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MP3 Bob Beland - Amnesia Lane
10 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Americana, POP: California Pop
Details:
Songs. I took up the guitar to learn how to write songs. I wasn''t really interested in learning pentonic scales or copying all the riffs of the day. I wanted to create and construct songs. Prior to the guitar I studied drums in both concert and marching(!) bands in school. That was my introduction to formal musical training, of which I have done a good job of forgetting about to a large degree . Four years later the guitar was by then a means in which to construct songs. I think this is the ultimate challenge to any musician, be it in a lead or supporting role, to construct songs. The inspiration for me to take up drums and guitar (and later, keyboards) was listening to records and the radio. I wanted to mimmick the great songs I was listening to at the time. My first attempt at this was around 1968 in a school band we called Carlisle Wheeling (our salute to Mike Nesmith) with a classmate from band, Dan Titus, on drums. I wrote a lot of BAD songs but the excitement of actually making it up superceded any embarrassing feelings of sucking at it.
I found myself moving to Napa, California in the San Francisco Bay area with my family back in 1969. Music class paid off again and with some classmates formed Mason in 1970. It was a flat out hippie experience on the tail end of the summer of love. The only thing of merit was writing songs(?) with the band and doing shows with the likes of Big Brother & The Holding Co., Cold Blood, The Sons of Champlin, Country Joe & The Fish, and Tower of Power in places like the Keystone-Berkeley, Pepperland-San Rafael, The Inn of the Beginning-Cotati, and the Napa State Sanitarium,-Napa,CA. It was the only steady paying union job at the time!.
Once out of school I moved to Los Angeles to pursue solo performing at the Troubador in West Hollywood. It was a wonderful place to go to at that time. I got an eyeful and an earful of some of my favorite performers at that club as well as seeing my older brother, John Beland (of the Flying Burrito Bros.), perform with Linda Rondstandt, Rick Nelson, Arlo Guthrie, Kris Kristofferson, Longbranch & Pennywhistle(a.k.a. Glen Frey & J.D. Souther) as well as his own group at the time -Swampwater. Soon afterwards I met Jules Shear-straight out of Pittsburg, PA at the monday night hootenanny shows. We became fast friends and formed Southpaw (we''re both left handed, upside down players) with my ex-bandmate from S.F., Deki Mason Farwell, on vocals. We expanded from a trio to an electric band and played the Troubador/Ice House circuit. Our sets at the Troubador sometimes became informal pre-"unplugged" style shows with special guests sitting in.
From Southpaw I formed Bates Motel with Les Bohem. We played the Punk/New Wave circuit with bands like The Motels, The Runaways, The Plimsouls, Toni Childs (Toni & The Movers), 20 / 20, The Pop, The Last, The Zippers and even (gasp!) The Knack. I remember their manager at that time passing out $5.00 bills to get girls to scream for the band. I think that was more money than I made that night. My favorite show with Bates was in Santa Cruz,CA with the legendary Clifton Chenier. My brothers'' band, Swampwater, was a Cajon/zydeco country rock band so I was well aware of Mr. Chenier. He was a wonderful guy and a great showman.
While my ex-Bates Motel bandmates went on to work behind the Mael Bros. in Sparks, I signed an exclusive songwriters deal with MCA Publishing and released an EP on What Records produced by Stephen Hague (the Pet Shop Boys, Blur, Robbie Robertson, the Pretenders, Jules & The Polar Bears) that included the single "Stealing Cars," a KROQ favorite at the time. Getting the bug to play out more and play guitar, I joined The Furys, one of L.A.''s original punk bands. We eventually recorded an EP on King Coitus Records. After the Furys I went to recording and playing with Skin Trade - an eclectic, somewhat progressive unit fronted by Dickies guitarist Glen Laughin. Studio tracks were produced by Earl Mankey (an original member of Sparks and producer of Concrete Blonde and others).
Feeling the need to return to my own songwriting, I left Skin Trade and started back on the solo path. 1993 found me starting to record tracks that would become "AMNESIA LANE," on Seeing i Records. I have also co-written songs with Peter Curry (Los Straightjackets), who contributes to AMNESIA LANE (Yes ladies, that''s him watering my lawn on the back photo of the "Amnesia Lane" CD-what a pal !), for his surf band the Halibuts. You can hear them on "Chumming" and their latest release "Life At The Bottom", both on Upstart Records. I''ve also had the pleasure of having one of mysongs, "Another World," recorded and sung by Jules Shear.
Songs. It always comes back to songs.
Thanks for listening & let us know what you think!
Sincerely,
Bob Beland
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