in Seattle was
canceled due to the unexpected storms there just after Thanksgiving,
though I hope to make it back up there in a few months).

I'd like to tour with the material out of town at any place that's
interested. But -- how does one say this tactfully -- it doesn't seem
likely that the publisher will pay my traveling expenses for many such
events. If any library, bookstore, or venue with a
screen/projector/sound system is interested in having me present
Beatles events and willing to pay my traveling expenses -- which I
admit might be a longshot -- I'm willing to take it on the road.
  

    
Have you tried packaging it as a lecture and getting a lecture agent? 
  

    
No, but that's an idea to consider that I hadn't thought about;
thanks.
  

    
Richie, I agree that hearing the 27 minute HS might be a letdown......but I
would love to hear that and any of the other long jams you mention in the
book, boring or not!
  

    
after reading this, I am rereading The Complete Recording Session by
Lewiston.....what a great book that is!