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Posted on October 21, 2016 February 21, 2019 by Macamba0 — Leave a comment
Pete de Freitas 6/1989
June 14, 1989 – Peter Louis Vincent Pete de Freitas (Echo & The Bunnymen) was born one of 9 siblings on 2 August 1961 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago and educated by the Benedictines at Downside School in Somerset, South England. His father was famous copyright attorney Dennis de Freitas,
He joined the Echo & The Bunnymen in 1979 to replace Echo, the band's drum machine.
In the beginning they were like a little clockwork band. Just three young Liverpudlians and a drum machine called Echo. The Bunnymen played their frail, tick-tock tunes in little rooms, and looked as if they might split up on the spot if you asked them to. But there was a definite magic being born. They got better by the day, and nearly became the biggest group in the world. For a time in the 1980s they were the darlings of the British rock scene, and perhaps its brightest hopes.
In 1980 they released their debut LP which hit #17 on the UK Chart, followed by the EP 'Shine So Hard,' it was the first album to crack UK's Top 40 Chart. In 1981 they released 'Heaven Up Here,' thanks to many great reviews,it became the band's biggest Top Ten UK album. In 1983 they released 'Porcupine' and launched the Top Ten single, 'Fine Cutter.' In 1984 they released "The Killing Moon" which became there second Top Ten hit. Also that year they released the album, 'Ocean Rain,' it hit #4 in Britain and the album went into the US's Top 100.
A sign of trouble came when Pete de Freitas temporarily absconded from the band in late 1985, throwing himself into a doomed group called The Sex Gods, on a lurid American "lost weekend" of rock'n'roll debauchery and regular car crashes.
Drug escapades, insecurity, and manic delusions were to take their toll on the man manager Bill Drummond says was once "the sanest and most balanced of the Bunnymen." The madness peaked in 1986 when he relocated his freewheeling solo project, The Sex Gods, to New Orleans, where his behaviour became even more unpredictable. "Pete basically was having a breakdown," said his brother, Geoff.
Shortly after, in September 1986, he returned to the Bunnymen and in 1987, De Freitas married, while his daughter Lucie Marie was born the following year. But whatever personal strides he was beginning to make, they were sadly cut short by the motorcycle accident that ended his life at age 27 on his way to Liverpool from London.
He died on June 15, 1989 at age 27, another member of the 27 Club.
The Bunnymen's Ian McCulloch said: "I remember the day he died, playing Marquee Moon and crying over the line 'I fell sideways laughing with a friend from many stages…' because that's exactly what he was."
A little more than 20 years later Jake Brockman, another touring member of the band also died in a motorcycle accident in much the same way on the Isle of Man
Category: SIDEMEN
Tags: 1989, car accident
Posted on September 25, 2016 February 21, 2019 by Macamba0 — Leave a comment
John Cipollina 5/1989
May 29, 1989 – John Cipollina. He and his twin sister Michaela were born August 24, 1943 in Berkely, California, into what he described as a musical family. (There is also another sister, Antonia, and a brother, Mario who was the bass player in Huey Lewis and the News.) Cipollina's mother, Evelyn, was an opera singer, a protege of the classical pianist Jose Iturbi, who became the twins' godfather. Cipollina was born with chronic asthma and had to be held upright to fall asleep. (It was a condition that would not prevent him from becoming a chain smoker, however.) In his infancy, he lived in San Salvador and Guatemala, moving to Mill Valley, California, when he was six.
Naturally, the first instrument Cipollina was taught to play was the piano, as early as the age of two, but he began to be attracted to the guitar in his early teens. He recalled riding in the car with his mother and hearing Mickey and Sylvia's "Love Is Strange" on the radio. "I look over at my mother and I go, 'What's that?'" he said, "and she goes, 'It's an electric guitar.'" Cipollina had heard acoustic guitars and amplified guitars, but never an electric guitar, and never the single note lines of Mickey Baker. "I really identified with it," Cipollina said. "I thought, 'You just said the 'F word,' without saying any words. Nobody in my family could bend a note on a keyboard. I thought, 'God, that's really cool!'"
Before long, Cipollina was absorbing the playing of Scotty Moore, James Burton and Link Wray, though at his parent's insistence, he took classical lessons for a short time. "I drove this guy nuts," he said of his instructor, "because everything I wanted to do, he didn't want me to do. Then after I had thoroughly snowed my parents, I went out and got an electric guitar and completely forsaked everything else."
Cipollina was in his first band, the Penetrators, by 1959. "It was more of a gang than a band," he said. The gang played the popular rock'n'roll of the time – Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino – at high school dances.
But as the '50s gave way to the early '60s, rock faded in favor of folk music. Cipollina, now about to turn 20, and in a band called the Deacons, didn't change his style. "Folk music was hip and cool and avant-garde," he said "and I'm still a rocker. I'm still punking around. I've still got my long shirt on and I got my dark glasses." Along with his black Dan-Electro guitar, it wasn't a look that went down well at hootenannies.
Cipollina took up playing what he called the "steak and lobster" circuit, handling requests for "Girl From Ipanema," while, in the daylight hours, trying to become a real estate salesman. Meanwhile, his living aragements had become unusual. "I hung out with a bunch of crazy flamenco guitar players in a troupe," he said. "I was living in a huge ferry boat with 11 other people and we were paying a little under $3 a month rent – we were still late on the rent!"
In 1964, Cipollina finally began to run into people who wanted to play rock'n'roll many of them coming out of the folk movement. There was Chet Powers (who changed his name to Dino Valenti and, later, Jessy Oris Farrow), a budding songwriter who wrote "Get Together" and was managed by disc jockey and record company owner Tom "Big Daddy" Donahue. And there was Jim Murray, a harmonica player who learned guitar.
It was Valenti who organized the group. "I can remember everything Dino said," Cipollina recalled. "We were all going to have wireless guitars. We were going to have leather jackets made with hooks that we could hook these wireless instruments right into. And we were going to have these chicks, backup rhythm sections, that were going to dress like American Indians with real short little dresses on and they were going to have tambourines and the clappers in the tambourines wer going to be silver coins. And I'm sitting there going, 'This guy is going to happen and we're going to set the world on its ear.'" The next day, Valenti was arrested for possession of marijuana. He would spend the better part of the next two years in jail.
As Valenti went into jail, David Freiberg, a folk guitarist friend of his, who had been in a band with Paul Kanter and David Crosby, got out. "We were to take care of this guy Freiberg," Cipollina said, and though they had never met before, Freiberg was added to the group. The band also added Skip Spence on guitar, and began to rehearse at Marty Balin's club, the Marix. Balin, in search of a drummer for the band he was organizing, soon to be called Jefferson Airplane, convinced Spence to switch instruments and groups.
It was this odd circumstance, however, that led to the gelling of Cipollina's band, since Balin, to make up for the theft, suggested they contact drummer Greg Elmore and guitarist-singer Gary Duncan, formerly of a group called the Brogues. This new version of the band had its first paying gig in December 1965, playing for the Christmas party of the comedy troupe the Committee.
The band gained financial backing from the Committee's management, which in turn was working with Bill Graham, then part of the Mime Troup, and so Quicksilver Messenger Service became one of the early bands featured at the San Francisco dances that Graham promoted in 1966.
How the name Quicksilver Messenger Service came about
"Jim Murray and David Freiberg came up with the name," said Cipollina. "Me and Feiberg were born on the same day, and Gary and Greg were born the same day; we were all Virgos and Murray was Gemini. And Virgos and Geminis are all ruled by the planet Mercury. Another name for Mercury is Quicksilver. Quicksilver is the messenger of the gods, and Virog is the servant. So Freiberg says, 'Oh, Quicksilver Messenger Service.'"
By this time, of course, Valenti was finally out of jail, but according to Cipollina, he passed on rejoining the group he had started unless Elmore and Duncan were dropped. The band declined.
The quintet of Cipollina, Murray, Freiberg, Duncan, and Elmore became one of the top San Francisco bands, headlining over such contemporaries as the Grateful Dead at the Fillmore and Avalon ballrooms in 1966 and 1967, and even playing at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967. But unlike the other bands, Quicksilver delayed signing a record contract.
"We didn't want to sign," said Cipollina, explaining that, early on, the group had gotten a bad taste in its mouth about record companies since it felt it had not received support from Donahue and his Autumn Records, and had then been rejected by other companies. By 1966 and 1967, when the major labels were coming to San Francisco with their checkbooks, "we didn't need them," Cipollina said. "We had no use for them, and we were unsigned. And we were making more money. We would make double the money of the guys who had the record contract.
"We watched everybody else. We watched the Dead, who used to be a fairly funny band, and they were happy-go-lucky, groovin' kind of guys. And we'd come by and we'd see them getting' real serious and talking about having to pay back the company. And we watched Jefferson Airplane. They got a record contract and they were just hustling all of the time. Somebody gives you a whole bunch of money one day, and the next day you owe all this money back."
Reasonable as this sounds, it meant that Quicksilver was not heard on record until after the first blush of publicity and notoriety about San Francisco and the Summer of Love had already passed. They never had the chance to ride that wave to national popularity, as Jefferson Airplane did in the summer of 1967, and, as it turned out, they didn't stick around long enough to build a loyal mass following, as the Dead did.
The group finally signed to Capitol Records in the fall of 1967, at which time Murray quit. He did stay around long enough to work on the first recording sessions, which produced two songs used on the soundtrack for the film Revolution, issued in March 1968.
It was as a quartet, however, that Quicksilver recorded their first album at the end of 1967. "The first album was the easiest because we didn't know any better," Cipollina said. "We didn't know what constituted making an album. I had lots of trouble in the old days. In those days, when you would record, they had a huge red light, a hundred-watt lightbulb sitting on a floor stand, that would light up ominously when the record button was on. Besides, they had a sign outside that said, 'Recording. Do Not Open This Door.' And every time that red light would go on, I would just freeze up. It took me a couple of days to convince these guys, 'You gotta just get rid of that light, man! I don't want to know what's going on!'"
Released in May 1968, Quicksilver Messenger Service featured "Pride Of Man," a former folk song written by Hamilton Camp (since reclaimed for folkies by the Washington Squares) and a 12-minute song by Duncan and Freiberg called "The Fool." Rolling Stone, the arbiter of all things from San Francisco at the time, pronounced the album too derivative of the Electric Flag, though it was complimentary toward Cipollina's playing. The album entered the Billboard charts on June 22, and reached #63, staying in the charts for 25 weeks, a better showing than the Grateful Dead's Anthem Of The Sun, but far below Jefferson Airplane's Top 10 Crown Of Creation, and Big Brother And The Holding Company's chart-topping Cheap Thrills.
Cipollina's remarks indicate a vast preference for playing live over studio work, a common opinion among San Francisco musicians of the time. Accordingly, the band's second album, Happy Trails, was recorded live in the fall of 1968. "Live recording was easy," Cipollina said. "The second album was live, and it was a piece of cake. I think it was probably the best album we ever did, for that reason."
But there were other problems. "The band started to fall apart during that one," Cipollina said. "Gary Duncan quit the band as soon as we started recording it, which took a lot of the fire out of the band." Surprisingly, Duncan hooked up with Valenti, who had released a solo album in 1968.
Happy Trails was released in the spring of 1969. It entered the charts on March 29 and rose to #27, far better than the first album (and roughly the same showing as the band's next three albums would have). It has come to be remembered as the band's best work. Even critic Dave Marsh, who is dismissive of Quicksilver, was impressed. "The group made only one noteworthy record, Happy Trails," he wrote in The Rolling Stone Record Guide in 1979, "which catches them live, at their peak, on versions of 'Who Do You Love' and 'Mona.' Both tracks feature guitar extravaganzas by John Cipollina that are among the best instrumental work any San Francisco band did."
Unfortunately, Quicksilver was not able to capitalize on their popular and critical success. "After we did the Happy Trails album, we took a year off," Cipollina said. "This is when trios were happening, but we were not a power trio. Elmore could cover. Elmore loves trios. But Freiberg is not a trio bass player and I'm not a trio guitar player. 'Cause, like a trio guitar player's gotta use all six strings, which is something I've never gotten around to doing."
To fill out the sound, Quicksilver surprisingly added keyboards. "I wanted a piano player." Cipollina explained. "Quicksilver was the only band I had ever played in without keyboards. And I decided that we wanted (British session ace) Nicky Hopkins, even though I had never met the guy. I didn't know anything about him; I decided that's who we needed and the band went along with it. Nicky and I became real good friends and we ended up doing the third album, Shady Grove." The album was recorded I the fall of 1969 and issued at the start of the new year.
Rolling Stone approved of the new sound. "The old Quicksilver was immediate, instrumentally flashing and frenzied," wrote Gary Von Tersch. "The Quicksilver on Shady Grove has had its collective head turned around by Nicky Hopkins. The result is a more precise, more lyrical, and more textured Quicksilver." It was also a short-lived Quicksilver, at least in this exact configuration.
"Quicksilver was slated to play at the New Year's gig at Winterland, '69-70," Cipollina said, "but by this time we were a little hesitant, because we had no singer other than David and we really had trouble writing songs. It took us a year to get the material for Shady Grove together. And of course the company wanted us to do more and more originals and we had more and more trouble doing that.
"When we got Nicky, now we had a full sound, but we didn't really have the singers. Who comes back in town but Dino and Gary, and they heard our record. Everybody thought that we hated each other, so we said, 'Let's prove 'em wrong. Let's all go down there as friends.' And Dino, of course, was always meant to be an original member of the band, and never was, and we thought, 'How cool to go down and do a show. We'll just blow everybody out.' It was a one-shot thing. We went down, and we played the New Year's show with us and the Dead, and we did so good that before the night was over, Graham had hired us to play at the Fillmore East the following week. And the Dead were setting up a tour and they asked us to come as a headliner. And it just seemed like a natural. So, out of that one gig, Dino and Gary were back in the band."
This happy state of affairs lasted five months, until May 1970, when the band went to Hawaii and cut what turned out to be its next two albums, Just For Love and What About Me, albums dominated by the songs of Valenti (or Jesse Farrow, as he was called for contractual reasons).
"We started having differences," Cipollina said. "First of all, I found out that the difference between a four-piece band and a six-piece band is I had less and less to do. And due to the music that we were doing, which was more folk-oriented than I was used to and very simple, there was less and less playing for me to do. So I just sat around and did less playing."
Cipollina found other places to play. "Nicky turned me on to doing sessions," he said, "which was not a cool thing. Being in the band was kind of like being married. And playing with somebody else was like cheating on your spouse. I can remember coming in one day after I had done a Brewer and Shipley track. I came into rehearsal and I got the cold stares and the cold shoulders. And finally, somebody said, 'So you played with Brewer and Shipley!' Like, 'How could you,' you know? 'You're sleeping on the couch tonight!'
"I got it put to me that, 'Well, do you wanna play in a band, or do you wanna do sessions?' I left Quicksilver (officially) October 5, 1970. Nicky and I left about May. That's when the showdown came. But then we had obligations, so I ended up doing two more national tours up till October."
Just For Love had been released in the summer of 1970, and What About Me came out at the start of the new year. Feiberg left the band in 1971 to join Paul Kanter and Grace Slick. Valenti, Duncan and Elmore carried on as Quicksilver for two more albums.
As for Cipollina, "I ended up doing about four years in the studio where basically that was all I did," he said. "In fact, there was a magazine I read some place that quoted me, I was like at one time the busiest session man in San Francisco. Which is real misleading, anyway, 'cause San Francisco isn't that big of a recording town. But I was the busiest session man; I was working every day."
Cipollina also put together a new band, Copperhead, that featured, at various times, Jim McPearson on keyboards, Hutch Hutchinson on bass, Pete Sears on bass and keyboards, Gary Phlippet on guitar, keyboards and vocals, and Dave Weber on drums. "I started looking for new directions, because I was so burned out at that time with the San Francisco bands," Cipollina said. "At first, we were all fighting for individuality, and we fought so hard that we were stereotyped. I thought, man, if I see another pair of Levis with patches on the knees, and if I see another guitar with an STP sticker on it, I'm gonna puke. I started looking for something fresh.
"We were an early punk band. In fact, the term 'punk rock' was coined for one of the early reviews that Copperhead got, late '70, early '71. It was a San Francisco critic, in disdain, who said, well it's not really San Francisco rock, and it's not really hard rock, its' kind of punk rock. And I thought, that looks good, that's us. We did have a real bad attitude which I was really proud of. It might not have been commercial, but it was definitely more professional."
Copperhead never got a chance to find out how commercial it might be. The group released an album on Columbia Records in May 1973, the same month that label president Clive Davis, who had signed them, was fired. "They're cleaning out (Davis's) desk," Cipollina said, "and they find this contract for $1,350,000, and they went, 'Who are these guys?' So they killed the act. They printed, as far as I know, 60,000 units and that was just accidentally. And then they stopped it. And that was it. In fact, we talked to some booking agents and I found out later that CBS threatened them. They said, 'If you book Copperhead we'll take off every CBS act you got.' They made sure we didn't work. So by '74 we just kind of drifted; there was no sense in it."
But Copperhead was far from Cipollina's only project at the time. He had met Terry Dolan shortly after his breakup with Quicksilver, and played in Dolan's band, Terry and the Pirates, until his death. "I got my first time running in with Terry and my last session I did with Quicksilver back in 1970," Cipollina said. "Nicky had already left Quicksilver and he was producing this guy Terry Dolan. I had just left PHR (Pacific High Recording) studios. We were doing the last overdubs on the What About Me album. And then I ended up going to Wally Heider's studio.
"I remember I got in a jam with (Jerry) Garcia and Jorma (Kaukonen) and a bunch of bozos. It was just one of those things you do when you don't want to go home, you know? It was about four in the morning and I'm almost ready to go home now. I got a call from Nicky saying, 'Hey, come on over, man, I'm over at Lone State Recorders. You ought to come over here, it's a lot of fun. I'm doing a session. We'd really like you to put a track down or two.' So I went over there and that's how I ran into Terry. And then he kept doing sessions and then somewhere along the line, I guess it was after Copperhead, or during Copperhead, he decided to do some gigs. They were real easy and it was a lot of fun. After Copperhead, I ended up playing a lot in Terry and the Pirates. And then of course I went and did the Man thing."
Man, a Welsh band led by Mickey Jones, Terry Williams and Deke Leonard, had been heavily influenced by Cipollina. "They came to San Francisco and they were big fans and they wanted to meet me," he said. "So I went in and I met them and they immediately accused me of not being me. I didn't live up to their expectations at all. They said, 'Aw, you can't be him. How tall are you?' And I said, 'I'm five-nine.' And they said, 'Everybody knows Cipollina's at least six-two to six-four.' I said, 'Bullshit.' They said, 'We've seen pictures of Quicksilver. He's a big, tall guy.' And I actually showed them my license.
"I had never had anybody accuse me of not being me before. It was weird. Deke Leonard said, 'Well, if you're Cipollina, here, play something like him. And I don't know how 'he' plays, you know? So we did a jam and I guess I passed." Cipollina played with the band at the Winterland in San Francisco, and agreed to return with them to England. He appeared on their Maximum Darkness album, released in 1975. but the association was short-circuited by a call from home.
"We were just about to go to Spain," Cipollina said, "and I got a call from the States saying, 'Hey, we got Quicksilver back together.' Before I'd left, somebody had asked me if I would ever play with Quicksilver again. And I was very explicit. I said, 'Yes, but only if it was the original musicians and you got everybody to agree with it.' So I went back and did the Quicksilver reunion (Solid Silver), and then did two tours coast to coast with the band." The album, which came out in the fall of 1975, was only a moderate seller, peaking at #89, and the Quicksilver reunion proved a temporary affair.
Still working with Dolan and doing sessions, Cipollina moved on to a new band project, organized in a typically offhand way. "I had gotten involved at a party with a bunch of L.A. bigwigs and we were all under the influences of whatever," he said. "We were quite egotistical, including myself. And somebody said, 'Do you write songs?' 'Oh, yeah, I write, sure, you bet!' 'Well do you got any new material?' 'You bet! I just spit 'em out, man, like gum.' And they said, 'Well, God, we gotta get you in the studio, love to hear your stuff.' So, three years later, they finally said, 'Come on, are you gonna go in or not?' And at the time I had a couple of tunes that I had written and I was ready to put down and I had to pull a band together.
"So I got members of the last three bands that I had worked with, who were Quicksilver, Copperhead, and Terry and the Pirates. And I put Raven together in the beginning of '76. I went in the studio and cut a bunch of my stuff and we had so much fun in the studio, we looked at each other and said, 'Hey, let's do some gigs. Come on, what do you say?' And that's how Raven started, and then it just got to be crazy. We only did about four gigs."
Though recorded in 1976, the resulting Raven album would not be released until 1980, and then on the German Line Records label. Cipollina sold the Raven album to Line while on a tour of Germany with Nick Gravenites, the blues-rock singer, who had produced and played with Quicksilver. It was one of many tours he would undertake with Gravenites, another association that lasted until his death.
Along with his work with Dolan and Gravenites, Cipollina continued to do extensive studio work throughout the 1980s, and to play in San Francisco-based bands in a bewildering profusion. Bands like Thunder and Lightning and Problem Child, with whom Cipollina frequently played on the Bay Area club circuit, never recorded. But other bands, such as the Ghosts, the post-Grateful Dead band led by Keith and Donna Godchaux, did make records. The Ghosts metamorphosed into the Heart of Gold Band after Keith Godchaux's death and, eventually, into Zero, which issued an album on Relix Records in 1987. Another major affiliation for Cipollian was the Dinosaurs, a band consisting of former members of various San Francisco bands, including former Country Joe And The Fish guitarist Barry Melton, that eventually issued an album on Relix in 1988.
Despite this activity, Cipollina was in declining health. He was sidelined for three months in 1988 due to respiratory problems. When traveling, he reportedly used wheelchairs in airports because he couldn't walk long distances. The steroids prescribed by doctors for his disease weakened his hip bones, forcing him to use crutches offstage, and he usually sat while playing. Of course, performing in smoke-filled clubs was bad for his health, but he refused to stop playing, even completing a tour of Greece with Gravenites this spring. On Monday, May 29, 1989 he was rushed to Marin General Hospital after an asthma attack. He died in the later evening hours.
Cipollina was cremated and his ashes were spread on Mt. Tamalpais in San Francisco on June 1. He had been scheduled to play with Thunder and Lightning at the Chi Chi Club in San Francisco on June 2, and Gravenites and his band Animal Mind, joined by Mario Cipollina and Greg Elmore, played a tribute show instead. But no one in the room could have played guitar like John Cipollina. No one ever did. Rolling Stone Magazine rated him nr. 32 on the list of best guitar players.
Category: GUITARISTS
Tags: 1989, psychedelic rock
Ron Wilson 5/1989
May 7, 1989 – Ronald Lee "Ron" Wilson was born on June 26, 1944 in Los Angeles.
Wilson played Drums for a high school band Charter Oak Lancers in Covina, California in 1962. The members of the outfit were inspired by Boston born surf guitarist Dick Dale, but it was drummer Ron Wilson who inspired the biggest hit of the Surf Music genre.
As one of the original members of The Surfaris, an early surf rock group formed in Glendora, California in 1962, he introduced a vigorous cadence-laced drumming style which made their music much more energetic than other surf bands.
Wilson said he had dreamed of a surfer and with the others wrote a song called "Surfer Joe", sung by Wilson. It was recorded at Pal Studios in Cucamonga, California in January 1963.
The band needed a B-side and Wilson played a drummer's practice exercise called a paradiddle. Wilson added stresses to what had been a rhythm he played in his school marching band, and the guitarists followed. According to band member Bob Berryhill, "Ronnie loved Scottish marches and played with our high school Tartan marching band. That came into play coupled with my suggestion of bongo rock-type breaks for an arrangement, a drum-solo type of song with a simple guitar melody. Ronnie started playing the famous Wipe Out solo and in about ten minutes we had the song together."
His energetic drum solo made 'Wipe Out' the best-remembered instrumental of the period. The band toured in various forms for many years and at times invited members of the audience to attempt Wilson's drum riff while the guitarists played the melody.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Wilson was the drummer with the Monica Dupont band, which included Mel Brown, Johnny Heartsman, Bobby Forte' and from time to time Bard Dupont. They recorded Honky Tonk live at the Stony Inn, in Sacramento, California available as a free download at www.peaceintheworld.us
He was only 44 when he died of a brain aneurysm on May 7, 1989
Tags: 1989, Surf Rock
Posted on September 8, 2016 February 21, 2019 by Macamba0 — Leave a comment
Bennie Benjamin 5/1989
May 2, 1989 – Claude A. "Bennie" Benjamin was born on November 4th 1907 in Christiansted on the island of St.Croix in the Danish Virgin Islands, which became US territory 10 years later. At the age of twenty, he moved to New York City. There, he studied the banjo and guitar with Hy Smith. He then performed in vaudeville and with various orchestras, until, in 1941, he started composing songs.
In 1946, Benjamin teamed with George David Weiss a partnership that would produce jewels like "Rumors Are Flying", "Surrender", "Confess", "I Don't See Me In Your Eyes Anymore", "Can Anyone Explain? (No, No, No)", "Echoes", "I'll Never Be Free", "To Think You've Chosen Me", "I Ran All the Way Home", "Jet", "Wheel of Fortune", "Cross Over the Bridge" and "How Important Can It Be".
In the late 1950's and 60's, he worked with Sol Marcus on "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", "I Am Blessed", "Of This I'm Sure", "Our Love (Will See Us Through)", "How Can I?", "Fabulous Character" and "Lonely Man". Misunderstood became a megahit for the Animals as well as Nina Simone.
Other songs include "Anyone (Could Fall In Love With You)", "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire", "Confess", "Strictly Instrumental", "I Am Blessed", "Of This I'm Sure" and "Don't Take All Night".
In 1968, Benjamin finally formed his own publishing company, Bennie Benjamin Music. In addition to his enormous catalog, Benjamin also collaborated on music and theme songs for movies including Fun and Fancy Free and Melody Time.
Bennie was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984.
He died on May 2, 1989 at the age of 81.
Category: SONGWRITERS
Tags: 1989, 81, cardiac arrest
Posted on March 16, 2016 February 21, 2019 by Macamba0 — Leave a comment
Doc Green Jr 3/1989
March 10, 1989 – Doc Green Jr (The Drifters) was born on November 8th 1934. Green began singing on Harlem street corners as a youngster and joined the Drifters sometime after it was formed in the mid-1950s. Until then he was a member of The Five Crowns but joined when in 1958 manager George Treadwell, who owned the rights to the name "Drifters", but had sacked the whole band, approached Lover Patterson, the manager of The Five Crowns featuring lead singer Ben E. King, wanting his band to adopt the appellation of The Drifters.
The singers, whose hits were to include "There Goes My Baby," "Sweets for My Sweet," "Under the Boardwalk," and "Up on the Roof," initially called themselves Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters during the late 1950s. The name was later shortened to the Drifters. According to the anthology "Who's Who in Rock," the name was used because so many of the members "drifted" back and forth to other groups.
So the new line-up of The Drifters consisted of Doc as baritone, Ben E King (lead tenor), Charlie Thomas (tenor), and Elsbeary Hobbs (bass). The group went out on the road to tour for almost a year. Since this new group had no connection to the prior Drifters, they often played to hostile audiences. This new Drifter lineup, widely considered the "true" golden age of the group, released several singles with King on lead that became chart hits.
"There Goes My Baby", the first commercial rock-and-roll recording to include a string orchestra, was a Top 10 hit, and number 193 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. "Dance with Me" followed, and then "This Magic Moment" No.16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960. "Save the Last Dance for Me" reached No.1 on the U.S. pop charts and No.2 in the UK. This was followed by "I Count The Tears."
This version of The Drifters was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000 as Ben E. King and the Drifters.
The original group broke up in the late 1960s, although a variety of acts continued to use the name.
His family said Green continued working as a singer with other groups, including, most recently, Vito and the Salutations.
He died after his battle with cancer on March 10, 1989 at age 54.
Category: VOCALISTS
Posted on February 14, 2016 February 21, 2019 by Macamba0 — Leave a comment
Vincent Crane 2/1989
Feb 14, 1989 – Vincent Crane – (Atomic Rooster) was born Vincent Rodney Cheesman on 21 May 1943 in Reading, Berkshire, England.
He taught himself boogie woogie piano as a teenager before attending Trinity College of Music between 1961 and 1964. Influenced by Graham Bond, he took up Hammond organ and in 1967 and teamed up with Arthur Brown in The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Their eponymous debut album, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown (1968) contained the song "Fire", a chart-topping hit single in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, with Crane's organ and brass arrangement to the fore.
During their first tour of the USA in 1968, Crane suffered a nervous breakdown and returned to the UK where he spent 3 or 4 months in the mental hospital at Banstead.
Crane rejoined the band but on a subsequent tour of the USA, the band disintegrated in June 1969 when Arthur Brown temporarily disappeared to a commune and Crane and drummer Carl Palmer (later of Emerson, Lake & Palmer) left to form Atomic Rooster, playing their first concert at the Lyceum in London on 29 August headlining over Deep Purple. Atomic Rooster enjoyed success in 1971 with two hit singles, "Tomorrow Night", and "Devil's Answer". Crane was the one constant member of the band through their almost constantly changing lineups, and wrote a slim majority of their material.
Crane suffered from bipolar disorder from at least 1968 onwards, periodically necessitating treatment at both out- and inpatient mental health treatment facilities.
He collaborated with other musicians on a number of albums, including Rory Gallagher (Rory Gallagher, 1971), Arthur Brown (Faster Than The Speed Of Light, 1979), Peter Green, Richard Wahnfried and Dexys Midnight Runners (Don't Stand Me Down, 1985). In 1983 he was part of the one-off blues outfit, Katmandu, with Ray Dorset, Len Surtees and Peter Green, who recorded the album A Case for the Blues.
Crane died of a deliberate overdose of Anadin tablets in 1989 at the age of 45.
Influenced by Graham Bond, in 1967 he teamed up with Arthur Brown in The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown. Their self-titled album in 1968 contained the song "Fire", a chart-topping hit single in the UK, Canada, and the US, with Vincent's organ on the leads. The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown practically dissolved on tour in the U.S.A., when Crane and drummer Carl Palmer left to form Atomic Rooster in late 1969. They enjoyed success in 1971 with two hit singles, "Tomorrow Night", and "Devil's Answer".
In 1983 he was part of the one-off blues outfit, Katmandu, with Ray Dorset and Green, who recorded the album A Case For The Blues
Crane lost his fight against manic depression with an overdose of painkillers on Valentine's Day, 14 Feb. 1989. He was 45.
Posted on February 3, 2016 February 21, 2019 by Macamba0 — Leave a comment
Trevor Lucas 2/1989
February 4, 1989 – Trevor George Lucas (Fairport Convention) was born in Bungaree, Victoria, Australia on December 25, 1943. He learned to play guitar in order to help with his dyslexia. In his youth, Lucas studied to become a carpenter and performed nights at local clubs in Melbourne from 1961 or 1962.
He released his first solo work in Australia, two tracks, "Old Time Religion" and "Dem Bones Gwine to Rise Again", on the Various Artists' extended play The Folk Attick Presents (1963). In mid-1964 he married his first wife, Cheryl. In late 1964 Lucas released a solo album, See That My Grave Is Kept Clean on EAST Records. He also appeared on a compilation album called "Australian Folk Festival", which was recorded in August that year with other folk musicians, Tina Lawton, Paul Marks, Brian Mooney, Lenore Somerset and Martyn Wyndham-Read.
On New Year's Eve 1964 Lucas boarded the Greek ship, RHMS Ellinis, and relocated to United Kingdom with Cheryl. In London he worked as a solo artist and accompanist at various folk clubs including The Troubadour. He performed at the International Folk Fest at Royal Albert Hall. Lucas released his second solo album, Overlander (1966), on Reality Records. In August 1967 Lucas, playing bass guitar, formed the folk band Eclection with fellow Australian Kerrilee Male on lead vocals, Georg Kajanus (as George Hultgreen) on guitar and lead vocals, Michael Rosen on guitar and lead vocals, and Gerry Conway on drums. In August 1968 they issued a self-titled album and continued until their breakup in October 1969. Lucas recalled the group, "a very underground, flower power group, based on a cross between the Jefferson Airplane and the Mamas and the Papas [it was] a good apprenticeship in electric music. I don't think it created anything devastatingly good … We were all very naive … We got ripped off terribly"
At this time he was dating the lead singer of Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, and appeared on Fairport's album Unhalfbricking.
In late 1969 Lucas, Denny and Conway formed Fotheringay after Denny left Fairport Convention – other members included Pat Donaldson on bass guitar and Jerry Donahue on guitar and vocals. In June 1970 Fotheringay released a self-titled album where Lucas provided acoustic guitar and vocals. The album included the Lucas-penned track, "The Ballad of Ned Kelly" (aka "Poor Ned") and "Peace in the End" co-written with Denny. Fotheringay released only the one album and the band broke up the following year.
In 1972, Lucas organized and produced a one-off album "The Bunch" which featured 12 classic oldies favorites performed by past and (then) present members of Fairport Convention, as well other friends. He became a session musician and record producer for Bronco, Julie Covington, Al Stewart, The Strawbs and Richard & Linda Thompson.
In July to August 1972 Lucas was helping Fairport Convention record their album Rosie (February 1973) when he joined the group with Donahue. On 20 September 1973 Lucas and Denny married and shortly thereafter Denny rejoined Fairport Convention. In late 1975 Fairport started a long promotional tour and shortly afterwards Lucas, Denny and Donahue left the band. Lucas and Denny left because "we'd spent eight months on the road touring, and we'd been thinking of having a family and all that sort of thing". Lucas assisted on Denny's further solo work. In the mid-1970s the couple relocated to the village of Byfield in Northamptonshire, in July 1977 Denny gave birth to their only child, a daughter, Georgia Rose Lucas.
Then in April 1978, tragically Sandy had a fatal fall down a flight of stairs, leaving Trevor to raise their newborn daughter, Georgia, by himself.
Note: Sandy Denny had apparently suffered from substance abuse problems for some time, and by 1977 her addictions were obvious to others. Linda Thompson told The Guardian that shortly after the birth of their daughter Georgia in July 1977, Denny "was crashing the car and leaving the baby in the pub and all sorts of stuff." Thompson also noted that the child was born prematurely, yet Denny seemed to have little concern for her new baby.
In late March 1978, while on holiday with her parents and baby Georgia in Cornwall, Denny was injured when she fell down a staircase and hit her head on concrete. Following the incident, Denny suffered from intense headaches; a doctor prescribed her the painkiller Distalgesic, a drug known to have fatal side effects when mixed with alcohol. On 13 April, concerned with his wife's erratic behaviour and fearing for his daughter's safety, Trevor Lucas left the UK and returned to his native Australia with their child. Four days later, Denny collapsed and fell into a coma while at a friend's home. On 21 April, she died at Atkinson Morley Hospital in Wimbledon. Her death was ruled to be the result of a traumatic mid-brain hemorrhage and blunt force trauma to her head.
Lucas returned to England for her funeral, then in August, he was back in Melbourne, "I came here because it seemed like a good refuge … I've got a lot of family here, and I thought it was important for Georgia, my 13-month-old daughter, to have that sort of security".
Lucas settled permanently in Australia after 1978. From 1979 and into the 1980s, Lucas was producing albums for Australian artists and later started working on scores for the film industry. In the 1980s, he was producing more albums and later started working on scores from the film industry. In 1985 he returned to England to work on a tribute album to Sandy Denny.
On 4 February 1989, Trevor Lucas died of a heart attack in his sleep, in Sydney, aged 45 years old. His children were left in the care of Elizabeth Hurtt-Lucas – his thread wife – who administered the estates of both Denny and Lucas. According to Australia rock music historian Ian McFarlane, Lucas "was one of the most acclaimed singer/songwriters Australia ever produced and although he was held in high regard in UK folk-rock circles, he remained virtually unknown in his homeland."
Categories: BASS PLAYERS, SONGWRITERS, VOCALISTS
Posted on January 31, 2016 February 21, 2019 by Macamba0 — Leave a comment
Paul Robi 2/1989
February 1, 1989 – Paul Irvin Robi was born in New Orleans on August 20th 1931. He went on to become the lead tenor of the L.A group, The Platters in 1954.
At a time when rock 'n' roll was becoming the nation's signature music, the Platters managed to appeal to both rock and traditional movements.
One of the most successful and romantic vocal groups of the 1950s, Robi stayed with the Platters for the next eleven years, and can be heard on all their many hits, including "Only You", "The Great Pretender", "Twilight Time", "Smoke Gets In Your Eye's" and "Harbour Lights", selling in the millions of copies. In a single year–1958–the group had two gold records, both based on older songs: "Twilight Time" and "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes."
The Platters were formed by Herbert Reed in 1953 and originally included Reed, Robi, Lynch and Tony Williams. Later a woman, Zola Taylor, was added.
The group had 40 charting singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart between 1955 and 1967, including four no. 1 hits. The Platters were one of the first African American groups to be accepted as a major chart group and were, for a period of time, the most successful vocal group in the world.
As a group, the Platters began to have difficulties with the public after 1959, when the four male members were arrested in Cincinnati on drug and prostitution charges. Although none were convicted, their professional reputation was seriously damaged and US radio stations started removing their records from playlists, forcing the group to rely more heavily on European bookings. Robi left the group in 1965.
Along with the Platters, Robi was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
He died of pancreatic cancer at age 57 on February 1, 1989
Tags: 1989, r&b


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TORONTO, ON., ( March 11, 2015) – Toyota Canada Inc. today announced it will conduct safety recalls of approximately 12,043 Model Year 2015 Camry, Camry Hybrid, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, and 2014-2015 Model Year RAV4 vehicles.
In the involved Camry, Camry Hybrid, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid and RAV4 vehicles, a circuit board for the electric power steering (EPS) may have been damaged during its manufacturing process. This can result in the loss of power steering assist; an instrument panel warning lamp will also come on. Manual steering is maintained, but the loss of power steering assist results in increased steering effort at low vehicle speeds and increases the risk of a crash.
Toyota is not aware of any crashes, injuries or fatalities caused this condition.


Humane Society of Logan County members take a break before the general membership meeting last night at Trinity Episcopal Church. Progress on the new shelter was the prime topic of discussion.
The best place to be on August 27, 28 & 29!
In this July 30 photo, Geray Williams, an inmate at the North Branch Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Md., says goodbye to his children, Sanchez, 12, and Summer Williams, 13, during the closing minutes of a weeklong summer day camp at the maximum-security prison. The camp is designed to help inmates reconnect with their children through crafts and other camp-style activities.
The Fair Book is Now complete!
And if you don't follow instructions, I will smack you with this paddle.
Actually Charlotte Griffin is giving lessons on the rules of pickleball to an interested group at the Lincoln Park District on Wednesday.
In an April 22 photo, actor Ernest Borgnine arrives at the premiere of the newly restored feature film "A Star Is Born" in Los Angeles. Borgnine will be honored for lifetime achievement by the Screen Actors Guild. The Oscar-winning actor will receive the award for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment at the 17th annual SAG Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 30, 2011.
Minnesota Twins' Joe Mauer, left, hits a home run in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the White Sox at Target Field in Minneapolis on Wednesday night. White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski, second from left, looks on. The Twins beat the Sox again to take a five-game lead in the division.
Can Brett Favre do it again for the Vikings?


So, I'm still having to take extreme infection precautions. No visitors allowed. I wear a mask whenever I leave the house. I limit how much time I spend outside the house, or at least my truck. To maintain my sanity, I have ventured out to enjoy a couple of parks from my disinfected bubble. Otherwise, it's home, oncologist, transfusion center, and occasionally my general practitioner. Such an exciting life… My follow-up biopsy to see how my marrow is rejuvenating is scheduled for mid-April. So, there is that to look forward to. Hopefully the results will be good and we will have a clearer path going forward.
In case you haven't seen my social media posts, Relay For Life is coming up for Baldwin County. That's always an exciting night and celebration, even though this year will be a bit different with me needing to most likely keep a mask on for the duration. Please be praying specifically that my immune system will improve for the Relay itself and the survivor dinner beforehand. And, if you're so inclined, I'm still a few hundred dollars away from my $1,000 fundraising goal. You can CLICK HERE to donate to my efforts.
There are a few other things I'm looking forward to as well. First, I plan on activating Bartram Forest Wildlife Management Area for the World Wide Flora and Fauna Parks on the Air program. I'll be able to operate my radio from inside my truck and just park inside the bounds of the WMA. The program also includes state parks, so I hope to add Hamburg State Park and A.H. Stephens State Park to my activation list. I have already operated from Jekyll Island State Park last February while we were on vacation.
I have also decided to start offering online American Government courses for home schoolers, or anyone else who is interested under the umbrella of Willowtree. I'm building the course now and hope to have it ready by early summer or at least fall. It will be self-paced, so students can start any time. If you're interested, send me a message and I'll let you know when it's launched. If this course goes well, I may also add State and Local Government and Introduction to Public Administration courses as well.
Praying for you in this fight against your illness! "Keep on keeping on" as radio and t.v personality, Bill Powell, (WMAZ) used to say!


The Philadelphia Zoo is one of my favorite zoos. I love their collection of amazing animals many of whom you can see playing and running or just sitting above your head in their Tree Top Trails and Zoo 360 animal exploration trails. It is a concept that is enriching for both the animals and the visitor. A special shout out to friends Sheila and Jerry (and Tony the rhino) who made this visit even more memorable.
Hey Judy…let us know the next time you visit the Philly Zoo. We love it and have been members. We can meet you there!
Thanks for sharing al these amazing photographs.


Mollie - for always being helpful to others and being an overall Superstar in everything you do!
Esme - for fantastic writing this week.
Lily - for trying her absolute hardest in everything (even fractions)!
Alice - for always being helpful and mature.
Henry - for amazing story writing!
Well done to Chloe B for receiving her Toe by Toe Level 2 Certificate.


Back to school is huge yearly event – whether it's your child's first school year, third, or tenth! As with any big milestone, celebrating it is fun!
Traditions don't have to be elaborate. These are ten very simple traditions you can start now. Many of them are ideas you can do before school starts, or in the early days of the year, to talk about what your child is thinking about the new year, what excites them, worries them, any questions they have (we also like to do this while playing our Back To School I Spy Game!).
1. You can take a picture in the same place every year, like the front steps. Even if you move – always take a picture sitting on steps, or by a door. Or by a tree, and watch the tree grow with your child!
2. Signs! Print out first day of school signs. Or have your child hold a chalkboard with the school year (you can even do this as a group shot with all your kids!).
3. Take a picture on the first day, and on the last day of school take a picture of your child holding a picture of that first day picture.
4. Have a party!: I love Toddler Approved's School Will Be a Blast Rocket party! Even easier – you can never go wrong with putting a candle on a cupcake! Throw on a candle with a grade number (or a K or a P if you have littler ones)! You could also do this with a morning muffin for a back to school breakfast treat!
5. Decorate a pencil box to hold all those new back to school supplies. Use stickers, or Mod Podge favorite magazine clippings to the tin.
7. Decorate back to school magnets to hold all those masterpieces and aced tests!
8. Decorate a picture frame to hold that first of school picture! You can get basic unfinished wood , or even paper , frames at craft stores, which your kids can personalize however they choose: paint, glitter, stickers, stencils – the sky's the limit.
9. Have a big "School Playground Games" playdate. Break out the schoolyard games: corners, hopscotch, jump rope, balls – all your favorites!
10. Interview your child – Use our free printable or ask questions like "What are you most looking forward to about being a Kindergartner? What game are you excited to play at school? Who do you want to sit next to at lunch?" I find that my (almost!) Kindergartner has patience for about 5-8 questions, depending on how silly they are! I plan to ask similar questions each year, so we can see how the response changes.
Honorable mention (am I allowed to do that on a top 10 list?): My husband's idea? Come up with a new handshake to do each year with your kids!


This month I can truly say time flew by, I haven't even posted anything since the last In My Kitchen post. May was insanely busy with end of school year activities, field trips, helping with testing at school, promotion ceremonies and then just the usual craziness that is life.
Now I'm trying to adjust to our new summer schedule and will attempt to get better about posting. Part of our schedule issues now are time to cook and photograph. Many days we don't get home until it's time for a late lunch. Then I'm lucky if I have time or energy to cook and get nice photos. This month we have a dark theme for IMK, the only time I had to photograph was during a dark and dreary stormy day! In the meantime here is an In My Kitchen post, I'm linking with Sherry over at Sherry's Pickings for this monthly linkup.
Despite being insanely busy I did manage to still cook most meals and spend plenty of time in the kitchen. First off we have my Mother's Day gifts. Josh went on a tray shopping binge, he knows me so well. The first one has already been used often, it's the ideal size for a cup of tea and snack or breakfast by myself.
This entry was posted in In My Kitchen and tagged ceramics, Dinner Changing the Game, garden. vegetables, Melissa Clark, trays on June 9, 2017 by Gretchen.


I used Europe-Limo for my personal and business rides to/from the airport and there very reliable and their drivers are very nice!
Hands down the best limousine company in the industry. Starts with amazing customer services, brand new vehicles, and are always on time if not 20 minutes early to all my trips. My chauffeur is always extremely polite and assists with any carry on luggage they also always know the best route to take no matter what time of day depending on traffic.
Posted by Hanie T. from Yelp on July 24, 2015. Brought to you by binglocal.
My buddy referred me to Europe Limo and they are by far the best service I have used for travel, whether for business or personal. I highly recommend them. Request Ron as your driver.
Posted by Chris K. from Yelp on May 19, 2015. Brought to you by binglocal.
Europe Limousine Services serves the Tri-state area with sedans, stretch limos, vans, minibuses and coach buses for business and corporate travel, airport transfers, tours, weddings and special occasions. These luxury vehicles have a host of amenities—from television, stereo and DVD players to drinks and snacks—available on request.


text:
Home Sports BOXING Page 3
Vijender Singh's US pro debut postponed following injury during training
BOXING March 28, 2019
Indian boxing star Vijender Singh's much-awaited professional debut in the USA, scheduled for April 12, has been postponed after he injured himself during a...
Amit Panghal, Shiva Thapa in Indian men's boxing team for Asian Championships
Asian Games gold-medallist Amit Panghal will be making his competitive debut in the 52kg category while Shiva Thapa (60kg) will eye a record-breaking fourth...
Magnificent Mary officially becomes world's best female boxer
BOXING January 10, 2019
India's Mary Kom rose to the top of the boxing world rankings on Thursday (10), two months after becoming the first female boxer to...
Olympian Vijender Singh dreaming of Madison Square Garden and Canelo fight
BOXING December 6, 2018
A debut at the Madison Square Garden and a showdown with Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez are top of Vijender Singh's wishlist as he ventures...
Anthony Joshua inspires Amir Khan ahead of UK comeback
BOXING April 20, 2018
AMIR KHAN is looking forward to riding the wave of interest in British boxing generated by the likes of world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua...
Khan aware that Lo Greco loss could mean end of career
By Sarwar Alam Amir Khan has admitted that it will be 'game over' if he loses to Phil Lo Greco at the Echo Arena in...
Indian trail-blazer Kom finally bags Commonwealth gold
Indian boxing star Mary Kom opened up on the heartache she faced returning to competition after having children as she captured her first Commonwealth...
Indian policeman wants revenge over boxing world champion Spence
An aggrieved Indian policeman and amateur boxer wants a rematch with world champion Errol Spence and says he will beat the American star all...
Mary Kom eyes gold after sealing first Commonwealth medal
BOXING April 8, 2018
"Magnificent" Mary Kom said she was not about to settle for bronze after the Indian boxing star emphatically secured her first Commonwealth Games medal...
India's Magnificent Mary driven by Ali in bid for more boxing gold
BOXING December 21, 2017
She is a five-time world champion, mother of three and member of parliament, but Indian boxer Mary Kom believes that at 35 there is...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
These frequently asked questions have been compiled from correspondences over the last year of our existence. This section will be in a state of constant construction, as we add more and more questions and answers herein.
Q: Wait, are you for real?
Absolutely, but the level of seriousness one puts towards Newfredland is open to all interpretations. The royal family and some citizens believe it is very serious, some of our citizens just think it's fun and a sort of hobby, all are right. If you're joining for the reason of hobby/fun, or if you're joining to be a part of something, or even if you're joining because you believe in what we stand for, you're all welcome!
Just remember this, you will be a dual citizen, meaning that you will still live where you are and need to follow all applicable laws.
Q: How much does citizenship cost?
Let me calculate this real fast 1×7 then add 11% tax, minus a 5$ chipotle gift card, and citizenship is 100% free. Now, if you wanted printed documents, a passport, or whatever, that would cost you for the item(s), but your citizenship here is free.
Q: Is this a scam?
Nope, we're legit, in fact, we're too legit to quit (MC Hammer reference noted). I'm an expert on scams, just send us $19.99 and we'll tell you about them all 🙂 Lord Frederick and Newfredland are very real and aren't out to take anyone's hard-earned wages…period!
Q: What does dual citizenship mean?
Dual citizenship simply means that you can live in your home country or in Newfredland at any time and are recognized as a citizen in good standing of both. When in either country, you still must respect their laws and customs.
Q: Are the royals of Newfredland actually royalty?
Yes, Lord Frederick has traced his lineage through DNA and historical records, directly to the high kings of Tara (County Meath) in Ireland, in which his family holds claim over the castle there. Both he and Samantha are recognized as Lord and Lady of the small town of Ardmore, and the first King and Queen of Newfredland.
The royal family currently lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as they await the building of their permanent palace in Michigan.
Q: I have a criminal record in my past, can I become a citizen?
This is on a crime-to-crime basis, in which we look at many factors of the individual and the crime they committed. That being said, if you're a smooth criminal (MJ reference…jamone) you're in, but we hold a few offenses as irreprehensible and immediately blackball those who have committed them. These are;
All other offenses will still be held in consideration for citizenship, without prejudice. People change, and we're hopeful that every individual who has committed a wrong changes their ways and perceptions. We do not judge others but must ensure the safety of each and every citizen of Newfredland.
Q: What about politics?
Newfredland is a monarchy that oversees the day-to-day operations, they also install new members of the government, citizens, nobles, and knights of Newfredland. Within Newfredland, we do not discuss any outside politics that are not directly involved with Newfredland.
Q: Do you use titles in Newfredland?
We do, titles to us separate those who do more within our nation, from those who are less active. Though some may hold titles, they are not better than our basic citizenry and all must abide by the laws of Newfredland. Our titles are;
Prince(s) and Princess(es) – Children of the King and Queen.
Lords and Ladies – Nobles
Sir and Madam – Knights
Q: What about religion?
This is written directly into our founding documents, but I'll elaborate here for the people in the back. All religions and no religion are welcomed within Newfredland and all are free to practice said religion or atheism as they will. We do not have a state-sponsored religion in Newfredland, nor do we put forward one way over another.
Q: What can a citizen in Newfredland do with citizenship?
We have a lot of activities for citizens coming up shortly; chatrooms, online meetings via zoom, discussions, and input on all things Newfredland, help in projects to see our nation grow, newsletters, interaction with the Newfredland community, the ability to tell people they hold dual citizenship (their reactions are really fun to see), so much more…


We are getting our yellow letters marketing in order now, but we have a few questions regarding the process on the best way to market to our prospects.
When doing a mailing sequence to our potential sellers, how many total mailers is best to send out to each prospect and how often to mail out the letters, postcards, etc.? I've read that 7 is a good number, but wanted to know what you all would recommend.
Does anyone have a good script that we can reference to when we receive calls? Yellowletters.com has a good one to follow, but wanted to know if anyone has any other ideas.
They only thing we are confused on the order of sequence is after the seller qualifies from our script criteria, what is the best order to get a contract done?
3) When is the best time to do a due diligence research on the home?
Thanks! We are looking forward to hearing everyone's advice!
Hello there.... this is something that I been working on for my self, i been working really hard on the order of the questions, it is not done yet but you can use it and make it better. All ideas are very welcome from everyone buy the way.
How did you happen to hear about us?
Could you tell me a little bit about your property?
Do you own any liens on this property?
Any adverse changes to the area recently?
What kind of condition is the property right now?
Sounds like a good property… Why do you want to sell it?
How fast do you need to sell it?
What have you done to try to sell it?
How long have you been trying to sell it?
Why do you think it hasn't sold?
Which is more important for you, a fast sale or getting top dollar?
When will be the best time to meet?
Google Everything: You will want to find out as much as possible about the property. Google the property name. Check to see if there are any comments or reviews of the property. Google the property address, street and area. Look for any problems or concerns, these may become value plays for you.
Local Police: Check the local police and sheriff websites. Search their online database for crimes in the area. Look for the community policing contacts. Call and speak with them. Tell them you are looking at a property in their jurisdiction. Do they know the property, is it causing problems for them. What do they feel about the area? Is it an area they would want their daughter around at night? Is there a local Crime Prevention group for the neighborhood? Who would be a contact person?
Local Fire: Check the website of the local fire department. Often you have the ability to check for previous fires, chemical issues and ambulance transports. Are many of the calls in the area drug related medical events? Call the local fire station, not the emergency number, when its quiet. Have a conversation with the desk firefighter. Do they know the property? Any trouble with flooding in the area? Do they have problems with the building's fire alarm? Any underground storage tanks on the property?
Chamber of Commerce: Call the President of the Chamber. Tell them you are expanding your real estate holding into their area. What can they tell you about the current business climate? You can say you are looking at a certain property right now. Do they know anything about the area, etc? Ask for referrals, who do they like and know in the local banks, best Real Estate Attorney, Property Inspector, Property Management firms. Remember you will be getting good referral names as well as their strong name drop.
Economic Development Office: Access the state, county and city/town Economic Development office websites. Draw up any reports on the site which talk about job growth, local support for improvements. These reports are helpful for noting trends and statistics that you can use for your business plan and property package. Call the local office, ask about area development, the specific area your interested in. Are there any local funding sources to access for improvements?
What made you buy this home in the first place?
What improvements have you made to the property since you bought it?
What is different in this home from other homes in the area?
What do you think the house will be worth in today's market?
Did the Realtor give you any clear explanation of why they believe the house is not selling?
What percent you had on mind for a Real Estate Agent commission?
How much are you willing to take for fast cash and no worries about fixing, cleaning or doing nothing before the sale?
Is it anybody living here now?
How long has the tenant been here?
How much is the rent?Best of luck!!!!!!!


Polytunnels are an increasingly common sight on an allotment. They are a cheaper and larger alternative to greenhouses, and without the problems associated with broken glass.
In this article, I show how to build a polytunnel from Premier Polytunnels. As an alternative, you may like to see plastic growing tunnels on Amazon UK.
The work to build a polytunnel is significantly more than for a simple plastic greenhouse, but the strength and durability can be much greater, and they provide significantly more growing space.
The advantages of using a polytunnel include easier germination in spring and a longer growing season. They are especially good for mediterranean vegetables like tomatoes, chillies, aubergines, peppers, and cucumbers.
See the video on how to build a polytunnel, or continue reading my guide below.
My polytunnel arrived in 13 packages, and the construction took nearly 40 hours.
An experienced DIY'er can undertake nearly all the tasks alone, but the final stage of covering the polytunnel with plastic is a two person job.
The first stage is levelling the ground ready for the construction of the polytunnel. This task is best done during late autumn, winter, or early spring when the ground is still soft and easier to work.
Once level, the position of the feet are marked. The easiest way of doing this is to measure one side and place two markers at each end. Using some maths, it is possible to work out the diagonal length of the polytunnel (the length from opposite corners). On the ground, string or tape is cut to these measurements, and used to accurately mark out all the remaining positions of the feet.
The foundations of the feet are then dug out. A base plate is attached to a foundation tube using clamps positioned above and below the plate, and the plate is buried in the bottom of the hole. The hole is then filled with earth, burying the base plate. The weight of the earth is what stops the foundation tube being lifted out in strong weather.
It is worth spending time to ensure that all the feet are correctly positioned and inline. Any mistakes at this stage will become obvious when you start to erect the hoops that form the skeleton of the polytunnel. The metal parts of the hoop are simply slotted together. When all the hoops are correctly aligned. the joints are sealed by a self-drilling screw.
A centre rail is used to strengthen the metal hoops and stop them moving side to side. The centre rail is attached using p-clips, and again once properly aligned, fixed into place using self drilling screws that go through the p-clips themselves to stop them moving.
Crop bars are then added. These do not add strength to the frame, but are useful for providing support to plants as they grow.
The last element, and one that really adds strength to the frame, are side bars. These go diagonally at each corner and significantly stop sideways movement of the end hoops and helps keep them vertical. P-clips are used to attach the sidebars.
The complete metal frame is a strong structure that is resistance to rocking, and strongly anchored to the ground owing to the base plates covered in earth.
The door frames are a critical element in the construction of a polytunnel. Positioned at each end of the polytunnel, the door frames are used to attached the plastic and hold it in place.
The plastic of a polytunnel needs to be stretched very tightly. This is important as it provides strength to the polytunnel structure, stops water pooling on top of the tunnel, and reduces the amount of movement and damage caused by strong winds.
The doors and door frames do not come pre-built. They need to be constructed and then fitted to the frame. This needs to be done twice, one at each end.
When fitting, the first step is centering the door frame under the end hoop. One door post is positioned correctly, ensuring that it is below the end hoop and vertical. One end of the door post goes into the ground, the other is attached to the end hoop using a p-clip. When all is aligned, the door post is fixed into place.
The door is made from timber. It uses right angle brackets to ensure the door is square, and is designed with two square panels. The upper panel is covered with netting. This helps considerably with ventilation, as it creates a draft at head height between the two doors at each end of the polytunnel. The bottom square is made from plastic.
After the door post is correctly positioned the next stage is to fit the door to the frame. Once this is in place, the remaining door frame is fitted around the door. The second door post is positioned in a very similar way to the first, rooted in a hole and fixed to the hoop using p-clips. A mantel is them nailed in place above the door, creating a rigid structure.
An important feature of the door frame is that battens are nailed around the outer edge of the frame to create a rebate . The plastic is stretched over this, and then held securely in place by a second batten that is nailed into place over the plastic, effectively pinching it between the two battens.
On my polytunnel, the end hoop actually contained a false door – or in other words, a door frame that does not have a door in it. Rather, two squares were created within the door frame itself, the upper part covered with net and the lower part covered with plastic.
I chose to use a base rail to secure the plastic along the sides of the polytunnel. The reason for this is that by securing the plastic to a wooden base rail, it makes it easier to weed around the edges of the polytunnel. The base rail is attached to the metal hoops using p-clips, bolts, and nails. Again a lip is created by nailing an upper batton around the base rail. A second batten is nailed below this to secure the plastic.
Before attaching the plastic, all rough and square edges should be sanded or sawn away. This is to ensure there is nothing sharp to create a rip into the plastic, either during fitting, or afterwards as the plastic moves and rocks with the weather.
This two person job should only be attempted on a day with little wind and no rain. It starts with the fitting of hot spot tape, a kind of insulation tape that forms a barrier between the plastic and any areas of metal frame it touches. This is to prevent the metal getting hot under sunlight and burning holes into the plastic cover.
The plastic needs to be rolled out on a flat surface without sharp objects to accidentally snag it. We found it easiest to roll it out fully lengthways, but without fully folding out its width. This made it easy to carefully lift the plastic into the correct position over the frame until it was centred. It is worth noting that the plastic does not reach down to the floor at each end. This is because the two ends are covered by plastic that wraps round from the sides.
The first step in attaching the plastic is to secure it at the top of each door frame. Next, the plastic is attached to the wooden base rails along the side. At every stage, the plastic is pulled as tight as possible to create a smooth surface. Finally, the plastic is attached to the sides of the door frame and the wooden side rails at each end. The pleats in the plastic near the door occur naturally as the plastic needs to be folded like this to neatly go over the rounded corners of the frame.
Once the plastic is fully secured under the wooden batons, the plastic is safe to be trimmed with scissors.
The last step was to lay a floor inside the polytunnel. All my plants will be grown in pots and grow bags. By not using the ground itself, it avoids the build up of pests and diseases. Instead, fresh soil will be used in the pots each year.
See polytunnels from Premier Polytunnels. For cheaper alternatives, see plastic growing tunnels on Amazon UK.


Psychotic symptoms in patients with medical disorders.
Psychotic symptoms frequently occur in patients with comorbid medical disorders and present a diagnostic and treatment challenge. They may be a part of an independent psychiatric illness associated with the underlying medical condition or induced by substance use or medications. The presence of psychotic symptoms can contribute to misdiagnosis or complicate the management of the comorbid medical illness. Psychiatrists must be familiar with the assessment and management of psychotic disorders in patients with comorbid medical disorders. Medications that may be used to treat psychosis include antipsychotic agents, benzodiazepines, or possibly certain anticonvulsants. Selecting the appropriate medication requires knowledge of the pharmacokinetics of different agents and their side effect profile. Understanding the neuropsychiatric effects of medications and drug-drug interactions may help in preventing psychotic symptoms.


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• Email communication (2 times) with specialist following the written report.


Disclaimer: Event though the DevOne conference is organized by Dynatrace, I am writing this recap from an attendee's point of view, not an employee's. When I say I liked something, it's because I really did. Same is true for the contrary. Opinions are my own.
DevOne is a one day conference targeting DevOps and general software development topics with around 600 attendees (about half of them Dynatrace employees). Same as last year the conference venue was Tabakfabrik Linz, a heritage-protected location in Linz that now serves as an incubator for the local tech and startup scene.
Fortunately, all (Linz-based) Dynatrace employees had the great opportunity to leave daily business behind for one day and attend this conference.
This year the overall arch of the conference was scale ranging from scaling teams and people to scaling software and services.
The conference had only one track, which I really liked as someone being very susceptible to FOMO and bad at making decisions. Actually, there was a series of smaller sessions called chalk talks, which were very specific and highly technical from what I heard, but I had no chance of attending on of these.
Emily Freeman (@editingemily) gave the opening talk about the topic of scaling teams and the question of how can organizations deal with teams growing from 10 to 100 to 1000 and more people?
I'm sorry to say that the historic analogies (Spartans, Mongols, Romans) she used, did not work well for me. It's of course tempting to romanticize and idealize the success of these cultures and want to map their organizational structures on today's organizations, at the same time neglecting the fact that a lot of this success was based on genocide, intimidation and slavery - "values" no company should want to associate itself with.
Rainer Stropek (@rstropek) is a veteran conference speaker and well-known figure in the .NET universe. His session was very hands-on and code-heavy, which I usually really enjoy in tech conferences - but here at DevOne this felt somehow out of place, especially in comparison with the rest of the talks. What I also gathered from other (non .NET-savvy) attendees was the fact, that they felt completely overwhelmed by this talk.
This means that only if there are well-established baselines for everything on/off, features can be tested meaningful in isolation.
Carmen Andoh (@carmatrocity) won probably most of the audience's hearts by using Zelda references in her talks. She used the metaphor of detail and overworld maps for navigating the vast amount of cloud technologies and offerings available today. Both a basic understanding of fundamentals (the overworld) and deeper knowledge about specific technologies (the details) are necessary to be successful.
Ulf Adams (@ulfjack) presented Bazel, a build tool developed at Google which has the unique (AFAIK) trait of being polyglot. This means (at least in theory) that each team of a larger development organization can contribute build modules developed in the language of their choice. I must say I really like this idea and would love to give it a try, but given that fact that we only just switched our build environment to CMake, my hopes are not hight.
Matheus Fernandes (@matheusfrndes) works at Zeit who develop a couple of great tools and technologies like Next.js, Hyper or Now their serverless deployment tool and environment. Since - as he stated - "there is no serverless", he explained some of the concepts and technolies used behind the frictionless experience of Now, how things work and what they have planned for the future.
A point of criticism I heard about this talk, which is probably valid, is that he never really explained what Now actually is and what it does in the first place. So for someone who hadn't heard about Zeit or Now yet, the whole talk was probably a bit puzzling.
Wolfgang Hennerbichler's talk about SRE (Site Reliability Engineering) was definitely among my favorite talks this day. To be honest I hadn't heard about SRE before, but from what he described, this acronym had been coined at Google, where he had worked as an SRE engineer and built teams around that. The basic idea behind having SRE engineers is having people who are pessimistic about code and products, - as opposed to regular engineers who are usually way to optimistic about it ("what could possible go wrong?") - and prepare and test for scenarios where things go wrong. One could clearly see that he had a lot of practical experience in that area and he had a couple of interesting insights and stories to share.
Adrian Hornsby (@adhorn) shared a couple of really good insights on how resilience and availability is implemented at Amazon and how it is really in the DNA of this company. What I personally found most useful was the issue of timeouts. As assessed by rasing hands in the audience, nobody really knows about their timeouts when it comes to network or database connections. Quite often these timeouts amount to infinite wait times in practice which can quickly result in unwanted failovers and clustered failure scenarios. I also like the blast radius analogy, where systems are designed with regard to minimal impact to other services, should one of them fail or go down.
Chris Thalinger (@christhalinger) works at the #TwitterVMTeam) on the tuning the JVM and its GC. He presented an optimization approach using their AutoTune utility, with which they managed to optimize the Graal JIT using bayesian optimization. This talk was probably a bit heavy for some of the audience but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Mathieu Henri's (@p01) last session, was the one I probably had been looking forward to the most. I had seen him speak (rather perform) at ScriptConf 2017 and I have the fondest memories of this session.
This time it was equally amazing. He started his session by talking about his current work at Microsoft, his passion about demo scene projects and some of the educational work he does with kids.
Then he continued with an amazing live coding session producing some impressive visuals, more or less from scratch.
A great ending to a great conference!
Oh, and also: the session recordings should be available online soon. In case you're interested, make sure to regularly check here or here for them.