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Head East news, tour dates, lyrics, band member quotes, fan mail, and much more!
Sign up for the Head East mailing list to receive periodic updates of Head East news. Simply send a blank email to Issue 5, 10 August 2001 IN THIS ISSUE:
1) Band News 1) Band News * On 6 May, 2001, www.head-east.com became the new home of Head East on the Web. The site contains the band's history, booking info, news, photo galleries, tour dates, and an extensive discography which includes album, single, and promotional releases. * On 15 July, 2001, PBS station WSIU TV 8 operated by Southern Illinois University in Carbondale aired a rare video of Head East from 1971. The video was shown on the program "Session" and featured the Head East line-up of Roger Boyd (keyboards), Larry Boyd (bass and flute), Dan Odum (percussion), Danny Piper (guitar), Betsy Kreuger (vocals and oboe), and Dale Innes (vocals and congas). The 30 minute video which was filmed in the WSIU studios shows Head East performing five songs, including covers of White Bird by It's A Beautiful Day and Uncle John's Band by the Grateful Dead. Three original Head East songs are also featured, including The Jailers whose title would later be shortened to Jailer when included on Head East's 1976 album, Get Yourself Up. A copy of this Head East session is available as a gift in VHS format to those who pledge $40 to WSIU. To obtain your copy go to the station's online pledge page at http://www.wsiu.org/pledgenow/index.shtml Once there, enter your pledge of at least $40 where prompted (you can pledge more if you desire). Ignore the statements that say you have to pledge at least $60 to receive a gift. Also, ignore the drop down box that asks you to choose a gift (the Head East tape is not listed there). After entering your personal and payment information (name, address, credit card type and #, etc), indicate that you are requesting the Head East VHS tape in the comments box at the bottom of the pledge form.
Allow two to three weeks for your tape to arrive. For more information please contact: Update August 2002 - please contact WSIU via phone or email to verify that this Video is still available and to verify the pledge amount necessary to obtain this video prior to pledging online.
* Tom Bryant's solo release, The 11th Hour was recently mixed and
mastered in Nashville by George Tutko and Brian Foraker who have worked with
a who's who of rock and roll. Look for ordering information and updated
mp3 samples, tracklistings, and album credits on the * Shortly after leaving Head East in 1980, Mike Somerville formed the Somerville-Scorfina Band with Stephen Scorfina formerly of the band Pavlov's Dog. They recorded a six song demo tape but were unsuccessful in finding a record label. St. Louis radio station KSHE 95 included the song "Your Eyes" on KSHE 95 Seeds Vol. II, which showcased songs by St. Louis area bands, but the remaining 5 songs have never been released. Short mp3 segments for some of the songs on this demo are now available and can be heard at the Somerville-Scorfina page. (Special thanks goes out to Mike Somerville and Stephen Scorfina for giving persmission to post mp3 segments of these songs, and to Dancer Road, aka "Blue Zoo Kid" for providing these recordings.) 2) Tour Dates - updated concert schedule (as of 10 August, 2001)
Look for former Head East drummer Dan Kelly at the Arnolds Park show on August 25th. Dan is on break from his duties with Sister Hazel and plans to sit back and enjoy the show with the audience. Additional concerts are in the works for this fall (2001). Check the tour dates page frequently for updates to the tour schedule. * Any dates marked with an asterisk are tentative. All concerts may be subject to change. Please check with each venue before heading to the concert. 3) The Original Pyramid Label Flat As A Pancake
The origins of Head East's first album go back to 1974 when the band
The songs are identical on both the Pyramid label Flat As A Pancake
and the A&M version released in 1975, though sides A and B
are reversed.
4) Head East Promotional Records Record companies routinely send promotional records to radio stations and record stores in advance of the actual release of singles and albums. These promotional releases sometimes contain different versions of songs such as two edited songs blended into one cut. An example of this can be found on some of the Foreplay series of releases issued by A&M records. Also, some promotional releases contain booklets with information about the artist or band. Information on Head East taken from Foreplay # 27 is shown below which promotes their 6th A&M Records album A Different Kind Of Crazy. To read more about Head East promotional releases go to the Head East Promo Discography. THEIR PAST: HEAD EAST came to A&M when the company bought their self-released debut album, Flat As A Pancake, in 1975. The album eventually went gold and the single from it "Never Been Any Reason" was a Top Twenty hit*. The group is a classic example of the Midwestern hard rock genre and their constant touring has kept their sound honed and sharp and their audiences primed and growing. Through five releases, Roger Boyd (keyboards/vocals), John Schlitt (lead vocals), Steve Houston (drums/vocals), Dan Birney (bass/vocals), and Mike Somerfield* (guitar/vocals) have kept tight melodic structural rein on their music, never indulging in instrumental excess. HEAD EAST has always given a tasty blend of boogie and brains built on a foundation of hard work. * Note - the reference to NBAR being a top 20 hit refers to local charts and not Billboard's national charts. Mike Somerville's name is misspelled as "Somerfield" in the booklet. THEIR PRESENT: A Different Kind of Crazy is a breakthrough for the group. Producer Jeff Glixman, who gave Kansas its Mega-platinum sound through their next-to-last release, has polished Head East's raucus, explosive energy and focused it into a brilliant, cutting beam. The songwriting chores have been spread more widely through the group's members this time around, giving new diversity to their overall impact. The band's harmonies, always gutsy and virile, shine through as never before and offer an impressive balance to their perenially aggressive rock and roll attack. Recorded in Atlanta, the album is a tremendous creative leap for HEAD EAST and will perk up many new ears to what they are and have been doing. THEIR FUTURE: Any band that is on the road nine months a year, as HEAD EAST is, have layed the groundwork for a sales explosion and this is the album that will bring it home for them. Rock and roll's comeback is the big story of 1979 and HEAD EAST as one of America's quintessential homegrown bands will be a big story in the last months of this decade and the years of the next. * Information posted above from Foreplay # 27 is © 1979 A&M Records, Inc. 5) Lyrics - The words to 'Man I Wanna Be', from Head East's 1978 self-titled album © 1978 Almo Music Corp / Head East Music (ASCAP)
Man I Wanna Be
Some men can't be happy without makin' somebody cry
You made a brand new life for me
Some men gotta have money or they can't sleep at nights
You made a brand new life for me
6) Mail - stories from Head East fans. Story from a fan in New Hampshire - "Here's a memory ...... Twin Rivers Day of Rock! The Last Outdoor Concert of The Year (my best guess would be 1979 or 1980ish). Well, it was moved to Cahokia Downs Fairgrounds and wasn't even outdoors because they wouldn't issue the permit in Alton, Illinois. How do I know this? My father and his friend were the promoters of that show. Who am I? I was the kid who lugged all the coolers up many flights of stairs to your dressing room. The other acts on the bill were Missouri, Pacific Nights, Jay Berry & The Strangers, and a few others that I don't even remember this many years later. But I do remember that you were the Headliners. I also remember that a massive commotion broke out, disrupting the entire concert. All I wanted was to watch you guys play and then have you sign my pass (which I should have done first!)." "Well, since those days I have taken your advice and literally headed east. I am in New Hampshire and I am still turning people onto Never Been Any Reason, Fly By Night Lady, and Love Me Tonight, to name a few. I actually had to give the radio station a copy of the songs just so I could request them! Also, I have played guitar since I was about 9 and now play covers of your stuff. I will be a fan and a friend for life (or until you can no longer hold your keyboard over your head - as you put it). " "So here we are 20+ years later and I will never forget the "Twin Rivers Day of Rock" - and It stands out vividly in my otherwise limited memory. Let me know if you are coming towards New England - I will create a show for you if I have to. I am a far better promoter than my father. Better yet, you tell me how many tickets it would take for you to come up here and play and I will see to it that they are sold and leave the promotion stuff to the pros. Take Care and peace to you." (Selected fan mail and band questions will be chosen for publication in a future newsletter and are subject to editing by the publishers of this newsletter . Click here to e-mail your comments, questions or stories to the Head East Newsletter. LINKS: (Click on the banners below) 
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recorded the material at Golden Voice Recording Studio in Pekin, Illinois where other
popular Midwestern acts such as Dan Fogelberg and Styx had previously recorded.
Releasing Flat As A Pancake on their own Pyramid label, Head East sold their
entire initial supply of 5,000 albums and 500 8-tracks at concerts and local
record stores for around $10 each. A&M Records who took note of the bands
popularity, and the airplay and record sales of the Pyramid release, signed
Head East to a 5-year, 10 album deal. No further copies were made on the
Pyramid label after signing with A&M Records in 1975. The Pyramid label
Flat As A Pancake album and 8-track are now rare collector's items and are
difficult to find. Occasionally, one will surface on online auction sites
or record stores. One of the albums was auctioned for close to $200 on Ebay
last year, however, a few others have been auctioned or sold for considerably
less.
Side one of the Pyramid label
is side two of the A&M label and side two
of the Pyramid label is side one of the A&M label. The Pyramid label
release also has different front and back cover art than the checkered design
and diner photos used on the subsequent A&M release. The artwork on the
front of the pyramid label release shows a pancake with syrup and a pat of
butter. It appears as though one is looking down on a flat earth (the pancake)
as the sun is rising or setting behind it. The pat of butter in the middle
of the pancake is a replica of the dome on the Assembly Hall at the University
of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana which was Head East's home base and the place
where they started their career. (University of Illinois Assembly Hall Dome is shown to the right)
Roger Boyd explains the symbolism behind the front cover art
of the Pyramid label as follows: "The album was so titled because Illinois
is so flat, and was based on a early morning comment by drummer Steve Huston
on an 
all
night drive home from a gig in Chicago. We were playing off the old
myth of when everyone thought the world was flat. The pancake represents
the world and the patty of butter represents the University of Illinois (our
small part of the world). The cover art and title were chosen because
of the local nature of the initial release and the relevance to the bands
history, hence the pictures on the back of the album cover." The back of
the Pyramid label release has pictures on the bottom left and right in addition
to the tracklisting and album credits listed at the top. One picture shows
the flat Illinois landscape with the caption, "Flat As A Pancake". The other
is a shot of the band members (shown to the right). Both shots were taken near The Lake of the
Woods, about 10 miles from Champaign, Illinois.