The Rockfords!

demetrios · March 2022

https://twitter.com/PearlJamOnline/status/1501319707562971138?t=GGXP3wQL54PCzwjJt5VQJg&s=19

demetrios · March 2022

https://instagram.com/p/CZ3RAujL7FB/embed/

demetrios · March 2022

demetrios · March 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1T05bbhe4U

demetrios · March 2022

https://twitter.com/MikeMcCreadyPJ/status/1502147305528430595?t=hSjTG6inI3-tRknLnC5uAw&s=19

demetrios · March 2022

https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=OLAK5uy_lCCV0Xt9o-T0Rzk6xpFlFmsW3_20PeyvA

demetrios · March 2022

https://twitter.com/dmnewcomb1/status/1502315022822744067?t=GyfdoF9znrMoA6pvnOrIxA&s=19

Travelar · March 2022

Is this available in hi-res anywhere? Not finding it on my services.

demetrios · March 2022

Danny M Newcomb

The Rockfords re-release—

So, today a record basically exists again in the modern world that had been unreachable for 20 years? It’s a strange story, given that songs are so cheap and readily available via streaming these days, and even more remarkable b/c it was originally released on Epic records in 2000 with the explicit blessing of their president, and my band mate and dear friend, Mike McCready was playing in one of their biggest grossing acts at the time. But, we weren’t able to tour, given Mike’s schedule at the time, and the interest at the label shifted to another project, and the shifting sands of a million plastic cd covers, a wave of new releases covered up our release. This is life. Within a year or two the record was taken off I Tunes, the CDs were not manufactured, and Pearl Jam moved on, eventually to another label, and the Rockfords debut stayed in the metaphorical basement (probably a high-rise) with all the other pieces of music that a label owns but cannot promote.

The thing that was different about this record to me was that it was the first time Mike and I had written together since Pearl Jam had taken flight, since my band Goodness had been signed, and we were able to conceive of doing a record. I pitched the record to our A n R man at the label, then the head of the label (it was a subsidiary of Epic) and they were excited. Originally they wanted Chrissie Hynde, Gwen Stefani, and Nancy Wilson to come and sing, but after mike said he really wanted to try working with Carrie Akre, and she sang on the first set of songs, and became our singer. Nancy became the only guest singer.

But the business side was not really the real story, it just set the table, the reason why the record turned out the way it did, that reason, I think was because of the energy, enthusiasm of the people involved.

I have known Mike since I was 5 and moved into the neighborhood, and though we got guitars at the same time, and played them along with Queen and Aerosmith records while his mom was at work, it was Chris Friel who I actually started writing with. Somewhere there is a tape with our first song called War of The Gods. His Australian Shepard was barking on the chorus, a black cassette—- I have no idea where that’s gone! But we all grew up as children, playing together. Rick started on trombone(?) moved to guitar and then settled on lead bass, and we all grew up playing talent shows, fairs, parties, bumbershoot. A great group of friends. So, this was Warrior, then Shadow, the core of the Rockfords and this project for Epic was the first time we’d made a record as a band.

I had been writing a few songs outside of Goodness, and I think I had Adelaide and Silver Lining, and music for Something True in my notebook, when we started planning. There were other bits and riffs, and Mike had the same. Rick and Chris and Mike and I started rehearsing down at the institution and working out band arrangements and parts. Some of the later songs like Sureshot and heart in your hands were written together in the studio. But Flashes was one of the early songs that came from parts that then were jammed out in these practices. Goodness had been recording Anthem down at Bad Animals in Seattle, but to do the Rockfords we picked our comfort zone, john and Stu’s place, the old triangle studios building in the Ballard/ Freelard area where we had recorded our first Goodness LP with John Goodmanson. It’s not anything like Bad Animals, and even though we had the budget it wasn’t the vibe we wanted. The main room is small and funny shaped— hell, the whole building is a triangle next to a busy arterial. But, the space was great at capturing the energy of a live band and john was a sound wizard in that room. It was a little bit like being in John’s living room, really. I remember watching john do an edit on 2” tape with a razor blade on the floor……

At any rate, so now you know the players, and then the differential from our childhood band was bringing Carrie Akre in to our world. I had been writing and touring with Carrie for the last 6 years with Goodness, (and Chris on drums for 5 of those) so he and I we’re already well acquainted with Carrie’s talents as a lead singer. (Rick was touring with Goodness as well as my guitar tech, and was close with Carrie. ) So only Mike hadn’t worked with Carrie before in a band setting. But, it didn’t take long before Carrie had become the sister in Shadow that we had always needed, and her vocals completed the songs we were working out in an effortlessly way. But more than that, the songs that she sang of Mike’s, like Spiral, or Windows were beautiful and complete. That was the new connection in the Rockfords.

I think that every player, who plays with another creates a very distinct feel, vibe, and a snapshot of the moment. With a band it is the same, but deeper in complexity. More ebbs and flows. There are always bad takes when you cut basics live, but with with as many years as we already had in on the Rockfords record, it was easy. The energy was joyful, everyone had their chops from touring, and we were reconnecting. And I’m just happy to have these recordings back out (for purely selfish reasons) where anyone with two thumbs can find them

Carrie, Mike, Rick, Chris, and John!

Thanks for listening, Rockfords fans!

— Danny

#seattlemusic #goodness #shadow