John "Shorty" Hill.....Guitarist, Singer, Writer, Entertainer
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The Shadows! What sounds lurk in the hearts of aging Baby Boomers?
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The following "Ezine" article was published by 60sGarageBands.com I
was watching Daryn Kagan's interview with U2's Bono on CNN the day after
George Harrison died. Bono
was really pretty articulate about the influence of the Beatles, and
George in particular, on music and on culture.
When asked how the Beatles influenced U2 he replied "Just by
being in a band… When
you're in a band it's you and your mates against the world".
I suppose to most listeners the statement made no sense….but to
me it said so much. Rick
Eck and I were buddies at Jackman
Our
first rock and roll "gig" was actually before we could even
play - we put together a Beatles pantomime at the 8th grade
dance during the spring of 1964. Using
an assortment of cardboard, broom handles, hatboxes for
"equipment", we mimicked the Beatles Ed Sullivan appearance.
I was John Lennon, Rick was Paul McCartney (in case anyone
wonders, Larry Martin was George, and Andy Brown was Ringo).
It was very cool. That
was the point from which Rick & I began our quest for Rock n’ Roll
stardom. That following
summer we actually did start learning how to play guitar. In
the fall of 1964 Rick & I entered Newburyport
We
were a band. That's how we
saw ourselves, and increasingly that's how our peers defined us.
We played Rock n' Roll, but we were also very clean cut, polite
boys who generally stayed out of trouble, and did well in school.
We had dynamic stage presence.
We were popular with the kids, we were popular with teachers and
administrators, and we were at least tolerated by most parents.
We became a staple at local community and school functions,
undeniably getting much more than our fair share of local gigs. But
we weren't the only band in town. Like
in any town during the “Garage Era”, there were lots of other kids
trying to put bands together. Although
there was a certain camaraderie, there was also intense rivalry among
the bands. A principal rival
for The Shadows was The Electras (which later became The General Cause).
They used to refer to us as The "Cute" Shadows.
We were. They had a
much rougher image. In our
local world, we were The Beatles, and they were The Rolling Stones.
Brian Chase played a Farfisa in the "Cause".
We all admired Brian's playing, as well as his voice.
Despite the rivalry thing, Brian became a good friend.
None of us can seem to remember the reasons why, but in 1966 the General Cause took an extended break. So for a short period Brian became one of The Shadows. For
us as individuals, as well as The Shadows as a band, this was a period
of rapid creative growth. We
were still the “cute” Shadows, naïve kids from the suburbs with
stars in their eyes, but there was also something special, and we knew
it. We were very popular
locally (especially with the girls – no one could croon a pop ballad
like John Lowell). We were
also starting to reach out a bit, playing some gigs outside of our local
area. We entered a bunch of
Battles of The Bands, competing with other regional bands.
We never won 1st place, but we did come in second –
every single one we entered. It
wasn’t that we were technically great – invariably one of the top 3
bands was far superior in that department.
Nor was it that we “knew somebody” (which, to us, also always
appeared to be the case for one of the other top 3 bands).
It was just that we had something in the way we played and sang
together, and people responded to it. Some
time around early ’67 the General Cause regrouped, and Brian returned
to the fold. No animosity or
anything, it all seemed natural to us.
Then in the spring of ’67 Teddy told us he would be leaving the
band when he graduated from high school in June.
I expect that for most local bands during that time this double
whammy would have sent the band into an unrecoverable tailspin.
But you see, for Rick, John and myself, we really were a band –
us against the world! The
Shadows carried on as before, a little more mature, and a little more
musical savvy. Replacing
Teddy proved to be no problem. You
see, The Shadows was a pretty popular local band, and there were quite a
few competent drummers who would have liked to take his place.
It was Bill Roberts who took Teddy’s place.
Bill was a few years older than the rest of us.
He kept a nice beat, and he seemed to have a little more business
sense than we did. We
were right. The band
continued to improve, and we also started to get a lot more gigs – to
the point where our parents were beginning to get a bit alarmed (after
all, we were supposed to all be on the standard college prep track!). I
guess it was some time early in ’68 that we decided that we better
change the name – after all, Rock n’ Roll stardom was only just
around the corner, and we surely didn’t want to get sued by the U.K.
band of the same name. Showing
a bit of marketing flair, and an emerging psychedelic influence, we
settled on the intriguing name “The Shadows of Time”. In
the spring of ’68 Rick, John and myself graduated from The
Shadows of Time did indeed live on through that first year of college.
John in I
don’t know if any of us actually saw the end coming.
I know I didn’t. So
it was during that summer of ’69 that we took our bold step towards
Rock n’ Roll immortality….we laid down some hard earned cash (most
of it was Bill’s) and booked time in a professional recording studio
to produce our first record. For
the “A” side we chose one of Brian’s originals, “Search Your
Soul”, which we considered an intriguing contemporary rocker.
The “B” side was to feature Oodie’s golden voice doing a
cover of The Temptations’ “My Girl”.
We traveled to Eastern Sound in Maynard, Mass, where I guess by dumb luck
we got veteran producer Ray Fournier.
It was a good thing he knew what he was doing, because certainly
none of us did. I think Ray
was as genuinely overwhelmed by how well we could sing, as he was
underwhelmed by our playing. Still,
he seemed to capture the type of mysterious, almost psychedelic feel we
envisioned for “Search Your Soul”. Alas,
reality bites. None of the
record companies, none of the regional record distributors, and none of
the regional radio stations seemed in the least interested in “Search
Your Soul”. We did get
local distribution and airplay, so we covered some of our costs and got
the thrill of hearing ourselves on the radio.
We also sold a moderate number of the 45’s at our gigs.
But it wasn’t our ticket to stardom. That
fall was really when things unraveled.
Rick went back to John,
Brian, Roger and myself actually stayed together as a band for some
time, but it really was a different band.
We changed the name to Lord Timothy (in honor of a local 19th
century eccentric). We were
louder, heavier, certainly less naïve, and played throughout And
yet there has always been some sort of common bond – we’ve stayed in
touch, sometimes joking that being a Shadow is a Life Sentence (gives
new meaning to The Shadows of Time!). Over
the years some of us began to be aware that somewhere, somehow, some
people had taken notice of “Search
Your Soul”. Brian, Rick
and I had all been contacted at some point (late 80’s, early 90’s)
by people looking for original copies.
Really, there weren’t many left, and we were only too happy to
oblige (indeed, I think most were given away gratis).
Some things never change – we always were late bloomers. But
back to the Life Sentence thing. Maybe
it’s midlife crisis. Maybe
it’s Garage Band nostalgia. I’d
rather think it’s because we still really are a band…you know, us
against the world. In June
of 2001 Rick needed to venture back to The Shadows of Time. We’re a band you know, and it’s us against the world. John "Shorty" Hill 2002 After only about 35 years in the making, The Shadows of Time released their CD, "Can't Let Go!" in early 2003 |
Now Available!!!
Want to listen to a few sample
clips?
$10.99 each
ALSO.... International Currency Payments Accepted If you'd really rather not order
online, or if you have any questions, contact:
Rick, John & “Shorty” at
The Shadows The Shadows of Time - 2002 For more information about The Shadows of Time, and the whole Garage Band era in the US, be sure to visit: Borderline Books.com online version of
Vernon Joynson's and So where are The Shadows now? And what have they been doing all these years?
Other Shadows News: August 2005 - The reunited for 2 performances this year. They repeated their concert appearance in Hampton Falls, NH. Then, with Rick handling most of the logistics, the band sponsored its own "event", raising money in the name of Brian Chase to donate recording equipment to Newburyport High School. August 2006 - Another 2 performances this year. With Rick on Keys, John L on bass, the band performed again in Hampton Falls, and played a private party at Teddy's house, which raised about $800 for the Martha Jean Hill Scholarship Fund. July 2007 - The band played a repeat concert in Hampton Falls on July 26. Then, on the 28th the band supplied music to old friends at the reunion of Newburyport HS 1967! 2008 On July 24th the band performed their annual Hampton Falls concert. On July 26th The Shadows provided the music for the reunion of Newburyport High Class of '68. What a blast! 2011 Performed at event "A Walk Back in Time" - raised funds for musical education in Newburyport Public Schools 2012 A repeat of "A Walk Back In Time" A lot of fun and Very $$$ Successful $$$! "...and the band plays on" Book the Shadows
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"I'm not afraid of death because I don't believe in it.
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