Omaha Rainbow : Issue 25

O'BSESSIONS WITH JOHN STEWART

John Stewart recently recommenced club dates around the Los Angeles area, introducing his new band, The Juke Box Commandos.  Gigs at The Palomino on 11 and 12 October showed the band working a thirteen song set, featuring five songs from the ''Bombs Away Dream Babies" album.  The first show on Friday 11 October was highlighted by Lindsey Buckingham joining John and the band for strong extended versions of 'Runaway Fool of Love' and 'Gold.'

Between shows the following day, Rod Wilson spoke backstage with Chris Whelan, who talked about the new line-up and described current activities.....

We have Steve Wood on keyboards.  He was formerly with Honk and a lot of groups in town here, and has been with us for 4 and a half months now.  As well as playing all the keyboards, he's playing keyboard bass as John has moved me from bass to rhythm guitar.  Frank Cotinola is on drums.  He's come from a lot of bands.  He was with Funky Kings which Greg Leisz, a former player of John's, was in.  Frank's been with us about seven days now, while Sydney Fox on vocals has been with us about seven months.  And then there's me!

What we're doing is concentrating more on recording, because that seems to be the key to the whole road trip as far as work is concerned.  John has opened up his own production company called Hollywood Dreams Productions, that I just signed with.  He's working on trying to get me a record deal, so we've been in the studio doing my stuff as well as Sydney's - she's got her own tunes.  We've been working that as well as his own, trying to get that happening.  There's been a lot of fish biting, but nothing solid as of yet.  I'm not real sure of the exact details about what happened, but he got dropped from RSO, so he's label shopping as well.  He's not real bummed out about it because I guess it's nothing new.

John's got a lot of new songs that I love.  I think the "Dream Babies Go Hollywood'' album is one of his best works to date, but it just got buried in the shuffle.  I don't know what it is, it seems like his karma, or something, throughout his career.  He writes some great stuff and after 'Gold' you'd think they would have jumped on it - finally seen the light.  You've heard the album.  It's well recorded, some good tunes on there but.....it's a business, it's up to the boys behind the desks.  You've just got to keep going.

We're off to Reno for two weeks after this, which will be a first for me.  I've never worked in a Vegas or Reno-type atmosphere.  John was telling me a funny story.  The last time he played in Vegas was with The Kingston Trio and they played four months straight, seven nights a week.  They had them up in these bungalows off this golf course.  John wound up one day about four in the morning driving golf balls off his patio into the manager's bungalow across the fairway, knocking out his windows while the guy was entertaining women.  He says it gets crazy because there's no clocks or nothing.  It should be fun!

We're bringing up our tape recorders and our four tracks, perhaps make one of the hotel rooms into a studio, and work on our original tunes.  That's the plan, anyway.  I don't know if it will happen.  After that, I've no idea what will happen.  Of course, I never have and I've always liked it that way.  Surprise me.....just tell me what flight to be on the day after tomorrow.

It was great to have Lindsey Buckingham step up and play with us last night.  What a kick in the butt!  And he doesn't sit in with anybody - ever - never sits in playing with anybody.  It's not heard of with Lindsey.  He's really a home body.  Gets into his tape machine, his 24 track at home.  It was great fun, the guy's got so much energy, just lights up the stage.  A real treat.

I'm loving playing rhythm guitar, though I still have those bass thoughts after fifteen years of playing bass.  It's been a challenge and now I'm starting to enjoy it, which I didn't think would happen.  I thought it was going to be a tough thing and I wouldn't be able to hide it in my eyes, because I love the bass.  But there hasn't been a night where I've come off bummed-out, so it looks like it's happening.

So far as John goes, this is the happiest I've ever seen him.  No matter what's happening businesswise, he loves the band now, he loves the music he's playing.  There's nothing that bums him out anymore.....

Opening for the Juke Box Commandos at each of the shows were Canyon, a country/rock band who feature all original material and are led on rhythm guitar by John Stewart's former manager, Cort Casady.  Other members of Canyon are Sam Melville - bass guitar and vocals, Tony McCashen - lead guitar and vocals, Anne Melville keyboards and vocals and Danny Shanahan - drums.  Cort Casady has had songs recorded by artists such as Crystal Gayle, Jessi Colter and Marshall Chapman, while his work in television has included writing the story for the 2 hour CBS-TV movie, "Kenny Rogers as The Gambler."  Tony McCashen has had songs recorded by such diverse artists as Joe Cocker, Bill Medley, Andy Williams and Jose Feliciano, as well as touring with Mason Williams and Kenny Loggins.  He was also on Capitol Records for a while as one half of Dunn and McCashen.  You may remember Danny Shanahan for his work with several bands, including the Randy Meisner Group.

Canyon had no difficulty in winning over the sometimes critical Palomino audience.  Obviously a band to look out for in the burgeoning country club scene in the Los Angeles area, which has been reactivated by the success of the film, "Urban Cowboy."

Another good friend of Omaha Rainbow, now working with the Glen Castlebury Band, is Arnie Moore.  Glen and his band present a more orthodox country sound compared with the harder edge of cort Casady's Canyon.  They work regularly at The Lone Star Saloon, a recently opened club at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Pacific Highway.  Arnie features on bass and vocals and is also pursuing his acting career (Hollywood strikes permitting), having completed a number of television films during the past year.  Arnie sends regards to all his friends.