Review from 8/1/06: Acoustic Music San Diego, Sunday, 30 July 2006

Review: Acoustic Music San Diego, Sunday, 30 July 2006
John Batdorf with Bill Batstone
Acoustic Music San Diego's Third Anniversary

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Before I go into detail, I do have to breathe a sigh with a large WOW in there and my favorite word when it comes to any of Johns' performances: AWESOME!, because thats what Sunday night at Acoustic Music San Diego was for me.

What ages well and becomes better as it does? Wine. Cheese. Well-made Guitars. Brilliant Musicians. But only a musician with an old soul to start with could have written the songs and music John Batdorf did when he started composing at the age of 15. And when he plays those songs for us now -- 35 years later -- I think he brings with it the conviction of having lived the life that makes those songs even better than when they were first written and performed. It's like being a seer and making a prediction at the age of 15, and then looking back over 35-odd years and seeing the predictions come true.

Many people initially booked their tickets for the Third Anniversary of Acoustic Music San Diego based on the fact that there was going to be reunion of John Batdorf and Mark Rodney at the venue. It didn't work out and for someone (like me) who has never seen or heard Mark perform other than on the re-mastered CDs, I do have to say I was disappointed. I would very much like to see/hear John and Mark play together someday soon.

However, I also know John and his work (past and present). I came to his work from this end of the spectrum. I heard that voice first on All Wood and Stones and was initially impressed with his rendition of Have You Seen Your Mother Baby (Standing In The Shadows), and based on that one song alone, I wanted to hear more. When James Lee Stanley and John started to tour the CD, I got my wish. The first solo song he played live at Kulaks was I Will Not Be Afraid. At the very next show I bought the most recent CD of his that had that song on it (Batdorf & McLeans' Don't You Know). The second song of his I ever heard played solo was It's Not Love and I thought "This guy really knows what its all about...".

It's about a year and a half later and I am deeply entrenched in listening and trying to do whatever needs to be done to get more people to hear/see/witness this extremely talented musician. So when I was told about the pending show at Acoustic Music San Diego with John and Bill, I called Charlette and we planned to attend almost immediately based only on our knowledge of AMSD's acoustics and the combination of John and Bills vocals and guitars.

And I think ... I think those people who were initially coming to see John and Mark reunite for a few songs in the second set, though maybe initially disappointed, got a major treat instead. I've heard/seen several of the B&R songs performed live in the last year and a half and I love hearing Johns' vocals, Bills' harmonies and watching/hearing John play the guitar parts to perfection. Songs like Oh Can You Tell Me, Let Me Go, Between the Ages, and All I Need. But Sunday night, John pulled out all the stops and played and sang and seriously impressed me with his solo versions of Home Again and Aint It Like Home. I never saw them performed live before so I have nothing to compare them against except the remastered CDs but I really seriously think both were performed to perfection with a certain conviction that may not have been there 35 years ago, and Johns' talent has grown substantially in those years. Home Again blew me away. Aint It Like Home further blew me away and simultaneously gave me goosebumps.

John and Bill covered a large spectrum of music from each of their backgrounds as well as their current work. Bill Batstone is an awesome musician in and of himself and I do love the magic that comes about when John and Bill play and sing together. My favorites of Bills' songs? Walking on the Water and Jamie but I enjoy everything else of his too.

John did one song that he wrote very recently that will be on the new CD that he's working on: I Don't Always Win. I love this song to start with plus its an important song for the message it imparts giving those who might not quite understand what its like to be in drug and alcohol recovery; no one can understand what its like to be there but I think Johns' song comes very close to allowing understanding. In addition, I Dont Always Win is an important song for John because it showcases his all-around talents at once. This song has that ability to get into your head and just ring there, and even though the entire song is beyond awesome (for the music, the vocals and the words), there is the one crescendo moment that pulls it all together and is breathtaking. The amazing acoustics at the venue where Acoustic Music San Diego is held only accentuated this song to perfection. Goosebumps and tears accompanied that song Sunday night for this audience-member.

I like music in general; I could never live without it; but one thing I've learned about myself over the years is that I have an eye and ear for top-of-the-line brilliance. I had it with books -- when I worked for a major publishing house back east -- if I read a manuscript and I cried not from sadness but from release of tension that the writing caused, invariably that would be a book that we licensed worldwide and would win lots of awards and get all kinds of publicity attention. I also have it for music. And I can't follow someone just for one or two songs here and there. It's all or nothing for me. So the voice and the guitar-work that impressed me in person back at that very first All Wood and Stones show at Kulaks Woodshed when John performed I Will Not Be Afraid and It's Not Love? Well, I've had a wish since then. And maybe? I think maybe I finally got my wish ... I think everybody in the room Sunday night in Normal Heights, San Diego heard what I hear. How could I tell? Two standing ovations and CD sales like I've never seen at any show in the last two years since I've been involved in the SoCal music scene.

I've been attending almost all of Johns' shows over the last year or more; and every one of his shows are different depending on whether he's playing solo or with Bill Batstone or Greg Collier or James Lee Stanley or Michael McLean. I never tire of the music. One of the Batdorf & McLean CDs -- The Early Years -- goes with me everywhere when I drive; I never leave the house without it. In the last 6 months, John has hit a certain long-legged far-reaching stride and he's climbing. Every show I see, he has mounted another step upward and surpassed the one before it.

What we need now more than ever is friend and fan support. Fans bringing more possible fans to future shows and spreading the word. Because John is giving us everything he's got and I think its only fair that we reciprocate...

Jeanette A. Lundgren, August 1^st, 2006
Mother Hen Promotions

Follow-Up Note: If you haven't checked out his music yet, please go to The Official John Batdorf Myspace and his website John Batdorf Music to hear more..... And let us know if you want to be on his mailing list for upcoming show info or invited to his official YahooGroup. Thank you.

Review from 4/06: Local artist returns home to promote album

... here's a really cool (front page!!) article from the Xenia Gazette published in April 2006.

Local artist returns home to promote album
By MARIANNE WELLENDORF
Staff Writer
mwellendorf@xeniagazette.com
YELLOW SPRINGS

John Batdorf, 54, grew up in Yellow Springs and Springfield with a very musical family. He is now returning to the area to promote his new CD, All Wood and Stones, which is an eleven-song CD of early Rolling Stones songs. "My grandpa was a fine saxophonist and my parents were also very musically inclined but I showed little interest because of sports," Batdorf said. That all changed when Batdorf was diagnosed with a bone marrow disease and placed in a body cast for a year. Unable to get around, he watched a lot of T.V., especially the Ed Sullivan Show. When the Beatles performed, Batdorf said he was a changed man. "Wow, my goals changed completely. I started practicing guitar and piano and started being in a series of bands which finally led me to California after the end of my freshman year in high school," Batdorf said. Batdorf stayed in California and also lived in Las Vegas for awhile, playing in bands, working in coffee houses and trying to get a record deal. John Batdorf and his friend Mark Rodney eventually signed a deal with Atlantic Records before starting a band called Silver and doing an album for Arista Records. Batdorf and his wife of 33 years, Melanie, and their twin sons Brett and Matt currently reside in West Hills, California. "I last played in Dayton in 1976 and I am really looking forward to coming back home," Batdorf said.
Batdorf can be seen May 13, at 9:00 p.m. at the Canal Street Tavern in Dayton.

http://www.xeniagazette.com/index.asp
(to read the article and see the picture that goes with it, click on the above link, go to 'PDF version' and search back issues for April 27th. It's on the front page!!!!).

Review from 4/06: Musical pair rolling along with acoustic tribute to the Stones

From the Sacramento Bee

Published 2:15 AM PST Sunday, Apr. 30, 2006

Musical pair rolling along with acoustic tribute to the Stones

By Jim Carnes -- Bee Staff Writer

It's a long way from scoring the music for "Touched by an Angel" and singing "Ruby Tuesday" at a wedding to "All Wood and Stones," an album of acoustic Rolling Stones music, but that's the path John Batdorf and James Lee Stanley took.

The two recorded the album in 2004. It was available only at their concerts or on the www.allwoodandstones.com Web site until recently, when it was picked up for national distribution. Azera/EMI Records has geared up to push the album and, Stanley said, "We're starting to do some serious touring on this now."

So who are Batdorf and Stanley?

Both are singers and songwriters who have been recording since the 1960s. Tom Robbins, whose "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" inspired Stanley to record a song of that title, calls Stanley "probably the last great undiscovered singer-songwriter in America." He has released nearly two dozen albums, most in the pop, jazz and acoustic genres. He has performed solo and as a "road dog" in bands backing the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Robin Williams, and Chick Corea and Return to Forever; has teamed for recordings and concerts with ex-Monkee Peter Tork (a friend since their meeting in 1963); and has won Emmy Awards for his music for the CBS "Cathy" animated specials.

Batdorf is probably best-known as half of Batdorf and Rodney, an acoustic, folk-rockish group that formed in Los Angeles in 1969 after Batdorf's group Cloud disbanded. Batdorf and Rodney were signed by the renowned producer Ahmet Ertegun to Atlantic Records in the early 1970s, and their debut album, "Off the Shelf," was released in 1973. They had several moderate hit singles, including "Can You See Him?" "Poor Man's Dream" and "Home Again," before disbanding in the mid-'70s. Batdorf continues to write and record and has an established career scoring for television (including all 5 1/2 years of "Touched by an Angel").

Batdorf and Stanley will perform Friday in Loomis in a concert that will benefit the Del Oro High School Stadium Building Fund and, indirectly, the high school's band, which uses the stadium for field shows and competitions. On Saturday, they'll perform in Folsom at a house concert for invited guests.

Stanley and Batdorf frequently play house concerts and benefits as solo performers and were contacted about the local appearances as a response to "All Wood and Stones." The duo will perform songs from that recording as well as original material from their solo careers.

The "All Wood and Stones" project came from Stanley's wedding-singer experience. He had sung "Ruby Tuesday" with George Merrill (who wrote "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" for Whitney Houston) because "it was the only song we both knew."

"I came home from that and thought, 'Man, that sounded good,' " he said in a recent telephone interview from his home studio in West Hills. "I never realized how musical it was."

Although he was familiar with the music of the Rolling Stones, Stanley said, "My favorite band to listen to is Steely Dan. I like impeccably produced music." Stanley decided to apply the Crosby, Stills and Nash acoustic-folk approach he had taken with "Ruby Tuesday" to some other Stones songs and see where it would lead. In the resulting reinventions, "Under My Thumb" became a waltz and "Let's Spend the Night Together" turned into a shuffle. Such rockers as "Paint It Black," "Satisfaction" and "Have You Seen Your Mother Baby?" took on surprising atmospheric density.

It's a baby boomer's nostalgia trip, but Stanley said it's much more, that the tunes have unique chord progressions and are more lyrical and musically complex than most people realize, given the tunes' original freewheeling and sometimes sloppy recordings.

Merrill wasn't available when Stanley was ready to go into the studio, so Stanley started casting about for a singing partner. Batdorf's name came up - and it turned out he even lived nearby.

"When I first saw Batdorf and Rodney in a club, I thought, 'Man, I'd like to be a part of that. If I could be the third voice in that, it would be amazing,'" Stanley said. "Sadly, that never happened."

Batdorf did appear on Stanley's first two solo albums, released by RCA's Wooden Nickel records in the late 1960s. Stanley was a staff writer for Bone Howe, producer for the Association and the Fifth Dimension, at the time. When Stanley and Batdorf met again to discuss "All Wood and Stones," it was a reunion of two old friends.

"I was so delighted to see him, and when I told him about the project, we really wanted to do it. John is without a doubt the most professional, reliable musician I have ever worked with," Stanley said.

The two have something else in common: "Aurally speaking, both of us are really anal," Stanley said. "We want everything to sound perfect."

Stanley approached the project with some trepidation, however. "I sent the record to Rolling Stones fan clubs, just to see what they'd say," he said. "I didn't know what they might say - 'You've ripped the crotch out of Mick' or something. But I really thought somebody should give the Stones their musical due." It turns out Stones fans have been more enthusiastic than Stanley fans. "The majority of my fans did not buy this record," he admitted. "We've sold thousands of copies to people I don't know. My fans keep asking 'Where's the James Lee Stanley CD?' "

That will come - another set of impeccably produced original acoustic music - but there may be yet another surprise in the works.

"I'm very much excited about a follow-up," Stanley said. "I'm not sure it would be another Rolling Stones collection, but it might be a similar approach, where we'd take hard-rocking songs and do them differently. You tell me: Black Sabbath? Creedence Clearwater? Who can we do?"

Stanley turned 60 at the end of April, and he said that except for a stint as a Chinese linguist for the Air Force, he has always made a living as a musician. "I never gave up the dream. Never stopped. I'm not a world-famous, rich guy, but I play for a living," he said.

"I'd like to have more work, like to stay at the point where you always have more money than bills, but I'm extremely blessed. I have a good studio, it's in my home, and I can work steadily.

"People ask what would I have done if I weren't a successful musician, and I say, 'I'd be an unsuccessful musician.' "

Blog Action Day - Monday October 15th, 2007

Blog Action Day

This Monday, October 15th, is Blog Action Day, an initiative for bloggers to unite and put a single important issue on people's minds. This year's issue: The Environment. Participating is simple: Just write in your journal as your normally would, but with the environment theme in mind. Find out more ways to get involved with this experiment at the Blog Action Day website.

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In support of Blog Action Day, John Batdorf is making available this song, that he wrote with Michael McLean (available on the CD, "The Early Years"), called Borrowing, available for discerning readers and listeners here:

Lyrics:

Borrowing
by John Batdorf and Michael McLean (c) 1994
BatMac Music (BMI)
and Shining Star Music (ASCAP)

We have not inherited the earth
From our parents when they gave us birth
We are borrowing the sea and land
From our children and their children's children

There's some wisdom engraved in stone
That stands alone on the road not taken.
It's a voice crying from the dust
To all of us in every generation
And it begs us to reconsider
The debt we owe the future
What every borrower should know, oh oh

We have not inherited the earth
From our parents when they gave us birth
We are borrowing the sea and land
From our children and their children's children
Unborn spirit's lay a claim
To the earth that we have borrowed from them

Masquerading as human need
Is all the greed that's fueling the fire
Of American dreams we've dreamed,
That somehow seem so uninspired
In the making of all the choices
who champion's the voices
Of those the earth is borrowed from.....

We have not inherited the earth
From our parents when they gave us birth
We are borrowing the sea and land
From our children and their children's children
Unborn spirit's lay a claim
To the earth that we have borrowed from them

We have not inherited the earth
From our parents when they gave us birth
We are borrowing the sea and land
From our children and their children's children
Unborn spirit's lay a claim
To the earth that we have borrowed from them

To hear the song and be able to pass it along to like-minded individuals, see the following link(s):

To view your MP3MusicGram, click the following link:
View My MP3MusicGram

If the link does not work, copy and paste the following URL to your browser:
http://www.MP3Musicgrams.com/viewMP3Gram.aspx?egID=510B7C2BFCA20D886665B8002AD1A9D7C55CA538

This blog will be cross-posted as follows:
the John Batdorf myspace blog
the Mother Hen Promotions myspace blog
the Meet Me In the Music myspace blog
the icanreadyourmnd LiveJournal
the Jackie Batdorf myspace blog
the E Ho Music myspace blog
the Wood & Souls Concert Series myspace blog
the Princess Charlette myspace blog
further links t/k

"Home Again" Retrospective

Guest Blogger:
Jeanette A. Lundgren,
Mother Hen Promotions

"All My Life I've Waited for this Day ...
I Am Home Again"

Yeah, John. Me too.

For me, it started back in 2004 when James Lee Stanley was producing and recording All Wood and Stones with John Batdorf, and I was working part-time at Longs and had extra time on my hands and was doing office work for James. The first time I ever met John, James was walking me through a project and John sat down at the piano and started to play and I was blown away. I don't know what the song was and it hardly matters. I've since heard John say that he doesn't really play piano all that well but I know for a fact that he does and I have that moment in time as my proof.

When I first got the finished All Wood & Stones CD, I played it a few times through and kept going back to "Have You Seen Your Mother Baby (Standing In the Shadows)" ... there were other songs I liked, of course, but it was Johns' vocals on that one song that made me want to hear more from him. On January 15th, 2005, at the first (real) Kulaks All Wood & Stones show, I was disappointed that he only did 4 solo songs but I was enthralled by them too. On those four songs alone, John Batdorf hooked me on his music for life.

His first song was "Oh Can You Tell Me" which *felt* SO familiar. Next came "I Will Not Be Afraid" which became one of my top favorite songs of his. "It's Not Love" followed, which told me that this guy really knew what it was all about. "Let Me Go" was his final solo song that evening and I remember being caught up in the guitar work. I'd met John all of four times by then and that night I called up the courage to ask him if he had any solo CDs for sale. Yes, he had -- and I happily brought DON'T YOU KNOW home with me. "I Will Not Be Afraid" is on that CD and it became one of the most important songs in my life at that time.

During ensuing shows, I got to hear "I Will Not Be Afraid" and "Oh Can You Tell Me" a lot which was fine by me. I also heard "Working Man Blind Man" and "Let Me Go" and I desperately wanted more of his solo stuff (and I was plenty pissed off whenever he had to give up a song because the first set had gone too long). After the first few shows, no matter where I went to see the show performed, I always made sure to get there early so I could get a seat right up front in a place where I could see past the music stand and watch this man play guitar ... he played with both hands and it is plain to see that he loves his instrument. The way he plays illustrates how intricate and versatile an instrument it can be, and he plays those strings with all fingers and both hands and doing things with the guitar I hadn't seen or heard in years. The lyrics all spoke to me but moreso even than that I was seeing a musician who *wanted* to be on that stage, who had the music inside of him bursting to get out, but there was something else too. I found out later that he'd played to crowds of 30,000 or more back in his youth but he'd spent the last 20-30 years doing studio work, so all of a sudden being thrust in front of a small crowd of appreciative listeners/watchers made it difficult. So I made it a point to sit strategically so I could watch his hands and eventually I was rewarded: the music stand was moved aside.

Aside from the All Wood and Stones shows where I *lived* to see Johns' way too short solo spots, I was scouring the internet for his other music. Monetarily, I wasn't breaking even a lot of the time but when the original Batdorf & Rodney records were re-released on CD, I scrimped to buy them. I heard pieces of some of Johns' other music off his old website ... one of which was the instrumental leading up to the song "It's Not Heavy" and I *knew* I had to hear more of that song as soon as it was available. On the B&R end, I didn't really want to hear what had gone down before - 30-35 years prior - because that wasn't the person who was sitting in front of me at these shows. So the first time I heard the original B&R recordings, I didn't hear them for what they were. It was only on the 2nd and 3rd (and 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, infinitum) that I heard what was there ... and yet - I wanted them now. I wanted to hear those songs but from the person I now knew in the matured voice I was used to, singing lyrics he never should have known the meaning of when he first wrote them as a teenager, but with the lifetime of experience he now had.

I think I pretty much became an expected fixture in the front row of the Southern California shows. I slowly made my way from sitting on James' side of the stage to sitting closer to Johns' side. I didn't want to insult James but at the same time I sensed that James already had his schtick down - he already had his fans and his lists and his publicity machine up and running. All I did for him, office- as well as fan-wise, was to execute what was already in place. What John needed was to get back to a place he hadn't been for many, many years. He needed to gather the fans he knew were still around. At the same time, I needed to be in on something that I could help grow.

2005/2006 was a turning point for John, as he found himself on stage more and more. I think he re-discovered somewhere he always loved being but forgot about while raising a family and surviving in a different area of the music business. When he found that there were people in the various audiences who wanted to hear and see him play solo, aside from the part he played in All Wood and Stones, he started to dig up the gems from the B&R days and give us gifts of them. For me, the real ride started one late August '05 evening at Kulaks Woodshed when John played a solo show because James was on the road. All the AW&S shows previous to that, for me, were interesting in that I got to hear little bits and pieces of John's music and I continued wanting more. I wanted to see him do a solo show, all his own. That's what that late August evening gave. And from there, I wanted more still. It turns out - so did John. He wanted the stage back ... and I wanted to hear and see more and find welcoming stages. Even though I had been at all the Southern California shows prior to that, I had been at those shows as a fan. From that late August '05 evening was borne a friendship and a working relationship toward getting John more attention and finding the old B&R fans as well as making new ones.

Different from any other musician I've come to know over the course of the last few years, John approaches the stage in a whole 'nuther manner. He's a perfectionist with regard to his artform but he gives to an audience no holds barred -- that is a flesh-and-blood inspired person up there giving us unplanned introductions to his songs while he lays out the song itself and we get a glimpse inside of whatever it was that inspired him to write it.

In February '06 I got to meet some of the "old" fans for the first time ... there is a certain smile that John wears when someone he hasn't seen in 30 years shows up to see him play ... and thats when the family started to re-build itself while the Yahoo Group continued to add members, the mailing list began to grow in leaps and bounds, the new website was announced, AW&S was touring, and several paths lay out in front of him.

In late March '06, I convinced him to allow me to build a Myspace site, to work together with his newly rebuilt website in marketing himself and his music. I devoted part of my own personal myspace to promoting him as did a few of his fans who became friends of mine, in addition to his sister, Jackie (who is also now a friend of mine). You could go to any one of our pages and hear one of John's songs and read about the next show. In addition, I continued to be able to attend shows in the California area where I enjoyed his performance as part of AW&S but he was building on his solo performances too. While I was booking for Gayles' Perks, I put him on my own stage as many times as he let me. And then he got the solo booking in San Diego - just him and Bill Batstone ... a show I'd been waiting for ... just John and Bill performing alone -- his own music -- for 2+ hours.

When John Batdorf walked out onto the stage for the second half of the August '06 Acoustic Music San Diego show, he walked out alone - just himself and his guitar - and he gave us a huge surprise.

Sometime in the weeks' prior he'd taken to heart the fact that many of his long-time fans asked for "Home Again" whenever they came to see him play. He always said that he couldn't play it solo. And originally that San Diego show was supposed to be a reunion with Mark but for health reasons on Marks' end, it didn't work out. John is not one to say "I can't do it" for long. So a few days prior to the Acoustic Music San Diego show, he sat down and re-arranged the song so he could play and sing it solo. I'm not sure re-arranged is the quite right word though because what he played that night - and has played since, still solo - is the song we all know and love from that first Batdorf & Rodney record. It's got every beat, every nuance, the bass line, the lead guitar line, the rhythm guitar and the vocals ... except it's just one man with just one guitar, ten fingers and six strings, and a whole lotta heart and soul.

I think that show was when John started to see that he was truly on the road home. I certainly felt it from the fans' reactions to him and his music and the CD sales we experienced and two standing ovations.

All along up till that show he had been working on the new CD but I don't think he really had a theme or a trajectory until San Diego 2006. That's when he gave us the solo version of "Home Again" and at the show itself, when he sang "Happiness at last found me", I felt it ... the road home. A road we all travel at some point in our lives. Funnily enough, it's a road I've been travelling too so maybe that's why this CD means as much to me as it does to John.

Cause I lost touch with music and how important it was in my life when I was 24 ... around the same time as the B&R and Silver days for John. But even when we lose touch with something we truly love, we continue to live and to survive and we learn things along the way that will aid us when we stumble back onto the road less traveled to come home. For John, he became a studio musician and a composer for television shows, commercials and playing and singing backgrounds for other well known musicians. For me, I became a sales-person working with promotion and publicity experts.

Let there never be any mistake about it - the young man that was the Batdorf part of Batdorf & Rodney - was (and continues to be) brilliant. I never met Ahmet Ertegun but I've heard the reverance with which John speaks about him AND I've read a lot of artcles about the man. He knew talent even when it was still in the bud, and John is no exception. I listen to the remastered CDs and hear the music and words John wrote back then and all of those songs still hold water. But the talent was raw and unbridled. John got the experience he needed all those years in the behind-the-scenes business ... and here we are.

He just about broke my heart singing - again, completely solo - just him and his guitar, one of his favorite songs created while he was part of B&R: "Ain't It Like Home". Completely raw, completely alone, completely wanting to be where he knew he needed to be in that moment of time. Home - an ever-growing need over the years - the wandering minstrel, the acoustic rock pioneer has finally found his stage and his studio. He's found some of his long-time fans, and those fans and his family and friends are standing steadfast with him. John has a very strong hold over everyone he knows and that's because he is just plain all-around good in all aspects of the word.

And so we have the CD entitled HOME AGAIN with the title track being that same song -- performed, on the CD, with other people but created by a master craftsman with harmonies and guitar work -- all live in the studio, with Mark Rodney ... both of whom have come home to this one song and this one friendship - performed to perfection.

Another year later - almost to the same date - August 2007 - once more John appeared at Acoustic Music San Diego, also with Bill Batstone as well as with James Lee Stanley. But this time, he had Mark Rodney with him ... and I got to hear and see, for maybe the first time ever the groove those two had lived on the stage those 30 years ago. I got to hear the songs I've gotten used to on the old B&R records performed - as I've always wanted to hear and see them - in front of me by John and by Mark right here and right now. By the 2nd half of the show, the two of them stepped into a groove, into a time machine, and gave us a stellar set. I've seen John perform tight sets with James Lee Stanley; I've seen him perform awesome sets all by himself and now I got to see, hear and witness the groove he'd been telling me all along had been the magic of Batdorf & Rodney. Songs that I had gotten used to hearing solo from John all of a sudden having another guitar, adding something even more to those jams that had always impressed me when he'd done them by himself. It was awe-inspiring; it was magic.

But see? That's the thing about John - whatever he does is magic. Whether it's an AW&S show or a reunion show with Mark Rodney or a show all by himself ... his music is magic. And despite the awesomeness I've seen him deliver while playing with others? I still prefer him solo. Just John and his guitar giving us his gift of music.

As a fan I want to keep hearing and seeing this man play live; I want to continue sharing his music with everybody I know. As someone who has come home and become Johns' internet publicist and sometimes promoter? I want everybody - everywhere - no holds barred - to hear and see what I hear and see and I will stop at nothing to accomplish just that.

"Home Again" indeed.

jal, 9/4/07

The History of Batdorf and Rodney (The Batdorf Version)

The hard part about writing a "history" of a music act from the 70's isn't getting the facts right but actually acknowledging that all this happened over thirty years ago. You see, as I write this the memories are all so fresh in my mind it seems like it happened yesterday.

In the summer of 1970 at the ripe old age of 18, my girl friend and I packed our bags and left our apartment in Hollywood for Las Vegas. It was time for a change of scenery, and it didn't hurt that her parents had a home there. They were devout Jehovah's Witnesses and I am sure they were thrilled to have a hippie musician who'd been shacking up with their runaway daughter in LA move into their home. But the power of music can never be underestimated. Once they heard me sing they warmed up to me and I used to do shows for them and their friends. (For the record, no pamphlets were distributed during the performances).

I soon found employment at the University of Las Vegas in a coffee house. Although I'd played music all my life I did have a few other marketable skills that helped me get the gig: I worked in the kitchen, served drinks, cleaned up the place, even worked the cash register. But singing was more fun. As with most coffee houses of that era, each night featured various singers and songwriters. Before long I became the headliner. I did two or three sets a night depending on the crowds. Then, as a special reward for packing 'em in I had the priviledge of cleaning up when the show was over.

One night Mark Rodney's younger brother Jeff showed up and liked what he saw. He went home and told his brother that he HAD to go check out this guy at the coffee house. Apparently he told Mark my distinguising features were: "he sings really high like a girl and plays really cool original music." Mark showed up the next night and watched a set and was impressed. Although both of us had been from LA and actually went to the same High School, Mark had been living with his dad Red Rodney who owned a home in Vegas. Red was a famous Jazz trumpet player and I'm convinced he passed on that great musical feel to his son.

Mark introduced himself during a break and asked if he could sit in on the next set and play some guitar. That was the first time Batdorf and Rodney played. I loved the way the guy found such cool and tasty guitar parts that took the songs to a better place. Oh yeah, and it was fun.

We decided to rehearse and see what would happen. We practiced everyday either at Red's house, the park, or up at Mt. Charleston. We got really excited about this sound that was happening as we played, and we weren't alone. Soon we were packing them in at the coffee house. The manager there was so into the sound and the potential that he took us to a College entertainment show in Fresno to show off what UNLV had going on campus. We were a big hit and before long we had people wanting to join us, manage us, promote us, you name it. We were getting the offers.

We were feeling really good about what we had to offer and wanted to record it. On October 24, 1970, Mark and I were joined by our roadie Dan Bisker and a few others and we went up to Mt. Charleston armed with our guitars, a stereo cassette deck and two mics. We played a set of originals and really liked what we heard. Mark and I decided that we wanted to go back to LA and see if we could get a record deal.

Before we made the trip I wanted to protect my original songs that we'd be showcasing around LA so I decided to mail the cassette of the Mt. Charleston recording to myself as a certified letter and never open it to show proof of when these tunes were written and by whom. They call it a poor man's copyright. I wrote down all the titles and made a note that I had written the songs and went to the post office. (That letter remained unopened until recently. Listening to that performance was truly a "trip" down memory lane.)

About a month later, Mark and I, along with my girlfriend and our roadie packed everything we had into my VW and set out for LA. A friend of mine and ex-drummer, Gerry Pasternack had an apartment in West LA and let us sleep on the floor until we got something going. As I'm writing this I realize that it sounds like a nineteen seventies cliche of hippie musicians chasing a dream, but it's how it happened. I suppose the reason our story sounds like a cliche is because so many of us during that period pretty much chased the same dream in the same VW.

Before I went to Vegas and met Mark I had been in a few bands in LA and had met Ahmet Ertegun the President of Atlantic Records. He would periodically come check out those early bands but never signed them. On a whim I decided I would call the Beverly Hills Hotel where Ahmet stayed while he was in LA and see if I could talk him into listening to us. He took my call and invited us over. Atlantic was signing the Stones at that time and all the big shots were there when we showed up. Ahmet asked us to go into another room and wait for him. We tuned up and rehearsed a few tunes and then in walked Ahmet. He asked us to show him what we had and we proceeded to play "Oh, My Surprise".

To our astonishment Ahmet Ertegun, the President of Atlantic records was literally jumping up and down and yelling as we played on, "Yeah, You guys are great!" We played about four more songs including "Where Were You And I". He stopped us and said "I want to sign you and take you to Mussel Shoals and record an album" And if that wasn't great enough, he gave two hungry musicians a hundred dollar bill and said, "Come back tomorrow and now go get something to eat". We left in a complete daze and Mark asked "Who was that guy again".

The next day we showed up at the hotel and Atlantic had flown in their lawyer with our contracts which we were eager to sign.Ahmet wanted to produce our album and we were freaked. As we looked at the contract Ahmet said, "Don't worry kid, I won't burn you" so we signed. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Ahmet. The man's a legend, one of the great icons in the music industry. This is the guy who produced Buffalo Springfield's "Blue Bird", signed CSN and Cream who were our favorite groups. He could make acoustic music rock and he was going to get our music out there for the world to hear. I will be forever in his debt for giving us our chance! He had a way about him that was truly remarkable. He could relate to the artists like he was just one of the guys who loved music and when he heard something he liked , he went after it.

A few month's later we were off to Mussel Shoals, Alabama. I had written many new songs and we were ready. The studio was a very modest one room place but had a reputation for recording many hits. The musicians there were fantastic and very nice to us. We had never played our music with a full band before so we were a bit apprehensive about it. The keyboard player, Barry Becket, was the leader of the group. He sat with me and made charts of the songs for Roger Hawkins, the drummer and David Hood, the bass player.

Although it took a while for all of us to play together like a seasoned band, once we all got comfortable it was great. When we cut "Can You See Him" on the first take we went wild during the playback. It sounded unbelievably great!! The jam rocked hard and we were on our way. During one of the sessions, we overheard a conversation Ahmet was having with someone on the phone saying that he was in Mussel Shoals producing the best group he'd had in five years. When he noticed us listening he started talking in his native Turkish tongue.

When we finished up the week in Alabama we flew back to LA with our rough mixes of what we had just recorded. we were ecstatic about our new album on Atlantic Records. Weeks passed and we had not been given a release date nor had we worked on a cover. Ahmet was sending us money to live on and bought us Martin guitars We played a lot in clubs in LA and built up quite a following as John and Mark. Along the way we met some great artists: Paul Potash, Rick Ruskin, Gabrielle Glad Star and James Lee Stanley. We became good friends with all those gifted people. But what we wanted most of all was to put out our record.

One day I got a call from Ahmet and although he really liked what we recorded he thought we were a few songs short. He wanted me to worry less about writing hits and write more about how I felt. At first I resisted but he was right, we needed some stronger songs. I went on to write "Me and My Guitar", "Don't You Hear Me Callin" and "Let Me Go" all important songs for that album.

We eventually booked some more sessions but this time in LA at Elektra Studios. Ahmet hired John Barbata on drums and Chris Etheridge on bass. Our engineer was Ross Myering. The sessions went great and everyone was pleased. Unfortunately because Ahmet was such a busy guy, it was hard to track him down and pin point a release date so the weeks passed and still nothing.

We hooked up with a manager, Harvey Kresky, who had managed Sonny and Cher among others and had a history with Ahmet. He got Atlantic to finally schedule a release date in late 1971 to the newly named duo Batdorf and Rodney, another good Ertegun idea. Because the record sat on the shelf for so many months we appropriately named the record, " Off The Shelf". The album was finally out!!! We immediately got airplay everywhere. The playlists were not like today. AM radio actually played album cuts. A very famous DJ in LA at KRLA AM radio B. Mitchell Reid played many cuts and often. Mark and I went to the Beverly Hills Hotel on Thanksgiving to have dinner with Ahmet, David Geffen, Eve Babitz, Earl McGrath and a few others he invited. He had a boom box playing in the background and on came "Can You See Him". We all freaked and I told Ahmet, "Man we're going all the way, we're going platinum!!!" Ahmet said "Don't worry about that man, we made our mark," and he was right again.

That album didn't quite go platinum or gold or any other color but we toured and people loved us! On the road I was busy trying to write new songs for what would be our second album. I came up with "Poor Man's Dream, "Between The Ages","Oh Can You Tell Me" and a few others. We had moved into a house in Hollywood with our bass player Rick Carlos, and John Mauceri, drums. All we did was music and it was a magical time. A sound was evolving, and that sound inspired new songs: "Home Again","All I Need" , "Let Me Live The Life", "Under Five" to name a few.

This experience was different that the first album. Because we were working together as a band we knew exactly what these songs would sound like and we were excited to get started on a new album.

Because Ahmet was on the East coast again it was very hard to reach him at times and our manager asked us if we would be interested in moving to a newly formed West Coast Atlantic- owned label called Asylum. It was run by another legendary music mogul, David Geffen. As much as we absolutely loved Ahmet, it was the right move.

We needed a producer. We loved how the CSNY and Steve Stills solo records sounded and sought out Bill Halverson who engineered them all. He hadn't done much producing but when we recorded a demo for him at the Record Plant, he realized he simply needed to guide an already tightly rehearsed band. Man, could he make those acoustics sing. Bill was awesome. We cut the entire album's basic tracks in three days and then started working on the vocals and other overdubs. David Geffen brought the group America to one of our sessions and the next day and we got booted off our scheduled session so America could record with Bill. Man were we pissed!!

The sessions soon resumed and the album was really coming together. Bill suggested we try using some strings on a couple of songs. We agreed and met Jimmy Haskell, a very gifted orchestral arranger. Jimmy wrote those incredible strings on "Between The Ages" and "Happy Town". When I heard those strings go down at the session I got chills. They were so hauntingly beautiful. We finished mixing and now it was time to release it and go on the road again.

After touring with groups like Bread, The Young Bloods, Dave Mason etc., people knew who we were and we were invited to headline at colleges. Again we were a huge hit on the road and the record was getting a ton of airplay and all looked great. Unfortunately without a big hit single to launch the popular FM album the momentum fizzled. That was the first time I felt like maybe it wasn't going to happen. Money got tight and the band was beginning to fray under all the pressure. We got rid of our manager and tried to keep it going on our own but it seemed like it was time to rest. My relationship with Mark had become strained and the band was taking sides so I reluctantly quit. I had no idea what was next but that era was over with.

The best thing to come out of that time is that in 1973 I got married to Melanie Baroody to whom I am still married. She was the sister of Robin who was married to our road manager Steve Smith. I kicked around awhile touring as a solo act, forming a new band and continued writing but nothing seemed to work. About a year and a half later, armed with some new songs, I auditioned for A&M Record's A&R man, Kip Cohen. He liked what he heard and invited me to come back the next day and play again for him and another A&R person, Roger Birnbaum. They both liked me but thought I needed a partner/partners to make a real act. Kip gave me $500.00 and told me that they were interested. They teamed me up with a few guys that they felt the same way about. They flew me to New York and had me meet a bunch of singer songwriters but there was no connection.

Eventually A&M bowed out, but Roger remained a supportive friend. He really liked what I did and sheepishly asked if there was a possibility that Mark and I could give it another try. I was open to it. We met, patched things up and decided to try to attain what had eluded us before: fame and fortune. Now all we needed was a record deal.

Roger suggested we auditioned for Eric Mallimud who was an A&R scout for a newly formed label by Clive Davis. We played at the Ash Grove in LA and Eric loved us. He convinced Clive to give us a listen and we were off to the Beverly Hills Hotel again to play our songs. Clive loved the sound and songs and signed us. Roger left A&M and went to work for Arista. He is another guy I will forever be thankful to for caring enough about something and seeing it through! Now we needed a producer and for the first time had to deal with a record company who insisted on us doing outside material.

Because Clive Davis had hand picked the song "Mandy" for Barry Manilow he felt strongly that he knew how to pick hits for artists who didn't know what they were missing. Since Manilow had resisted "Mandy" which went on to be a big hit. Clive wasn't impressed when we were less than enthusiastic about some of the songs he'd picked for us. He kept referring to "Mandy" and how much Barry didn't want to do it but it made him a star so we went along. He gave us "You Are A Song" and "Gentler Time". I liked the first song but had a very hard time with the second one. But I had no choice.

The record got made and to our dismay, Clive had our producer, Tom Sellers, edit out all of the guitar solos that were a staple of earlier B&R records. Clive came to see us at a club in NY before the album was released. He thought he had signed another Simon and Garfunkel type duo. We played great and got two standing ovations. Our jams were better than ever. Clive came backstage and his comment was,"You guys were lucky that an instrumental audience showed up" so we knew there was a communication problem going on. Clive didn't understand that the audience we'd been building for Batdorf and Rodney LOVED the instrumental jams. It was a key to our sound and appeal. But it's hard to argue with the man who made Barry Manilow a superstar.

Our album came out and did OK but was a watered down version of our earlier stuff and some of the fans didn't like it as much. But along the way we picked up some new fans and a new manager, Rob Heller. He got us back on the road with Seals and Croft and many other great acts. During this period "You Are A Song" was a decent hit for us.

The album sold more than our previous albums so we went with it and kept our creative disagreements to a minimum. As the momentum of the Life is You album began to slide, Clive called me and said he had a song that he wanted Mark and I to record but it had to be done immediately because it was going to be Helen Reddy's next single and he wanted to beat her to the punch. It was a beautifully written song , "Somewhere In The Night". I absolutely loved this song and was truly excited to record it, but there was a catch. Since we were in the studio with Clive he showed us another song "Wham Bam" that he thought would be a hit. I hated it.

To this day I still hate that song. I actually met with Clive and spoke of band credibility and that B&R fans would know we were selling out but Clive wouldn't budge. Mark and Rob who were at the meeting didn't say a word to back me up so that was the deal. The price for getting to sing "Somewhere in the Night" was doing "Wham Bam".

After hearing the final mix of "Somewhere in the Night". Clive did not care for the sound Mark and I got on the verse so he brought in David Pomerantz to sing Mark's part. That was truly the beginning of the end. We went on to record Wham Bam and instead of unison, Clive had me double track the lead vocal giving Mark only a little to sing. This alienated Mark to the point where I could see him fading away. As he was fading "Somewhere in the Night" came onto the charts at #80 our highest chart debut ever... but something happened.

The story goes that a high ranking VIP in Helen Reddy's management firm, was so upset at Clive for pulling this fast one, he called all the big stations and told them if they played our version that station would never get another Helen Reddy record again. Why that stopped them I'll never know. If you ever heard her version you probably understand why it came and went. It just wasn't very good. Later Barry Manilow had the hit with the song, but I'm telling you honestly, our version truly was the one.

Well what was next? I continued to write songs with the intention of recording another album that never came to pass. Mark and I drifted farther apart and I decided to try a new band with B&R keyboard player, Brent Mydland, Greg Collier, Harry Stinson and Tom Leadon. we called ourselves Silver. Clive heard us and told us if we released Wham Bam as Silver's first single he would sign us to an album deal. What choice did we have? We replaced Mark's parts and went on to cut the album. The single was a big hit but the album sounded nothing like the single and we didn't draw well. We were a West coast sounding band with a stupid bubble gum single. We were now signed to the powerful Hartmann and Goodman management team which put us on the America tour. We also toured with the Doobie Brothers, Hall and Oats and many other great acts. We were evolving into a very cool band with four great singers. Everybody wrote and we were all competent musicians. When it came time to do a second album, we played all the songs live for Clive. He didn't like the direction and again gave us some songs that he wanted us to do. It was "Wham Bam" time again. We refused, he refused so we were at an impasse.

Clive agreed to let us out of our contract if he were to get $200,000.00 and four points from any other deal we might be able to land. We were not nearly big enough to get those kinds of numbers so our careers were basically over as the group Silver. I ended up trying a few things out that didn't work and ended up as a staff song writer for the Entertainment Company, a publishing group owned by Charles Koppleman and Martin Bandier. I started co-writing with other writers and got a couple of covers by America, England Dan and the Curry Sisters. In 1981 I met Michael Stewart a producer who really liked my work and got me a deal with President Neil Portnow of 20th Century Records. I recorded a single remake of "Be My Baby" with plans of doing an album of originals as a solo artist. The day the single was to be released, 20th Century Fox was sold and the record label was dissolved. It was truly time to move on.

John Batdorf Official Website Bio

I have survived many careers in one lifetime. Starting with the 70's as a recording artist with Batdorf and Rodney and Silver, I made records and toured this country and Canada for most of the 70s. We headlined many shows, but as an opening act we got to play with a lot of great groups like America, Seals and Crofts, Dan Fogelberg, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Fleetwood Mac, The Doobie Brothers, Bread, The Youngbloods, Hall and Oats, Cheech and Chong, England Dan and John Ford Coley, Pure Prairie League, Harry Chapin, John Prine, Dave Mason, Kris Kristofferson just to name a few! A great time was had by all.

I spent the 80's as a staff songwriter writing songs for America, England Dan, The Curry sisters and Kim Carnes, and as a studio singer singing on hundreds of jingles, movies, and TV shows. I sang on four main titles including, "Doctor, Doctor", "Tom and Jerry Kids", "Garfield and Friends" and "Promised Land". I sang background vocals on some really great recordings by Rod Stewart, Motley Crue, Dave Mason, Eric Anderson,The Jefferson Starship, Berlin, Donna Summer, Dwight Yoakum, Boy Meets Girl, Mickey Thomas, Stan Ridgeway, James Lee Stanley, David Lee Roth, The London Choir Boys to name a few.

Then came the 90's and I started producing records and commercials. During that time I met and went on to write some great songs with my friend, Michael McLean. We have recorded 4 CDs together. In 1996 I got my first chance to score a CBS TV prime time show, "Promised Land". I composed all the music underscore for three years until the show came to an end. I went on to compose music for another CBS drama, "Touched By An Angel" which after nine very successful seasons is no longer in production. TBAA and Promised Land reruns still appear somewhere on the planet every day of the week. Soon after, I composed the entire musical score for a 2 hour made for PAX TV movie called "Book of Days" which appeared January and March of 2003. "The Best Two Years", which I also scored and wrote songs with Michael and Scott McLean, had a successful theatrical run in 2004 and is now available on DVD as well as the soundtrack on CD.

Now into the second half of the new millennium, John has recorded a new CD with James Lee Stanley "All Wood And Stones" (a highly original take on early Rolling Stones songs, done acoustically with tight harmonies) along with his first solo EP, "Side One." His latest solo CD,"Home Again" is comprised of seven new originals and three songs from the Batdorf and Rodney days. This CD is an acoustic guitar and vocal enthusiasts dream come true! Come listen to John sing songs about things that really matter to him, and you'll understand why they mean so much to his fans that have spanned three decades.