Triple Played: So many to thank on Triple Play’s 25th

It was 25 years ago today — May 10, 1988 — we turned the key and opened Triple Play Records at 419 Main St. Since then, our family grew from three to four, Triple Play moved twice and became the store it is now and one of which we are very proud. Time really does fly when you are having fun, and it definitely has been fun, most of the time, for a quarter century. It is true that if you love what you do for a living, it really isn’t work. It is your life. I like to joke ...

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Triple Played: Son makes Day one to remember

International Record Store Day on Saturday, April 20, was a huge success. It was the most fun we have ever experienced in almost 25 years of doing business in Grand Junction. My son Matthew’s idea of having live acoustic in-store performances from local artists was terrific! Miss Emily started around 10:30 a.m. with a solo acoustic guitar set of five songs. She mentioned, almost apologetically, beforehand that she only knew a few songs on the guitar and asked the folks to only throw ...

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Triple Played: April 20 is Record Store Day

There is a lot going on in Grand Junction on Saturday, April 20. Arbor Fest will take place at the Lincoln Park, which is undergoing a redesign. Macklemore will be in concert at Colorado Mesa University. In beautiful downtown Grand Junction, you’ll find MOG Outdoor Fest and the Maverick Classic Downtown Criterium. There is also a Health Fair at Intellitec College that day among other events throughout the valley. In the middle of it all, we will be celebrating the sixth annual ...

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Triple Played: Truly, the good die too young

Duane Allman was only alive for 24 years, but he did more for American popular music than people who lived to be three times his age. As proof of that, on March 19 Rounder Records released “Skydog, the Duane Allman Retrospective,” a limited edition 129-song, seven-CD box set. To give you an idea of the scope of Duane’s influence, only 19 of the songs in the set are from The Allman Brothers Band. Duane was only in the band for a little over two years, but it was long ...

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Triple Played: Death of Alvin Lee saddens

It was with shock and complete sadness when I learned of the March 6 death of Alvin Lee, former lead guitarist of Ten Years After and accomplished solo artist since 1974. Lee’s website, alvinlee.com, said he died “after unforeseen complications from a routine surgical procedure.” Ten Years After was a British blues-rock group that mainly recorded between 1967 and 1974. I was introduced to their music in junior high school in 1971 with the release of “A Space In ...

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Triple Played: Veteran musicians record album

Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell have been friends since the early 1970s. They co-wrote “Amarillo” for Harris’ classic “Elite Hotel,” which also contained the Crowell classic “Till I Gain Control Again.” Another Crowell tune, “Bluebird Wine,” was on Harris’ next album “Pieces of the Sky.” By the time Harris’ 1977 classic “Luxury Liner” was released, Crowell had become a guitar player in ...

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Triple Played: Big show drough nearly over

When it comes to live music in this valley, it is either feast or famine” is a comment I have heard from countless customers through the years at Triple Play Records. I have to say I agree with that statement more often than not. For example, quickly think of the last “big” concert you have seen or heard about in the Grand Valley. By “big” I mean someone who has been around long enough to have put out more than five sell-able recordings. Time’s up! If ...

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Triple Played: ‘Sound of Philadelphia’ has soul

Having lived my entire life in western Colorado, with the exception of three months in Pueblo in 1969, I often wonder how I became such a big fan of soul music. I’ve loved soul music for as long as I can remember. From Aretha Franklin to the Penguins to the Flamingos and Prince, Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters to Sly and the Family Stone, The Supremes, Sade and the Chi-Lites, I like almost all of it. Whether it is from New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Memphis or Motown, I like ...

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Immensely popular Rockestra makes big impression

Immensely popular and incredible to witness, the Grand Junction Rockestra will put on its seventh concert since the summer of 2011 on Saturday, Jan. 19, at the Robinson Theatre in the Moss Performing Arts Center at Colorado Mesa University. Rockestra is a “professional Rock and Roll Orchestra performing rock and roll, with a symphonic twist,” according to its description on Facebook and at gjsymphony.org. “The GJR was born from an idea inspired by a similar group started ...

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Triple Played: Unexpected treat at Blues Jam

When I wrote about Blues Jam at the Mesa Theater and Club in my last column, I said that the Jam on Dec. 18 was going to be special and you should go. However, I am sure that all of those in attendance, including myself, had no idea how special it was going to be. Earlier that evening, at about closing time at Triple Play Records, three young men and a young woman came into the store, purchased some items and complimented the store and our beautiful downtown. It was obvious they were not ...

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Triple Played: As a humanitarian, Bob Dylan is the real deal

“Come in she said, I’ll give you shelter from the storm.” — Bob Dylan, “Shelter from the Storm” from “Blood on the Tracks” (1975) Many musicians are charitable people. Most of them give of themselves anonymously. Some, however, can’t give a dime or a minute of their time without alerting every kind of media known to man. They like to see themselves on television, Facebook or You Tube and read about themselves in any form of print ...

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Triple Played: Blues on Tuesdays

“Well, the blues had a baby and they named the baby Rock n’ Roll” — McKinley Morganfield aka Muddy Waters. Anyone who thinks there is no good music to listen to in Grand Junction during the week, and I have heard that complaint many times, has not attended Blues Jam. If you are a musician, and you don’t think that there is any place for you to play or sing during the week, even if you are a solo act, you should attend Blues Jam. After going to the last two ...

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Triple Played: Time to rewind on 2012 music

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Since there will basically be no more new releases this year, here are my personal top 10 for 2012. Obviously, I will leave out some of your favorites as well as mine. “Still On the Road to Freedom,” Alvin Lee: Former Ten Years After guitarist Lee’s follow-up to the 1974 classic with Mylon LeFevre, “On the Road to Freedom,” is the surprise album of the year. In my opinion, it’s an instant classic, getting my nod ...

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Triple Played: Without doubt, Beatles at top

This week, some 40-plus years after The Beatles broke up, we are seeing the re-release of the band’s entire catalog on vinyl. The 180-gram vinyl editions of all 12 of The Beatles’ British albums and a two-disc Past Masters set of singles and non-album tracks are available separately or as a box set. Limited to 50,000 copies worldwide, the box will come with an LP-size, 252-page hardcover book. All but two of the albums will use versions of the 2009 CD masters. ...

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Our Top Ten rich with great new releases

Someone was in the store the other day and asked me why we don’t post our Triple Play Top Ten anymore. I told him that our top 10 just doesn’t change often enough to warrant a weekly list, but right now there are enough excellent new releases to warrant one. So, here are our 10 most popular CDs, in no particular order, as it stands right now at Triple Play Records. ■ Bob Dylan, “Tempest” — At 71 years old, Dylan’s voice isn’t getting any ...

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Triple Played: Knopler’s label woes

Mark Knopfler’s new release, “Privateering,” is a perfect example of part of what is inherently wrong with the music industry. Because of a dispute with his American label, Warner Bros. Records, Knopfler had to release his new disc out of England on Mercury Records. Knopfler wanted to release a two-CD set and Warner Bros. wanted a single disc because record labels are very resistant to double records because they think they are harder to sell. With CD sales declining, it ...

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Triple Played: Response big to all-time favorite local bands

In my last column, I gave a brief recollection of local bands from the 1970s to the present, and then I asked you to let me know who your favorite local band is. I had no idea that I would get so much response. In fact, I think that from that column I received more feedback than from any column I have written since I asked about favorite guitar players. A lot of you just mentioned the name of your favorite band. Many of you went into more detail with messages. Here are some of your ...

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Triple Played: Let me know your favorite local band

Who is your favorite local band? I have not asked this question in this column before now. However, years ago when I first started stating my opinions in this column, I said J.T. & the Big Dogs was the best local band. Most of the band expressed their gratitude for my opinion but other bands and some of their members were not at all happy about it, and they let me know in many different ways. Some called, some sent email and a couple said they would not shop at Triple Play Records ...

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Triple Played: New releases plentiful

There is saying that Triple Play Record’s longest continuing customer, Dan Miller, and I like to use whenever we go looking for specific music or musicians: Be careful, because you might find what you are looking for and more. That was exactly the case the past two weeks when I went looking for new releases for the traditional surge of new music at the start of the school year in September. I found it interesting that the “big four” as I call them, Mark Knopfler, Neil ...

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Triple Played: New school year, new music

After a particularly dry summer as far as new music is concerned, things are beginning to heat up now that school is about to resume. Even though we saw new releases earlier this year from Bonnie Raitt, Carlos Santana and Neil Young, it has been relatively slow compared to other summers. In fact, Young’s record was made up of old Americana covers and did not contain any new material, whereas the Santana and Raitt releases were full of new self-penned songs. However, between now and ...

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Triple Played: ‘Black Magic Woman,’ Peter Green

“Got a black magic woman “Got a black magic woman. “Yes I got a black magic woman, “Got me so blind I can’t see “That she’s a black magic woman “And she’s tryin to make a devil out of me.” — From “Black Magic Woman” on Fleetwood Mac’s “Mr. Wonderful” was written by Peter Green and released in America in January 1969. Most folks assume Carlos Santana wrote “Black Magic ...

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Call it what you will, I call country-rock great

We called it country-rock back in high school. Since then, it has been called everything from alternative country, Americana, alternative country rock and more. It always has been my favorite style of music and if I had to choose one style of music to take to that proverbial desert island, it would be country-rock. I spent my grade school years in the radio wasteland that is Gypsum in Eagle County. I think Glenwood Springs had the closest radio station in the mid- to late 1960s. So the ...

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Triple Played, June 22

I don’t know if this is or will be the year of electronic music of any kind. Neil Young started that craze with “Trans” 30 years ago in 1982. What goes around ... What I am sure of is that every year is the year of the singer/songwriter because he or she creates the kind of music that endures. Who knows what kind of music, outside of that by singer/songwriters, will be around in 30 years? When I talk about new music and new artists I’m referring to what is new to ...

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Triple Played: Listen to music of family, friends

Sometimes it is possible to teach an old dog a new trick. I was born in 1957, and I’m confident I have a pretty good idea what those my age have listened to for the past 55 years. If you have been a regular reader of my opinion for any amount of time, you already know how I feel about the music of “our generation.” I am sure that to some readers I have probably already overstated my case when it comes to the music from 1957 to 1975. In those nearly 20 years, we were ...

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Triple Played: Santana back in the groove

One of my musical heroes, Carlos Santana, recently released his new CD “Shape Shifter,” while another one of my musical heroes, Neil Young and his band Crazy Horse, will release a new CD titled “Americana” on June 5. Both albums were years in the making, so to speak. I have been a fan of Santana since I first heard the single “Evil Ways.” My cousin Gary had the “Abraxas” LP, and I was hooked when I heard it. Santana’s first three LPs ...

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Triple Played, May 11, 2012

Rolling Stone Magazine recently released a special edition of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It cost $12, but I wanted to read it, so I picked up the issue last week. The list was based on the results of two polls: a 2003 poll of 271 artists, journalists, producers and industry executives picking the best albums of all time and a 2009 poll of 100 picking the best albums of the 2000s. These lists are all subjective so I will try to summarize the results and add my opinion, as ...

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Triple Played: Raitt doesn’t slip up with ‘Slipstream’

It was with great anticipation that I awaited the arrival of Bonnie Raitt’s “Slipstream,” her first album of new material in seven years. I have been a sucker for Raitt’s music since I first heard her sing “Women Be Wise” with the great blues singer Sippie Wallace on Raitt’s 1971 self-titled release. I also was lucky enough to catch both of the shows Raitt put on in Mesa County in the 1980s. I think it was 1981 when she performed at the ...

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Triple Played: record store rewind

Record Store Day 2012 is Saturday, April 21. It is a day to celebrate the existence of independent record stores and their patrons. On May 10, Triple Play Records will start its 25th year in business. We consider ourselves very fortunate to still be a viable business in the community. But if it weren’t for the other locally owned mom-and-pop record stores that have called Grand Junction home since the 1940s, that might not be the case. Tom Clark Music, which was at 520 Main St., ...

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Triple Played: For some musicians, talent runs in family

It is not uncommon for children to follow in their parents’ footsteps. You see it in many different aspects of life. Professional, political, business, family, sports and entertainment come to mind. I don’t know if it will happen at Triple Play Records, but you don’t have to look very far from 530 Main St. to see it. Sometimes the pupil is better than the teacher and sometimes it is the other way around. Business-wise, you hope that your protégé will take ...

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Triple Played: 1962 one to remember in music

My favorite number has always been five, and I don’t really know why. Maybe it’s because my birthday is on the 5th, and the year was 1957. I would like to think that it’s because I was 5 years old in 1962 when everything in the music world started to change. That was the year the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan and the Beatles all released their debut recordings and the Rolling Stones performed its first concert. On another note, the first James Bond movie also was released in ...

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Triple Played: Lovett release, Clark tribute

It is two months into 2012 and there are several “new” CD releases you need to know about. Since it is pretty hard to find that kind of information these days unless you really look for it, here are some of the more notable new releases so far this year. ■ Lyle Lovett, “Release Me” — Lovett’s last release for Curb Records, is a mix of covers and original tunes, which stylistically feature mostly country-rock with a little large ...

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Triple Played: Grammys worth watching for a change

At 54 years, the Grammys and I are the same age. The first time I watched the Grammys was 1968 as a 10-year-old in Gypsum. My parents were out for the evening, and I got to stay up and watch the show with our baby sitter. My two younger brothers and baby sister weren’t so lucky. What I remember most is the Beatles’ “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band” was album of the year. The Fifth Dimension’s “Up Up and Away” was record of the year, and Glen ...

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Triple Played: Little Willies’ CD of classic country covers gets year off to sound start

The best release so far this year is the Little Willies’ “For the Good Times” a jazzy and jazzed up disc of covers of classic country tunes from the likes of Johnny Cash, Ray Price, Kris Kristofferson, Ralph Stanley, Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn. I know it’s only three weeks into the year, but if this CD is any indication, it is going to be a good year for great music. Fronted by Norah Jones and made up of Jones and four of her friends who have been playing ...

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Triple Played: Nov. 11

“Fool (If You Think It’s Over)” was the first time I ever heard of Chris Rea. That was sometime in 1978, and it was from the LP “Whatever Happened to Benny Santini,” which I subsequently bought and liked quite a bit. This led me to buy the British singer/songwriter’s next two albums, “Deltics” and “Tennis.” But I kind of lost track of Rea for a while after that, even though I have always liked “Fool (If You Think It’s ...

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Triple Played: Oct. 28-Nov. 3

Everybody knows Hank Williams is a country music legend. But I think he was not just a country artist but an American treasure much like Woody Guthrie and Johnny Cash. Williams’ songs crossed over several genres and many of them were basically blues songs. One of my favorite, if not my very favorite, Williams song is “Long Gone Lonesome Blues” with these great lines: “I’m gonna find me a river, one that’s cold as ice. And when I find me that river, ...

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Bossa nova style of jazz is infectious

I really like certain types of jazz and classical music, although I don’t know a whole lot about jazz, and even less about classical. With classical, I know what I like when I hear it, but I cannot usually identify the work or the composer. I am somewhat better with jazz, but not to the point of being as educated as I am with rock ‘n’ roll. I really don’t know the difference between avante-garde, bop, free jazz, hard bop or modern creative jazz. But again, I know ...

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If mellow is for you, you’ll love Wilco’s latest, ‘The Whole Love’

Waiting to listen to a new record from Wilco is always exciting for me. There is always a lot of anticipation among Wilco fans, because we never know what the band is going to do next. I have been a fan of Wilco from the time it released its debut “A.M.” in 1995, about a year after Uncle Tupelo disbanded. Son Volt was the other band that came out of that breakup as the two main songwriters Jay Farrar, who formed Son Volt, and Jeff Tweedy decided to go separate ...

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You need to pull up and give a listen to Ry Cooder’s latest

Ry Cooder has been recorded for 40 years and has released some great albums, including “Into the Purple Valley,” “Paradise and Lunch” and the stunning “Buena Vista Social Club.” He also recorded the soundtracks to “The Border” starring Jack Nicholson and featuring John Hiatt as vocalist, “The Long Riders” with an all-star cast and stunning instrumental score, and the blues classic “Crossroads.” Cooder, a ...

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Pink Floyd’s entire catalog remastered

If you happen to be a fan of Pink Floyd, and I know there are a lot of you, I have some terrific news. On Tuesday, Sept. 27, Capitol Records rereleased the entire recently remastered Pink Floyd catalog from “Piper at the Gates of Dawn” released in 1967 to its last album, 1995’s “Pulse.” This is from pinkfloydonline.com: “These remasters are based on the original master tapes, and were done by James. They generally represent a higher level of quality ...

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Tom Russell mixes country, folk, rock and Spanish influences on new CD ‘Mesabi’

In the past month there have been excellent new releases from some of my very favorite singer songwriters: Joe Ely, John Hiatt, Robert Earl Keen, Ry Cooder. And then, Tuesday saw the release of Tom Russell’s newest record “Mesabi.” The cover photo is of a very colorful Russell painting of a Native American with a bluebird on his shoulder, which led me to think that Mesabi was an actual person or a Native American. Not being sure, I looked it up online and found out from ...

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Find time to give full listen to upcoming releases

A customer came in to the store the other day to ask about new releases and he said something that I had not thought about and it made me think, which I am not so sure is a good thing, but it did make me think. He said that he did not listen to samples of the upcoming Robert Earl Keen release because he did not want to prejudice his view of the record before he had a chance to hear all of it. He went on to say that he used to like to listen to samples of new releases on the Internet before ...

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It truly is popular demand that brings LaFave back to GJ

Texas singer-songwriter extraordinaire Jimmy LaFave is making a highly requested return engagement to the Roper Music Ballroom on Thursday, Aug. 25 at 7:30 p.m. When I called Jimmy earlier this week, he was at Cedar Creek Recording Studios, “watching the guys paint” as he put it. Jimmy told me “They just finished recording that two-CD tribute to Guy Clark that is coming out in November to celebrate Guy’s 70th birthday and they had Rodney Crowell, Willie Nelson, Kris ...

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Welch says he discovered how personal his early writing was

This is the second part of my great interview with Kevin Welch, who will perform Saturday, July 30 at 7:30 p.m. at the Roper Music Ballroom with special guest Dustin Welch. Tickets are available at Andy’s Liquor Mart, 922 N. First Street, and Triple Play Records at 530 Main St. Rock: The music on “Patch of Blue Sky” seems to be one of your most personal recordings. How do you feel about that? Kevin: I’ve been working on a book of lyrics, collected lyrics from all ...

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Not enough adjectives to describe Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Love’

We started the whole trip off with a visit to Las Vegas on June 5 to see the Cirque du Soleil production of “Love,” set to the music of the Beatles. They were going to take two days off and then come back on June 8 with their fifth anniversary show attended by Sir Paul McCartney, George Harrison’s widow Olivia, Sean Lennon and Yoko Ono, along with other friends and dignitaries. Since the show opened in 2006, we have been told several times by customers of Triple Play ...

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Studio musicians played major roles in history of great rock

You may have heard a lot about the Funk Brothers, the legendary group of Motown studio musicians who played on classic songs “My Girl,” “I Heard it through the Grapevine,” “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” “Baby Love,” “Tears of a Clown,” “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “Heat Wave” among others. The story of the Funk Brothers was told in a 2002 documentary film “Standing in the Shadows of ...

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Special tribute to fan of column, show and store

First and foremost, this column is always supposed to be about music. I fully intended to tell you about our trip to Oregon to watch my daughter graduate from college, and the musical experiences we had on our trip. Those stories will have to wait for another time. My wife Kenda and I left Grand Junction on June 5 and I had planned to put a hold on our Daily Sentinel subscription so as not to clutter up the driveway. But I didn’t make the call, and when we returned on Saturday, June ...

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Veteran musician next up in singer-songwriter series at Roper

Kevin Welch is the next artist to come to Grand Junction in the continuation of a series of singer-songwriters playing in front of 100 to 200 of their biggest fans in a cozy and comfortable atmosphere at the Roper Music Ballroom in beautiful downtown Grand Junction. This promises to be a special evening of music, conversation, camaraderie and friendship, with Kevin and his son, Dustin Welch, for a warm and friendly show. These intimate shows at the Roper ballroom are known for making that ...

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It’s a shame Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has blown off Chicago

“Beginnings,” “Make Me Smile,” “Questions 67 & 68.” “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” “25 Or 6 To 4,” “Colour My World,” “Saturday In the Park.” Recognize those song titles? I find it very hard to believe that Chicago is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I can’t think of any other artist or band that is more deserving than Chicago. Without naming names, in my opinion, there are at ...

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Cars back in the fast lane with first release in decades

In May 1978, shortly after the spring semester was over, I was invited to Denver by a classmate and dear friend. She wanted some company to spend time with her and her family. At that time, I didn’t have a car, so Terri’s mother bought me an airplane ticket on the condition that I would do some painting at their 6,600-square-foot house. Terri’s parents owned several restaurants in Denver at the time: Gator McGoon’s, Turn of the Century, Lady and the Dove and Lyle ...

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Carole King’s ‘Tapestry’ broke new ground, remains a favorite

I judge my favorite records by the amount of time I have spent listening to them. The record I have listened to the most in my life is Carole King’s all-time classic and four time Grammy award-winning “Tapestry.” In fact, right now it would be my “desert island” disc. King is a “songwriter’s” songwriter. What I mean by that is that she is looked up to by other songwriters and has been for more than 40 years. When “Tapestry” was ...

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