UPDATE NOV 7th Newspaper article about the NOV 22nd gig in Motherwell.
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See the video's below they will get you ready for the shows, Sparks is especially amazing !!!! +
We will be playing a few acoustic WHO songs and doing an interview Nov 17th on BBC Radio Newcastle the night before the actual Newcastle gig on the 18th.
You can listen live here on the night 10.30 UK & 4 or 5.30 in the USA/Canada... depending on your time zone.
http://thewholigans.com/calendarix/cal_popup.php?op=view&id=163&uname=
Mute playlist.com player (bottom of blog with my mug on it ; ) first before playing the videos
If you know any WHO fans in and around, let them know that Telfords is a great venue and the roof will be blown off that night with the sound of 'LIVE AT LEEDS' !!!!!!...........live in Chester.
Tell your mates.
Upate Oct 24th 1More show added.....Nov 27th NEW SHOW HERE
The Wholigans youtube channel http://uk.youtube.com/TheWholigans ____________________________________________ 5 Years ago this month 2003WHO convention at The Mean Fiddler (Down at THE Astoria )
This is a letter that has been hanging on my wall for years, and I still laugh everytime I read it. *Note ,this was pre computer/email days and it was typed (see xx and various other clues) The club is no longer I believe.....but we arestill loud ! :P
I'll be jamming tonight with Mark 'young ox' Tinker tonight at NewPortRicheyFlorida-boulevard lounge 9.30 -12. Expect some WHO of course ! To those of you that can't make it, I'll see in the UK Nov 12th-30th.
w/Mick Ralphs talking to Simon boot Newcastle 'the voice'
This space is usually reserved for.......
........ramblings about The Wholigans, but not today updated w/photolink aug 12th 12.45am Updated Aug 14th (new video)
Sample meanderings and a religous experience take precedence, as this past weekend saw me side by side (literally) with rock luminaries such as Bad Co...Jack Bruce ...Badfinger..Eric Burdon and the list goes on. I was reallyfortunate to have AAA /VIP backstagepasses for both shows .
The opening song...Bad Co (Mute slide video at the bottom of the blog first)
My brain is full and I might as well empty it before mother nature and father time do it for me.
SO........
Rock gods and little ole me
08.08.08 ..........AT... 8pm I was one of the lucky ones in Hollywood Florida to witness the second coming of a rock saviour (in my own particular version of rock n roll heaven)
The one they call ' The Voice' THE VOICE ??? I hear you cry !!! Who the hell is the voice ? ,
NO it's not that crazy little bastard that sits inside my head and spews bile (lovely visual I know :)
But 'The Voice' I refer to is none other than the singing god that has graced this planets stages around the world in the 60's 70's 80's 90's and now in the2000's.
I refer to the man who could sing the phone book to me and I would listen intently A to Z.
He turned a simple riff and two words nearly 40 years ago into a rock song phenomenon that every musician has at one time in their life has played on guitar or uttered those magic words.....ALRIGHT NOW.
He has taken us to the bottom of a whiskey bottle and to the dispairs of a broken romance with good lovin gone bad and to a silver blue and gold rainbow in the sky.
The book I 'could' write endlesssly on a man and his music that has (and continues to do) would be an neverending story , and would have you tired out from riding the emotional rollercoaster that the music that has been (at least for me) , an integral part of my life.
How can a man so loved ,not be a household name is beyond me, yet most people on the earth are unaware of him and his music until you point out the obvious, that is that simple song & riff.
To me he is , and always will be a SINGERS SINGER. He taught me how to sing (he doesn't know it) but he did.
Further tales (and photo's) of this past weekends brushes with rockgods coming up. Bad Co....Jack Bruce...Eric Burdon... and those who paved the way with peace love and understanding such as Jonathen Edwards(sunshine) came my way today http://www.jonathanedwards.net/_pages/music.php (listen to the track 'this island earth' ) latest cd
The Turtles
Badfinger (I think my wife is in love with you Joey) it's ok , I love you too after that fantastic show !!! (btw...good choice of beer backstage (NBA ) and that's nowt te de wi basketball ! :) http://www.hippiefest.net/tour.htm
Photo’s will appear here as if by magic soon enough , but let me have a coffee first !
The preceding memories were brought to you by 2 people that made it happen for me, Lucy Piller http://allrightnow.com/ and http://www.godfreytownsendmusic.com/ I owe you both an emotional debt I can hopefully repay someday .....thanks so much.
Godfrey Townsend ….guitarist to the gods from John Entwistle to Jack Bruce and everyone inbetween. Godfrey himself is a talent that the worlds best musicians recognize and want him right by their side…..he’s THAT good !
Friday July 11th we were invited........ (we being the band I sang with in L.A called ' My Generation ' ) As I was saying, we were invited by two Who nuts that I've known for about 6-7 years now. Oz n Trish who had rented a house and invited a group of various Who nuts from a WHO forum 'relayers'. People flew in from all over the country (obviously not to see us or the party) but for VH1 Honours The Who on July 12th. But like so many Who concerts there usually is a gathering of the clans, hence the Friday night party.
Here is a very relaxed (see drunk) well not drunk kiddies, we just need our medicine ;) version of 'A Quick One'
We then retired to the comforts of the interior of the house as apparently the loud obnoxious broo ha ha was spilling out into the streets (god forbid you wake up L.A people at 11.30 on a Fri night fer christs sake, WHAT ARE YOU SLEEEPING ???? IT'S THE BLEEDIN WHO MATE!!!!!
oh yeah I almost forgot, MUTE the slide video at the bottom of this page (mute is top left of slide photo)
All the news that's fit to print will be here after the weekend. I'm looking forward to meeting all The Who fans and having a bit a'medicine with you lot ;}
The Who should / will tear the house down on Saturday !!!!
Watch out L.A....WHO fans are coming !!!!!!!!
ps: Atlanta miller lite chili fest(Sept 08) changedtheir minds and didn't book us this year....why..I don't know. :\
with this band http://www.myspace.com/thewhomygeneration Mike Bisch on bass Darren Lolk (current wholigan guitarist) Rolly Devore (drums) complete with pictures of lily drumkit.
__________________________________________ Clips from a show in 2006 in San Francisco (Mute slide video at the bottom of the blog first) Sparks
A 2 hour show starting at 10.30ish. This will be my 3rd L.A trip with these guys. Expect a lot of Who you don't hear with The Wholigans including post Moon era. .....you better you bet Anybody interested ? ______ I hope that many of you are planning on coming out after the concert!
I have no idea how far it is from the VH1 thingy, but I believe it's close. A lot of people are coming from WHO forums etc .
We'll go on as late as possible or as late as it takes to accomodate people that go to The Who. I imagine it's going to be a willlllllllllllld night !
Just got back yesterday from Canada , and I'm getting things back and running little by little. I'll post more in a bit but the cable/computer fella is coming to tweak my connections ! (that sounds painful) The old grey mouse ain't what she used to be :\
We just played last night in Melbourne Florida on the east coast It was America's largest military vets reunion and we would like to tell every person there how proud we are of everybody who has served in the military.
I felt small amongst your presence, but very grateful you chose us to play for you, thankyou thankyou thankyou.___
_Great gig, huge stage and I got to swing the hell out of the mic :)
Darren(guitar) jumped like a loony and smashed the hell out of a very nice guitar which parts are now strewn in different homes in Florida.
The drums were *accidentally* ;) dismantled/kicked over thrown into the abyss, some drums were carried off by an enthuastic crowd never to be seen again :..oh well
We got a great video of the drums flying straight towards the cameraman (the drum hit him in the noggin I believe) sorry Mike !
The guys are headed back to Toronto now and I'll be there Wednesday.
We have a few more dates to put up ,I just have to talk to our Canadian agent tomorrow and firm them up.
There is a huge benefit / charity/celebration show in Toronto Canada May 3rd for Jeff Healey here>>> http://www.q107.com/ConcertCalendar/Default/Details.aspx?ID=100850 featuring Ian Gillan (Deep Purple) and Jack Bruce (Cream) and numerous others. Funds raised will be donated to the Daisy’s Eye Cancer Fund and to The Healey Family Trust.
We are playing at Jeff's club..Healey's later that night with *special guests http://www.jeffhealeysroadhouse.com/ Just minutes away from 'the docks'
We'd love to see you at both shows.:) Barry TheWholiganswebsite TheWholigansBlog For other Canadian shows May 1st-18th see 'Oh Canada' blog below or our site.
The Wholigans are currently booking November 2008 dates in the UK & EU. Interested venues please see 'Contact us' page at http://www.thewholigans.com/ VERY FEW dates remain......thankyou... UK venues ! ;) ____________________________________ March 31st 2 new shows added Friday Nov 21st The Renfrew Ferry Glasgow http://www.the-ferry.co.uk/events.asp
An email was sent out to our mailing list subscribers concerning some UK dates being announced + other shows and personal messages. If you want to be kept up to date , please join our mailing list at The Wholigans.comon the home page. We do not share your address with any 3rd parties.....I hate it..you hate it....so thats not happening !:) Emails are usually about once a month....give or take.
btw...if you don't see your town in the gig listings , please contact the venues and give them our website TheWholigans.com and tell them you demand(in a nice way of course)to see The Wholigans and have the bombastic music of The Who pounding into your chest !!!!....asap _________________________ Coming soon .... The Wholigans message board
2008 Canadian Shows blog updated Friday April 4th 11.45am* note:new sidebar links
Watch this space between now and Thursday/Friday ..... for 3possibly / more than likely 4newCanadian shows . 1 a bit north of T.O, 2 east of T.O . and a new club opening in T.O. :)
March 3rd Jeff Healey passes on. Jeff finally 'see's the light' .........another good man gone. The Wholigans were honored to have shared the stage with Jeff in the 80's. 1 COOL CAT. http://www.jeffhealey.com/ Hey Jeff, give Hendrix a couple of pointers when you meet him ;) Condolence book http://www.jeffhealey.com/wishes
The Wholigans will perform on Friday May 9 following a showing of ... Amazing Journey - The Story of the Who. http://xrl.us/AMAZINGJOURNEY at the North Simcoe Sports & Recreation Centre. Festival kick-off $32
' You guy's are still around ? ' ..........Tour......April /May 2008
Hey!..... isn't that Dave 'gater'Smith on bass from the 80's Wholigans lineup ?_________________________________________
The Canadian Wholigans will be the same band that toured Germany last October.Barry/Roger.....Darren Lolk/Pete....Dave'gater'Smith/the ox....Darren A./Keith
Lost a musician friend yesterday to a heart attack at 49 .
Bruno was a friend I came upon (at least 10+ years ago)through Chris Bacon(wholigan guitarist) and Ray Harris (a one time wholigan bassist)and good friend.
Those 3 guys (along with singer Peter) were in a south Florida band in the late 70'/80's called Z-Cars who were very popular back then, and just recently in the summer had filmed a reunion concert/movie along with other popular Florida bands of the time including one with Johnny Depp.
Bruno was keen to drum for The Wholigans at one time as he knew a lot of Who songs as he played them in zcars, and we met a number of times over the years and even played in Miami/FtLauderdale.
Bruno wasn't a close close friend but he meant a lot to Ray and Chris, and through them I met a great guy ....and any friend of those guys is a friend of mine.
Bruno I'll miss you man, I hope they have a bloody ceasar waitng backstage at the great gig in the sky for you.
As you can see up above I've changed the photo. Yes I KNOW I'm looking older now, but hell what do you want ?;\ it's been 25 years++++ Those photo's were taken around 1981-2-3ish (I'm not sure) I'm going to change the photo title perodically, to show The Wholigans over the years. Later, Barry ps:the guy on the right is wassisname? ooh I can't remember? you know..it's that little singer fella who's in that orrible band from sheperds bush innit ? who is ee again ? uhm? 1986-7ish ? or so Rock n roll Heaven Toronto 'Who are you'
btw: I was messing arond today and marked some of my favourite video's/songs on youtube today. The video's run from Sinatra to Sabbath , so be prepared. http://www.youtube.com/user/TheWholigans
'Fog on the Tyne' 1971.........old grey whistle test
Geordie heroes through and through :) by ....those were the days.
'Clear White Light' 25th anniversary at Newcastle City hall 1995. Unfortunately I missed this one, but just watching it makes me feel like I was there.:)
A big thank you to those of you that sent me get well cards recently, you made me smile :) and also everybody who called over the last 3 weeks. ___________________________ Now.....that said.
I'm chomping at the bit to sing right now but I have to do what I have to do , and that means physio,walking,more physio more walking etc etc It's not too bad to be honest. I'm on quite the health trip ,I amaze myself sometimes. Not a whole lot to say otherwise , it's a case of 'Hurry up & wait'.
OK...SO......I'm working on a bazillion gigs for next year, which also happens to be a 'hurry up and wait' deal as our agents don't seem to be in any kind of hurry.
It's funnyno matter how hard I throw my passion for playing The Who's music out there, agents and venues still have a blase attitude towards The Who, kinda throwing them in the has been bin or placing them secondary behind the Stones//Zepp/Beatles/Floyd etc.
It's been that way forever, it gets old , but I'd rather play for a dozen rabid Who fans than thousands of sheep any other day.
Who fans are a passionate bunch like no other and the music takes no prisoners, why oh why can't the bookers see that ?
Most agents/venues are content booking 4-5 crappy " tributes"to an aforementioned big name act (who play a dozen or so songs without knowing shit about the nuances and the intricacies it takes or how to feel it ,or knowing where the music came from and how/why it was created)vs one who actually embodies the music and is passionate and has been for 25 years !.
Anyone can dress the part and play the song, but only a certain few can feel it and be it. I could do a zepp or some other tribute tomorrow and make tons of money (not that I don't like Zepp.. I DO), but the emotion factor wouldn't be there. The audience can spot a fake a mile away, yeah the songs by these other bands are great but if the performer doesn't do it justice by being all they can be , then what's the point ? I guess it drives me nuts when I see top 40 bands add the word 'tribute' to their moniker and hope to cash in on the backs of hard working tributes like The Wholigans,The Blushing Brides and 1964 who have earned their right to rightfully be called 'a tribute'
When it all ends, all I can say is I did my best and fuck the rest,I KNOW where my heart lies, it's a shame bookers don't book with their heart, instead of a lust for the almighty $$$.
Where this rant came from I don't know, maybe I have too much time on my hands :\
We'll see you next year if I can wake the booking world up to what real music is ,and bands with heart, enough of these posers for a paycheck bullshit !
If you only knew how much money this band has lost/not made over the years your brain would explode ! We are definetly not in it for the money...WHAT MONEY ?!
So ...you say "why do it ? " and I say to you ....Listen to the music and then hit the stage just one time and perform it for just one person who 'get's it' and you'll knowwhy we do it.
Rock is dead they say.........................LONG LIVE ROCK ! * pops lorezepam ; \* ps:On an unrelated note. This is a rockin site , I've been listening to old Thin Lizzy and Robin Trower concerts (and of course The Who) check it out (I am in no way connected to the site, it's just a cool place!) http://concerts.wolfgangsvault.com/?utm_source=NL&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=071128
Currently listening to Rush 1984 Maple Leaf Gardens YYZ. I searched for Lindisfarne(geordies),Status Quo , FREE and Bad Co and Queen (a big omission if you ask me !) and some Canadian bands like 'a foot in cold water ' and Max Webster & Kim Mitchell but came up empty :( .. (anybody know where I can find these ?) but overall the site is great.
OH ! I got tickets to see Robin Trower Jan 19th, the man is absolutely awesome,I've seen him many times before but it never gets old, I'm so excited ! :) I'm too rolling stoned !!!!!
PS to the PS: I'm trying my damndest to get back to Canada and the UK next year, so if you would like to see us .........please tell/mail/call your local venue and tell them about us and send them our websites. It all starts with one knock on the door.
I'm getting a little bit of computer sit down time and I figured with my new found health I'd start anew with the blog. Problem is it will take a while (especially now where my time is limited) so give me a bit :\ Trying to figure out the new template etc etc.
Apart from that, things healthwise are so so right now, but I'm ahead of the curve, just not doing the speed limit ...yet. :) The stitches come out next week, andhopefullyI can drive soon.
ta-ra fa now .
Whey-aye ya bugga !
ps:I still can't figure out where to add video's except in posts, so here's a bunch of Tommy from Germany + you can access other related video's from it or see my links for all Wholigan video's on youtube from 1986 to 2007 (DAMN I'M OLD!!!!) I don't seem to have video from 82-86, could be because the video camera wasn't invented (serious), either that or it was mega $$$$
Also 3 pages of photo's now up at http://www.fivefifteen.com/Thumbs07.html More of mine coming, and I'm still waiting for some more from the guys. *HINT HINT* Darren 1 & 2 and Dave......HELLO????????
1 Week ago today........HELL ! ...........I cannot emphasize this word any stronger ! Today....Better....and each day is better than the day before, not major but better. 6" scar. 3 1/2 hour surgery. L3/L4/L5/S1 Hospital prisoner....Wed/Thurs/Fri/Sat !!!!! Released Sat aft, should have stayed another day, to be honest : Walker. Can't do diddly, not supposed to be on here.......but Watching tv 1 pill (not strong enough though). ;\ , no booze. Shit. (several conotations applied to the variance and terms of the word 'shit' ) Bored. Lost weight :) Can't lift/drive/sit too long/walk too much etc etc etc yada yada yada blah blah blah
1week from now....who know's ;\
Hafta run ........ ha ha :) Barry WHERE ARE THE WHOLIGANS
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