John L's Bread Pages-Page Three

The Totally Unofficial & Unauthorized
John L's Bread Pages

PAGE THREE

Continued from Page Two

And now, a Matching Set from the upcoming Breadquiz. Considering the four essential components of bread (i.e., the food), place the letter of the most appropropriate item from the second column in the blank by each Bread member's name in the first column. (One point per blank)
David Gates James Griffin Mike Botts Robb Royer Larry Knechtel	A. water B. flour C. salt D. yeast

Conclusion

While compiling my original discography in the late 1970s (mainly to keep track of my growing Griffin collection), I had a vague notion of possibly turning it into a comprehensive biodiscography of the group. However, the research had to be put on the far back burner which was probably a good thing as I was accumulating a lot of faulty information from the popular press. This site is as far as I go with biographies, and real biographies can be done effectively by real authors. At the present time, the most valuable biographical information one can find is available on the Rhino CD reissues whose liner notes are filled with reminiscences by the individual artists.

During the 1970s and '80s, I would wonder who ordered the DJs to announce the group as "David Gates and Bread" when one could plainly see that was not the name of the group printed on every one of their singles and LPs! In 1978, a David Gates solo UK tour was mistakenly promoted as such as shown here. How about that other lead singer with the most incredible voice who seemed to be laboring in obscurity on Bread's B-sides and albums? Another question comes up which is best answered by the individual Bread fan: Is Bread as they are best-known really Bread at their best? And why categorize Bread's music as "soft-rock"? The concept of categories in music is (to utilize a polite phrase from "Futurama") so much pure weapons-grade balonium anyway.

My sweet friend Kellie – a real expert in all things musical – came up with her idea for a new compilation CD whose proposed tracks are listed here. Note that there are none of those pesky hits to get in the way and spoil the mood. How about "A Fresh Slice of Bread" for the title? If such a collection of rarely-heard B-sides and album tracks would appear along with some additional live recordings and unreleased items, any new revival of interest might be expedited. If performed by the original artist(s), the appearance of a hitherto-obscure Bread-related song at an appropriate moment in a good movie or TV episode could get the ball rolling.

John Lindquist

Larry Knechtel passed away from an apparent heart attack on August 20, 2009 at the age of 69. His home town paper has a story here. Check out the great tribute videos on YouTube starting here. A video clip of Larry playing piano with Elvis Costello is shown with the story here.

Mike Botts passed away from colon cancer on December 9, 2005 at the young age of 61. Mike wrote about his passion for music and live performance in his Dan Fogelberg Road Journal which is found on his site here. An excerpt: "[While playing the few final songs in a concert] I was reminded that this was what it was really all about. Those two special hours out of the day! All the traveling and hotels and life on the road in general were worth it just to have those two hours of music every night. To be able to play great music with great musicians and with the support and encouragement of an enthusiastic audience, for me, that's the whole enchilada, man." Check out the excellent video tribute here.

James Griffin passed away from lung cancer at his home on January 11, 2005 – also at 61. Take a moment to look at the photos here of James doing what we have come to know and appreciate so much of him these past many years. Some great personal tributes can be read here, and the Nashville Tennessean obituary is now found here.

LINKS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

WORT STREAMS!
Listener-sponsored alternative radio station WORT-FM in Madison, WI – Your 3000 Watt Blowtorch of Love – is on the internet for your listening and/or dancing pleasure. Click here for streaming and audio archive details. (Due to copyright restrictions, music programs in the archive are not downloadable and can only be heard for a week after the program's airing.)

You can never tell when some rare Bread-related item will get played on "I Like It Like That" which is on every Saturday night at 6PM, CDT. The program is hosted by Rockin John McDonald, and he bravely lets me on to co-host or fill in on a most irregular schedule.

For the playlist from a Holiday Show, click here. Needless to say, "I Am That I Am" always goes over well. And we always include Black Tie's 2nd version of "Learning The Game" on our Buddy Holly specials.

Fran Hart's BreadFans Web Site with Guestbook starts here.
An excellent and well-rounded Bread site from Japan can be found here. In this site, an especially helpful list of Bread cover songs starts here.
Go to the Google Bread Directory, and why not do a search? Click here for an example.
The Official Mike Botts Website: News, photos, road journals of the 1996-97 worldwide Bread Tour and the Dan Fogelberg 2003 Summer Tour, and more. His solo CD is still available and downloadable at CD Baby.
Robb Royer's current project NashFilms Records has its website here.
A couple more members of the old Pleasure Fair group have interesting websites worth exploring: Novelist Timothy Hallinan and Composer Stephen Cohn. Their ongoing, individual literary and musical achievements and their renewed collaboration portend more great things to come. If you want to be a writer or perhaps get some insight into what a writer's life might be like, Tim's state-of-the-art site (with blog) is highly instructive and entertaining.
Synthesizer artist Michael Iceberg added his special talent to "Goin' Back To Boston" on the "Breakin' Up Is Easy" LP, and he is featured in numerous videos on YouTube including those found here and here. A collaboration with Robb Royer is shown here.
Thoughtful commentaries on the life and career of James Griffin can be found at Randy's Rodeo and Westcoast Music.
Many experienced some incredible solo and ensemble musicianship with the Dan Fogelberg Summer Tour 2003. In August, 2003, a special performance by Mr. Fogelberg & Co. including Mike Botts was taped for the PBS "Sound Stage" program for airing in 2004. See the program description with a video clip here.
Check out the Na Kama Hele Website which features their two CD releases which are also available at CD Baby.
An amazing library of artist information with label shots and song samples is at the Rockin' Country Style site. Click here for David Gates – a contemporary of Buddy Holly for cryin' out loud.
David Gates' induction into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame is detailed here.
Some personal favorites:
- The late, great Australian rocker Billy Thorpe.
- Bekka Bramlett who has a voice like none other. A collaboration with Billy Thorpe and Mick Fleetwood is presented here.
- Billy Burnette, Mr. Rockabilly.
- What event has drawn thousands to Clear Lake, Iowa every February since 1979? Click here for the story and here for its continuation.

A big thank you to interested individuals around the world who helped put info onto these pages and/or communicated with me about some real substance: Akihide N., Alice L., Andrew B., Bill A., Bill S., Bob C., Bobby V., Brian B., Charlie O., Dave B., David C., Dean A., Dr. Rhino, Debra I., Drew R., Fran H., Gene W., Holly C., James G., Jamey G. and his incredible family, Jeff G., Jeff J., Jerry O., Jessie R., John L., Joe M., Joe S., Joe V., Judy D., Jules A., Kaoru S., Kellie G., Lisa F., Malc S., Mike B., Mike D. at 60sgaragebands.com, Mike M., the late Neva G. and Paul B., Pete C., Richard W., Rick H., Rip L., Robb R., Rockin' John McD., Ron F., Sonny C., Stephen C., Steve W., Terry G., Timothy H., William S., and WORT Listeners. Also the rockin' Anonymous family.

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Material on this page last modified on 7/14/10 at 7:30 PM, CDT.
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