PREVIEW: ThrashVolt Prepares to Roll for Neil Young's LOVE EARTH Summer Concert Tour

 ThrashVolt (Click photo to enlarge)

As you may have noticed, Thrasher's Wheat went on a sabbatical break earlier this year.

During this time -- besides trying to enjoy ourselves and remain above the fray -- we worked to re-imagine the Thrasher's Wheat platform and prepare for yet another re-launch of the 2nd longest continuously running website dedicated to a single topic on the Internet [i.e., Original Influencer #2].

So, without further ado, we bring you a preview of ThrashVolt (see prototype above).

And what pray tell might ThrashVolt possibly be all about?

ThrashVolt is being built in hopes of taking her out on the road this summer for Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts: Love Earth Tour.  Fully customized, ThrashVolt will operate as a mobile platform for Thrasher's Wheat with servers, full high resolution audio and a somewhat limited broadcast studio.

Our plan is to road test the technology under heavy real world conditions and then roll out a full upgrade this Fall.

And why might you ask? Why invest so much into a guaranteed money losing proposition? A fair question.  Obviously, we're thinking ahead to our coming 30 year anniversary here at TW.  It's been a long time since we did significant infrastructure updates and the systems are showing their age badly as feeds fail, links break and a myriad of daily technical challenges. 

Obviously, ThrashVolt is a nod to Neil's LincVolt, a revolutionary advance in state of the art eco-auto tech. While it is yet to be seen how much of game changer this may be for the blogging world, we're hopeful that our advances here will pave the road ahead for even greater progress.

We need to get back to our creative roots of following Neil's muse wherever it takes us and away from the routine, mundane chores of posting news, managing comments and trying to fix stuff that breaks.  It is our hope that ThrashVolt's technology upgrades will help us with separating the administrative chaff from the more rewarding and engaging wheat like presenting only the best from the rustie grains communities.  

Lastly, you might be thinking how can "I", the TW reader help support?  In terms of a fundraiser, our thinking is to have folks sponsor a sticker on ThrashVolt.  Submit a donation and earn a custom TV sticker with a Neil lyric, song or handle or whatever your fancy.  More to come.  Let us know what you think below in comments.

We're looking forward to seeing folks out on the road this summer!

peace & love,

thrashers 

ps - Happy ARC Day!

Farm Aid 2022 Concert - Raleigh, North Carolina

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"60 Years Ago" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive w/ Neil Young

Randy Bachman & Neil Young - ~2009

Bachman-Turner Overdrive have released a new song "60 Years Ago" with Neil Young performing a guitar solo.  

Both Randy Bachman and Neil Young were big on Winnipeg, Canada music scene back in the 1960's and this is their homage to that era.   Neil Young formed his first band "The Squires" in Winnipeg in 1963. 

 

Here's some more coverage on the Winnipeg music scene ...

Shakin' All Over - The Winnipeg Sixties Bands Reunion

Winnipeg's 1987 Rock Reunion "Shakin' All Over" w/ Neil Young, Burton Cummings & Randy Bachman
(via Broken Arrow, #30, February, 1988)

 

Also, see Visiting Neil’s Old Haunts: Neil Young's Winnipeg Hometown by Bill Laing.

 

Neil Young's Boyhood Home in Winnipeg, Canada 

 photo by Bill Laing

Also, see book review of Neil Young`s Canadian Years by John Einarson.

Also, see JUNO Awards - Winnipeg Rocks & is Hot!

Also, check Sharry (Up in T.O. keepin’ jive alive) Wilson. the author of the highly acclaimed "Young Neil: The Sugar Mountain Years", cited as "the definitive source of Neil Young's formative childhood years in Canada."

Young Neil: The Sugar Mountain Years

In 2014, we published a review of "Young Neil: The Sugar Mountain Years" by Sharry Wilson, as well as, an in depth interview with the author.

 More on the long musical friendship of Randy Bachman and Neil Young.

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"How I Came to Know Neil Young's Old Black Guitar" by Larry Cragg

Neil Young's Guitars: Old Black & Old Gold
 (Click photo to enlarge)

An interesting article on Neil Young Archives "How I Came to Know Old Black" by Larry Cragg, Neil's longtime guitar tech.

My name is Larry Cragg. I toured with Neil for 35 years, taking care of his guitars, amps and keyboards. Over the years I got to play banjo, baritone sax, keys, 12 string, pedal steel, broom and percussion, and was a photographer and actor.


It all started in 1972 when I got a phone call from Randy Smith, my partner at Prune Music in Mill Valley, California, where he worked on amps and I worked on guitars. Randy was out on the road with Neil, trying to eliminate ground loops from a wall of tweed amps (lots of them). He called because Neil couldn’t get Old Black in tune, and asked if I had any suggestions. I told him how to straighten the bent tune-o-matic bridge and adjust the intonation. Randy had been going down to Neil’s Ranch near Woodside, California to work on Neil’s amplifiers. He started taking me with him so I could work on the guitars.

Full article and lots of detailed photos on Neil Young Archives..

If you're into how Neil Young gets his sound, check these links:

Neil Young Interview on Guitar Equipment - Guitar Player Magazine, 3/1992

Interview with Neil Young - Guitar Magazine (France), 4/1992

Neil Young's Amps & Whizzer - Interview with Neil's Guitar Tech Larry Cragg in Guitar Player Magazine, 3/1992

Larry Cragg Interview - Jimmy McDonough's "Shakey" Biography excerpt

Larry Cragg: The Welder - Interview in ToneQuest Report Magazine

Giant MagnaTone dwarfs Larry Cragg, Guitar Tech
New York City - Dec. 16, 2008
Photo by Paul D. 

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Neil Young's Ukraine Benefit Concert Canceled + Comment of the Moment

via  Neil Young Archives
(Click photo to enlarge)

Per official Neil Young Archives,  Neil Young's planned benefit concert in Ukraine has been canceled. (yes, "canceled" with one "l".)

Neil Young's statement:

"Our concert in Ukraine is cancelled. 

We had a good venue, close to a shelter, but the changing situation on the ground was too much. I could not in good conscience take my crew and instruments into that area. My apologies to all. Ukraine is a great country with a good leader. 

Slava  Ukraini. [Glory to Ukraine]"

The Ukraine  benefit concert was planned to kickoff the Love Earth Tour of Europe this summer, and provoked some rather heated discussions here on Thrasher's Wheat upon announcement earlier this month and after his wife Daryl Hannah declared "SLAVA UKRAINE" while presenting an Oscar at the Academy Awards Ceremony on March 2, 2025.

The announcement of the Ukraine Benefit Concert cancelation was met by Neil Young fans with the  usual spectrum of responses.  In response to the applause and ridicule over the news, here is our Comment of the Moment from Dionys:

"Fool's errand"? I beg to differ.

Although my country enjoyed relative safety for the last 80 years, thanks to American friends, all the wars during this time affected us in Central Europe (such as in former Yugoslavia, Near East, now in the Ukraine with 1.2 million refugees in Germany alone, not to speak of Poland with her additional millions of Ukrainians seeking protection there). There is a lot of coming and going in Munich and Upper Bavaria (more than a 100 000 refugees), soldiers on temporary leave, families travelling back and forth. It's true that there is no place in Ukraine that appears to be absolutely safe. But that's true for the nightly streets of (insert American city) or under-staffed American air traffic safety of late.

Is it that Americans never had a war close by or even in their country since 1865 that they tend to overlook that even in war-torn countries people have to work, eat, sleep and desperately try to keep up some normality under these conditions? They go to concerts, watch movies and play football. And they would go and attend a Neil Young concert, just like American combattants not too far from the frontlines did enjoy shows by almost every major artists of their time, everywhere in the world where Americans fought for good or bad reasons.

I do understand and respect that Neil Young and his management walked a away from their idea but also believe that there could have been "show formats" with fairly safe perspectives and conditions. Maybe that would have required "to keep the trap shut", go for it and talk about it later? Lwiw, the next large town in Ukraine is about 1000 kilometres from München, a long day's drive and a distance that some Neil Young fans easily would travel to a Neil Young show. 

Gauging risks from any American territory being more than 7000 kilometres away is very difficult and reminds me of my mom being very concerned about hurricane Katrina hitting the South while my family and I were in Minnesota.

Many thanks Dionys for continuing to bring us a different perspective on EARTH events. And -- maybe just as importantly -- thanks for listening to diffferent perspectives on theother side of the pond.

Say what you will about Neil Young, he is a man who puts his music where his heart is ... nearly always.

More on Love Earth Tour of Europe Kickoff in UKRAINE.

"SLAVA UKRAINE"Daryl Hannah - Academy Awards Ceremony, March 2, 2025image via Neil Young Archives(see Daryl Hannah declaring "SLAVA UKRAINE" while presenting an Oscar )
 (Click photo to enlarge) 

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FOR THE TURNSTILES: Neil Young Plans to End Platinum Tickets ... On Future Tours

"Lost World Tour"via Neil Young Archives (Click photo to enlarge)

Ah, yes, For The Turnstiles, Cough Up The Buck$, Watch Out For The Greedy Hand ... yet again.

Or ... trending hashtag #SwiftedAgainBreakupTicketMasterLiveNationMonopoly.

Neil Young plans to end sales of "Platinum Tickets" on his future tours, per a statement on Neil Young Archives.

This summer's LOVE EARTH tour tickets were offered by TicketMaster with a “Platinum” option in order to thwart scalpers. From Neil's statement:

“My management and agent have always tried to cover my back on the road, getting me the best deals they could. 

They have tried to protect me and the fans from scalpers who buy the best tickets and resell them at huge increases for their own profits..

Ticketmaster’s high priced Platinum tickets were introduced to the areas where scalpers were buying the most tickets for resale. The money went to me. That did not feel right. Very soon, Platinum tickets will no longer be available for my shows.

I have decided to let the people work this out. 

Buy aggressively when the tickets come out or tickets will cost a lot more in a secondary market.”

OK, "buy aggressively" should work pretty well against sophisticated, deep pocketed scalpers. Not.

Cough Up The Buck$ Crew
HarryO, Volume Drinkers: Brand New Guy, Paul D.
Madison Square Garden, NYC, NY - 12/15/2008

(See Expecting To See Neil Young: For The Turnstiles, Cough Up The Buck$, Watch Out For The Greedy Hand)

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