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An unofficial news blog for Neil Young fans from Thrasher's Wheat with concert and album updates, reviews, analysis, and other Rock & Roll ramblings. Separating the wheat from the chaff since 1996.
Happy Valentine's Day for all of the Hearts of Gold. Love and only love.
I want to live, I want to give I've been a miner for a heart of gold. It's these expressions I never give That keep me searching for a heart of gold And I'm getting old. Keeps me searching for a heart of gold And I'm getting old.
I've been to Hollywood I've been to Redwood I crossed the ocean for a heart of gold I've been in my mind, it's such a fine line That keeps me searching for a heart of gold And I'm getting old. Keeps me searching for a heart of gold And I'm getting old.
Keep me searching for a heart of gold You keep me searching for a heart of gold And I'm getting old. I've been a miner for a heart of gold.
Dewey Martin, drummer for Buffalo Springfield, was found dead on Feb. 1 in his apartment in Van Nuys, Calif. He was 68 and died from natural causes.
Stephen Stills, Neil Young and Richie Furay issued this statement:
"Dewey wasn't intimidated by any of us; he was the older guy in the group and helped glue the band together," said the statement issued Sunday and signed by all three musicians. "He had that strength. The rest of us were all still babies, and just starting out in a band. We had a lot to figure out. But Dewey had been around, playing on sessions and working with a lot of great singers. Plus he was one hell of a drummer."
"It's a great loss," said Micky Dolenz, drummer for the Monkees, who Dewey often worked with. "He was a great drummer ... And he was a really nice guy."
For What It's Worth / Mr. Soul at the Hollywood Palace in 1967
Neil Young, was highly impressed by Martin during his audition in 1966 for Buffalo Springfield. From Neil Young's biography Shakey by Jimmy McDonough:
“He was a sensitive drummer. You get harder, he hits harder. You pull back, he hits back. He can feel the music — you don’t have to tell him.” After his successful audition, Martin asked the group what their name was. “They went over and pulled out this sign, Buffalo Springfield,” Martin later recalled. “I said, ‘Great man, a steamroller. You got a heavy sound. Let’s go for it.’ ”
Dewey Martin was born Walter Milton Dewayne Midkiff on Sept. 30, 1940, in Chesterville, Canada and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with the Buffalo Springfield in 1997.
The last member to join Buffalo Springfield, Martin had his own band Sir Walter Raleigh and the Coupons, regionally popular in the Pacific Northwest. After that band broke up, he joined the Dillards, but was fired when he picked for Buffalo Springfield. Martin was the oldest member of the band and had performed with Roy Orbinson, Patsy Cline, Everly Brothers and Carl Perkins.
"Stephen Stills had met me before and remembered I had a hearse. As soon as he saw the Ontario plates, he knew it was me. So they stopped us. I was happy to see fucking anybody I knew! And it seemed very logical to us that we form a band. We picked up Dewey Martin for the drums, which was my idea, four or five days later."
Martin was selected by Young in preference of Stills's choice of drummer. From an interview with Neil Young:
"The real core of the group was the three Canadians - me, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin. We played in such a way that the three of us were basically huddled together behind whilst Stills and Furay were always out front. 'Cos we'd get so into the groove of the thing, that's all we really cared about. But when we got into the studio the groove just wasn't the same. And we couldn't figure out why. This was the major frustration for me as a young musician, it fucked me up so much. Buffalo Springfield should have recorded live from the very beginning. All the records were great failures as far as I`m concerned.'"
Despite existing for just two years -- the notoriously volatile band folded in 1968 after just three albums -- the seminal Buffalo Springfield are considered one of the most influential groups of their era with their unique melange of melodic folk rock, trippy psychedelia and hip country sound.
Rock'n Roll Woman at Live Popendipity in 1967 - Flip Wilson Show
Buffalo Springfield begat CSN, Poco, Loggins and Messina, Crazy Horse, CSNY; inspired the Eagles and the early-Seventies Southern California scene; and, if you look at the roots of bands ranging from Sonic Youth to Son Volt, at least a part of them will stretch back to Buffalo Springfield."
Buffalo Springfield Family Tree
On the song “Buffalo Springfield Again”, from his Silver & Gold album [2000], Young sang of how he’d “Like to see those guys again/And give it another shot.” The song was written just after Young had refused to appear at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame induction of Buffalo Springfield. Later, Dewey Martin remarked on Young's absence that he'd much rather have it that Neil would sing with them rather than about them.
Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth (Monterey 1967)
Martin later tried to capitalize on his connection to his more famous bandmates when he toured with groups called Buffalo Springfield Revisited and Buffalo Springfield Again in the 1980s and ’90s.
While various members of the group moved on to join other bands, Dewey formed the New Buffalo Springfield in September 1968. The new band toured extensively and appeared at the highly publicized 'Holiday Rock Festival' in San Francisco on December 25-26, 1968. Former bandmates Young and Stills later sued him for use of the name, forcing him to change it to the Blue Mountain Eagle (some accounts cite the name New Buffalo).
For What It's Worth
Sadly, Martin turned to work as an auto mechanic, but later formed Buffalo Springfield Revisited in 1986 with bassist Bruce Palmer. A full band reunion was attempted and resulted in filmed rehearsals which includes ultra rare footage showing Dewey working under a car.
Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth - Smother Bros show 1967
"Rhythm guitarist and singer Richie Furay comments from his home in Boulder, Colorado: “As a drummer, Dewey could adapt to anything we might want to play: the country, the rock and the Memphis-style soul. He had great time and a great sense of what fit.”"
“Chris Hillman of The Byrds brought Dewey to us,” relates Furay. “He had been playing with The Dillards, but they had decided to go to a more traditional lineup, without drums. Chris knew we needed a drummer and suggested Dewey.”
“Dewey made it clear,” Furay states, “that he didn’t want to just play drums. He wanted to sing, too.” Martin’s unrestrained soul shouting on the Wilson Pickett-inspired “Good Time Boy” gave the Springfield yet another facet to its multi-dimensional profile.
Lisa Lenes, a personal friend for Martin’s last years, said that physical problems hampered Martin’s ability to play in his later years, but he did something about it. “Dewey developed an arthritic condition that kept him for playing,” Lisa reveals, “so he patented a drum head to help drummers with the same problem.” Lisa Lenes recalls her friend with fondness: “He was a very kind, simple, humble man. He loved the music, but he didn’t seem to dwell on his past. But when Martin Lewis had the Monterey Pop celebration at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood for his ‘Mods ‘n Rockers’ series a couple of years ago, Dewey was happy to attend and participate.”
“Dewey didn’t say much about the Springfield,” Lisa confides, “but once he told me, ‘We were just young guys who all this success happened to. We knew it was good, but we didn’t know it would get so big.’”
Furay concludes: “Dewey was more professional than we were, as far as being able to handle all of the road bumps we ran into. When Bruce had his trials, and Neil wavered in and out of the group, Dewey was steadfast. He just had this positive attitude on life, and I loved that.”
The impact of Buffalo Springfield's brief but highly influential career still resonates today. RIP Dewey.
Join the BSN network with anchors Nicole and Alex to learn the latest news from The Bridge School and the community. In this series, the BSN reporters Jack and Colin K. interview a Bridge School supporter and hero, Neil Young!!
From Mikes and Dislikes"Talkin' Prairie Triangle of Inspiration (A.K.A. Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell Make Their Great Escape)" on the mysterious Saskatchewan-Manitoba-Minnesota Prairie Triangle of folk singer-songwriters:
You've heard of the Bermuda Triangle, right? But have you ever heard of the Prairie Triangle of Inspiration? It's not a place where people get lost forever, like in that infamous triangle around Bermuda. No, it's a place that people get the hell out of as soon as possible... though not before becoming incredibly inspired and creative.
I'm talking about the Saskatoon-Winnipeg-Duluth/Hibbing Triangle. And if those three/four places don't mean anything to you, well then you're probably not much of a music fan. For it was from within this one triangle out on the cultural wasteland of the Prairies, or, if you like, Great Plains, that three of the greatest songwriters/musicians/artists of the past 50 years all emerged. I'm talking about Neil, Bob and Joni, of course - that is, Neil Young, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell.
That's right, three of the greatest songwriters/performers/musical geniuses of the past half century all come from that relatively small triangle in the middle of nowhere.
RICHARD B. SIMON: Well, what’s the connection, then?
NEIL YOUNG: Energy, oil, war. That’s the connection.
RICHARD B. SIMON: So, the electric car is a direct response to everything else.
NEIL YOUNG: Innovation is a direct response to the world we’re living in. We’re living with a set of rules that just doesn’t work. We’re using the wrong fuel, and people, just regular guys like you and I, gotta start taking aim at it. If you have an idea you’ve got to take a shot. I have the luxury of being able to take a shot, so I’m taking it. People have given this to me, I’m giving it back.
RICHARD B. SIMON: I’ve read you say that you don’t believe that music can change the world anymore.
NEIL YOUNG: I don’t think one song can change the world. I think it makes a difference. But I don’t think that it changes the world. What needs to happen now is we need quick change. We need to change the world in record time. We need to make a big change. And if you don’t show the way, if people don’t see that the technology exists and go – and you combine the situation of what I’m talking about with these oil prices that are going on, and the senate saying, the Republicans saying, no we’re not gonna have a windfall oil tax on the oil companies, and we’re not going to fine them for doing this or that – because they’re ripping us off.
For once, I paid the extra to get up close to one of my major musical heroes. I was accompanied by my wife Marjie and my son Samuel, both also Neil Young fans.
But it was just too hot for me to really enjoy this show. I've been in Melbourne for twelve years now, but for a Northern Ireland kid these 40+ days are hard to take, especially when they drag on for too long a period! And after a long hot day and a scorching walk to the venue, you're not exactly in the mood to rock and roll all night long, free world or not.
I regret that we stayed in our seats under the dome as it was indeed like baking in an oven, but the heat was also making us feel so tired that we were reluctant to move back to watch and listen from out in the open air. I now wish we had, judging from other people's comments.
I'm a long-time Neil fan (since Zuma) and his playing has influenced me more than any other guitarist's. Anyone who knows me will attest that I am a huge Neil enthusiast.
And I've only seen him twice before - the last two and a half songs (don't ask!) of a show in Vancouver back in the early 90s and his last appearance here in Melbourne on the Greendale tour, which was really great but not a typical performance.
So I was primed for this to be the "gig of a lifetime", but it was not to be - which was probably more due to the scorching weather, my fragile physical state (for various reasons), poor sound from where I was sitting, a guy to my left who was not large but somehow took up way more space (mine) than was justified, and a song selection which was not to my taste. So I'm surprised to be writing a less-than-enthusiastic review and I apologise for it, because I think most people there enjoyed it more than I did.
The Greendale show had been at the same venue, and from our vantage point then, much further from the stage, the sound was perfect. Tonight, down near the front, it was rather boxy and unfortunately the drums were mixed way too loud and reverberant like any crappy bar band, which was annoying most of the time, but especially in the ballads, when it was completely ridiculous. And from where I was, Neil's acoustic guitar sounded really bad and that spoiled songs that should have been good, like "The Needle And The Damage Done".
I thought the backing vocals were spot-on and beautiful, especially Pegi's, and the playing was generally sympathetic, but I couldn't really hear the piano at all from where I was. And as for the bass, it was pretty much impossible to clearly identify any particular note, so we just got a general boominess in the lower registers.
Anyway, Neil was full of energy, which amazed me given the extreme heat. He was wearing a white open-necked shirt and Eric Morecambe style khaki Bermuda shorts.
And despite regretting not moving back, it was good to be close enough to really *see* Neil and observe what he was doing with his guitar.
An early song was a fave of mine, "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" with its delectable la-la-las. But for my particular taste there were just too many songs that I find mediocre, with throwaway tunes and sophomoric homespun cod-religious or philosophical lyrics which are probably crowd-pleasing but lack the depth of which he is capable. Many of them had failed to interest me on the original albums and these live performances didn't enhance them any. I noticed that Marjie and Samuel laughed heartily at some of them, and not in a good way!
An exception was "One Of These Days" which I had never liked much but which suddenly rung very true on this occasion, and I guess it's moments like that which make a show worthwhile!
"Four Strong Winds" came across quite well too. The harmonium on "Mother Earth" was nice, but, well, the song is laughable, really! I mean, you'd think you can't go wrong with the tune of "O Waly Waly", but the words... This was one which really had Marjie and Samuel cracking up and who could blame them? (Flame away - we all have our likes and dislikes and I've already stated that Neil is one of my absolute fave artists so I don't feel guilty!)
As others have commented "Cortez The Killer" was, well, killer, and the only song of the night where he really let his guitar do what it does so well - sing.
For me, another highlight of the evening was "Words". That was the only song in which Neil played his Gretsch and I hate to say this, but it sounded way better than Old Black. I think the cleaner, bitier sound helped make up for the muddiness of the PA. I had never really loved this song on Harvest, but tonight the 11/8 time signatures (or whatever they are) sounded perfectly natural and even swinging. Marjie hated it though!
The finale of "A Day In The Life" was brilliant. It's a great song that the Beatles made kinda difficult to cover (although I have a 45rpm record of Wes Montgomery doing it) but it was good to hear it being done so well by Neil. He and his band are as capable of doing cacophonous wig-outs as anyone, as we all know, but they somehow managed to make the orchestral crescendos sound remarkably like the Sgt Pepper version! I was sure I could hear the swirling strings but it was coming out of bass, drums, piano, organ and guitars. For the second crescendo he proceeded to break all the strings on Old Black and thrash the pickups with them, at great length and to noisy effect. The middle bit (woke up, fell out of bed) was perhaps a little off, and Nil seemed to be forgetting the words or forgetting to go up to the microphone, but the overall effect was unforgettable.
Pegi had utilised the illuminated vibraphone in a pleasantly Motownish way earlier in the evening, but for the climax of "A Day In The Life" Neil ran up to where it was located at the back of the stage and hit a percussive version of the Beatles' famous piano chord. Not quite as cute as the Rutles' "plonk", but a good way to end.
Young’s music has inspired and entertained generations of music lovers all over the world, and fans of the artist will not want to miss a concert coming to the Algonquin Theatre on Saturday, Feb. 14. Titled Neil Young, Borrowed Tunes, the show will feature a collection of up-and-coming Canadian musicians covering songs written by Young and recorded on two albums.
“This may well be the show of 2009,” noted Karin Terziano, Algonquin Theatre manager.
Mike Roth of Big Bold Sun Music produced the first tribute album to Young in 1994. Titled Borrowed Tunes, the album was released as a two-CD set, one featuring acoustic songs and one featuring rock-oriented ones. A second two-CD musical tribute album, Borrowed Tunes II, was released in 2007, with all proceeds from sales of both albums going to the Bridge School and Toronto-based Safehaven.
Several performers featured on Borrowed Tunes are coming together for the one-night show in Huntsville. Accompanied by a multimedia slide presentation highlighting crucial moments in Young’s career, the show will be a great way to celebrate one of Canada’s famous artists.
“This is unique as far as tribute concerts go, because it pays homage to Neil with creative interpretations of Neil’s greatest songs by vital up-and-coming artists,” said Roth.
Joining Dala in the show will be Liam Titcomb, a Canadian musician and actor, and his father, Brent Titcomb, an internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter, musician, comedian and actor.
Also performing are Tom Wilson and his new band Lee Harvey Osmond, Adam Crossley, and jazz violinist Doug Cameron. Cameron is one of the true innovators of the contemporary and electric violin. With eight CDs to his credit, Cameron has long been a favourite on jazz radio internationally. Rounding out the list are Daniel Roth, Adrian Vanelli and AJ Sanderson of Harpoon Dodger, and soul-folk songstress Layah Jane.
Here's a Neil Young tattoo sent in by Mark E. who writes:
I'm a big fan of Neil Young, and never grow old listening to his work. I got myself this tattoo at Christmas just as a tribute to seeing him in London & Dublin in 2008.
From thevine.com.au an interview with Death Cab For Cutie's bass player Nick Harmer on recent US tour with Neil Young by Marcus:
Q: I saw that you've been touring a bunch with Neil Young. He's here at the moment playing the Big Day Out shows. How was your experience with Neil?
A: We had a fantastic experience with him. It was really one of the highlights of our career as a band so far. It was just phenomenal.
Q: Is he a Prince kind've character where you can't look him in the eye, can't go into his dressing room?
A: No! He's such a down to earth humble guy. I was completely blown away by just how accessible he was and what a gentleman to hang around with and talk with. He's just a really kind soul and we had a wonderful time with him.
Q: There's a bit of consternation down here at the moment because he's playing the Big Day Out. Which is traditionally a "youth" festival and some people have been saying that because Neil's headlining that he's not really right for the festival. But from early reports he's already blowing away a lot of the other bands on the bill.
A: He's a force to be reckoned with for sure. Anyone who says he's not relevant or somehow too old to be sharing a stage with current bands have got it all wrong, and really underestimate the power of his music. And really, the spirit of his music. I mean, what's at the core of Neil Young is at the core of so many rock n roll bands and so much music that I don't think audiences can really make a difference. On stage he's incredible live. He sounds wonderful, his voice sounds great. He fuckin shreds guitar more than...I mean he's just a force to be reckoned with. There's no doubting the cultural icon that he is, once you see him do his thing. It's fantastic.
I guess maybe a younger generation don't realise that he's one of the guys who helped start that kind've music.
I don't even know if he started...I mean, I don't necessarily attribute him as a founding father, as just somebody who has done it right! And done it great. You know whatever he has done his whole career, he has nailed. And you can't take that away from him at all.
Q: Does that include his 80s electronic stuff as well?
A: Well you know, every artist has a chance to grow and try some things. I'm not gonna say that somebody who's been around as long as has, has consistently made music that's connected with me throughout his entire career. But I think a lot of people mistake the notion of being a fan. A fan is going to support everything he does. Do I like everything he does? Do I connect with everything he does? Not really. He makes so much music that some I connect with more than others. But the reality is I'm a fan of Neil Young and I recognise him as an artist. And I support him exploring whatever music territory he wants to explore. Because it's Neil Young. And it doesn't mean he hits a home run every time. But any band that's been around has their peaks and valleys. Any creative person has moments when some of what they do connects and some of what they do does not. And i think any artist would admit that.
So as we continue to update the look of Thrasher's Wheat in the spirit of change and new is always better, here's another graphic component that we'll be integrating in the future by HM Osterhout.
HM writes:
Once upon a time, where a leader was found, near a deep near a deep forbidden lake, lived an unknown legend. Possessed by the design muse, the great spirit blessed her with the ability to create clear, cleaver and concise communications in the visual idiom.
One day a distressed blogger in a tower sent out a message of 'help'. 'Help' he wrote--'Is there a designer out there with passion and taste and love for fuzz rocking singer-songwriters? I am waiting for you...'
Recognizing a field of opportunity when she saw one, she recollected, back in the days of old, the love affair with fringe jackets and fuzzy sideburns, rocking a vintage Wilson Billie Jean King wooden racket. Wood rocks.
Truth be known, the concept came in a hazy dream, inspired in fact, by this old guitar.
Design is to advertising as Neil Young is to everyone else.
Design is about communication; advertising is to sell a product or idea, even war. Heidi Osterhout has been known to do both. Learn more at www.designho-usa.com.
Heidi now favors Gretsch and Martins over Wilson and is happy to discuss projects with you, Archives Guy or Neil Young at any time.
Tonight the annual Grammy Awards will be handed out. Neil Young received a Grammy Awards nomination for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for "No Hidden Path" on Chrome Dreams II.
This about the third or forth time that we've recycled the trick question of who has 11 Grammy Awards and who has zero?
Emmylou Harris has received at least 11 Grammy Awards in her career. Neil Young -- 0, zero, nada. Not that it matters.
This could only mean one thing. The Grammy Awards are either incredibly correct with Emmylou or horribly wrong on Neil.
Thrasher might live a thousand years and still not know what this means...
Neil's perfect Grammy streak most likely will continue tonight -- zero awards. Well, at least last year he lost to Dylan in the Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance category. Neil Young was up for 2 grammy nominations for Prairie Wind two years ago. He even dressed up and attended the ceremonies. Will he attend this year?
Last week Dewey Martin died. Since then, we've received lots of comments and letters noting the fact including some chastising us for our lack of coverage.
A couple of points. First of which is that we've been away on a break. So it's not like Dewey died and we said oh let's put up a silly video about a lost dog instead. Second -- and no disrespect to Dewey -- but we can't drop everything to write an obituary for a bandmate of Neil Young's from 40 years ago.
As much as readers would like Neil Young News to be a real time original reporting source, it's just not going to happen under the present circumstances. Regular readers know they can find real time news via the feeds in the sidebar.
Also -- and let's take Dewey's death as an example -- if someone would like to write an obituary which does justice to the Buffalo Springfield drummer, than by all means feel free to get in touch and write one and we'll be glad to publish. Similar to the outstanding job that Tony did with the passing of Ahmet Ertegun.
Over the last year, we've been struggling quite a bit with how to manage this site's growth. While loyal readers have been generous with their support, it does not begin to cover all of the operating costs much less the infrastructure costs of bandwidth and storage for ramping up services further.
One of the odd misnomers of the internet and one of its dirty little secrets is that the more successful a site becomes the more expensive it is to run. The laws of economies of scale do not apply as they do in most other business models. So given the present expenses and revenues involved, it just doesn't make sense for us to do much more than we already are. This is driven primarily from our own time limitations but for the cost reasons cited above. While we'd certainly like to do a lot more given that Neil Young seems to have entered one of his most prolific phases of his career it is troubling that we can't do more to document the incredible wealth of information that is evaporating down the memory hole. But we've tried to do our best but could not. Thus, we continue to separate the wheat from the chaff at our own pace far behind Neil's prodigious output.
And loyal readers you do know how much you're appreciated for your supportive comments and contributions. Not just for clicking thru Amazon links for your purchases of CD's, books, and other stuff but in the sharing of comments, photos, links, videos and other amazing Neil experiences with fans around the world. It is those contributions which we most appreciate. On the other hand, it is abundantly clear from traffic statistics that the vast majority of this site's traffic never makes a contribution, a purchase or the submission of material, some of whom -- ironically -- still feel compelled to tell us how we should run the site.
On occasion we make a fund raising appeal and we know that many of you find this annoying like some public television station begging for a donation. But the simple fact is that reader supported blogs require contributions unless they have a solid advertising revenue stream. It has also been clear that readers do not want to be subjected to corporate advertising as well. However, we are finding it increasingly more difficult to maintain server performance without significant service upgrades.
Some of our revised thinking was spurred from reading about a similar situation at one of our favorite blogs Climate Progress and their decision to accept ads from the nuclear power industry. Rather than start a reader revolt as might be expected, readers were quite accepting of the solution to the predicament.
So what do you think? Should we supplement the donations and Amazon links program with advertising? Or try and keep Thrasher's Wheat ad-free with reader support only? Or utilize both income sources to improve content and performance?
. (Thanks! You'll be 
The last member to join Buffalo Springfield, Martin had his own band Sir Walter Raleigh and the Coupons, regionally popular in the Pacific Northwest. After that band broke up, he joined the Dillards, but was fired when he picked for Buffalo Springfield. Martin was the oldest member of the band and had performed with Roy Orbinson, Patsy Cline, Everly Brothers and Carl Perkins.
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This Land is My Land
FREEDOM In A New Year
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The Unbearable Lightness of Being Neil Young
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