A Look Back at Neil Young Appreciation Society (NYAS)

Broken Arrow Magazine
Published by Neil Young Appreciation Society

Welcome to "Wheat of the Moment"!

"Wheat of the Moment" is a new feature here on Thrasher's Wheat as Neil Young’s 2017 self imposed touring sabbatical continues (updated here and here), and we continue our journey into the past of the TW Archives.

In addition, we recently, we posted the sad news that there will be No Bridge School Benefit Concert in 2017 . In memory of all of the Bridge School Benefit Concerts we've attended over the years, here's a posting of our thoughts on Remembering The Warmth & Love of Bridge School Concerts .

In the meantime, enjoy the "Wheat of the Moment"!

Here's a recent letter received by Kevin Driver in Morro Bay, CA.

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Hi Thrasher,

With Neil going somewhat quiet for 2017, your recent Blog posts that have aimed to fill the gap have to me at least proven quite the antidote. So it accord to me earlier today as I was going through my Neil “Boots” section (Mr. Young you might want to stop reading if you are around) and in the spirit of looking back let’s not forget the contribution the NYAS has made over the years to not only other fans but also to Neil in helping to get the word out.

To put this in context I first came across NYAS back in 1981 when attending Neil 1982 Transband Tour stop September 26 at Wembley. This was my first Neil show having become a fan around the mid 70’s. I did not get the chance to see him in ‘76 at Hammersmith so I was quite keen to get to this show. Walking in to the arena through some waist height white iron gates where long thin strips of paper with details of NYAS. Just fill them in with a simple membership fee and viola you got the late great Broken Arrow magazine.

I let my membership lapse in 1985 as that year I left England for Chicago however I never lost my interest in Neil. Even though I was not an official member of NYAS any more I still kept a close eye on them by being able to purchase Broken Arrow at my local Tower Records (those were the days), and on through the years via Hyperrust and then yourself Thrasher. Thrasher you are the last of a distinguished tradition of getting Mr. Young activities out there and keep up your great work.

Anyway back to the point at hand like I said as I was working through my Neil stuff I came across two publications that I think warrant a mention.

The first piece you and fellow Thrasher Wheat readers might enjoy is a NYAS publication titled “Neil Young”. This is not an official Broken Arrow magazine and a quick look at the current NYAS web site has no mention of it. I’m not even sure I remember where I found it whether here in the US or back in the UK but I include the cover and the first page. This was obviously way before the internet and finding stuff like this was invaluable to help with getting good Neil content.

The second piece is another official NYAS publication which I found at Tower back in the late 80’s (if I remember correctly) authored by two famous NYAS participants Bruno Fisson and Alan Jenkins. This book specializing in “unofficial” content I find special not only for its content but how the NYAS community help get it published by utilizing a very ahead of its time crowd sourcing funding system, where NYAS subscribed to the book. I guess you could say they pre-ordered it and those involved where noted in the back of the book.

So long live NYAS and you too Thrasher and thanks for all the great Neil content over the years.

Kevin Driver
Morro Bay, CA.

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Thanks for writing Kevin! Wonderful memories to share! And trunks more to come.

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