Nowadays Olive Can't Even Write

Ah, Buffalo Springfield - there's not too many times in a year where I write on this band, but when I do get the chance, it's only fitting I celebrate them! Today marks 57 years since their very first gig. Let's look back on what led up to it. Credit: CBS/Getty Images Stephen Stills and Neil Young met in 1965 at Thunder Bay, Ontario-based club The Fourth Dimension while they were still with The Company (which was a spin-off of the Au Go Go Singers) and The Squires respectively. The Company, however, broke up at the end of the tour they were on at the time, and after an unsuccessful audition to join The Monkees, Stills was told by record producer Barry Friedman that work would be available as long as he assembled a band. He invited former Au Go Go Singers alumn Richie Furay and former Squires bassist Ken Koblun, who ended up leaving rather quickly in favor of joining 3's A Crowd. In 1966, Young met bassist Bruce Palmer, who was playing for The Mynah Birds at the time. Th...

Déjà Vu , the hit album by folk rock group Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young has officially been around for 53 years as of today! Released as the second studio album by Crosby, Stills, and Nash and the first as a quartet featuring Neil Young on March 11, 1970, it would go on to become the best selling album of each respective musician's careers with over 8 million sales to date.  Photo taken from Wikipedia . Cover photography by  Tom Gundlefinger. It was recorded at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco, California, where the album underwent a lot of extensive work. Stephen Stills estimates the amount of time spent in the studio to be around 800 hours, in which there were hundreds of different takes on songs and a lot of nitpicking involved. This caused a lot of conflict between the musicians who were already in a dark place at the time. Graham Nash spoke to Music Radar  in an interview, stating: "the mood was different from the first album, which was recorded while ...

David Bowie Makes His TV Debut with The Manish Boys (1965) Bowie, who was 18 years old at the time, made his TV debut with The Manish Boys, which was the second band that he recorded with early in his career. They were a short-lived blues outfit that liked to implement elements of folk and soul who appeared on Gadzooks! It's All Happening where they were set to play their only single, a cover of Bobby Bland's "I Pity the Fool" .  Small Faces Splits Up Following Steve Marriott Departure (1969) Source: Chris Walter/WireImage Active from 1965 to 1969, Small Faces called it quits following the departure of their co-founder and frontman, Steve Marriott. He left in favor of forming Humble Pie, which also featured Peter Frampton, Jerry Shirley, and Greg Ridley. Grateful Dead Keyboardist Ron "Pigpen" McKernan Dead at Age 27 (1973) McKernan, co-founder and keyboardist of Grateful Dead, was found dead by his landlady following a gastrointestinal hemorrhage caused by c...

On January 31, 2009, former Buffalo Springfield drummer Dewey Martin passed away.  Source: Getty Images Martin, born Walter Milton Dwayne Midkiff, was found in his apartment located in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California. He was discovered by his roommate the day after his death. According to a Lisa Lenes, a longtime friend of his, he had struggled with his health for quite some time, and is believed to have died of natural causes. He was 68 years old. In 1997, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside the other members of Buffalo Springfield, which included Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Richie Furay, and Bruce Palmer. Outside of the band's short-lived tenure, he did session work for the Monkees, and has also been a member of various other bands such as Sir Raleigh and the Coupons, The Standells, the Modern Folk Quartet, the Dillards, and Medicine Ball.  From 2008 up until his death, he became a cast member of OUTLAW RADIO, a live internet radio program ran by ...

January 24 seems to be a rather significant day for folk musicians and fans alike, due to the birthdays of quite a few important figures. This includes Michael Chapman! Source: Rex/Shutterstock Chapman, who would have turned 82 today, started out as a jazz musician, but became well known in the folk clubs in the late '60s. He incorporated jazz, folk, and ragtime stylings into his playing, and straddled between the folk and progressive rock scenes.  He released over 50 albums throughout his career, and continued to tour up until his death in 2021. Despite many ups-and-downs throughout his career, he always kept going.  If you haven't already, I suggest checking him out! With a discography as impressively long as his, I guarantee you'll find something you'll like. Happy listening! Note: Because his discography is far too large for me to get into here without risking my eligibility for monetization in the future, I can't type up a list of albums like I normally try to ...

January 24, 2022 - Today we celebrate the 70th birthday of Matthew Wilder, known for his hit song, " Break My Stride". Source: Ron Wolfson/Michael Ochs Archives Wilder has been active in the music industry since 1972, starting out as one half of a folk rock duo known as Matthew & Peter. They were based in Greenwich Village, which you may also recognize as a former home of famous musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, and John Lennon. He moved to Los Angeles in 1978 to pursue a career singing in commercials, and became a backup vocalist for Bette Midler and Rickie Lee Jones.  Going along with the New Wave movement of the '80s, he released his debut album, I Don't Speak the Language , in 1983, which included his biggest hit, " Break My Stride ".  He released a total of 3 albums throughout his solo career. I Don't Speak the Language (1983), Bouncin' Off the Walls  (1984), and Especially on Birthdays  (2021). In the stretch of 37 years, he became...

Today marks twenty years since former Jethro Tull Keyboardist Dee Palmer changed her name as part of her transition from male to female.  Before joining the band as a full-time member, she worked for them behind the scenes as a composer starting in 1968. She helped to pen the horn and string arrangements on   "Move on Alone" off of the album This Was. She, along with most of the other members, departed the band in 1980. The only remaining members that stayed were Ian Anderson and Martin Barre. Source: Jethro Tull's Official Website She and fellow JT member John Evan formed a band known as Tallis, however, they were not commercially successful and she went back to film scoring and working as a session musician. Palmer, who was also intersex, was born with genital ambiguity. She spent her youth struggling with gender dysphoria as a result, and had had several surgeries (the last one taking place at age 28). Her dysphoria was repressed until after the death of her wife, Magg...

January 18, 2022 - Today we remember session drummer Dallas Taylor, who is best known for his work with Clear Light, Crosby Stills, Nash, & Young, Manassas, and more. He passed away at age 66 due to complications from viral pneumonia and kidney disease. Source: Jeff Allen Dallas Woodrow Taylor Jr. was born on April 7, 1948 in Denver Colorado, but grew up in San Antonio, Texas. As a young adult he found a small bit of success with the psychedelic rock band Clear Light in the late 60s, but found further success with Crosby, Stills, and Nash's debut album, as well as their follow-up with Neil Young, Déjà Vu , alongside bassist Greg Reeves.  He also appeared on Stephen Stills's first three solo albums, ( Stephen Stills , Stephen Stills 2 , and Stills)  as well as Graham Nash's debut solo album, Songs for Beginners .  In 1974,  Taylor played  in a quartet backing Van Morrison at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and played percussion on the Byrds' 1973 reunion album By...

Today we celebrate the birthday of James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, who turns 79 today! He started playing guitar at the age of 12, and by 13, had appeared on Huw Wheldon's show, All Your Own in a skiffle quartet. When asked by Wheldon what he wanted to do post graduation, he replied, "I want to do biological research to find a cure for cancer, if it isn't discovered by then." Source: Michael Ochs Archives Page eventually left secondary school (which is like a combination of middle and high school for us American folk) to pursue music full time, but eventually enrolled in Sutton Art College when he kept coming down with infectious mononucleosis. In the late '60s, he joined the Yardbirds, although he was initially reluctant. He was offered Eric Clapton's spot but declined out of loyalty to his friend, but ended up replacing former bassist Paul Samwell-Smith before moving to 2nd lead guitar weeks later.  He joined Led Zeppelin in 1968, whose sound was large...

Source: Michael Putland/Getty Images January 3, 2023 - Today marks the 78th birthday of one of my favorite musicians, Stephen Stills! Mainly known for his work with Crosby, Stills, and Nash, as well as Buffalo Springfield, Stills has made quite the name for himself within the music industry. He's a rather unique guitarist. From soaking strings in barbecue sauce to flipping pickups, he isn't afraid to get a little weird when it comes to experimenting. On top of that, he would use alternate tunings such as E E E E B E and D A D F# A D along with standard tunings. Much of what he's incorporated into his own playing style is drawn from various genres such as rock, folk, country, blues, gospel, and Latin music.  He is also a rather accomplished multi-instrumentalist, with instruments such as the bass, organ, keyboards, banjo, drums, clavinet, and more.  Stills, being one of my personal favorite musicians, is part of the reason why my blog has its name. Taken from the Buffalo Spr...

On this day in 2009, Governor-General Michaelle Jean announced the appointment Neil Young as an Officer of the Order of Canada, as well as the appointments of 56 others.  Source: Zapista Gosatti/GettyImages Established in April of 1967, the Order of Canada is the country's second most highly regarded honor, being surpassed only by the Order of Merit. All living Canadians are eligible for it as long as they exhibit an outstanding level of talent or contribution to humanity.  Other musicians who have received the honor include Burt Cummings of the Guess Who and all three members of Rush. Congratulations, Neil! Happy listening!

Today, December 29, marks 54 years since the second day of the Miami Pop Festival.  Held from the dates of December 28-30, The Miami Pop Festival made history as the first major rock festival to take place on the east coast, and included bands and artists such as Joni Mitchell, Canned Heat, Grateful Dead, Fleetwood Mac, Chuck Berry, and many more. The total crowd size for all three days was estimated to be around 100,000 people.  At the festival, concertgoers received comic books commemorating their favorite musicians as superheroes in the form of the official program and map. If you're a collector (or just a fan) and would like one, there are some for sale, but they will run you a pretty penny. They're valued around 200-400 dollars now. Source: Heritage Auctions I've found a touched-up version of one of the promotional posters, which includes details on when performances are scheduled. There were two stages, several hundred yards apart, known as the Flower Stage and the Fl...

On December 2nd, Scottish singer Donovan released his new album, "Gaelia" to streaming platforms , which featured ten fabulous musicians over the course of thirteen tracks. It blends the styles of folk, rock, and traditional Scottish music in a manner that makes each track timeless. But as an album, does it stand well in Donovan's catalog? Here are my opinions on each track: Picture credit: Donovan's official site. shorturl.at/fzUX3 1. "Moon over Clare" One of my favorite things about this track is the fife that sort of weaves through the rest of the song, kind of like it's dancing around Donovan and his guitar. It also features a brief section involving strings that I wish could have been utilized in more of the song, however, " Moon over Clare"  is a lovely piece nonetheless. 8/10 "Watching the Sun Go Down" The very first thing that stood out to me was the usage of the lute, but the didgeridoo caught my attention rather quickly. Don...

Hey there, readers. Yesterday, the world learned the shocking news of Christine McVie's passing. The music community has suffered a major loss, and I (as well as many others) am absolutely gutted that she is no longer with us. She penned some of Fleetwood Mac's greatest songs as well as some amazing songs of her own that will, no doubt, carry her legacy for years to come.  I would also like to remind people at this time to respect the privacy of McVie's family and bandmates as they grieve. Rest easy, Songbird.  - Olive Grace

Hello there, reader! It's great to see you here! Welcome to "Nowadays Olive Can't Even Write". My name is Olive Grace, and I started up this blog as a means to connect with others and share my lifelong love of older music as well as educate those who want to learn more about it. Here, readers can expect content mainly dedicated to classic, psychedelic, and folk rock through the following means: Coverage of music anniversaries, releases, and other news. Discussion and coverage of important historical events in rock music history through the covered decades, as well as countercultural history. Album of the week posts, which will be determined by album anniversaries and significance. Any Buffalo Springfield fans reading this already know they've found their place due to the title of this blog, but to get more of an idea of the music that will be presented, here are some favorites of mine: Pink Floyd The Rolling Stones Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young (and other rela...