I don't know how many of you knew or knew of Felix's ex-wife Theresa (she was very active on Facebook), but she died the other day. She was a super-nice woman. She and Felix had three daughters together and she also left behind several grandkids. Here is a link if anyone wants to offer the family condolences.
Very sad. It makes me wonder if Felix had other things on his mind that took priority over another boogie down memory lane with the old gang.
Not to mention the fact that there are usually two sides to every story. Felix is not necessarily the villain here. We really don't know, do we? Maybe he just wants to make music live and another reunion was not workable.
Well, that sad. Above and beyond any band squabbles, the death of a loved one is a sad event and puts other life "issues" in perspective. I'm sorry for Felix and the rest of the family. I'd offer condolences, but just being another guy on the internet, I'm not sure it would mean much.
Ultimately, it doesn't matter who's to blame IMO. The bottom line is that there aren't any "complete" Rascals concerts or new recordings on the horizon, but we just have to live with it. They were great and I love them, but as I posted awhile ago.... I'm not going to worry about it. I've got all their records to love. If they don't love each other, it's not my problem.
What I've heard about this is that a major issue was Felix wanting the other 3 Rascals to contribute parts of their money to keep Felix's solo band "on retainer" while The Rascals were doing their thing. Felix didn't want to risk losing the guys in his current band during any possible extended periods of inactivity. I'm assuming that Felix was also going to be contributing equally (if not a bit more since it's his band) but I can't say for sure. Depending on how you look at this situation may cast Felix as less of a villain. I can see his side of things as well as that of Eddie, Gene & Dino.
Unless Felix plans on cutting Eddie, Gene and Dino in on the profits he makes with his band, asking them to help keep his band on retainer is ridiculous. It's his responsibility alone.
That doesn't seem fair on his part, but surely Felix must have sensed it would be difficult to stay with both bands. I feel a little better when considering both sides of the issue. Felix ran the risk of losing his personnel. While we all hoped The Rascals tour would continue, there was always the historic possibility it might not last. Finding replacement musicians for the solo band who know the songs and are able to travel at any given moment is not always an easy task. Mike Love's situation was a little different, because he is very wealthy and they seemed to utilize most of his players during the Beach Boys reunion tour.
I'll admit that this song is a bit of a guilty pleasure, but still it hurts hearing the former Rascal go "yacht rock." And I thought Tommy James'"Three Times In Love" was bad.
Very true. I suppose Felix felt pressure to develop a new yacht rock sound for 1979. Tommy James' single 'Three Times In Love' was released in 1980 and sounded like a slightly Anne Murray generic country-oriented pop song from that period. Not horrible, but very different from the prime of his other works. Fortunately, both Felix and Tommy seem to have a good sense of what their best material is and what their fans want to hear at live performances.
I went to a British Invasion 50th Anniversary Tour, with Peter Asher, Terry Sylvester, Billy J Kramer, Denny Laine, Mike Pender's Searchers and Chad and Jeremy. Most of the voices were shot, bu Chad and Jeremy were magnificent. Kinda like Al Jardine compared to the rest of the Beach Boys.
3 original members of the Vanilla Fudge are touring and recording together again. Tim Bogert has retired.
When I saw them in '13 in Toronto, I knew from reading online that the hit-or-miss moment in the show was the song "How Can I Be Sure"; Eddie was a little shaky at the start of the song, but from the point in the lyrics where he sang "Whenever I..." he owned that song (still does, as far as I'm concerned) and absolutely nailed it.
They just did a show at Westbury with Felix's Rascals. The new Fudge CD (Spirit of '67) is great. Tim has been retired for quite a while.
In the meantime, here were all these new wave and power-pop bands whose sound was based on "I Think We're Alone Now"...it would have been great to see Tommy rocking again, but in 1980, it wasn't to be...
Very true! Instantly, you made me think of The Rubinoos' version of 'I Think We're Alone Now' from 1977. Tommy missed many opportunities to reinvent himself, but I'm not sure he was trying to take any specific direction. In the 70s, the 50s and 60s rock music was mostly confined to airplay on AM radio. Thankfully, the oldies radio format took off during the 1980s and generated enough interest for 50s and 60s artists to tour on the lucrative oldies circuit. From talking to Tommy at his shows, his broad spectrum of music tastes explains why he's had so many different sounds. He's a fan of many different genres and styles, including r&b, classic rock, blues and country. He told me that of all his albums, "My Head, My Bed & My Red Guitar" remains his personal favorite. That 1972 album country-rock album was recorded in Nashville and featured an all-star ensemble of Nashville players including Pete Drake, Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana. For your enjoyment, here is a 1982 Schlitz malt liqour commercial starring Tommy James with Average White Band.
Maybe, maybe not. Dino was the one who was apparently the angriest but I never saw any comments about the monetary issues from Gene or Eddie so it's possible that Dino reached the point of no return and another reunion just ain't gonna happen.
I kind of agree, but I can see how his [somewhat irrational] logic worked. It's kind of like when people in my firm negotiate deals to work overseas; they need to maintain their home in the USA and also get paid to keep a roof over their heads in the foreign land so they're paid more for the same job. I'm sure people could come up with other examples in the business world. If Felix makes "sacrifices" to play with the Rascals and the other members of the band aren't making similar financial sacrifices, there is a certain logic to sharing that expense so each principal walks away with the same NET cash. It's not a lifestyle bonus or an "I'm the real leader of the band" bonus. Too bad they can't all get along though. We are a petty species of beings.
Doubtful they would tour without Dino, but I would still attend a concert with just Felix, Gene and Eddie.
