Roger McGuinn Blog

I'll post here from time to time to let you know what's going on in my life.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Roadie Report 16 by Camilla McGuinn
The Ritz Carlton (Photo by Camilla)

San Francisco is one of our favorite cities but its a difficult city to drive and park in. Finding a hotel that can accommodate our van is a priority when we have business in that rolling city. After a few years of trial and error, we found that the Ritz Carlton not only would park our Ford van, they did so with as much aplomb as they do with the luxury cars that grace their portal. The doormen recognize our van now. When one of them said, Welcome back. I asked if he really recognized us or was he just being polite. He said, Indeed I do. You have a lot of equipment to unload. It wasnt my smiling face, or a renowned 12-string guitar player that made an impression it was two luggage carts filled to the top with stuff!

We had several appointments during the next few days and the first one, was a visit with Steve Wozniak.

Roger and Woz began communicating after Steve read about Rogers Senate testimony in defense of MP3.com. That statement can be read at http://judiciary.senate.gov/testimony.cfm?id=195&wit_id=253 . Roger was thrilled to be emailing the inventor of the Apple computer and a fast friendship developed between the two techies. A few years ago, we were delighted to be invited to join Woz on one of his jaunts to Japan to comb the shops for new inventions.

Steve made a special trip into town to join us for an evening of new gadgets and toys. The two Steves (Wozniak and Jobs) enjoyed a youth of pranks and gadgets. Woz still follows those pursuits. He brought a bag of toys and we spent hours trying to figure them out in the lounge of the Ritz Carlton.

The Glaucoma Research Foundation was holding their annual Board of Directors meeting and asked Roger to perform. Before the performance we were encouraged to hear the updates about the ongoing research for a cure for Glaucoma. This is a good time to remind you to have your eyes checked yearly. Glaucoma can cause blindness before you know you have the disease and there is no cure after the damage has been done.

We had one day off to do what we love to do in San Francisco walk. I always lose weight as we walk up and down those amazing hills, but then I put it back on when we feast on the wonderful food available all over the city. We walked to North Beach, had lunch in an Italian restaurant, and while waiting for the fried Calamari, Roger told me about the night in 1960 when the bus pulled into San Francisco.

1960: (Roger is called Jim)

The night before Jim was to catch the bus to San Francisco, the fraternity boys insisted they have an all night party. In the morning they drove Jim to the bus stop and a groggy 18-year old climbed aboard the bus. The bus broke down half way up the coast and it took hours for a replacement to be dispatched to take the travelers to their destination. At midnight, the second bus finally arrived in San Francisco. Jim was slightly hung over, slightly sick from the smell of the diesel fumes and he had no idea where to go.

He reached in his pocket for the matchbook cover that Lou Gottleib had given him with a telephone number scribble on the inside. Lou had said to call if he was ever was in San Francisco and maybe there would be some more work. Jim dialed the number and heard a disconnect recording. His spirit was disheartened and his stomach queasy. All he wanted was a bed.

McGuinn was a city boy, so taxis were the logical way to get anywhere. He got into a cab and told the driver his friends telephone number was disconnected and he didnt know where to go. The cab driver said he would take him to a good hotel. After driving a few blocks, the driver stopped and pointed at a door. Jim paid the fare, gathered his belongings and stood looking at the hotel. He turned to look across the street and noticed the bus station. The city boy had been taken for a ride.

There was a room available at the old hotel. When he walked into the room, he fell onto the security of the lumpy mattress without even undressing. His eyes finally opened at noon and as he squinted at the unfamiliar surroundings, he asked himself a question that would become a familiar morning inquiry for the rest of his life, Where am I? Then the memory of the horrendous bus trip, the disconnected telephone and the flaky cab ride came rushing back, but in the morning light, it didnt seem so bad. He was in San Francisco and he was going to find the "Hungry i."

The "Hungry i" was the San Francisco equivalent to The Gate of Horn in Chicago. Jim had heard of it from the folk singers that played at The Gate of Horn. The folk community was small and the players all knew each other and played the same venues. He expected the "Hungry i" would be the place to find the next door on the pathway of his life. After a quick shower, he once again caught a taxi. This time he asked to be driven to "The Hungry i."

The "Hungry i" was a club where folk singers hung out and played guitar during the day and watched real performers at night. Jim walked in, surveyed the situation and decided to come back the next day with his guitar.

San Francisco was a city to explore, so he left the club in search of some food and to get a sense of what the city was all about. After a quick bite and blocks of walking the steep inclines of the San Francisco streets, he saw a theater advertising, Psycho. Alfred Hitchcocks new movie was showing and it was time to rest his weary legs. Hitchcocks suspenseful story filled Jims mind as he walked back to the hotel after the viewing. The strangeness of this new city and the uncertainly of things to come was creating his own suspense movie and one that he hoped had a happier ending.

The next few days were spent at the "Hungry i" playing guitar and meeting the locals. Adam Yagodka, a song writing partner of The Kingston Trio's Nick Reynolds, became aware that Jim was living in a hotel room and invited him to stay with him at his uncles house in San Rafael, while his uncle was in Europe.

Adam took Jim under his wing, introduced him to Nick Reynolds and suggested that Jim audition for the position being vacated by Dave Guard, the founder of The Kingston Trio. Nick drove him to the audition in his new red Ferrari. Bob Shane, Nick's partner, thought that even though Jims guitar playing was good, his voice wasnt as strong as they wanted for their trio.

Another milestone that Adam brought into Jims life, was his first taste of marijuana. Youre starting on the good stuff kid. Gunja. The few weeks living in San Rafael was a laid back time. Adams uncle returned from Europe, so Adam, his girlfriend and Jim moved to her apartment in Sausalito.

Living in Sausalito was fun, but the commute to the "Hungry i" and the music scene was difficult. Jim met a musician named Don who invited him to crash at his house in South San Francisco. He and Don formed a group and played at places on Fishermans Wharf for a few weeks.

Afternoons before their shows, Jim was hanging out at the "Hungry i." One day the bartender gave him a message. Frank Fried, a Chicago promoter, was looking for him. Frank knew Jims parents, but they werent sure how to contact him except that he was in San Francisco. Frank called the "Hungry i." In the folk community at that time, word of mouth was an effective way to find people.

Jim placed a collect call to Chicago and Frank told him that Chad Mitchell wanted to hire him. Jim told Frank that he was forming a group in San Francisco, but Frank convinced him that working with Chad Mitchell was the next step he should pursue in his career. Frank sent Jim an airplane ticket and within the month, Jim walked off the airplane at Idlewild Airport and shook hands with Chad Mitchell.

2006:
We had an early call in the morning for a live radio interview with KFRC-FM, The Cammy and Dean Morning Show. While I was working on promotion for THE FOLK DEN PROJECT and the concert scheduled in Montalvo, I came across Cammys name and thought, Hey thats my name! Or at least it was the name I used from the ages of thirteen to nineteen. Since we obviously had something in common, I emailed her. Fortunately, she had heard of Roger McGuinn and said they would love to have Roger as a guest on their show. This is a fine example of how scientific I am at promotion

We walked out of the door of the Ritz Carlton and asked the doorman to call us a taxi, a McGuinn San Francisco tradition. He said that there was no need because their car would drive us to the radio station. Those full luggage carts at check-in had made a big impression.

"Cammy and Dean Show" (Photo by Camilla)

The Montalvo Carriage House Theater show was already sold out, so this radio interview was more about music and fun. Roger played Cammy and Deans favorite songs live, showed them his 7-string guitar and signed Deans Rickenbacker. (Photo by Camilla)

We returned to the hotel, checked out and joined the Friday traffic moving south out of the city. In all the years we both lived in California, we had never been to the Silicon Valley town of Los Gatos. I think the citizens keep the town a secret because it is an oasis beautifully situated by a mountain. The streets have the feel of another era but lined with all the trendy shops of our day. And yes, they do have a great sushi bar! Our senses were quieted by the serenity of the small town after the three days of San Francisco excitement.

The concert in the Montalvo Carriage House Theater was performed to a wonderful appreciative audience. We even got one more chance to see Woz. He had a Segway polo tournament during the day, but he made it to the concert in time with the Segways in the back of the Hummer.

We enjoyed Los Gatos, so before we headed south to Los Angeles to join the world famous "Rock Bottom Remainders",we spent an extra day walking the small town and enjoying lunch in the shelter of a tree.

(Photo by Camilla)

posted by Roger McGuinn at 1:55 PM
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Roadie Report 15 by Camilla McGuinn
Moonstone Beach, Cambria (Photo by Camilla)


We left Aspen and headed to San Francisco via Morro Bay, Ca.

Morro Bay had been our home from 1980 to 1984 and we always enjoyed a chance to stop, soak in the sights and sounds of that small fishing town, while saying hi to the people who made our sojourn there a beautiful chapter in our lives.

Our first glimpse of the California coastline was shrouded by the fog rolling in over Moonstone Beach in Cambria. It was nearly sunset, so we found a quaint seaside motel on Moonstone Beach Drive right next to a restaurant that we used to frequent, the Sea Chest.

We appreciated the sounds of the beach the next morning, then made our way to Morro Bay just as the lunch hour was winding down. It was wonderful to walk into Haradas Sushi bar and to see Harada alone, busily preparing for the evening rush.

1984:
Harada had opened his first restaurant in a small building at the end of the embarcadero around 1982. Dinner there was our first priority whenever we came off the road. After one tour, before we even went home, we stopped in for our favorite food. We surprised ourselves by ordering a sushi boat, which was an awesome order for just two people, but we were excited about our recent trip to Florida and wanted to talk about the possibility of moving there.

We were the only people dining at 5pm and as we waited for Harada to prepare the sushi boat, a motorcyle rider walked into the tiny restaurant and sat down at the bar. Rogers back was toward the door and he quietly asked me why I was looking so intently at the new patron. I felt like I knew the motorcyclist and asked Roger to turn around and see if he did. Yep, he did. It was Kurt Russell. Roger had a curious connection with Kurt - Kurt had married Rogers ex-fiancee. So Roger walked over to Kurt, introduced himself and invited him to join us. Then we knew why we had ordered that big sushi boat!

After dinner, Kurt came to our home and played banjo with Roger. His enthusiasm was so delightful; I forgot that he was a famous movie star. The night was getting late and we tried to talk him into spending the evening. I was concerned about him driving back to Los Angeles in the dark on his motorcycle, but he wanted to be home in time to pick up his son in the morning. I suggested that maybe his girlfriend that he had mentioned earlier, could pick up Boston, his son. He smiled and asked, Do you know who my girlfriend is? We both shook our heads - we very seldom read the magazines that kept people abreast of famous relationships - and when he said, Goldie Hawn, I replied, Well she seems nice, cant she pick him up? He laughed, picked up his helmet and rode into the night. We started laughing too. Imagining Goldie Hawn standing at the door of her boyfriend's ex-wife was funny.



The Rock at Morro Bay (Photo by Camilla)


2006:
The neighbors in Morro Bay who cared for us as surrogate parents were Susie and Stan. Their zest for living was an inspiration and they were the ones who fed the cat that had adopted us, paid our bills, picked up our mail and kept the home fires burning for us while we were on the road, all those Morro Bay years. Stan passed away last year, so there was a moment of sadness as we knocked on Susies door, knowing it would just be her. Susies sense of humor was beautifully intact and we had a wonderful evening with her.

The next day we headed up Highway 101 to San Francisco. We had thought about taking Highway 1, but it was closed due to washed out roads from the recent storms. On the way to San Francisco, Roger told me about his first trip to the City by the Bay:

1960:
While Jim (Roger) McGuinn was accompanying the Limeliters at the Ash Grove, a 19-year-old hopeful actor introduced himself. His name was David Crosby and he had just finished acting in a play at the Ashgrove the week before the Limeliters appearance.

David suggested that he and Jim hang out together and offered to pick him up at the Park Sunset hotel. David had a convertible in which he had installed aircraft seat-belts. Very few cars had seat belts then and David was very proud of the addition he had made to his car. Over the next week, Jim taught David a few guitar chords and David taught Jim how to drive.

Jim was a Chicago city boy where cars werent really necessary. Learning to drive Davids chevy with a manual transmission was the first clue Jim had of Davids sense of humor. After a few times around Santa Monica Blvd, David had Jim drive up the steep hill of La Cienaga Blvd. For a novice at the clutch, it was a baptism by fire.

The Limeliters finished their Los Angeles gigs and told Jim to look them up if he was ever in San Francisco. David suggested that Jim go home with him to Santa Barbara. When they arrived at Davids mothers house, she made them the most exotic sandwiches Jim had ever tasted, lamb and avocado. Southern California was indeed different from Chicago.

Jim stayed at the Crosbys for a few days, then David found him
a room at a nearby house filled with fraternity boys from Cornell University. Mornings started with the frat boys "breakfast of champions" -Coors beer. After breakfast they would crash the private beach of the Miramar Hotel. Their nights were spent drinking gin and tonics with the Santa Barbara society scene. Jim lost his wallet at the Miramar beach and was shocked to find it at the front desk with all his money still in it. Southern California was indeed different from Chicago.

The beach and the parties were fun, but Jim came to California to work, so he caught a bus to San Francisco. While Jim was seeking his destiny, Chris Hillman was in high school and practicing his mandolin when he wasn't tending to chores on the family ranch in Northern San Diego County. Jim Dickson was working on feature films, working for Benny Shapiro at the Club Renaissance and keeping his hand on the beat of the music of the times.

posted by Roger McGuinn at 1:45 PM
Monday, May 29, 2006
Roadie Report 14 by Camilla McGuinn
Cedar Falls, Iowa (photo by Camilla)
On April 3, 2006 we hit the road for Cedar Falls, Iowa. On the trek northward we played dodgeball with tornadic storm systems that were wrecking havoc throughout the country.


Lunch by the River (photo by Camilla)

The Oyster Theater, the concert venue for that evening, is located on Main Street in Cedar Falls. We arrived the day of the show just in time for a river-view lunch at the Broom Factory restaurant. After lunch I meandered down Main Street, stopping at the antique stores and finding myself impressed with the charm of the small Iowa town.

The next day we headed west, keeping an eye on the weather. We had already crossed the Donner Pass in California during a snowstorm and didnt relish repeating that experience, so we decided at the split between Interstates 76 and 80 that we would take a southern route to San Francisco.

Since the weather took us on I-70 past the Aspen, Colorado exit, we decided to detour there and see if The Limelite Inn, the club where The Limeliters began their career was still standing.

On July 13, 1960, Jim McGuinn celebrated his 18th birthday at the Ash Grove folk club in Los Angeles in the dressing room he shared with his bosses, The Limeliters. The waitresses bought him a cupcake with a candle and sang him an off key version of Happy Birthday.

After the birthday celebration, he took the stage with the Limeliters and finished recording TONIGHT IN PERSON, a live album and the first for the Limeliters on RCA.
A week later The Limeliters were the opening act for Eartha Kitt at the Hollywood Bowl. Jim had to use his paycheck to rent a tuxedo to wear for the prestigious concert. The night of the concert, as he nervously stood on the wings of the stage tuning his guitar, he felt a slap on his bottom and a sultry voice saying, Go get em kid! That swat and that voice were encouragements from Miss Eartha Kitt. Jim was thrilled with his initiation into the world of show business. He still remembers thinking, This is what I want to do forever!

While Jim McGuinn was making his entrance into the professional world of music, Jim Dickson was busy recording at World Pacific Studios.

The middle child of James and Ruth Ferne Mullinix Dickson, Jim Dickson was born in 1931 in Los Angeles, California. The Dicksons were an unusal and adventurous family. James designed cars, diesel engines for the Navy and sailboats. Ruth Dickson was an executive for the financial firm Witter & CO , which was later renamed Dean Witter . Her position with the firm was an anomaly for a woman in 1925.

Young Jim Dickson quit school and with his parents permission joined the Army in 1946. The army made him a member of the Military Police and sent him to Japan. From there he traveled from adventure to adventure, exploring New York City then back to his native California. The direction of his life changed when he and his sailing partner, Peter Grant, met the comedian, Lord Buckley.

Lord Buckley had a reputation as a charmer and convinced Peter to finance and produce a recording of Buckleys comedic act. When Peter realized how easily he was manipulated, he sailed away to Acapulco and left Dickson to produce the album.

Dickson opened the telephone books Yellow Pages to recording, and found a studio called CP McGregor. The yellow page advertisement said they had 25 years experience, which was mostly in religious transcriptions for radio broadcast. At the studio he met, George Jones, a gentleman who later became head of the custom department at Capitol Records. George spent several hours explaining the record business to Jim. Dickson remembers Mr. Jones as the honest man he met in the record biz.

DianeVarsi


Armed with advice, a studio and Lord Buckley, Dickson began his career as a record producer and a recording label owner. Lord Buckley suggested he call the label VAYA, after the then popular saying, Vaya Con Dios. The Lord Buckly experience not only set him on the pathway of his life long career, it opened the door to the Hollywood bohemian artist scene where he fell in love with and married the beautiful folk singer turned actress Diane Varsi.



Our timing for stopping in Aspen was perfect. There was still snow on the mountains, the restaurants were still open, the hotel room rates were lowered and the streets were empty. It was a good thing that we stopped by the old Limelite Inn because we found out from a gentleman who had been coming to the Inn since 1959 that it is slated for demolition. A new hotel will be built in its place.

Aspen in April (photos by Camilla)

posted by Roger McGuinn at 10:29 AM
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Eddie Tickner ( Oct 18,1927 - May 2, 2006)
A May Sunset in Tucson (Photo by Camilla)


To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; Ecclesiastes 3:1,2

Early in May 2006, Eddie Tickner, a manager and mentor of the BYRDS died quietly in Tucson Arizona. Our prayers and tears are with his family.

posted by Roger McGuinn at 6:55 AM
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Roadie Report 13 by Camilla McGuinn
We quietly launched THE FOLK DEN PROJECT in November. Roger had a concert in Erie, Pa and the first person to buy the box set was a fan who had traveled over 100 miles to see Roger perform. He walked into the lobby of the Mercyhurst College Theater while I was still in the process of arranging my lemonade stand. He had read about THE FOLK DEN PROJECT on mcguinn.com and was thrilled that we had autographed copies available. I usually dont pose for pictures, but he was the first person to buy the new 4 CD set from me, so I was just as excited as he was and happily smiled for his camera.

Presque Isle State Park Photo by Camilla

The day after the concert, we drove around Erie and visited the Presque Isle State Park. Then we drove to Ohio to spend Thanksgiving Day with a reunion of dear friends at Farm Niente. For years we had a hosted a three-day Thanksgiving celebration at our home in Orlando, but a few years ago, we stopped for awhile. I found myself spending most of the year thinking about the details of the celebration and realized that I needed to take a break. Our friends, Linda and Bill, decided it was time to bring us all back together again and opened their wonderful log cabin to the gathering of the friends. The three days with these folks filled our hearts and renewed our spirits with the special feeling that only dear ones can bring.

After Thanksgiving, Roger and I headed to Chicago for what we were calling the official release of THE FOLK DEN PROJECT. We had already released it to the fans of mcguinn.com, the concert in Erie, Pa and to all our friends at Farm Niente. We didnt even do the publicity thing that traditional record labels do, we just said, Here it is. We did feel that to be able to say this special project was officially released at the alma mater of Rogers education in the folk tradition sounded a tolling of the bells that justified pursuing the concert date in Chicago.

I spent the rest of the holiday season sending out THE PROJECT to press and radio. We realized that 100 folk songs might not sound too interesting to people, so we were very selective as to whom the copies were sent. One of the recipients was a DJ and long time friend, Pete Fornatelle.

Pete had been a DJ on WNEW at the time when DJs, not computers and corporations, spoke to the hearts of radio listeners. His show Mixed Bag was started when Roger came to his studio with a guitar and played songs live on the air. Every year when Roger would have a concert within radio range of New York City, Pete would invite Roger to his show for The Annual Roger McGuinn Update and all the concerts would sell out within the hour.
Those days of radio have changed, but Pete is still doing what he loves. He now has Mixed Bag, his show on XM Radio (The Loft - Channel 50) and a show on WFUV FM radio in New York.

When Pete listened to THE FOLK DEN PROJECT, he called me and said that he wanted the world to hear it and would get back to me. A few days later he called and told me about a group of people who were desperately trying to keep a platform for performing musicians available to people. They werent professional promoters, just lovers of music. Pete asked if we would help them pursue their dreams with a benefit concert that would promote them and THE FOLK DEN PROJECT. The concert was scheduled in a beautiful church in Montclair, NJ and quickly sold out. The night of the concert, after Roger finished singing So You Want to Be A Rock and Roll Star, Pete joined him on stage for the taping of The Annual Roger McGuinn Update, which was later played on Petes radio shows. The warmth and encouragement of the audience was a major part of that lovely evening.

On our way home from New Jersey, we stopped at Martin guitar in Nazareth, Pa for a meeting with Dick Boak. The Roger McGuinn 7-String guitar was a delight to guitar players, but the dealers were begging for one that everyone could afford. We sat down with Dick and designed a guitar that had all the wonderful attributes of the HD 7 but not all the delicate craftsmanship that raised the cost. We were very excited about the design specs that the three of us worked on and are anxiously awaiting the new D7. The beautiful HD 7 with inlaid mother of pearl will still be available, but now there will be a Roger McGuinn D7 that will fit the wallets of those wonderful musicians who want the joy of playing that double G string, without the high cost.

As we were leaving the Martin guitar factory, we met a couple in the lobby who had been at the concert the night before in Montclair. They said the whole town was buzzing about the concert and they had a hard time grasping that they were now talking to Roger face to face. We were all blessed by the serendipity of that chance encounter.

The next few months were spent promoting THE FOLK DEN PROJECT and planning for the tour we are now on. The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, some wonderful local newspapers and magazines from Europe all gave THE PROJECT favorable reviews. It was a labor of love and to have a folk collection to even be honored with reviews in major publications has been very humbling and exciting.

GARDEN SUNSET Photo by Camilla

Im sitting in a hotel in San Francisco listening to jazz. People have emailed and asked when I was going to post another Roadie Report. When I am at home I wear a different hat. There is a roof to fix, a courtyard to remodel, taxes to do, roses to plant and garden sunsets to contemplate. Im not a roadie until the wheels start turning. Since were now on the road, I will be writing more about Rogers memories of his life on the road and some memories from Jim Dickson, the man who guided 4 earnest musicians and a good looking conga player to the top of the pop charts.

posted by Roger McGuinn at 1:47 PM
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Roadie Report 12 by Camilla (Aug cont. & THE FOLK DEN PROJECT)
We settled into studio B at the Summit Road Studios and began the daunting task of mixing and mastering the 100 songs for THE FOLK DEN PROJECT. We worked 10 hours a day, shoulder to shoulder, fine tuning the recordings. Roger had finished most of the re-recording of the songs that he felt needed it prior to leaving for the Washington State concert.

As I listened to the songs over and over I reflected on what brought Roger to this point in his life and why he has such a passion for preserving the songs we were compiling for this 4 CD box set.

In the winter of 1957, Jim's (Rogers) music teacher at the Latin School of Chicago, Miss Ganter, invited her friend Bob Gibson to perform for her students. Jim attended out of duty but didn't expect much from another required school assembly. As he was clowning with his group of friends, his eye caught a glimpse of an instrument head stock poking through the door of the auditorium. It appeared to be a guitar and suddenly his interest was peaked.

(Miss Ganter's music class at a student's home. Jim is third from the right.)


Bob Gibson strolled on stage not with a guitar, but with a 5-string long necked banjo. At this revelation, Jim wanted to find the nearest exit, but after only one song of intricate finger picking and a personal story about the song Jim's interest reawakened. He was amazed at the energy and sound that the Banjo created in the hands of an artist who believed in the instrument and the music. Bob finished his set of songs and left the building. Jim immediately found Miss Ganter and interrogated her about the music and style of Bob Gibson.

Miss Ganter told her student that it was folk music and if he was really interested in learning more about it, that a new school had just opened within walking distance of his house, called The Old Town School of Folk Music.

School was not Jim's favorite pastime so he wasn't sure he wanted to attend another school, besides he felt pretty confident about the guitar technique that he had already taught himself. He would buy 45 rpm records, slow them down to 33 rpm and learn the guitar parts by ear.

Now the sound of Gibson's banjo kept ringing in his ears, so the following Saturday he braved the cold Chicago winter winds and walked up to 333 West North Avenue from his home on East Division Street. The School was on the third floor of an old brick building. He climbed the stairs and was greeted by Dawn Greening who introduced him to Win Stracke and Frank Hamilton. Frank asked him if he knew the circle of chords. Jim had no idea what he was talking about but when Frank proceeded to quickly demonstrate an incredible chain of barre chords, Jim realized that he had a lot to learn about the guitar and immediately signed up for classes.

Frank tested Jim's guitar technique and assigned him to the intermediate class. The walls of the classroom were covered with posters with the names of famous guitar players and tablatures showing their individual picking style. He diligently mastered one style every week and was soon moved to the advance guitar class. He also started playing guitar and singing in a trio called The Frets, with Johnny Carbo on banjo and Louis MacDonald on congas, at the Café Oblique.


(The Frets)

The strong impact of Bob Gibson's banjo playing was the impetus for Jim to learn the intricacies of the five-string banjo. He didn't have a banjo, so he strung one of his guitars with five strings, put a nail in the neck at the seventh fret and tucked the fifth string under it. He saved his money to buy a Vega long-neck "Pete Seeger Model" banjo. It was Jim's banjo picking technique that would later transform the sound of a Rickenbacker electric 12-string guitar into what would become known as the 'jingle-jangle" sound of the Byrds.

Jim started working as a solo performer at local coffeehouses. Every night after his gig he would head down to Albert Grossman's Gate of Horn, one of the first Folk/Jazz nightclubs in the country. Even though Jim was under the legal drinking age, he managed to get in the door. In 1997 Ella Jenkins told me at a live recording of songs for the Harry Smith Connection on Smithsonian Folkways Records, that she used to tell the bartender, "Let the boy in, he just wants to hear the music." High school was secondary in his life, even to the point of being kicked out of study hall for playing his banjo. Folk Music had become his passion.

One night after his Café Roué gig, he made his usual pilgrimage down the cold windy sidewalks of Rush Street to the Gate of Horn. He entered the bar room and heard the sounds of a jam session going on. It was the Limeliters, Theo Bikel, and some of the regulars. Alex Hassilev, of the Limeliters, looked at the skinny kid holding two instrument cases and told him, "We have enough guitars. Break out your banjo." Jim was in heaven as he played all night with the famous folk singers. Around 4:30am, Alex invited him to audition for them the next day for the position of accompanist and gave him an album. True to Jim's modus operandi, he hurried home and listened to the songs on his record player. At sunrise he was confident he knew them and tried to get some rest before the 1pm audition.

The next day he went to Mr. Kelly's, a Chicago landmark nightclub where the Limeliters were performing, for the audition. Alex liked what he heard and told him the job was his. He asked, "When can you start?" It was then that Jim sheepishly admitted that he had to graduate from high school first.

On July 3, 1960, ten days before his 18th birthday, Jim McGuinn boarded an airplane bound for Los Angeles with a ticket the Limeliters had sent him. At the American Airlines ticket counter, he had checked in his Martin 00-21 6-string guitar, his Pete Seeger long-neck banjo and two suitcases filled with his important belongings, half of which were gadgets. Ken Kragen, the Limeliters' manager, picked him up at LAX in a red convertible with the top down and drove him to the Park Sunset hotel on the Sunset Strip. During the drive to the hotel, the warm California night air whipping around his face, the summer scent of the orange trees and the freedom of being on the road captured his heart so much that he knew he would never return to Chicago to live again. His passion and his diligence to learn his craft had opened the doors he had dreamed of walking through, on that day just a year before, when he was kicked out of a study hall in high school for practicing his banjo.

45 years later, I was honored to be sitting and working by his side on this preservation project of the music that mapped the journey of his life.

The intensity of work was lifted every night when we joined Linda and Don DeBey for the evening meal. We didn't want to impose on them, but they always made us feel welcome. The four of us had so much in common. They had met while playing in a band and it is their love of music that had brought them to build the state of the art, Summit Road Studios.

The last night before Roger's Denver concert, Linda and Don made a Thanksgiving style dinner and included Kristy and Ed Edwards, the couple who brought us all together. Roger still had one song he wanted to re-record so after dinner he asked them all to join him in the studio to record "This Train" for the FOLK DEN PROJECT.

We left Linda and Don and the Summit Road Studios on September 25 and headed to Pennsylvania and New York for two more concerts. We listened to all 100 songs while driving the roads of America and watching the seasons change from Summer to Fall. My favorite songs kept changing the more I listened.

THE FOLK DEN PROJECT was almost finished. The 40-page booklet had been sent to press while we were mixing. In order to officially release the Project on the 10th anniversary of the FOLK DEN we had an October 11th deadline to send the master recordings in for pressing. Roger felt that the Old Town School of Folk Music should be the place for the release concert - the place where he developed a love for folk music- so Skyline Music booked the theater in the school for November 27th. Our deadlines were all met.

Update: The Folk Den Project is now finished and is available HERE:

posted by Roger McGuinn at 1:14 PM
Monday, November 14, 2005
Roadie Report 11 (Aug cont.) by Camilla McGuinn
(Photo by Camilla)

The stay at the King Estates Vineyard was a delightful respite before our San Francisco engagements. After the Moses Lake concert, it would have been nice to have driven back to Florida and to finish the work on "THE FOLK DEN PROJECT" but Roger had three commitments in San Francisco and all of which were very close to his heart.

Roger's first appearance was on the ground breaking POD cast of "This Week In Tech" aka "TWIT." They were podcasting from the Apple Computer store in San Francisco. TWIT was formed by the staff of the old "Tech TV," a great television network that was bought by Comcast Cable and subsequently ruined. The people who watched Tech TV were very much like Apple Computer fans, deeply devoted. Roger was one of those deeply devoted fans. When it was bought and turned into "G4," a network solely about computer games, a myriad of techies felt betrayed and abandoned. The G4 "suits" didn't realize that the success of Tech TV was based on the commitment and pioneering spirit of the people who hosted the shows. Leo Leporte and Kevin Rose didn't go along with the corporate plan. Leo was fired and Kevin jumped ship. They began their own shows on the Internet, podcasts and IP-TV. Their audience followed them. Kevin's quest for integrity paid off. Podcastingnews.com reported "Kevin Rose gets 2.8 million dollars in venture capital for his online projects." Kevin uses that money to buy the servers and the bandwidth necessary to keep the projects in cyberspace.

While we were driving to Washington, Roger learned of the podcast and emailed Leo. Leo invited Roger to join them at the Apple store and we were excited to hear that John C. Dvorak, author, columnist, editor and casualty of Tech TV (http://dvorak.org/blog/) would also be on the show. We had met John years ago while doing promotion for the "Forrest Gump" CD-ROM and had become good friends.

Roger's fascination with technology began when he was toddler in Chicago. His grandfather would take him to the Museum of Science and Industry in Jackson Park. Louis Heyn, Dorothy's father, was an engineer who took immense pleasure in teaching Little Jimmy the mysteries of science. The museum was a wonderful place, full of airplanes, steam locomotives and glimpses into the future.

(Roger's third Mobile Telephone acquired 1972)

Jimmy's favorite exhibit was a mobile telephone scenario by Bell Telephone. When a button was pushed, a huge map display of a rural community would light up the roads with blinking lights. The deep voice coming from the speakers would begin telling the story of Doctor Morgan, MD and an emergency that was called into his office. Since the doctor was out of the office making house calls, the nurse had to call him on his mobile phone. The little lights on the display begin radiating out to his car like radio waves. The doctor answered his mobile phone and was able to get to the emergency in five minutes. He saved a life thanks to a new technological marvel called the Mobile Telephone. It was a great fantasy for the future and Jimmy loved it. His grandfather instilled in him a fascination with gadgets and with the way things work.

The second appointment we had in San Francisco was an interview with KFOG radio. It is one the few radio stations still left that isn't being programmed by a strange computer somewhere and puppeteers in suits pulling the strings. Hopefully a recent change in ownership won't change the heart of the station.

In the spring of 1956, Jimmy was excited about a new gadget he had received from his grandfather for Christmas, a Regency TR-1 transistor radio. He would put it in his pocket, turn it up loud and ride his bicycle. His mother had told him not to ride his bike on the streets, so he obeyed the letter of her command and stayed off the streets. The Outer Drive was not technically a street, it was a busy highway! Consequently he spent many happy hours on the Outer Drive dodging the traffic on his bike.


(1987 Roger & George with the RIC that started the FOLK ROCK sound. Photo by Camilla)

It was during one of those happy hours that he first heard the sounds of Elvis Presley singing "Heartbreak Hotel" coming in over the radio waves to his transistor radio. It was that sound that put Jimmy on the pathway of his life. He begged for a guitar for his 14th birthday and was given a Harmony 6-string. He searched the airwaves and record stores for more of that rock-a-billy sound and found a record by Gene Vincent. The first guitar lick, which he taught himself by listening to a record, was the lead break from the flip side of the single "Be Bop A Lula", a song called "Woman Love." Years later when he and George Harrison were comparing their adventures in music, they realized that the first thing they had both learned on the guitar was the "Woman Love" guitar break and they learned it at the same time.

In 1964, the BYRDS went to see "A Hard Days Night." Roger saw George playing a red 12-string Rickenbacker and decided trade in his acoustic 12-string for a Rickenbacker 12-string.


(Regency TR-1 transistor radio)







Roger now has a collection of transistor radios that he has acquired over the years while touring. Some were gifts from friends and fans. You can view the collection at http://www.ibiblio.org/jimmy/Radio/Radios/

Our third commitment was to the Glaucoma Research Foundation. http://www.glaucoma.org/living/
Six years ago during a routine eye examine, Roger was diagnosed with glaucoma. This is an insidious affliction. There are no symptoms and if it is not detected, you will go blind and there is no cure. The progression of the blindness can be stopped and there is research being done to find a cure. Roger was a keynote speaker for the Catalyst For A Cure campaign. His personal experience emphasized the need for testing and the need for research for a cure. Time is of the essence in glaucoma research. While everyone, from infants to seniors, is at risk, those past the age of 40 are most vulnerable. With an aging population, we are on the verge of an epidemic of blindness. Further, glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in African-American and Hispanic/Latino populations striking at an earlier age, and proceeding more quickly. There isn't a moment to lose. If you have any questions about Glaucoma, call (800) 826-6693.

After the fund-raiser, we were faced with a dilemma. Hurricane Katrina made us rethink our plans for going home to work on "THE FOLK DEN PROJECT." We didn't want to tax the infrastructures of the southern states by driving through their towns and highways, so we decided to stay in the west until Roger's concert in Denver on September 24.

We had all the equipment and the songs for "THE FOLK DEN PROJECT" but we needed a good sound system in order to finish the mixing and mastering. I emailed friends in Denver who had a studio, but Kristy emailed back and said that Ed had sold his studio. She invited us to use the studio where Ed was now producing his projects and to even stay in the owner's house. We were a little nervous about invading someone's home for over a week, but she assured us that we were welcome. We slowly and prayerfully drove to Denver.

(On the way to Colorado. Photo by Camilla)

When we arrived in Parker Colorado at Summit Road Studios and the home of Don and Linda DeBey, it took us only a few moments to recognize that this generous couple were about to become very special friends.

(Summit Road Studios grounds. Photo by Camilla)

posted by Roger McGuinn at 10:43 AM
About Me

Name:Roger McGuinn

View my complete profile
Links

* Google News
* Edit-Me
* Edit-Me

Previous Posts

* Roadie Report 16 by Camilla McGuinn
* Roadie Report 15 by Camilla McGuinn
* Roadie Report 14 by Camilla McGuinn
* Eddie Tickner ( Oct 18,1927 - May 2, 2006)
* Roadie Report 13 by Camilla McGuinn
* Roadie Report 12 by Camilla (Aug cont. & THE FOLK DEN PROJECT)
* Roadie Report 11 (Aug cont.) by Camilla McGuinn
* Roadie Report 10 (Aug cont.) by Camilla McGuinn
* Roadie Report 9 (Aug cont.) by Camilla McGuinn
* Roadie Report 8 (Aug cont.) by Camilla McGuinn