Whatever Michael Jackson’s actual debts were at the time of his death (some articles put it at approximately $400 million) may be a moot point once the royalties start rolling in. A good portion of these royalties are being accumulated while we speak, with millions of records and songs being purchased/downloaded since his death. Because of his early success, he was able to negotiate a much more favorable royalty rate for his recordings than your average artist. And in September, with the Beatles’ catalog being re-released and the the group’s Rock Band edition game going on sale, the Jackson estate looks to have an almost unimaginable windfall since Michael was part owner of the the Beatles’ publishing.
@8:07 amMichael Jackson's Lesson: Music is Where the Money's At
July 8, 2009commentThe King of Pop: Michael Jackson & What Could Have Been
June 30, 2009comment
It has has been less than a week since the untimely passing of Michael Jackson, and it seems like people the world over cannot get enough of the self proclaimed “King of Pop.” Not the minutest of details on his life has been overlooked and as opposed to the circus-like aspects of most media coverage for the last decade, there is an outpouring of genuine love and respect as most discussions are fittingly about the enormous contributions he made to the music industry. And the numbers are astonishing: last time I looked, there were over 44 million views of his groundbreaking Thriller video on You Tube!
The HIStory tour was just like the others in Michael’s solo career with the over-the top production values his audiences expected. But in his prime, he was more that the king of just Pop. Off the Wall was as good as anything Motown released in an R & B genre, if fact as good, if not more polished, than a lot of the great R & B recordings. Thanks in part to the great Eddie Van Halen, Beat It had one of the nastiest guitars riffs (and solos) that could stand up to the best guitar driven hits of the day. Michael proved that he could master almost any radio-friendly style and that of course, brought him the hits and the biggest selling album of all time.
When I first heard Michael was preparing to jumpstart his career with a series of concerts in the UK, I thought to myself, “I hope he goes back to his roots of R & B of Off the Wall, and the Hard Rock of his Thriller period.” To start out, maybe he would even play small venues with a lean & mean backing band so his fans could see him stripped down, up close and personal for the first time. That’s what I thought would make for an exciting comeback, and maybe less risky than to try and top his monstrous tours in the 80’s and 90’s. Once word got out that he was doing the tour to try to pay off some, or all, of his staggering debt rumored to be in the neighborhood of $400 million, and mega promoters AEG Live were producing the tour, I figured all bets were off. If 750,000 of his fans were willing to pay top dollar to see him live again after all these years, who am I to say that he shouldn’t give them the spectacle they anticipated. Production people that were at the rehearsals at the Staples Center in Los Angeles the day before he died said it would have been everything the fans expected and more. Now sadly we will never know.
Author: skorinc
LIFESTYLE MARKETING: EASY TO SAY, BUT HARD TO DO
June 23, 2009comment
A co-worker of mine (who also happens to be a world class bass player: The Firm, Blue Murder), Tony Franklin, recently brought up the concept of “Lifestyle.” Tony and I were discussing it from a marketing standpoint, which seems to be a keyword for most company’s initiatives. What I found out is that many companies who talk about lifestyle marketing don’t really understand the concept. Tony told me he found this definition on Wikipedia:
“A lifestyle is a characteristic bundle of behaviors that makes sense to both others and oneself in a given time and place, including social relations, consumption, entertainment, and dress.
The behaviors and practices within lifestyles are a mixture of habits, conventional ways of doing things, and reasoned actions.
A lifestyle typically also reflects an individual’s attitudes, values or worldview. Therefore, a lifestyle is a means of forging a sense of self and to create cultural symbols that resonate with personal identity.”
The last paragraph really says it all. When we get to a certain age in our development (for me it was around 14), we began to realize we are individuals, with our own unique qualities. So what’s the first thing we do to express that individuality? We seek others who share the same interests as us (I recall a guy who had a poster in his office that proclaimed, “You are truly unique, just like everybody else”). A Paradox? Not at all, because in that group will be born leaders who will show us the way to individual expression. Call it a roll model if you’d like, but their guidance bestows upon us something to emulate or associate with. And in the bigger picture, celebrities, places and things can have a powerful influence on our lifestyles and buying habits, so brands associated with them can also be perceived as having the Cool Factor
. Simply put, coolness by association.
So let’s demonstrate this through real world examples. One of the best companies at selling and promoting lifestyle is Harley Davidson. They couldn’t have flourished selling $25,000.00 motorcycles if the company only sold to the true vagabond biker. That’s why the typical Harley rider today averages around 50 years old and could very well be a doctor, lawyer or business professional. By trading their business duds for a HD uniform (riders refer to the HD in Harley clothing as hundred dollars because that’s what a typical article costs), the weekend rider can borrow a little of that rebel equity without actually having to terrorize a town as Marlon Brando’s biker gang did in The Wild One. In fact, one doesn’t have to even ride a Harley; one can simply don a Harley logoed black leather jacket with branded Harley T-shirt and the bad dude or dudette image is transferred to you. It’s no wonder that licensed apparel is reported to be up to 20 percent of Harley’s gross profits.
What about celebrities? That’s where it gets tricky. You may be a big fan of the NBA Champion Lakers team and playoff MVP Kobe Bryant, so you may very well sport the team jersey adorned with Bryant’s number 8. But you may not want to go as far as dressing like Kobe does off court, wearing his cologne, or listening to the same music. You may not even want to pick up a basketball anymore if you are middle-aged so his lifestyle really isn’t your lifestyle. Okay, but if you are middle-aged, you can still swing a golf club so you may want to hit Nike balls like Tiger, or wear his golf clothing, but Woods appearing in ads for Buick didn’t really make most people want to drive one. However, for a more youthful demographic, if you are a fan of X-Game champ and Olympic Gold Medalist Shaun White, you may emulate everything his does; from his over-the-top style of snowboarding, his clothing, both on and off the slopes, the music he listens to (a heavy dose of old school Led Zep) and even his guitar playing. Speaking of guitar playing, that’s a lifestyle closer to my home. I was inspired by the likes of The Beatles, Stones, The Who, the Kinks, Yardbirds and many more bands launched in the 1960’s “British Invasion.” I knew it wasn’t enough just to play guitar like them, I wanted to look like them (mod fashions, long hair), act like them, and even follow their politics (as John and Yoko preached, “The war is over if you want it”). Getting a guitar doesn’t make you cool overnight, but emulating the leaders and following their guidance, in whatever endeavor you partake in, is the surest way to get the right roadmap.
Author: admin
PRO TOOLS AND THE NEW RECORDING CULTURE
June 13, 20091 commentI recently had the pleasure of addressing students in the Envision Instrumental Music Program at the Canyon Crest Academy near San Diego. Prior to my talk, I was able to tour the facility and was very impressed with the quality of their on-campus recording facility. They had state of the art programs including Pro Tools which has revolutionized the industry (more on that in a minute).
After my presentation on marketing and music to a large class, a few of the musicians came up to play some of their music for me. One was a five song EP form Dead Bat Nightlife and the other was one track “Unraveling” by Aaron Berman. What struck me the most was the not only the quality of the musicianship and songwriting, but the production value was as good as or better than anything currently on the radio. In the old days, a recording of that quality would have cost an artist tens of thousands of dollars. And unless you came from a wealthy family, you pretty much had to be financed by a major label. Of course, this was before My Space and so the only way to get your music heard by the masses was through a business partnership with corporate America - major labels, radio stations and network TV. When FM came into its own in the 1960’s as an alternative to AM and the “Top 40″ radio format (the top best selling 40 records that included everything form pop to rock to country to the Singing Nun) it eventually succumbed to corporate takeover with the nationally programmed AOR format. To be able to record a top quality “demo” (a demonstration tape of your best performances and songs) to be able to be considered by a major label, we had something called “spec time” which was actually a deal you’d cut with a recording studio where they would front you some or all of the recording time with the agreement that you would pay them back if and when you received a major record deal, or you would repay them by recording your record at their studio. Spec bands and artists typically were relegated to “down time”, when nobody was using the studio, usually after midnight and ending before eight o’clock in the morning. That was of little concern because musicians were creatures of the night anyway (some clubs in Chicago with a 4:00 AM license wouldn’t put the headliner on until after midnight).
Buster, the band I was in, became pretty popular in the Chicago club scene playing well-known “cover” songs from the popular artist of the day. Eventually, like others in the same scene, we figured we had to write our own music if we were to ever get a major deal which was our dream from the first day we picked up a guitar. We went to Alan Kubica, who owned Chicago Recording Company, not only because we knew him from doing “jingle” work (recording commercials which was very lucrative for musicians in Chicago) but also because he had the best studio. He agreed so we began working with one of his young engineer’s, Phil Bonanno, from midnight on almost every night until we finished our demo. We got close to a deal, and went back for one more round then were finally offered a major deal by EMI America/Capitol. We ended up changing our name to Gambler, recording our first album in Los Angeles at the famed Village Recorders with Jeff Glixman (who had achieved Multi-Platinum success with Kansas). But we did remain true to our word with CRC, and recorded our second album “Love and Other Crimes” at Chicago Recording Company with Phil Bonanno as co-producer. Phil went on to major hits with Chicago greats Survivor (”Eye of the Tiger”) and Cheap Trick, but sadly passed away a few years ago. My brother Bruce, who was the keyboardist in the band, now is the main technical engineer for CRC.
The talented young artists of today do not have to go the corporate route that we had to get their music out. Tech savvy artists like Dead Bat Nightlife and Aaron Berman can record everything start to finish with Pro Tools (a Digital Audio Workstation platform for MAC OS X and Microsoft Windows operating systems, developed and manufactured by Digidesign), which also can be used for video production so it can one stop shopping for career building. And thanks to My Space and You Tube, they really don’t need major labels and broadcast or cable TV to reach their audience. The only thing they don’t have is the gigs because there is not enough of a club scene to make a real living, but then again, they don’t have to worry about starting out playing covers and can concentrate on original music from the get-go. We relied on the gigs to pay bills and hone our chops, way before we were good enough to record for a major label. That’s why many first albums by otherwise great live bands were a little rough around the edges (hey it’s only Rock n’ Roll) and would eventually master the studio on their subsequent albums. Who knows where the next U2 or Led Zeppelin will come from, but I bet their first recording will sound pretty amazing, even though their live shows may be somewhat lacking.
Author: admin
THIS LIST GOES UP TO ELEVEN: THE BEST ORIGINAL MOVIE SOUNDTRACKS FROM THE ROCK ERA
June 6, 2009commentIn my opinion these are the eleven best (and my favorite) original soundtracks written specifically for movie soundtracks. Soundtracks such as the ones for American Graffiti, The Big Chill and Across the Universe as great as they are, were made up of compilations of previously recorded tracks, or rerecorded songs.
1) A Hard Day’s Night (1964) – United Artists wanted to do a low budget (500K) film so they could have an album from the hottest new band, The Beatles. What they got was not only an incredible soundtrack featuring several hits, but so much more. They also got a groundbreaking movie that Time Magazine rated as one of the top 100 films of the past eighty years. The fast cut shooting style influenced movie makers decades in the future, and the exuberant vignette shot for “Can’t Buy Me Love” was a precursor to MTV and music videos. Of course, The Beatles found a perfect vehicle to introduce their distinctive personalities and wit to an adoring world.
2) Jailhouse Rock (1956)
– The title song written by the legendary team of Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller was # 1 for seven weeks in 1957. The famous dance sequence is one of Elvis’ best ever on film – a perfect marriage of music and film connected with the theme of the plot. The sequence was another early influence on the genre of music videos popularized by MTV in the 1980’s. There were other major hits from the soundtrack as well such as “Young and Beautiful,” “I Want to be Free,” “Don’t Leave Me Now,” and “(You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care.” It topped the Billboard EP charts, eventually selling an additional two million copies and earning another double-platinum RIAA certification.
3) Into the Wild (2007)
– Sean Penn approached Pearl Jam front man Eddie Vedder to write the soundtrack for this movie. After viewing rough cuts, Eddie started working on a series of recordings that perfectly captured the loneliness and determination of Emile Hirsch’s Chris McCandless. And you know what? With its acoustic based approach, it would have made a great Pearl Jam “unplugged” record as well.
4) Once (2007 – a mighty good year for original soundtracks)
– Shot on a guitar string budget, this lovely gem of a movie is a must see for any artist chasing the dream. But fittingly, there is no “Hollywood” ending, just a beautifully written and inspiring story enhanced by a moving soundtrack. Glen Hansard of the Frames and Markéta Irglová composed and performed all of the original songs in the soundtrack prior to filming. When writer and director John Carney went looking for the actors for his Dublin based movie, he couldn’t find anyone as perfect as the songwriters to star, so star they did. Up against the powerhouse Disney professional songwriting team, the lilting “Falling Slowly” won the 2008 Academy Award for Best Original Song – ‘nuff said.
5) Purple Rain (1984) – With hit songs like “When Doves Cry,” “Let’s Go Crazy, “ “Jungle Love” and the powerful theme song, this movie was the perfect showcase for Prince’s formidable talents as a composer, performer and at the time, surprisingly as an actor. “The Kid” had really grown up.
6) HELP! (1965)
7) Live and Let Die (1973) – A nice transition from Help! (for our purposes anyway) is the teaming of Paul McCartney and Sir George Martin on a real Bond thriller. Martin’s music is ideal for the film, but the title cut written by Sir Paul and wife Linda, and performed with his band Wings, steals the show. It became a highlight of his subsequent tours and in 2005, it was performed live by McCartney during the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXIX. In 1991, Guns and Rose gave us a killer version, also a hit. One of the most memorable theme songs of the rock era.
8 Mile (2002) – Another formidable soundtrack written (and rapped) by the star of the film which became a perfect vehicle to showcase the cross-over talents of Eminem. Chock full ‘o future hits, The soundtrack debuted at # 1 and was one of the best selling albums of the year.
9) Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973) – Hey it’s Bob Dylan so it has to be good, right?. The Sam Peckinpah film also starred Dylan as the character “Alias”. Mostly instrumental, it was great music nonetheless, and of course it contained “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”, which remains one of Bob’s greatest and most loved songs. 1973 was a good year for soundtracks and this one gave Guns and Roses another hit with their powerful version of this all-time classic.
10) Saturday Night Fever (1977) Okay, technically it’s not rock, but it is the best selling soundtrack of all time – so sue me! It was an Australian Pop band in the Beatle mold that somehow became the kings of Disco – who can argue with Stayin’ Alive”, “Night Fever” and “How Deep Is Your Love?” And there are other mega-hits as well by other artists. Watch the opening sequence of John Travolta strutting to “Stayin’ Alive” and tell me that doesn’t conjure up images of the “Elvis” attitude of Jailhouse Rock.
11) This is Spinal Tap (1984) – One of the most quoted rock movies of all time for musicians, this one had to come in at number eleven for that very reason (every band has had many “Spinal Tap” moments, no matter how famous). It’s also one of the funniest movies ever made in any genre. Featuring original songs like “Stonehenge,” “Sex Farm” and “Big Bottoms” that were actually mini comedy sketches within the film. A priceless film I never get tired of watching (no wonder the lines are so memorable).
Author: admin
The Cool Factor: CNBC
June 3, 2009comment- Also Check out
I am the poster child of “Uncool” - I’m always light years behind trends. I’m a total embarrassment to my kids who truly think the song “1985″ was written about me:
Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV
Her two kids in high school
They tell her that she’s uncool
Cause she’s still preoccupied
With 19, 19, 1985
But then, what is cool?
Is Apple “cool” because of Steve Jobs, or because he just says so?
The book, “THE COOL FACTOR Building Your Brands Image through Partnership Marketing “
helps those of us who are cool-less. In teaming up with those who are “cool” (products, celebrities, musicians, events) author Del Breckenfeld makes the case of how a brand can effectively be driven to new heights by offering, “invaluable lessons on using product placement, event marketing, charitable causes, the celebrity quotient, and other tactics for tapping the power of cool.”
Below is a guest blog from Del Breckenfeld, the author of THE COOL FACTOR written especially for Bullish - now how cool is that!
-Gloria McDonough-Taub
We Will, We Will Rock The New Yankee Stadium
In my business, working for Fender Musical Instruments Corp., we have a term that refers to celebrities who are famous for something other than music, but who have the urge to dabble in guitar playing – we call them “Civilian Guitarists.” It’s actually a positive aspect to our industry because it shows that recreational guitar playing can be loads of fun. But very few of these players go on to become recognized as professional musicians.
One exception is Bernie Williams, ex-centerfielder for the New York Yankees who has recently embarked on a successful recording career. Being a center fielder for the Yanks can be some pretty big spikes to fill – the legendary Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle roamed the mid-field of the “House that Ruth Built.” But Bernie held his own with his illustrious career bringing four world championships, five All-Star selections, an ALCS MVP Award, four gold gloves, a lifetime 308 batting average culminating in a batting title in 1998.
As his career with the Yankees was winding down, Bernie launched his second career with a critically acclaimed album entitled “The Journey Within.”
I had the privilege of working with him on promotions for the record that included a custom made Fender Telecaster® guitar resplendent with the Yankees logo, pinstripes and Bernie’s number “51” painted on the face. We presented the guitar at a concert at House of Blues in my hometown of Chicago as part of the celebration of the 2003 All-star game. Bernie closed the show with the guitar and the concert footage appeared in his documentary on the making of the album.
Now Fender has created another Yankees Telecaster guitar based on the first one, except this one will include a very special engraved pickguard commemorating the inaugural season at the new Yankees Stadium. The guitar will be a permanent fixture at the Hard Rock Café location within the stadium and who better to present the guitar to the Hard Rock than Bernie Williams. I will be one of the first fans to get a peek inside the new stadium this Thursday, April 2nd when the guitar will change hands at home plate.
But this is just part of festivities celebrating not only the new stadium, but also the release of Bernie’s second album, “Moving Forward” on Reform Records which hits the streets on April 14th (Bernie will also appear at the home opener on April 16th). By the way, the Hard Rock has about three dozen Fender guitars that will be smashed to “christen” the new stadium so let the fireworks begin. If that’s not enough, the first professional game to be played in the stadium will be Friday evening with an exhibition game between the Bronx Bombers and my beloved Chicago Cubs so this week will be monumental for diehard music and baseball fan like me.
Back to Bernie’s new record. I got a chance to hear an advanced copy and it takes the Jazz and Latin influences of the first, and adds a new dimension with more Rock tinged tracks including a rousing version of “Glory Days” with none other than The Boss himself. But one of the standouts certainly has to be a lovely rendition of the standard “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” that for me, captures the nostalgia of that very first big league game I attended with my dad when I was a mere seven years old. The green expanse of the outfield seemed to go on forever and I still recall the smell of the fresh cut grass like it was yesterday. That right of passage has been extended to both of my daughters and my stepson, and now for our family baseball will always be the prefect way to spend a day together.
When hearing Bernie’s first CD, ex-Beatle Paul McCartney remarked that he had “hit a homerun!” I’m sure after listening to the new record, Sir Paul would certainly agree that this one is a “Grand Slam.”
Author: admin
THE AMERICAN IDOL LOTTERY
May 22, 20091 commentThe eighth season of American Idol ended with the somewhat unexpected crowning of new idol Kris Allen. It remains to be seen if Allen and runner-up Adam Lambert will follow the Idol path to stardom like Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudsen and Carrie Underwood, or end up in the “Where are they now?” file with Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks. There’s no doubt that the exposure garnered from the Fox ratings juggernaut has the power to catapult complete unknowns to platinum artists in a matter of a few short months, which is the very premise the show is based on. But TV has always been a key ingredient in launching music careers. Just think of what the Ed Sullivan Show in the 1950’s and 1960’s did for Elvis Presley and the Beatles (It should be noted that the Beatles first performance drew twice as many viewers in 1964 as the top rated American Idol episode). Or what MTV did to boost the careers of Van Halen and countless other rock bands in the 1980’s. Even mega-stars will still use TV to promote their latest projects. This year, U2 launched “No Line on the Horizon” with appearances on GMA and a weeklong stint on David Letterman’s show.
The main difference with these aforementioned artists and the Idol-ettes is that by the time artists like the Beatles made their first appearance on the Sullivan Show, they had already spent years honing their craft in front of tough and sometimes disinterested audiences that they had to struggle to win over. The same goes for Van Halen and other rock bands that broke out of the club scenes in the 1970’s and 1980’s. So you could say when they they finally had their moment in the spotlight, they were already seasoned pros. For these artists, the 10,000 hour rule was in effect (the estimated number of hours one must dedicate to practicing their instruments to become a virtuoso). In fact, many of the greatest bands like the Beatles, Rolling Stones and U2 knew each other in school so they literally grew up together in their bands.
Author: admin
Wayman Tisdale And “Civilian Musicians”
May 17, 20091 commentI was both shocked and saddened when a friend of mine called Friday to tell me Wayman Tisdale had just passed away as I had no idea he had been battling cancer for the past two years. I started working with Wayman when he was nearing the end of his basketball career with the Phoenix Suns and was beginning to establish himself as a bona fide star in the world of contemporary jazz. I was introduced to Wayman by the chairman of the board for Fender Musical Instruments Corp., Bill Schultz, who also happened to be a Suns fan. At the time, I was director of artist relations and Bill thought I should build a relationship with Waymon because he thought had real talent on the bass guitar. Waymon immediately won me over with his warm personality and yes, he was a top notch bassist and composer. One of my favorite memories was when Waymon invited me and Custom Shop master builder (who built some of his favorite Fender basses), Todd Krause, to accompany him on a private sailboat he chartered to leisurely cruise over to Catalina Island for his headlining performance at the Jazz Trax Festival. For over four hours we hung with Waymon and his buddies, and Waymon shred photos of his family and home recording studio with us. The sold out concert itself was another revelation as it was the first time I got to witness Waymon’s wonderful connection with his audience and realized what an all around talent he was. The pinnacle came for him when his album, “Way Up!” spent four weeks atop the contemporary jazz charts in 2006.
My boss at Fender at the time, Ritchie Fliegler (who now heads up his own marketing firm in Phoenix, Fearless Marketing) used to refer to celebrities who made it in sport or entertainment, and then used their fame to promote their musical aspirations, as “civilian musicians.” In a perfect marketing world, the thought was that these celebs also brought potential new consumers to our brand because they may be inspired to take up an instrument because they saw how much fun and rewarding it was to play. If someone already successful in a desirable career thought it was cool to play an instrument, well, “there must be something cool about it.” Many of these celebrities possibly dreamed of stardom in the music industry, but most really did it for fun. I have worked with the likes of Dennis Quaid, The Bacon Brothers, Stephen Collins of 7th Heaven, and Jim Belushi, just to name a few, who many times will us their celebrity draw by donating their performances to benefit chartable causes. This is the second year I have worked with William Shatner on his fund-raising events for various children’s charities, and although William plays guitar, he doesn’t perform at his event but rather reaches out to top names like Willie Nelson and Randy Travis to provide the entertainment.
Jamie Foxx, Billy Bob Thornton, Shaquille O’Neil, Steven Seagal, Bernie Williams, Bronson Arroyo, Gary Busey and Joaquin Phoenix are just a few who have used their celebrity factor to lay the foundation for a second career in music, with varying degrees of success (of course, Jamie, Gary and Joaquin also used their musical abilities in their spot-on movie portrayals of Ray Charles, Buddy Holly and Johnny Cash respectively). Johnny Depp actually begin as a musician before switching to acting but still occasionally shows up to sit it with his old band the Kids. He has always said his first love is music so we may be hearing more from him on a larger musical scale.
Author: admin
Bernie Williams/New Yankees Stadium Part 2
May 14, 2009comment
The grand opening of the new Hard Rock Cafe at Yankees Stadium was such an incredible event. First of all I want to thank CNBC for asking me to be a gust blogger leading up to the event and and his camp, plus the Hard Rock for being such gracious hosts.
When we first came out of the subway, I caught site of the new sports cathedral that will be home for the Bronx Bombers. The old “House that Ruth Built” was still standing across the street in quiet dignity under the shadow of the new park so one could see how much the Yankees organization wanted to pay tribute to the old park in their updated design. However, once inside, you could immediately see the difference in the much more spacious walkways. Along the curved walls in the stories tall foyer were giant banners featuring photos of Yankee greats like Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Maris and so many others. I got the first glimpse of the park itself which has the same dimensions as the old, but with less seats (but more expensive to make up the difference) so you feel like you are in the confines of the original with all its glorious history.
When I was at the entrance, I caught a glimpse many young boys and girls with their guitars. They were from the Renaissance – E.M.S. (Education, Music & Sports) program from a neighboring school and would be performing with Bernie Williams. When I got to stage area, I noticed 30 Fender Stratocaster guitars laid out on the ground, some with baseball bats as necks that were to be sacrificed shortly to christen the new Hard Rock location which is in the front next to the main entrance of the stadium. Bernie and the kids performed a beautiful rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” as featured on his new CD, Moving Forward. Then dignitaries, Bernie, the young musicians and rock stars took position to smash the guitars (NOTE: the announcer was careful to note that the guitar were purchased form Fender and were rejects and not playable just in case someone would find fault in destroying perfectly good guitars). The crowd cheered the destruction which was followed by a performance of an all-star band made up of Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley, Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian, Letterman drummer Anton Fig and my good buddy and bassist from Anthrax, Frank Bello.
The festivities then moved into the Hard Rock where Bernie signed the special Yankees Telecaster and ceremoniously placed into its permanent home – a glass case next to Bono’s “fly” outfit form U2’s Zooropa tour. Personal note: While inside, I was able to get the last t-shirt commemorating the very first game in the new stadium – an exhibition game the next evening between the Yanks and my beloved Cubs (Cubs lost – oh well it doesn’t count anyway).
Remarking after the event, New Yorker Frank Bello told me, “What’s better than a beautiful New York spring day, the Yankees and Rock Roll? Nothing! ”
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Author: admin
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From the Road
