Showing posts with label stephen stills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stephen stills. Show all posts

Tuesday, 21 May 2013

For Stephen Stills, revisiting the past feels right

Crosby, Stills & NashStephen Stills was famous for spending endless hours in the recording studio, especially in the 1970s. All that work produced a bevy of albums in that decade — a half dozen solo albums, a pair of albums with his band, Manassas, and one studio LP each with Crosby, Stills & Nash and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
“Yeah, it was a crazy amount of time,” Stills recalled in a recent phone interview. “It was right up there with the Eagles. Some of it, it paid off, and some of it suffered for it. We were pretty blase because we had unlimited budgets and stuff like that.”
Stills has had reason to revisit those times of music making in the '70s lately. For one thing, he has done a good deal of touring with Crosby, Stills & Nash — including an extensive tour in 2012 and another run of dates happening this spring — which means playing a good number of songs recorded in the '70s by that group.
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AT GONZO
The Lost Broadcasts
DVD - £9.99

Saturday, 11 May 2013

LINK: Crosby, Stills and Nash get jazzy with Marsalis

NEW YORK (AP) — Crosby, Stills and Nash surprised the audience with a new look when they walked onstage dressed in dark gray Brooks Brothers suits for a benefit concert with Wynton Marsalis' Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
"If you laugh at our suits, you're getting thrown out of here," quipped Graham Nash. "My first pair of grown-up shoes," David Crosby added, without skipping a beat. "They have laces and everything."
Nash admitted to some uncertainty about whether the languages of rock and jazz "would blend" at Friday night's concert in Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater.
But such concerns were quickly dispelled once the folk-rock trio's trademark intricate vocal harmonies and acoustic and electric guitar parts were enhanced by the JLCO's tight ensemble playing and skilled soloists such as saxophonists Sherman Irby, trumpeter Marcus Printup and trombonist Vincent Gardner.
STEPHEN STILLS AT GONZO
The Lost Broadcasts
DVD - £9.99

Wednesday, 1 May 2013

Stephen Stills Likens Being in CSNY to Jr. High


Stephen Stills
(Charley Gallay/Getty Images)

2013 is shaping up to be yet another busy year for Crosby, Stills, & Nash. The group launches a 42-date American and European tour next month, with the massive new four-CD Stephen Stills box set receiving raves, and a Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young vintage live set from 1974 coming this summer — the band is nearly as visible as they were 40 years ago.
Read on...

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
The Lost Broadcasts
DVD - £9.99

Tuesday, 30 April 2013

STILLS GETS THE BLUES


Stephen Stills
429Records.com
Stephen Stills is set to release a blues album this summer. He’s formed a new trio called the Rides with guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Electric Flag keyboardist Barry Goldberg, and their album ‘Can’t Get Enough’ is set for a July 30 release.
The album was inspired by a 1968 collaboration with Electric Flag’s Mike Bloomfield and Blood, Sweat & Tears keyboard player Al Kooper. The ‘Super Sessions’ album featured Stills’ guitar work on one side, and Bloomfield’s on the other.
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM STEPHEN STILLS AT GONZO
The Lost Broadcasts
DVD - £9.99

Monday, 22 April 2013

LINK: Folk Icon Stephen Stills Reflects on Buffalo Springfield, CSN&Y and His New Box Set, 'Carry On'


Stephen Stills: Turn Back the PagesThis is an excerpt from the May 2013 issue of Guitar World magazine. For the rest of this story, plus features on Brad Paisley, Testament, Tommy Thayer, Children of Bodum, Steven Wilson and more, check out the issue at the Guitar World Online Store.
“You can’t fit me onto three discs!”
That’s what Stephen Stills told the producers ofCarry On, Sony Legacy’s new box-set retrospective of his remarkable career. The label had originally envisioned a three-disc set, but Stills won his point and a fourth CD. Given the incredible range and scope of his career, there’s quite a bit of ground to cover.
Carry On takes us through his early days as an earnest young folkie and his paradigm-shifting tenures with Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash (and occasionally Young) and Manassas. But it also provides evidence of his friendship and musical partnership with Jimi Hendrix and studio collaborations with everyone from Eric Clapton and Booker T. Jones to members of the Beatles and Rolling Stones.
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
The Lost Broadcasts
DVD - �9.99

Thursday, 18 April 2013

STEPHEN STILLS HOSTS ROCKIN’ CONCERT FOR AUTISM AWARENESS

Stephen Stills The stars were definitely out Saturday night at Los Angeles’ Club Nokia, as two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Stephen Stills and his wife, Karen, hosted a jam-packed Light Up The Blues concert to benefit Autism Speaks.
The evening marked the Stills’ first stab at hosting duties for such a large event, but the capacity crowd was treated to an amazing array of performers.
And there is no doubt that autism is an issue close to the family’s heart, as Stills’ son Henry suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, which is related to autism.
“As parents of a child on the autism spectrum, we recognize the ongoing challenges of every family impacted by this baffling disorder and wish to be part of a community that seeks solutions, and offers support,” says Kristen and Stephen Stills in a statement. “Light Up The Blues celebrates the many gifts of autistic individuals, while supporting Autism Speaks in their mission to raise awareness and continue to enact their successful advocacy on behalf of all those who navigate through the journey of autism.”
Stills kicked off the festivities with a solo performance of legendary Crosby, Stills & Nash song “Helplessly Hoping” before he was joined on stage with the Eagles’ Don Felder. With Felder donning his Fender Stratocaster and Stills on a Telecaster, the two launched into Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Pride and Joy” and Eagles’ classic “Hotel California.”
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
The Lost Broadcasts
DVD - �9.99

Wednesday, 3 April 2013

LINK: SUPERSESSION Stephen Stills new album




Stephen Stills
(Charley Gallay/Getty Images)

Stephen Stills has a new album on the way — one that pays tribute to a disc he contributed to in 1968.
Stills has teamed up with Kenny Wayne Shepherd on Can’t Get Enough, a 10-song collection produced by Talking Heads keyboardist and guitarist Jerry Harrison that is in the vein of Super Session, an album Al Kooper put together with the late blues guitarist Michael Bloomfield and Stills. But Stills was actually an afterthought on that original album. Halfway through the recording, Bloomfield, an insomniac, packed his bags and headed home so he could sleep. Kooper says that instead of panicking, he phoned every guitarist he knew in Los Angeles, and Stills answered the call.
Read on...

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE
The Lost Broadcasts
DVD - £9.99


Monday, 1 April 2013

Stephen Stills Praises His New Box Set But Admits He "Couldn't Listen to This Entire Thing"



Stephen Stills‘ expansive, career-spanning box set, Carry On, hits stores this Tuesday, but the folk-rock great admits that if it had been left to him, the collection may have never seen the light of day.  The four-CD, 82-song package was put together in large part by his band mate Graham Nash, whom the singer/guitarist says was the right man for the job.
“He’s got the patience,” Stills tells Rolling Stone.  “It’s also an organizational skill…He’s got a great memory and he can listen to all this stuff…I wouldn’t have had the patience.”
Stills points out that because of the vast amount of music he’s recorded over the years, Nash and the other people who worked on Carry On “had their work cut out for them with this beautiful package.”   He adds, “I had a roomful of tapes about the size of two garages, and someone had to go poring through them.”
Stephen says he thinks the compilation has “a good arc to it,” but admits that he “couldn’t listen to this entire thing” himself.  “If I did, it would make me never want to play again,” he declares.  “I much prefer the road.  My thing is getting live in front of people.”
Carry On gathers together a wide variety of highlights from Stills’ 50-year career, including selections from his solo catalog, as well as tunes he recorded with The Buffalo SpringfieldCrosby, Still & Nash and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.  In addition to well-known tracks, there are 25 previously unreleased recordings, including demos, live performances and newly remixed songs.
Read on...

CHECK HIM OUT AT GONZO
The Lost Broadcasts
DVD - £9.99

Monday, 25 March 2013

STEPHEN STILLS: 'Legacy is something you talk about when you're finished, and I'm not' Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/q-a-stephen-stills-on-huge-new-box-set-20130321#ixzz2OGmaCzm1 Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook


Stephen Stills, Crosby, Stills and NashWhile many of Stephen Stills' peers and bandmates have issued memoirs recalling their misspent youth and Sixties superstardom, the 71-year-old guitarist is content to let his work speak for itself. Stills, best known for writing anthems for his generation such as "For What It's Worth" and "Love the One You're With," has issued a four-disc retrospective box set that showcases his nearly 50-year career. Spanning from his earliest song sketches to his still-ubiquitous hits with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young to forgotten Manassas gems, the venerable guitarist says this collection is his autobiography. He spoke to Rolling Stone last week about the process as well as the real story of his lost sessions with Jimi Hendrix.
How much regard do you have for your legacy?
Well, it's not for me to regard. Graham and everybody had their work cut out for them with this beautiful package. I had a roomful of tapes about the size of two garages, and someone had to go poring through them and find the best versions of [these songs]. Legacy is something you talk about when you are finished, and I'm not finished. To answer invites too much speculation about how much self-regard I have. Ask Crosby that, but not me [laughs].
What is it about Graham Nash that made him the perfect curator of this project?
He's got the patience. It's also an organizational skill. He's got that kind of mind. He's got filing skills, if you will. He's got a great memory and he can listen to all this stuff – hours and hours and hours. He would find these chesnuts – I wouldn't have had the patience.

Read on...


STEPHEN STILLS AT GONZO
The Lost Broadcasts
DVD - £9.99

Friday, 22 March 2013

Stephen Stills Talks Woodstock in Latest Gretsch Interview

The legendary Stephen Stills has had a blockbuster career, earning two inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills and Nash.
And through much of his career, Stills could be seen with a trusty Gretsch White Falcon, a guitar he was first introduced to by Neil Young.
Stills was kind enough to talk about his relationship with Gretsch in a recent interview, which includes the amazing story of how Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young nearly missed their chance to play at the original Woodstock.
Watch the interview below and visit Crosby, Stills and Nash’s official website for current tour dates.
Read on...

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
The Lost Broadcasts
DVD - £9.99

Thursday, 28 February 2013

LINK: Stephen Stills talks classic tracks from his box set, Carry On


Wednesday, 13 February 2013

Friday, 8 February 2013

LINK: Judy Blue Eyes: Collins' "Sweet" conversation with Stephen Stills for Writers Bloc session


Stephen Stills and Judy Collins at Writers Bloc event, Saban Theater, Feb. 4, 2013

Michelle Paster

After a few minutes of introductory chatter between Judy Collins andStephen Stills on stage at the Saban Theater on Monday evening — aWriters Bloc event with the two former lovers/collaborators and still friends discussing the former’s new memoir, Sweet Judy Blue Eyes: My Life in Music — Collins suddenly paused and turned to the audience:
“Just to get this out of the way,” she said, and then began to sing, unaccompanied:
Bows and flows of angels hair, and ice cream castles in the air….
Delighted gasps, sighs and rising cheers came from the audience, many members of which hold Collins’ version of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” as one of the songs, one of their songs,  a life landmark that has stayed with them since it was a hit in 1968. And as she finished the brief performance, just the first verse and chorus, even Stills sitting next to her smiled and shook his head in wonder, as the voice we’d just heard was as pure and powerful and moving as when we first heard it 45 years ago.
A few minutes later in what unfolded as a freewheeling conversation, as much two friends catching up with colorful tales and asides as a discussion of a book, Stills reminisced about his first awareness of the singer. He’d moved to New York in the peak of the Greenwich Village folk boom, was “living on pennies” while playing at “basket clubs” where tips were the only pay and staying with a friend in very spartan circumstances. But the friend had a few albums, one of which had a cover photo of a woman with “cornflower eyes,” as he put it, and he found himself entranced both by the image and the voice contained within.
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AT GONZO
The Lost Broadcasts
DVD - £9.99

Tuesday, 6 November 2012

LINK: Stephen Stills Breaks Silence on Short-Lived Buffalo Springfield Reunion

Gonzo Multimedia has an excellent Stephen Stills DVD in the Lost Broadcasts series which eminently gives me a perfect excuse to post this link to the man himself talking revealingly about the abortive Buffalo Springfield reunion...


Stephen Stills
Stephen Stills
Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
As Rolling Stone has previously reported, Buffalo Springfield were originally slated for a 30-date reunion tour this year – until Neil Young decided to devote his attention to a new project with Crazy Horse. "I'd be on a tour of my past for the rest of fucking time," Young said in June. "I have to be able to move forward. I can't be relegated. I did enough of it for right then."
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Stephen Stills breaks his silence about the aborted Buffalo Springfield reunion. "We were supposed to work for most of the summer," he says. "It left me in a lurch for three quarters and ruined my financial planning. Also, 150 people got laid off that were supposed to work on the tour."
The surviving members of Buffalo Springfield re-formed after 42 years to play Young's 2010 Bridge School Benefit. The next year they played seven shows, including a set at Bonnaroo. "We didn't go all that trouble for seven shows," Stills says. "That's what impetuosity will do for you. You can't go off half-cocked . . . When Neil is involved you anything you need a seatbelt."




Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/stephen-stills-breaks-silence-on-short-lived-buffalo-springfield-reunion-20121105#ixzz2BRjE9qmN

Friday, 2 November 2012

LINK: Stephen Stills on Mitt Romney: 'I Never Thought I'd See a Creepier Politician Than Nixon'

Gonzo Multimedia has an excellent Stephen Stills DVD in the Lost Broadcasts series which eminently gives me a perfect excuse to post this link to the man himself talking insightfully about the forthcoming US Elections...


Stephen Stills
David Livingston/Getty Images
October 29, 2012 12:35 PM ET




















Let's take a look at recent history. When was Black Friday? When did the Dow drop 800 points? When was the big heist when all the bank stimulus money was given out with no accountability? Watching Mitt Romney and the Republicans campaigning right now, you'd never know all these things happened during the Bush administration. They speak as if the economy collapsed the day Obama was sworn into office.  
Right now, the Dow is at 13,000. It was below 8,000 when the president took office. Job growth is rising. Unemployment is dropping. We desperately need to stay the course with this president. 
At the second debate, somebody asked how Bush and Romney differ. I'll give you the answer: Romney's taller, Mormon and a little smarter and meaner. That's about it. I couldn't believe how he acted at that debate. He's a churlish little prick. At least Bush was affable. I don't care if it's a debate and you're running for office. It's not right to be that rude to the President of the United States, let alone anybody else. Also, you don't get offended when you get corrected. Unlike President Obama, Mitt Romney has been inside the bubble all his life. He has no idea what's going on here. He has no idea how descructive Bush's eight years were to this country. 

Read on...


ALSO:

Stephen Stills Calls Mitt Romeny 'Really, Really Creepy' During ...
Stephen Stills wrote a lengthy endorsement of President Barack Obama for Rolling Stone this week, in which he concludes by calling Mitt Romney icky.
ultimateclassicrock.com/stephen-stills-calls-mitt-romeny-really...
Stephen Stills Says Mitt Romney Is 'A Creepier Politician Than Ric ...
With the election only a week away, expect for more celebrities to voice their opinions in order to try to sway voters with bold talk bashing the candidate.
www.prefixmag.com/news/stephen-stills-says...is.../71242/
Stephen Stills On Obama Vs. Romney: “Blazing Saddles” « WCBS ...
"At least Bush was affable," Stills writes. "I don't care if it's a debate and you're running for office. It's not right to be that rude to the President of the United States, ...
wcbsfm.cbslocal.com/.../stephen-stills-on-obama-vs-romney-bl...

Thursday, 16 August 2012

LINK: CSN feature


I have always been a fan of Steven Stills, both in and out of CSN(&Y), and was particularly happy when Gonzo released the Steven Stillas/Manassas volume in the acclaimed 'Lost Broadcasts' series, because it gave me an excuse to blog about him. Like this...

If David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash walk onto the Majestic Theatre stage Friday sporting Olympic gold medals, it would come as a surprise, but maybe not aSave Now total shock. The harmony-singing trio has been golden for more than 40 years.

CSN came together in 1968 with a sound marked by close-harmony vocals and rock/folk. The trio brought plenty of experience to the group, Crosby from the Byrds, Stills via Buffalo Springfield and Nash with The Hollies. Almost exactly 43 years ago (3 a.m. Aug. 18, 1969, according to the Woodstock Wiki), Crosby Stills & Nash made their public debut on a big stage — a really big stage, the stage at the legendary Woodstock festival.



Read on...

Wednesday, 11 July 2012

LINK: Stephen Stills - Crosby, Stills and Nash Won't Make Another Studio Album

With the forthcoming release of the Stephen Stills/Manassas volume in the acclaimed 'Lost Broadcasts' series looming, here is a news story of interest to all Stills fans...


Steven Stills, Graham Nash and David Crosby perform in New York.

Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for OCR

By Rolling Stone July 6, 2012 9:40 AM ET
In a recent interview with MusicRadar.com, Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills and Nash maintains that despite the band's upcoming live CD/DVD release, CSN 2012, the group won't be making a new studio album. "Well, there's the DVD, right, a live set. The thing's done, it's ready to go. But an album? We won't make another album, we won't finish one," he told the website.

The band had previously planned a covers album with producer Rick Rubin before scrapping the project in January. On top of Crosby, Stills and Nash favorites and classics, CSN 2012

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/stephen-stills-crosby-stills-and-nash-wont-make-another-studio-album-20120706#ixzz20KoMnH6q

Check him out at Gonzo:
http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/artists/Manassas

Friday, 6 July 2012

MY POSTBAG: 3 DVDs

Once again there is a picture of me making stupid faces as I clutch the contents of my postbag. We have three DVDs that I have been particularly looking forward to watching - Tony Hawks' second film, Wally live, and a vintage slice of Stephen Stills and Manassas..

It don't get much better than this!

Tuesday, 3 July 2012

A SUDDEN STEPHEN STILLS STORY (I love alliteration)

Back when I was a spotty teenager, if you had told me that one day I would be writing the sales notes for a Stephen Stills album, I would not have believed you. So, I am in the happy position of being able to scour the online caverns for stories about one of my favourite artists. Like this one:


Stephen Stills, photographed on 27 June 2012 at the Hilton Short Hills, New Jersey. © Joe Bosso

Stephen Stills looks out the window of his hotel suite in Short Hills, New Jersey, and dreams of bentgrass fairways. It's a clear blue sky outside, and the temperature is an easy-to-take 77 degrees. "Man, I should be playing golf on a day like this," he says.

Today's a show day – there's Carry On, Marrakesh Express, Almost Cut My Hair, Our House, Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, among others – and they could easily double the set with just as many biggies. The band members (along with their occasional fourth mate, Neil Young) are all Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers, twice each, in fact, when you consider their previous bands, The Byrds, The Hollies and Buffalo Springfield



Read on...

And look what I have found:


The lost broadcasts are a highly acclaimed series of releases from Gonzo Multimedia, taken from the archives of German TV company Studio Hamburg. All the takes are included with false starts, studio chit-chat and everything else that is usually edited out, left in. As a result these are an invaluable historical document for those of us who are interested in following the highways and byways of rock ‘n’ roll music. For two years from 1971, Manassas were one of the most exciting and critically acclaimed musical ensembles on the planet formed by Stephen Stills during the first hiatus of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. This band mix rock, soul, funk, and Latin influences to produce a melodic and eminently listenable-to (and danceable-to) brand of music. Sadly, internal conflicts tore the band asunder after only two brief years, and all their fans (and fans of Stephen Stills) have bemoaned the fact that there were so few recorded artefacts from the period. The discovery of these lost tapes, and their release on this DVD package are an invaluable boon for all of us. Well done to everyone involved.


Tracks: 1. SOUNDCHECK 3:37 , 2. BOUND TO FAIL 1 1:55 , 3. BOUND TO FAIL 2 2:41 , 4. BOUND TO FAIL 3 2:32 , 5. IT DOESN'T MATTER 1 2:38 , 6. IT DOESN'T MATTER 2 2:34 , 7. HIDE IT SO DEEP 3:15 , 8. SONG OF LOVE 3:23 , 9. ROCK 'N' ROLL CRAZIES/CUBAN BLUEGRASS 1 10:28 , 10. JET SET (SIGH) 4:04 , 11. ANYWAY 5:52 , 12. THE TREASURE 8:23 , 13. ROCK 'N' ROLL CRAZIES 2 0:47 , 14. ROCK 'N' ROLL CRAZIES 3 8:46 , 15. ROCK 'N' ROLL CRAZIES/CUBAN BLUEGRASS/JET SET (SIGH) JAM 14:05.

Check it out:
http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15485
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What happens when you mix what is - arguably - the world's most interesting record company, with an anarchist manic-depressive rock music historian polymath, and a method of dissemination which means that a daily rock-music magazine can be almost instantaneous?

Most of this blog is related in some way to the music, books and films produced by Gonzo Multimedia, but the editor has a grasshopper mind and so also writes about all sorts of cultural issues which interest him, and which he hopes will interest you as well.