|
lemonade kid
Old Love
USA
9866 Posts |
 Posted - 15/10/2015 : 18:24:07
|
1968 "Floatin" VAMP
45 Single released on Atlantic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKk9nWg-yyk
I played bass with this band that sort of morphed out of ÒSam Gopal DreamÓ. Sam went off to form his own band after Viv Prince of the ÒPretty ThingsÓ joined us on drums. Andy Clark played keyboards and sung, and Mick Hutchinson played lead guitar. This guy sitting behind a big desk at Screen Gems was bragging to us about how they had formed the ÒMonkeesÓÉwhich really wasnÕt our thing. Our first recordings were really out there and very cool, with Sam on Indian TablaÕs, Mick playing Ragas on the guitar, me playing bass with the Tabla rhythms, and Andy on keys. We played some intense psychedelic improvisations. But the record company wanted us to simplify it of course so it ended up like thisÉI like it, but you should have heard the music we wanted to put out. Mick and I have tried to track the recordings down to no avail.
VAMP stood for Viv, Andy, Mick & Pete.
Cheers, Pete Sears
Pete Sears.com....read the full story at Pete's page
http://petesears.com/music/1968-vamp-floatin-atlantic-records-london/
An amazing show....below
Once with John Cipollina set 1
http://petesears.com/videos/once-with-john-cipollina-set-1/
Pete Sears was born in Bromley, Kent. His career as a professional musician began in 1964, touring the United Kingdom with the band Sons of Fred. As well as playing classic British T.V. shows such as Ready Steady Go and Thank Your Lucky Stars, Sons of Fred also recorded at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London. The records they released are now sought after by collectors.
He went on to play and record with many musical artists, including The Fleur De Lys in 1966, and the psychedelic underground band Sam Gopal Dream which featured guitarist Mick Hutchinson, Sears on bass and Hammond organ, and the Indian tabla player Sam Gopal. Jimi Hendrix once sat in with the band at the Speakeasy Club in London. Jimi Hendrix drummer Mitch Mitchell later asked Sears to play bass in a band he was forming while still playing with Hendrix in 1969.
Sears was a session musician during the late sixties, including recording piano with the blues band Steamhammer. Steamhammer would back up the legendary Freddy King when he toured the UK. In early 1969, Sears along with Terry Cox of Pentangle, Jeff Beck's drummer Micky Waller, Jimmy Litherland of Coloseum, John Wetton of King Crimson, and Pete York of the Spencer Davis Group, recorded a folk rock album with Marian Segal and Jade. The album, Fly on Strange Wings is considered one of the seminal British folk rock albums of the 1960s and is highly valued by collectors. Around this time Sears teamed up with original Fairport Convention singer, Judy Dyble, and Van Morrison's Them organist, Jackie McAuley, to form the band Trader Horne.
[Sears also recorded with Marianne Segal & Jade on their only release...Fly On Strangewings 1970...a favorite of mine. --lk]
In the summer of 1969, he left Trader Horne just before they began recording. Blue Cheer guitarist Leigh Stephens invited him to the California for the first time. Sears, Stephens, Micky Waller (drummer), and Jack Reynolds (singer) formed Silver Metre, recorded one album at Trident Studios in London, England, released on the National General label, produced by their manager, FM rock radio pioneer Tom Donahue. After Silver Metre broke up, Sears had returned to England to play on the Rod Stewart album "Gasoline Alley".
Stoneground manager Tom Donahue recruited Sears in London, during their Medicine Ball Caravan (1970) European tour later returning to the Marin County with them to record their first album, also produced by Tom Donahue.
From 1970 through 1974, Sears returned to session work, including playing on Rod Stewart's early British solo albums, Gasoline Alley, Every Picture Tells a Story including the hit singles "Maggie May" and "Reason To Believe", Never a Dull Moment, and Smiler. He also played bass with the Long John Baldry Blues Band on their first tour of the US, and played bass and keyboards with John Cipollina in the band Copperhead.
Sears left Copperhead just before recording their first album to work on Rod Stewart's Never a Dull Moment album in London, but mainly to join a new band Nicky Hopkins was putting together. Hopkins, who was on tour with the Rolling Stones had rented Sears a house in Mill Valley, California until he finished with the Stones tour. However, Hopkins was ultimately unable to form the band due to ill health and a dislike of the road. Sears went on to co-produce, arrange the music and play on, Kathi McDonald's Insane Asylum album, using guest artists like Sly Stone, The Pointer Sisters, Nils Lofgren, Neal Schon, Aynsley Dunbar, and the Tower of Power horns. He also co-founded a band called Sears, Schon, Errico with Neal Schon and Greg Errico, playing the Diamond Head Crater Festival in Hawaii, as well as several California shows.
Sears spent two weeks recording with Ike Turner at Ike's studio, Bolic Sound in Los Angeles. Tina Turner came down one night and recorded vocals on some of the tracks they had recorded, including a version of George Harrison's song Something on which Turner changed the "she" to "he".
In 1974, Sears joined Jefferson Starship, replacing Peter Kaukonen and switching back and forth between bass and keyboards with his close friend, David Freiberg. He also wrote two or three songs per album with Grace Slick. Grace and Pete wrote the song Hyperdrive for the Dragon Fly album. Dragon Fly, made in 1974, was the first official "Jefferson Starship" release as a band. During the 1970s and early 1980s he would perform a ten-minute bass solo regardless of the size of the venue, even when playing to a 100,000 people in New York City's Central Park in 1975. Singer Grace Slick left the band after her non-appearance caused a riot in Germany in 1978; within months drummer John Barbata was severely injured in a car crash and the band's other singer, Marty Balin, also left. The band hired vocalist Mickey Thomas and, at Sears' suggestion, drummer Aynsley Dunbar. The band's musical direction changed, adopting a hard rock edge after Kantner hired rock producer Ron Nevison. Slick left the band for one album, Freedom at Point Zero and Sears' wife Jeannette Sears became one of the principal lyricists alongside Kantner, and Chaquico. Pete and Jeannette wrote some of the band's best-known songs, such as "Stranger", "Save Your Love", and "Winds of Change". Grace had rejoined by this time, and Sears remained with the band after the departure of leader Paul Kantner and the subsequent name change to "Starship", but he became increasingly at odds with the commercial direction the band was taking. Pete and Jeannette were working heavily on Central American human rights issues at this time, and wrote several songs on the subject that were considered by the band to be too controversial in nature. He played only bass on the double-platinum 1985 album Knee Deep in the Hoopla and finally left the group in 1987. Starship went on to record several more albums with Austrian pop producer Peter Wolf and his wife Ina who had penned such AM radio hits as "Sara" and "No Way Out". After Sears left, the band became progressively more commercial, alienating a large portion of their old fan base.
In the early 90's Pete played keyboards with San Francisco based psychedelic,jazz,rock band ZERO. Pete has sat in with ZERO as recently as 2013.
From 1992 to 2001, Sears played keyboards with Jefferson Airplane's Jorma Kaukonen, and Jack Casady, in Hot Tuna. The band also included Michael Falzarano and Harvey Sorgen. They would sometimes tour as "The Jorma Kaukonen Trio" with Sears playing bass on the keyboards with his left hand. Sears sometimes teaches piano at Jorma Kaukonen's, Fur Peace Ranch guitar Camp in south eastern Ohio. In 2011, Hot Tuna flew Sears out to New York City to perform at Jorma Kaukonen's 70th birthday bash at the Beacon Theater. As well as his old Tuna band-mates, Sears played that night with Bob Weir, Steve Earl, and Oteil Burbridge.
Pete Sears appears on the following albums:[1]
Solo albums
Watchfire (1988)[2]
Millennium (1997)
The Long Haul (2001)[2]
with Sons of Fred
"Sweet Love" 1964
"I'll Be There" 1964
"I, I, I Want Your Lovin'" 1965
"She Only Wants a Friend" 1965
"Baby What You Want Me To Do" 1966
"You Told Me" 1966
with Les Fleur de Lys
"Circles" 1966
with Sam Gopal Dream 1967
1967 recordings for Screen Gems, previously unreleased
with Steamhammer
Steamhammer (1969)
with Jade (UK band)
"Fly on Strangewings" 1970
with Silver Metre
"Silver Metre" 1970
with Stoneground
Stoneground (1971)
Family Album (1971)
with Rod Stewart
Gasoline Alley (1971)
Every Picture Tells a Story (1971)
Never a Dull Moment (1972)
Smiler (1974)
with original Jefferson Starship
Dragon Fly (1974)
Red Octopus (1975)
Spitfire (1976)
Earth (1978)[9]
Freedom at Point Zero (1979)
Modern Times (1981)
Winds of Change (1982)
Nuclear Furniture (1984)
with Starship
Knee Deep in the Hoopla (1985)
with Hot Tuna
Live at Sweetwater (1992)
Live at Sweetwater Two (1993)
Live in Japan (1997)
And Furthurmore... (1999)
with Jorma Kaukonen
Too Many Years (1998)
Jorma Kaukonen Trio Live (2000)
Guest Appearances
Papa John Creach (by Papa John Creach) (1971)
Betty Davis (by Betty Davis) (1973)
Manhole (by Grace Slick) (1973)
Insane Asylum (by Kathi McDonald) (1974)
Tiger Rose (by Robert Hunter) (1975)
Solid Silver (by Quicksilver Messenger Service) (1975)
Blue Star (by Nick Gravenites) (1980)
The Doubtful Handshake (by Terry & the Pirates) (1980)
The Usual Suspects (by The Usual Suspects) (1981)
Rising of the Moon (by Terry & the Pirates) (1982)
Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra (by Paul Kantner) (1983)
Chance in a Million (by Zero) (1994)
Mecca (by Memphis Pilgrims) (1996)
Kak (by Kak) (1999 re-release)
Love Will See You Through (by Phil Lesh) (1999)
Live at the Chi Chi Club (by Marc Benno) (2005)
We Are All One (by Michael Falzarano) (2008)
I Got Blues for Ya (by Michael Falzarano) (2014).
________________________________________________
So much music, so little time. |
Edited by - lemonade kid on 15/10/2015 18:24:32 |
|
VAMP 1968-"Floating'" & legendary Pete Sears
