DAVID MUSE LEGENDARY MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST WITH 'FIREFALL' CHATS ABOUT NEW ALBUM 'COMET' ON INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS W/RAY SHASHO

 

LEGENDARY ROCK BAND

F I R E F A L L

RELEASES NEW CD

ENTITLED

 "C O M E T"

FIRST NEW ALBUM IN MORE THAN TWO DECADES 

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH 

LONGTIME BAND MEMBER

D A V I D 

M U S E 

AN INTERVIEW WITH DAVID MUSE

CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN 

IN ITS ENTIRELY

Very few legendary rock groups boasting a string of seminal 1970s hits contain three original members in their ranks more than four decades later. Even fewer have a brand-new album out that vividly captures the sound and power of their best-known classics. Firefall has both. That’s reason for serious celebration from their legion of loyal fans.

“Firefall hasn’t made a new record for a long, long time, since the ‘90s,” says Jock Bartley, the band’s founding lead guitarist and vocalist. “With three of us original guys in the band—myself, Mark Andes on bass, and David Muse on saxophone, flute, and keyboards—we’ve been touring, and it just felt to me as leader of the band, ‘It’s time. We need to start looking at material, writing material, to put a new album out.’” 

Comet, out December 11 on Sunset Blvd. Records, is that long-awaited release. Their lineup completed by drummer Sandy Ficca and singer/guitarist Gary Jones, Firefall set out to make an album on the same lofty artistic par as their ‘70s classics for Atlantic Records, when they set the pop singles charts ablaze with “You Are The Woman,” “Just Remember I Love You,” and “Strange Way.” They succeeded magnificently. 

The band had to overcome a few obstacles along the way. “The problem was that the five members of the band live in five different states,” says Jock, who produced the disc along with the band and a handful of collaborators. “When we’d fly somewhere to a gig, at soundcheck or something, we might look at a new song or talk about recording or whatever. But to get all of us in the same town at the same time to record was really a challenge for me. We’d have a gig in Colorado, and everybody would come out and we’d stay out for a couple of days and record a couple of songs. Same thing when we’d go into Nashville—we’d go stay at Gary’s house and go in the studio and record a song or two.” 

Conquering those logistical roadblocks was worth all the effort. The rocking opener “Way Back When,” one of four tracks on the set that Bartley wrote or co-wrote, pays tribute to the classic musical era that inspired Firefall. “The first verse and first chorus is set in 1965. The second verse and chorus is ‘67, and the third verse and chorus is 1969,” says Bartley. “The first verse is kind of the Beatles and the Stones sand the Byrds. The second verse is Aretha Franklin and the Young Rascals and the groups that had music out then. I sing the song, but the person singing the lyrics is looking back and remembering how the ‘60s were so vibrant and had such great music. We thought it would never end.”

Firefall cut its 1976 Atlantic debut album at Criteria Studios in Miami. It included “You Are The Woman.” “Rick was thinking in his head, ‘I need to write a really happy, positive pop song that’ll be in the Top Ten!’ And he wrote ‘You Are The Woman,’” says Jock. “Some of us in the band didn’t really like it, because it was really different. It wasn’t like ‘Mexico’ or ‘Livin’ Ain’t Livin’’ or ‘Cinderella’ or any of that strummy, fast, ballsy stuff that Firefall was becoming. But boy, most everybody, including the producer and then Atlantic Records, they heard that song, and they went, ‘That’s what we want!’” “You Are The Woman” crashed the Top Ten. 1977’s “Just Remember I Love You” and “Strange Way” the next year cemented their stardom. 

“Boulder, Colorado became this hotbed for music, and Firefall was kind of the shining light out of that,” says Jock. “A lot of people have called Firefall ‘the Colorado Sound.’” Now Comet is poised to rocket into the cosmos, the latest chapter in Firefall’s amazing saga. 

 

Purchase 

the 

latest release

by

FIREFALL

Entitled

 "COMET"

at amazon.com

Firefall's first album of new music in 25 years. Formed by the former members of the Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers, Spirit and Zephyr, Firefall's commercial success includes three Gold albums, two Platinum albums and eleven chart-topping singles. The band's biggest hit, 'You Are the Woman' has been played on commercial radio more than 8,000,000 times and has also appeared in over 75 films and television shows. Over the past four decades, Firefall has toured the world and shared stages with other iconic bands such as Fleetwood Mac, The Band, The Beach Boys, Kenny Loggins, Journey, Heart, ELO and Marshall Tucker Band. Currently touring with three original members (Jock Bartley, David Muse, Mark Andes), longtime drummer Sandy Ficca and talented newcomer Gary Jones.

For more information about

D A V I D

M U S E

And

F I R E F A L L

Visit

Firefall official | http://fire-fall.squarespace.com/

Facebook facebook.com/FIREFALLofficial 

Instagram |  instagram.com/firefallofficial/

David Muse Official https://davemuse.com/

 

DISCOGRAPHY

Albums

Firefall (Atlantic, 1976) U.S. No. 26, AUS No. 72

Luna Sea (Atlantic, 1977) U.S. No. 11, AUS No. 73

Elan (Atlantic, 1978) U.S. No. 11, AUS No. 31

Clouds Across the Sun (Atlantic, 1980)

Undertow (Atlantic, 1980) AUS No. 90

Break of Dawn (Atlantic, 1982)

Mirror of the World (Atlantic, 1983)

Messenger (Redstone, 1994)

Colorado (Burning Airlines, 2001)

Colorado to Liverpool: A Tribute to the Beatles (Winged Horse, 2007)

Comet (Sunset Blvd Records, 2020)

Live albums

Reunion Live (Winged Horse, 2009)

MY NEW BOOK IS FINALLY OUT!

ENTITLED

THE ROCK STAR CHRONICLES

SERIES ONE

CHRONICLES, TRUTHS, CONFESSIONS AND WISDOM FROM THE MUSIC LEGENDS THAT SET US FREE

 …Order yours today on

 (collectors edition) Hardcover

 or E-book

 at bookbaby.com and amazon.com

Featuring over 45 intimate conversations with some of

the greatest rock legends the world will ever know.

CHRIS SQUIRE... DR. JOHN... GREG LAKE... HENRY MCCULLOUGH... JACK BRUCE … JOE LALA…  JOHNNY WINTER... KEITH EMERSON... PAUL KANTNER...  RAY THOMAS... RONNIE MONTROSE... TONY JOE WHITE... DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS… MIKE LOVE... TOMMY ROE... BARRY HAY... CHRIS THOMPSON... JESSE COLIN YOUNG... JOHN KAY... JULIAN LENNON... MARK LINDSAY... MICKY DOLENZ… PETER RIVERA ...TOMMY JAMES… TODD RUNDGREN... DAVE MASON... EDGAR WINTER... FRANK MARINO... GREGG ROLIE... IAN ANDERSON... JIM “DANDY” MANGRUM... JON ANDERSON... LOU GRAMM... MICK BOX... RANDY BACHMAN… ROBIN TROWER...  ROGER FISHER... STEVE HACKETT... ANNIE HASLAM… ‘MELANIE’ SAFKA... PETULA CLARK... SUZI QUATRO... COLIN BLUNSTONE… DAVE DAVIES... JIM McCARTY... PETE BEST

 

THE ROCK STAR CHRONICLES

BOOK TRAILER

BOOK REVIEW

-By Literary Titan (5) STARS

The Rock Star Chronicles, by Ray Shasho, is a splendid book written by a music enthusiast who has poured their heart and soul into it. It’s a story of a boy who loved rock music, and his obsessive passion of it earned himself the name Rock Raymond. He went to school but instead was schooled in all matters of music while his peers were buried chin-deep in coursework. He then became a radio DJ and has now compiled a book on all interviews he held with Rock gods who raided the airwaves back in the 70s and 80s. It’s a compilation of interviews with outstanding vocalists, legendary guitarists and crazy drummers in the rock music scene. Each interview gives a reader an in-depth view into their personal lives and the philosophies that guide their lives which all serve to humanize these great icons. For readers who are old enough to call themselves baby boomers this book will bring old memories back to life. Millennials, on the other hand, may think of this book as a literal work of the Carpool Karaoke show. 

The Rock Star Chronicles is a book I didn’t know I was waiting for. To come across a book that will talk me into trying something new. One brave enough to incite me to venture into new frontiers. This book made me a believer- I am now a bona fide Rock and Roll music fan. 

Ray Shasho masterfully gets the interviewees talking. He smartly coaxes answers from them with crafty questions designed to get a story rolling out of them. The artists talk about diverse issues ranging from music, politics, and their social engagements. Having been on the music seen all his life, Ray Shasho knows the buttons to press, how to get them comfortable about talking about their lives. 

The book’s cover is befitting of its subject matter with the leather look offering a royal background to the golden letter print. It speaks to how high a level rock music holds in the pecking order- arguably, modern music as we know it has originated from blues and rock music.  The second noteworthy thing is the use of high-definition pictures to reference the musician being interviewed in every sub-chapter. This ensures that the book is for both original rock and roll lovers and aspiring new ones. Together is makes for a refreshing and consistently enjoyable read.

I recommend this book to rock music enthusiasts, aspiring musicians wondering what it takes and all readers curious to learn new things by going back in time. 

https://literarytitan.com/2020/05/03/literary-titan-book-awards-may-2020/   Gold Award Winner

JOCK BARTLEY LEGENDARY GUITARIST WITH FIREFALL INTERVIEWED ON THE RAY SHASHO SHOW

J   O   C   K

B   A   R   T   L   E   Y

LEGENDARY   GUITARIST

FOR

F I R E F A L L

SPECIAL GUEST ON 

THE 

RAY SHASHO SHOW

JOCK BARTLEY is known for his melodic, tasteful and fiery lead guitar style, influencing many rock and country rock guitarists.

Leaving college to pursue music, he joined the Boulder-based band ZEPHYR, replacing Tommy Bolin as lead guitarist (who joined the James Gang and later, Deep Purple before his untimely death in 1977). Months after the “Sunset Ride” album came out, Zephyr broke up. In 1972, Jock was asked to join the touring band of GRAM PARSONS & THE FALLEN ANGELS, featuring EMMY LOU HARRIS. Gram had joined the BYRDS on the ground breaking “Sweetheart of the Radio” album, formed THE FLYING BURRITO BROS. with CHRIS HILLMAN and was a pioneer of the new musical genre, “country rock.” The Fallen Angels tour made many memorable stops from Texas to Boston, including a show in Houston where Neil Young and Linda Ronstadt sat in onstage (Emmy Lou and Linda met that night and sang together for the first time). At Max’s Kansas City in New York City, Jock met Boulder resident, Rick Roberts, who’d replaced Gram in the Burrito Bros. and had two solo albums out.

In 1974, Rick and Jock began jamming in Boulder with MARK ANDES, bassist from the progressive L.A. bands, SPIRIT and JO JO GUNNE. When LARRY BURNETT arrived from Washington D.C., FIREFALL was formed. A few months in, drummer MICHAEL CLARKE (formerly of the Byrds and Flying Burrito Bros.) joined the band. Rick, Mark and Jock were on tour with Chris Hillman on the east coast when Chris became ill – Larry and Michael were flown in and FIREFALL finished the engagement at the Bitter End in NYC, where Atlantic Records came to hear, soon signing them to a long-term recording contract. DAVID MUSE joined the band in rehearsals with producer, JIM MASON. Firefall recorded their first album at Criteria Studios in the winter of 1975, during which his guitar hero, ERIC CLAPTON, was in the control room while Jock played the one-take lead guitar track on ‘Mexico.’ “It was a good thing I didn’t know he was watching, I wouldn’t have been able to hold my pick or play one note.”

Jock has played on stage with artists including Stephen Stills, Neil Young, The Doobie Bros., Dan Folgelberg, Journey, Heart, Poco, John Mayall and many many others. He is a spokesperson for Suicide Prevention, having worked with the American Association of Suicidology and the Kristin Brooks Hope Center to put on benefit concerts to raise awareness, help fund the first national crisis line, (800) SUICIDE) and save lives. He’s also involved with ’causes’ including child abuse, domestic violence, burn victims’ camps, environmental issues and others. Jock is a record producer, travels frequently to Nashville to write songs and give seminars on creativity and songwriting for the Nashville Songwriters Ass. and the Songwriter’s Guild. He endorses Paul Reed Smith Guitars and Takamine Guitars. He has produced an acclaimed instructional songwriting video called ‘The Complete Guide To Songwriting – How To Write A Song.”

Jock has been a painter and fine artist since childhood but only since 2001, has he gotten serious about his ‘new’ art career. His colorful paintings and pastels, in a wide variety of subjects, have begun receiving wide critical and public acclaim. His work has been exhibited in art galleries in Denver and Vail, Colorado and Reno, Nevada with more to come. Perching a few shows featuring ‘Rock & Roll artists,’ his paintings have hung next to John Lennon lithos and paintings by Ron Wood (Rolling Stones), Grace Slick and others. In 2006, four of his Beatles paintings appeared in a nationally released coffee table book, ‘Beatles Art – Fantastic New Artwork of The Fab Four.’ Jock’s paintings and prints were included in the Denver Children’s Hospital benefit “Rockers For Kids” featuring art by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Mellencamp, Jerry Garcia, David Bowie, Ron Wood, Grace Slick, Janis Joplin, R. Crumb and others.

Band Members:

·         Jock Bartley - Lead & acoustic guitar, vocals (Original member)

·         Mark Andes - Bass guitar, vocals (Original member)

·         David Muse - Keyboards, flute, sax, harmonica, vocals (Original member)

·         Sandy Ficca - Drums (1984 - present)

·         Gary Jones - Electric & acoustic guitar, vocals (2014 - present)

Career Highlights:

·         Three Gold Albums - Firefall, Luna Sea, Elan

·         Two Platinum Albums - Firefall, Elan

·         Eleven hit singles - Including "You Are the Woman" (Billboard #6) and "Just Remember I Love You" (Billboard #1)

·         The single "You Are the Woman" has been played on commercial radio over 7,000,000 times

·         Inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame (2015)

New single by

FIREFALL

'NATURE'S WAY'

available now at www.firefallofficial.com

For more information about JOCK BARTLEY 

and FIREFALL

visit …

www.firefallofficial.com

www.facebook.com/FIREFALLofficial

JOCK BARTLEY INTERVIEW

LEGENDARY GUITARIST WITH FIREFALL

SPECIAL GUEST

ON THE RAY SHASHO SHOW

BBS RADIO

CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN

And don’t forget to purchase a copy of my book entitled Check the Gs -the true story of an eclectic American family and their Wacky family business … available now at amazon.com. You’ll live it!!!

Have a great week everybody!

MARK ANDES LEGENDARY BASSIST FOR FIREFALL SPECIAL GUEST ON THE RAY SHASHO SHOW-BBS RADIO

M    A    R    K

A    N    D    E    S

LEGENDARY BASSIST

FOR 

S   P   I   R   I   T

J O  J O  G U N N E

H  E  A  R  T

AND 

F  I   R   E   F   A   L   L

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Heart, Spirit, Firefall, Canned Heat, Stevie Nicks, Dan Fogelberg, Whitesnake, Jo Jo Gunne, Chris Hillman, Kim Carnes, Joe Walsh and so many more legendary bands and artists have all relied on the brilliant musicianship of MARK ANDES to punctuate their songs and elevate their musical visions to chart-topping status.  Andes has been the rock-solid support on bass guitar, songwriting and vocals for all the above and others too. 

MARK ANDES has enjoyed a musical career spanning over four decades of groups generating gold and platinum albums and world-wide impact!  He is one of the most respected and loved bass players on the planet.

Growing up in Los Angeles, Mark was a founding member of such cutting-edge bands as Canned Heat and Spirit while still a teenager.  Spirit is still considered by many in the U.S and abroad, to be the first band to successfully fuse jazz and rock with protest, folk-like lyrics and is known as a progressive rock innovator.  Their four albums (Spirit, The Family That Plays Together, Clear, and The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus released from 1967-1970) all are propelled by the visionary rhythm section of Mark Andes and Ed “Cass” Cassidy and include radio staples such as “Got A Line On You” and “Nature’s Way.”  Spirit toured with top 1960s bands including Led Zeppelin (who were heavily influenced by Spirit), Jimi Hendrix (who played with guitarist Randy California in the group ‘Jimmy and the Blue Flames’), The Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, The Byrds, Steppenwolf, Janis Joplin and so many others.

Mark and Spirit’s lead vocalist Jay Ferguson went on to form the hard rockin’ Jo Jo Gunne (which also included Mark's brother, Matt Andes) and quickly scored a top-30 hit with the infectious “Run Run Run”.

Mark then moved on to the mountains above Boulder, Colorado and for a short time was in two bands there, Firefall and Navarro (soon to be Carole King’s backup band).  During a brief tour with the Chris Hillman Band (that included Rick Roberts & Jock Bartley), Chris became ill and Firefall finished the 3-day stint in NYC where Atlantic Records heard the band; within the month, they signed the band to a long-term recording contract and it was off to the races.  

In Firefall, Mark was paired with drummer Michael Clarke (from the Byrds and Flying Burrito Bros.) and a very solid and distinctive rhythm section was formed: Mark’s progressive and melodic bass style enhanced Michael’s straight-ahead drumming.  Playing with guitarist Jock Bartley and multi-instrumentalist, David Muse, Firefall’s sound became much more than the ‘country rock’ style they were often cast as.  The Colorado-based group enjoyed huge success right from the start in 1976, receiving nationwide saturation radio airplay and touring with the top bands of the day: Fleetwood Mac Rumors Tour, The Band (on their final tour before making ‘The Last Waltz’ and breaking up), Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Doobie Brothers (with Michael McDonald), Loggins and Messina, Heart, Cheap Trick, The Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker, America, Kenny Loggins and many others.  He left Firefall in 1979.

In 1982, Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson recruited Mark where he co-wrote their return-to-radio hit “How Can I Refuse” in 1983 infusing creative bass rhythm and vocals.  Mark Andes’ musical talent, as well as his good looks, made the group one of the original MTV darlings.  Heart’s vibrant comeback to industry prominence was on!  After the band moved to Capitol Records in 1985, they made the album simply called ‘Heart’ That album reached Number One, sold five million copies and launched four Top Ten hit songs: “What About Love” (#10), “Never” (#4), “These Dreams” (#1) and “Nothin’ At All” (#10).  A fifth single, “If Looks Could Kill” also charted making five hit singles from the same album for the first time.  Mark Andes' 10-year stint with Heart from 1982 to 1992, was dotted with multi-platinum albums, No. 1 chart topping hit singles, award winning videos and non-stop arena headlining tours worldwide.

 

MARK ANDES rejoined Firefall in January 2014 and looks forward to helping Firefall play relevant, compelling shows and recording new records.  

On January 9, 2015 in Denver, CO, FIREFALL and MARK ANDES were inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame, along with The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Poco and Stephen Stills and Manassas.

For more information about Mark Andes 

visit … http://www.markandesmusic.com

www.firefallofficial.com

M    A    R    K

A    N    D     E    S

LEGENDARY BASSIST

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ON

 THE RAY SHASHO SHOW

BBS RADIO

www.bbsradio.com

CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN

THE RAY SHASHO SHOW WILL RUN WEEKLY BEGINNING AUGUST 8TH!

And don’t forget to purchase a copy of my book entitled Check the Gs -the true story of an eclectic American family and their Wacky family business 

available now at amazon.com. You’ll live it!!!

Have a great week everybody!

RICK ROBERTS LEGENDARY VOICE-MUSICIAN AND SONGWRITER OF 'FIREFALL' ON THE RAY SHASHO SHOW

THE RAY SHASHO SHOW 

WELCOMES 'FIREFALL' LEGEND

 R I C K  R O B E R T S  

Rick Roberts started playing guitar at the age of fifteen, hoping to impress the girls at the beach in Clearwater, Florida, where he was born and raised. At the age of nineteen, he left college and hitch-hiked to California, ‘with the dream’ of making it in rock. He got his initial break about a year later, taking Gram Parsons’ spot in The Flying Burrito Brothers, with whom he did two albums, and then went on to do two critically acclaimed solo albums. Winter Rose is the third band he has put together, following Firefall and The Roberts-Meisner Band. In between, he spent time with Stephen Stills’ band, Linda Ronstadt’s band, and A 20th Anniversary Tribute to the Byrds. Roberts toured as a member of Stephen Stills and Linda Ronstadt’s bands, and penned more than 60 compositions which were recorded and performed by leading musical entertainers.

Singer-songwriter Rick Roberts and guitarist Jock Bartley founded Firefall in the summer of 1974. Roberts had served as a spark for the Flying Burrito Brothers from 1970 to 1972, after Gram Parsons left the band. He contributed several compositions to the repertoire—the best-known being “Colorado”—before launching his own career as a solo artist. Bartley had started as a student of jazz guitar great Johnny Smith, a Colorado Springs resident. With a few band stints around the Denver/Boulder area under his belt, Bartley took over the lead guitar post of Tommy Bolin in Zephyr in 1971. The following year, he switched over to Gram Parsons’ band, the Fallen Angels (which also featured Emmylou Harris) and met Roberts, whose touring schedule with the Burritos often overlapped that of Parsons. Mark Andes, the founding bassist of the bands Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne, joined with Bartley and Roberts, who began an informal series of jam sessions at his home in Boulder. Roberts thought of a fourth participant he’d met in Washington, D.C., singer-songwriter Larry Burnett. At Chris Hillman’s suggestion, they added drummer Michael Clarke, an original member of the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers.

The break came when Roberts, Bartley and Andes toured as Hillman’s backup band. Hillman fell ill during a date at the Other End in New York, and the club owner accepted a proposal to bring Burnett and Clarke into town. Firefall finished out the engagement, and Atlantic Records was sold on the band. By January 1976, the group had completed recording a debut album with producer Jim Mason, who blended the group’s acoustic guitars, mellow pop melodies and vocal harmonies. A sixth member, David Muse, joined the ranks on keyboards, synthesizers, flute, tenor sax and harmonica.

Firefall reached platinum status, and the singles “You Are the Woman,” “Livin’ Ain’t Livin’” and “Cinderella” together sold in excess of one million copies. Firefall notched more hits—“Just Remember I Love You” and “Strange Way”—and two more best-selling albums in the late 1970s, Luna Sea and Elan. 

The band’s heady time culminated in an opening slot for Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” tour in 1977, including a hometown Folsom Stadium gig before 61,500 Coloradans. 

RAY SHASHO INTERVIEWS
 RICK ROBERTS 
CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN

You can purchase Rick Roberts

Song Stories and Other Left Handed –Recollections 

and 

‘Lame Brain’

My Journey Back to Real Life

at amazon.com

Visit Rick Robert's official website at http://rickrobertsmusic.com/
Visit Rick Roberts on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RickRobertssftharrison

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And don’t forget to purchase a copy of my book entitled Check the Gs -the true story of an eclectic American family and their Wacky family business … or the second edition entitled … Wacky Shenanigans on F Street- ‘Proud to be Politically Incorrect in Washington DC’ ... available now at amazon.com. You’ll live it!!!