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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 4, 7 May 2001 IN THIS ISSUE:
1) Band News 1) Band News * The popular television show, "That 70's Show" will play "Never Been Any Reason" by Head East during an episode to be shown on Tuesday, 8 May. Approximately 80 seconds of the song are scheduled to play over the radio in a scene where characters from the show are driving to Canada. The show is broadcast on the Fox network at 8:00 pm Eastern, 7:00 pm Central and Mountain time. * The "If You Knew Head East Better" Web site will be moving to www.head-east.com and will undergo several changes over the next few weeks that will give the site a new look. * Billboard online has reported that Head East's Greatest Hits was scheduled for release on 1 May, 2001. However, the CD has yet to be released. Information regarding the release date and track listing will be posted to the Head East bulletin board once it is known. * Former Head East singer John Schlitt and his band Petra received the Grammy for Best Rock Gospel Album at the 43rd annual Grammy Awards for their release Double Take on Word Records. This was Petra's 4th Grammy Award for Best Rock Gospel album, having won previously in 1990, 1992, and 1994 for their albums "Beyond Belief", "Unseen Power", and "Wake-Up Call." * Head East alumnus Ricky Lynn Gregg's new solo CD titled "Careful What You Wish For" was released on 17 April. Gregg left Head East in 1987 and shortly thereafter began a country music career. His first two releases, "Ricky Lynn Gregg" and "Get A Little Closer" were released in 1993 and 1994 respectively. Gregg had a top 40 country hit in 1993 with "If I Had A Cheatin' Heart". 2) Tour Dates - updated concert schedule (as of 7 May, 2001)
Additional concerts are in the works for 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) Lyrics - The words to Jefftown Creek and the story behind them. The Story Behind The Song: While playing Jefftown Creek in concert, Roger Boyd tells a story about the former campground near Mount Vernon in south central Illinois. Jefftown Creek was a place to go to experience things for the first time. Young people from all around went there for their first romantic encounter, to do some "workin' and a practicin" as Roger quotes from the Bob Seger song "Night Moves". And back then cars were actually big enough to practice in! It was also where they learned to twist one without spilling any (an obvious reference to learning to roll a joint). And the best part was that they had good old Dad's car, and Dad was paying for the car, the insurance, and even the gas which was only 25 cents a gallon. (paraphrased from Roger Boyd)
Jefftown Creek
I remember the first time
Came up Sunday morning
I know that I'm not the same anymore
When I found all the answers and words
When I found all the answers and words
I remember the first time
Came up Sunday morning
Came up Sunday morning 4) Choice Of Weapons Article - In addition to promoting the Choice of Weapons album, this article circa 1989 has important historical information on Head East and insight on where the band was headed as they approached the 90's. Head East is getting ready to celebrate their twentieth year in the music industry. Founding member/keyboardist Roger Boyd pinpoints the moment the group formed to August 6th, 1969. The original Head East players all originated from small towns in southern Illinois, where the band played their first gig in a borough called Carbondale. Like other early seventies mid-west bands, Head East specialized in straight ahead, no nonsense rock n' roll, and cut their teeth on the be good or get killed mid-west club circuit. By 1974 Boyd felt the band was finally ready for the studio. They then recorded the self-financed "Flat as a Pancake" album, and released it on their own label, selling a respectable 5,000 + copies at gigs and local record stores. This brought the band to the attention of A&M Records, who signed the group to a long-term recording contract. A&M re-released the "Flat as a Pancake" album in the summer of '75, and the record soon went Gold, thanks in part to the hit single, "Never Been Any Reason", and also due to the band's unending series of opening dates for the headlining acts of the day, such as Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Jethro Tull, Foghat, and the J. Geils Band. Head East released a series of LP's on A&M, including "Get Yourself Up"(1976), "Gettin' Lucky" (1977), "A Different Kind of Crazy" (1979), and "U.S. 1" (1980), Particularly successful was "Head East" (1978), often referred to as "The Roadsign Album" because of the cover's depiction of a highway sign bearing only the words "Head East". From Head East came the huge hit "Since You Been Gone", which helped to catapult the LP to Platinum status. In 1980, A&M embraced the new wave/punk movement, and swept away many of their more mainstream/AOR-style bands. This left Boyd and company without a label, but they remained on the road playing 180-220 shows each year. thoughout th rock n' roll belt, the area of the country that encompasses the mid-west, the Carolinas, and upstate New York. During most of the eighties, Boyd again took his time assembling just the right band while staying on the road refining the band's sound. Eventually, the current line-up gelled, which includes ex-Badfinger drummer Donnie Dobbins. This current line-up is the group that recorded the bands newest LP, "Choice of Weapons", which was produced by Roger Boyd. Boyd also produced the band's three LP's that have gone Gold or Platinum, (Head East Live! 1979) being the third, previously unmentioned million seller). For "Choice of Weapons", the band has signed with Dark Heart Records, a young indie label based in Corpus Christi, Texas. The campaign to re-establish Head East is an aggressive one, and don't be surprised if Head East is once again back in big arenas playing alongside today's current recording stars. It wouldn't be the first time. They say history quite often repeats itself, and if you ask the boys in Head East they would be in total agreement. With the release of the 9th album, "Choice of Weapons", Head East is about to burst into the 90's with the same stunning impact the debut album, "Flat as a Pancake" had in 1975. Keyboardist and founding member Roger Boyd who produced "Choice of Weapons" as well as "Flat", says the similarities ar incredible. The current line-up of Boyd, Kurt Hansen on bass and lead voacls, and Vance Best on guitar and vocals, is almost a carbon copy of the "original" band, in style and sound. If you close your eyes at a live show, or listen to the band on disc, it is nearly impossible to determine which set of musicians you're hearing. "I would catch myself in the studio wondering how John's voice got on the tapes when I listened to some of the playbacks on Kurt's voice," says Boyd. "Their voices are almost identical! Having spent hundreds of hours in the studio with both Kurt and John, I know that if I can't tell them apart, no one can. Some of the mannerisms in recording are even identical. Donnnie Dobbins plays with the same driving 'get up and enjoy yourself' party beat that was trademark of Steve Huston. And Vance Best has the same feel for style and melody that made Mike Somerville anintegral part of the 'Head East' sound, but Vance still has that searing drive and punch of today's guitar players that helps give Head East their updated 90's sound. Since I still play the same Hammond B-3 organ & Moog Synthesizer that were used on the earlier Head East hits and are the foundation of Head East's sound, and Dan Birney once again played bass for us on 'Weapons', you can see how the current Head East is 'Classic' HEAD EAST." The similarities don't end there. From the band's first appearance on August 6, 1969 in Carbondale, Illinois, until the release of their debut album, "Flat as a Pancake" (with the smash hit "Never Been Any Reason"), in 1975 on A&M Records, the band went through several changes trying to find that special combination that took them through six more albums for A&M records, between 1975 and 1981: "Get Youself Up", "Gettin' Lucky", "Arrows" (with the top 40 hit "Since You Been Gone"), "Head East Live", "Different Kind of Crazy", and "U.S. 1". Unfortunately, due to some medical and personal problems encountered in 1980, the band began another metamorphosis, and with the 1982 release of "Onward & Upward" on the 'Allegiance' label, the band ceased recording for a while. "Most people don't realize that it takes, about 5 to 6 years to put a creative, tight-knit unit together, that can become a successful band," says Boyd. "It's like building a great baseball, basketball, or football team. It took us from 1969 to 1975 the first time, and it has taken from 1982 to 1988 this time. We realized that we needed to go back to the clubs, where we could work on our own material and develop our young players. It is so much easier to experiment and try new tunes in a club setting than in a concert situation." Now with the band's grueling work of rebuilding behind them, and the release of their new "Choice of Weapons" album, Head East is once again ready to vault to the forefront of the national and international music scene. In 1975, with "Flat as a Pancake", Head East was one of the first groups to successfully record and make their own album. Doing so on their own 'Pyramid' label which later gave way to A&M Records. Today, many groups record their own product, and Head East has returned to the formula that made them successful by recording and producing their own album, "Choice of Weapons", and releasing it on the independent label, 'Dark Heart'. By using the same independent record distributors, and enlisting former A&M executive Lenny Bronstein, (who is head of FM promotions for A&M Records, and 'broke' the early Head East albums), the new album is off to a great start with songs such as "So Afraid of Losing You", "Wrong Time", "Hard to Believe", "Girl", and "Time of Your Life", "Choice of Weapons" is ready to join such Head East classics as "Love Me Tonight", "Jefftown Creek", "Gettin' Lucky", "Elijah", "Since You Been Gone", and the all-time legendary rock n' roll classic, "Never Been Any Reason (Save My Life)". So you see, history does repeat itself. 5)Quotes From The Band * Words (paraphrased) from keyboardist Roger Boyd. People often ask me why the lyrics to the songs on Flat as a Pancake were not included with the album. Times are different now and you can print almost anything. But back then if we had brought attention to the lyrics by including them with the album, songs like "Never Been Any Reason" might not have gotten airplay because of lines like "woman with the sweet lovin' better than a white line". 6) Mail - comments, questions, and stories from Head East fans. Story from a fan in Colorado - "I've been a fan of Head East since their earliest recordings during which time my brother and I were sharing a house in northwestern Wyoming. My brother "discovered" Head East on a visit to a music store where he grabbed their "Flat As A Pancake" album and brought it home to see what they were about. We were in the glory days of our party lives and gathered a party together around the stereo to audition this new band and got BLOWN AWAY! Needless to say we bought everything Head East released for awhile there. Ultimately, my brother and I both got hitched and the party days were pretty much over. At that point, somewhere around the "Double Arrow" album, I stopped paying attention to Head East, and just about dropped listening to music generally". "However, after surfing through 'Napster-land' recently and being reminded of my favorite party band (Head East), I luckily stumbled upon the "If You Knew Head East Better" site. I enjoyed reading your remarks about hearing the band in a club in Oklahoma. Your mention of seeing Head East live recalls the one time I was fortunate enough to see them. I was living in the very northern-most reaches of Wyoming, so the nearest opportunity for big name live entertainment was Billings Montana, about 100 miles to the north. The "party gang" learned of a Head East show scheduled at the campus of a college in Billings. We were all over that! We got tickets, lined up all the necessary cars to transport the whole party to Montana, and away we went. We'd all heard Head East's music plenty of times, but none of us had ever seen them live. They were touring in support of "Gettin' Lucky", which all of us had memorized by the time we saw the band. Great show"! "The thing that I remember the most about it now, all these years later, is the atmosphere they created with their stage show. This was a fairly sizeable venue, and they apparently brought everything they had for lights and effects. We were all surprised by the "spacey" nature of the show. It was substantially surreal in nature, with long jams that had an almost Pink Floyd quality. The lighting and smoke effects really enhanced the space quality, but the things they did with the music!!! Songs we were all totally familiar with came off with a whole different sense than any of us expected. It forever changed our perspective on Head East when we listened to them on the stereo. And the change was positive". (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 . 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