What's New! 2001

FEB 15 SEATTLE WA--PARAMOUNT                    
FEB 16 PORTLAND OR--SCHNITZER                    
FEB 17 VANCOUVER BC--COMMODORE                        
FEB 19 SANTA ROSA-- BURBANK CTR                            
FEB 20 + 21 SAN FRANCISCO--WARFIELD              
FEB 23 LOS ANGELES--UNIVERSAL                    
FEB 24 PHOENIX AZ -- WEB THEATRE                 
FEB 25 LAS VEGAS NV--THE JOINT               
FEB 28 AUSTIN TX-- AUSTIN MUSIC HALL                             
MARCH 1 HOUSTON TX--AERIAL THEATRE
MAR 2 DALLAS TX--MAGESTIC THEATRE
MAR 3 NEW ORLEANS--HOUSE OF BLUES
MAR 5 ATLANTA GA--TABERNACLE
MAR 6 NASHVILLE TN--RYMAN
MAR 7 ST LOUIS MO--PAGEANT
MARCH 9 MINNEAPOLIS MN--STATE THEATRE
MAR 10 CHICAGO IL--CHICAGO THEATRE
MAR 11 MILWAUKEE WI--EAGLES BALLROOM
MAR 13 DETROIT MI--FOX THEATRE
MAR 14 CLEVELAND OH--LAKEWOOD CIVIC
MAR 16 TORONTO--MASSEY HALL
MAR 17 PHILADELPHIA PA--TOWER THEATRE
MAR 18 WASHINGTON DC--9:30 CLUB
MAR 20 BOSTON MA--ORPHEUM 
MAR 21 PORTLAND MAINE --
MAR 22/23 NEW YORK NY--ROSELAND

Also in the last 'What's New' we mentioned those red marks on Jeff's guitar we saw on the 'News Station' show. We thought they might be 'fret markers', we got a message from Jennifer who explained; "ACTUALLY HE WAS JUST NOODLING IN THE STUDIO WITH MAGIC MARKERS. A JAPANESE MAGAZINE THEN MADE THE DESIGN PART OF A T-SHIRT". Just goes to show what we know.

Lots of people talking about Jennifer Batten's appearance at the American Music Awards this week. She played a blistering solo as part of Britney Spear's backup band. It was sort of a relapse into the world of mega-pop for her, she even had big hair like she did in her Michael Jackson days.

And lastly Sony/Epic has updated their site for Jeff. It has a new URL (jeffbeckmusic.com) and has tour dates and says that YHIC will be in stores February 5th.

In other news, a second Jimi Hendrix tribute CD will be released in the near future. Slated to be on it is the original cut that Jeff and Seal did for the first CD "The Wind Cries Mary". After cutting this take they went on to record "Manic Depression" which they convinced the producers to put on the first in stead of "Wind".

Several updates ago we told you how the 'Clapton, Santana, Beck' concert deal wasn't going to happen due to Santana's schedule and other problems, well it looks like some sort of plan is still in the works. This item comes from Brian Jones (this guy is from Washington state) and he got this info off the following site....http://www.current.org/pipeline/pipe2001.html. The site is called 'Pipeline' and it gives a list of future projects slated for public television here in the states, this one set for 2003....and this is the listing

The Three Guitars
Producing station: WNED, Buffalo. Episodes: 1 x 120. Designed for pledge. Status:
contract development. Funder: Frito Lay. Executive producer: Donald K. Boswell.
Contact: David C. Rotterman, drotterman@wned.org,716-845-7003. • A concert featuring
three of the greatest guitarists living today—Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana and
Jeff Beck. In 2003 these musicians will take the stage together for the first time
in a concert to be recorded in Buffalo, New York.

If you hear about an upcoming film about the making of Sun Records tribute album that Jeff and Chrissie Hynde appear on together don't get too excited....Jeff and Chrissie aren't in it.

Lastly we've heard from several folks who have asked, 'What the hell are they saying in 'Earthquake'. So we posed this question to Miss Jennifer B. and she answered; "SEEMS TO BE A LOT OF CONTROVERSY RE: LYRICS IN EARTHQUAKE. IT'S "DIDN'T WAS NOT" END LYRIC: "DIDN'T WAS NOT CAUSE SHE WASN'T GONNA WANNA, AINT THAT JUST A DRAG."" Oh, that's what we thought.

We've heard from a lot of people that their copies of YHIC have a title sticker on the CD that says 'Rock Surfer'. We haven't seen one ourselves but can only speculate the reason. If you remember back when....one of the working title for YHIC was 'Rock Sucker'. This title was also mentioned in last fall's Guitar Player magazine interview. We can only guess it might have been some production/Sony/Epic mis-communication or goof up. We don't see how it could have been intentional but like we say a lot...'who knows?'.

For all of you Jeff Beck BBS fans who frequent the 'Appreciation Society' at Yahoo and the 'iMusic' BBS at Artist Direct, there's another one now, pretty cool too, at the jeffbeckmusic.com site (which is the good old Sony/Epic site). They're all good places to get up to minute news and opinions and I have to tell you, when you compare those BBS's to other music ones, they have to be some of the most lively and best informed ones around.

And speaking of BBS's....we've noticed some confusion still about our URL change.....just remember it's 'www.ainian.com'......we put change forms into all (or I should say most) of the search engines, so hopefully it will all be sorted out. Another thing I saw, someone said Susan Tedeschi will be opening for the Roseland shows....she's a smokin' blues guitarist from Massachusetts, hope she's at the Orpheum too!

Also seems YHIC is like #15 in the CD Now chart, #6 in some NYC retailers list but we haven't seen anything in Billboard chart yet but it seems like it's doing OK.

Which brings us to the last of today's news which we were going to mention in the last update but forgot. This is also something we've seen mentioned in the BBS's and we've noticed it too. We've been listening to the promo version of YHIC coming since like last October when we first got a hold of one. And like others have mentioned there are differences in several cuts of the officially released version and here's what we've noticed so far; About two third's of the way through 'Roy's Toy' there's a slightly different mix/computer edit thing going on...it sounds more 'chorusy' or something. At very beginning of the promo version of 'Dirty Mind' Imogene Heap says "I'm just waiting for some guitar", this isn't on the released version but at the beginning of the released version she sings this high "Heee" almost ala Michael Jackson that isn't on the promo version. On the released version of 'Nadia' the echo on the guitar is different, there's more 'regeneration' or 'repeat' to it, on the promo version it's much simpler echo, almost a reverb also the playout at the end of the song is slightly different. And lastly, although we might have forgotten something, the playout on the released version of 'Loose Canon' is different, there's actually more frantic riffing at the end then there is on the promo version.

In the news....Annette Carson's second edition of 'Crazy Fingers' will be in the stores by June 15th and this time around should be in a book or record store near you since it's going to be a broad release. The second edition has updates since the last edition and 30 B&W photos as well.

It seems that Sharon Sheeley CD we told you about late last year is for real. It's now available on Amazon.com and does in fact include a track with Jeff on it that we've never heard of before. In researching this one we came across a Jackie DeShannon page that lists every track and sure enough there's a song called 'Something Different' that lists Sharon Sheeley, Jeff Beck and Ben Findon as the composers. As we mentioned before, Sharon Sheeley was a prolific songwriter in the early 60's and also the fiancee of Eddie Cochran. If anyone out there has heard the track send us a line.

Our Yardbirds World bud Richard McKay got in touch with us to tell he'd recently spent an afternoon at Yardbirds drummer Jim McCarty's house and got to hear that track that Jeff recorded with his old mates back in 1999. Richard tells us that the track, 'Blind Life' is a classic rocker that is just amazing but it's not known when it will be released so the rest of us can hear it. Thanks Richard for driving us nuts!

Serious string talk with guitar star Beck
Wednesday, March 21, 2001
By JANE SCOTT
THE PLAIN DEALER
Guitarist Jeff Beck suddenly smiled during his after-show meet-and-greet at the Lakewood Civic Auditorium and told a devoted fan, "I’ll call you!"

This fan wasn’t a groupie, though, but a 78-year-old great-grandfather. But then, Bob Sperzel of Lakewood is unique. He has something that guitarists from Brian Setzer to Tommy Iommi of Black Sabbath want. And you can find it in a nondescript building on Cleveland’s West Side. It’s a 1¼-inch tuning control key that eliminates having to wind guitar strings around a post. Strings that are wound can slip and the guitar then goes out of tune, Sperzel said.

"A lot of young people today play with whammy bars or tremolos and loosen strings, but then can’t get back up easily," he explained. He started working on his invention 15 years ago when a local guitar company asked him to a develop a tuning device.

His creation has taken off. Interest in the tuner is growing, he says, and Sperzel is looking for larger quarters for his business. Meanwhile, Jeff Beck is checking out some more Sperzel guitar devices for his upcoming signature Fender guitar.

Question: Why are most Jeff Beck concert fans men? We noticed nine men sitting side by side in a row just ahead of us last Wednesday, and - surprise! - no line for the ladies’ room. Almost 90 percent of the ticket buyers in all cities are male, Beck’s staff confirmed. "Most women like a little melody and love lines," said a 25-year-old husband who brought his best buddy.

E-mail: jscott@plaind.com
Phone: 216-999-4549
©2001 THE PLAIN DEALER. Used with permission.

Well, Bill is back from Boston.....here's his report............

I drove into the show in Boston several hours early on the 20th because I was told there was a chance, not much of chance, but a chance I would be able to get in the Orpheum before show and take pictures of some of Jeff's equipment (like I did in '95). Driving into Boston is still a pain. Every time I see what seems like little progress on the 'Big Dig' I wish I had gotten into the concrete business. Anyway, it was about 4:30 in the afternoon and I and a couple of friends were walking back from the rear entrance to the Orpheum, after an unsuccessful bid to find Ralph Baker, down an alleyway, and as we make a sharp left on Providence St., who is standing not three feet away from us was Jeff. He had just exited a gold Dodge Caravan with Jennifer and they passed us down the alleyway to the Orpheum. I was dumbfounded, Jeff looked up but he had super-dark aviator sunglasses on and no expression, Jennifer looked over at me and just said, "Boy, you're here early," and followed Jeff.

My friends and I spent the next several hours in a bar down the street, the 'Hub Pub', nice place. There I had dinner with a childhood friend I hadn't seen in 20 years who had brought his 12 year old son in the see 'the man.' Around 7:00 we made our way back to the Orpheum and as all Beck shows there the place was packed with excited fans.

I'm a little embarrassed to say that I didn't see the opening act, Willie Porter, at all. I spent the first hour at the theater talking to about a dozen guys from my hometown that I hadn't seen in a while as well as some friends I've made through email at the page here.

At about 8:20 I took my seat knowing Jeff would be on within the next 15 minutes or so. Had pretty good seats too...17th row dead center. The soundboard was behind me to my right. I had heard that Chris Hill, Jeff's usual sound guy, wasn't on this tour, I asked the guy at the board, if Chris was ill or anything. He told me he didn't even know him.

At about 8:40 the house lights went down and from behind the stage curtain you could hear the strains of "Earthquake" begin. The curtain opened as the band hit full stride in the song and a burst of sound,light, smoke and oddly cool air that had been trapped behind the curtain entered the theater. The crowd went nuts.

As for gear, Randy Hope-Taylor now has a Fender Jazz Bass that is white or off white...he's still using his David Eden rig and there's a mic on a stand in front of him. Andya Gagadeen has a massive three bass drum set up with a metal oval on which cymbals are hung. I don't think they carry this kit at your local music shop. On the far right, Jennifer is still using a Washburn guitar with a string dampener attached. She has two Peavey keyboard amps behind her that are atop two Marshall 4X12 bottoms. In front of her is an 8 foot semi-circle of pedals and a wireless mic on a stand. Jeff has his vintage white Strat, still with the little red marks we talked about seeing in his Japan video. (I still think they have some purpose and aren't just doodles, just my opinion.) Behind him are three Marshall DSL 2000 heads resting on three 4X12 bottoms. We notice later that two are Jeff's the third Randy uses with a Tele during 'Rollin' and Tumblin'. In front of Jeff is a solitary pedal a wah-wah. I don't know what kind it is though because it looks odd. It looks like it has a silver piece over the pedal itself, wish I could have gotten those pictures...it's hard to explain. Back by the drum riser Jeff has the channel-switching switch to the Marshalls.

Also behind the stage there are hung two large circular video screens on either side and a sort of elongated triangular one in the middle. Then around the perimeter of the stage is a sophisticated computerized light grid....it is by far the most dazzling lighting setup I have ever seen Jeff use.

From here I'd just like to list the rest of the songs and some observations;
Star Cycle - an old favorite, done flawlessly. You can tell that the longer this band stays together the better they get.
The Pump - one of my personal favorites, Jeff uses a slide at the beginning swell of the song. The video screens sometimes show just a close up of Jeff's guitar, other times there are geometric pulsating shapes and these three dimensional objects that remind me of what viruses look like under and electron microscope!
Brush With The Blues - again great, the dynamics of the band are right on the mark. If I remember right this song gets Jeff's first standing-o. Also by this time it occurred to me how perfect the sound was. I've gotten some letters from fans during the tour saying the sound was too bassy, too drum heavy, too loud, but at the Orpheum it was perfect. Crisp, but with bass and just the right volume, I left with absolutely no ear-ringing whatsoever at the end of the night.
Roy's Toy - noticed something weird here, right at the start. No vrroomm, vrroomm! The song started no car sound effect and there wasn't one for the entire song. I'll have to ask Jen about this after the show. Also in this song and several others, they use a smoke generator, oil type I believe, to enhance the lighting. They only thing I'm beginning to notice is when the stage does flood with smoke Jennifer is getting the worst of it. On the left side of the stage the smoke is coming from the left of Randy's amp but on the right it is pouring from between Jen's two amps and she's left in a cloud. During the song the video screens are showing film clips of an old black and white film of hot rods racing.
Blast From The East - another song that seems to get better the more they play it.
Dirty Mind - For this song Jeff is handed a second vintage white Strat, identical to his first but no red marks on the pickguard. The reason for the guitar change I've figured out is the tuning. I know that Jeff tunes down from an E to an Eb these days but just for easiness let's say E as it relates to his fret position while he plays. On 'Dirty Mind' Jeff tunes his low E down to a C (really a B)! The songs' main chord then is a C-#9 and that 'wow' he does by using the whammy and the low C note on the sixth string. Later Jeff will use his other Strat and tune the E string down to a D and it tends to still be in overall tune but I've experimented with my own Strat and there's no way to tune the low E down to a C without the whole overall tuning going flat. For non-guitarists, this is due to the fact that the whammy bar is tensioned by a set of springs, the tension of the strings is countered by the tension of the springs, so if you loosen a string by tuning it lower the springs in the whammy relax a bit and everything goes lower. Something a little weird here though as the song get's going...there's no uh-uh-uh-uh. Jennifer does throw in an 'Oh my god' but the other vocal 'effect' is missing, more on that later.

Angel (Footsteps) - Jeff is handed back his original guitar for this beauty. Exhibiting once again his total mastery of the slide guitar. The song ends with his uncanny ability to play the melody high above the neck near the pickups by tapping the side on the strings. (I still think those marks on his pickguard are markers for this technique but I could be full of it.) This one brings Jeff his second standing-o of the night.
Psycho Sam - blistering.
Nadia - I was dying to see Jeff play this song. It's definately YHIC's 'how does he do that!' song. The first two bars of the song Jeff plays with a slide. Effortlessly he does this swooping sitar-like intervals on one string (the G). He immediately then drops the slide on the stage and plays the main melody through using his fingers and the whammy. The just before the middle part of the song comes up where the chord accompianment stops and it's just the Indian drums, Jeff plays that little two bar bit again with the slide and then drops it once again. I've tried to explain my understanding of what he's doing but I really don't know what he's doing, I don't think anybody does. It's just amazing to watch and a struggle to understand. Of course another standing-o.
Rice Pudding/Right Off/Savoy - cool version of Rice, little funkier, with some jazzy voicings thrown in.....Right Off, funky, stop on dime tightness, Andy G. is very good here.....Savoy once again great but short, Jennifer playing that blistering upward run that was done on keyboard on the album.
Behind The Veil - the sound guy was just a touch late bringing up Randy's mic as he playfully does a rasta-style rap intro....Veil has always had a reggae beat but now it's heavier and more 'irie'.
Loose Cannon - This is the song where Jeff uses his #1 Strat but tunes the low E down to a D and uses the whammy for growling riff.
Rollin' And Tumblin' - Here we go. Last tour out Jeff was doing an instrumental version of this song that was a crowd favorite, now it's still a favorite but with Jennifer doing a great Imogene Heap impression, it rocked. At the beginning Jeff played some solo slide riffs....one when I first heard it on an audience tape I thought he was doing by doing an open G or open A tuning but he's in standard tuning. He gets the 7th double-stop slide sound by playing up high on the neck and angling the slide over the B and G strings. (Apologies to non-guitarists again.) He also does this trick where he will hit a harmonic on the high E string and then place the slide on the same spot and create this super-high slide whistle effect.
Led Boots - another classic from the arsenal, Jennifer does a wild lead on this one almost Hammer-esque.
A Day In The Life - This is the one song that is mentioned in every newspaper review I've read of this tour and the reason is because it is stunning. Reviewers across the country have exclaimed how Jeff's tone is so much like a human voice on this one, on reviewer even claiming it sounded like John Lennon's voice. There's nothing I can say, everyone who has heard Jeff play this song has had a shared transcendental experience. The band leaves the stage, the crowd begins their chant for more.
Encore - Where Were You - Just Jeff and Jen return to the stage and Jeff plays the song that I as well as many other have claimed is impossible.
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat/Rosebud - Jeff and Jen continue alone onstage at first. Jennifer plays more passing chords on this version of 'Pork Pie' than I have heard before. A true show of her musical training. The song ends and Jeff now dons a maple neck Tele with the low E tuned down to a D starts 'Rosebud'. Jennifer steps off the side of the stage a bit and now Jeff and Randy are paired in this number that turns from rootsy to funky.
What Mama Said - the grand finale....Jeff, still with the Tele with the dropped 'D' tuning closes the show with the song he opened shows with last tour. It a great show ender....lots of energy, the light show really looks like the finale to a fireworks show!

After the show we were escorted backstage for the 'meet and greet'. This one was pretty crowded, about 20 people I would guess. Among them was local Boston guitar slinger 'Johnny A' who told a friend of mine, "Oh, they called me up the other day asked me to open for Jeff tomorrow in Portland." Which he did the next night, wish I could have seen that one.

As usual the first person in the band to come in the room was Jennifer Batten, still in stage clothes and makeup. I approached her with my usual couple of things to sign...this time it was a couple of Kip Bruin's pictures of her from New Orleans. I asked, "So what happened to the vvrrooomms in Roy's Toy?" She said, "Computer glitch, one of those things that when it doesn't fire you go 'Oh no!" I assume that might have been the case on 'Dirty Mind' as well but they sounded fantastic anyway. We talked for a few more moments and the only other question I can remember asking her was, "How did you end up doing that Britney Spears thing on the American Music Awards?" She said, "Oh, it was totally last minute, I was called in the day before to replace another guitarist who fell ill. It was also kind of tough that night because I couldn't hear a thing, my in-ear monitor was working at all." Wow, you couldn't tell, it seemed to go off without a hitch on the air.

The next person I got a chance to chat with was Ralph Baker. As usual he asked me first if everything was OK with the passes and everything and I said, "Great." I asked about the European tour dates that were on the internet...the ones with them starting out in Luxemborg. Ralph's reply was, "You of all people Bill should know not to believe everything you read on the internet." And he was right, we've since learned that the German promoter who put those dates out with Jeff and George Thorogood have retracted. I asked Ralph if everyone was looking forward to going home soon and getting some rest. Surprising he said, "Not really, we're on a roll right now." Ralph also mentioned something I had noticed earlier on the street when I ran into Jeff and now backstage, no Al Dutton. It was the first time in my very limited experience that Al wasn't onboard (as well as Chris Hill).

Ralph made his way to friends on the other side of the room and it was about this time that Jeff came down the stairs. I would say he was in the room maybe ten minutes. He started at one end, ran a bit of a gaunlet and left out the other side. He was immediately cornered by several Japanese girls who got a bunch of pictures. Next up was several autograph signings by myself and an aquaintance who had Jeff sign a 'Thomas The Tank Engine' toy for his kid. All I said to Jeff was, "Jeff, Dick Wyzanski asked me to pass on his regards since he wasn't able to make any shows this time around." Jeff said, "Yeah, I noticed he wasn't around." Jeff went on to sign every autograph and take a picture with everyone who requested and he seemed in overall good spirits. I also could not detect a hint of fatigue, he seemed raring to go.

The last thing I did before leaving that night was to go and thank Ralph Baker again and I said, "I have one more question." He replied, "Oh no." Now I have to preface this with two things first, we get mail occasionally from fans in Austrailia. Without exception they'll ask, "Hey, when's Jeff going to tour down here? He hasn't been down since 1975!" Second, I have a knack for being really dumb at times. So, I said to Ralph, "Austrailia, how come Jeff doesn't tour down there?" Ralph burst out laughing, "Because it's too bloody far!" Now this is where my dumbness comes in. So I say, "But he tours Japan all the time, isn't that far?" Ralph goes, "No, no Bill, when we fly from London to Tokyo we go over the pole (as in north pole), it only takes eight hours to get there, Austrailia is another ten hours on top of that!" See, I told you I was dumb. Also it seems that everything is so spread out down there (I hear it's a big country) that touring is expensive.

It's funny, and I think everyone who's been in this situation agrees, when you get the rare opportunity to meet a legend like Jeff you think ahead of time what you might ask, or get signed, or say but when the event happens and it all whizzes by you kind of kick yourself afterwards by saying, "Oh I meant to ask him this or say that." But in the end, I hope I'm not sounding too starstruck, it's just so neat to be in the same room and see how the guy carries himself and responds to other people. As my friends and I left the Orpheum that night into the cool Boston air, we felt like we were walking on air.

Epilogue; So now it's Wednesday, I'm riding a train back to Logan airport to fly home and I've got a copy of the Boston Globe. In it is a review of Jeff's show by Steve Morse. It starts off 'I'm sitting here with a headache - not from Jeff Beck's playing, which was once again exquisite, but from a needlessly overstimulating light show that featured eye-stabbing strobe lights on nearly every song." Steve goes on spending five paragraphs complaining about the lights. I really couldn't understand it. I thought they were fine. Maybe perhaps if you were in the very front rows the lights might have hit him differently but what Mr. Morse should understand that the lights are for the full house. That type of lighting is for those in the back of the theater who are taking in the entire stage in their view. He goes on, "Perhaps the lighting designer felt that visual overkill was required to compensate for Beck's lack of vocals and showmanship." At this point I know this guy has no idea what he's talking about and the rest of his 'review' is proof. He says Jeff started out with 'Earthquake', then went on to do 'Psycho Sam' and then 'The Pump'. Sorry chief, Jeff's second song was 'Star Cycle', then the 'The Pump'. He goes on to say that Jeff played, "gut-busting rock crescendos that made you long for the days when Beck backed Rod Stewart." Gee, I always thought it was the other way around. And how about this, the video screens showed, "various film clips of everything from roadsters to Marilyn Monroe." I was in the 17th row and could tell it was Jayne Mansfield in those clips. Oh well, I just had to get that off my chest. BA

In other Jeff Beck related news, seems there's a story behind that Sharon Sheeley CD "Songwriter" and the story keeps getting better. Annette Carson recently inquired about Jeff's appearance on the track to the folks at RPM records and she got the following response from their promo people. In short yes Beck is on RPM 206 Sharon Sheeley: Songwriter .

I've had it confirmed by writer producer Ben Findon that Beck attended the sessions when Findons songs , co written with Sheeley were recorded in London . Beck apparently being a friend at least , a boy friend suggested , of Sheeley at the time . I suspect you will know more about that than me .

Therefore the songs from the session : Mrs Mac , Something Different , Baby Went Wrong , Cheers Love were recorded with Beck present . His participation was at least Rhythm guitar . Maybe he added a small amount of lead (there isn't much in these songs ) , he might also have been part of the harmony vocals .

I only found Findon after I'd reissued the collection , thus Becks name only appears credited on one track .

Two of the songs (1 ,2 listed above) were issued on a collection called In Search Of The American Dream by Uk label Magnum in the late 80's on vinyl and early 90's on CD , along with 2/3 of my album . Its presentation was so awful and I discovered more tapes/songs that I decided to have another go on my RPM label . However sales since release last summer have not been good ,reviews have been ok but the album just has no presence at the moment . The songs aren't the best in the world but to me the whole package has great music history interest and most of the performances are great to listen to .

The album was issued in the Uk only but has been exported and some copies will have reached the US on import . However only in very small numbers so at the moment we are talking a rather rare CD inthe marketplace , but with plenty of copies in the wharehouse ! Best
Mark Stratford / RPM Productions ltd
Pretty cool huh?
Lastly, for all of you out there who didn't buy Beckology when it came out with the big cardboard box that looked like a guitar case and the large inside booket with Jeff's purple Strat inside, you can now. We got a letter from Michael Maraat who told us that you can get it from the BMG Record Club for $24....that includes shipping.

Jeff hasn't just been sitting around since he got back home...we hear he recently laid some guitar down on a track Seal is doing for a movie. When we made an inquiry over at Seal's site about what the movie might be they didn't know but said they had heard that Jeff and Seal may be recording some stuff later in the year.

July 5  - Palmanova, Italy........Main Square - w/Sting
July 6  - Milan, Italy............Milano Idroparkfila - w/Sting
July 7  - Rome, Italy.............Curva Stadium - w/Sting
July 9  - Nurnberg, Germany.......Serenadenof - Headline
July 10 - Hamburg, Germany........Grosse Freiheit - Headline
July 11 - Berlin, Germany.........Columbiahalle - Headline
July 12 - Koln, Germany...........Live Musichall - Headline
July 14 - Pistoria, Italy.........Town Square - Headline
July 16 - Paris, France...........Olympia - Headline
July 18 - Patrimono, Corsica......Festival - Headline
July 20 - Zurich, Switzerland.....Landmuseum - Headline
July 21 - Montreaux, Switzerland..Main Hall - w/Sting
July 22 - Wiesen, Austria.........Festival - w/B.B. King
July 25 - Dublin, Ireland.........Smithfield - w/Sting
July 27 - Cardiff, Wales..........Castle - w/Sting
July 28 - London, England.........Hyde Park - w/Sting
July 29 - London, England.........Hyde Park - w/Sting

We've wrapped up Jeff Beck Bulletin #8 and have now started on #9, #9, #9.....anyway, we already have Dick's review of 'Shannon Sheeley - Songwriter' and are planning other features including; More of our interviews with Clive Chaman, Media and Fan reports of the Summer 2001 Tour and some photos from the Fillmore East Archives of the Jeff Beck Group Mk1 taken by Ron Rosoff, plus some other stuff when we come up with it.

Jennifer Batten recently sent out one of her infrequent fan bulletins. In it are a few interesting tidbits. At the San Francisco show in attendance; Huey Lewis, Neal Schon and Kirk Hammett. At the Los Angeles show (some we already mentioned); Steve Vai, Steward Copeland, Tom Morello, George Thorogood, Gayle and Diva Zappa. It seems Jenny and Jeff spent some time in Austin, Texas with Terry Bozzio and his family where he now lives. In Nashville; Hellcaster Jerry Donahue and Sean Lane...after the show, Jeff jammed in his dressing room with Jimmy Hall and Adrian Belew. Adrian did 'Three Of A Perfect Pair' from King Crimson and Jeff and Jimmy did 'People Get Ready' and '7th Son'. At the Minneapolis show; Prince and Larry Graham showed up and in Cleveland Jeff did some car parts shopping. In New York at the last gig at the Roseland, Les Paul came with his son. After that show the band stayed up all night at an after hours bar so they could sleep on the plane home the next day. She closes out the letter by saying she 'hopes to see you somewhere on the road later this year'....we do too.

Lastly a couple of random 'listenings'.....Jim Bergant wrote us and told us he heard strains of 'Space For The Papa' at the NCAA men's basketball final between Duke and Arizona as they were showing video clips of the teams and our old pal Gerald Cotto aka 'Gonzo' told us he heard 'Roy's Toy' used for a TV commercial for the German Tennis Open.

First off the tour schedule. We've heard from our pal Gonzo and he says the venue for the July 10th gig in Hamburg is incorrect. It will not be at the 'Grobe Freiheit' as listed but at 'Die Fabrik'. Also got an email telling us that there is an added gig Holland. The date is July 3rd and the 'Melkweg' in Amsterdam. Also got an email that someone saw date for Jeff in Luxemborg at a place called 'Blues Circus' but we haven't got the date. The guy saw it on a French ticket site 'www.ticketnet.fr', but not being able to read French, I couldn't make heads or tails of it. So here's a synopsis of the changes:

July 3  - Amsterdam, Holland........Melkweg (www.melkweg.nl)
July 10 - Hamburg, Germany..........Die Fabrik (www.fabrik.de)
July ?? - Luxemborg.................Blues Circus (can't confirm this one)

Where Were You
Earthquake
The Pump
Brush With The Blues
Roy's Toy
Blast From The East
Dirty Mind
Nadia
Angel (Footsteps)
Savoy
Behind The Veil
Rollin' And Tumblin'
Rice Pudding/Right Off
Led Boots
A Day In The Life
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat/What Mama Said/Rosebud

Here's the set list as we have it from his Sting and B.B. King dates;

Where Were You
Earth Quake
The Pump
Brush With The Blues
Blast From The East
Dirty Mind
Angel (Footsteps)
Psycho Sam
Nadia
Rice Pudding/Right Off/Savoy
Behind The Veil
Loose Cannon
A Day In The Life
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat/What Mama Said/Rosebud

Jeff and his management have made an agreement with the 'Jazz Cafe' television show to air three songs from their set at the Montreux Jazz Festival. We don't have much info on this show, we think in airs in Europe and is produced by the folks who run the Montreux Jazz Festival, if anyone knows more, drop us a line.

And as for any future touring, we understand that Jeff is trying to line up a support slot for a major act this winter. Will anything come of it? Who knows.

Lastly, seems that Sun Records tribute project has gone belly up. At the Montreux Jazz Festival press conference, Jeff mentioned how great Chrissie Hynde was on the two songs they did together for that project, Little Junior's Blue Flame's 'Mystery Train' and Carl Perkin's 'Dixie Fried'. We hear however Sire Records at some point will try again to put the CD out.

Speaking of 'Cause We've Ended As Lovers' (or as Jeff and Stevie call it 'Syreeta'), "Blow By Blow" is being re-released again on Sony's new Super Audio CD series (Epic ES85440). This is a totally new CD format which uses 'Direct Stream Digital' encoding. The format is multichannel capable and they claim a sample rate of 2,822,400 (stereo we guess)! Needless to say this format will not play on your run of the mill CD player, in fact for the fun of it we checked out a few super audio cd players and they start around $2700! We understand that in the future (and maybe with this release) there will be three flavors of super audio discs....a one layer super audio format, a two layer format with twice the play time and a two layer hybrid which will have super audio and the old PCM format that your standard CD player can play. They claim however that the old PCM format on these new discs will be superior to what is out there now but who knows. As we've found out before, rather than the format, the masters they use and what they do with them can make all the difference.

You know how a lot of car commercials lately have old classic rock tunes on their soundtrack? The Who's 'Bargain' comes to mind in a recent Nissan commercial. Well it seems Jeff has entered that genre in a small way over in the UK. As we understand it, on a Renault car ad currently in the UK, the soundtrack features a string of 'golden oldies' which consist of; Cliff Richard's 'Summer Holiday', Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody', Wheatus 'Teenage Dirtbag' (never heard of them, but can recall the tune), and guess who's 'Hi Ho Silver Lining'.

Seems we made a little boo boo on the last update where we said the Sun Records tribute project had gone belly up. It is now official...the CD will be released on October 2nd. Here's a little excerpt from the official press release;

                           *******************************
On Oct. 2 London Sire Records will release a tribute album by a bunch 
of rock and roll heavies covering Sun classics.  Here's a sneak look at 
the record produced by legendary Atlantic Records executive Ahmet 
Ertegun.  Then the article by Pop Music reporter Bill Ellis reviews all 
15 tracks.

Track 10) Mystery Train:  Presley's (and Junior Parker's) classic 
performed by Chrissie Hynde and Jeff Beck, the man who once recorded 
another railroad number, The Train Kept A-Rollin', with the Yardbirds 
and Sun producer Sam Phillips behind the console.  The reverb flows 
like molasses, Hynde gets to revisit her sexy snarl from My City Was 
Gone and Beck gives guitar geeks another reason to live, adding 
ferociously jazzy chords a la Cliff Gallup that will recall Beck's 
underrated tribute to Gene Vincent, "Crazy Legs."
                           *********************************

Dick Wyzanski: Hey Bill, you know we ought to put a last update for the 2001 "What's New!"
               section.

Bill Armstrong: Yeah, I know but there's not much to report and I'm busy with work, shopping
                and holiday stuff.

DW: Well, you could mention that Jeff appeared at the Royal Albert Hall as a special guest
    at the Nitin Sawney show on December 4th.  You know that's the first time Jeff has 
    appeared at that venue since A.R.M.S..

BA: Really?  I saw on the Yahoo board that he appeared there and that he got a standing ovation
    but no other info.  But you know in trying to find something in the British press I did
    come across an interesting site; www.thisislondon.co.uk.  They had an interview
    with Ronnie Wood.  He's got a new solo album out and played the Shepard's Bush 
    Empire on December 11th.  Seems his rehab at the Priory last spring wasn't totally 
    successful, in the interview they talk about how Ron still enjoys his Guinness' and red
    wine, as well as a couple of packs of 'American Spirit' cigarettes a day, whew.

DW: Well, I talked to Ralph and we do know what Jeff did at the Sawney concert..."Nadia" and 
    that was all.  But he did get a standing ovation.

BA: Anything else from Ralph?  

DW: Not much, Jeff has been working on some projects that as he said, "probably will never
    see the light of day".  Seems he is putting some guitar down on some projects of friends
    but is doing it incognito.  No, not Randy Hope Taylor's old band.  He's not going to be
    credited so he won't have to go to Epic for permissions and all that. But he will 
    probably be on and credited on the upcoming John Lee Hooker tribute album.

BA: I also saw on the Yahoo board that 'Dirty Mind' is being voted on by NARAS members
    to get to the finals for an instrumental Grammy. I think 'Nadia' would have a better
    chance.  But you know my beef, those are music 'business' awards not music awards.
    Oh, and so you're going to do something on the Montreux tape right?

DW: Well, yeah, I'll get around to it.

BA: A forty-five minute TV show of about half of Jeff's set at last July's Montreux Jazz
    Festival is something you should do something on.

DW: Well, you know I saw it once at your house over Thanksgiving but my VCR's broke right now.

BA: Yeah, but I went to some trouble to get that converted from PAL to NTSC. And again, thank
    you, thank you, thank you Jean-Pierre. I sent out about eight copies to friends for
    Christmas and now my dubbing deck isn't doing too well either. I have a running bet
    with someone to see how long it takes for it to show up on Ebay!

DW: Okay, okay.

BA: Oh, and you can do something on your day with Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert while
    they were up in Tallahassee on their Vanilla Fudge tour.

DW: Definately, that was a gas.  They were great, the Fudge were great.  They had some
    good Jeff anecdotes.

BA: Yeah, I saw them the following night in Fort Lauderdale.  Only trouble was they didn't
    start their set until 1:00 AM and didn't finish until almost 3:00 AM!  They were great,
    but that's a little past my bedtime.  I only had time to talk to Carmine for about
    10 seconds and bolt for home.  So I guess we can plan on those two features from you
    to start off 2002 right?

DW: Pressure, pressure.  Okay.