It seemed so unlikely that John would ever record for Fantasy again. He was sued by label chief Saul Zaentz for his Old Man Down the Road sounding too much like himself when he was with Creedence Clearwater Revival, and John recorded Zantz Kant Dance (But He'll Steal Your Money) later retitled Vantz Kant Dance (But He'll Steal Your Money) in response. And now according to Undercover John is recording a new album for Fantasy. The label was recently sold.
After Lee failed to appear for several key shows, including a series of August dates in Europe, the band — which is built around members of L.A. group Baby Lemonade — decided to continue without the leader. Co-founding Love member John Echols, who performed on the Europe shows, is staying on for what is now being billed as the Love Band.
Baby Lemonade guitarist Mike Randle says the performances without Lee ultimately went well, and that there are even plans to write and record new songs. In part, he says, it was Lee's resistance to doing new material that caused the rift.
"We spent two of the last three years constantly trying to convince him we needed the right new material, right new directions," Randle says. "He just wanted to make some money."
Lee, who has assembled a new backing band and says he is opening a music club in L.A., is not happy about his former colleagues' plans.
"You can only take so much," he says. "These guys, they're going around calling themselves the Love Band. It's not fair. I've been working on this since I was 15 years old. I'm 60 years old now, and nobody's going to move me off this corner." The Love Band's newsletter from Torbens' Love Site To all Love fans, As many of you may already know, Arthur Lee chose not to participate with Love on a tour of the UK and two festival shows in Germany and Spain this July. In the band and management's view this was an unforgivable and premeditated act of contempt towards Johnny Echols, Baby Lemonade and moreover, his adoring fans. Despite great pressure from many venues to the contrary, and indeed some cancellations, the band felt it would be in the best interests of the fans who wanted to hear the music to honour the shows. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of those fans who attended - it meant a great deal to us all knowing we had your support. Sadly, Arthur Lee's mental and physical health has been in steady decline since the Zombies/Love tour of last year and combined with several disastrous performances both home and abroad, Johnny Echols and Baby Lemonade have now decided to move forward and continue to perform as "The Love Band". We would like to confirm that Arthur Lee will play no part in this new line-up and that Glenn Povey/Second Wave Promotions is no longer representing Arthur Lee. To think of Johnny Echols and Baby Lemonade performing without Arthur Lee may not seem as strange as it sounds. Many fans have already welcomed the new line-up with open arms as it has allowed the band to perform, with unbridled pride, tracks from the Echols-era catalogue including many that have never been heard before. Johnny Echols now shares lead vocals with a more than competent Rusty Squeezebox in much the same way as he did with Lee in the original line-up. Moreover a new studio album is promised combining the talents of both Baby Lemonade and Johnny Echols which is an exciting prospect for all fans of Love both past and present. The LOVE Band comprises: Johnny Echols: Guitar / Lead Vocals Rusty Squeezebox: Lead Vocals / Rhythm Guitar Mike Randle: Lead Guitar David 'Daddyo' Green: Drums David Chapple: Bass Guitar / Harmonica (Glenn Povey: Management) Please note: A tour of the USA as "Love with Arthur Lee" had been scheduled for September/October this year. Unfortunately, and without the band's permission, some venues had gone on sale. This has obviously already led to some confusion and therefore in view of the above we would advise caution when purchasing tickets as some venues may not be aware of the change in circumstances. It is more than likely the tour will be postponed completely until later in the year or early 2006. These will be billed as "The Love Band". We hope to see you at one of our shows soon. With much Love,Johnny, Rusty, Mike, Daddyo, Dave and Glenn
Arthur's refusal to record new music and tour finds precedence with Brian Wilson's refusal to tour with the Beach Boys behind Pet Sounds or to release the original Smile, This is an ominous development that in my opinion could only be remedied if Arthur Lee and Love are inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame. If not, Robin Hitchcock may be prophetic with his song The Wreck of the Arthur Lee.
From Chattanoogan.comThe attack on swarms of starlings in downtown Chattanooga begins next Monday evening, City Forester Gene Hyde said.Continuing for three straight nights, the city of Chattanooga will be using the services of a company called "Flockfighters" which specializes in dispersing populations of nuisance birds. The goal is to try to persuade the starlings to find new roosting sites away from sensitive downtown locations, it was stated. For approximately 30 minutes each night around dusk Flockfighters will be fogging selected starlings roosts with a food grade ingredient which is derived from Concord grapes. This material persuades the birds to leave the area. The effects are temporary and felt only by birds. Humans and other mammals may detect a pleasant grape scent but are not otherwise affected, officials said. I would probably not find the grape scent pleasant. I have a feeling that there is probably another nuisance in waiting that loves grapes.
Chattanooga has decided that Starlings are not attractive. Perhaps if they were red or blue or brownish gray like the state bird, the mockingbird. Perhaps they need to have star bellies. From Chattanoogan.com "City officials said they plan to deal with the problem of noisy, dirty starlings congregating downtown by spraying them with a chemical derived from Concord grapes." More.
