Now that Mark Farner is listed on the site...I guess I can confess that I went to 6 of his shows in the Michigan-Ohio-Indiana area last year!!! He rocked us majorly every show this year.... and the seven shows show I saw the year before too!
Anybody else here a big Farner/Funk fan?
Gene Groupie
Joined: Nov 15, 2007
Posts: 76
Posted:
Wed Jan 30, 2008 7:52 am
Grand Funk was slightly before my time, but I admire the band a lot. They were one of what they were calling "blue-eyed soul" bands (R&B influenced music done by whites) back then, but they had something special going on. I'd take them over Three Dog Night or Blood Sweat And Tears any day. (But maybe not over Van Morrison or Chicago, though!...) Specifically, Grand Funk fused Motown songwriting, structure and feel with the minimalist guitar-bass-drums combo sound (no brass stuff) better than anybody. This hybrid invention could have only happened in Michigan!
I just did an acoustic arrangement for "Bad Time To Be In Love" about 6 months back and have been performing it live quite a bit. From my reception, it's clear that this going to be a "keeper" for my summertime sets!
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BannedFromEARTH Groupie
Joined: Nov 06, 2007
Posts: 81
Posted:
Wed Jan 30, 2008 8:55 am
Wasn't the band from the movie "Almost Famous" based on Grand Funk?
Aha! But they do mention Zeppelin, The Allman Brothers and Lynard Skynard. I knew that story seemed too familiar.
Last edited by Mitch on Thu Jan 31, 2008 12:21 pm; edited 1 time in total
Gene Groupie
Joined: Nov 15, 2007
Posts: 76
Posted:
Thu Jan 31, 2008 7:38 am
The movie featured an archetypical early 70's touring rock band; It could be a whole slew that you could take your pick from. I choose to believe that it was based on a band like Creedence Clearwater Revival ("water" being in the name), or maybe Bad Company, or something. As with most near-fiction, Stillwater is probably a literary cross-hybrid of a few real bands that actually existed.
Great movie!
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BannedFromEARTH Groupie
Joined: Nov 06, 2007
Posts: 81
Posted:
Thu Jan 31, 2008 8:19 am
At one point in the movie I seem to recall that it was mentioned that Stillwater, "From Troy Michigan"...... Or something along those lines.
Cameron Crowe based the singer and guitar player on Robert Plant and Jimmy Page; he just made them Americans for the movie. When Cameron was a kid (just like in the movie) he followed Led Zeppelin on tour (it might have been the Physical Graffiti tour) and the Jason Lee character (the singer) was saying stuff that Robert Plant would say. The part when the guitar player jumps off the house roof, he says something that Robert Plant said "I'm a god" or something to that effect. So, Cameron mixed and mashed stuff to make up a good story. The band was not based on one band's story.
Now, to get back to the original thread idea, yeah, I'm a Mark Farner fan.
StephanieRaymond Newbie
Joined: Jan 31, 2008
Posts: 2
Location: Saint Clair
Posted:
Thu Jan 31, 2008 9:06 pm
My father is an old friend of Mark's from their high school days. He has influenced us both and our music. So we are both big fans!
I drove up to Flint from Erie last month just to see Mark onstage at jesters Lounge there. He sang "I'm Your Captain" for Doug Pullen who moved to Texas.
I just thought it was so nice of Mark And Lesia to do that. And it was magical to see Curt Johnson and Dennis Bellinger on the stage with Mark! Like a mini-pack reunion!!!
Farner's are very nice folks! I have the video of that meeting on my YouTube channel if anyone wants to see it.
~Cruizinsuezin
youtube.com/ForReelFunk
myspace.com/cruizinsuezin
Cruizinsuezin Newbie
Joined: Jan 24, 2008
Posts: 5
Posted:
Fri Feb 08, 2008 2:32 pm
Gene wrote:
I just did an acoustic arrangement for "Bad Time To Be In Love" about 6 months back and have been performing it live quite a bit. From my reception, it's clear that this going to be a "keeper" for my summertime sets!
"Bad Time" is a great song...I can definitely see why you'd get a good reception. I love to look around at the guys in the crowd when Mark sings that song. Even the guys with the black leather and the "hard look" are singing along! It does my heart good to see that...it happens everytime! Very heart warming reception.
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