GIVING CREEDENCE ROCKERS STAGING THEIR OWN REVIVAL.Byline: Rick Mortensen Staff Writer Doug Clifford Doug "Cosmo" Clifford (born April 24, 1945 in Palo Alto, California, U.S.) played drums in the American rock band, Creedence Clearwater Revival. After CCR broke up, Clifford and former CCR bassist Stu Cook joined Don Harrison in the Don Harrison Band. is a happy man. The drummer, formerly with Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival (commonly referred to by its initials CCR or simply as Creedence) was a southern rock American rock band, which consisted of John Fogerty (vocals, guitar, harmonica, piano), Tom Fogerty (guitar, vocals, piano), Stu Cook (bass guitar, , lives next to a golf course in Reno with his wife of 32 years and has good relationships with his three grown children. In the winter, he moves down to Scottsdale, Ariz., next to another golf course. Sure, he plays golf whenever he wants, but more importantly, he still indulges his other passion - music. With a band that includes his oldest friend, CCR 1. CCR - condition code register. 2. CCR - (Database) concurrency control and recovery. bass-player Stu Cook Stu Cook (born Stuart Alden Cook, 25 April 1945, Stanton, California) played bass guitar in the American rock band, Creedence Clearwater Revival. Cook attended San Jose State University. , he tours the world and plays the songs that made CCR the most popular American rock American Rock is a catch-all for rock music genres either originating in the United States or specific to the Americas. Most often they contain elements of rhythm and blues, though a blending of styles over the years has occurred. band of the late '60s and early '70s. ``It went beyond our expectations, just like the first project,'' Clifford said of his current band, Creedence Clearwater Revisited Creedence Clearwater Revisited is a band that was formed in 1995, by former Creedence Clearwater Revival bassist and drummer - Stu Cook and Doug Clifford, respectively. The band , which plays the old Creedence Clearwater Revival hits. ``We're doing about 100 shows a year, most of which are public dates.'' Noticeably absent from these shows is Creedence Clearwater Revival front man and songwriter John Fogerty, who hasn't had much to do with his former band since their bitter breakup in 1972. The feud resumed in 1993 when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, dedicated to recording the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, and other people who have in some major way influenced the music industry, particularly in . Cook and Clifford assumed Fogerty would rejoin them on stage for one final concert, which is a Hall of Fame custom, so they showed up ready to play. Instead, Fogerty took the stage with Bruce Springsteen and Robbie Robertson as his sidemen. ``I've never set foot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and probably never will, which is a shame,'' Clifford said. ``It's still a very bitter taste in my mouth, and I know I speak for Stu as well.'' Two years after the Hall of Fame coup, Cook and Clifford decided to start playing the old songs again, so they formed a new band. Fogerty tried to stop them in court but lost a 1997 lawsuit. Clifford and Cook admire Fogerty's talent enough to devote their concerts to his songs, but they haven't mended their personal differences. ``We've been at odds with him for a long, long time,'' Clifford said. ``It's unfortunate because life is a pretty short thing. It's something I just don't understand, but it is a reality.'' Clifford, Cook, John Fogerty and his older brother, Tom, first started playing together in the eighth grade. They grew up in the Northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern town of El Cerrito El Cerrito (ĕl sərē`tō), city (1990 pop. 22,869), Contra Costa co., W Calif., on San Francisco Bay; inc. 1917. It is primarily residential. Golden Gate Fields Racetrack is nearby. , but their musical influences were the blues, r&b and the early rock 'n' roll rock 'n' roll: see rock music. of the South. ``Before we even knew each other, we all had pretty much the same record collection,'' Clifford said. ``The Sun record catalog was great: Fats Domino, Little Richard Little Richard, 1935–, American musician and singer, b. Macon, Ga., as Richard Wayne Penniman. One of the first rock musicians in the 1950s, he recorded "Tutti Frutti," "Long Tall Sally," and "Good Golly Miss Molly." Since then, he has turned to religion. , Elvis Presley. You know, we had Southern music - Southern rock and Southern blues, even country. ... We would have to go into Oakland to get the really good r&b, because the white stores didn't stock it.'' Clifford attributes Creedence Clearwater Revival's success to its members' remaining faithful to their early influences. ``We were students of that music, and we stayed true to those roots,'' he said. ``John Fogerty wrote some great songs, and we had a band with a unique sound. Even when I hear it on the radio today, it sounds fresh.'' Clifford puts much of the blame for the band's breakup on John Fogerty's desire to control every aspect of the band. Not only did he push Tom Fogerty Tom Fogerty (November 9, 1941, in Berkeley, California – September 6, 1990, in Scottsdale, Arizona) was a musician most known as the guitarist in Creedence Clearwater Revival, and was the elder brother of John Fogerty, the lead singer and guitar player in that band. from the leader to a peripheral rhythm guitar When a guitar is used to provide rhythmic and harmonic accompaniment for a singer or for other instruments in an ensemble, it is referred to as rhythm guitar. The rhythm guitar is commonly used to provide a rhythmic complement for the lead guitar, although the actual instruments role, but he also wanted to control the business affairs, which had been relegated to Cook. Still, Clifford's explanation has a shade of sympathy for his former front man. ``We needed a mentor in those days,'' he said. ``We were young and had a tiger by the tail, and we needed help in the business arena. ... I think if we would have had a manager, all those things could have been worked out, and John would have had less pressure on him.'' To replace John Fogerty and his brother (Tom Fogerty died of AIDS in 1990), Clifford and Cook recruited singer John Tristao, all-around musician Steve Gunner and lead guitarist Elliot Easton __FORCETOC__ Early Years Elliot Easton (born Elliot Steinberg, 18 December 1953, in Brooklyn, New York) played lead guitar and sang background vocals for The Cars. He studied music at the Berklee College of Music. , formerly of the Cars. ``Elliot was a huge Creedence Clearwater Revival fan in high school, and he wore out our old albums learning to play guitar,'' Clifford said. ``He knows all the licks and nuances of the original band, but he brings improvisation, which is something we never did in the old days. ... 'Suzy Q' has evolved nicely, and 'Run Through the Jungle,' which was a three-minute single, is now one of the longer jams.'' Bay Area bandmates still hip Another band from the Bay Area of the late 1960s - which was a musical hotbed hotbed, low, glass-covered frame structure for starting tender plants. It differs from a cold frame only in that the soil is heated—either artificially as by underground electric wiring or steampipes, or naturally with partially fermented stable manure, which equaling Vienna in the 1780s and New Orleans in the 1890s - is Tower of Power. Like Creedence Clearwater Revisited, this group (playing the fair at 8 p.m. Saturday) drank deeply from the well of jazz, r&b, soul and psychedelic rock provided in its Fremont neighborhood. ``There were big ears in the Bay Area,'' said TOP founder and bandleader Emilio Castillo. ``People were open to all types of music.'' When Castillo organized a band and started playing around the neighborhood, his father hired a local musician to teach them music theory and arranging. That local musician turned out to be Dave Brubeck's legendary bassist Norman Bates, who honed their young ears and opened their minds to jazz voicings. Castillo started dissecting dis·sect tr.v. dis·sect·ed, dis·sect·ing, dis·sects 1. To cut apart or separate (tissue), especially for anatomical study. 2. records and coming up with unique grooves for his rhythm section. Castillo and saxophonist Stephen Kupka wrote some tunes, and then auditioned for a show at the Fillmore Auditorium. That's right - the Grateful Dead and the Jefferson Airplane at Fillmore Auditorium. ``We were a bunch of hippies playing soul,'' Castillo said of the successful audition that launched their careers. With an energetic live show and soul standards like ``What Is Hip'' and ``You're Still a Young Man,'' Tower of Power has been gigging since 1968. The 10-piece band still has four of its original members, including Castillo, Kupka and the tight rhythm section led by bassist Francis Rocco Prestia and drummer David Garibaldi. - Rick Mortensen CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVISITED Where: Los Angeles County Fair The Los Angeles County Fair (also called simply the L.A. County Fair) is an annual event held in the Fairplex in Pomona, California, held every September. It is a carnival with rides, merchants, food vendors, cooking contests, and livestock. The 2007 L.A. grandstand, Fairplex, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona.When: 8 tonight.Tickets: Free with fair admission of $10 for adults, $7 for seniors, $5 for children ages 6-12. Special reserved seating is available for $12.50 or $20 with fair admission. Call (909) 623-3111. TOWER OF POWER Where: Los Angeles County Fair grandstand. When: 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets: Free with fair admission of $10 for adults, $7 for seniors, $5 for children ages 6-12. Special reserved seating is available for $12.50 or $20 with fair admission. Call (909) 623-3111. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) The members of relatively new Creedence Clearwater Revisited will perform in concert at 8 tonight at the L.A. County Fair in Pomona. (2) The 10 piece band Tower of Power- with four of its original members- plays at the fair Saturday. Box: Bay Area bandmates still hip (See text) |
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