#tape vault studio

[singeratlarge]

Just released on Apple iTunes https://music.apple.com/us/album/changing-of-the-guard-single/1820266812 #guard #beatles #glassonion #whitealbum #johnnyjblair #singeratlarge #singersongwriter #sanfrancisco #tapevaultstudio #markjones

[singeratlarge]

CELEBRATING DAVID BOWIE WEEK + SONG OF THE WEEK: “Space Oddity.” The original Bowie track reached me deeply when I was a kid, amping my escapism into sci-fi books, Star Trek TV reruns, and “God questions.” Years passed and I became a singer on my own, and I added Bowie songs to my solo set. Here’s my cover of “Space Oddity,” Mellotron, Stylophone, and all: 

https://johnnyjblairsingeratlarge.bandcamp.com/track/space-oddity-album-version   

I was blessed to work with “a galaxy” of talented personnel: 

Uma Robin Mackey: harmony vocals & “Lt. Uhura countdown”

Robert Powell: Ebow & pedal steel guitar

Prairie Prince: drums

Chris von Sneidern: electronic percussion & mixing

Me: bass, guitars, Mellotron, percussion, piano, Stylophone, vibraphone, lead & harmony vocals

 

This week marks an opportunity to look at David Bowie’s influence and innovations (born Jan. 8th; passed Jan. 10th) as a singer-songwriter, musician, and actor. Many have assumed that Bowie’s “Space Oddity” is a dystopian story of futility and failure. I beg to differ. The indicators in Bowie’s music point to his spiritual quest, a pursuit of God’s heart in the cosmos, inner and outer, and the Major Tom storyline has an open ending—there’s no conclusion that Tom died! Instead (later in Bowie’s catalogue) he reprised Tom (in “Ashes to Ashes” and “Hallo! Spaceboy”) as a conflicted man, “…Strung out on heaven’s high, making an all-time low,” with Tom seeking redemption from his own foibles while expressing awe at the vast potential of creation!

 

#DavidBowie #SpaceOddity #MajorTom #StarTrek #Mellotron #Stylophone #Monkees #PrairiePrince #ToddRundgren #XTC #MikeGarson #BowieCelebration #BowieAlumni #UmaRobinMackey #RobertMatthewPowell #ChrisvonSneidern #johnnyjblair #singeratlarge #TheTubes #tapevaultstudio #hydestreetstudio #sanfrancisco #God #cosmos #sciencefiction #pianist #psychedelic

[singeratlarge]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Isaac Albéniz, Per "Howlin' Pelle" Almqvist (The Hives), Mel B, Annette Bening, Johnny Cash’s 1976 single “One Piece at a Time,” G.K. Chesterton, Roy Crewdson (Freddie & the Dreamers), Karla DeVito, Danny Elfman, The Everly Brothers 1960 single “Cathy’s Clown,” Noel Gallagher (good to have met you), Mel Gaynor (Simple Minds), Haydn’s 1753 opera “The Limping Devil,” Valy Hedjasi, Bob Hope, LaToya Jackson, John F. Kennedy, Ted Levine, Sylvester Magee, Karl Münchinger, David Palmer (ABC), Adrian Paul, Mike Porcaro, Freddie Redd, Sylvia Robinson, Francis Rossi (Status Quo), Schoenberg’s 1956 “Modern Psalm,” Carl Story, Stravinsky’s riotous 1913 ballet “The Rite of Spring,” Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I A Woman?” speech, The Waitresses 1982 single “I Know What Boys Like,” Randall Woodfin, bassist "The Senator" Eugene Wright, Iannis Xenakis, and one of my heroes, the great keyboardist, singer-songwriter, co-founder of Procol Harum and sidearm to Eric Clapton and George Harrison: Gary Brooker. His solo albums + Procol Harum albums have been with me since they were new, and I’ve covered a few of their songs over the years. In the 00s the Davy Jones Band did a share-bill with Procol Harum, and Davy raved about their set. Gary’s 1982 album LEAD ME TO THE WATER partially inspired my first album DOOR IN THE WATER. Here’s a recently-made and marvelous cover of PH’s signature hit, “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” performed by my pals down at the studio, Chris von Sneidern & Friends:

https://sircvs.bandcamp.com/track/a-whiter-shade-of-pale

#garybrooker #procolharum #chrisvonsneidern #prairieprince #tapevaultstudio #sanfrancisco #birthday #pale #classicrock #britishrock