http://www.stevematheny.com/vern.htm

Try this link Joe. It dates back to something Wayne was involved in last year.

Hope it helps.

Sorry Joe-I guess I got carried away. JockoD

UK Dave-I saw the band quite a few times in that era and every show was fantastic. After Peter left for good around 83 I saw the band a few times with Mark and Gil sharing the lead vocal duties. All were excellent shows with extended jams and all, but there was something missing in my opinion, and of course that is only my opinion. Although I felt that way at the time I still attended every show in my area whenever possible because they were still in fact good shows. I was quite suprised in early 1988 when I attended one of their shows at a large night club in New Jersey. I had never been to this club before and found it to be a very impressive smaller concert venue probably holding in the neiborhood of 500 people or so.  My party was seated in the 1st row of tables when the band took the stage and it was at this moment that I saw Wayne for the very first time. I had no idea who he was and what role he had with the band nor what we were in store for that evening.

 The band took the stage and opened up with "Big Brother" with Gil on lead vocals. Wayne was front and center playing rhythm guitar and also singing and my first thought was that they had added another guitarist but that seemed odd to me. It was not until they went into their 2nd song "Big John" that I realized Wayne was in fact the new lead singer. Another change in the line-up that night was Rick Warner now on keyboards in place of Mark Olsen. This was the first time I had not seen Mark with the band since 1971.(After speaking with the band after the show I was told the tragic news that Mark had passed away) To the best of my knowledge Wayne only played rhythm guitar and I don't remember him playing any solos, but his inclusion as a 2nd guitarist definitely improved on the overall sound of the band in concert. It seemed to be slightly heavier and a little more full than it had before. It also seemed that each song sounded better as the night went on so by the time they got to "Im losing you" they were really fired up. Wayne was an excellent frontman and did a great job on all the classics and the newer material too. I must add that Gill also did an excellent job on the opening song as well as the closer "Celebrate" and I'm pretty sure he also sang lead on one of the new tunes also. It was an all out effort by every member in the band and it was kind of like they were announcing we're back and better than ever.

On this night I also found out that the band would be involved with a tour that upcoming summer called the Super 70's Fest that would feature 5 bands. The other bands were Bachman Turner Overdrive, The Guess Who, Mark Farner from Grand Funk Railroad and Dr Hook. I was lucky enough to catch 3 different concerts of the 70's Fest tour and each one was fantastic. Rare Earth's set was only about 45 minutes or so but was definitely the highlight of each show for me. One of these shows was a free concert in the bourough of Brooklyn which is part of New York City. This concert was part of a free summer concert series put on by NYC and held at a place called Midwood Field unless the forcast called for rain. If rain was forecast for the evening the concert's were moved indoors to Walt Witman Hall at Brooklyn College. This was the case that evening so we arrived early and had excellent seats. I grew up in Brooklyn and was still living there at the time and this particular show brought out a lot of people out who I hadn't seen in years. Quite a few of them had been to Rare Earth concerts in the 70's with me and were now seeing the band for the first time in well over a decade. Everyone that I spoke with loved the show and agreed the band was still an act to behold.

Well there goes another story for the forum and I hope that other's out there might want to add some of their stories for us as well. I have many more myself but I really don't want to be a hog so to speak so why don't some of you out there tell us about some of the Rare Earth concerts you've been to. I know I would love to hear them and I'm sure other's would too so If you have one please by all means share it with us. Maybe after we hear a few other stories I'll tell everyone about the show I saw in 1973 during the "Ma" tour where my chin was just about planted on the stage. Couldn't get closer then that if you tried. On a closing note I would like to add that I hope to attend many more Rare Earth concerts in the future. The band is still in fact one of the best live act's to ever hit the stage and the I'm sure the outcome will lead to memorable stories to be told by all that attend one of their shows. Cheers, JockoD

UK Dave-I also enjoyed Mark's playing and I also definitely agree with you about the difference in sound with some of today's modern keyboards. I can remember Mark playing the piano with one hand and the organ with the other many a time. Here's a little tibit from that concert in summer of 73. The band did an outstanding version of "Ma" that lasted somewhere around 20 minutes. It sounded even better than the studio recorded version and included a lot of interaction betweeen the band memebers. Not only did Mark's keyboard playing stand out, but he did one hell of a job playing saxaphone. It was quite a suprise to see him pick up a sax and  join Gil on the left side of the stage. They traded off licks between one another and jammed together during different parts of the song. One could easily see that Both Mark and Gil were really enjoying themselves and the crowd ate it up as well. You now how the studio version kind of gets mellow towards the end and fades out? There was nothing mellow in regards to the song this night and it rocked until the very end.

You are also right on the money with what you said about Eddie. I met him a few times and he was a gentleman besides being one of the nicest people you could ever meet. I'm sure he is greatly missed and his memory is cherished by many people including myself. He was one hell of a percussionist and no matter who his partner was on drums, it seemed that they always worked well together. Whether it was Peter, Jerry, Dean, or whoever else, Eddie's playing really enhanced the rythm section. One of my fondest memories is from the 70's when the band would do "Celebrate". During the middle of the song Eddie would switch over to the full kit as Peter grabbed the mic and headed towards the front of the stage. They never missed a beat during the switch and sometimes Pete would even step down off of the stage to sing along with the audience. This gave Eddie a chace to really shine and showcase his talent by showing us how versatile he was as a musician besides being a gifted percusisonist. It seemed to me that Eddie enjoyed being on the kit just as much as Peter enjoyed singing with the audience. Eddie would hold down the bottom end for as long as it took and then switch back over to his more familiar spot among the congas and timbales when the song finally came to an end.

You know what, I was only supposed to give you just a little tidbit from the "Ma" tour, and before I knew it I started getting carried away again. I've got to slow down here and give someone else a chance to share some of their memories with us. And besides, my fingers are getting tired so I can really use a break. Who else out there is willing to share something with us? There are tens of thousands of you out there who have seen Rare Earth in concert at one time or another so someone has to have a story to tell. How about the young lady who's parents first date was at one of the band's shows in the 70's. Maybe she can persuade her mom or dad to tell us a little about that night. I'm sure we would all like to hear about that concert. I have to warn you all that there's plenty more where the one above came from if I don't get some help really soon. JockoD

UKDave-I caught a performance from SheilaE while she was with Ringo's All Star's a few years back. She switched between the kit and other percussion instruments during the show and is a very talented lady to say the least. I never had the pleasure of seeing Prince in concert. I had the chance to see him on a recent tour and passed. I now realize this was a mistake on my part and I regret not going to his show. If he ever tours again I would really like to attend if possible.

Here's a little story that has a Rare Earth connection and is sort of on line with your post on Sheila and Prince.  Back in 73 I had a few friends who really liked the Doobie Brothers. At the time I thought they were OK but I certainly wasn't a fan of the band. Being a fan of rock and roll music in general I visited the record shop on a regular basis just to have a look around. On one of these visits in early 1974 I was hoping to find a new Rare Earth album. It had been almost a year since "Ma" was released so I thought something new might be out. After checking the Rare Earth section and not finding anything new I continued to browse through other LP's in the shop. I decided to check the Doobie's section knowing how much my friends liked them and low and behold a new LP from the Doob's was in the rack.

The LP was entitled "What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits' and as I turned it over and started reading the credits on the back cover the name "Eddie Guzman" caught my eye. There it was in black+white:Congas/Timbales 'Eddie Guzman' courtesy of Rare Earth records. Even though the Doobies were a two drummer band they still enlisted Eddie's help on percussion and that really says a lot to me. Seeing that there was no new Rare Earth LP to buy I decided to buy this new Doobie's LP and give it shot. It wasn't long before I jumped on the Doobie's fan bandwagon. I later found out that the Doobies and Rare Earth had toured together (With the Doobie's opening for Rare Earth) and they were so impressed with Eddie's musicianship that they recruited him for their next LP. Eddie's presence can really be heard on this LP and in my opinion it only makes it all the better.

Another group that the Doobies had toured a lot with during their early years was Steely Dan. They also recruited one of the Dan's members for some guitar work on couple of their LP's. I'm talking about Jeff(Skunk)Baxter who later jumped ship and joined the Doobie's as a 3rd guitarist and full time member or so I thought. I caught the Doobie's on their 1974 "Vices" tour and expected to see Jeff playing lead, rythym and steel guitar. Not only did he do all that but he also jumped onto the kit on certain songs while one of the regular drummers was playing  congas. For a guy who is known for guitar work in general it was quite suprising to see him playing drums and very well I might add. At the end of their 1974 American tour they crossed the Atlantic and did some European dates. Maybe some of you out there might of caught one of these shows. I have a video from this tour that was recorded at either The Rainbow Theatre or the Royal Albert Hall I'm not quite sure.  It's not the complete show but it has quite a few songs and also includes footage of Skunk on guitar and drums as well. It's pretty rare because there is not much out there from the pre-M.Mcdonald 3 guitar era so I consider myself very lucky to have it in my collection.

I know the above wasn't really a Rare Earth story but I decided to post it only becuase  it shows how a fan of Rare Earth became a fan of another band only because he liked Rare Earth so much. If I didn't see Eddies name on that LP I most likely would never have bought it and therefore I probably wouldn't even be writing this. I hope everyone gets my drift and please don't forget that we would like to hear from anyone that has a Rare Earth concert experience to share with us. Until next time. Cheer's JockoD  (JP2-I hope you don't mind I kind of adopted your post ending becuase it seems to fit so well)

I've been watching Wayne almost every weekend for 4 or 5 years.  go to www.adamallen.com for dates. I guess he's doing other things too.  Someday I hope to play like him.