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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 7, 8 March 2002 IN THIS ISSUE:
1) Band News 1) Band News
* Head East began their 2002 concert schedule on 16 February in
Streator, Illinois. They performed before an enthusiastic near capacity
crowd at the newly remodeled Majestic Theatre. A short review with
several pictures of this concert event can be viewed at:
* Some long awaited changes may be in store for Head East fans in 2002. Designs are being finalized for a new T-shirt and bumper sticker. And a Head East poster displaying the cover art of many of Head East's most popular releases is also in the works. Additionally, the band is considering shaking up their concert set list and may add songs from the 'Get Yourself Up' and 'A Different Kind of Crazy' albums. For more information see the article in section 4 below. * Former Head East drummer Dan Kelly sustained serious injuries in an automobile accident while vacationing with relatives in Oregon over the Christmas holiday period. After several weeks of hospitalization and rehabilitation, Dan was released and allowed to return home. Dan expects to make a full recovery and plans to be playing with his current band Bazooka Joe soon. * A new official Website for Head East Alumnus John Schlitt debuted at www.johnschlitt.com on 3 Feb inconjunction with John's 52nd birthday. The site includes a bio, audio, photos, interviews, tour information, and much more. John's Contemporary Christian Music career is the focus of the site, however, future plans include adding photos of John during his tenure with Head East. Update: ( John's official site is now located at: www.johnwschlitt.com ) 2) Tour Dates - updated concert schedule (as of 8 March, 2002)
Additional concerts are in the works for 2002. 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) Ask The Band - The questions below were recently received from Head East fans. A special thanks goes out to keyboardist Roger Boyd for providing us with the answers. Q1. How did Head East come to record 'Since You Been Gone' and 'I Surrender', both written by Russ Ballard? Have any of the band members met Russ Ballard, and if so, did he comment on Head East's versions of his songs? Roger Boyd answers: "The tunes were suggested to us by Mark Spector (who manages 38 Special) and was head of A&R at A&M records at the time. Ironically, he previously worked for another major label and passed on signing Head East back in the mid-70's. None of us have ever met Russ Ballard or know what he thinks of our versions of his songs." Q2. When Baxter Forrest Twilight suggested the band should change its name in 1969 from the Timeations to Head East, what was his reasoning? What is the significance of the name Head East? Roger Boyd answers: "As far as Baxter's reasoning, we had gone through about 50-60 names and hadn't clicked on anything. The sun was rising and he was watching it in the East. The bulk of the US population is still in the East and there is much historical and religious significance attached "to the East" as well as mystique and intrigue. We liked it. In hindsight, the name was probably not a good choice because: 1) we never broke big in the East, although we have had some success and 2) for some reason or other the name is hard for some people to remember. It just doesn't come out clearly when you say it, like say Foghat, Styx or Kansas. Oh well, too late now. Actually with people using initials more these days, H.E. works extremely well, better than the name itself." 4) New For 2002 - upcoming changes Fans may soon be able to purchase new Head East T-shirts. The proposed T-shirt design has the Head East logo superimposed over the face of a clock. The numbers on the clock have been replaced with years starting with 69' (the birth of Head East) and proceed incrementally around the clock with many of the years on the clock face representing important milestones in the evolution of the band. The new design also includes the motto, "Timeless Classic Rock" in testament to the fact that great music never goes out of style. A new bumper sticker is also being developed that will use the same basic design as the T-shirt. A new poster is being developed that shows the front cover art of Head East's most popular releases. The proposed design of the poster would have the new Head East T-shirt design surrounded by eight of the band's releases ( 3 rows of 3 images each with the T-shirt design in the center). Cover art being considered for the poster include the first six A&M studio albums, Head East Live!, and The Best of Head East - The Millennium Collection. The posters will have several inches of white space at the bottom to accommodate band member signatures. No word is available yet on the expected release date or prices of any of the new merchandise. With the release of 3 Head East CDs during the period 1999 to 2001 and the increased availability of out of print releases through internet auction sites*, Head East fans now have access to more Head East recordings then ever before. For the last few years the Head East concert set list has been made up of songs predominently from the band's first album - Flat As A Pancake, their third - Gettin' Lucky, and their fourth self-titled album - Head East. Because of the increased availability of Head East's other releases the band is considering adding a few songs to their set list from these releases. Some of the songs being considered are Monkey Shine from the band's second album - Get Yourself Up, Lonelier Now and If You Knew Me Better from their fifth studio album - A Different Kind of Crazy, and A Little More Time written by Vocalist/Guitarist Richie Callison. No decision has been made yet on which songs will be added to the set list, or which songs if any will be removed to accommodate the newly added songs. * Note - internet auction sites often have albums, cassettes, 8-tracks and even CDs of out of print releases like Get Yourself Up, Gettin' Lucky, Head East, Head East Live!, and U.S. 1. Neither A&M records nor any of their parent companies (the A&M catalog is currently owned by Universal Music Group) have ever licensed any of these recordings to other labels for re-issue in CD format. CDs of these recordings are unauthorized releases and those who buy them are often disappointed in their quality and their inflated price. 5) Lyrics - The words to 'Love Me Tonight' © Zuckschank Music/Almo Music Corp (ASCAP)
Love Me Tonight
Drive two hundred miles
Now I don't know where you come from
But I don't know where you've been
Well I've been gone a long time
But you could make a difference
But I don't know where you've been
Love me tonight, don't talk about tomorrow
Love me tonight, don't talk about tomorrow
But I don't know where you've been
I believe in you and me * Lyrics from the printed sheet music may differ slightly from lyrics actually sung on studio and live recordings. 6) Blasts from the past - stories and articles from the Head East vaults. The excerpts below are © A&M Records and were taken from a 1978 press release for Head East's self-titled 4th album. The press release was written by Dick Richmond, pop music writer for the St. Louis Dispatch. Roger Boyd, 29 years old, and handsome in a pirate-movie kind of way, is friendly and bright, but the thing a person senses most about him is his quiet determination. On stage the frenzy of the music will have him leaping tall speakers in a single bound. John Schlitt, 27, on stage is dynamic. He's tall, handsome and energetic, a crowd pleaser with a good high voice that compliments the songs. Off stage he's polite and eager to learn. Mike Somerville at 25 is the youngest member of the band. He's very shy and keeps to himself, something no one would suspect watching him perform. Dan Birney, 27, quickly established himself as a writer with the group. He is represented on each of the albums after the first. He had not been around the group long enough before the recording session (Flat As A Pancake) to do anything more than learn the existing songs. Dan and Mike Somerville's brother Scott played in the same band. When Dan heard there would be an opening in Head East, he asked for the job and was invited to audition. He jammed with the band on four songs and was hired (just three weeks before the recording of the first album). Steve Huston, 28, grew up on a farm near a little town about 50 miles east of St. Louis. He grew up in a strong church and sang in the choir. Steve Huston has written about 40 percent of Head East's songs. It's unusual for a drummer to write and to be so prolific, and Steve is slightly defensive about it. "I guess it's because people seem to feel that if you're a drummer, you must be the dummy," he says. 7) Mail - stories from Head East fans. Stories from Head East fans will return in the next issue. In the meantime, submit your Head East stories using the e-mail link below. (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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